Responses to Earlier Comments:
Chronus1326 - Next chapter finds that BREE'S TWIN is not just a gorgeous hunk of plate steel, girders, and beams, but can be used as a weapon to exact revenge. :)
Thanks, War Sage - I "introduced" the spray-and-pray machine pistol, but I forgot Thrace had 2 of them when she gets back to Caprica.
Blaze1992 - Thanks for the comment. If you think that was chaotic, try looking inside my head. :)
Disclaimer: Please note: I own no part or share in the Battlestar Galactica realm, either commercial or otherwise. This story is submitted for entertainment purposes only.
Reminder: I did not spend time making up non-earth names for common things; coffee is not "go-go juice" and baby formula is not "Powdered Mama"
Chapter 17
Tigh Time and Pyxis Makes the List (Note - There is no CH16. The last chapter was 15.5 which messes up FF numbering)
"Somebody snatched up a bottle of the Emerald Empress Ambrosia before they left. I had three bottles and now I have two. I bet it was Tigh."
~Cru's journal, if he had time to keep one.
Bree's Twin, Early Morning - Caprica Time, Day 35
(The crew is dealing with the aftermath of their ship being boarded.)
Cru powered down the recyclers, which were the heavy equipment that ground up the waste, separated, floated, and extruded out the many base components as it worked through the process of re-use. They were loud and ran for a short time, during the night while most of the crew slept. A flip of a switch to Manual from Automatic operation kept them running all night long. The strike team had used the noisy operation to mask their boarding and movements.
Cru checked the main storage area. Many boxes had been opened. Evvie would have to do an inventory count but he suspected they lost six or seven cases of assorted canned foods, alcohol, smoking products, and damned if they didn't get away with an eight-roll package of toilet paper.
The shuttle was standing idle about fifty meters away. Cru remoted it back onto the access port, in the same way, he expected, it was removed and the assailants gained access.
~~~~~/~~~~~
Cru and Tanner found the strike team member who entered Evvie's cabin. The room was upended. The struggle must have been epic as no item was left undisturbed. In the center of the room was the assailant in gray and black, lying face-down on the deck. Cru put a gun to her head - out of precaution - and pulled her over. She was dead. Evvie was quite thorough.
~~~~~/~~~~~
Cru and Tanner spent the better part of four hours, taking videos and pictures of the encounter, as evidence if needed. They hauled the dead back to the landing bay, cleaned up the spatters and pools of blood, and found and swept up the many brass shell casings scattered around the receiving deck. They did a thorough inspection of the various bullet strikes to make sure nothing critical had been damaged. John spent time accessing all the systems they had been locked out of. He found the video footage that had been deleted. John was no computer guru but then, neither was the one who locked them out and deleted the footage. John was able to retrieve the lost content and showed it to Cru. One man had slipped aboard during a visit by the "Plant Doctor". A close-up view of his face made it clear he was the one Cru shot first - the one who pushed his way into Cru's quarters. There was no further footage after the fellow broke into the computer system and disabled the cameras. The eighth member of the assault team would remain unknown, at least for the time being.
~~~~~/~~~~~
Cru made a ship-to-ship call to Galactica.
"Galactica, this is Major Richard Cru, Captain of the freighter, Bree's Twin," said Cru to the first person to answer.
It was 7:00 am on the Galactica. Most crews would be reporting for work. The "daylight hours", if indeed they could be called such in the dark void of space, were always far busier than the other shifts.
"Good morning Major, how may I direct your call?" said a voice in the handset earpiece.
"Sure, patch me into the CIC - whoever is ranking."
"Major, the senior officer on duty is Colonel Tigh. Mornings are always busy. He may not be able to respond immediately."
"Understood."
"Please hold while I connect you."
Cru waited less than thirty seconds.
"This is Petty Officer Dualla, CIC. Good morning Major Cru," said Dee. "We are transferring the duty, sir. Can I take a message for the Colonel?"
Cru paused for a moment. "Sure, please tell the Colonel I have two of your people aboard; Crewman Holk and I never got the name of the other - big fellow, brown hair, one of your Seabees." Cru paused again, deciding how best to say what needed to be said next. He took too long.
