Ark Royal, Chapter Seven: A Game of Chance
Mjolnir Anchorage, Commanding Officer's Quarters:
Newly-promoted Major Allison Knox sat down and let out a long sigh. It was a lot for her take in, and there was a nagging voice in the back of her mind asking her if she was truly ready for this. Perhaps it was the result of her parents' expectations of near-perfection for their only child that planted the seeds of self-doubt or maybe it was the residue left from the feelings of hopelessness she felt when the Illumini was lost.
She had wondered what they would say if they were here to see her now. They would have probably found some kind of fault with how she had managed to survive or some other thing that she could have done to have improved her situation.
The door opened and Commander Charka entered the room.
"Commander, what can I do for you?" Knox asked.
"Just wanted to check and see how you were settling in," Charka said.
"Getting settled in as well as I can; it's an interesting place to be," Knox admitted.
"I know you're going to be just fine; I wouldn't have put you in this position if I didn't think you were up to the job," Charka said reassuringly.
Knox smiled. "I appreciate the vote of confidence. I think I can do the job of turning this anchorage into a major asset."
"That's why I picked you for this job, you're more than qualified to carry out the work that needs to be done," Charka said.
"It may take me some time to get organized but once that's done I'll have this running smoothly," Knox said with confidence.
"That's what I like to hear, because now more than ever we need a base of operations where we can take the fight to the Cylons," Charka said before turning to leave the station.
"It looks like we're moving up in the worlds," Captain Elizabeth Harrington, Knox's XO on Mjolnir Anchorage, said after Charka had left the room.
"It's not where I imagined myself being when all this started but I won't complain," Knox said.
"You always talked about how you would get command one day, I don't imagine either one of us thought it would happen so quickly," Harrington said.
"A lot of things have happened lately that nobody saw coming," Knox said as she shuffled through a list of crew that would be coming over to the anchorage.
"Which one of you is the CO?" the gruff voice of an older man said from the entrance to the room.
"That would be me," Knox said before asking, "Who would you be?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd Thomas," Thomas said as he entered the room, "Commander Charka decided that I could be of use to you."
"Colonel Thomas, I know this may seem kind of odd with you outranking me," Knox said.
"I am here as an advisor. I'm not exactly up to the Colonial Fleet's physical standards," Thomas said with a nod of his head towards the hand that held his gold-plated cane.
"You're here as an advisor?" Harrington asked.
"That's correct. Commander Charka thought it best that you have someone who can help you to prepare this station quickly, and since I'm no longer needed for Viper training he thought it'd best that I come to the station and help you," Thomas said.
Knox was quiet for a moment, "Commander Charka did not mention any of this but I'm glad to have you here, I know your assistance will be valuable."
"If we're going to survive this you're going to need all the help you can get," Thomas said before turning to leave the room.
"We have a grizzled former Viper pilot to serve as an advisor, this is going to be interesting," Harrington muttered.
"You took the words right out of my mouth," Knox said as she began to look at the names of the crew who would be coming over to the anchorage.
Eighteen Minutes Later:
Ark Royal, CIC:
"Commander, there's a distress call coming in over the emergency channel," Lieutenant Dwight Woodward announced from his station at Communications.
"On speaker," Commander Caden Charka ordered.
Moments later the sound of a panicked man's voice came over the speakers in the CIC.
"This is Captain Edgar Yates of the merchant vessel Castell Arnallt; we need immediate assistance!"
"Let's get ready for departure," Charka said before asking, "Where's Commander Ortiz?"
"She was heading over to the Vasa for a meeting with Commander Solheim," Colonel Patrick Killian said.
"Did she have permission to do that?" Charka asked. He could not help but feel suspicious of what Ortiz may be up to.
"She said it fell under the duties she had been assigned, so I suppose that it is why she didn't mention it," Killian said.
"One day she and I are going to have to come to an understanding," Charka muttered before turning his attention to Woodward. "Get me a hold of Commander Solheim on the Vasa."
Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler came up to Command and Control with a printout, "We were able to identify the following vessels from their civilian ID codes."
"Thank you, Colonel," Charka said as he took the paper and glanced over the names.
"How many do we have?" Killian asked.
