Battlestar Argo
by AJ Marks
Part 60: Contact
“Commander, we have a message,” Rebecca said.
“Message,” Ares said, glancing over at Troy and Bri who were with him on the bridge. “From who?”
“It’s from the Colonial Bound,” Rebecca replied.
“All right, put it though,” Ares said, wondering what Captain Scott wanted.
He glanced down quickly reading though the message. The scout ship had spotted a Cylon basestar and kept track of it. Now it appeared a couple of Colonial vipers had appeared. That meant that the Galactica and the fleet had to be nearby.
“Change course,” Ares said. The Pegasus and London had already left for Earth, and now he had a good lead as to exactly where the Galactica was.
“Yes sir,” Aaron said. He quickly relayed the information to the rest of the fleet.
“We won’t be in the area for at least a couple of days,” Troy said.
“Yes, I hope the Galactica can take care of one basestar,” Ares said. “Send out the Fire Ant and Emerald to these locations. Have them meet us back here.”
“Understood sir,” Aaron said as Rebecca sent the orders for the two scout ships.
“When we arrive here, have all ships resupply, we might need it. I don’t want to head into the battle zone with my ships low on supplies,” Ares ordered. The spot where the two scouts would join back up would be just outside what he considered the combat zone. “We’re now operating in war condition, all communications are to be scrambled, changing every twelve hours. Any unknown contacts are to be reported and investigated at once.”
“Yes sir,” Troy said. “I’ll let the others know.”
Are watched as he and Bri left the bridge for the pilot ready room.
Ares sat down wondering if there was anything else he could do. He already had the fleet moving at high speed. Now waiting for information became a game, the important one.
*****
Troy sat down next to Bri in the rec room. He had informed all the pilots about what to expect, and what might happen. Now everyone played the waiting game. The main focus seemed to be on Mary as the young girl ran around the room creating games she could play with others.
“So, anything else new,” Nall asked.
“Nope, we’ve heard nothing from the Colonial Bound, or our scouts,” Troy replied.
“We are approaching the supply point,” Jax said. She sat down with the others.
“Ya know, this reminds me of when we first started on the Argo,” Nall said.
“Only difference would be you’d be hitting on Bri,” Troy said.
“Yeah, well, Mary’s here,” Nall said.
“That and Rebecca keeps you on a short leash,” Bri said.
“Haha,” Nall replied. “Mary,” he said suddenly standing. He quickly walked over getting his daughter.
“Don’t worry about it man,” the other pilot said.
Troy watched as wondering if anyone had ever seen this day coming. He knew that Nall would have a child, but didn’t expect him to be such a good father. Of course the calming effect of Rebecca helped out quite a bit.
“Any bets as to when we’ll come across the Galactica,” Jax asked.
“No, I decided not to bet this time,” Bri said.
“I did,” Jax replied. “Its posted on the wall.”
Troy looked over at the wall in question. Different times and dates were there all filled with names. To him the wall appeared like a giant mass of names crossed with dates and times.
“That reminds me even of the bets we’d have when finding Earth,” Bri said.
“I know, I started it,” Jax replied. “Well me and engineer Victor.”
“Victor,” Nall asked perking up on the name.
Troy watched as Jax shot Nall a glare. “Better watch out Nall, Jax has the look Bri used to get towards you.”
“Really, interesting,” Nall replied.
“Well, I need to go check on the vipers,” Troy said. He had only stopped by for a few seconds.
“Did you eat,” Bri asked.
“Not yet, do you want me to stop by on my way back,” he asked her.
“Yeah, I think by then we’ll all be ready to eat,” Bri said.
“All right, I will,” Troy said. He left the room headed towards the hanger.
*****
Scott watched the scanner once more. The basestar hadn’t moved but now another ship had appeared on the screen. He quickly waited for the computer to identify the unknown ship.
“Battlestar class,” the operator replied back to him.
“The Galactica,” Scott said. He only thought of one thing the ship could be doing, taking on the basestar. Vipers were already heading towards the basestar but the Cylon ship didn’t seem to be attacking back.
“I’m showing some damage to the Cylon ship.”
