The Colonials Return
"First of all, I want to thank you all for coming so quickly. Its been an eventful couple of days, but we seem to making the best of what we have" Turndike said. "Secondly, you'll be pleased to know that Restormal's repairs are coming on well and her thrusters will soon be repaired enough for her to leave Quick Fix and dock with the station to finish her repairs. My crew are looking over the two wrecks now to see which one is the better chance of being sorted quickly – though the rumour is that Ark Royal is the most likely. Now… I have asked you here because of a difficult and dangerous situation which has arisen. We believe that the Cylons now look like us"
"What?" exclaimed one of the assembled Captains.
"Its true" said Captain Richards of the Hope. "We've tested them after concerns were raised, and, to cut out the sciencey bits, we've found genetic markers which point to artificial construction. Knowing this, we instantly went through all medical record that we have for all the fleet and found another thirty seven people we suspect to be Cylons. Also, a number of people have been reporting radiation sickness which should not really be happening in such numbers. We're isolating those cases and testing them"
"What about those we know are Cylons?" asked another Captain.
"We're holding them in the Exeter's cargo hold and the Pan Galactic's hanger bay" said Kattoni. "We figure that if they try to rush the ships, we can just open the doors and flush them out to space"
"What are our long term plans for them?" asked yet another Captain.
"Well… I'm not sure. I'm sure our Military friends here would suggest they are prisoners of war and intern them. Of course, we don't have the resources for that so we're going to think about executing them" Turndike said. "Of course, if anybody has any other suggestions…"
"We should get as much information on them as we can. If we can learn things such as battle plans, fleet deployment, communication frequencies…" said Manning. "I have some trained interrogators between are two little frigates – we can take care of that for you"
"Sounds good" said Turndike. "Now, if we can go back to the issue of ships? I understand that when we have all four Battlestars working it will mean that we've got somewhat close to a full fleet"
"Yes, Sir" said the Major in charge of the two Light Cruisers – a Major Dial. "A fleet would consist of about three or more Battlestars along with a number of smaller vessels"
"Which we do not have" said Kattoni.
"So what do you suggest that we do, Major?"
"We could bring the two Cruisers and the two Frigates into any action we engage into with them arranged in a diamond around the Battlestars. Of course, we have another option"
"I'm all ears"
"The Cylons will be searching in directions away from the site of the wrecks. We left behind a good number of ships – some still intact. If I can borrow one of the repair ships then all I need is a small Engine Room crew to man the ship and jump it. As you know, repair ships can provide power to crippled vessels. I propose that I jump in with the ship and provide it power – and keep doing that whilst it brings its own systems online so we can get the jump drives up and running quicker. All I will need is an hour at most" Dial looked around at the assembled Captains and senior officers. "We need the ships in order to protect us. Plus, if this goes well then it can serve as a basis for getting other ships"
"What ships are we talking about?" asked Richards.
"That depends… We know from comms traffic at the time of the attacks that not all disabled ships were destroyed. Some were simply vented to space and then shut down. We can go aboard those and then simply power up and jump – easy as pie. I'd suggest the Fifth Fleet out near the forest moon of Endor. They were supplying at an arms facility there – we could get some much needed weapons and parts there if they were caught in the middle of re-supping"
"Hmm… How many ships in the fleet?" asked Turndike.
"Six Light Cruisers, two Heavy Cruisers and four Battlestars. I think Admiral Henries was Fleet Commander – raised his flag in Zulu if I remember"
"So an entire fleet is just sitting there…" Turndike's mind began to rush with thoughts, ideas and plans.
"The plan is sound" said Kattoni, "But it assumes the Cylons did not blow up the re-supply base as well"
"The Cylons used a hell of a lot of firepower which would have eaten up their reserves. It would be easy enough to replenish their stores from our own armouries – so they would not want to risk destroying what they would soon take"
"I thought we did well enough with just what we have at the moment – now we could actually take the offensive to them" Turndike chuckled. "Poor Gates is going to be mad he's missing this. Okay… Do you truly think that this is going to work?"
"Yes"
"Okay… Simple vote here – all raise your hands if you want to go with this plan" Turndike said and each man or woman there raised their hand. "Then we're going with that idea. I'll take the Exeter along with the repair ship, launch my birds and then jump out to the edge of DRADIS range near the static grid. We'll be able to see out, but nobody should be able to see in. If anything happens, then we'll simply jump back and help you out. The rest of the ships can look after themselves for the moment"
#
Two Hours Later
"Report!"
