Chapter Two: A Time for Every Purpose
One Week Later:
Battlestar Libran, CIC:
"Commander, the air group has landed onboard," Colonel Susan Minerva announced as the Hangar Deck relayed to her over the intercom that the last of the Vipers and Raptors had boarded the Libran.
"Very well XO, send word to have the CAG meet me in my quarters. Till I return you have the conn," Commander Nicholas Tattnall said as he left the CIC to return to his quarters to meet with the person who had been selected to lead the Libran's air group.
Battlestar Libran, Commanding Officer's Quarters:
Tattnall was sitting at his desk inside his quarters when the wheel on the hatch spun and clunked open, allowing the person to enter. The visitor marched in smartly and with an outstretched chest he announced himself.
"Major Alexander Mason, reporting for duty," the man said as he stood at attention and saluted. Tattnall returned the salute and stood up to offer Mason a handshake, "Glad to have you onboard CAG, what do you think of the old girl?"
"In all honesty sir, I feel like I stepped onto a museum or a movie set. However, it seems the shipyard did a top job of getting her back into fighting trim," Mason said.
"I have to agree with you, in time she'll show us what she's made of when we find the Erebea," Tattnall said as he opened up a folder, "I'm curious Major about how you got your call sign?"
"When I was young and playing high school pyramid on Virgon, I would lower my head into the stomach of the tackler. After this one game of my senior year, one of the opponents said it hurt so much that my head must be made of iron. From that moment on I was nicknamed 'Ironhead' and it stuck with me," Mason said as he tried to stifle a laugh from seeing the amused look on Tattnall's face.
The phone buzzed and Tattnall picked it up and after a moment he set the receiver down and dismissed Mason. A few moments later Ministry of Intelligence Major Evan Windsor entered the room. The youthful looking Ministry of Intelligence officer had a decidedly young look to him, and the way he bounded into the room seemed to imply that he was in a decidedly good mood. Either that or he had found his way into the Officers' Mess instead of the Enlisted Mess and got a hold of the better quality food being served to the officers.
"Commander Tattnall, I trust you and your people are settling in nicely onboard," Windsor said with an affable smile.
"That we are Major, how about your people?" Tattnall said as civilly as he could.
"I'm fine personally; the ones assigned to the faststars are taking some time to get used to the close confines of the ships. Myself and Carlson have made use of the facilities you were kind of enough to appropriate for us, I assure you that you have gone above and beyond the call of duty for us," Windsor said.
"Alright Major; what is it that you want or are about to tell me?" Tattnall said.
"What could you possibly mean Commander?"
"I understand the niceties that come along with this job, and we have to work together for the foreseeable future. However, you are being a little extreme in your praise. With that in mind, thank you for the kind words but could you please get to the point," Tattnall said, not trying to be harsh but wanting to get this over with since there was still work to be done on the Libran and he needed to know the materiel state of his ship.
"Of course, our first stop is going to be at Caprica. There is a prisoner being kept at Fort Milledge by the name of Thomas Carr. He was captured by the Colonial Fleet three years ago, and it's believed that he knows the location of a nearby Erebea base," Windsor said as he produced a piece of paper with a photo and various pieces of information on it pertaining to the criminal.
"Where was he captured at?" Tattnall asked.
"There was a base in the Erebus Belt that was used as a headquarters for the Sagittaron Liberation Army, and they were allied with the Erebea. A taskforce comprised of the Tenth and Fifteenth Fleets assaulted the base before sending a boarding party of Marines to round up any who might have survived. Mr. Carr was found in Shuttle Bay Five onboard a transport shuttle called the Jabin; it seemed he was trying to start the shuttle and leave the base but the engines were not working. He was captured and imprisoned at Fort Milledge until he was deemed ready to be put on trial," Windsor said as he paced the room looking as though he was regretting giving out this information.
"You're telling me that he's been in a prison for two years without having had a trial?" Tattnall said as he processed the information he had just been given.
