It was early afternoon of the following 'day'. Eighteen pilots sat in their high-backed chairs in the Black Knight Wing's briefing room. All were listening to Commander Cain, who was standing at the podium speaking to them. Behind Cain stood Syke and Voight.
"For the benefit of those who haven't already guessed, you eighteen are the pilots selected by the PEGASUS CAG's to form the PEGASUS Volunteer Squadron", he announced. The assembled pilots nodded and smiled at the announcement.
"In less than two weeks, the PEGASUS will be rendezvousing with the Battlecruiser GOLIATH. You will have until then to get yourselves trained up into a cohesive unit", Cain continued, "The GOLIATH is short on strike fighters and pilots, which means you will be badly needed by them. I intend to make sure that you all will be a credit to Commander Hawke once the rendezvous takes place".
"If this squadron is going to be transferred as a single unit, Commander", Lieutenant jg Bayrak asked, "then who will be commanding it?".
"Glad you asked, Lieutenant", Cain replied, "Lieutenant Hayes!", he announced. Hayes stood. The other pilots looked at him as Cain spoke.
"Upon the recommendation of Captains Syke and Voight, I am appointing you the Commanding Officer of the P.V.S., Lieutenant Hayes", Cain formally announced, "and with that position will go the rank of Captain, which will take effect on the day of transfer". At that, the other pilots applauded.
"Thank you, Commander", Hayes replied as Cain walked up and shook his hand. Gesturing to Hayes to follow him, Cain went back up to the podium with Hayes behind him. As Hayes came up, both Syke and Voight shook his hand as well.
"Lieutenant Mannix!", Cain announced next. LT jg Martin Mannix stood to attention.
"Upon the recommendations of both CAG's, I am pleased to announce that you have been appointed to the position of Executive Officer of the P.V.S., with a promotion to full Lieutenant, which will take effect at the same time that Hayes' Captain's commission is activated", Cain announced.
As Mannix thanked Cain, the pilots applauded again. Mannix sat back down. Cain gestured to Voight, who stepped forward.
"As of this moment, you are all detached from your respective wings", Voight announced, "Your squadron's fighters have all been assembled from the reserve strength and are now in the port landing bay. All of your training missions will start and terminate there".
"Don't forget that both Chunks and Axeman will be responsible for ensuring that your viper piloting is up to par", Voight said next, "which means if either of them come to either myself or Bojay saying that one or more of you are not up to standard, then that person or persons will be dropped and replaced by someone else. Understood?", he asked. There was no reply from the other pilots. All knew that Voight was right. All of them agreed with the choices of C.O. and X.O., given their combat experience and rank seniority, and knew that Hayes and Mannix would expect nothing less than excellence.
"Lieutenant jg Dutch and Ensign Watt will be the raptor crew assigned to support this squadron", Voight continued, gesturing to the back of the room where both of them had been sitting and listening, "Thanks to the inclusion of Peregrine Five to the PEGASUS, this has made detaching the additional raptor possible".
Dutch and Watt had been informed about their new assignment earlier in the day - immediately after Dutch had received his promotion to jg from Commander Cain. That explained why Chief Krag's technicians were giving his raptor an extra amount of servicing this morning, Dutch thought.
"Do you have anything to add, Bojay?", Voight asked Syke. Syke nodded. He walked up to the podium.
"It wasn't easy selecting all of you here for this squadron", he began, "you will be missed, but the GOLIATH sorely needs you. We hope that sometime soon, you'll rotate back to us. But for now, you must do your best for Commander Hawke. And remember to keep the details of why you are being trained to yourselves. Security needs to be maintained at all times".
As the pilots absorbed Syke's admonition, Syke turned to Hayes.
"Chunks, as the new C.O. of this squadron, do you have anything to add?", he asked. Hayes walked up to the podium and looked over his new command. After about fifteen seconds of silence, he spoke.
"We'll be commencing our squadron training tomorrow, fighter readiness permitting", he said, "Axeman and myself will be watching all of you. If you do as well as you have done already, then we'll be okay, but remember what Commander Cain and both CAG's have said here. We can't afford any false moves. That said, remember that my door is open to all of you at any time".