"Nothing on the scopes but the Spanner and the Ajax" said one of Turndike's crewmembers.
"Very good. How long left until the ships are all ready for jump?"
"Sixteen minutes"
"Very good. Prepare for an FTL jump back to the station – all stations check in"
"Aye, Captain. All hands, standby for an FTL jump. All stations report"
"Navigation – go"
"Flight Ops – go"
"Engineering – go"
"Operations – go"
"Weapons – go"
"Clock is running… FTL jump will take place in three minutes"
"Very good" Turndike replied.
"CONTACT! DRADIS contact. Bearing 180 carom 000" a shout came from the DRADIS station.
"Where away?"
"From the station… Getting readings of three squadrons of Raiders and one of Heavy Raiders"
"Action Stations"
"Sir, all divisions report they are already at Action Stations. All guns manned and ready"
"Ah, forgot about that. CIC to Engineering"
"Engineering" came the voice of Spanswick.
"I need an emergency FTL jump"
"You've got it. Jumping in three… two… one… JUMPING!" and the CIC seemed to expand forever before snapping back into place. DRADIS lit up with individual contacts and multiple alarms as the ship took stock. Without warning or notice, the Exeter's guns opened up and started to tear into the Raiders.
"Where is the Baseship?" asked Turndike.
"Unknown" came the reply. "Got no sight of it on DRADIS or the other scanners"
"Keep looking for it" Turndike said. "It has to be here somewhere. Exeter to Ajax. Dial, time for us to get the hell out of here"
"I need just another ten minutes, Captain" came Dial's voice. "Then we can jump away with all of them"
"The others can jump?"
"Affirm"
"This is Captain Turndike to all crews – Jump at once. All Vipers, clear the air. Missile control, prepare to fire a full spread of Anti-Aircraft"
"Missiles online. Selecting load… Targeting"
"Guns, prepare to fire main armament"
"Sir?"
"Set the shells to explode in front of the Cylons – the exploding shrapnel should take care of a lot of them" Turndike rushed to the other side of the CIC to flick switches as the Exeter trembled from the impact of Cylon weaponry.
"Kattoni to Exeter"
"Go ahead"
"Request permission for release of nuclear weapons"
"Pardon? Say again, CAG"
"I'm in a Raptor, Captain, carrying a nuclear warhead. I could wait until you are all jumping away and then detonate"
"What about you?"
"I always wanted to face a hopeless battle…"
"Ain't going to happen" said Turndike. "Besides, I need that nuke for a much better purpose. Get aboard the nearest ship. All Vipers CLEAR CLEAR CLEAR. Guns, fire" and the decks rumbled and trembled as the Exeter's main guns fired giant shells – flying at a quarter of the speed of light and then exploding at the end of the timer to throw shrapnel into the horde of incoming Cylons. Missile Control followed this up by firing at any target not painted in white or gold.
"CONTACT – NEW CONTACT! CYLON BASESHIP"
"Where?"
"Right on top of us"
"Oh fuck me rigid with a Viper's cannon. Kattoni, Exeter. Priority mission. As the most senior dipshit currently here, I order you to fire on that Baseship and then land as quick as you can. Exeter to Ajax and Spanner. Abort your mission and prepare to jump. All craft – combat landings authorised"
"Sir, two minutes"
"Not a second less, Major. Out. Helm, rotate the ship to provide maximum cover for the Vipers as they land. Guns, target all batteries except Anti-Aircraft on the Baseship – fire at your choice. Missiles, prep tubes one through four"
"Aye, Captain"
"Standing by"
"Fire"
"Sir, Vipers are engaging"
"Baseship is launching nuclear weapons"
"Stand by for an FTL jump" Turndike picked up the comm set. "Ajax, time is up"
"Have a better idea, Captain" and suddenly the Battlestar next to Ajax and Spanner turned towards the Cylon Baseship and began to open up with her main turrets – taking the Cylons completely by surprise.