"Don't be so dramatic Commander; he will be given a trial once we decide that he's ready for it. In the meantime he gets to cool his heels…" Windsor chuckled before saying, "Cooling, that's actually find of funny."
"I'm not following," Tattnall said.
"Fort Milledge is in the Northern Hemisphere of Caprica and it's notorious for its biting cold all year long and," Windsor saw that Tattnall was not laughing, "Oh well; I guess you'd have had to have been there to appreciate the humor."
"Why do we need him?" Tattnall asked.
Windsor seemed to hesitate slightly before he said, "There is a project going on that we have kept from you."
"I'm listening," Tattnall said as he waited to hear what was going on.
"The Libran is only a part of our larger mission against the Erebea. There is a role for the Gemenon as well," Windsor said.
Tattnall arched an eyebrow, "I was told the Gemenon wasn't given a proper decommissioning and couldn't be brought back into service. Why do you need it?"
"The plan is for the Libran to attack the smaller Erebea bases in order to convince them that they need to purchase a battlestar along with Vipers and Raptors. We've scoured the salvage yards for those but we need a battlestar to use and the Gemenon fit our needs perfectly. Let's be honest, that ship is going to the scrap yard more than likely so why not use it for this one important mission?" Windsor asked Tattnall as though it was a leap in logic anyone could make.
"Right," Tattnall said before asking,"so what will be done with Mr. Carr once you've learned his information and he has helped us?"
"Don't go getting troubled over that," Windsor replied.
"Forgive me, but I believe I will," Tattnall said firmly.
"Anything that happens on my ship I will make a point to get troubled with."
"Let's just say we're going to skip the whole trial bit and save the Colonies some money by taking matters into our own hands," Windsor finally admitted.
"Not on my ship you're not," Tattnall replied harshly.
"This is not Colonial Fleet business, don't get concerned with it," Windsor said as he realized the idea was not going over well.
"That may be, but the Libran is still my ship and I'll be damned if I'm going to let some hit squad execute a man without a trial!"
"If you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it. Thomas Carr was caught working for a group that has a history of being hostile to our government, the same government I would like to mention you swore an oath to protect."
"I also swore an oath to protect and uphold the Articles of Colonization and to that end every man deserves a fair trial. We'll leave him in the brig, even if you think he's useless we'll keep him in custody until the Erebea has been wiped out."
Windsor folded his arms, "That's it then, we'll just keep him under arrest for a longer period of time?"
"Sure, I have no problems with that. He could be an asset in the future."
Windsor turned to leave, "Very well Commander, we'll work out arrangements for him to be housed in the brig but when you get bored of fattening him up on your ship's food, you just give me a call."
"One more thing Major, don't you dare try to remind me of the oath I took. Understand?"
"Yeah, I understand," Windsor said as he left the room not looking happy even though technically he had gotten the last word in.
"Frakking bureaucrats," Tattnall said as he took a seat to go over some of the paperwork that had accumulated in the past week since the commissioning ceremony.
Libran was an old ship, but the fact that she was decommissioned in an excellent state of preservation helped to make the process of reactivating her much easier…Tattnall chuckled as he thought of how those who travelled the stars referred to their ships as 'she' much like their counterparts who sailed the oceans of their respective colonies.
Tattnall jotted down some notes of some items he felt the need to run by Colonel Minerva and the rest of the senior staff, and then he activated the computer on his desk in order to search for information on Fort Milledge.
He read the reports on the Isle of Brenna, where the fort was located, and the reports of year long cold weather seemed to have the element of an understatement. The freezing temperatures and distance from the nearest land mass ensured that the prison was for all intents and purposes escape proof. The only way out seemed to be by air due to the rough nature of the Issus Ocean making an escape by sea all but impossible. He had the security clearance to check out the defenses of the prison and it was as well-guarded as any of the military installation throughout the Twelve Colonies. Once a person was there they were only going to leave when they died or when the government decided they could be released.