Cain nodded slightly to himself. Looks like Hayes will make a fine C.O., he thought to himself. He walked back up to the front.
"I'll be leaving you all to get acquainted", Cain said, "Congratulations on your assignment and do the PEGASUS - and the GOLIATH - proud".
"Room, Attention!", Hayes sounded. All the pilots stood to attention. Cain walked out of the briefing room, followed by Syke and Voight. After the door closed behind them, the pilots walked over and shook both Hayes' and Mannix's hands. Dutch and Watt joined in the congratulations. Hayes in turn congratulated Dutch on his promotion.
"Thanks, everyone", Hayes said, "but The Old Man's right: we don't have too much time to get ready before the rendezvous".
"What do you intend to do then, Chunks?", Ensign Garret asked his new C.O.
"We will have to train both as a single unit", Hayes replied, "and also in patrol sections. Axeman and I will have a roster of section assignments and section leaders ready by 0900 tomorrow". Mannix nodded at that. Patrol sections were sub-units of squadrons each consisting typically of two senior pilots and two wingmen.
"That's when you'll want us back here then?", Dutch asked.
"That's right, Razor", Hayes replied, "so all of you get some sack time. Starting tomorrow, it's going to be pretty busy. Dismissed. See you all here tomorrow at 0900 sharp".
The pilots started filing out, quietly talking to themselves. Hayes gestured to Mannix to hang back. After the other pilots had left the briefing room, Hayes spoke to Mannix.
"Oh boy", Hayes said, "I hope we'll have enough time to get the squadron ready".
"Don't worry, Chunks", Mannix assured him, "They're all a good bunch and they know their jobs. And the Old Man made the right decision appointing you the C.O.".
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Axeman", Hayes answered with a smile, "but I'm going to have to lean on you a lot over the next few days".
"That's what an X.O.'s job is all about, Chunks...or should I say Captain, Sir?", Mannix said with a smile.
"Not until the rendezvous, Axeman", Hayes replied with a laugh, "but anyway, let's you and I go up to the O-club and start chatting about section leaders, shall we?"
"As long as you're buying", Mannix answered, "after all, a promotion to Captain must mean a huge pay increase...".
Hayes laughed and slapped his friend on the back as they headed out of the room. Looks like things were going to work out okay, Hayes thought...
Hayes probably would not have been so upbeat had be been up in CIC. The Comscan duty officer reported to Sanders, "We have an FTL-emergence, Captain. One of our emergency standby probes. It's transmitting the code alert for a priority message commander-to-commander".
"Signal the probe to start transmitting", Sanders ordered. Turning to Lieutenant Annan, he ordered, "Lieutenant, you'd better alert Commander Cain and have the message relayed to him".
"Yes, Sir", Annan replied. Sending out the page for Cain, she wondered what the probe's message was. This probe was one of four that had been sent out to pre-set positions for the purpose of receiving any emergency messages from the GOLIATH.
Cain received the page - he had just stopped off in his cabin in order to change his uniform jacket- and had the message relayed to his desk's viewscreen. Activating the special decryption protocol - which confirmed the authenticity of the message - he quickly scanned through the contents. After reading what it contained, he activated his communicator.
"I'm heading right up to CIC, Comms", he informed him, A"here are Captains Syke and Voight?", he asked.
"They're heading up to CIC now, Commander", Sanders replied, "They've just told me that they wish to brief Core Command on the recent pilot meeting".
"All right, I'll catch up with them there", Cain decided, "but get the conference room ready and get the duty security staff there too". With that, he turned off his communicator. Turning off his viewscreen, he left his cabin and headed on up to CIC.
The message read:
From: Matthew Hawke, Commander Battlecruiser GOLIATH
To: Garris Cain, Commander Battlestar PEGASUS
Classification: Special Encryption Protocol Delta, Your Eyes Only, No permanent record
Commander,
Forgive my having to send this message to you through one of the emergency contact probes, particularly after receiving your intention to assign to my command a squadron of vipers and an additional raptor, but several things have occurred since the last routine communication which necessitates a change in plans.