"Message on all channels" called out the Communication Officer. "Message reads as follows: Battlestar Olympic to Fleet Command, Battlestar Exeter. Seventh Fleet has reengaged Cylons at my position. Seventh Fleet will hold this position and will hold the line until we are either victorious or dead. Message ends"
"Order all Vipers to engage the remaining Raiders. Switch defensive turrets to fire on the missiles. Main weaponry to engage primary target"
"Aye, Sir"
"Helm, bring us about to 000 carom 000 mark 010 – ahead one quarter"
"Aye" and Exeter slowly moved around and faced towards her biggest enemy. Vipers fired on anything that was not friendly looking and it turned from supposed defeat of the remains of Colonial civilisation to that of the Cylons. Together, Exeter, Ajax and Olympic targeted the Baseship and hit the magazines – tearing half of the ship apart and practically destroying it. Because of the detonation of one nuclear weapon, the Cylons could not jump away which allowed the Colonial forces to wipe them out.
"Targeting the top half of the Baseship" Turndike's weapons man said, typing commands to his console.
"No…! This could be a good chance for some information on the Cylons. Comms, order all ships to not target that half but to wipe out any remaining Raiders. Have the other ships jump back to our base but Ajax and Olympic are to remain here for now. Once they get to the station, have them relay a message for the Furlong to come here. We might be able to board the remains of the Baseship and get intel from her computer memory banks. If so, they'll be the perfect people to try and break their codes"
#
"With supplies gained from the retrieved vessels, we've been able to speed up the process of repairing the Restormal. We now think that we can have her ready in two days" said Major Dial.
"That's good" said Turndike. "I can not believe that we managed to get away with this. I fear our luck may run out, but I'll take what I can. What about the rest of the ships?"
"Most of them lacked Vipers due to their being destroyed in dogfights, but we took on a lot of different ships' Air Wings, so we can simply put them on where we feel is best" said Katooni. "We've got some Vipers in storage on the station so we're unpacking them as quick as we can and shuttling them over to the Olympic as she's in perfect condition and combat effective. In addition, we managed to get nearly twenty percent of the supply station's stocks – that should help us to replenish stuff that we have used"
"That's good" said Turndike. "How are the rest of us civilians finding their new accommodations and situation?"
"Most are finding it a bit tough, but they are getting over it. We've set up a sort of bus system between the civilian fleet. We've also got a shuttle system between the station, the passenger ships and the drydock for those that have offered to help" said Dial, consulting a list he was reading from. "When repairs are completed on Ark Royal and the Gigantic, we'll have two complete battle fleets"
"Sounds good. I'd like to keep the two police frigates with the Exeter's group. No offence intended to you, but we've fought together in battle and I trust them implicitly. I may not look it under this tough and grizzled exterior, but I am a little sentimental" Turndike smiled.
"So what do we do with two fleets of ships?" asked Katooni.
"Well I think we should go on the offensive" said Turndike. "All we've done are hit and run attacks – How about we give them a damn good thrashing? My crews have been looking at the state some of the rescued ships are in. In one of them we found a set of Jump Jammers that were being transported to the Colonial Fleet Museum at Picon"
"Jump Jammers?" asked Dial.
"Some Battlestars were fitted with them during the first war. It stopped the Cylons from jumping away in the middle of battles. The only set still on an active Battlestar were those on the Galactica, though I think those hadn't been used in over thirty years" Turndike said.
"I remember those from when I did my Cadet Cruise on her" said Katooni. "I didn't know what the name was at the time, but that must be what I saw. Never ever saw them in action during my six months onboard, but I heard rumours that they were supposed to disrupt FTL ability"
"What do you propose we do then?" asked Dial.
"Well we wait until the two Battlestars are repaired and refitted and then we go on the offensive. If the Furlong's crews can take a good look at them we might be able to get more of them made" said Turndike.
"Targets?"
"Well we know from intercepted comm traffic that the main Cylon force seems to be over Caprica – some sort of settlement trouble... Not sure what though, so I propose that we jump into Caprican space, hit them with the Jammers and then pound the living hell out of them"
"We'll lose a good number of people"
"I think that everyone will accept that fact, though every single man and woman will be given the decision to come in the attack. What I have done is for the good of the people, to protect them and to give them a good life. For those of the Colonial Fleet, they will have to answer to Colonel Gates. The Exeter is under my command, and I will take it into action whatever happens. If it turns out that no other ships will follow me to Caprica, then I will ask the Fleet to train as many of my crew and volunteers as can be trained in a week's time to fly Vipers and Raptors" and there was a long and silent pause as the people in the room looked at each other.