"According to this report the ships are the Culberson, Othello, Sentosa River, Surbiton, Kaipara, Hebburn, Moonstone, Tairoa, Vallianos, Kopicka, Harlacher, Sippola, and Ophelia. That could be a healthy haul of goods for us," Charka said.
Killian nodded before asking, "Should we go ahead and leave Commander Ortiz behind?"
Escort Battlestar Vasa, Commanding Officer's Quarters:
Commander Elina Solheim filled two glasses with water and passed one to Commander Audra Ortiz before she took a seat opposite her fellow officer. The quarters on the Vasa were by necessity smaller than those found on a battlestar but because of the modernization the escort battlestar had received the room looked just as modern as those found on a Mercury class ship.
"I don't know if you've wondered about this or not, but I did not give Commander Charka input on his decisions. I was as surprised as you were!" Solheim said as she took a sip of water.
Ortiz allowed herself a slight smile before she said, "I believe you; with Commander Charka it's a complicated story."
"Is there a personal history between the two of you?" Solheim asked.
"None that I was aware of until we met shortly before the first change of command ceremony a couple of years ago," Ortiz said before continuing, "When I relieved Charka as CO of the Ark Royal I discovered that he had a friend who attended Abry Military Academy on Caprica. His name was Peter Bolsover and we had a brief romantic relationship as students."
"I take it that things didn't end well," Solheim said.
Ortiz shook her head. "He was part of the group that had helped organize an academic cheating ring, and when I discovered Peter was a part of it I turned him in. It seems that he and Charka were as close as brothers and the scandal even managed to impact Charka's career too."
"How so?" Solheim asked.
"In the aftermath of the Tolan hearings four years ago Admiral Stryker recommended that more attention be given to the character of officers selected for promotion. If that had been the case then Scott Tolan would not have made flag rank because of his family's ties to organized crime on Canceron. Charka's career was tainted by the cheating scandal and it was something that could easily impact his hopes of making flag rank," Ortiz explained.
"Now he has a chance to pay you back for what happened," Solheim said as the pieces of the puzzle began to mentally fall into place.
The phone on Solheim's desk began to buzz and she quickly picked up the receiver, "This is the Commander."
"Commander, I've just received word from Commander Charka that Commander Ortiz is needed on the Ark Royal immediately," the voice of Lieutenant Asa Gwinn, the Vasa's Officer of the Deck, said through the receiver.
"Anything else I need to be aware of?" Solheim asked.
"We're supposed to stay here with the Hadrian and guard the anchorage. It appears the Ark Royal is going to investigate a distress call," Gwinn said.
"Tell Commander Charka that Commander Ortiz will be there as soon as I can get a Raptor readied," Solheim said and when the receiver was back in its cradle she turned her attention to Ortiz, "Looks like you're going to be needed back on the Ark Royal."
Ortiz let out a slight chuckle. "I guess all good things must end."
The phone began to ring and Solheim picked it up and quickly motioned for Ortiz to stay, "I understand, she's still here…I'll relay the message. Thank you."
"That was a fairly short conversation," Ortiz observed.
Solheim let out a short laugh, "It appears the Vasa and the Ark Royal are going to investigate this and you are going to stay here with me."
"Is it wrong that I'm oddly relieved to hear that; I think I may be more useful here. Charka and I don't exactly see eye to eye," Ortiz said.
"I kind of got that impression, let's get to the CIC and see what's waiting for us," Solheim said as she opened the hatch and started making her way to the CIC with Ortiz behind her.
Ark Royal, Viper Squadron One Ready Room:
Lieutenant Walter 'Thor' Kidd looked over his cards and studied the faces of the pilots sitting at the table for the impromptu friendly game of triad. Lieutenants Francis DuLac, Tomas Rios, Michael Zyla, Santo Capizzi, Otto Nikolai, and Charles Gornecki were newly arrived from their rescue from the derelict battlestar Kios. Also at the table were Ensigns Julius Raven and Trent Donovan, cadets from the Fleet Academy and Aquaria Military Academy who had been fast-tracked to the rank of Ensign.
"I know you are probably throwing this game out of gratitude for us getting your asses off the Kios, but you don't have to be so obvious about it," Kidd said to the group.