The GOLIATH will not be able to make the 'Polaris' Rendezvous due to other operational requirements. However, the PROVIDER-class fleet tender WARLOCK will be there to deliver a supply of tylium as a 'payment' of sorts for the new squadron, which we do gratefully accept.
The new squadron will definitely come in useful, given our current overall fighter strength, but obviously, the WARLOCK will not be able to take the squadron on board given it's size, and the excessive amount of additional time that it would take on top of the fueling operation. Our intelligence directorate has received information indicating that the Cylons may know something about the upcoming rendezvous, which means keeping things to an absolute minimum time-frame.
But as we do need those additional fighters, what I am suggesting is that after the WARLOCK has finished fueling the PEGASUS, it will then jump to point 'Xanadu' (Tairac Sector). The PEGASUS will then jump to that point and deploy the squadron there before returning to your current co-ordinates. The WARLOCK will remain on-station with the squadron until the GOLIATH has finished it's assignment, then it will make the jump to 'Xanadu' in order to quickly take the squadron on board, before jumping back to base.
This method has the advantage of speed, plus as I have not discussed this plan with anyone, the additional advantage of secrecy. Needless to say, the fewer personnel at your end who knows about this, the better. Once again, thank you for the squadron, and I hope that not-too-long from now, we will both eventually meet.
Hawke.
Syke and Voight were chatting as they headed up to CIC, in order to brief Core Command on the new squadron and the upcoming training regimen that the new unit would require. They had briefly stopped off at Syke's office to pick up some documentation disks that Core Command would need for the briefing.
"Ratchet wasn't too pleased about Growler getting detached from her squadron", Syke remarked. Voight snorted. He knew that Syke's description of LT. Halley being 'not too pleased' would be a gross understatement.
"How did you manage to calm her down, Gene?", Voight asked with a smile.
"Simple, Lance", Syke replied, "I threatened to have Rogue detached as well from her unit. She quieted down after that". Voight chuckled at that.
"Well, I'll have to raise my voice some when I get back to my wing", Voight remarked conversationally, "Two rooks in Jankers' squadron ended up colliding with each other on patrol earlier today. A glancing blow only, Nothing that was really serious, but it's something that can't be overlooked".
Syke nodded. Close formation flying was a must for all viper pilots to master, but the risk of collision was always there and was definitely not something to take lightly.
"I didn't hear any raising of the condition alert, Lance", Syke said. Standard procedure dictated a heightened alert status when damaged fighters came in to land.
"That's why I'm going to be a little rough-tongued on those rooks, Gene" Voight replied, "because neither of them mentioned the mishap, let alone declare any kind of emergency and came in to land as per normal. We didn't know about the collision until Chief Brubaker saw the impact damage to both fighters. He told Jankers, who referred it to me". "Yeah, I can understand that", Syke agreed. If those fighters had been more seriously damaged, then one or both of them could have crashed on landing, causing not only the loss of personnel, but could end up causing severe damage to the flight deck. Those new pilots needed to understand in no uncertain terms how serious such consequences could be. He knew that Voight could be counted upon to make sure the lesson would be well absorbed by those two...
When they both reached CIC, they headed over to Core Command, but Commander Cain's voice stopped them short.
"Could you two gentlemen follow me please?", he asked. Syke and Voight looked at each other, then at Cain, then followed him out to the adjoining conference room. The directive was politely worded, but it was unmistakably an order.
As they entered the conference room, Syke noticed the armed guards standing outside the door. The 'Do not Disturb' sign was also illuminated. Gesturing to both CAG's to sit down at the conference table, Cain locked the door, then waited until they had been seated before informing them of the reason that he had brought them in here.
"A little while ago, one of our emergency contact probes received an unscheduled message from the GOLIATH", Cain began, "In it was a message for me, which concerns you both".
"What did they say, Commander?", Syke asked.