Scott wondered about that. Some sort of secret weapon that the Galactica had.
“Galactica entering firing range.”
Scott wondered if the upcoming fight represented how Cylons and Colonials fought. He’d watch to see if anything might be gain by watching. The Colonial Bound didn’t have much firepower, and a skeleton crew. Many of who were ready to meet other people.
“Galactica opening fire, Cylons replying.”
“A slug-fest,” Scott said. Now they’d be able to see how a battlestar fared against the Cylon basestar.
The engagement lasted longer than he anticipated. But finally the basestar exploded.
“Cylon ship destroyed.”
“Can we tell about the damage to the Galactica,” Scott asked.
“Some damage, but it’s still operational.”
“Track the Galactica. We’ll see where it’s going,” Scott said. Now he wondered if he should make contact or not. He knew the fleet would still be a couple of days away if they headed straight here. “Any news from the fleet?”
“Nothing yet captain.”
Scott nodded his head waiting for what would happen next. Now he had to figure out on his own. He’d wait to see where the Galactica went.
“Send a signal back to Earth, we’ve made contact with the Galactica, following to find out more.”
*****
Renee sat back in the command chair of the Fire Ant. The scout ship had been under her command now for almost seven years. She could have accepted a destroyer, or even a battlestar command by now, but enjoyed the scouting process. For some reason she felt a sense of freedom in her command that she didn’t think would come from commanding another type of ship.
“Captain, should we head towards the resupply point,” her first officer asked.
“Yes,” Renee replied.
The Fire Ant had been patrolling the space closer to Cylon space. So far the scanners hadn’t picked up anything.
She heard the preparations to begin heading back towards the fleet. Their fuel tanks were still about half full and the ship could continue on its mission for another month before needing to refuel. So supplies were not much of a problem for her ship. However she did understand where Commander Ares came from with his order.
“Captain, contact!”
“What, where,” Renee said. She quickly jumped up heading over to the scanner checking it out herself.
“One contact, too far away to identify,” the reply came.
Renee waited for a few second watching where the contact would be heading. “I want the course plotted so we can intercept again later after meeting with the fleet.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Renee wanted to follow the ship, identify it, but the window for returning to the fleet was small. She had no idea where to catch up with the fleet if she became separated.
The Fire Ant turned heading back to the fleet.
*****
Pratt stood on the bridge of the Daedalus waiting for the report to come in from the Argo. Commander Ares seemed a bit slow this week. He hoped nothing had gone wrong. General Pakrov appeared on the bridge.
“Still nothing,” Pakrov said.
“Not yet,” Pratt replied.
“Sir, incoming message, it’s the Argo.”
“Transfer it here,” Pratt replied. He didn’t want to wait to read it. He decoded the message as soon as the message appeared. The first couple of words shocked him though. The Pegasus? Thinking quickly, he remembered reading a report that the ship had been destroyed several years ago.
“The Pegasus, thought you were looking for the Galactica,” Pakrov stated.
“The Pegasus was commanded by the legendary Commander Cain. One of the most brilliant commanders the Colonials ever had,” Pratt replied.
He scanned though the message some more before reading about the commander’s death. That would be something he’d have to send to the rest of the fleet, especially those who had come from the Colonies. They’d be sadden about that.
“Seems that we should probably send out a new fast supply ship,” Pakrov said.
Pratt thought about that. Ares had sent the path the London and Pegasus would take. That and supply base CB2 had been completed with CB3 beginning construction. “Inform the FSS-1 and the Sloop to fuel up and head out on that course.”
“Sounds good,” Prakrov said. “Too bad nothing much about the Galactica.”
“We now that the Galactica is headed this way, exactly where is unknown. If the reports are accurate though it will be at least another couple of years before it arrives,” Pratt said.
“We should still inform the outer bases, just in case,” Pakrov said.
“Yeah, let them know how far the Galactica might be,” Pratt replied.
“Are you still going to send the Deadalius in for the refit,” Pakrov asked.
“Yeah, the newer engines will probably be needed,” Pratt replied. Doctor Leaver had made a break though with the engines used to increase speed. The calculations indicated that it would take an additional two months off the trip. Many other ships in the fleet were being re-engine with the newer engines.