"If they're throwing the game out of gratitude then what does that say about us?" Raven asked.
Kidd shrugged. "I think the fact that you two rookies are allowed to sit at the table should explain that one away."
"We're not exactly cadets anymore," Donovan said.
"You may have got moved up to Ensigns fairly quickly but as far as I'm concerned the two of you still have something to prove," Kidd retorted.
"Do we have a friendly game going on here?" a woman's voice said from the ready room's entrance.
Kidd turned to see Captain Alisa 'Dagger' Stark standing there watching them, "We're just killing time and becoming better acquainted with one another. A friendly game of Triad works wonders for these things, plus the extra cubits can help some poor soul here buy items from the Commissary.
"Well, thank goodness that wasn't emptied after the decommissioning, otherwise we wouldn't have much to spend our cubits on," Stark said.
"Are you heading over to the CAG's office?" Kidd asked.
Stark crossed her arms and fixed him with a look, "Well I just might be, but I don't see why you have that goofy look on your face."
"Well it's just that word has gotten around that the two of you worked together in the past and that you and him would probably spend a lot of time…"
Stark arched an eyebrow. "A lot of time doing what?"
Kidd thought for a moment before he said, "Reminiscing about the old days, that's all."
Stark nodded her head. "Yeah we do talk about the old days. Major Hunter is a friend of mine after all."
"Of course, I never would have thought otherwise…" Kidd said before he got quite for a moment, "Wait a sec; you're having a go at me aren't you?"
"It was fun while it lasted," Stark admitted.
Moments later both the Ark Royal and the Vasa disappeared in a flash of light as the two ships jumped away from Mjolnir Anchorage.
Ark Royal, CIC:
"All divisions are reporting in that they're ready and Major Hunter reports that the air wing is ready to launch as soon as you give the word," Colonel Patrick Killian reported.
Charka nodded then motioned for Killian to join him at Command and Control.
"Sir?" Killian asked once he arrived.
"I'm going to let the Vasa go in and distract the Cylons while the civilians jump away," Charka said.
"Even though it's been upgraded it's still just an escort battlestar; against five Cylon baseships it will be obliterated," Killian said as he mentally calculated the odds of the Vasa against the Cylons.
"The Ark is too valuable an asset to lose covering the withdrawal of the civilians. If the Vasa is lost then we can at least get the survivors to bolster our numbers," Charka said.
"I know you want to keep the Ark safe, I get that, but what you're doing is sacrificing a perfectly good ship and crew needlessly," Killian retorted.
"This is war, Colonel, I have to make the hard decisions and unfortunately I have to sacrifice the Vasa to save the civilians. The sad reality is that today a warship must die, but if Solheim and Ortiz are as good as everyone says they think they are then they might be able to keep the ship from getting too badly damaged."
"What you're doing is murder," Killian said.
"It's a tactical decision," Charka said in his defense.
"It's murder," Killian said.
Charka motioned with one of his hands for a Marine to come over to Command and Control.
"What can I do for you sir?" the Marine asked.
"Corporal…" Charka said as he checked the Marine's nametag, "Irelan, I want you to escort Colonel Killian to his quarters and make sure that he does not leave until I say so."
"Yes, sir. Colonel if you'd follow me," Irelan said.
"It's murder," Killian said as he walked out of the CIC with Irelan in tow.
"History will judge it otherwise," Charka said before he turned his attention to Tactical, "Colonel Chandler, a word please."
Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler walked over with a feeling of trepidation in the pit of his stomach, the crew of the CIC had seen Colonel Killian banished to his quarters and there was no telling what was to come next.
"Colonel Killian was relieved of duty because of his insubordination; will I have a similar problem with you?" Charka asked.
"No, sir, you won't," Chandler said right away.
"Excellent, I want you to send word to Chief Lancaster to cancel the launching of the Vipers. Also send a message in text form to the Vasa telling them that our sublight engines and communications systems have failed," Charka said.
"Commander, our systems are working fine. The word from Engineering is that the sabotage has been fixed and won't present a problem," Chandler said.
"I'm aware of that, but I cannot risk losing the Ark. I want you to send the jump coordinates to the civilian ships so they can jump away while the Vasa draws the fire from the Cylons," Charka ordered.
