~ Bright, Shiny Futures - Chapter Fifty-Five ~
Leo Havelka sat, picking his teeth with his fingernails. The knock on his quarters' door and subsequent entry by the ship's first mate didn't stop him. "Whaddayou want?" he drawled, eyes flicking up to glance at the man before looking away.
"We have an emergency sir."
"What kind of emergency?" His emphasis on the last word made it obvious he thought the other man was overreacting.
"Our mass detectors are showing a large object just over three hundred clicks away. A small moon or other object of a similar size."
"Really."
"It's moving. Not in an orbital plane."
Havelka's nose twitched and he removed his fingers from his teeth. "How big?"
"Ten times the size of this ship. At least."
"Have you got a visual?"
"Not yet but it should be within range very soon."
Havelka let out a theatrical sigh, meant to inform the first mate he was certain this was a waste of his time. "Fine. I'll come take a look."
The trip to the bridge took barely a minute. The Captain nodded once they'd joined him at the viewscreen. "The object should be in range in a few minutes. Five at most."
It was a tense silence. Finally something began to show. It grew and grew as it drew closer.
"Frakking hell! It's a Basestar!" the Captain shouted.
Havelka's heart pounded and he began to sweat. "Ready weapons," he said, trying to keep his voice even.
The Captain turned on him, his look a mixture of agony and anger. "We don't have any weapons."
"What?" Havelka roared. All sense of calm vanished. "What do you mean we don't have any weapons?"
"This is a passenger liner sir, in case you've forgotten," the Captain replied tersely, his ire matching that of the other man. "We were a luxury liner for space cruises, not a war vessel. That's why we were with Galactica. Because they have the weapons to protect us."
Beads of sweat ran down Havelka's face and it paled several shades. "What are we going to do?"
"Turn tail and run as fast as we can?" the first mate suggested.
"Let our prisoners go free so they can help us," the Captain said firmly.
"What?" White turned to red as apoplexy threatened to overwhelm Havelka. "Over my dead body!"
"That can be arranged. Joe, take him down to the brig and bring the others up here."
"No! You can't do this!"
The Captain regarded him coolly. "I can't? Last time I looked, I was Captain of this vessel. You take orders from me." He drew himself up proudly. "Joe?"
The first mate nodded crisply and twisted Havelka's arms behind his back, ignoring the other man's howls.
Sharon scrambled to her feet immediately upon their entry. The others followed suit. "What's going on?" she asked brusquely as the officer in front of her fastened the handcuffs so recently on her wrists, on Havelka's.
"We have an emergency. The Captain wants you up on the bridge."
"So you're not following crazy-boy's orders anymore?" Twister murmured as they traversed the ship. Sharon shot him a warning look.
The officer shook his head wearily, as if unable to even begin to explain. "I'm sorry for what happened," was all he offered.
You're going to be a lot sorrier when we get back to Galactica, Sharon thought uncharitably but stopped herself from speaking. Mutiny, desertion, kidnapping, endangering the lives of civilians ... Adama is going to throw the book at you.
"We have a problem and we need your help," the Captain said evenly, though Sharon read shame in his eyes. He pointed. "There."
"Frak me!" Hotdog whistled. "I didn't think we were going to have to deal with them again."
"A Basestar?" Sharon said wonderingly. "Basestar?"
"What are we going to do?"
"A Basestar?"
The others stared at her. Jumper snapped his fingers in her face. "Athena," he said loudly. "Snap out of it."
She shook her head slightly and looked at the group, eyes focused again. "Do you have a plan?" she asked the Captain.
He shook his head. "We've no weapons and no battle experience. You're the fighters ... "
"We don't exactly have an armada," Twister said, wrinkling his nose. "Two Raptors can't do much against a Basestar."
"Send word to Galactica. They'll help us."
The Captain's shamed look grew and his cheeks flushed. "You think so? After what we did?"
Sharon stared at him. "The Admiral will do what's right. Don't think there won't be repercussions for what you've done, but he'll do his best to save all the people on this ship who didn't make the decision to leave."
