Responses to Earlier Comments:
Thanks, War Sage - The politics interest me. Fifty-one days after an attack, I would still be reeling from shock, but I bet there are political, power-minded people who would start their machinations on day 1.
Blaze1992 - Funny you should mention that Pyxis captain. I'm not done with him yet. :)
***Other comments are always welcome. Please leave a review.***
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.
Chapter 18
Knuckles
"Tarney should have worn brown pants..."
~Cru's journal, if he had time to keep one.
*** I hope someone is reading this chapter. The counter has not gone up even once, since I posted 20 hours ago. ***
Looks like it's broken. I'll post a small piece soon. Maybe it'll restart.
Day 51, Bree's Twin. Escape Coordinates Alpha
(Note: we're just into Ep 2.01 - Scattered)
Petty Officer Dualla called out to the fleet to jump away, and they did - BREE'S TWIN and the PYXIS were late.
Phitttt...
The jump was complete.
BREE'S TWIN arrived at Escape Coordinates Alpha. The moment Cru confirmed their location, Evvie ran for her children. Everyone else held their breath - Cru, John, and Tanner. The PYXIS damaged BREE'S TWIN when it jumped away. The two ships were too close and the spatial distortion wave formed by the PYXIS damaged BREE'S TWIN's outer hull. Layers of the walls separated as BREE'S atmospheric pressure pushed its way in between and sought a way out. BREE'S TWIN took a structural pounding as it jumped away, but the integrity held, even after the stress of faster-than-light travel.
"We're alive…" said Tanner.
"So it would seem," said Cru.
The men stood silently waiting for further separations of layers and perhaps, the one that disables or destroys the ship, the one that kills them all.
Cru broke the silence after several long minutes. "John, call up T-Dog and tell him we have a situation. Tell him we need a team, stat."
T-Dog was responsible for most of the maintenance work across the fleet. He had multiple crews and captained the largest of the service rigs. He and Cru were acquaintances. In truth, mutual needs and concerns against dwindling resources, organized crime, and heavy-handed government oversight, made them more on the level of friends.
"I'm on it," said John.
"After that, ask around," said Cru. "I don't think Galactica followed us out. Find out what people know. Maybe this is by design - some sort of misdirection to throw off the Panheads."
"Wait, wha….?" Tanner began. He looked out the forward window and down towards where the Galactica should have been. Cru had turned BREE'S TWIN upside down to the fleet, which was the same position they were in upon arrival. Galactica wasn't there - only a gaping hole where it should have been. Not far from that, was the PYXIS. It was having trouble again. It seemed adrift and coming right at them.
Tanner's eyes sprung wide. "The Pyxis is right there!" he shouted. "They're gonna hit us!"
Cru and John's eyes sprung to the DRADIS. The transponders of both ships were close together, almost over one another. Just then, the first of several proximity lights began to flash.
"I am so frakking tired of this," growled Cru.
Cru flipped on a monitor and switched the feed to a camera that pointed toward the PYXIS. The ship was there and close enough for the camera to pick up sharp details through its forward windows. PYXIS had a bridge like BREE'S TWIN, and at that moment, crewmembers were running from it. The ship's captain was shouting, jumping up and down, and waving his arms.
Cru paused for a moment as he took it all in - the PYXIS, his ship, the missing Galactica, and the distance between.
"Cru?" said John. "We need to move - again."
Cru scowled. "Watch this."
Cru angled the maneuvering jets and gave them several long blasts, BREE'S TWIN turned only slightly before he brought it to a stop with several blasts in the opposite direction. Once complete, the corner of the Number One hold was pointing right at the PYXIS - right where the PYXIS would impact BREE'S TWIN if they were to hit. They were on a collision course and the probability was high.
BREE'S TWIN had four large cargo holds. The first and fourth had reinforced outside corners where the heavy steel girders and supporting beams came together. These corners were also clad in extra thick layers of folded, interlocking, and heavily bolted plate steel. BREE'S TWIN had been converted from a heavy freighter to a tylium-hauling tanker, and it had large insulated distances between the outer hull and the inner-most walls, especially in the corners.
Cru could see the PYXIS attempting to beat back with its forward thrusters, but they were smallish engines and they seemed undersized for the ship's weight and the momentum it could develop. A collision was inevitable. The unyielding forward edge of the Number One cargo hold was set to cleve their bridge in two, like a massive wedge.
Cru turned on the radio.
"Bree's Twin!" shouted the PYXIS captain. "I can't stop! Back off! Back off!"
If the captain wasn't panicked before the jump he was now.
