Battlestar Galactica Fan Fiction Story
Battlestar Group 41
The missiles were coming towards us. I was embarrassed and humiliated. I knew better, I knew better! The destruction of the first two base ships lured me into a false since of confidence. I was cocky and that made me stupid.
"Why isn't the CMS scrambling them?" asked Stevens.
I just stared at the DRADIS console. I didn't want to look at anyone. Marks answered Stevens, "Because they're not locked on to our DRADIS signature."
"Then how are they heading towards us?" asked Stevens.
I looked at Stevens irritated. The kid made me angry with his stupid question. More than that, I was angry at my decision and took it out on him, "you don't need DRADIS to point and shoot!"
"Time to impact?" asked Marks out loud.
"10 seconds," responded Dyson.
Marks looked over to Damage Control, "Brace for impact!" The Damage Control team relayed the message through the ships speakers. The digital alert on the speakers changed. Instead of the repeated digital tone, six short rings rang out.
I took hold of the metal bars surrounding the information management table. It was then I accepted my death. I had thought all along I would get this ship and her crew destroyed, and it was about to happen. I was thrown across the CIC.
-
"Sounds good Kara." Our plan was finished. We searched the asteroid field for the white Viper. It took us twenty minutes to find him. He was out in the open.
"His mistake," said Kara. We both took off for him. Kara took the lead. She always took the lead. She was a natural leader. He caught sight of us and punched it for the center of the asteroid field. "Cody, you ready?" I clicked my communication's relay button two times. The resulting static flickered twice. That was my acknowledgment. I cut my engines, activated Split Axis, and initiated a 180 degree vertical flip in just .29 seconds. Once the flip was complete, I initiated reverse thrust and activated the Viper's 'Fly by Command' program, which was called 'going Foxtrot Charlie.' Foxtrot Charlie deactivated Split Axis, and all my Viper's maneuvering commands were controlled by the computer. The computer was taking the maneuvering commands from Kara's Viper through the wireless link our computers had, which resulted in me flying backwards in formation with my wingman.
I had only read about this maneuver. When pilots did what I just did, it was usually not inside an asteroid field! Kara assured me it would work, and it did. Once I flipped I saw the other instructor in the distance. "Got'em! He's coming in fast Kara. He will be in range in ten seconds."
"Alright Ryan, kick on Split Axis and start pushing away from me." Split Axis allowed me to keep Foxtrot Charlie turned on, but allowed limited control input from my flight controls. Flying backwards at this speed in an asteroid field was too hard for me. Split Axis let the computer fly. However, any inputs I made, it would compensate speed, roll, pitch, and yaw so I wouldn't kill myself. The result allowed me to thrust away from Kara's Viper. I called it 'poor man's flying.' "You ready?"
"I'm in position," I replied.
"In three, two, one!" We both killed our engines (doing so immediately kicked off all automation). With only our inertia moving us through space, Kara flipped 180 degrees to align herself with my Viper. Simultaneously I rolled over her Viper as she flipped, and came down along her other side. I impressed myself and I was surprised the maneuver worked. We maxed out the throttles, and I was pressed into the seat back. We were pulling so many G's I felt my flight suit kick in. My flight suit legs compressed which helped keep the blood in my upper body. Further, the mark seven's computer noticed the sudden gravitational change was outside of tolerance and activated a gravitational plate embedded behind the forward console. The difference helped me stay conscious but gave me an awful sense of vertigo.
I used Kara's Viper to remind my brain which way was straight. When I got over my momentary loss of up and down, I heard Kara laughing as she took out the instructor with the training guns. "Frak me, you did it!" I said.
"You owe me a buck Ryan, it worked."
"Yeah, I'll give you a star buck," I said jokingly.
She looked over at me in my cockpit with a look of confusion, "Whats a star buck?"
I changed my voice into a mock voice a person makes when talking to a child, "Because you're my super star!" She laughed and rolled her eyes. I'm sure she called me an idiot also, but the sound was drowned out by DRADIS picking up the other instructor. "He's coming in behind us."
"Let's do the same maneuver, but this time we both flip vertically," she said. I clicked my radio twice. "In three, two, one!" We killed our thrusters. I flipped vertically and rolled over her Viper. She flipped vertically and rolled under mine. As we came up level with one another, we cheered that it worked. In our moment of cheer, my vertigo was back and apparently Kara had it too. We clipped wings before losing control of our Vipers. I began to roll uncontrollably over Kara and out away from her. I heard the warnings from the computer go crazy.