Pratt watched as the crew went about their duties informing the rest of the fleet. The next part would be informing those remaining from the Argo about Commander Cain.
*****
Ares listened to the report from Renee. Her ship had encountered a strange contact and would be heading back to reestablish the contact and identify it. He gave his permission and course that he would take so the ship would be able to rejoin the fleet.
“Commander, Fire Ant reports refueling complete,” Rebecca said.
“Very well, tell them they may go,” Ares said.
“Yes sir,” Rebecca said reporting the information back to the scout ship.
“Colonel,” Ares said.
“Yes sir,” Aaron replied.
“I’d like to send a couple of patrols in the direction of the Fire Ant, see if anything else is out there,” Ares said. “One behind the Fire Ant.”
“Yes sir,” Aaron replied. “I’ll let Captain Troy know about that.”
Ares stood pacing a bit on the bridge. A habit he started in the war against the Arbus. Where was the Galactica? What was Commander Adama thinking, where was he headed? He had to answer these questions. The faster he answered them, the quicker the he’d find the fleet.
*****
Scott watched the scanner as the Galactica made its way out of the system. It had recovered the s and now Scott questioned himself. Should he make contact, or remain quiet.
“Orders captain?”
“We’ll follow the ship first. See where it’s headed and maybe find if there are any other ships with her,” Scott replied.
“Yes sir.”
Scott thought about everything. What about the Cylons, did they now know where the Galactica was? Had the Argo and Commander Ares received his message? He had to ponder this. If he went too far he wouldn’t be able to find the fleet again. There were three human fleets, the Galactica, the Argo and his ship, add to that the Cylons and things got confusing quickly.
“Captain, contact,” the scanner operator said several minutes later.
Scott didn’t realize how long he’d been standing there until he glanced down.
“It appears to be a large fleet of ships.”
Scott could only nod his head in agreement. There on the screen ships started to appear. More and more as the computer started to identify them. A couple of mover ships, a liner, a couple of argo ships but nothing of any cohesion.
“What’s their course,” Scott asked.
“Heading towards point gamma six.”
Scott nodded before finally making a decision. Many ships in that fleet couldn’t fly very fast. As a result the Argo could catch up quickly in the next couple of days.
“Take us back to the system. We’ll meet up with the Argo and the fleet with this information. The fleet won’t be able to move very fast,” Scott said.
“Yes sir.”
The Colonial Bound turned heading back towards the system to wait.
*****
Nall went over his check list for hisviper. Everything seemed to be in working order. Now as the canopy closed he glanced over at his wingmate for the patrol. Bri glanced back at him giving him a thumbs up sign which he returned.
“Core command transferring launch control to patrol one,” he heard Rebecca’s voice say.
“Transfer complete core command,” Bri’s voice replied.
“Patrol one, launch when ready, and come back safely handsome,” Rebecca said.
“I will cutie,” he heard Bri’s voice say before he could say anything.
“I don’t think she was talking to you,” Nall said.
He glanced over when she didn’t reply. He saw her glance at him, stick out her tongue then launch herviper.
“Better get going,” Rebecca’s voice said.
“Great, the two of the three women I love have a sense of humor,” Nall said, pressing the turbos to launch the viper. He felt the acceleration pressing him back into his seat as within seconds he joined Bri in space.
Quickly forming up with Bri he turned his viper out towards the patrol area they had been assigned.
*****
Renee watched as two vipers quickly flew out of the Fire Ant’s scanning range. The two vipers would be patrolling closer to the Cylon Empire. Another two vipers patrolled closer to where the commander thought the Galactica would be.
Sitting back in her chair she waited for whatever would happen next. So far the encounter with the Pegasus, and now an unknown ship. Things seemed to be heating up for sure now.
“Captain, we’ve made contact again.”
Renee made her way over to the scanner to see for herself what the ship was. It took the computer a few seconds before the ID came in.
“Basestar,” Renee said. “Not good.”
“Captain?”
“Get me the Argo, high security,” Renee replied. This she would have to report in for sure.
A few seconds later Commander Ares’ face appeared on the screen. “Find something captain?”