"Will do, Major," said Dee. "Sir, could you clarify? Do they need transport?" Dee considered Cru's message. Lieutenant Gaeta was standing nearby. Gaeta could authorize the sending of a shuttle. The highest-ranking officer currently awake, didn't need to be bothered with such a request. "I can request a shuttle for them. The duty officer can approve it."
"PO Dualla, I should have made myself clear from the onset. They're both dead - others as well. There's been an incident with weapons involved. Yes, they'll need a shuttle and a recovery service detail."
"Ummm, okay Major, one moment for the Colonel." Dee flipped a switch to transfer the call to a handset near the Colonel. "Colonel, I have Major Cru on the line. There's been an incident aboard Bree's Twin - that's the freighter with the tylium."
"I am aware of the ship and what it is carrying, Petty Officer Dualla."
"Sir, the Major said it was 'weapons-involved' and that there are two crewmen from Galactica among the dead. He is asking for you."
The CIC fell silent. All eyes turned toward Dee and Colonel Tigh.
"This is Tigh," said Tigh as he picked up the handset. "Major, what's this about?"
"Colonel, I was boarded this morning - apparent theft and kidnapping attempt. There were five men, two women, and an unknown who fled. They were armed. There was a battle. I spoke to one of them before he passed. He said he and a 'Crewman Holk' were on active duty aboard Galactica. This fellow was one of your Seabees. Holk was from Supply."
Tigh muted the handset. "Get a security team over there, now. Swing the patrol over for eyes-on. Find out if Holk is one of ours. And, someone wake up the Commander." Tigh didn't hesitate. Civilian-Military incidents always had broader repercussions. Commander Adama needed to know sooner than later.
"Yes sir."
"Major, give me the SitRep as it stands," said Tigh over the ship-to-ship.
"Colonel, we have command of the bridge and all primary systems - we're still under power. FTLs are up. We've done a cursory sweep for hostiles, but it's a big ship. We're setting up passive scanning to watch for anomalies. Injuries were sustained but mostly negligible - my co-pilot may need a medic's attention or a doctor."
"They're ours, sir," said Dee in a low voice to Tigh.
Tigh muted the handset.
"Crewman Holk works in supply," Dee continued. "The Seabee is likely Crewman Jaskins. They're both on 48-hour passes. They're supposed to be on Cloud Nine."
Tigh nodded to Dee and unmuted. "Understood Major, I'm sending a team over."
"Thank you, sir."
~~~~~/~~~~~
Another four hours had passed.
Two teams of marines landed on BREE'S TWIN and did sweeps throughout the ship. Beyond Cru and his crew, no others, hostile or otherwise, were found.
Adama had notified President Rosland of the incident and they discussed the situation at length. BREE'S TWIN was a conundrum; it was one of the oldest and biggest ships in the fleet with a long list of needed repairs, it could support only eight people, and burned a lot of fuel. Conversely, if tylium could be found and mined, and refining operations ever got ahead of the fleet needs, both excess tylium ore and fuel could be stored aboard BREE'S TWIN.
Adama and Roslin discussed the greater implication, which was a raid on one ship by another ship. Both Adama and Roslin had landed people aboard BREE'S TWIN and other ships, and been given reports. They both knew Cru had more provisions than he had declared - many of the ships' captains had hidden supplies - Cru was no different. Cru had cases of alcohol and smoking products - more than most. A secondary market, a "black" market, had found its footing. Alcohol and cigarettes topped most contraband lists. However, the raid was a disturbing advancement in crime. A raid on BREE'S TWIN may have been a hit for contraband but it underscored a vulnerability of the fleet asset.
Also, Major Cru was a Ship Captain and as such, had implicit authority in the new government. More than that, he had many years of time-in-grade as a major. He would be the fifth highest-ranking officer aboard Galactica if he was pressed into service. There was one other major aboard Galactica who would outrank him with time in grade and there was an end-of-career, Lieutenant Colonel formerly in charge of Financial Management and payroll. He was now in charge of basic troop welfare and general support. Cru would be the third highest-ranking officer with bridge command experience behind Commander Adama and Colonel Tigh. But possibly the biggest point requiring special handling was that two of the dead were military, which could be a problem. They were apparently shot down in a gun battle aboard, what most considered, a civilian vessel, and they would be brought back in body bags. There would be questions, tough questions, a blow to morale perhaps, and outrage. A visit by a ranking officer from Galactica, Saul Tight, was required. He arrived on BREE'S TWIN with the second set of Marines.