The instructor's voice came over the radio, "Student 1 and 2 eject!" I tried reaching for my ejection lever. The gravitational forces from the uncontrolled roll were keeping my hand from getting anywhere close to it. As the Viper flipped faster and faster, I lost all sense of direction and began puking in my helmet. Before I blacked out, I saw an asteroid as large as a Battlestar, and it was getting closer.
-
Everything was a blur and my ears were ringing. In my head I could hear my heart beat and my lungs breath. The world was in slow motion. I saw Marks walking over to me. He was silhouetted by the overhead lights that kept exploding and raining sparks. The only light in the CIC came from red flashers in the ceiling, the very dim emergency lights, the information management table, and the few computer monitors that were still on. People were either unconscious on the floor, or hurt and on the floor. It seemed that Marks was the only one on his feet. From the gimp in his walk, he was hurt. After what seemed like an eternity, he made it over to me. He mouthed something I didn't hear. Dazed and confused, I saw him strain to tell me something. I didn't know why he wasn't speaking until he slapped the frak out of me. "Commander, wake up!"
-
"Wake up!" yelled Kara as she slapped me. We were in the Search and Rescue Raptor heading towards the Triton. Her face was different. She was embarrassed and humiliated. I could see the sheen on her cheek; she had been crying. I was laying on the Raptors floor. My flight suit's top had been cut off, and two electric paddles were stuck to my chest. I realized right then my heart must have stopped. She embraced me and I laid in her lap, choking out all the puke that had stayed in my mouth. I was in shock. My body was shaking.
Looking at my feet, I saw my helmet; the inside was coated with a layer of throw up; I must have suffocated on my puke. I looked past my feet and up into the cockpit area and saw the Triton's flight pod through the bubble canopy. We were landing.
-
"Your action's resulted in the destruction of two very valuable pieces of machinery," said Commander James Jonasson. We were at attention in the Combat Information Center wearing our Dress Grays. "What do you have to say for yourself?" Commander Jonasson talked softly as he worked at the large information management table. I didn't dare turn my head to look at Kara, I just hoped she didn't do or say anything smart. "Well?" He put down his papers and looked at us. I didn't know what to say, let alone what to think.
"We wanted to win, sir," said Kara.
"Win?" He looked at his XO, Colonel Laura Chin.
She stared us down. I felt in my heart Colonel Chin was evil. "Win! What the frak do you know about winning Ensign Thrace? That is the first time anyone has destroyed a Viper on the first battle simulation! No one has ever won battle sim one. What was going through your head? You think your smarter than the rest of us?"
I heard Kara speak again, I just wanted her to shut up. "Yes, sir."
Chin's eyes lit up. I saw fire in her face. "YES! Thrace, I swear to the Gods. . ."
"Colonel," Jonasson said softly. His interruption made Chin go quiet. Everyone in the CIC was watching. "Ensign Kara Thrace, Ensign Ryan Cody, you destroyed two mark seven Colonial Vipers by performing stunt maneuvers for no applicable reason what so ever. You did it to show off and look good. And, your instructor's said that was the first time they had ever been surprised by a nugget." I couldn't see her, but I felt Kara smile. Then I realized I was smiling also. "That was the first time anyone has ever shot down their instructor in their first sim."
Chin looked flustered, "Commander?"
Jonasson looked over to Chin with a harsh look, which once again shut her up. "Ensign Thrace, you also saved the life of your wingman by initiating a remote eject." I didn't know that. At the time, I had still not read the After Action Report or the Safety Report. "And then you didn't give up on him after eight minutes of CPR and defibrillator shocks."
"Thank you, sir," said Kara.
"Unfortunately, original thinking and good leadership doesn't replace two expensive pieces of hardware," said Jonasson. "As Flight Leader, you are responsible for the consequences of yourself and those under you. You will be court-martialled for your actions. Dismissed." We both saluted. Jonasson returned the salute and we left the CIC.
Once in the corridor outside the CIC, I stopped Kara. I hadn't seen her face the whole time. When she turned and looked at me, she wasn't smiling like I had thought she would be. Her face was flush and her eyes watering. "Kara?" She wouldn't look at me. I saw a side to her at that moment I had never seen. She was embarrassed and humiliated.
"I'm sorry," she said before she started to lose it. She began to cry. I walked her into another corridor, away from the personnel traffic. We stopped in a corner and I hugged her. "I'm so sorry. I got you killed. You were dead."