"With all due respect, Commander, I don't think this the course of action we need to take. The Vasa will probably take too much damage from the Cylons," Chandler replied.
"Colonel Killian was just relieved for insubordination and you're about to make the same mistake, do you want me to confine you to your quarters and find another officer willing to do what I'm asking?" Charka asked.
Chandler was quiet for a moment before he relented, "Aye, Commander, I'll carry out your orders."
He went about carrying out Charka's orders, but there was one thing he mentally made a point to do while this was going on. He may have agreed to follow the orders Charka had given him but he did not believe that what the Commander was doing was correct. Knowing that he was not being watched he sent a message that he hoped would be received by the Vasa and find its way to Commander Ortiz, if she survived this battle it would serve the purpose of sealing the fate of Charka.
Escort Battlestar Vasa, CIC:
"Jump has been completed," Lieutenant Vittorio Moriani, the Vasa's Tactical Officer, announced.
"Excellent, I want Viper Squadron One launched," Solheim ordered.
"Commander, I'm receiving a message from the Ark Royal. Commander Charka wants you to investigate and if needed, he can engage the Ark," Ensign Ishmer Brooks announced from Communications.
"Looks like we're going to be taking lead on this one," Ortiz said.
"He must not want to risk the Ark unnecessarily," Solheim said.
"I can understand protecting a valuable asset, but the Vasa is still a battlestar in her own right," Ortiz said.
Solheim looked up at DRADIS. "Five baseships and it looks as if they're picking apart the civilian ships one by one."
"Baseships have launched Raiders," Moriani announced.
"I want all Vipers launched," Solheim said to Moriani then turned her attention to Brooks, "Send word to the Ark Royal that we're going to need their help against those baseships."
"Looks like we're going in," Ortiz said.
Solheim nodded. "We're going in; with the Ark backing us up I think we'll have a chance."
Putting itself between the baseships and the remaining civilian ships the Vasa headed into the fray with its guns blazing as its Vipers came barreling out of the launch tubes towards the Raiders.
The Vasa shook as the Cylon missiles impacted against the hull.
Ortiz looked up at the DRADIS and noticed something. "It looks like the civilian ships are jumping away."
Solheim looked up. "That's not all I see; looks like the Ark has yet to move toward us."
Ark Royal, Hangar Deck:
"What do you mean the orders have been rescinded?" Major Mark 'Archangel' Hunter asked Chief Reginald Lancaster.
"I'm just telling you what I know; we were getting ready to launch the Vipers when word came from the CIC to abort the launch," Lancaster said.
"You've got to be kidding me; how can we fight the Cylons if we can't launch our birds?" Hunter asked.
"Not my problem. All I know is that Commander Charka left orders for all Vipers to not be launched," Lancaster said trying to keep his calm.
"What's going on here, why are they moving our Vipers away from the launch tubes?" Stark asked as she walked over to where Hunter and Lancaster were arguing.
"It would appear that Commander Charka has ordered us to stand down," Hunter said.
"That's crazy, we need to be out there defending those ships and helping the Vasa," Stark argued.
"I understand where you're coming from, but the orders are from the CO and you can't just go against them, if you have a problem with them I suggest you take it up with him," Lancaster said before turning to talk to a group of technicians who were not moving quickly enough for his liking.
"Believe me, I will," Hunter said as he bolted for a nearby hatch that would take him off the hangar deck.
Vasa, CIC:
The CIC shuddered again, this time more violently as several missiles struck the hull of the escort battlestar with more force. The crewmembers who were standing found themselves hurled to the deck with bone-jarring force.
Ortiz felt the wind leave her and for a moment she wondered if she would be able to take in another breath.
"Damage report," Solheim asked.
"Damage Control teams have been dispatched to all areas that were hit in that last salvo," Moriani reported.
"That's a relief," she said as she looked around and saw that her XO, Colonel Morten Varberg, lay unconscious on the deck from where he had been overseeing the activity of the Damage Control teams.
Ortiz stood up and got her bearings again. "It looks like the Ark hasn't moved yet."
"Why the frak aren't they coming to help us?" Solheim asked.