“One Cylon basestar commander,” Renee replied.
She watched as Ares remained silent for a few seconds before replying. “All right, follow it and let me know where its going.”
“Yes commander,” Renee replied. “I’m sending you what information we have.”
She watched as Ares nodded his head then the screen went blank. She briefly wondered if this basestar had been reported by the Colonial Bound. She guessed that she’d have to wait to find out.
*****
Ares sat back in the command chair after hearing the information. A Cylon basestar had been encountered. He had no doubt that its mission would behind the Galactica. He wondered if the basestar was the same one the Colonial Bound had encountered.
The information about the basestar came in giving Ares a better view of what seemed to be going on. The basestar appeared to be going quite fast, towards where the Colonial Bound had been reported. A different basestar quickly approaching the area. How many more could he expect?
“Do we have contact yet with the Colonial Bound?” Ares asked.
“Not yet, we’re approaching the area in the next couple of hours,” Aaron replied.
Ares nodded his head at the news. The scout ship had to be ready for relief out here. He questioned how to meet up with it after arriving here. The fleet had received reports from the ship up until a few weeks ago. Now he realized they had passed the ship up.
Ares paced again on the bridge. Several others appeared nervous whenever he started pacing. Suddenly the pitter-patter of feet interrupted everyone’s thoughts. Ares glanced over already knowing what to expect. A small dark-haired young girl holding a paper ran onto the bridge.
“Mommy,” the squeal came from the youngster. She ran past Ares heading straight to Rebecca.
“Mary,” Rebecca’s stern voice said momentarily causing Mary to pause, only a second, until she noticed Ares.
“Awes,” she squealed again this time stopping at him. He noticed she had the expected look of a youngster wanting up. Picking the youngster up he waited to see what Rebecca would do. He exchanged a glance with her as she turned back to her monitor. Mary seemed fine at the moment.
“So, what’s going on,” Ares asked the youngster.
“I drawed this,” she exclaimed proudly, waving it around.
Ares had to be quick to catch a glance of the drawing. He thought he noticed several figures on it, along with a crude drawing of the Argo. “Well, let’s take a look,” Ares said finally able to hold the paper still long enough.
“See, that’s me and mommy, and daddy, and Uncle Twoy, and Aunt Bwi, and you,” she exclaimed proudly.
“I see, and what a good drawing it is,” Ares said. He felt like a grandfather in this position.
He walked over to the view port to glance out the window with Mary who seemed fascinated by the other battlestar. She watched it intently as a couple of vipers zoomed by.
“Daddy,” she said.
“Maybe,” Ares said knowing that Nall actually wouldn’t be this close to the fleet just yet. At least not without him knowing about it.
“Mary,” Rebecca’s voice said walking up to where Ares and Mary were. Mary squirmed a bit getting down then running over to Rebecca who picked her up. “Now, what’s the rule about the bridge?”
“Not to come on it,” Mary replied pouting a bit. “But I wanted to show you this.”
Troy walked onto the bridge glancing around finding what he was looking for quickly.
“Sorry about that,” Troy said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Ares said. It hadn’t been the first time operations had been interrupted by a child, and probably wouldn’t be the last. “Nothing much going on anyways.”
“Any news,” Troy asked.
“Renee reported a Cylon basestar, heading into the zone where the other one is,” Ares said.
Ares watched as Troy absorbed the knowledge. “Nothing from Bri or Nall?”
“I figure they just arrived on patrol. Should be another hour or so before we hear anything,” Ares said.
Ares went back to the scanner as Mary once more left the bridge with Troy. Glancing around he noticed that despite the sudden interruption things actually appeared calmer, more relaxed than they had been before.
Ares realized Mary had provided a tension breaker. He looked down at the scanner once more where the Colonial Bound probably would be, and where the Cylon basestar’s heading. A piece of the puzzle appeared missing. Perhaps the patrols would fill that piece in.
*****
Bri glanced down at the scanner again seeing nothing. The Fire Ant’s stealth features made it invisible to her scanners at this range, if it was still in range. Nall’s viper still appeared closely behind her. She glanced over to see Nall’s viper.