~~~~~/~~~~~
Evvie tried to wash the morning's ugliness away in a long hot soaking shower. It didn't work. She slept some, she cried a great deal, and she held the children tight as if they could be snatched away from her at any moment. When she emerged from the office, where she and her children had been sleeping, she was only slightly better off than when she had entered it.
"Colonel, would you care for some coffee?" said Evvie. She was tired but functioning. She gave a quiet smile as she made ready to tip the pot in Tigh's direction.
Tigh took up the nearest cup and held it under the open spout. "Yes, please," he said as he gave a smile back.
"Do you take it black? We have some fixings; cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, powdered creamer...baby formula, as a last resort." It was a small attempt at humor - something to keep the morning horrors at bay.
"Baby formula?" asked Tigh with curiosity.
"Any port in a storm, Colonel," said Evvie with another tired smile as she gave a light tap on his shoulder. The comment was a very ancient Navy term, from back when old sailing ships, whether they were the enemy or otherwise, were allowed to enter a port to ride out a storm. They suffered no attack as long as they left once the storm passed. The Colonel would understand the comment's use.
"Peachie Morning Delight is a fair substitute for real cream," continued Evvie through the same tired smile. "Although, we're on the last of it. The rest was given over for distribution - that and the baby wipes, the four teething rings we had, and the disposable diapers. So, none of those."
Tigh laughed. "Diapers? I'm old but not that old, young lady - no diapers for me." He nodded his gratitude as Evvie topped off his mug and set the pot down between Cru and Tigh.
"Now Colonel, you know that's not what I meant," said Evvie with her bolstered resolve running on empty. "I spoke only in jest."
"I know, I know," said Tigh with a polite wave. "I'm teasing. Thank you, Mrs. Hawkins. I'll take my coffee black if you please."
"Thank you and please," repeated Evvie. "See Major Cru, that's called etiquette."
"What's this? What's this?" said Tigh in mock outrage. "Ill-treatment of a lady?"
Evvie spoke before Cru could offer a defense. "Colonel, Major Cru is brash and has the manners of a troll, but he does try hard." She gave another smile.
"I'm sure he does," said Tigh. He gave Cru a light punch on the shoulder. It was a bit awkward. "You'll need to forgive him - he's a Marine."
"Once a Marine, always a Marine - even at the worlds' end, sir," said Cru with a light note of humor. "But don't get me started on the Navy's fine history of taxi services."
"Ho! Ho!" laughed Tigh, as he readied a retort, but he noticed Evvie leaning heavily against the counter. He stood instead. Cru stood as well because that is what is done when a more senior officer stands. "Mrs. Hawkins, forgive us," said Tigh. "I'm told you've been through an ordeal - this was inappropriate."
"Say nothing of the sort, Colonel," said Evvie as she stood up tall again. "I encouraged it with my talk of baby supplies - it was light humor. This is on me."
"I won't hear it," said Tigh, "but we can leave it at that." He turned to Cru. "Major, let's wrap this up and get you folks some privacy. I'll have the Marines close down the op. I've got some questions for my report to the Commander - routine mostly. I need twenty more minutes."
"Very good, sir," said Cru.
"Then I'll leave you to it," said Evvie as she turned to go.
"Mrs. Hawkins-," said Cru. Evvie had encouraged him - told him, in fact - to call her "Evvie". He stuck to the formal in front of the Colonel. "Please let me know if I can get anything for you or the children."
"See Colonel?" added Evvie as she gave a tired gesture towards Cru. "He does try."
Tigh smiled and nodded.
Cru gestured to the coffee pot and mouthed the words, "thank you."
Evvie paused at the doorway. "Colonel," she added. "My children and I owe a great deal to Major Cru. This morning he did us a service I shall never be able to repay. I had some small amount of humor at his expense but please know I hold him in the highest esteem."