"I wish I knew, but it looks like most of the civilian ships have already jumped away," Ortiz said and she closed her eyes as another salvo of missiles found their mark.
"Commander Ortiz, a message has just come over to you from a Lieutenant Colonel Chandler," Brooks said.
"What's that about?" Solheim asked.
"I wish I knew," Ortiz said as she headed over to Communications and read the message from Chandler.
"What is it?" Solheim asked.
Ortiz shook her head in disgust, "It looks like Commander Charka is going to sacrifice us to save the civilian ships."
"That bastard," Soheim said hotly.
"Couldn't have put it better myself," Ortiz said. She was going to say more but the Vasa rocked from the impact of several missiles from the baseships.
"We can't take much more of this," Solheim said.
"Agreed," Ortiz said.
"Send word to the turret captains that to target the axis of the baseships, see if we can break them in two that way," Solheim ordered.
"Sending the orders now," Brooks said.
"Excellent," Solheim said before turning to Moriani, "I also want all missile tubes loaded and launched as quickly as possible; take whatever nukes we have and put them to use."
"Are you sure the nukes will work?" Ortiz asked.
"They're on a time delay so that once they punch through the hull they'll explode and destroy the ship…at least in theory," Solheim said.
"At this point in time I'm more than willing to give it a chance," Ortiz said.
"Missiles have launched," Moriani announced.
Ortiz looked up at the DRADIS where the missiles were heading towards one of the Cylon baseships.
"Come on, take out that bastard," Solheim said under her breath as though she could mentally will the missiles to inflict the maximum amount of damage.
The DRADIS showed the impact of the missiles followed moments later by the baseships disappearing from the screen.
"That's one," Ortiz said.
"It's one less than we were dealing before," Solheim said as she tried to sound at least somewhat optimistic about their chances.
"Let's hope we can take out those other four," Ortiz said as her eyes instinctively went up to the DRADIS.
"We're launching our next salvo of missiles at the nearest baseship," Solheim said.
"Excellent, how many more do we have?" Ortiz asked.
"Unfortunately, not enough to take out five baseships," Solheim looked up the screen and shook her head, "Not all of our missiles are making through to the baseship. I think the Raiders are helping to take them out."
"Looks like the toasters caught onto our plan," Ortiz said as she saw the remaining missiles from the salvo impact the baseship and once again it vanished from the screen.
"That's two bastards down, here's hoping we can get the other three," Solheim said as she began to feel a feeling of relief wash over her.
"More Raiders have broken through our flak screen and they've launched nukes our way!" Moriani shouted from Tactical.
"Frak me," Ortiz muttered before shouting, "Brace yourselves!"
Seconds later a series of violent explosions erupted along the hull of the Vasa and the CIC exploded in a shower of sparks and flames as one of the missiles impacted not far from where it was located.
"Fire suppression systems are on," Moriani said once he got himself off of the deck.
Solheim was starting to stand up when another explosion rocked the ship and sent her crashing to the deck again.
"Audra, are you okay?" she asked Ortiz.
Ortiz blinked her eyes as she tried to once again come to her senses. "I'll be fine, just get the number of whatever tank just rolled over me."
"At least you still have your sense of humor," Solheim said as she walked over and helped Ortiz off the deck.
"I think it's safe to say I've felt better," Ortiz said before asking, "How's our firepower?"
Solheim looked at the reports coming in from the Damage Control teams, "Our missiles were either destroyed or the tubes were made inoperable and we lost sixty percent of our turrets."
"I'm surprised our back wasn't broken during that assault," Ortiz said.
"It was probably a close thing," Solheim said as she took in the sight of the damaged room that had just moment earlier been a pristine CIC.
"Commander, I'm receiving word from Chief Boggs," Brooks said before continuing with, "The fuel lines have ruptured in the hangar and the deck gang is trying to get the fires out."
"Design flaws, I had no idea these things would be so damn combustible," Solheim said.
"The downside to using an old escort battlestar, I'm assuming," Ortiz said.
Solheim nodded. "They built these things to hold the line against the Cylons but probably nothing along these lines."
"We need to make an emergency jump," Ortiz said as the severity of the situation began to truly dawn on her.
