Battlestar Galactica
Past, Present, Future
Chapter 27
First Engagement
"Damage reports, all decks!" yelled Commander Raylac from the command podium at the center of the bridge. Smoke and flame sprouted from nearly every station of his command center as his valiant crew fought desperately to control the blazes that threatened to overwhelm them. Most all of those on the bridge had suffered wounds or burns of various degrees, including Commander Raylac who was holding a badly broken arm to his chest. He had been knocked over the railing of the command podium when one of the hundreds of missiles fired by their Cylon allies missed its intended target and struck the Battlestar Revenge just aft of the bridge. The force of the explosion threw Raylac over the rail and killed three of the crewmen standing closer to the blast area.
Despite the pain in his arm, Commander Raylac had been able to regain his feet and continue to direct the defense of his ship. He regained his position on the command podium and found his bridge officer, Captain Hylan slumped over his console, a large fragment of metal protruding from the back of his head. As carefully as he could with one arm, Raylac pulled the dead warrior from his seat and took over the operations of the ship directly. It had been many yahren since he had trained on that station, but he quickly recalled how everything worked and within a few microns, he had fire control teams dispatched and was receiving reports from all over the wounded Battlestar.
Things did not look good.
The computer would gather all information received from the various areas of the ship and correlate it into several quick view reports for the bridge officer to look at. One of those reports was an assessment of the Battlestar's survivability based on the amount of damage sustained and the crew's ability to control and repair the damage. It also factored in the status of the battle the ship was involved in at that moment.
And, at that moment in time, the computer calculated that the Revenge had less than a fifteen percent chance of survival. Raylac was not pleased! He did not plan on losing his first command of a Battlestar in his first engagement. That was unacceptable.
He immediately ordered the helmsmen to take them away from the battle and as far from the rest of the fleet as they could get, just in case they did lose the ship. That way, if the Revenge did explode, it wouldn't take any of the other vessels with it.
He received a report from the engine room that they were barely able to make headway due to the damage received to the main energizers. Raylac told them to do their best and keep him informed of any new problems. Then he received a message from Commander Verga aboard the Battlestar Genesis.
"What's your situation there Commander?" Verga asked, the concern for his friend obvious. "Can you save her?"
"Well Commander, the computer doesn't think so, but I have faith in my crew!" Raylac said with a lot of pride but not so much belief. "If we can get the fires under control and keep them away from the fuel cells, we should be fine. But if we can't stop the fires, we're going to go up like a star going super nova."
"Understood" Verga said, his concern evident in his voice. "Do you need any assistance? I can have fire teams and repair crews shuttled over to help. We can also start to take off your wounded?"
"I think my teams can handle the fires sir, but we could use some help with the injured." Raylac said. "Our main Life Center was hit during the battle and most of my medical staff was killed. I only have two doctors and a dozen med techs left aboard."
"Very well Commander. I'll have my medical staff load up supplies and staff and send them your way." Verga told him. "I'll also have extra fire teams and repair crews standing by just in case you need them."
"Thank you sir. I'm hoping we won't need them." Raylac said.
Keep me informed of your progress Commander. Genesis out!"
Raylac switched the screens one the command board to see what the situation was regarding the fires. He was happy to see that the fires moving toward the fuel cells were all under control. For a long while it looked as if they would not be stopped, but now the fire teams had reported that those fire were contained and being beaten back. Raylac gave a silent prayer for the firefighters and there great work. Then he noticed that there were still several fires that were still burning out of control, including the port side landing bay! He placed a call to have more fire teams report to that location.
After twenty centons of what was sure to have been furious work, the first reports of containment in the landing bay started to come in. This was well received by Commander Raylac. He ran a ship survivability report and the results were much more promising.
Eighty seven percent.
Raylac leaned back in his seat and for the first time really noticed the pain coming from his left arm. He looked at it and noticed that it had a peculiar bend to it where no bend should be, right between the elbow and the shoulder. It was then that he noticed something gleaming white in color protruding from the backside of the arm and realized that it was the bone! It has snapped in half and stabbed through the skin of his upper arm, extending over twenty centimetrons. He stared at it for several microns before he heard a voice behind him.
"I think you need to get that looked at Commander." Said a young female crew member that had come up to the podium to extinguish a fire at one of the panels behind the Commander. He looked at her for a moment, trying to recall her name, but drawing a blank. Then he looked at the wound again and agreed that he would require some medical attention.
