First Day
(Battlestar Xanthi – Port Hangar Deck – Day 1825, 1905 Hours)
Ensign Gaius Nash was as stiff as a board as he stepped off the shuttle. He had spent the trip sleeping. But now he was wide awake. He looked around the Hangar deck and took in the organized chaos around him. Then he saw a Mark-II Viper.
"Nice." He walked up to the Viper, then ran his hand along the hull. "What a beauty you are."
"To bad for you she's already taken, Ensign."
He turned around to see Major Theresa Leyton and snapped to attention.
"At ease. Ensign Nash." He relaxed a little. "So, you've taken a liking to Marcy ?"
"Marcy, ma'am." Nash looked at the Viper. "Is she…"
"No, this is Lieutenant Peter Aurellius' bird. Officially, it's Viper two-hundred and eighty-three. But he calls it Marcy."
"This is 'Bombrider's' bird ? Just my luck."
"Don't worry. Bombrider is not that jealous. But talking about birds, follow me…" He followed Leyton to a battered old Raptor. "This is Raptor 204 and she's all yours."
"Does she come with an ECO, ma'am ?"
"That's me." A voice said.
A woman with red hair, blue eyes and a very attractive figure appeared from behind the Raptor.
"Ensign Gaius Nash, meet your ECO, Chief Petty Officer Tammy Byron. We call her Ace."
"So, what's your call sign, Gaius ?"
"I'm fresh of the boat, so I'm call sign-less at the moment."
"I'm counting on you to fix that, Ace." Leyton said. "For now, get 'Widowmaker' up and running. Then report to me in the Pilots Ready Room."
Leyton left them with the Raptor. Nash looked at Byron.
"The Widowmaker." He pointed to the Raptor. "Why is she called…."
"Because she is only three weeks and you are her seventh pilot."
"Bloody Hell ! I'm stuck with a jinxed bird ?"
"I'm afraid so." Ace sighed. "I'm her third ECO. Rumor has it that they died rather nasty death."
"So ? What's a good call sign for the pilot of a doomed ship ?"
"Dead man ?"
"Let's not tempt the Gods."
Ace gave him a nod and looked at the Widowmaker again.
"How about….Rufus ? It's the old Caprican for rubber and you are supposed to steer her."
"Rufus it is. So, where do we start, Ace ?"
"Well, to begin with, we need to figure out what is broken." She dove into the cockpit and came back with the clipboard. "Here's the checklist. You want to read or check ?"
"I'll check. You read."
"Yes, sir."
He got into the pilot's seat and Ace began reading.
(Battlestar Xanthi – Pilot's Ready Room – Day 1825, 2300 Hours)
It had taken an hour to find out exactly how bad the damage was. The battle that had killed the last pilot, had also put the Widowmaker through the wringer. They had left the ship in the care of six knuckle draggers, who had told them it would take five hours to get her repaired. Nash had wanted to report in, but Ace had insisted that he had to find his bunk and settle in. After that, they had gotten an hour of shuteye and a meal. Rested and fed, they had stepped into the Ready Room to find Leyton briefing a full room of pilots on their patrol assignments. Nash leaned closer to Ace.
"Looks like we're about to get our first flight."
"That's why I insisted on food and sleep, Rufus."
"Thank the Lords."
Leyton finished the briefing and the pilots left. Then she turned to Nash and Ace. They both snapped to attention.
"At ease." Nash and Ace relaxed. "We're sending a large patrol group to check out a nearby asteroid belt. Which leaves us with a problem. If we encounter the Cylons, we've got very little ammo." She pointed to a white board with a map on it. The map showed the asteroid belt and its surroundings. "So I'm sending you two here." She pointed to a dot on the map. "Ammo Station Four. Fly in, load up as much ammo as you can, and get back here."
"Yes, ma'am." Nash and Ace said.
"Any questions ?"
"Do we have more detailed maps of that area, ma'am ?" Nash asked.
"Of course. Stay here, Ensign."
Leyton went into the next room, while Ace turned to Nash.
"Maps, Rufus ?"
"The toasters are not stupid." He pointed to the map. "Ammo Station Four is near the edge of the belt. And two moons. If I was them, I'd set up an ambush somewhere near those moons…"
"Or inside the belt."
"Exactly. The knuckle draggers are still working on the Widowmaker. Let's use the time to do our homework."
Leyton came back with a thick folder, which she handed to Nash.
"Ensign, chief, you are dismissed ! You two have work to do."
They gave her a salute and walked out.
(Widowmaker – Cockpit – Day 1826, 0705 Hours)
The folder had contained several photos of Ammo Station Four, along with three detailed maps. (Two of the areas around the moons and one of the section of the belt nearest to the Ammo Station.) Nash and Ace had studied it all and planned their course. Ace had calculated that the trip would take about six hours. She figured about an hour to load the Raptor and refuel, followed by a seven hour trip back. (They were taking a different course back. Which made the return trip longer.) At the moment, Nash was soundly asleep – and snoring like a chainsaw – while Ace flew the ship. Then the Dradis beeped.
"Rufus ! We've got trouble !"
Nash snapped awake and bolted to his chair, while Ace slid over.
