Battlestar Galactica, and Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock, along with any places, characters, and such do not belong to me, but to Universal Studios and Black Lab Games, respectively.
Chapter Six
"After the mess at Canceron, Cain sent us as far away from Helios Delta as she could. Sashenka Wenutu was on a warpath, calling for heads all across Colonial Fleet to roll. We were banished to Picon, bolstering their defense fleets and wondering if our time as Cain's action group was over. There were more than a few of us who hoped it was, though I wasn't among them. Being on the front lines was hard, and at least we knew what our mission was, but I knew that the Admiral had to have some kind of plan for this war. Cain probably would have left us there much longer, but when the chance came to score a few political points, she jumped at it. I wasn't sure how everyone else was holding up, but I was determined that whatever came at us next, we wouldn't frak it up this time."
"DRADIS is clear, sir. That's the last of them." Reported the weary voice of Lieutenant Agathon. The CIC was roasting and everyone was soaked with sweat. The smell of smoke and charred electronics filled the air. Usually those words would be greeted by cheers and applause but the crew who still manned their posts were either too tired or injured for that. Acropolis had been bracketed by a pair of Revenants and it was only due to the quick thinking by the commander of the Xerxes that she had made it through intact. The Ranger-class ship had unleashed wave after wave of munitions on the Cylons, using their quick loading missile tubes to great effect. York would have to remember to put Colonel Chapman up for commendation. Artemis-class battlestars might have once been the heaviest thing flying, but the Cylons were changing the game. What else was new.
Acropolis had taken her licks well, but they had come with a cost. A cascading failure in the starboard power distribution system had overloaded computers and machinery all over the ship. Half a dozen crew had needed to be carried out of the CIC when their consoles exploded in their faces, sparking fires both small and large. According to the preliminary report from sickbay, most of them would be able to return to duty once their burns had healed.
They hadn't been stationed over Picon for more than two weeks, but it already felt like a year. The Cylons were upping their pressure all across Helios Alpha, and the colony forces of Picon, Tauron, Caprica, and Gemenon were stretched tight. According to the Articles that had been signed less than two years ago, those colonies who were not being actively attacked were required to send reinforcements to their allies. In reality however, this was nothing more than an empty promise. As far as most of Helios Delta and Gamma were concerned, the defense of Helios Alpha was an Alphan problem only. Despite this prevailing attitude, Colonial Fleet was still here, doing its best to battle enemies on both sides.
This was the fourth pitched battle that York had fought in five days, and both his and his crew's endurance was starting to flag. They had given Picon's defense forces a brief rest to regroup, and soon they should be getting help again. Athena had been pulled from the line two days before, something to do with a failure in their fire control computers. Seeing its absence had only emboldened the toasters. The only bright side, if it could really be thought of that way, was that the Cylon baseships continued to remain out of sight. Standing on the command platform, Commander York tried to gauge the mood of the men and women he commanded. Colonel Melville had informed him last night that the doc had started pumping the crew with stimulants just to keep some of them on the line. He needed to remember to drop by sickbay later and spend even a few minutes with the wounded.
"Stand down to condition two, notify Picon control of our status. I want damage and status reports from every ship in the group on my desk in two hours." York ordered; his voice strained with lack of sleep. He ran a hand across his jaw feeling the bristle there. Clipboards were passed to him his XO took charge of the countless details of getting Acropolis back into some semblance of shape. There were the lists of munitions and fuel expended to be signed, damage reports, and worst, the butcher's bill. Over a hundred of his crew had perished in the last fight, most of them in the fire that had only just been extinguished. With a nod to Colonel Melville, York left the CIC.
Down on the hangar deck, Hades was handing over her viper to the deck crew feeling much the same way York was. Raider targets had been slim today, so almost all of her pilots were going to come home today. That makes this a good day she told herself. Her Mark II viper had already lost it's factory floor sheen, but it handled like a racecar. She loved the craft as much as the one she had given away back at Scorpia, perhaps even a hint more. She fell in with the rest of the viper jocks climbing the ladders up to the trolleys that would return them to their sacred territory. Spirits were high after another successful battle, though it was tempered with weariness. It was true that her pilots had probably gotten more sleep than anyone else aboard Acropolis in the last few days, but still the constant conditions were beginning to take their toll. She would have to ask around to see how the other fleet groups were managing to handle constant combat conditions without cracking up. At least her pilots would be able to get some rack time. She had a mountain of paperwork to get through.