"This latest communication was a commander-to-commander message from Commander Hawke", he replied, "and he regrets to inform me that the GOLIATH will not be at the 'Polaris' rendezvous, due to what he termed 'other operational commitments'. He has stated however that the fleet tender WARLOCK will be there to deliver a full load of fuel to us, but the WARLOCK would not be able to take on board the squadron".
"They're turning down the squadron?", Voight asked incredulously, "I was under the impression that they were short of strike fighters".
"They're not turning the offer down - far from it. But Commander Hawke stated quite clearly in his communication that the timing of the rendezvous makes the GOLIATH's appearance there impossible", Cain answered, "but as they do want the squadron, they are making a suggestion, which I want to run by you".
"What is it, Commander?", Syke asked.
"Commander Hawke has suggested that after the transfer of fuel takes place, that we then FTL-jump to the 'Xanadu' rendezvous position in the Tairac Sector, where we would deploy the squadron, then we jump back here. Once the GOLIATH is finished with it's 'commitments', then it would jump to Tairac and then our squadron would land on board her", Cain stated.
"That's taking a chance", Syke blurted out, "for if the GOLIATH for some reason or other doesn't make the Tairac system rendezvous, then those fighters will end up stranded!".
Voight nodded. The Tairac Sector had no life-supporting planets, was remote, and as the vipers were not FTL-capable, there would be no place for them to fly to.
"Commander Hawke says that the WARLOCK will jump to the Tairac System after it finishes fueling so as to first scout the system and to provide the squadron with supplemental fuel, and a means for rescuing the pilots should the GOLIATH not make the rendezvous. We then make our jump, deploy the squadron, then head back here to Promar", Cain explained.
"Why not have the fighters deploy at 'Polaris' instead?", Syke asked next.
"There is what Commander Hawke terms 'a reason to believe' that the tin-heads may know something about the upcoming rendezvous", Cain replied, "and if there are any covert Cylon probes near the rendezvous point, then once it reports the presence of human warships, they will send everything they have against us. Most probably, the fueling would be completed before enemy forces could be brought to bear against us, but under those circumstances, leaving the squadron there without reinforcement would be signing the death warrants of eighteen viper pilots and a raptor crew".
"That's true", Syke reluctantly agreed, "By not hanging around in the middle of a squadron deployment, the PEGASUS would have a fighting chance to escape, but an unsupported squadron wouldn't last long against one or two base stars, and if we stayed to protect the squadron, we'd be endangering the PEGASUS.
"What makes Commander Hawke so sure that this possibility wouldn't happen in the Tairac System?", Voight asked next?
"He told me that he came up with this plan by himself. He has not informed anybody", Cain replied, "so if there are spies for the tin-heads who may have gotten wind of the 'Polaris' rendezvous, then if any Cylon probes do detect the presence of the PEGASUS and WARLOCK there, then they will assume that is it. By keeping the information about the second rendezvous solely between him, us here, and - when he leaves - the commander of the WARLOCK, we are ensuring the survival of the squadron".
"Any idea how long the squadron will have to stay out there after we drop them off?", Syke asked.
"No", Cain replied, "but the fact that the WARLOCK will be there with them will be sufficient to convince the squadron that they won't be left in the lurch".
"You intend to let Lt. Hayes know about this, Commander?", Voight asked.
"Not until just before the deployment. Hawke is right: there is a security issue here and until Dr. Ashley comes up with a foolproof screening method to sniff out those tin-head human look-alikes, the fewer who know about it, the better", Cain answered.
"So in the meantime...?", Syke asked.
"Continue your brief of Core Command and ensure that Lieutenant Hayes gets his pilots familiarized with their fighters first thing tomorrow. They still have a job to do", Cain ordered.
"Yes, Sir", both CAG's replied. Cain nodded and gestured to the door. Both Syke and Voight got the hint, stood up and walked out. Both of them silently wondered what the GOLIATH would be up to in order to necessitate such an action, but knew that this would not be the time to talk about it. Cain was right: get the squadron ready to go.