"Sir?" Manning rose from his seat. "I speak for myself and my crew when I say that although my duty is to the safety of the people and the fleet at large, we'd like very much to sign on with you"
"Where the Exeter and the Cambrian shall go, the Achilles shall be right alongside" Lieutenant Morris, commander of the other Frigate stood to stand alongside his senior. "We're signing on with you, Captain"
"You can't very well go into battle without a trained CAG" said Katooni. "I'm with you"
"Captain, I forbid you from going. As much as the plan makes sense, I would be the first to agree, the duty of the remaining vessels of the Colonial Fleet is to protect what remains of our people" Dial said.
"But si–" Katooni was cut off by Dial.
"That is my order, Captain. I'm sorry, but that is my final word" and heads went this way and that as the people followed the exchange. Katooni looked down at herself, at Dial and at Turndike before standing and removing her uniform jacket.
"Then you have my resignation effective immediately" she said, then spun round to Turndike, came to attention and saluted. "Captain, I would like to join your crew. I have expert qualifications in Vipers and Raptors, reached the rank of Captain and my last posting was as Acting CAG aboard the Battlestar Tusk"
"Welcome aboard, Megan" Turndike saluted her back, then shook her hand. "Your first order from me is to see to the training of my officers and crew in the skill of flying Vipers. I'd like you to lead my Air Wing and that of the two Frigates"
"Aye, Aye, Sir"
"Dismissed"
"You'll regret this, Captain"
"I'll either be regretting this or be dead, Major. The Exeter and her crew saved me when hope was lost, and you proposed to not help what was a good plan? I'd rather resign and face the Cylons in one Battlestar and two Frigates then sit here safe and sound. Now, if you will excuse me Major, I have a lot of work to do" and Megan Summers walked out of the room.
"Talk some sense into her, Turndike" said Dial. "I know our plan was to get two fleets for us to use against the Cylons, but one fleet has to stay here in order to train people up and to defend what little ships we have left"
"I agree, Major, but for how long do you think we can sit here for? The Cylons will find out where we are sooner or later, and there is no other place for us to go to if we have to run. We can either make a run for it and find the Galactica, we know which course she must roughly be on, or we can punch the crap out of them and make them know that we will make them pay for what they've done" Turndike said.
"I know Captain, but I have to consider the wishes of Colonel Gates. His orders bind me and limit what I can do"
"But he is on medical leave" one of the assembled people said.
"But he still can give me orders in the situation we're in" said Dial.
"I know... I was one in the service myself, so I know your point of view. If we manage to defeat what is in the Caprican system, we'll send a message back here
"Three ships are not going to do anything but be destroyed"
"Four" a tall red head stood up. "Norland stands with you"
"Thank you, Captain" Turndike smiled. "And it will be six ships... Two of the ships that we rescued were sold to us anyway for scrapping. All we need to do is to fill them with ammo, put a skeleton crew in the engine room and man the guns – no need to have them fully manned. All we do is to close up all the hatches and put a shuttle in the hanger of each one in the case of evacuation and we have ourselves a pair of floating gunships. Now, and this goes no further than between us, we may have picked up faint communications between Colonial units. When get close to the Colonies, we're going to launch a Raptor to see what we can find"
# # # # #
With something planned, a lot of civilians offered to assist in the repairs to the ships that Turndike planned to take with him on the assault. Scouting missions around Colonial space had turned up a crippled military transport vessel which Turndike had immediately claimed as salvage. Upon inspection of the ship, they found the crew had been killed when the hull had been breached but that the cargo was perfectly intact. Seven Mark IV tactical nuclear missiles had been recovered and installed aboard Exeter, Cambrian and Achilles in pairs – with the seventh tucked aboard a Raptor.
"Sit Rep" Turndike called as he walked into the Exeter's CIC.
"We're making last minute adjustments to the firing systems" said Spanswick. "We had some issues with the auto-loaders so we're replacing them and running tests. Apart from that, we'll be fully stored by 0453, the last magazines have been filled and all Vipers are in the tubes"
"Cambrian, Achilles and Norland?"