As she boarded one of the waiting trolleys, she took the chance to watch each pilot and ECO around her as surreptitiously as she could. She still felt like the new skipper, someone that needed to be tiptoed around, but that ice was beginning to thaw. She nodded and exchanged banter with those nearest to her, complimenting them on their successes, joking with them about their mishaps. Yes, they were definitely beginning to open up to her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a young woman leaning against the rail, staring out into the dark tunnel and not speaking to anyone. Slingshot, the name came to her after a moment. With almost a hundred faces and names to learn, it was sometimes quicker and easier to just remember callsigns. A man next to her, Shaker, leaned over when he saw what Hades was staring at. "She's been like that since Canceron."
"What's her story?" Vale asked quietly.
"Gemenese" Shaker said with just the barest hint of derision.
"Monotheist?"
"Nah, she's a daughter of the gods. Don't think she really knew what she was signing up for, if you ask me."
"Did any of us?" asked Vale, turning away so as to end the conversation.
"Maybe, maybe not. Still, the overly religious never make good soldiers." Shaker replied, not catching the drift.
Hades didn't answer but watched the younger woman discretely for the rest of the ride. If something was weighing her down, Angela needed her to find a way to handle it soon, before it got her killed.
BSGBSGBSGBSGBSG
"DRADIS contacts!" called a voice from the crew pit several hours later. Gamma crew had just come on duty. Tension instantly replaced the fragile calm, and breathing stopped while the computer queried the IFF of the new target.
"Well?" asked Colonel Melville after several long seconds.
"Sorry, sir. It's a shuttle and three raptors flying escort. They had trouble with the recognition codes."
"Where are they headed?"
"Here, sir. Priority orders from Fleet Command. They're requesting permission to land." Fleet Command could only be one person, Cain. "There's something else, sir." A screen on the watch officer's console flashed and a communique marked TOP SECRET appeared. Melville's eyebrows skyrocketed at what it said.
"Permission granted. Have Commander York notified and tell him I'm on my way to the hangar deck. Lieutenant Agathon has the deck.
BSGBSGBSGBSGBSG
The door to his quarters opened with the slightest squeak of rusty hinges as the marine sentry outside pushed it open to allow the newly arrived guest to enter. Wordlessly York stood and adjusted his uniform tunic, grateful to Melville for delaying their visitor long enough to allow him to shower, shave, and dress. On first hearing about who was coming aboard, he hadn't intended to even go that far. If a politician wants to visit a warship on the front lines, then they should see life out here for what it really is. The last lines of the communique from Cain put paid to that idea however. He was directed to extend every courtesy to this distinguished guest.
"Commander York" said the man as he strode into the room. He had a very rich voice which matched the resplendent uniform he wore. It was the traditional blue coat of the Royal Virgon Navy, but bedecked with gold braid and medals and made of very fine cloth. He held out a hand which contained a hand written note wrapped in red tape and marked with the seal of Colonial Fleet. York took it in his left hand and held out his right in turn. "Welcome aboard…" he looked briefly at Colonel Melville. No name had been included in the transmission packet for security reasons, and he had never paid enough attention to Virgonese aristocracy to be able to identify the man on the spot.
"Commander, may I present Prince Stefan, Duke of Hadrian, of the Royal Family of Virgon." Colonel Melville said slowly, doing her best not to trip over the many titles. Clearly she had done her best to memorize them between the hangar deck and here.
"A pleasure, Your Highness." York said, releasing the prince's hand and gesturing towards the sitting area off to one side of his quarters. He sat in a chair while Colonel Melville and Prince Stefan settled on the wrap around sofa. Both were very comfortable, one of the few personal touches his predecessor had made to these quarters. They were by far the largest accommodations aboard ship, with two entire rooms for his use. The outer room was a combination office and lounge, while his rack and private head were in the inner compartment. Against the wall opposite the sofa were boxes containing his personal effects that he hadn't had time yet to unpack and place around the room.
"Care for a drink, Your Highness?" York said, gesturing at a bottle of dark liquid on a nearby sideboard.
"Just Stefan will do, and no thank you. There's a time and a place for pleasantries, and the middle of a spiraling war is not one of them. I do hope you won't take offense if I dive straight into business?" Stefan said. He was sitting very primly on the sofa, his back ramrod straight and not touching the fabric behind him.