"Mister Moriani, I want all gun turrets set to auto target the Cylon baseships," Solheim said before turning her attention to Brooks. "I want the word passed along that the ship is to be abandoned, I want all Raptors to prepare to receive crewmembers to transfer to the Ark Royal."
"Are you sure it's time to abandon ship?" Ortiz asked.
Solheim solemnly nodded her head. "Even if we're able to somehow jump out of here the Vasa has taken a lot of damage and I don't know if it's going to be enough for us to fully repair. Better to let her go out in a blaze of glory."
"Don't try to go down with the ship, there's too few COs out there for you to go and take one for the team," Ortiz said.
"I won't, just make sure you get off of this ship," Solheim said.
"I'm sending word to the Ark Royal that we're abandoning ship, I received a typed message informing us that their primary communications system and sublight engines are offline and the ship is unable to move," Brooks said.
"How convenient," Solheim muttered before addressing the crew in the CIC, "You've done all you can now you need to save yourselves. I'm proud to call all of you my crew; you gave the name Vasa a good reputation in the Fleet."
As the crew filed out of the CIC to evacuate the ship Solheim went to Tactical and finished making preparations for what she planned on doing. There was still a chance the Vasa could do some damage to the Cylons in her death throes and she was going to make sure it happened. Heading to the helm the maneuvered the Vasa away from the baseships and closer to the Ark Royal. If the Ark could not come to her then she was going to bring her ship to it.
The minutes ticked by and the Vasa continued to take to shudder from the numerous hits it was taking from the Cylons. The good news is that the escort battlestar had taken the heat away from the civilian ships and the ones that were FTL capable had managed to jump away.
She was not sure how long it had been but she finally received a message from Chief Boggs that he was about to board the last Raptor out with the last of the crewmembers. She looked at the exit to the CIC and saw that there was now a raging inferno outside in the corridor, there would be no escape for her and she was oddly at peace with it.
"Chief, get you and those crewmembers away from here on that Raptor. I'm staying behind to make sure what needs to be done gets done," she said and then she put the receiver down in its cradle and used the helm to maneuver the Vasa towards the Cylons. With the course set she walked over to Command and Control and started the countdown for the scuttling charges.
She thought of her family back on Aerilon and realized that very soon she would be reunited with them in the afterlife. She looked up at the DRADIS and at first she saw the display of the Vasa closing in on the Cylon baseships. After a few moments however she saw her husband's face and then the faces of her four children. As she mentally saw her three sons and only daughter's faces a solitary tear ran from her left eye as emotions began to get the better of her. While she may have been the only person in the CIC she was not going to die alone.
Another series of explosions rocked the ship and time she was thrown hard against the Command and Control Station, her head hit with a loud thud and she collapsed to the deck unconscious.
Colonial Military Intelligence Stealth Raptor AOR-442:
What none of the participants realized was that another group had received the distress call from the civilian ships. The stealth Raptor had jumped from two systems away to investigate the claims; only the arrival of the Ark Royal and the Vasa had caused it to stay on the outer edge of the battle.
Captain Coleman Smith stood behind the pilot's seat and saw the battle unfold, in the back of his mind he realized that the escort battlestar did not stand a chance.
"Looks like she's taking a beating," Flight Lieutenant Antwan Zelenka said as he saw the ship put up a fight but take a greater share of punishment.
"I wonder why that other ship isn't coming to investigate," Smith wondered as he saw the larger battlestar stay off in the distance as though it were glued in place.
"Are they abandoning ship?" Zelenka asked.
"Looks like it," Smith said as an idea began to form in his mind, "the boss says we need to bring him back some intel on the Cylons. I'm sure that ship may have something in its databanks."
"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Zelenka asked. He suspected that Smith was going to recommend and he was afraid it would be another crazy idea of his.
"With our technology we can easily access the computers and take what we need. When that's done we can get away from the ship before it's lost," Smith said with no small amount of confidence.
"I can get us there easily enough; those Raptors don't seem to be coming back," Zelenka said.
Smith took his seat in the co-pilot's seat. "Georges, I want the two of you ready to board that ship and head straight to the CIC."
Brothers Brian and Brandon George nodded their understanding as they quietly got their gear ready to board the ship.
"Let's do this," Zelenka said as the Raptor began moving through the debris of destroyed ships, Vipers, and Raiders.
