CHAPTER SIX: Reconnoitering and Resurrecting
The marines quickly filed out of the peregrine, their weapons at the ready. They split into two teams, then took up positions on both sides of the gunship, their magna-grab boots allowing them to move easily in the zero-gravity environment. Lieutenant Souster lead one of the teams. He had a portable scanner in his hand, which he used to check out the local area.
"Nebula-Five to pilot", he radioed Hunter, who was still in the cockpit of the peregrine, "my sensors indicate no power, temperature well below the line, atmosphere zero".
"Duh", Sims muttered to himself. As the landing bays were open to the vacuum of space, the last two points were patently obvious.
"Roger that, Nebula-Five", Hunter acknowledged, "I'll get Captain Engle on the line. He's got your road map laid out". With that, he gestured to Engle, who activated his suit radio.
"Nebula-Five", Engle said, "We are half-way down the landing bay, sitting on lift five. The manual control for the lift should be right below your feet. Do you see it?"
Souster looked down and noticed a recessed handle on the floor. The words MANUAL LIFT OPERATOR were emblazoned on the handle.
"Affirmative", Souster replied.
"Reach down and pull the handle up", Engle said next. Souster did so.
Pulling the handle pulled up a panel that had two recessed levers – secured with safety catches – that came up three feet above the lift floor.
"You should see two handles" Engle stated, "they should be numbered '1' and '2' at the top of them".
"I see them", he replied.
"What you need to do is to remove the safety catch on the first handle, then pull it straight down. That will vent any atmosphere in the bay below us", Engle instructed.
"What if the hatches leading to the bay itself are still open?" Souster asked, "That could end out dumping a lot more air than intended".
"This switch will automatically seal the hatches you mentioned", Engle assured him, "so no worries".
"Understood", Souster acknowledged. Nodding to one of his marines, the marine walked up and pulled out the safety catch, then jerked down on the lever.
"Give it two minutes, then do the same process with the second lever. That will slowly lower the platform we and the peregrine are on. Once lowered to the floor of the hanger bay, push both levers back up into the closed position to close the bay roof. Understood?" Engle asked.
"Doing it now", Souster said, gesturing to the marine to pull down on the second lever.
The marine quickly pulled the safety catch off the second lever, then pulled the lever itself down. The marines noticed that the floor beneath them – and the peregrine – was slowly moving downward. The peregrine's floodlights allowed the bay beneath them to be illuminated as the lift continued to slowly drop.
After perhaps a minute, a shudder indicated that the lift had reached the hanger bay deck. The marine then pushed both levers back up into the closed position, causing a roof panel to slide into place overhead.
"I hope we can get it back open", Hunter said to Engle.
"That's not a problem", Engle assured Hunter, "The spare power packs that we have on board can power up the lift motors, and since each motor has five backup circuits, we'll be okay".
"What now, Captain Engle?" Souster radioed.
"By the main bay hatch, there is a similar handle", Engle replied, "pull it down and air from the other side will start coming in to re-pressurize the bay. It should take two minutes to equalize the pressure, then the hatch can be opened".
Souster sent another marine over to find the handle. Once it was found, the marine pulled down on it, causing white jets of vapor to flood in from certain cavities in the bay deck.
After two minutes, there were no more visible streams of gas. One of the marines however took out an analyzer and checked the atmosphere.
"Nebula-Five", the marine said, "pressure is normal, but the temperature is still way below freezing, and there are lethal amounts of carbon monoxide gas present in the atmosphere".
"You get that, Captain Engle?" Souster asked.
"Yes I did", Engle replied. He turned to Hunter.
"Carbon Monoxide? How did that happen? The atmospheric scrubbers on even this early battlestar type should have been able to filter out that gas".
"I don't know", Hunter replied, "but I suppose we'll soon find out".
Engle shrugged, then he started speaking again to Souster over the radio.
"You're clear to open the hatch and to start making the initial sweep of the immediate area", Engle said, "One you give the secure signal, then my team will start trying to get some power on".
"Roger that, Captain", Souster replied. He turned to a marine and said, "lets get it open. We're got a recon to do".
Back on the PEGASUS, Cain, Tolen, and Sanders were sitting up in CIC, drinking coffee and waiting for another communication from the CEREBRUS recon team.
"If everything is going to plan, then they should have managed to manually get themselves into a hangar bay and started their recon by now", Tolen commented.
Cain nodded, but Sanders was not really paying attention to Tolen. He was glancing over at the console that monitored the unmanned probes. Cain noticed this, then walked over to where Sanders was standing.