The yeoman entered the room and informed him that there was an officer who wished to have a word with him. Tattnall nodded and the yeoman left to give the visitor permission to enter. A tall man in a Marine officer uniform entered the room accompanied by another man wearing an enlisted Marine uniform.
"Commander Tattnall, I'm Major Daniel Fletcher Smith and with me is Staff Sergeant Bernard Max Strean. I've been assigned to head the Marine Battalion assigned to the Libran," Smith said as he stood at attention.
"At ease Major, and you as well Staff Sergeant. It's a surprise to have you two onboard, I thought I had been assigned Lieutenant Frank Berrien and Sergeant Julia Emrich to head the Marine Battalion," Tattnall said as he thumbed through a report he had been sent back when the Libran was reactivated.
"That's true sir, but Strean and I asked for this assignment when he heard about it," Smith explained.
Tattnall arched an eyebrow, "Alright so how did you hear about our assignment. That's something not many know about or are supposed to know about."
"Well Commander, we were there with Major Aperlae when she led the rescue mission to rescue President Adar's sister and niece. Knowing that you're going after the bastards who actually abducted them, it'll be nice to take them out and make sure they can't hurt another innocent person," Smith said while Strean nodded his agreement with the Major.
Ensign George Richmond, Tattnall's yeoman, came into the room after the two Marines had been dismissed.
"Mr. Richmond that will be all the time I have for visitors for the time being, unless it's an emergency I don't want to be disturbed," Tattnall said and once Casey had acknowledged the order and left he went back over some of the plans that had been scheduled for the next few days.
There was quite a bit of work to do, Libran still was not up to one hundred percent yet and there was still some of the reactivation work that needed to be finished. The battlestar could launch and recover the air wing, do an FTL jump when needed, and all basic systems were online but there was still more work to be done. In the quest to eradicate the Erebea the ship would be updated and modernized 'as needed' so that the time in the shipyards could be used on the newer vessels in the Colonial Fleet.
He picked up the receiver and dialed the CIC; he asked the on-duty Communications Officer to get him Colonel Minerva.
"Minerva," the voice of his executive officer came over the line.
"Colonel I want you to come meet me in my quarters right way," Tattnall said.
"Right, I'll be there ASAP."
It was not long until the hatch opened and Minerva stepped into the room, "Commander, what can I do for you?"
"I need a favor," Tattnall began before adding, "There is a Raptor that is scheduled to leave here to head to Fort Milledge to pick up a prisoner for the MoI agents to interrogate onboard our ship. I want you to accompany them."
"Me?" Minerva asked.
"Yes, I need someone to keep an eye on Windsor just in case he tries something. If he tortures the prisoner I don't want something leaked and have it come back on this ship or any of us. Better to observe and make him hesitate about using extreme measures," Tattnall said.
Minerva was silent before she finally nodded her head, "Agreed, I'll make my way to the hangar."
CIC:
After the meeting with Colonel Minerva the Libran made the jump to Caprica. Now was the time to wait while one of the Raptors was dispatch to Fort Milledge.
"Commander, Caprica Station has provided us with a berth to dock at while Major Windsor retrieves his package," Lieutenant Lancelot Freyberg announced.
"Very well Mr. Freyburg, take us in and inform Major Windsor that I'll have a Raptor ready to take him to Fort Milledge," Tattnall said as he went over the list of available Raptor pilots. According to the read out it was Lieutenant John Bruin who had the next flight out, and that was the soul Tattnall decided should take a trip to the frozen island where Fort Milledge was located. He picked up the receiver and pressed the number sequence to connect him to the Raptor Squadron One's ready room.
"Captain Slade," the voice on the other end of the phone announced. Captain Peter Slade was the officer in charge of Raptor Squadron One.
"Captain Slade, this is Commander Tattnall, I saw that Lt. Bruin is the next Raptor pilot due to launch from here. Is that correct?"