"But you also saved me," I held her head in my hands as only a friend could. I let he cry for a few moments before I threw some mental cold water on her. "Kara, you fraked up. We fraked up. It's done, its over! You will be court-martialled for it. Until then, last I checked, you are still a pilot. So suck it up and get over it. We are due in the Squadron Ready Room in ten minutes."
-
"I'm up! I'm up!" I got to my feet. I sucked up my humiliation and got to work. I felt something warm flowing out of my head. I realized my head was bleeding again. I applied pressure to my forehead when I felt my broken arm; the velcro cast had fallen off. I walked over to Command and Control. "SITREP!"
Marks was helping Stevens to his feet, and I had turned to check on James. I heard Chief Ruben speak from Damage Control, "A tactical nuke hit our dorsal bow. Concussive shock waves from four other nukes have broken electrical and fuel lines down both sides of the ship. Main structural beams are intact. Fire control, emergency response, and damage repair teams are already responding."
Stevens had checked his computer, "DRADIS and NAVCOM are down. FTL computer is online."
Marks was over at the engineering station, "FTL drives one, two, and four are down. Drive three is online and its twin spinner still has a residual charge. It's fading fast though."
I looked over to James. He was hurt bad, but he was at his station and had his headset on. "Commander, I am picking up a transmission on the Emergency Wireless Band." Marks, Stevens, and I turned and looked at James. "It's an Auto Distress Beacon."
"Their are pilots still alive out there," said Marks.
I looked at Marks. "They must have ejected from their Vipers during Galactica's escape." I saw him nod in agreement. We had two Raptors left. "Launch SAR 1. Have those pilots recovered." Marks picked up a corded phone from the information management table. I couldn't help but think about Deacon and Sierra waiting at the rendezvous. "Launch SAR 2. Have them jump to the rendezvous and inform our Raptors of the situation." Instead of putting down the phone, Marks just rested it on his shoulder as I spoke. "Let them know we are on our way." Marks put the phone back to his ear to relay the order.
Dyson walked over to the lighted table and set down a readout of the Craton's weapons. He spoke, "Point Defense Guns took out all the missiles and a few nukes. When the tactical nuke hit, its shock wave detonated the remaining four. Those nukes were still a thousand feet away but close enough for us to feel the repercussions from them." Dyson laid down a schematic of the ship from overhead. "Main Forward Batteries are offline. All Batteries forward of this section," he pointed at the schematic, "are offline."
"Commander!" yelled Ruben from Damage Control. Marks and I looked over at the Chief. "Repair teams report decompressions in the forward hull. They say the spots we patched have reopened."
The ship was hurt. The Craton needed a good 48 hours of repair. But I had a mission myself I needed to complete and I wasn't going to risk anyone else. One of my stupid mistakes already had repercussions, and my next decision was going to be a huge mistake. As I stood in the battered CIC, deep in thought, Marks got my attention. "Colonel Marks. You are ordered to take command of the Craton and jump to the rendezvous."
Everyone in the CIC looked over at me. Marks looked shocked, "Why? Where are you going to go?"
"I'm going to take one of the mark eights from the cargo hold, and go to the Ragnar Anchorage."
"Why?" asked Marks again.
I sighed. "One of the things my father told me when he was a police chief, is that when you're in charge you don't have to answer why." I gave him a half smile, "but I'll tell you anyway. Right now the Cylon's are relaying our position to every ship in the area and will be on us anytime. The Craton is bruised and in no condition to fight. I have to see if Galactica left any message as to where they are going, or any standing order they have."
"Sir," said Marks. "If we take the Craton to the Anchorage, we can resupply."
"No," I responded. "The Galactica would have taken everything. It's what I would have done."
Stevens spoke up, "NAVCOM and DRADIS are back. We are in an uncontrolled vertical spin. I have SAR 1 on my scope, along with three ejection signals."
I looked back at Marks. "Wait for me at the rendezvous for five hours. At five hours and one minute, you are to jump to a new location. If you can, try to find a weapon's depot and give the Cylon's hell."
"And just how are you planning on jumping to meet us?" asked Marks.
"The mark eight is full of new surprises." I rolled my eyes, "and I can't wait to see if they work." I sighed at the remark. I scribbled down three words on a piece of paper, folded it and slid it across the table to Marks. "Open this when you jump. It's the last thing Sheraton said to me. You have your orders Colonel." He pocketed the note. I turned to leave the CIC when Marks got my attention. He was saluting me. I returned the salute and left.