The crew inside the Raptor got a better look at the ship and there was a collective amazement at how the ship was still intact and fighting back against the Cylons.
"She's been hit hard but still in the fight," Zelenka said with no small measure of pride.
"Right now, that's the case but there's no telling how long it will last," Smith said.
"I'm looking for the nearest airlock," Zelenka said as the Raptor maneuvered around the flames that leapt out of the large openings in the hull and the AA guns that were still operational and trying to keep the Cylon Raiders at bay.
"Make it quick," Smith said as he searched the scorched hull for something resembling an airlock.
"I think I see one up ahead," Zelenka said
"Alright, Georges, you know what to do," Smith said as the Raptor slowed down and got into position to dock with the hull.
"What about survivors?" Brian George asked.
"Survivors are secondary to our goal but if you see a chance to save someone I won't hold it against you," Smith said.
"I have a hard seal with the airlock. I recommend we put our helmets on," Zelenka said as he and Smith donned their flight helmets.
A loud whooshing sound was heard as the door to the Raptor opened and a cloud of smoke immediately began to fill the cabin. The George brothers immediately charged into the Vasa to complete their impromptu mission.
"Do you think the boss is going to appreciate this?" Zelenka asked.
Smith shrugged. "I don't know but I think he's going to at least give us a gold star for effort."
"Maybe we'll find out exactly how bad the damage is from the attacks," Zelenka offered.
"We lost contact with Headquarters and none of the higher-ups have reported in over the last few days, as far as we know we're all that's left of CMI," Smith said.
A quiet fell over the two men as they waited for the Georges to return to the Raptor. They looked out the window as the Cylons kept up their assault on the ship. Minutes ticked by and both Zelenka and Smith became more and more apprehensive.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the Georges returned carrying the limp form of a female officer wearing the uniform of a Commander.
"Did you get it?" Smith asked.
"Yes, sir," Brandon George said.
"Excellent, Zelenka get us out of here before it's too late!" Smith ordered.
"You don't have to order me twice," Zelenka said as he quickly disengaged the Raptor and directed the craft away from the stricken vessel in order to jump away.
The stealth Raptor jumped away with its four man crew and a badly injured but still alive Commander Solheim.
The three remaining baseships formed ranks around the stricken escort battlestar and began attacking with a renewed fury. What the Cylons on those ships did not expect was for the Vasa to suddenly blow apart and for large chunks of debris from the ship to cause massive damage as they made a deadly impact with the ships.
Ark Royal, CIC:
"For the last time, Major Hunter, our sublight engines are not functioning and our communications are down so it does not make sense for me to put this ship in danger," Charka said to his CAG, trying to hide his annoyance.
"What about the Vasa? It's fighting five baseships on its own!" Hunter protested.
"It's the unfortunate reality of war that sometimes a ship must serve the higher purpose. The Vasa has drawn the fire of the Cylons away from the civilian ships and allowed them to escape back to the anchorage."
"You're sacrificing lives that we can't afford to sacrifice, not to mention that a battlestar is hard to come by even if it's an escort battlestar," Hunter pressed as he tried not to lose his temper.
"In case you haven't realized it, the survivors from the Vasa are being delivered to this ship as we speak, so there is really no need for you and your pilots to launch," Charka retorted.
"With all due respect, Commander, your short-sightedness has led you to make yet another tactical error."
Charka was quiet for a moment before he responded with, "Major Hunter you are hereby relieved of duty and are to be restricted to your quarters. The Ark Royal will no longer require you as its CAG."
A Marine walked over and tried to grab Hunter by the arm but the pilot quickly shrugged it off. "I don't need you to guide me, I know the way to my own quarters."
"Sir, the last of the Vasa's crew has been brought aboard," Lieutenant Colonel Kelvin Chandler reported.
"Excellent, jump the ship back to Mjolnir," Charka ordered and within seconds the Ark Royal made its jump.
He was looking over the civilian ships that had managed to make the jump away, the amount of supplies they could provide would go a long way toward their long-term survival at the anchorage and he was grateful for what they could provide.
There was a commotion behind him and when he turned he found himself facing a disheveled Commander Ortiz with her sidearm drawn and pointed at his face.
