CHAPTER FIVE: Remembrance and Continuance
Battlestar Pegasus – Port-side Landing Bay – Hanger Six.
The entire flight and ground crews of Silver Spar Wing had assembled in the hander in order to pay their respects to their fallen comrade. Captain Voight's Black Knight's Wing was filling in on the patrol schedule so that this service could take place.
After Tricia Cain had returned to the Pegasus - carrying what was left of Lieutenant Blanke and his ship - the Pegasus had made a lengthy FTL jump into the Anotian Sector. The minefield was now well behind them - along with other Cylon patrols who would soon find two of their raiders destroyed. Now, one day later, when the patrols had reported no pursuit and that for the moment they were out of immediate danger, it was time to immortalize the passing of one who had given his life to the Pegasus.
The Silver Spar Wing personnel were standing at attention in their respective squadron formations facing a rostrum. All were in their dress uniforms. In front of each formation were the squadron commanders: Lieutenants Halley, Macklin, Warden, and Cain. Emblazoned on the front of the rostrum was the symbol of the Colonies. Behind the rostrum were the flags of the Pegasus and Silver Spar Wing.
The officers standing in front of the flags were Captain Eugene Syke, and Commander Garris Cain. While memorials for fallen officers were by tradition attended only by wing personnel, Commander Cain was here to do a special duty. But at the moment, the only person speaking was the chaplain.
"Oh Lords of Kobol", he intoned, "Please look down upon us as we grieve and pay remembrance to our departed brother Lyle Blanke. Take him into your care as we hope and pray to you that he will be granted life eternal. So say we all".
"So say we all", the assembled officers replied quietly.
In the crowd, Lieutenant Benson was looking at the ashen face of Captain Syke upon the podium. He really regretted at that moment making that earlier comment about Syke to Blanke on his last patrol. He looked over beside the podium to the casket covered with the flag of the colony of Sagiterra; Lyle Blanke's birth world. Blanke's helmet was among the items salvaged from the wreckage and it's dented remains placed atop the draped flag. Gorde had managed to recover all of Blanke's body during the viper salvage and as such, it was being honored here today in a full ceremonial memorial service before being cremated.
Commander Cain stepped up to the podium, carrying a small case. He looked at the casket, then the assembled crowd, then started to speak.
"Attention to Orders. Lieutenant Lyle Blanke, Deputy Commander - Air Group Silver Spar Wing. In which he had led a reconnaissance patrol and discovered a Cylon minefield, in the process severely damaging his viper, ordered his wingman to return home to warn the Pegasus. When a Cylon raider discovered his presence and tried to capture him by latching onto his damaged ship, Lieutenant Blanke immediately powered up the engines of his viper, pulling the Cylon Raider deeper into the minefield, in which both ships were destroyed when they hit a mine. His valor in avoiding capture and ensuring that no word about his presence, or the presence of this battlestar reached the Cylons was a selfless action in the highest traditions of the service, and it is for this action that he is posthumously awarded the Gold Cluster. Lieutenant Cain will accept it on behalf of the deceased".
Tricia marched up to the rostrum and saluted Commander Cain. Commander Cain handed her the case containing the Colonial Fleet's highest military honor. She saluted Cain, then turned to the casket containing Blanke's remains and saluted it. Walking up to the casket, she placed the Gold Cluster next to Blanke's helmet, then marched back to take her position in front of the Reconnaissance Section.
As Commander Cain stepped off the rostrum, he saluted the casket, and then walked out of the hangar bay. Captain Syke stepped up to speak.
"We all knew Lyle as a person who kept this wing going. We mainly remember him as a great administrator, but he was also a great pilot, and a good friend to all of us, and it is for the latter that we are here today. He gave his life for all of us, and that more than anything else displayed the love he felt for us all. Our job is a difficult one and death is part of our creed, but though this sad fact is a part of what we are, we are still united as family. In life or in death, our family will endure, by remembering those of us who died so that the rest of us may live. Lyle did not die in vain and he will never be forgotten while this family exists. The story of Lyle's bravery we shall teach our children, and when they ask you: What was Lieutenant Blanke like, you can say that you knew him well, that he was a good man, and that he loved us enough for him to sacrifice himself so that we could continue to live. We dedicate ourselves to the example set by Lyle, and we shall always endure whatever hardships may befall us".
Syke nodded to the chaplain, who intoned an ancient Kobolian prayer from the sacred scroll, as the squadron commanders, Chief Petty Officer Krag, and Syke walked over to the casket. All six of them lifted the casket up by the handles and slowly walked between the squadrons to the exit of the hangar bay, where the casket would be placed on a transported and conveyed to the crematorium in the forensics lab of Life Station. As the casket passed by Benson, he turned and placed a note on the casket. It read simply: "I'll take a rain-check on the ten cubits, Cooler. Growler".
After the casket and pallbearers exited the hangar, the assembled officers and enlisted men silently dispersed. There wasn't anything much to talk about and patrols would need to be resumed. Those pilots scheduled for duty went to the ready room in order to change into their flight suits while the others went over to the Officers Club. There would be a few toasts to the memory of Lieutenant Blanke tonight.