"That is correct sir, him and his ECO are suiting up to head to the hangar deck," Slade said.
Tattnall glanced down at the list and saw that Bruin's ECO was Ensign James Paulding; he would not be needed for this particular operation.
"Captain, have Bruin report to his Raptor but Ensign Spence will not be needed for this flight. I need Lieutenant Bruin to escort our MoI guests and Colonel Minerva to Fort Milledge to pick up a package that needs to be brought up here to the Libran. Major Windsor will meet him at his Raptor on the hangar deck."
Hangar Deck:
Lieutenant John 'Tornado' Bruin stood next to his Raptor and waited as patiently as he could. If he allowed himself a moment of honesty it was the fact that he was escorting an officer from the Ministry of Intelligence. The problem was not the officer himself, but it was the organization he represented. The Ministry of Intelligence was so shrouded in secrecy that at times it was hard to tell was what true and what was lifted from a movie.
Another part that bothered him was their destination. He was a native of Caprica, having grown up in Delphi, and he had heard stories of Fort Milledge. He remembered a friend telling him that a person cannot last more than five minutes outside in the elements of the bitter cold that seemed to engulf the island. Now he had been removed from a simple training run and put on mule work to a desolate location with a person he could not even trust to have around and feel comfortable.
The alarm for an incoming craft began to sound, the high-pitched wail announcing that a Viper or Raptor had just landed and was about to be brought into the hangar bay. Bruin saw one of the knuckle-draggers running by and he got her attention, "Who's the new arrival?"
"We have a Raptor returning from the Robert Smith with a MoI agent," the woman said before she took off for wherever her destination was.
"Probably here for the trip," Bruin mumbled to himself as he rested his back against the Raptor and waited patiently.
"Lieutenant Bruin, everything ready to go?" Colonel Susan Minerva asked as she walked up to the Raptor. She was tall for a woman and some would have described her as having aged well, considering she was approaching forty. Her hazel eyes were normally impassive though Bruin thought he could detect some apprehension behind them. Her brown hair was cut short and she looked every bit the part of how one would expect an Executive Officer to look.
"Yes ma'am, we're just waiting for our guests to arrive and then we'll be off. It's hard to believe we're working with the MoI," Bruin said as he broached the subject even though he knew he probably should not have.
"Yes we are, not the first time I've dealt with them though," Minerva said as she tried to force back disgust in her voice.
"Is this the Raptor for the Fort Milledge Express?" a tall blonde woman asked as she walked up to the Raptor.
Bruin looked at her, she was wearing the gray Ministry of Intelligence uniform that resembled a Colonial Fleet uniform, "That's right, though I didn't realize it had been given that name."
"That's what Major Windsor called it," she said as she held out her hand, "Captain Whitney Thompson, I'm escorting the Major to pick up our prisoner."
Bruin shook her outstretched hand, "Lieutenant John Bruin, call sign 'Tornado', and I'm your pilot for this little taxi run."
"Really, well I hope you don't charge us too much of a fare," Windsor said as he walked up to where Bruin and Thompson were standing.
"If I did you might make me 'disappear'," Bruin said with air quotes to emphasize the word 'disappear'.
"Lieutenant, I hate to tell you this but I think you've watched one too many spy movies," Windsor said with a friendly smile.
"Uh-huh," Bruin said, not wanting to turn the situation tense before they had to depart for Fort Milledge. He then clocked the ring fingers on their left hands, he had no idea why he did it but he noticed that Thompson had an engagement ring while Windsor had a wedding ring. The more he was around these two MoI officers the less was sure if their world was really for him.
"Give us a moment to get strapped in and then we'll be ready for you take off," Windsor said as Thompson took a seat in the rear while he took the co-pilot seat.
"Colonel Minerva, are you here to see us off?" Windsor asked.
"Hardly, I'm coming along with you for this trip," Minerva said as she stepped into the Raptor.
"That's nice but it won't be necessary," Windsor said.