"It's understood," said Tigh with a solemn voice and a single acknowledging nod.
Evvie departed and both men returned to their seats.
"High praise," said the Colonel.
Cru shrugged and shook his head. "Of which I don't take lightly, sir," said Cru. "'High Esteem' is something that can be difficult to maintain and a disappointment when it fails."
"That sounds about right," said Tigh.
Evvie walked silently away, leaving Cru and Tigh in the galley. Her pace was slow as she rubbed the soreness out of her neck.
The last thing she heard from the men as her steps carried her away and out of hearing, was Colonel Tigh laughing and telling Cru he needed a haircut.
~~~~~/~~~~~
Day 51, Bree's Twin
Two weeks prior, Galactica had successfully raided a Cylon Tylium refinery, which allowed for the filling and topping off of most ships around the fleet with plenty more to load up into BREE'S TWIN and other ships with suitable holds. In the previous week, delegates were selected for the Quorum of Twelve, including Tom Zarek of the Astral Queen, representing Sagittaron. Gaius Baltar was selected to represent Caprica, which was the former home of Cru, John, Evvie, and her children. Tanner was from Tauron.
Complications continued for Cru.
Before the Cylon attack, Cru had registered BREE'S TWIN to Sagittaron using a "Grandfather Clause" loophole available to older ships - it saved on taxes and fees, and inspections. Zarek laid claim to BREE'S TWIN for Sagittaron. Zarek had a formidable knowledge of colonial law. Cru knew little of colonial law but had a formidable knowledge of telling Zarek to "Frak off". Zarek gave an understanding smile, nodded, and said he would like to continue the conversation at a later date. Cru told him, tactfully, to get bent.
As a precaution, the civil authority and Galactica came aboard BREE'S TWIN to re-inventory the convenience store supplies and the very large assortment of spare parts - Cru and John had worked on ships for years - there were many. They designated much of the items as 'critical assets' and teams made ready to offload anything medical or health-related, and all the critical ship components. It was Zarek who argued in Cru's defense; that the civilian government or the military could not label possessions as they saw fit and claim them. Zarek spun up the anger of other leaders, and BREE'S TWIN's inventories were left intact.
Zarek was smooth. He asked for nothing after helping ensure that Cru and indeed, all the ship's captains and the surviving passengers, would maintain ownership of their possessions, even when deemed survival-critical. Cru was no fool. There was always a price for services rendered - always. More than ever, Cru needed allies and not those of Zarek's sort.
~~~~~/~~~~~
In other news - rumors spread like a wildfire when a raptor crew allegedly stumbled onto Kobol and some of the details were leaked. The wireless buzzed with excitement and speculation, but then, the Galactica went on emergency lockdown. Rumors fanned the flames as news of a military coup d'etat erupted on the waves.
To make matters worse, the Cylon raider brought back by Lieutenant Thrace, had been seen jumping away earlier. Despite previous assurances from Galactica, it didn't take long for the surprise departure to be misinterpreted as an eminent Cylon attack.
The passenger liner, Pyxis, was near where Thrace jumped the raider away. It was simple logic to assume Cylon basestars would start popping in at that location.
~~~~~/~~~~~
"Pyxis! Pyxis!," shouted Tanner into the radio handset. "Bare off! You are too close!"
Cru came at a run. John came at a hobble - his leg still bothered him. Evvie followed John. BREE'S TWIN reverberated with the sound of maneuvering thrusters at full throttle.
The Pyxis was well-known to Cru and Evvie. It was the ship they had been attacked on. They had both been savagely beaten, dragged bodily from it, and shuttled over to the Galactica as assumed prizes. Now, the passenger liner was pushing in close to the Galactica, into the location where BREE'S TWIN, with its brimming tylium supply, was to remain at all times. A collision scenario between all three ships was in play. In the forward windows, on the left side, was the PYXIS. On the Right side, was the Galactica. Both ships loomed large, in their respective views.
"Pyxis, stop!" shouted Tanner. Tanner was a novice at steering BREE'S TWIN, but he had made the right moves. Still, there was little room remaining between the big freighter and the Galactica's heavy-armored flank and less room between the PYXIS and BREE'S TWIN.