"They're out of communications range."
"Send out an emergency beacon. All frequencies. Eventually they'll intercept it."
"Eventually may be too late."
"It's the best we can do," she said prosaically.
Hotdog snapped his fingers. "Hey, why don't you link with them? Find out who's on board and what their agenda is. Maybe you can convince them not to fire on us."
"I can't link with them anymore."
"Can't or won't?"
Sharon's eyes narrowed at Twister's tone. He sounds like Adama. "I cut myself off from them after New Caprica," she admitted. "The only way I could live normally with all of you was to sever ties with them."
"Can you get back in?" Hotdog pressed. "I know it won't be pleasant but it might be the only way."
She sighed. "I'll try."
* * * * * * * * * *
Helo sat and waited.
A part of him desperately wanted to go in, guns blazing, and end it quickly, for there was no other outcome to this situation than his eventual death. Or torture and death. Dying instantly in a blinding fireball was far preferable to that.
But he was an officer and tactical training and observation had taught him that the maneuvers of war were sometimes less than ideal and that if he wasn't willing to follow the course of action necessary for the situation, he didn't belong here.
He had to wait for Galactica. Engage the enemy if absolutely necessary, but deal with them without violence if possible. At least his heart was racing - if he had to sit still for hours at least his metabolism was firing on all cylinders. Might be able to skip a workout or two, he thought with wry amusement. I'll just sweat the pounds off in here.
An hour passed. Two. The Basestar drew closer but it was moving slowly, as though it hadn't noticed him. He was about to send off a transmission - to hell with waiting, it was time for action - when his comlink lit up with a message. Heart still pounding, he pressed receive.
"Colonial vessel, we mean you no harm. This is Samuel T Anders. We are not your enemy and we mean you no harm. Repeat, we are here in peace and we mean you no harm. Please identify yourself."
Helo's skin prickled. It was Sam. He'd have known that voice anywhere. Well it wasn't too surprising - definitely much less so than if it would have been nearly anyone else. He knew Sam had been a Cylon and would very possibly have resurrected after the crash.
"This is Raptor Eight-Five-One from Galactica," he said slowly.
"Helo, is that you?" Sam interrupted before he could finish formulating his next sentence.
"Sam? Is that really you?"
"Yeah. It's hard to explain. What are you doing out here all by your lonesome? Don't you know that's dangerous?"
Helo swallowed hard. "A couple of civilian ships went rogue."
"And Adama sent one Raptor?"
"They took hostages. Athena was one of them." He tried to keep the emotion out of his voice but failed. Undoubtedly Sam could hear it loud and clear as well as he could.
"I'm sorry man."
That more than anything convinced Helo. In his heart he knew the likelihood of Sam dying in the crash, being resurrected, and ending up on this Basestar was possible but his heart had balked at believing it. 'I'm sorry man' was Sam all over. Not another copy trying to fool him, his Sam. Their Sam.
"I have to find her," he said desperately. "Can you help me?"
"We've got two other ships not far from your location. Larger than a Raptor, smaller than a Basestar, but I can't identify them."
"That's them." Helo's mouth set grimly. "Give me the coordinates."
"Listen Karl, come join us. We'll deal with them together."
"Tell me where they are."
"You're a frakking sitting duck out there. At least let us back you up," Sam implored.
"I don't think either ship is armed."
"You want to find out the hard way?"
Helo thrust his chin out stubbornly, held it for ten seconds, then exhaled. "On my way," he said, kicking the rear thrusters back up to full. This had better not be a trap, he thought, desperately wanting to trust Sam but still having doubts. Or there's going to be hell to pay. A lot of hell.
* * * * * * * * * *
It's definitely time to give this up and get back in the cockpit, Lee thought wearily as the delegates filed out of the room. They'd been somewhat more cooperative since Havelka's little rebellion, particularly after Lee had told them what Adama had in store for them if they didn't fall in line. The punishment for Havelka was going to be severe. Still, he was tired of dealing with it.