"Much like yourself Windsor, I have orders and I'm going to follow them so don't think you can use any of your MoI tactics on me," Minerva said. Her statement did not prompt a rebuttal from either Windsor or Thompson.
"Just let me know when you're ready," Bruin said as he went through his mental checklist to make sure he had taken care of everything that needed to be done. He nodded to a nearby knuckle-dragger who began to direct the process of moving the Raptor to its location to be lifted up to the landing deck of the port flight pod.
Minutes later the Raptor carrying the two MoI officers and Colonel Minerva was one of many large and small craft in orbit around the colony of Caprica. Bruin set his course for the northern hemisphere of the world and began the flight that would land them at Fort Milledge. He allowed himself a slight smile; at least he was only there to visit…unless the Ministry of Intelligence had created some false charge to use against him.
'Damn it, I really have watched one too many spy movies,' Bruin chided himself.
Forty-Seven Minutes Later:
Fort Milledge:
Bruin was piloting through the middle of a nasty storm that was raging across the Issus Ocean, he could make out a speck of land that looked no larger than a postage stamp on the horizon.
"Can you see where you're going?" Thompson asked as she held the straps keeping her in her seat tighter each time the Raptor was buffeted by a blast of wind.
"Of course I can," Bruin said which was only half true. The Issus Ocean was notorious for storms that could show up on a moment's notice, and this one looked to be particularly nasty.
"I have all the confidence in you Mr. Bruin," Windsor said as he stared ahead at the same speck of land that Bruin was looking at. He kept his composure calm, this was a picnic compared to some of the other destinations he had been to during his career as an intelligence officer.
"Good to know," Bruin said through gritted teeth as he fought to control the Raptor. This weather was probably one of the reasons why Fort Milledge was constructed as a military prison. It seemed to him the term 'escape proof' applied to this facility.
"Raptor Four-Eight-Seven, we have you on our grid," a man's voice said over the wireless set.
"Fort Milledge this is Raptor Four-Eight-Seven, we are here on Ministry of Intelligence business and need to land as soon as possible," Bruin said as a gust of wind caused the Raptor to spin around before he righted it.
"Fort Milledge this is Major Evan Windsor, we have a scheduled arrival today to pick up a prisoner," Windsor said.
"Please provide the confirmation password that we have on file," the air traffic controller said.
"The password is 'Fairfield'," Windsor said immediately.
"Password confirmed; we will set up a tracking beacon to your landing spot on the landing pad to the aft of the Administration Building."
"We're going in. Hold on tight, it's going to be a bumpy ride,"
Bruin announced as he flew the Raptor to where the tracking beacon had begun to transmit its signal.
Moments later the Raptor touched down on the landing pad and was promptly lowered into a hangar. Bruin was not sure how Windsor and Thompson felt but he was particularly glad to not have to get out in the raging storm that he had just piloted through.
"This flight has arrived at the destination, please exit and enjoy your stay at Fort Milledge," Bruin said as he pressed the button to open the hatch out of the Raptor.
Windsor and Thompson exited first, followed by Minerva, and finally Bruin joined them once he had completed the process of shutting down the Raptor. There was a welcoming party in the hangar waiting for them. It was composed of three men, two women, and several guards.
"They know how to make a person feel welcome," Bruin commented though neither of the MoI officers responded to it.
"Welcome to Fort Milledge," a slim, older man said as he walked up to Windsor and offered a handshake, "I'm Victor Tregenna and I'm the warden of this facility."
"Major Evan Windsor, and with me are Whitney Thompson, Susan Minerva, and John Bruin," Windsor said as he took the handshake that Tregenna offered.
"Lieutenant James Webster, I'm the MoI officer assigned to Fort Milledge along with agents Torina Wren and Reuben Overton," Webster said as he walked up and greeted Windsor.
"Glad to meet you," Windsor said as he exchanged pleasantries with his fellow MoI officers.