"Tricia", Syke said after the transporter carrying the casket had left, "would you mind coming to my office please?"
Nodding to the other pallbearers - who saluted Syke and headed out in the direction of the o-club - Tricia followed Syke on the short walk to the administration annex where his office was located.
Silver Spar Wing HQ
Syke gestured to Tricia to sit down on a chair in front of his desk. As Tricia did so, Syke sat down behind his desk.
"Just another of the more unpleasant duties that a CAG has to do", he said quietly, referring to the recent funeral service.
"I was there, Gene", Tricia replied, "We could have gotten him back alive".
"I read the reports that both you and Newguy submitted yesterday, and I went over the flight recorder. There was nothing you could have done, once that second missile had hit that mine. That wasn't your fault either", Syke pointed out, "It was a chance you had to take, and like a card game, you can sometimes lose".
Tricia did not reply to what Syke had said. He was right, but she didn't feel good. She couldn't save Blanke and that hurt, regardless of the circumstances. Syke knew that Tricia was hurting, but what else could he say to help? It was time to get back to business.
"Lieutenant Tricia Cain", Syke said formally, "I have the honor to inform you that you are now appointed to the position of Deputy CAG for Silver Spar Wing".
For a few seconds, Tricia could not comprehend what Syke had told her, then she started to object.
"CAG", she said, "I don't... What about Newguy and the reconnaissance section and the other squadron commanders?"
"I spoke with Commander Cain and Colonel Tolen last night, after reading your after-action report. Both concur that you are the logical choice. You were on the short-list for consideration to be the next CAG of the Triton's strike wing before the war messed up those plans. Plus, you are senior-in-grade to the other squadron commanders. Newly-promoted Lieutenant Dutch will assume command of the reconnaissance section", Syke answered.
"What about Newguy?" Tricia asked.
"Thanks to your training and certification, Gorde is ready to pilot his own raptor. We're training volunteer Petty Officers to be RSO's and Gorde will be able to help train 'em up quickly", Syke replied.
Tricia knew that Syke had carefully thought things out. 'Razor' Dutch was a good command choice for the wing raptors and Gorde was ready for a raptor pilot's berth, but there was something else.
"I don't want to be stuck in an office doing paperwork, CAG", Tricia said.
"Don't worry", Syke assured her, "I'm getting in some extra admin staff to assist. While you will have to spend more time here, you will still be able to fly on a regular basis. As of now, you are to remove the raptor patch from your flight suit and put on a viper patch. You are back on vipers. It means that when you're flying and I'm not, you'll be Silver Spar Group Leader".
Tricia was pleased that she was finally getting back onto fighters, but there was something else gnawing at her.
"It all seems ghoulish somehow, stepping into a dead man's shoes", she said. Syke looked at her for a second.
"It's been hard for all of us, Tricia. Especially me", Syke replied, "but we still have a job to do and we need a Deputy CAG. You're the best candidate. War is a dirty business, but on the bright side, it's quite good for promotion", he finished wryly.
"Did you ever take a chance in a viper like in a game of cards, Bojay?", Tricia asked. She knew of Syke's reputation as an excellent card player.
"There was only one person who ever beat me in cards, Tricia", Syke replied, not answering directly. "She was with me at V.T.T." - Viper Transition Training School – "when I was a flight instructor with her. Her name was Kara Thrace - better known as Starbuck. We talked about taking risks and how to explain it to our student pilots. Like her card playing, she was a seat-of-the-pants pilot, but she weighed each risk and came through every time. I like to think that I had her insight and instinct as well".
Tricia nodded. Syke was right. Calculated risk was a part of the job and despite your best efforts, the hand you were dealt could be a losing one. She knew Starbuck only by reputation, like most of the pilots in the fleet. A person who cared more about flying and fighting than promotion boards, she pulled no punches and was a frequent visitor to the brig.
"She's probably dead now, like the vast majority of the pilots in the fleet", Tricia replied.
"I don't think so", Syke answered, because when I was assigned to the Australis after my tour as an instructor was up, she received orders to report to the Galactica. I really think that she's still alive and flying the pants off the other pilots in her wing, though probably giving her CAG a lot of grief in the process", he concluded with a wry smile.
"So, what are your orders to your new deputy, CAG", she asked next in a mock-formal fashion.
"Get some sack time and report to me here at zero-six-thirty", he replied, "Jet will be here to assist".
Tricia stood and saluted Syke. Syke returned the gesture.
"See you tomorrow morning, Tricia", he said as she walked out, "We have Jet's brand new duty rosters to approve for the squadrons".
While Tricia was heading back to her quarters - still a little stunned at her promotion - Syke leaned back in his chair. He had lost a good pilot and colleague. Despite Cain's advice about not getting too close to his subordinates, Blanke's death had hit him pretty hard. True, all the pilots knew the risks and the odds of not making it back, but it did not make him feel any better. He had sent Blanke out on that patrol and the responsibility for the outcome rested with him. How could other commanders deal with losses like this, he asked himself as he stood up and left the office. Regardless, he was still the CAG and he still had his job to do...and the pilots had theirs.