"What's your name crewman?" he asked.
"Warrior Third Class Autumn sir."
"What's your usual duty station Autumn?"
"I monitor energy outputs at station twelve echo sir."
Raylac nodded his head slowly, absorbing this, then to Crewman Autumn he said, "Well then Crewman, when you are done with putting out those fires, would be so kind as to locate a med tech and have them come up here and bandage me up. I'd go find one myself, but it seems all my bridge officers are missing."
"Y-Y-Yes sir! Right away sir." The young woman said, and without saying another word, she ran off the bridge in search of a med tech.
Raylac watched her leave, and laughed a bit.
He hadn't meant to scare the poor girl, but he did need some medical attention and with most of his bridge officers either dead, wounded or taking care of other matters, he could not very well leave the bridge to find a doctor himself.
In little more than a centon, Crewman Autumn returned with a med tech. He was one that Raylac recognized from Phantom Base. His name was Foti and he was one of the many people that were born on the base during the many yahren spent there. He was young and fairly new to the duties of a med tech, having completed his training less than a yahren ago. Raylac hoped he would be able to do something for him because it was really beginning to hurt.
"Hello Commander." Foti said as he entered the bridge, trying to use his best bedside manner. "I understand you have a small problem with your arm?"
"Yea, you could say that!" Raylac replied as he turned toward the young med tech. Foti's smile and light attitude faded quickly as he caught sight of the Commander's arm and the brilliant white bone protruding from the back side of his upper arm.
"Oh my!" He said as he examined the seriousness of the wound. "I think we're going to need to get you to the Life Center right away sir. This is going to take a doctor and maybe two or three other med techs to set in place."
"Can't you handle it son? Raylac asked.
"No sir, this is way beyond what I can treat." Foti said, his face visibly whiter than when he arrived. "You have a complex fracture of the bone in your upper arm sir. The bone is sticking out through the skin!"
"Well can't you just push it back in?" Raylac asked as he tried to look at the wound.
"No sir. The bone needs to be put back into place by a doctor. And let me tell you Commander, that's one very painful procedure!"
"I see! Well, the main Life Center was all but destroyed during the battle, so I guess I won't be going down there. So let the doctor in the forward battle dressing station know I'll be down there as soon as I make sure the Revenge will stay together."
"Yes sir, I'll tell him." Foti stuttered, still flustered by the severity of the injury and the non-pulsed attitude of the Commander. Before he left though, Foti took a few centons to wrap a bandage around the wound to stop the bleeding, which had been rather severe. Foti was amazed that the Commander could have lost so much blood and still be fully aware and functioning as he was. He knew the Commander was running on pure adrenaline and once he did relax, the shock of the pain and blood loss would hit him like a laser blast! He tied a sling around the Commander's thick neck and gently moved it on to his arm to support it. Then he contacted Doctor Naz in the forward battle dressing station and informed him of what was going on. Naz told the young med tech to stay with the Commander and keep a close eye on him.
So Foti found a spot out of the way where he could keep a close watch on Commander Raylac. Foti knew that when the adrenaline wore off, the Commander would crash fast and hard. When that happened, he'd need to be ready to catch him and get him down to the battle dressing station, three decks down and at least fifty metrons further aft. What the young med tech had yet to figure out was … how was he going to get the Commander down there?
Commander Raylac was perhaps the largest human Foti had ever seen! He was half a metron taller than Foti and was probably twice as heavy, all of it solid muscle! He was definitely going to need help!
While Foti pondered the logistics of getting Commander Raylac down to the forward battle dressing station, Raylac was busy directing the firefighting and damage control teams working feverishly throughout the wounded Battlestar. He ran yet another analysis of the ships condition and survivability and was very pleased with the new readings.
Ninety five percent!
Raylac felt a wave of relief come over him.
That was quickly followed by a wave of extreme dizziness and fatigue. The adrenaline rush he had been on was wearing off and the effects of his injury and blood loss were beginning to take effect. He was going into shock! He managed to catch himself by grabbing hold of the command console, but his strength was fading fast. He could feel himself getting weaker by the micron. He barely felt the hands of several people grabbing hold of him, or heard the voice of Commander Bannon, who was helping to hold him up while Foti and another med tech moved a stretcher into place.
"You're alright big guy, I got you!" Bannon said calmly.