"I know that it's hard waiting for a message that might not come, but you have to be patient, Glen", Cain said sotto voce.
"I realize that, Commander", Sanders replied in the same quiet tone of voice, "but realizing that there might be a chance that my brother may be alive on the TRINITY is kind of governing my thinking at the moment".
"I'm wondering about them too, you know", Cain responded, "and that acknowledgment of the initial communication is a good sign, but the ball is now in their court. Until they make the second rendezvous, we can't do anything else but wait".
Sanders nodded. Cain patted him on the shoulder.
"You're one of the best officers I have on the PEGASUS, Glen. I need you alert not just for the TRINITY, but also for our team on the CEREBRUS. If any tin-heads start coming and crashing our party, I'm going to need you to help me keep the PEGASUS at maximum readiness", Cain stated.
"I won't let you down, Commander", Sanders replied.
"And if your brother is still alive, he won't let you or his ship down either", Cain reminded him.
Sanders nodded. His brother aside, the PEGASUS and the CEREBRUS had to take priority. He turned his attention back to Core Command.
Down in Silver Spar's headquarters, Syke was drinking coffee with Tricia.
"I would have preferred going with the recon team", Syke commented, "I really hate this waiting".
"That makes two of us, Gene", Tricia replied, "but we are both needed to get our squadrons into action if things go wrong. Hondo and Coffin will do their bit, and Souster's marines are well-trained".
Syke nodded. Spar Three Squadron were on immediate launch alert while Spar Two were on standby in the ready room. Syke was in his flight suit ready to head out if the alert was called. As it was Tricia's turn to stay 'on the desk', she would have to remain on board the PEGASUS to co-ordinate getting the remaining pilots deployed if necessary.
"I wonder if Chunks is having fun on board the GOLIATH", Syke wondered rhetorically.
"I bet he'd have loved to have had a chance to go on board one of the old COLUMBIA-class battlestars, given his love of military history", Tricia commented.
"As if an old bucket like the GOLIATH isn't ancient enough", Syke added.
"Better not let Matthew Hawke hear you say that about his ship", Tricia lightly admonished, "she looked old and scarred on the outside, but on the inside, the GOLIATH could stand a full formal fleet inspection. He knows how to get the best out of his people".
"So does your father, Tricia", Syke replied, "I don't think anyone else could keep the PEGASUS together under these circumstances".
Tricia nodded. The PEGASUS had really been through a lot since departing Cyrannus after the battle at Molecay. They had been through many close calls, but had made it thus far.
'Far' was an objective term for the recon teams on board the CEREBRUS, given the fact that they had no transportation to speed their recon. Thirty minutes of reconnoitering-on-foot had turned up encouraging news. The dispersal deck outside the launch tubes were packed with viper mark II's, and three of the Javelin scouts. However, the tell-tale signs of a hasty abandonment – empty life-pod tubes – and several corpses floating around in the bay was a testament to that last Cylon attack forty years previously.
Souster realized that they really needed to get some systems on line as quickly as possible, so he okayed Engle to get his team moving.
While Souster's team were continuing to check over the landing bay, the second team – which Engle and his engineers had latched on to – had headed over into the primary superstructure of the battlestar. They were heading to Life Support.
"What a mess", one of the marines commented when they finally made it. Engle agreed. Battle damage was everywhere, and there were several dead corpses floating around. The corpses were well preserved after being left here for forty years. Still, the marines and the engineers tried not to notice them as they headed to a particular panel. Behind them, four marines were carrying a portable energizer pack.
"Looks like they SCRAM-ed the auxiliary energizer okay, but the reactivation controls have fried. I can get a by-pass rigged up with the gear we brought, so all going well, it will only take about an hour to get it back on line, but let's get the portable unit up so that we can at least get some immediate power going", Engle said.
After getting his engineers to get things hooked up, he then changed his suit frequency from the local team to the open frequency so that Hunter and Souster would hear.
"This is Engle", he had called to everyone on his suit radio," and we've reached the emergency environmental control board in Engineering. We're plugging in the portable energizer now. I should be able to get some gravity, warm temperatures, and clean air running very soon. There should be enough juice available so that I can get the auxiliary energizer back on line".
"How's the primaries?" Souster asked.
"Pretty beat up. I can't fix them with what I have, Nebula-Five", Souster replied, "just the auxiliary".
"What about some light?" Hunter asked. He and Sims were back in the bay monitoring the peregrine.