Aboard the Galactica, the CIC was in upheaval after Commander Adama had been shot by one of the raptor pilots. No one noticed the PYXIS or BREE'S TWIN and their peril, or the proximity alarms that were ringing out.
"Give us right-of-way!" shouted a panicked voice from the PYXIS. "We can't jump yet! We need protection! We need more time!"
"I don't give a frak about that!" shouted Cru over the radio as he took his seat. "Heave to, dammit! Bare away!"
Cru turned to Tanner. "Let me take control."
"Do it," said Tanner. He stepped out of the way for John who had followed Cru up to the bridge. John took a seat and put on his headphone set.
A single pushed button transferred controls to Cru. He made several quick changes to the maneuvering thrusters. Tanner made good broad-stroke choices. Cru made fine adjustments. "Pyxis, you need to bare off now!" shouted Cru over the radio.
"The radio squawk says we're about to be attacked," said John. He worked the DRADIS controls. "We can't be this close and jump - our FTLs will tear them up." John referred to the waves of spatial distortion that can warp material things when using the FTLs, which included the inner and outer walls of ships. The results included decompressions and other catastrophic failures.
Cru worked the controls while directing Evvie to connect with the Galactica. He needed a situation report - a SitRep - on the "impending attack". This was a whole lot of dangerous panic work for an unsubstantiated "rumor".
"Dammit, Bree! We've got six-hundred souls aboard!" shouted the PYXIS captain. "Get the frak out of our way!"
"Nothing from Galactica," said Evvie.
"Scanning the DRADIS - nothing but Colonials," said John.
"Alright, we're moving. I'll deal with that asshole later."
If the Cylons appeared, as the scuttlebutt indicated, Cru could not jump BREE'S TWIN without damaging the Pyxis or the Galactica or both. To stay clear of the PYXIS, he needed to sidle towards the unyielding armor of the battlestar. Get too close, and BREE'S TWIN would crumple against it like an empty milk carton. Options were limited.
Some captains had been caught spinning down their FTL drives to save fuel, which was contrary to non-negotiable orders. If the Cylons appeared, The PYXIS would get caught in what the military called a "Cylon Welcome Mat", which was when the travel time of incoming missiles was less than the time it took to spin up FTL drives and jump away. In this scenario, there was little left to do but "open the front door", so-to-speak, and welcome them in.
Cru swung the big aft thrusters downward and gave them a short but powerful burst. This lifted the back end, causing the whole ship to nod forward. In rapid succession, he eased the ship forward and used the maneuvering thrusters to help drop the ship out of the PYXIS' path. He spun the ship over onto the starboard side, but at a painfully slow lumbering rate. He had to get the big engines facing in the direction they needed to push. His plan was to hard burn down and under the GALACTICA. He was almost clear of both ships.
Then it happened…
"Galactica to all vessels, prepare to make immediate FTL jump to Escape Coordinates Alpha - I say again, Escape Coordinates Alpha. The clock will start on my mark…" It was Petty Officer Dualla. The Cylons had arrived.
"DRADIS contact!" shouted John. "Cylons!"
Where away?" said Cru.
"Distance 490, near to dead on the starboard bow."
"Carom 0-1-5," added Evvie as she looked over John's shoulder. "Almost straight out."
"I see them," said Cru as he looked forward, past the fleet, to a Cylon base star. It was launching hundreds of fighters. His focus returned to the PYXIS and the need for getting clear of it. The issue was no longer about the FTL drives of BREE'S TWIN damaging the PYXIS - the PYXIS Captain was panicked and he would jump his ship away as soon as it was able - regardless of who was nearby. A jump at that close range was a ship-killing event.
"Pyxis, don't jump," Cru called out. "Pyxis, do not jump…," he called again. Other ships were blinking away. Cru shook his head. "He's gonna jump…"
"Bree, I need sixty more seconds and I'm gone," called the Pyxis, "If you're not out of the way, may the gods be kind and take you home."
"Sixty seconds isn't enough," said John. "We gotta move."
Tanner nodded. "Or, we can jump first - six lives or six hundred."