Raylac looked at his old friend, his eyes fighting to focus.
"When did you get here?"
About half a micron before you almost crushed that poor med tech there!" Bannon said, indicating Foti. "Evidently, you started to fall and that young fella caught you and was struggling to keep you on your feet when me and Captain Root arrived."
"I see. Well I think I'll be okay Bannon. Just get me back on my feet and I can …"
"And you can just forget all about doing anything Commander!" Bannon said, cutting off Raylac. "My orders are to relieve you here until such time as you are able to resume your duties. That my friend comes right from the top!"
"But what about the Revenge?" Raylac protested. "I need to see to the repairs."
"I'll handle that my friend." Bannon said. "Your orders are to report to the Life Center and get that arm looked at!"
"Um, Commander, the Life Center was destroyed." Foti said. "We'll be taking Commander Raylac to the forward battle dressing station on Gamma deck sir."
Bannon nodded to the med tech. "Alright son, you take the Commander down there and get him patched up. And let the doctor know that he is not to be let out of there until he is ready for duty! No matter how much he complains!"
"Y-yes sir!" Foti stuttered as he and several others lifted the Commander and carried him away to the battle dressing station.
Bannon and Root watched them struggling to carry the huge warrior from the bridge.
"I bet you ten cubits they drop him before they get him down there!" Root said with a smile.
Bannon cast a sideways glance at his bridge officer and chuckled.
"I don't take sucker bets Root, you know that!"
They both laughed and turned to the task of getting the Revenge back in full operational condition. The damage was severe, but Raylac's crew was extremely well trained and did a super human job of bringing all the fires under control and keeping them from spreading. Bannon and Root began running through the reports from all the fire and damage control teams and were amazed. Only one small fire remained and it was nearly extinguished and the damage repair teams had already sealed off the holes in the hull with temporary patches and were readying the permanent repair pieces. The Damage Control Officer, Captain Teague, was reporting that all exterior hull damage would be fully repaired within twenty five centars! Amazing!
Teague also reported that all ships systems would be back online within fifty centars, including the Life Center. Bannon was greatly impressed.
Bannon made a quick tour of all the damaged areas personally and was surprised to find Captain Teague actually in the Life Center, not just supervising, but lending a hand with clearing out the ruble. Bannon made a mental note to recommend a citation for the man.
Once he finished checking over the ship and was certain everything was proceeding well, Bannon stopped by the forward battle dressing station to check on Raylac. And as he half expected, they was a commotion going on with Raylac right in the middle of it!
"Look doctor, I need to get back to the bridge! I have a ship to run here!" Bannon heard Raylac yelling as he entered the room.
"I understand that Commander, but I have my orders too, and they are that you do not leave here until you are ready for full duty, and that my friend is not yet!"
"Oh come on doctor! Look at me! I'm fine!" Raylac protested. "You set the bone in my arm and ran it through the bone mending thing over there, he said pointing at a machine in the corner. Look, the arm works just fine!"
"True, your arm is doing much better, but you suffered from extreme blood lose and you have a nasty bump on your head from where you struck that bulkhead when the med techs accidentally dropped you coming down the ladder."
Bannon had to stifle a laugh at hearing this, glad that he didn't bet Root.
"Hey! It's not my fault your people dropped my down a ladder!" Raylac said with a dark scowl, looking at Foti and several of the other med techs. "But really doc, I'm fine"!
"Commander, you suffered a mild concussion. And when one has a concussion, it is standard practice to keep the person under observation for no less the twenty five centars."
"Twenty five centars!" Raylac cried. "Are you crazy! I need to get back to the bridge now doctor! Not in twenty five centars!"
Raylac tried to get up off the bed he was laying on, but the doctor pushed him back down, not giving a micron to the much larger Warrior.
"Commander Raylac, do I have to remind you that when it comes to any medical issues, that I have the final word? And that I and I alone have the authority to override any and all orders from anyone onboard this ship …. Including YOU when it is a matter of health?"
"Now look here doc, you …" Raylac started to reply but was cut off by Commander Bannon.
"Commander Raylac, I do believe that the doctor has the better hand here and that you are duty bound to remain here until he releases you."
"Oh come on! Not you too!" Raylac complained. "I would have expected you to be on my side Bannon!"
"I am on your side old friend. That's why I'm telling you to follow the doctors' orders and stay put! You don't want Commander Verga getting involved do you?"