"Not at all. It's appreciated actually." York answered, leaning forward. He had a feeling this was going to be a very interesting conversation.
"Excellent, down to business then. Virgon intelligence suspects an attack on the Leonid V-Day celebration. Are you…aware of what this holiday marks, Commander, Colonel?"
York looked at Melville, who shook her head. "I'm afraid that it's not something I'm terribly familiar with, no."
"Well, it's a rather delicate holiday, I've also heard it called barbaric by many Virgonese. Towards the end of the Imperial Wars, before nuclear warheads were outlawed, Leonis launched a series of strikes against many of our landmarks, utilizing their latest nuclear weaponry. Millions died in the attacks and subsequent radiation fallout. For reasons that I feel need no further explanation, even though this took place thirty years ago, it has left many bitter feelings between our population and the Leonids."
"My gods" whispered Melville.
"Quite." Replied Stefan, giving her a brief glance. "I'm here because, as I said, our intelligence agency has picked up chatter on a planned disruption of the upcoming memorial."
"And, you want Colonial Fleet to intercede on Virgon's behalf? I'm not sure exactly what you expect us to do." York said, carefully watching the expression on the face of the man who was in turn watching him.
"You don't understand, Commander. Any subterfuge that takes place Virgon will be blamed for, and the Quorum delegates between our Colony and that of Leonis will put squabbling and in-fighting above what really matters, while at the same time dragging the rest of the assembly with them into the muck. We need the impartiality of Colonial Fleet to intervene. Your presence alone might make the perpetrators of any underhandedness think twice before carrying out their plans."
"Do you have any idea of who might be planning this…activity?" asked Melville.
"Unfortunately, no. We trust our sources, but they had little to no specifics on what to expect." Stefan answered, a hint of exasperation creeping into his voice.
"Your Highness, according to the Articles, we aren't allowed to interfere in a sovereign colony's affairs without a direct request from their government…" protested York.
"Commander, I know full well what the Articles say, I was there when they were drafted. I am asking you to look beyond the letter of the law and follow the spirit of it. If I may be so bold, that letter you hold is from your Admiral Cain. I politely suggest you look at its contents."
Commander York looked down at the envelope, a sense of foreboding settling on his shoulders. He inspected the envelope and seal, as though to detect a forgery, before sliding his thumb under the tape and breaking the seal. What was written there didn't take long to read.
To Erik York, Commander, BSG-30
You are hereby required to take the Acropolis to Leonis and act as Colonial Fleet's representative for the V-Day Memorial celebrations. The remainder of your fleet group is to remain in position over Picon. I have sent along Prince Stefan of Virgon, who's advice and insight I trust you will take full advantage of during this assignment. After the Memorial has concluded, please escort His Highness home, before returning to your current assignment over Picon. Be prepared for anything. The last thing I need is another diplomatic fiasco with the Twelve Colonies watching.
Good Hunting.
Lucinda Cain, Rear Admiral, Colonial Fleet.
York looked up from the letter to see Stefan watching him closely. "I guess that settles that then. Well then, Your Highness, please tell us everything we need to know about the V-Day Memorial."
BSGBSGBSGBSGBSG
"Parade formations?" asked an incredulous voice from the third row. Chuckles filled the room.
"Yeah, you heard right Greenbean, formation flying. Just like you did in flight school." Vale said from behind her podium in Blue Squadron's ready room. In four other rooms her other squadron leaders were probably receiving similar reactions of incredulity. Next to her was a large white board showing an approximation of what the briefing had told them to expect on the other end of the jump. There was a large station located at the far range of Leonis' orbit, and a lot of small dots. Next to the dots had initially been written "Civilian Vessels" but that had been crossed out and replaced with the words "Sitting ducks."
"What gives, sir? And why are we the only ship going?" asked the pilot nicknamed Greenbean.
"Don't know. All they told me is that we're going to Leonis and most likely putting on a show for some civies. So everyone make sure your hair looks pretty and you wear your cleanest flight suit. That means you Gemstone." There was more laughter at this and a woman in the second row turned pink at being called out. She was famous for having the messiest rack in the ship. "We go in three hours. So get some food, some rack time, whatever you need, and be on the hangar deck one hour before we jump. Dismissed."