John stared unblinking at Tanner. Evvie stared unblinking at Tanner. Tanner's suggestion would put six hundred lives at risk. Spatial distortion waves could cripple the PYXIS and leave it adrift for Cylon target practice. Cru gave a short laugh.
"The thought has crossed my mind, dear man," said Cru without looking up. His fingers flew over the controls as he drove his ship hard over. "But, we are too close to the Galactica. We'd wreck them both."
Cru continued the lateral spin until they were upside-down to GALACTICA and PYXIS. He poured on the heat to get out and away. The big, century-old, massive engines blasted full. The heavy tanker shuddered under the strain. An empty coffee cup on a distant shelf - probably Evvie's - vibrated and walked itself off the edge, dropped, and shattered on the deck. No one noticed.
"Sorry Bree," said the voice from the PIXIS. "We gotta go." The PYXIS jumped away. BREE'S TWIN was still too close.
~~~~~/~~~~~
BOOM!
BREE'S TWIN lurched hard to port.
BOOM!
BREE'S TWIN lurched again, just as Cru, John, Evvie, and Tanner picked themselves up from the deck after being thrown down upon it.
"Decomp?" called Cru. He struggled to regain control of his ship. "John, what's the pressure numbers?"
"They're fluctuating, but not…not a decompression."
BOOM!
BREE'S TWIN rocked like it was hit with a missile. Cylon missiles were inbound, and every "Imminent Doom" warning light on the console was blaring. But, it wasn't a missile strike - the incoming missiles and attacking Cylon fighters were more than fifty seconds out.
"Still?" called Cru. "Pressure?"
"Yes, still," replied John. "Pressure dropped a little but it's not a decomp. Everything is still within the tolerances."
Cru pushed hard on the engines, they were almost far enough away from the Galactica to jump away. The FTL drives were still online.
"Galactica's gonna jump without us," said Tanner.
"No they won't," said John. He wasn't sure if they would or not. He hoped they wouldn't. At that range, BREE'S TWIN could be in Galactica's DRADIS shadow. Galactica might not know they were there if someone didn't check the camera feeds. Galactica could be gone and they would be dead.
"Cru?" said Evvie. A tone of panic tinged her voice. Her thoughts were on her children. She should be with them. "What's happening?"
"We're popping layers," said Cru. "Our atmo is pushing out between the insulation and the plating, or between the plating layers - I don't know - maybe both. The Pyxis frakked us over good when they jumped. The layers have separated. It happens sometimes, it scares the shit outta people - literally."
"Their SpaD wave got us," added John. "That's what did it."
"Yep," said Cru.
"Can we jump? " breathed Evvie. "Please?"
"We shouldn't - not like this - not after a SpaD," said Cru. "We don't know the extent of the damage."
Everyone present knew what it meant. The Spacial Distortion wave created by the PYXIS' FTL drive momentarily warped and flexed BREE'S hull, which caused structural damage. The compromised hull could be over-stressed during the jump and rupture upon arrival.
"We still gotta jump," said John. "We're dead if we stay here."
"Yes we do and yes we are," replied Cru. His finger hovered over the FTL jump button as he waited and hoped the worst of the ballooning effects, within the outer walls, was done.
"Three missiles are locked and inbound - ten seconds to impact," said John. "Nine. Eight. Seven…"
"She'll hold," said Cru. "She's got to." He pushed the button.
This ends Chapter 17 (Again, there is no Chapter 16 - you did not miss anything)
What I was thinking while writing -
That was a long time between chapters. I got Covid and then Covid Part II. I also sneaked a vacation in there - suddenly, summer was over. I'm 1,500 words into the next chapter - but they need heavy editing.
My experience with ranking military officers in mixed social settings is that they control the conversations at tables. They ask "What do you do?" questions of the spouses/guests and they tell stories. In this FF, Evvie's meant to be a striking presence, even on a day like she had, and her proximity brings out some goofiness in the Colonel.
Cru is supposed to be the badass, but Evvie's endured more; losing her husband, being beaten unconscious by an MMA-like wrestler, and having a hand-to-hand knife battle to the death. I gotta work on that.