He stood, took a deep breath and began to gather his papers together for the return trip to Galactica, wondering how it was that verbal sparring left him far more exhausted than physical confrontations ever had.
* * * * * * * * * *
Kara paused for a moment as the vibrations traveling from the deck through her feet and up her legs told her Galactica had powered up and was moving faster. I hope that means they've come up with coordinates for Helo, she thought, heart beginning to race.
"Why did you stop reading?" Zach asked, looking at her with a grave face. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong sweetie," she answered, pulling him closer against her in a quick hug.
"Read story?" Sara, on Kara's other side, pointed at the page.
She cleared her throat and began to read.
"Up till now, I'd have said Lucy every time."
"And what do you think my dear?" said the Professor, turning to Susan.
"Well," said Susan, "in general I'd say the same as Peter, but this couldn't be true - about the wood and the Faun."
* * * * * * * * * *
Sharon closed her eyes and began to focus herself. She hadn't tried to link with the others since regaining Hera; Adama had never asked it of her and she'd wanted to sever all ties with them. The thought of it made her nauseous. That's a very human reaction. The stray thought crossed her mind briefly before she pushed it aside and focused on emptying her mind.
A person began to come into view. Fuzzy, distorted at first, but then clarity came.
"Sam?"
"Athena? Is that you?"
"Yes."
"Where are you?"
"A couple of ships left the fleet - one of the delegates decided to break off and go it on his own."
"What are you doing there?"
"Caught in the crossfire. They took us in as hostages at first but now they're terrified because there's a Basestar breathing down their necks and these ships aren't armed."
"I've been seeing two unidentified ships out there. You're on one of them?" Sam confirmed.
"Yeah. And you're on the Basestar?"
"Yeah." They grinned at one another.
"So who's on board with you?" Sharon asked warily.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me."
"Some of the Earth people."
"Earth people? How'd they get on board a Cylon ship?"
"Long story," he said wearily. "I'll explain when you get here. It'll be easier to show than tell."
"Before I agree to bring a bunch of civilians to a Cylon vessel, I need to know ... what's your purpose? What are you doing on a Cylon ship and why are you out here?"
"We're on your side Athena. Honest. We're just doing what the fleet is trying to do - find a home where we can all live together in peace."
She was wary. "I don't know if I should trust you."
"Have I ever given you reason not to?"
"No, but ... "
"I'll give you something else you can believe in then. Helo's out there looking for you. I've just finished talking with him and he's on his way to us. Check your board. You should be able to contact him if you head this way."
"Three hundred sixty degree sweep," Sharon said peremptorily, eyes still shut. "Check for any familiar vessels."
"What do you ... "
Sharon's eyes snapped open. "How the hell did you ever become a ship's captain? You want our help? Then take it without questioning everything I say. I outrank you. Maybe it's time I take command of this ship myself."
"There are a couple of ships out there. We'll be within communications range in a couple of minutes," the captain said meekly, a few minutes later.
Sharon strove to keep contact with Sam while they waited. She'd never before maintained contact with the immediate world while being linked to the Cylon consciousness. It took all of her concentration.
"Okay," Hotdog said softly, seeing her lined forehead and guessing how hard it was for her. "I'll send out a message." He did so, brief and to the point.
A crackle came back almost immediately. "Hotdog, is that you?"
"It's me bud."
"Is Sharon okay?"
Sharon's face blazed into a smile of relief. "I'm okay Karl. What the hell are you doing out there alone?"
"Long story. Look, there's a Basestar five hundred clicks away and ... "
"I know. I'm in communication with Sam now."
" 'Kay. Why don't we meet there and talk. Figure out what's going on."
"I'm with you. We're on our way."
* * * * * * * * * *
Helo's heart leapt. Sharon was okay! Better still, he was about to see her again. Add to that, Sam Anders was still alive and the Basestar wasn't an enemy ship.
His day was just getting better and better.
~ TBC ~