Pilots rose from their seats and made their way towards the exits in packs. Hades picked up her clipboard and made to follow them when she saw that not everyone had got up. Shaker was still sitting in the front row, gazing darkly at the white board.
"Shaker?" Hades said, stopping in her tracks. He didn't answer so she repeated his name. He stirred and looked around. He seemed to be surprised that everyone else was gone.
"Cubit for your thoughts, lieutenant."
"It's not important, sir." He said, beginning to rise.
"Well clearly it is if it caused you to miss my briefing. So spill." She said, moving to block his path to the exit.
Shaker didn't speak for a moment, still looking at the board. "Do you know what that is, Sir?" he said, gesturing at it.
"Look like a station and some civies." She answered. "According to the briefing there's some sort of celebration going on."
"V-Day." Shaker said, and his hands balled into fists at the words.
"Frak me. I didn't even notice the date." Hades said and then it all made sense. "You're Virgonese aren't you?"
"Born and raised, yes sir. I was raised on the stories of that last war, of the family of mine that were killed by those attacks. I wasn't even born yet, and still I can recount the list of monuments attacked, of the family I lost that day. And now we're just expected to take part in that? To condone what they did to my people!" He probably hadn't meant to shout that last sentence, but his restraint finally broke. His voice echoed off the bulkheads.
"I get it. I mean, I can't relate to what you're feeling, but I can understand."
Shaker didn't respond but glowered at her. Hades considered him for a moment longer before speaking again.
"Lieutenant, you're off this mission. Consider yourself grounded until we leave Leonis airspace."
"You can't do that" He moved a half step closer and towered over her.
"Excuse me, pilot?" she said, squaring up with him. He was close to a foot taller than her, but that was nothing to her. She had grown up with four brothers.
"Respectfully," he ground out through a clenched jaw, "But you can't ground me."
"You're too close to this. So you're grounded until this mission is over. Now, you can either accept a direct order or you can punch me, but if you choose option two, you'd better take me down in one hit. Cause you can be damn sure that I will. What's your choice."
For a fraction of a second it looked like he was really about to deck her. Then with an effort, he pulled himself back and stormed out of the ready room.
BSGBSGBSGBSGBSG
"Jump complete, Commander." Lieutenant Agathon reported. "DRADIS shows plenty of civilians but nothing comes back hostile. Wait one, Sir I'm picking up two warships out there docked with the station."
"Warships?" queried Stefan. York had graciously allowed him to take Melville's spot next to him on the command platform.
"Yes, sir." Agathon replied, sounding quizzical.
"Can we get any identification on them?" York asked.
"Checking now."
"Sir" cut in Rigel's voice from the crew pit, "I've got Leonis officials asking why we're here. They seem to be less than pleased at our presence."
"Inform them that we are here to observe the memorial, then cut the line."
"Aye sir."
Colonel Melville looked up at him from her station next to the navigator. "Launch vipers, sir?"
"Yes, but only Red and Blue squadrons. Keep the rest in the tubes on alert. Set condition two. Stay frosty people." York ordered, taking a long look at the DRADIS display. The little hairs on the back of his neck were bothering him, but he couldn't pinpoint why. Red lights flashed and alert status was set just inside two minutes.
"Lieutenant, any read on what those ships are?"
"According to their transponders they're Janus cruisers. Transponders come back clean but old. Very old. What are a couple of scrap heaps doing here?"
York racked his brains for details on the Janus-class. A predecessor of the Ranger, loaded with missile tubes. Too slow by any modern standard but they could take more of a beating than was normal for a ship that size. It had been propaganda during the wars that a Janus could take three nukes and keep flying.
"Those cruisers were prolific during the Imperial Wars." Stated Prince Stefan into the silence, "I served aboard one myself for a short time." He paused. 'It does make a strange choice for a memorial centerpiece, however."
"How many civilian ships are out there?" asked Melville. The DRADIS display was full of ships, making getting a clear visual count difficult.
"Over forty, and I'm getting IFF readings from almost all twelve colonies, sir" answered Agathon.
BSGBSGBSGBSGBSG
"All right everyone, lets make Colonial Fleet look good today. Blue squadron form up on me, we'll give the civies a show. Red Squadron fly intercept formation around Acropolis. If anyone gets too close lets make sure they have a reason to wave off." Hades ordered into her wireless. It was quite a maze of ships out there, from Eversun liners to bulk transports. Most of the ships looked to be in a holding pattern forming a rough semicircle about four clicks from the station. Dozens of shuttles were ferrying people back and forth, filling the gap between them. Acropolis was maneuvering around this screen. The old battlestar's scorched hull made quite a contrast to the cruise liners, whose paint was gleaming in the light from Beta's sun. It made her look almost ferocious. Like a wounded beast that was more deadly for it's wounds.