"Major Windsor my name is Darya Arezu, and I'm the head of security for Fort Milledge. If you would be so kind as to follow us to the Sicard Building," Arezu motioned for Windsor to follow her and the rest of the welcoming party.
"Thompson and Bruin, I want you to wait here for me until I return with our package. Colonel, if you'd be so kind as to follow me," Windsor said as he and Minerva left with the rest of the group.
Battlestar Libran:
Back on the Libran a thought came to Tattnall and he thought it might be something to his advantage. He picked the receiver off of its cradle and punched in the number that would connect him directly to Communications. A moment later he heard the voice of Lieutenant Tiffany Bradford.
"This is Commander Tattnall, patch me through to Rear Admiral Tolan's Office at the Colonial Fleet Bureau of Ships," Tattnall said and a moment later he heard a voice pick up on the other line.
"Commander, it is nice to hear from you, how is the new command," reply Rear Admiral Scott Tolan.
"It's taking some work but she's looking much better. Don't be surprised if we have to make a trip to Inactive Reserve to get some supplies for us and the faststars. If you don't mind me saying Admiral…I need your help," replied Tattnall.
"With what Tattnall?" asks Tolan.
"The MoI," reply Tattnall.
"Ah yes the MoI, one of the most interesting groups of I've had to work with and that includes my family back on Canceron. Alright Tattnall, what do you need?" asks Tolan.
After he finished his conversation with Tolan, Tattnall placed a call to Fort Milledge and after going through several different people finally managed to get the right person who would allow him to speak with Major Windsor. A few minute later the MoI officer's voice came over the line.
"Commander, nice to hear from you so soon but could this not wait until I got back to the ship and is this going to be continue our discussion from earlier?" Windsor asked.
"When we bring Mr. Carr onboard I want to be able to watch the interrogation," Tattnall said without any hesitation.
"Before I say 'Yes' to this I would like to know why this interests you."
"This is my ship, as I mentioned earlier, and I would like to know what information is gathered from this prisoner so I can have some idea as to what lies ahead for my crew. I won't interfere with your people, I'll just be there to observe. I also want him taken to Sickbay for a medical evaluation. Simply wanting to protect an intelligence asset, and I took the liberty of running this by an influential member of the Admiralty who has friends in Fleet Intelligence. I was told to inform that while you have a prisoner on my ship you are to 'play nice'," Tattnall said, wondering if Windsor was going to truly be accommodating.
There was silence on the other end before Windsor finally spoke,
"Very well Commander, I agree to your requests and since you have already gone over my head I have only on one condition."
"Condition!" quoted an infuriated Tattnall. "And what would that be exactly?"
"That the MoI has full authority on how much of the information gathered is repeated outside of the interrogation room. This includes your crew."
Tattnall had to bite his lip in order to prevent himself from saying something he would probably regret. He reluctantly agreed figuring it was best to meet Windsor somewhere in the middle.
Tattnall put the receiver down feeling as though he had won a small victory and thought "Thank you Admiral Tolan, I owe you one." He turned his attention to the report on the faststars that were in the process of being reactivated and modernized for this mission. Twelve faststars were scheduled to join his task force, so far only five had been finished; the Robert Smith, Clemson, Asturias, Velos, and Psara. Two of the faststars, the Cassin and Rathburne, were found to be in worse materiel condition than originally reported.
They were quickly sent to the scrap yard while two other Clemson-class faststars, the Sigourney and the Palaiologos, were pulled from reserve to take their place.
It was actually a relief to have twelve of these fast attack craft from the Cylon War present to protect the Libran. During the war the faststars were deployed for patrols, hit-and-run attacks on the Cylons, and could be used to provide added defense for the battlestars. The Clemson class was mass-produced during the war, and they served admirably. The downside was that many were lost due to taking missiles that were meant for a battlestar or were destroyed by a suicide dive by a Cylon Raider.