"Commander Charka, I am relieving you of duty," she said.
"Commander Ortiz, you survived!" Charka said.
"No thanks to you, because of your cowardice we lost a perfectly good battlestar along with Commander Solheim," Ortiz said with a distinctly cold tone in her voice.
"I know you've been through a lot but you have to understand that our sublight engines weren't working and our communications systems were down, the events were out of my hands," Charka tried to explain.
"Don't piss in my ear and tell me that it's rain," Ortiz said.
"I can't help that you refuse to believe me; that's a problem you are simply going to have to get over," Charka said.
Ortiz fixed him with a cold glare. "Thanks to you I just about lost my life on the Vasa; you don't get to tell me what I need to do!"
"Did the Ark Royal open fire on the Cylons? I could have sworn that it was the Cylons that had done that."
"They wouldn't have been in a position to do that if you hadn't have left us out there to die!"
"You're showing the same short-sightedness that cost you your command in the first place, we're in a war and there's no time to let emotions get the better of you."
Ortiz fought the urge to pull the trigger. "You want to talk about emotions? All you've done is make it a point to go out of your way to marginalize me since the Cylons attacked. You blew up a perfectly good battlestar and then you sent the ship I was on into the middle of a Cylon attack. Are you sure you weren't trying to get me killed?"
"You're overestimating how much you're worth; anyone could easily step into your shoes and do your job, and you're not irreplaceable."
"I think the same could apply to you, but then again I think the crew would gladly support me if they were given the chance. You may have been assigned to this ship to take command from me but this is my crew and not yours," Ortiz said.
"You're committing mutiny, Ortiz; think about what you're doing before you throw your life away," Charka said in an attempt to reason with her.
"Your time commanding my ship is over; either you step down as CO or I'll use force to make it happen."
Charka looked around and saw the looks on the faces of the crew and it began to dawn on him that Ortiz did have their support.
"Very well then, Ortiz, you win," Charka said before adding, "I will report to my quarters and stay confined there."
"You're not going to get that luxury," Ortiz said and turned to the nearest Marines, "Escort Commander Charka to the brig."
"There'll be a reckoning one day, maybe not in the near future but one day I will make you sorry for doing this," Charka said as the Marines led him away.
"The only thing I'm sorry for is not having done this sooner," Ortiz said.
After a moment to gather her thoughts Ortiz walked over to Chandler and said, "Colonel, I appreciate what you did, but how the frak did you know to send an encrypted message to me on the Vasa without Charka knowing about it?"
"I'm sorry, Commander, but I'm afraid that's classified," replied Chandler. Even with everything that had taken place since the return of the Cylons he was not comfortable about revealing anything to anyone.
"Classified? How classified?" Ortiz asked. She could not help but feel slightly taken aback by Chandler's response. It was not like him to be so secretive.
"It's classified to the point of where I would have to kill you and destroy the Ark Royal in order to maintain the secret. All I'm going to say is that it because of an event that I saw during my time aboard the Battlestar Rakshasa," Chandler explained. He felt that the generous amount of information he had provided was perhaps saying more than he should have.
"Wait a minute there nothing in your file about your serving aboard the Rakshasa?" Ortiz said with no attempt made at hiding her confusion. She mentally checked over Chandler's personnel file when he was assigned to the Ark and it seemed quite odd. She had never before heard of sections of a person's service record simply being deleted.
"Who was the commanding officer?" she asked hoping she could at least get that piece of information from him.
"I'm not sure if I should answer that," Chandler quickly replied.
"Does it really matter now? It's not like the worlds we know are still around, the Cylons took care of that," Ortiz said hoping that Chandler would see things from her point of view.
"More than you can know," Chandler answered. His mind raced back to that particular mission that the Rakshasa.
Ortiz could not help but be stunned. In the year she had known Chandler he had never given the impression that he was nothing more than an officer trying to make his way through the peacetime Colonial Fleet. He had a wife and they were trying for a child; that much she knew, but there was not much more she could think of regarding his personal life or his life prior to coming to the Ark Royal. She began to wonder what other secrets Chandler could be hiding. The more she thought about it the more she began to realize that he was the last person she ever would think about having any kind of secret.