The Argo had left with the newest viper squadrons in the fleet. All built with S-metal but to a new design, the Mk-VIII. The design allowed greater range, better scanners and an increase in maneuverability over the vipers they had first used. The war with the Arbus had advanced the designs quickly. The people of Earth appeared to want something new and improved every year.
The Mk-VIII had more missiles then the bomber did from the Colonies. Perhaps it had been the stalemate in fighting that had caused designs to stagnate back home. Even the battlestars had started to be designed differently. They still held the original form, but they became sleeker, more dangerous. The Enterprise had been part of the new stealth design battlestar.
“Contact,” Nall’s voice said breaking her train of thought.
Looking at the scanner one contact appeared. She waited a few seconds before the computer identified it. Another Cylon basestar. Of course she didn’t know if this had been the same one that had been spotted earlier or not.
“Let’s investigate,” Bri replied.
“Why not, how close?” Nall asked.
“Just enough to see if there’s any others,” Bri said.
“Lead on fearless leader,” Nall said.
Bri turned her viper towards the basestar to investigate it more.
*****
Scott walked back onto the bridge for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.
“Still nothing captain, are you sure about this?”
“We wait,” Scott said. They had been arguing to leave and meet up with the Galactica. No one on board even knew if the Argo had received the message. Of course if they had the fleet should have been there already.
“Contact,” the scanner operator said. “Close, fighters!”
“What, how many? How close?” Scott asked.
“Real close, ID coming in now,” the scanner operator said. Scott watched as the man breathed a sigh of relief. “Two vipers, Mk-VIIIs.”
“Open a hailing frequency to them,” Scott said. A few seconds ticked by until the pilot’s voice came on.
“This is patrol two to Colonial Bound. Request permission to come aboard,” the pilot asked.
“Permission granted,” Scott said with relief. He turned to meet the two pilots in the small hanger. The Colonial Bound had one shuttle but room for three. The one pilot hadn’t had much to do during the mission so far, that might change quickly.
As Scott made his way down he felt for sure that people already knew. Smiles appeared with the knowledge. Entering the hanger the two vipers finished touching down. They both jumped out heading straight to him.
“Captain,” the lead pilot said. He recognized her as Jax.
“Captain Jax, welcome aboard,” Scott said.
*****
“Commander, incoming communications from the Colonial Bound,” Rebecca said.
“Put it though up here,” Ares said turning to the screen nearby. Captain Scott’s face appeared. “Captain, it’s good to see you.”
“Commander, good to see you as well,” Scott replied.
“Rendezvous with the fleet, we’ve got supplies and additional men,” Ares said.
“That sounds great,” Scott replied. “I’ve got a fix on the Galactica.”
“Relay the information,” Ares said. That information he really wanted to see.
“Right away commander,” Scott said. “Commander, we also have a couple of stowaways on board.”
“Really?” Ares asked wondering who that could be.
“We picked them up, I think you know them,” Scott said.
Ares watched as Jax appeared on the screen. “I see, I guess I should let Captain Troy know then.”
“Our patrol didn’t show anything commander,” Jax said.
“What about the Cylon basestar?” Ares asked.
“Destroyed by the Galactica,” Scott replied. “Quite a battle laddie. We followed after the battle, and she’s leading a fleet of ragged looking ships, many not fit for travel.”
Ares understood that. Commander Adama probably took in everything that could fly cramming it with people and supplies.
“All right, head on back, I’ll expect a full report when you arrive,” Ares said. The screen went black as Ares turned to see where the Galactica’s fleet was.
“Sir, the patrol is returning,” Rebecca told him. Now he’d be able to see what else seemed to be going on.
Glancing down he noticed the position of the Galactica, where the basestar had been destroyed and where the Fire Ant predicted another basestar to be. A sudden feeling began growing in his stomach as he looked at everything.
“Commander, Bri states she has something for you,” Rebecca said. “She’s on her way up here now.”
Ares could only hope the final piece of the puzzle had arrived. Bri walked onto the bridge quickly heading straight to him.
“I take it you found something?” Ares said.
“Yes,” Bri replied.
End part 60