Raylac's eyes widened somewhat at the mention of their Commander in Chief. He certainly didn't want to get him involved.
"Alright, have it your way!" he said in defeat as he flopped his head back on the pillow, causing him to wince and get a bit nauseated. "I'll stay here for twenty five centars, but not a micron more! Okay?"
"It's a start Commander." The doctor said, crossing his arms across his thin chest in triumph. "I'll be doing several neurological tests on you throughout the next twenty five centars to see just how much damage was done to your brain and how well you're healing! Frankly, with that thick skull of yours, I'm surprised you got hurt in the first place. You probably did more damage to the wall then your head!"
That last part made Bannon laugh out loud as it did Foti and several other med techs. Raylac silenced all but Bannon with an ice cold glare!
"You're a funny guy doc!" Raylac said.
The doctor just shrugged his narrow shoulders and walked over to the tech station to give some instructions to the young med tech seated there.
"Come one Bannon! Get me out of here!" Raylac pleaded. "You know how much I hate doctors! They give me the willies!"
Bannon laughed again and said, "I know buddy, but in this case you're just going to have to suck it up and deal with it! If the doc says twenty five centars, you'll stay twenty five centars."
Raylac's face dropped, his expression one of disappointment and resignation.
"Alright, I'll stay put! But I'm not going to like it!"
"Nobody said you had to Commander."
Just then, doctor Naz walked over and told Commander Bannon he was wanted on the comlink. Bannon walked over to the comlink on the bulkhead and lifted the handset. After a few microns he replaced the handset and returned to Raylac and Naz.
"What's up Bannon?" Raylac asked.
"Message from Commander Verga. He wants me to head over to the Titan for a debrief on the battle. Seems like he wants to find out why the Cylons broke formation and were so reckless."
"Good idea! Maybe they can explain why they fired on the Revenge!"
"Who fired on the Revenge?" Bannon asked.
"The Cylons! That's who! Most of the damage we sustained was from them!"
Bannon frowned at this. He figured that the mechanical "Cylons" with whom the human race had been at war with for over a millennium had done all this. Now to find out it was their new allies! He wondered if Commander Verga knew of this. And was it an accident or intentional?
"I'll ask the Commander about it. You just take it easy and rest. I'll leave Captain Root here to monitor things until you get back on your feet."
"Okay Bannon. Let me know what you find out."
"You got it!" Bannon said with a smile, then he turned and left the battle dressing station. He pondered what Raylac has said about the Cylons being the ones that did all the damage to the Revenge. He'd need to talk with Commander Verga before the debrief about it.
Bannon reached the bridge to find Captain Root busy directing the cleanup of the bridge and coordinating the repairs with Captain Teague. Things seemed to be moving fast.
"Commander, Teague says his people have all fires out and cleanup and repairs are ahead of prediction. He's saying that the Revenge will be fully operational in about twenty centars."
"Well that's good news. Commander Verga will be real happy about that." Bannon said. Then in a voice that only Root could hear, he asked, "Do you think you can pull up the ships battle imagery from the computers?"
Root looked at him questionably for a moment, but said nothing. He started to punch in command codes into the console and found the data Bannon wanted. "Got it right here sir. You want me to make a copy for you?"
"Yea, I want to check something out." Bannon said.
"Anything I can help with sir." Root asked.
"No, just want to have a look at what happen during the battle is all. See what we might do better the next time we have a run in with the machine Cylons"
Root nodded his head. Bannon suspected that he knew there was another reason he asked for the imagery, but he wouldn't ask. Root was a good officer.
"Hold things together here Root and do me a favor, send reports down to Commander Raylac as to how things are going. Keep him in the loop so he doesn't go crazy down there."
"Will do Commander. We'll have the Revenge back in one piece and ready for action again by the time the Commander is released from medical."
"Good deal. I'm heading for the Titan. I'll contact you for an update as soon as our debrief is done.
Bannon left the bridge and headed for the starboard landing bay where his Viper waited. And soon as he was able to launch, he placed the small infodisc that Root had given him into his console and forwarded through to the time index where the Revenge was damaged. He watched the images several times to be sure he was actually seeing what he was!
Bannon stopped the imagery and placed the infodisc in his jacket pocket. Then he hit his turbos and made for the Titan as fast as he could.
He needed to talk to Commander Verga right away!