"I'm on it", another one of the engineers responded. Right on cue, the emergency lights started glowing. The bay interior - and the rest of the battlestar - started to get brighter.
Hunter powered off his floodlights and watched the bay as the light increased in intensity. He saw some items strewn about around the bulkheads, but otherwise, things were not looking bad.
Engle radioed next, "Nice to get some light on the subject. I'm going to get environmental control back on line. Here goes".
Engle watched as the control panel came to life. Gauges lit up as the portable energizer fed it power. Engle then activated some controls on the panel.
"Starting artifical gravity. Gradual buildup of point one gee", he reported.
The marines, engineers, Hunter and Sims felt the gravity start to take effect. Around them, objects floating around were now moving downward. The gradual imposition of the gravity field allowed things to hit the ground gently. After a minute of one-tenth gravity, the gravity field was brought up to full power.
After a minute, Engle looked at the monitor gauges and nodded. He then went over to another part of the panel. What he saw there made his eyes go wide.
"Look at this", he commented, "there's two large hoses going into the back of the environmental panel from beneath the deck. That's not right". He gestured to one of his team to check out where the hoses led. The engineer came back a couple of minutes later.
"The hoses had been connected directly into one of the exhaust ports from one of the sublight drives, Captain Engle", the engineer reported, "and it's the port that vents carbon monoxide gas into space".
"That explains the presence of the gas", Engle stated, "but why?"
"Probably so that they would just go to sleep rather than die slowly in unknown space in a derelict battlestar with no power", one of the marines suggested.
Engle thought about that, then slowly nodded. That was quite logical. In a battlestar with all escape pods gone and all primary power off-line, and no way to get the auxiliary energizer back up, they would not have lasted too long. A quick way out would have been the only thing to avoid further suffering.
"You'd better disconnect the hoses and seal up that vent", Engle told the engineer, "I've got to get the auxiliary generator back on line so that I can get the atmospheric scrubbers running. The sooner that we can get the Carbon Monoxide out of the air, the sooner we can get out of these suits".
Back down in the landing bay, Souster and his team were finishing up their initial sweep of the landing bay. There were – mercifully – few corpses to contend with, and there were enough vipers in this bay to form two squadrons. He hoped that the other landing bay would yield similar results.
"Having the lights back on makes things rather easier, don't you think?" Hunter inquired. Leaving Sims with the peregrine, he had decided to help with the recon. Souster wasn't overly pleased to see Hunter, but Hunter outranked him and the command pilot did have certain privileges on missions.
"This area of the CEREBRUS at least is in better condition that I thought", Souster replied, "so if the same holds true for the rest of the battlestar, then perhaps we can make full use of her".
"I was thinking the same thing", Hunter agreed, "but that is going to depend on what Engle can get running. Remember, these systems have been off-line for forty years".
"Well, if the lights are running, that's a good sign", Souster commented, "this area is secure, so I'm going to send the team up to join Captain Engle".
Nodding, Hunter watched as Souster issued the recall order to his team. Once they had all assembled and the count taken, they proceeded to head up to where Engle and the engineers were working.
By the time that Hunter and Souster had arrived with their marines, Engle got his by-pass circuit installed. Quickly muttering a prayer to the Gods, he activated the control.
"The control rods are moving!" one of the engineers gleefully said as he monitored the instruments, "the energizer is coming back on-line!"
Immediately following the engineer's words, the emergency lights went out, to be replaced by the primary lights. In addition, the panel on the environmental control board showed that the carbon monoxide was being scrubbed out of the atmosphere.
"My hat's off to the CEREBRUS' builders", Engle said as he monitored the control panel. He turned and walked on over to another console marked DAMAGE CONTROL.
"Let's see just how well off the old girl is", Engle said as he activated the console. Hunter and Souster walked up to monitor the console with him.
With the power from the reactivated auxiliary energizer, the console lit up and began running an automatic diagnostic program. Within two minutes, the diagnostic was complete: the console was working okay.
Engle typed in on its keyboard, DAMAGE CONTROL REPORT REQUEST: ALL SYSTEMS, and waited for the console to comply with the request. After five minutes – it seemed a lot longer to the assembled officers – a report was printed out. Engle quickly scanned it, then passed it on to Souster.
"I think its time that we contacted the PEGASUS", Souster said after looking at the report.
"Get the wireless relay up and running, Coffin", Hunter said on his suit radio to Sims – who was still down in the peregrine, "We better let the old man know what we found".