Fort Milledge:
"I guess it's just the two of us then," Bruin said to try to break the silence that fell on them once they were alone in the hangar.
"Not really, I think there's some maintenance people here so it's really not 'just the two of us'," Thompson said with an amused look on her face.
"Alright so I was mistaken," Bruin said with a laugh as he took a seat at a table that sat near the wall the Raptor was closest to.
"Yes you were, so…" Thompson said as she took a seat across from him, "I take it this is the part where we play 'Twenty Questions'?"
"I don't see why not, we don't have much more to do until Windsor returns. I'll be go first, who's your fiancé?" Bruin asked.
"What makes you say I have one of those?" Thompson asked.
"You are such a MoI agent, the ring on your finger looks every bit like an engagement ring."
"You're very observant Lieutenant Bruin; I've been engaged for the past year now. My fiancé's name is Edward Hayden; he's an instructor at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Basilone on Aquaria. What about you, do you have any family?"
"I was engaged to be married when I graduated from Abry but my first deployment on the Audacious she sent me a letter telling me that she had reconnected with one of her ex-boyfriends and that they were in love," Bruin said.
"That must have been hard on you," Thompson said as she wondered what effect that had on him.
"Yeah it was rough, but I survived. At least I have my family and my faith and that will get me through most of life's challenges."
SV Mandasor, Naree Sector, Sagitarron:
The freighter Mandasor cruised through the Naree Sector on its way from the colony of Sagitarron to a place where hopefully it would not be discovered.
James Thorn walked the corridor as he made his way to the captain's quarters. Their trip to Sagitarron had been successful, in terms of acquiring both materiel and crew. In the past three years it had been discovered that people from the poorer colonies were willing to join with them for the chance to earn money and strike a blow against the wealthier colonies. The ironic part was that they were joining an organization that traced it roots back to the pre-Cylon War military of Tauron.
It had been three years now since the pirate group Erebea had engaged the Tenth and Fifteenth Fleets in the Erebeus Belt. The result had been a near slaughter of the pirate group, with only a small handful of ships managing to do a risky FTL jump. Thorn felt he was lucky to have survived. The ship he was on was so heavily damaged that it had to be abandoned and scuttled.
He pushed the thoughts out of his mind and knocked on the hatch that lead into the Captain's Quarters, when he heard the captain give permission he turned the wheel and pulled the hatch open.
Cinta Melati stared out the window of her cabin watching the stars in the dark void of space, seemingly oblivious to Thorn's presence.
"I take it our trip to Sagitarron was a success?" she asked, not taking her brown eyes off of the darkness of space.
"Yes it was; we managed to gain supplies and crew…" Thorn said and then he was quiet as he thought about if he should say to her what he wanted to, "Renoir would be proud of the work you've done these past three years."
Melati turned and faced him, "I would like to think so, I was the one who was left holding the pieces after he and the rest of the higher-ranking members were killed."
"It's been a rough patch for us, but look at what we've managed to accomplish," Thorn said in an attempt to find a silver lining.
"I wish I shared your optimism," Melati said as she turned to look at him. Her brown eyes hid the storm of disappointment that had recently raged behind them in her mind, "I look at what we've done and I see how far the Erebea have fallen. We have some of our original outposts left that we can hide at, but as a fighting force we're far from what we were three years ago."
"I know what we've done here has not been on the same scale as what we had before we allied ourselves with the Sagitarron Liberation Army."
"We're attacking ships still and raiding small settlements but that's it, if a ship is in a convoy we can barely put up an assault. We're small-time now and we have to find a way to regroup and become more powerful. There was a time when companies paid us to not attack their ships or towns paid us to leave them alone. Renoir made us rich beyond what we could have imagined!" Melati slammed her hand down on the desk, making Thorn jump slightly.
"If your plan works then we can gain our lost prestige," Thorn said, it was a plan that was ambitious and the kind of thing Melati could use to unite the various factions of the remnants of the Erebea.