"Captain Cru, you're gonna get hit!" shouted someone over the radio. "Get out of the way!"
"Bree's Twin! Pyxis! Look at your DRADIS!" shouted another.
Cru turned off the radio and the monitor.
Tanner called from the window, "Captain, We're going to hit! It's right there!"
"Tanner, what was it you said?" Cru's voice was calm. "Was it 'six lives or six hundred'? Yes, that must be it."
Boss-man," said John, "what are you doing?
"I'm teaching Captain What's-His-Name, over there, that there are consequences. There are always consequences." Cru made some adjustments. "That fellow left us for dead - or he would have if this good ship didn't hold together." Cru patted the console in front of him as if BREE'S TWIN was a living sentient thing. "I'm done with him."
The flashing proximity alerts changed to audible alarms. They were loud as they sounded on the bridge and throughout the ship.
Tanner stepped back around, to Cru and John. "Captian, his name is Jules Tarney - he's not a bad man - just lacking a little courage," said Tanner. He spoke loud, so he could be heard over the alarms. "Please don't do this."
"Lacking courage - noted," replied Cru in an equally loud voice.
John flipped a switch that turned off the loud braying alarms. Everyone who needed to know a collision was imminent, was already on the bridge.
"Cru, whatever you're thinking, we can't take a hit right now." A note of concern was awash on John's face - this wasn't the Cru he knew. "Yes, our good lady of a ship is holding together, but maybe just by a thread."
The clock ticked away four seconds. The audible alarms were silent, yes, but the flashing continued.
"Captain?" shouted Tanner.
Cru sighed and shook his head. "I'm not doing any of that. I'm pissed but I'm not stupid."
Cru turned the monitor back on. The camera feed showed the PYXIS' empty bridge. Captain Tawney had abandoned his post, which was to be expected because the ships were no more than twenty feet apart and closing.
Cru laid heavy and full on the forward maneuvering thrusters. Great jets of flame shot out on either side, which lit up the bridge in an eery blue. The blast from the engines started BREE'S TWIN moving backward almost without pause. Cru used the rear thrusters to angle BREE'S TWIN out of the way. The two ships drew together at a slow agonizing rate and missed each other, but only by feet and inches.
"I once told a fellow from Galactica, named Tyrol, not to negotiate the acquisition of missiles with Mrs. Hawkins."
"Oh?" said John as he watched the PYXIS slide by. If he could open a window, he'd be able to knock on its hull with his outreached hand.
"Yeah," said Cru. "Today I wish I had a missile. Something small. Something to send a message." Cru stood and winked at John. "John, take the controls. Tanner, how about you and I take a look at the damage?"
John shook his head. "You are a nut. Don't ever do that again."
"Yep and yep," said Cru. "Tanner, you with me?"
"Sure, Captain," said Tanner.
The ship thrummed as John took back control of BREE'S TWIN and maneuvered to a stop, well away from the PYXIS.
~~~~~/~~~~~
T-Dog sent his best "Hull Guys" over. The small team of three men and two women was already underway with the repairs. The separated layers could not be fixed without proper dry-docking. however, the open spaces between the layers could be filled with a bonding foam, which would prevent the damage from getting any worse.
"What's the O2 at?" asked Cru. Cru and John sat in front of the bridge controls. There was other work to do, but everyone, Evvie, both Emily and Fletcher, and Tanner were there, watching and waiting. Galactica had not appeared. The president and her staff were aboard the Galactica, so they were lost too. The fleet was in disarray.
"Still good," said John. "CO2 is fine also. I bet we could go ten days before these extra folks made a difference to our breathable air." John tapped a gauge and its needle made a small jump backwards. "...Maybe six days."
Cru nodded.
~~~~~/~~~~~
Bree's Twin, Bridge, Two hours later
Cru sat in his chair while Evvie sat in John's. It was time for Evvie's shift but Cru wasn't leaving the bridge. Cru had flipped BREE'S TWIN back over to be right-side up with the fleet. He angled the ship so they could watch for the Galactica through the bridge windows. The PYXIS was back in its designated position, which was fine by Cru. His opinion held firm that the ship's captain was a menace. He smiled inwardly at the memory of Tarney jumping up and down and waving his arms like a damned fool.
"Evvie," said Cru. "You once told me you did jump numbers for the DDR, yes?"
"I did - for four years. I'm good with them." Evvie leaned over towards Cru and looked at his display. "We should plot another set of jump coordinates, is that what you're thinking?"
"I am," said Cru, "for the whole fleet."
"Oh…" said Evvie. "Okay, I could do that - it might take a bit."