"Ace, what do we have ?"
"I'm reading five…no, make that six Cylon Raiders."
"Are they attacking the Station ?"
"No." The Dradis beeped. "Frak, they're heading right for us !"
Nash checked their position. They were on the last legs of the trip. It took them near the closest of the two moons. The moon had a thick atmosphere, which the Cylons had been using for cover.
"Hang on ! I'm turning her around."
He yanked the stick to the left and turned the Raptor, then opened the throttle to full.
"Ace, activate the rear gun. Blast those bastards to hell."
"You did notice that there are SIX of them and only one of us."
"I'm working on it !"
He threw the ship through several wild turns. Which gave Ace time to man the rear gun.
"Ready !" She opened up with the gun. "Come on, you bastards !"
Nash looked at the Dradis display. Ahead of them was nothing but open space. If they kept going that way, they were sitting ducks. So he put the Widowmaker into a wild turn, which put them on a course back to the moon. The toasters closed, but Ace was no slough. She nailed one of the chasing Raiders.
"Got one !"
They were approaching the moon. He took them into the atmosphere and the Raiders kept following. Nash took the Raptor into a gas stream , which pushed the ship along faster. Then he took the ship down and fired the brake thrusters. One of the Raiders moved straight into the crosshairs of the rear guns. Ace blasted it to pieces.
"And that's two !"
She tried to fire again, but the gun jammed. She jumped from the seat and bolted forward.
"Turret's Frakked up."
"Hang on !" He put the Widowmaker into a loop. "Missiles !"
Ace fired two missiles. One hit home. The other one missed its initial target, but clipped a second Raider and exploded. The Raider spun out of control, diving deeper into the atmosphere until the pressure crushed it.
"Two toasters remaining. Keep dodging them, Rufus."
"Sounds like a plan. Missiles ?"
"Locking on."
Ace fired two more missiles. This time, both missed. They detonated behind the Raiders, doing zero damage. This left them with two missiles. Ace locked them on target.
"Rufus, now would be a good time for a prayer."
"I'm not that good with a prayer."
"Try anyway."
"Okay, okay…euhm…Dear Lords of Kobol, please don't let this blow up in our faces."
"So say we all !"
Ace fired the last two missiles. The both hit a single Raider.
"Great ! Now what."
"Now, we run !"
Nash put the Widowmaker on a straight line for the Ammo Station and floored it. Alas, the toaster was faster.
"He's gaining on us, Rufus !"
"I know, Ace. Now, shut up and let me think !"
The toaster launched a salvo and Nash threw the Widowmaker into a roll. It was barely enough to dodge the salvo. And then the Dradis beeped.
"What is…"
He looked up and saw the answer. They were coming up on the Madman Cluster, a collection of asteroids near Ammo Station Four that no sane pilot would go near. But the toaster was closing and they were out of weapons. So he gunned it for the Cluster.
"Rufus ! What the Frak are you doing !?"
"Playing Caprican roulette. Hold on !"
They reached the Cluster and dove in, barely avoiding a large asteroid. Alas, so did the toaster. Nash cursed and threw them through more wild turns as they dodged the rocks. The toaster tried to nail them, but hit nothing but rock.
"They're still back there, Rufus !"
"I noticed, Ace."
He spotted an area with dense rock movement and took them in. The rocks whizzed past left and right. Nash cursed as he dodged the boulders, but kept the ship in one piece. This time around, however, the toaster was not so lucky. It was hit by one of the rocks and spun out of control. Three more rocks hit it, finishing the job.
"Yes ! Now get us the Frak out of here, Rufus !"
"Keep holding on., this is going to be bumpy."
He turned the Raptor upwards and began weaving them out of the Cluster. When they finally passed out of the Cluster, Nash and Ace both released a huge sigh. He checked the Dradis display.
"Nothing on screen." Ace said.
"Good, time to get out of here."
Nash turned the Widowmaker towards the Ammo Station. He gave Ace a nod and she activated the wireless.
"Raptor 204 to Ammo Station Four…requesting clearance to land."
"Clearance granted." The station's LSO said. "Bring her in at Landing Bay One."
"Wilco, 204 out." She turned to Nash. "You heard the man. Take her in, Rufus."
They approached the Station. It was a large disk with two large cylinders underneath. The left one was Landing Bay One. Nash steered the Widowmaker into it. The crazy last leg of their trip was over.
(Battlestar Xanthi – Duty Locker 24 – Day 1826, 2030)
It had taken an hour to get the Widowmaker ready to take off again. Then they had spent another hour getting it loaded to the brim. After a short, but intense debriefing with the Station's Commander, they had headed back to the Xanthi. Then they had spent another hour unloading the Raptor. After reporting in to Leyton, they had been ordered to get some shuteye. So, they were going to do just that. Nash took the upper bunk, while Ace took the lower one. As she lay down on his bunk, Ace suddenly realized how drained she felt. Her body told her to sleep for two days. Rufus beat here to it, however. As she noticed from his chainsaw snoring. As she closed her eyes, she realized that she had been bloody lucky. And that next time, they might not make it back. But for now they were safe. Which was enough for her. So she let the world melt away.