As they approached the massed ships, Blue squadron broke into it's four separate flight groups and scattered. Hades led her flight towards a large liner that was predominantly made up of a brightly lit dome connected to a drive section, and proceeded to put her pilots through several complicated maneuvers for the enjoyment of whoever might be watching. It never hurts to show off a little, she thought. She threw her viper into a tight corkscrew that would have ended with her impacting on the glass dome had she not been in complete control. At the last second, she threw full power to her engines and blasted away, catching the tiniest glimpse of terrified men and women inside the ship running for cover then breaking into cheers and whoops. She grinned and then looked around for another ship to entertain. That's when she saw something that turned her heart to ice.
BSGBSGBSGBSGBSG
"Torpedoes! All Vipers, torpedoes inbound on the civies. Estimate at sixty plus." Hades voice broke the still silence of the CIC.
Commander York pulled the phone from the cradle in front of him. "Patch me through. Hades, this is Acropolis Actual. Confirm Report."
"Wilco Commander, tally now at seventy plus unguided torpedoes launched from the Leonid cruisers docked at the station and aimed for the civies. Blue Squadron moving to intercept but we won't catch them all."
York slammed down the phone. Klaxons were blaring as the ship was brought to Condition One. While he had been talking to Hades, Colonel Melville had ordered the launching of the remaining two squadrons. "All ahead flank." He shouted, "Bow down half, yaw portside seventy degrees. Put us between those two ships and the civilians, Colonel. Suppression barrage to commence as soon as our vipers are clear of the engagement zone. Rigel, order Green and Yellow Squadrons to shepherd the civies out of the combat zone."
There was a chorus of 'Aye sir's" from all around him as the crew went to work. "Fire control, as soon as you have a target bearing on those cruisers, take them out."
"Commander, I cannot allow you to destroy those ships." Prince Stefan said, leaning over to speak directly into his ear. Before York could respond Lieutenant Agathon's voice cut across him. "Impact, we have several impacts across the board. Six…no eight ships were just destroyed.
York turned and looked at the man standing next to him. "With all due respect, Your Highness, that is not your call to make. Whoever or whatever is aboard those ships just murdered hundreds of innocent people."
"Precisely! And Virgon will be blamed unless we can prove otherwise. Whoever planned this intends to sow discord in Helios Beta. We will need those ships intact if we are to exonerate Virgon of any suspicion."
York turned away from him and looked at the monitor. Stefan wasn't wrong. There was no logical reason for decommissioned ships to have any stock of live ammunition aboard. If this was the Cylons and not some fringe political group, an option York wasn't willing to rule out quite yet, they needed to get to the bottom of it."
"Weapons hold on the cruisers. I want Major Kona on the deck in five minutes, his marines loaded for hostile boarding action. Does that satisfy you?"
"Yes, Commander." Answered Prince Stefan.
BSGBSGBSGBSGBSG
"Another wave incoming. Tally seventy two!" came Gemstone's filtered voice into her helmet.
Hades didn't respond. She was using all her strength to press the thruster pedal as far as she could into the floor, intent on catching the torpedo she was chasing before it could impact on a helpless transport. The good thing about chasing a torpedo was that it flew it a predictable straight line and lacked any sort of guidance system to track a target. The bad thing was that the bastards were fast. They were good for a first strike against unwary enemies who didn't have time to maneuver before the warhead could reach them. Once a ship had time to maneuver however, they lost much of their efficiency, unless they were still to slow to get out of the way. That was moot however when the first salvo managed to take out the primary drive engine of a bulk transport carrying over six hundred souls. That ship was a sitting duck unless Hades could catch the torpedo bearing in on it.
There was a burst of orange tracers from her left and a cloud of fire and debris. A viper had come out of nowhere and saved the transport. Hades pulled up before she hit the ship herself and pulled in next to the viper. She was just about to congratulate the pilot when she saw the name stenciled in under the cockpit.
"Shaker what the hell are you doing out here?"
"My job, major."