Cru nodded as he rubbed his chin.
Evvie continued after a moment of silence. "There was a group of us. We did the drift updates for all the commercial stations. Plus, the military outsourced a lot of their non-critical work. We did all of that. Plus-plus, we did the integration work between the planets and the big corporations. Some of those folks encrypted. We got pretty good at picking apart their ciphers."
"So, only a little experience," said Cru without looking up, but giving a visible smile.
Evvie smiled and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Yeah, only a little."
"That is awesome," said Cru. "Okay then, here are all of our jumps since the thirty-threes, during those first days," said Cru. He displayed a star field map on the largest monitor. "The recent jumps have been long and mostly in a straight line. I want a short hop this time, but left or right, up or down, you choose.
Evvie nodded. "So anyone following us assumes we've gone long again."
"That's my thought."
Evvie nodded again. "I'll start the prep work. But, the ships can't move once I start the calculations."
"Understood," said Cru as he stood and gave another smile. "I have to clean up now. They're calling the quorum together and some of the ship captains over on Colonial One. I'll address the group and try to get everyone to stay in their positions."
"Okay. Good luck, Cru," Evvie returned the smile. She tried calling him Richard once, but it sounded awkward. She called him "Major" and "Captain" several times but she decided that just calling him "Cru", like everyone else, worked best for her.
~~~~~/~~~~~
Day 51, Colonial One
"Two-bit, dredge-ferry Captain - is that what you called me?" demanded Jules Tarney. He was Captain of the PYXIS. He, Cru, other captains, and several of the Quorum of Twelve were aboard COLONIAL ONE.
The intention was to discuss the next actions. The GALACTICA was assumed lost. They waited five hours with nothing but an empty space to show for a battlestar. Cru gave his account of the last moments before FTL jumping. Missiles were inbound, they were seconds away from impact, and there was no further communication from GALACTICA. Cru noted a shuttle that had been caught unlanded as the fleet jumped away - he remembered seeing a colonial blip on the DRADIS and perhaps GALACTICA tried to recover it. Cru stated that the distances were too far and anyone on GALACTICA would have thought the same - the shuttle would not have outrun the ordnance that was locking onto it, and the GALACTICA, and BREE'S TWIN.
Cru also noted that the PYXIS was close enough to damage BREE'S TWIN when it executed its FTL jump, but may have also, in some way, damaged the GALACTICA. This final comment was taken as an accusation by Tarney and spurred him into action.
"I'm sorry, say again," said Cru.
"Did you call me a two-bit, dredge-ferry Captain?" Tarney stood bold, with chest out, scowl, and fixed stare.
"Good, you've read my report," replied Cru. "But, those words were from the children's version. The words from the adult version are inappropriate for the present company and best left unspoken."
"You insolent…!" Tarney took several threatening steps forward. He thought others would intercede - that they would push between the two adversaries and beg peace in such dire times. Except, no one did and Tarney was left in that awkward hollow position of bluffing in front of a man who could break him into small and large pieces, without breaking a sweat.
Cru smiled - undaunted, "Insolent what?" He stood up tall in front of the man. It was comical. Tarney was like a little yappy dog posturing in front of Cru, who was like a close-combat military K-9.
Tarney fumed. "Somebody say something. This is an outrage!"
Cru responded first. "Captain Tarney, you pushed into my position, in full panic, and endangering your people and mine. I made emergency maneuvers to avoid a collision with your ship and by extension, with the Galactica. You executed an unsafe FTL jump that damaged another ship - my ship and maybe Galactica. You ran away leaving the tylium ore and fuel, and six members of this fleet in peril."
"That's bullshit! I have six hundred people aboard my ship! You should have-"
"I should have what?," growled Cru as he cut off Tarney in mid-sentence and closed the space between them. "Okay, let me put it this way - you put me in peril with your spineless need for self-preservation, a personal trait, with which I hold little regard." Cru stared down into the diminutive man's face. Tarney shrunk back a single shuffled step. His limbs locked as his confidence drained away. One step was all he could manage.
"Umm," said Perah Enyeto, the delegate from Tauron. "Can we slow this down?"
"Yes, gentlemen," said the delegate from Aerilon. "This is not the place or time for…this…"
Cru's eyes swung over to Alisander Asiel. The words were left unfinished.
~~~~~/~~~~~
Bree's Twin
"How did it go?" asked John as Cru exited the shuttle onto the receiving deck. "Are we staying put? Any word on Galactica?"
"It went poorly." Cru showed John his right hand. The knuckles were reddened by the impact on Tarney's jaw. "They won't be inviting me back."