"If it works we will have firepower to match up against the Colonial Fleet and keep them thinking about whether to attack us or not," Melati said as she looked at the paperwork she had on her desk. With some of the leftover capital in Renoir's accounts she had used the money to form the Chevalier Salvage Corporation. It was a shell company that she was using for the sole purpose of buying Colonial Fleet vessels and equipment destined for the scrap yard. It was her hope that this would allow her to come across a decommissioned battlestar and the Vipers she would need to use for her own purposes.
Libran Sickbay:
Dr. Septimus Hibbert, Chief Medical Officer of the Libran, was having a word with a fellow doctor in his office. Dr. William Mearns had been assigned as one of the two surgeons on the battlestar, and like Hibbert was getting settled into the life of a ship's doctor as well as ensuring all the equipment had been delivered and was in working order. The other doctor, Dr. Godfrey Taylor, was currently on duty in Sickbay.
"Dr. Hibbert, the Commander has come here requesting a word with you," Nurse Líadáin Shevaun said from the entrance to the doctor's office.
"Wonder what he's here for," Mearns said.
"I'll find out, come by later and I'll let you know if it's serious or not," Hibbert said as he stood up to bid his colleague farewell until they could talk again.
After Mearns had left Commander Tattnall entered the room and closed the door.
"Commander Tattnall, what can I do for you?" Hibbert asked.
"First, how are you and your people finding Sickbay here on the Libran?"
"She's not quite what I was used to on the Redoubtable, but then again that was a Mecury. I'm reminded of the two years I spent on the Athena," Hibbert said.
"Same vintage as the Athena, a holdover from another period of time," Tattnall said.
"Hasn't been quite that long but your point's taken Commander, given time the kinks can be worked out and she'll be running as smoothly as the newest battlestar," Hibbert said as he looked around his surroundings.
"Indeed," Tattnall said before deciding to get to the point,
"We're docking with Caprica Station for the time being, and a Raptor is scheduled to return from Fort Milledge after picking up a prisoner. I'm going to have him sent here to you for a medical evaluation; I want you to take detailed notes about his physical condition when he arrives. Remember to be thorough. If anything has been hidden I want to know."
Hibbert nodded, "That won't be a problem Commander, is there a reason why?"
"He's due to be interrogated by the MoI and I want to make sure that our friend Major Windsor doesn't overstep his boundaries," Tattnall saw the look on Hibbert's face and decided to elaborate, "I have no love for the Erebea but this is my ship and anything done to a prisoner on here reflects on me in one way or another."
"I understand sir, the MoI are not exactly known for being the gentle type," Hibbert said.
"I've already sent Colonel Minerva to escort Windsor to Fort Milledge, if she witnesses any mistreatment I'll have her come to you with the information."
Fifty-One Minutes Later:
Fort Milledge:
The door opened to allow Minerva and Windsor to enter the hangar. A group of several guards were surrounding a man who looked to be about six feet tall. He wore an orange prison jump suit with 'FMP' in stencil letters across the front. His wrists and ankles were manacled and there was a black hood placed over his head.
"I think your package has been processed for shipping," Bruin said to Thompson.
She nodded, "Yeah, looks like he's going to be like this all the way back to the ship."
When the group reached the Raptor two of the guards helped the prisoner onto the passenger bench and checked his restraints to make sure they were secure. It was then that Bruin, Thompson, Windsor, and Minerva boarded the Raptor.
"Lieutenant, open a channel to the Libran and let Commander Tattnall know that we're on the way with the package," Windsor said though he wished he could have just kept Tattnall and the rest of the ship's officers out the loop in this particular part of the mission.
"I'll be glad to be out of here, I've never been a big fan of the cold," Minerva admitted as she shivered just thinking of the cold weather that was beyond the wall of the hangar. She could see why Fort Milledge had a reputation for being escape proof.
"As soon as I have clearance to fly we'll be out of here," Bruin said as he waited patiently for the word to leave.