Hades seethed but she didn't have time to argue with him. New DRADIS contacts had just showed up on her screen. "Fine. Consider yourself ungrounded until you get back to Acropolis. Your orders are to babysit this transport until it can get its engine online and then get it out of here. Understood?"
"You-"
"Is that understood or are you going to disobey orders twice in one day, pilot?"
She could tell she had won, for now. "Wilco, Hades."
"Good. Don't think I'm going to forget about this." With that, she flipped her bird over and threw all power to the drive. A quartet of Cylon frigates had jumped in on the opposite side of the station and were disgorging raiders.
BSGBSGBSGBSGBSG
Another wave of munitions had been launched but most of them exploded far short of their targets, caught either by Acropolis' flak screen or by her birds. In any case they had already accomplished their purpose and wreaked havoc among the civilian transports. If the battlestar hadn't been there, those ships would have been easy pickings for the Cylons by now. Heavy Raiders, presumably loaded with centurions, followed a phalanx of fighters towards what would have been helpless targets, and were ripped to pieces by squadrons of vipers that weren't supposed to be there.
Stuck in a defensive position covering the civilians, York had to let the Cylon ships escape when they started to pull back. It was enough that they left empty handed. With IDRIS down, none of the transports would have been able to flee fast enough to evade the Cylons. They would have been easy pickings and now the holds of those frigates would be filled with more captives bound for a fate that no one wanted to think about.
Major Kona's teams breached the hulls of the Janus cruisers and dispatched close to twenty centurions on each ship. From the looks of it they had arrived weeks ago and done a lot of work to bring the weapons systems back online. Mixed in with their now shattered hulks was evidence that was clearly meant to implicate Virgon on this attack. Once the entire zone had been declared safe, and several Leonid ships had arrived on scene to lock down the area, Commander York and Prince Stefan took a trip to visit one of the cruisers. They didn't stay long. Even with clear proof of the Cylons involvement, the Leonis officials who stormed aboard shortly after them made it clear that Stefan's presence was unwelcome.
"I must say this entire ordeal was commendably handled, Commander. I shudder to think what would have happened had you not been here today." Prince Stefan said as their raptor closed with Acropolis.
"The Cylons are everyone's problem, and they're getting smarter. Colonial Fleet has to act as the right arm of the Twelve Colonies. If we let squabbling and pettiness get between us, we're doomed."
"I agree wholeheartedly, Commander. I must admit that I do not understand the Quorum's ambivalence towards you and your team."
"They have their reasons, I'm sure. What matters is that they don't get in the way of me doing my job." York said, watching as the flight pod enveloped their ship.
"Raptor 392, Acropolis. You are cleared into the break, call the ball."
"Roger ball" said Slingshot from the pilot's seat.
The landing was gentle, and soon the raptor was being pulled off the elevator by a forklift and out onto the hangar deck. As the seals released, there were sounds of someone shouting very nearby. Commander York was fairly certain he recognized the voice. Sure enough, three bays down near the nose of a cooling viper, Hades was laying into one of her pilots. York and Prince Stefan stepped out onto the wing of the raptor and watched.
"The next time you disobey a direct order, you'll find yourself mopping up the latrines, do you understand me, lieutenant?" Hades shoved a finger into the center of his chest, pushing him backwards half a step.
"With all due respect, sir, I saved that ship. So I'm not sure why you're busting my ass about this."
"You're right. And that's the only reason you aren't already carrying a mop. I won't have a pilot under my command who flies off half cocked just because he doesn't like the order he was given. Now get the hell off my hangar deck. You're restricted to quarters until further notice."
Shaker looked again like he was about to punch her. "Just so you know, sir," he spat, "I hate your frakking guts." He turned on his heels and marched off, passing very closely to the place where York was standing. If he saw the commander, he made no appearance of it.
"That's fine, lieutenant. My guts still outrank yours." Hades said as he left. She watched him leave and caught sight of York. He nodded once at her before leading Prince Stefan away. Turning away and for the first time noticing the crowd that her tirade had gathered, she shouted, "Don't you people have jobs to do?"
"I wouldn't want to be the one that gets on her bad side." Stefan stated once they were out of earshot of everyone.
"Me either. I hope that pilot learns that lesson soon. Now, Your Highness, shall we get you back home?"
"Absolutely, and if it's all the same to you Commander, I'll take that drink now."
"Gladly, Your Highness."