"Oh no…" said John as he gave the hand a quick scan. There was no blood, which was promising. "Was it Captain Tarney of the Pyxis?"
"Yeah."
"I wish I was there. I'd have liked to have seen it."
"Not much to see."
John nodded. "Anything else?"
"Well, the Quorum is exercising full authority right now," said Cru. "The captains are out. I'm sure my little disagreement with the PYXIS helped seal that one."
John nodded again.
"Tarney's nothing, though," said Cru as he locked down the shuttle. "Zarek is a problem…" His attention was drawn to the other side of the room.
"Wait! Wait!" shouted Cookie as she and her brother crossed the receiving deck at a run. "We're going in!" Emily had her cat, Oliver, in her hands and several audio disks.
"We've got sodas!" shouted Badger, "They're from mom!"
To Cookie and Badger, the shuttle was a fort, or a hideout, when it wasn't in use. There were other nooks and little out-of-the-way places all over the ship, but the shuttle had the best sound system for playing their music.
Cru smiled inwardly. The whole fleet was in turmoil and it was always a short step from the brink of disaster. Still, the children were being children, both unknowing and carefree - mostly.
"By all means," said Cru, "jump in."
Cookie and Badger may or may not have heard him as they dove thru the shuttle port and disappeared within.
Cru and John exchanged looks - both shrugged their shoulders in unison.
"Zarek from Sagittaron is a problem, you said," continued John as they walked towards the bridge. "How so?"
"He just…" Cru struggled for the right words. "He was there. He managed everyone - do you know what I mean? They listened to him. There were armed folks in suits - like secret police. They could have arrested me, I suppose. One put a pistol to my head and told me to stand down." Cru paused in thought. "I seriously considered taking that situation further - much further."
"Okay…," said John, "glad you didn't."
"Yeah, me too. Anyway, it was clear they didn't like Zarek but he handled them. He backed them down with his knowledge of law or whatever that was. He even stepped between me, the suits, and their government-issued .38s."
John let out a loud breath. "That sounds like a problem," he said. "He's collecting markers on us"
Cru nodded. "Yep. He argued for our inventories against confiscation and now he probably thinks he saved me from a brain splatter or imprisonment."
"It's dangerous to be in his debt."
Cru took a deep breath, held it, and let it out slowly. "Yeah. It is."
Cru and John walked silently in their thoughts for a short time. They climbed the stairs up to the bridge. Near the top, John stopped and turned.
"Zarek can't get his claws on us," said John. "He's a bad one. That's the talk. I've no reason to disagree."
Cru shook his head. "Right. He claims jurisdiction over The Twin because I registered her on Sagittaron. That's all he has to make his claim. It's not gonna happen.
John nodded but his face belied concern.
"John, look. I'm Caprican and my parents were Caprican, all of us by birth. The shop and the Tylium businesses were Caprican - both registered, licensed, and filed on Caprica. This ship is bought and paid for. I can establish full ownership back to the final payment. And, the previous owner was Caprican for the final measure."
John nodded again. "Okay." His face didn't change much.
"But just to be solid, I'll talk to someone on Colonial One to make it official. I'll fly over there if I have to."
"You do that," said John as both men turned and took the last steps up to the bridge. "But if you go there, do me a favor and bring Evvie with you."
Cru smiled. "Yeah, gods help them if she sets her mind to it."
John smiled at last. "Right then. So anyway, what did you do to Tarney?" asked John.
"John, as the gods are my witness, I didn't hit him hard."
"Oh no…"
"But, he dropped like he was falling into his bed or a couch or something, except he had this bell-rung look on his face and his eyes were rolling into the back of his skull."
"Oh no…" John repeated.
"Half a dozen people could have caught him on the way down, but no one did. They just let him fall and he landed with a thump. I'm thinking he's short on friends."
"Did you knock him out?"
"I did, me and the floor he bounced his brain-pan off of."
"I'd like to have seen it," said John. "That fellow's a delicate soul on a heaving weather deck. He's got no place at the helm."
Cru smiled. "He is and he doesn't."
This ends Chapter 18
What I was thinking while writing -
Three chapters from now, you will read a comment from War Sage - he identified a miss I made in the narrative. I expanded the Zarek conversation above, to fix the oversight.
I stole the brown pants comment from Deadpool (up in Cru's Journal). Comic genius over there at Marvel.
Zarek talks smoother and more charismatic than I can write. I may have bitten off too much with this one.
Cookie and Badger jumped into the shuttle - it's not a setup for some event next chapter - just trying to keep them in the narrative.