"The two frigates report they are stored, bunkered and stocked – they are ready to leave on your orders. Norland is having a minor engine overhaul and conducting some last minute combat landing practice"
"Have everybody finish what they are doing, return all ships to the yards and then secure all vessels – leave granted to all hands"
"Dave?"
"This might be the last time some of us have the chance, so lets go and find a few drinks and get ourselves pissed"
"Yeah… Why not?" Spanswick said. "I've rigged the reactors to go up either three minutes after you give the word or on a command from the Bridge"
"Thanks" and Turndike sighed and looked around the CIC. "Where is Kattooni?"
"Starboard pod. She wanted to inspect her Viper visually so I let her"
"Fair enough" Turndike glanced at a display's timer. "Lets get pissed"
# # # # #
"Captain on deck" somebody shouted as Turndike entered the CIC.
"At ease…" he didn't know what else to say. "Sit Rep!"
"All ships are ready to depart on your word" said a salvage crewman.
"The word is given" Turndike said. "Seal airlocks, release docking clamps. Forward thrusters at one half. CIC to Engineering"
"Engineering. Spanswick"
"Georgey, time to go to work… Standby to jump"
"Jump drive standing by"
"We have cleared the dock" Helm reported.
"Signal Cambrian, Achilles, Norland, Samantha and Patrick to formate on Exeter – Tactical Pattern Brick. Prepare to make an FTL jump back to the Colonies"
"Signal away… All ships confirm"
"Navigation, start the clock"
"Yes, Captain – the clock is running" Turndike watched his trained crew do their jobs well. "Five, four, three, two, one… JUMPING!" and there was a sensation of being pulled into a long piece of rope that suddenly recoiled. "Jump complete"
"Scanning… Reading five transponders. All ships present and accounted for" the crewman trained on DRADIS spoke. "Nothing near us, though we are out of range for any of the planets or orbital bodies"
"Understood" said Turndike and picked up the handset. "Comms? Patch me through to the entire fleet" and he snorted at the thought of being the Acting Commander for the fleet. This was something that the Colonial Fleet were trained for and yet seemed to not want to do. "This is Captain Turndike on the Exeter. We have just completed an FTL jump back to our homeworlds and are about to set course towards the planet of Caprica. The Cylons came and destroyed our homes, our families, our loved ones – everything we held most dear and stood for. What nobody has told you, and what you could not know until after the jump, is that a scouting Raptor discovered what is believed to be the main Cylon Command and Control vessel based on the level of protection it was getting and the signals traffic. Our aim is to both engage the enemy wherever they may be, but also to take out the ComCon at all costs. Without that flying CPU, the Cylons will be disorganised and allow us to finish our mission. Set course for Caprica, half ahead. Set Condition One throughout the fleet and launch all aircraft. Whatever happens to us, the Cylons will know that the Colonials came and that the Colonials stood. Turndike out" and he replaced the handset and turned to his communications officer. "Send the following message in the direction of the planet Caprica"
"Captain?" the woman blinked at the order.
"Do it. Message begins:- To Cylon Commander, Caprica Occupation Forces, repeated Cylon fleet and Cylon High Command. This is the Battlestar Exeter of the 1st Colonial Fleet. Our position is one standard hour away from the orbit of Caprica, and you have fifty nine minutes to surrender yourselves, ground, air and your ships or we will open fire upon you. There will be no terms given and no conditions will be permitted from yourselves. We're done running from you bastards – we're here to stay. Watch your shiny metal arses… We're coming for all of you. Exeter out" he looked at his DRADIS officer – a crewmember from Tusk still getting over their injuries. "Sound off Action Stations" he said quietly.
"Aye, Aye" the woman picked up the intercom. "Action Stations, Action Stations! Set Condition One throughout the ship. This is no drill, I repeat that this is no drill! Standby to launch all aircraft. All bulkheads will close in twenty minutes – repeat in twenty minutes"
"Sir, fleet reports it is on course for the planet Caprica at one half standard speed"
"All Vipers away except for Vipers 1975, 7409 and Raptor 666. Deck Chief reports their canopies will not close and lock. Estimate three minutes to solve. Raptor 666 is on the Flight Deck awaiting your order to launch"
"Very well" Turndike looked to his Helm officer. "Helm, maintain course and speed… Steady as she goes"