Storm Clouds
by AJ Marks
Part 9: Stories
Sheba waited on the hangar deck for their mysterious friend. Standing beside her was Boomer, Bojay, and Jolly. They were all wondering what type of craft would land. After landing they were to bring Troy up to the conference room where Tigh would be waiting. They decided to do it this way in case of a problem. The hangar had the minimum number of crew members in case of an explosion, and locks were in position to prevent any fire from spreading to the rest of the ship.
“About to land,” one of the deck crew stated.
They all turned to watch. She blinked a bit in shock seeing a black, sleek-looking viper land, followed by a second one. Both were easily moved into position as the canopies opened and two people got out dressed in warrior uniforms, complete with blasters.
“Not what I expected,” Sheba stated to Boomer, who looked as shocked as she felt.
“No, they look like warriors,” Boomer said.
“And those look like vipers,” Jolly said.
Sheba had to agree and readied herself to greet the two walking towards her. Both had blonde hair, and one was female, who was gesturing towards them and the guy, saying something to him.
“Welcome aboard the battlestar Agamemnon,” Sheba said.
“Thank you, I’m Troy, this is Bri,” Troy said, introducing himself to her.
“I’m Sheba, this is Boomer, Jolly and Bojay,” Sheba said, seeing the woman look at them with interest.
“Bojay?” she said, suddenly smiling. They were all confused for a second. “Its me, Gabrielle. We were in the same training class.”
Sheba looked over to see Bojay standing shocked at the admission before saying anything.
“The same one with Nall,” she said.
“I, uh, what are you doing here?” he stammered. “You were…”
Sheba watched as he trailed off and felt like slapping him to get the rest of the thought out.
“Accept that secret mission from Commander Cain, yep,” Bri said. “And what a mission it was.”
“Still is,” Troy said.
“Ah, this way, Commander Tigh is waiting for you,” Sheba said, leading them off the hangar.
“I heard you accepted a position on the Pegasus, how’d you end up here?” Bri asked.
“Especially considering we heard the 5th fleet had been destroyed,” Troy said. Sheba frowned wondering what their mission was and how did they survive the holocaust and make it out here.
“Ah, well Cain pulled off the most brilliant maneuver I’ve ever seen, as to the rest,” Sheba shot him a glare which he understood. “But I’ll let the commander tell you the rest. But what about you, never heard anything about you or Nall again.”
“Nall is fine, settled down, married,” Bri said.
“Really, him?” Bojay replied. “The guy who organized massive parties, chased every woman around.”
“Yeah, its funny really,” Bri stated, as they exited the elevator.
*****
Tigh heard his guests had landed, two of them. He also heard from the deck chief on how much like the vipers the craft was, and the two pilots were dressed like warriors. The door opened allowing Sheba, Boomer Bojay and two other warriors into the room. Jolly stayed at the door as it closed and Tigh stood to greet his visitors.
“Commander,” Troy said.
“Troy, have a seat,” Tigh said, as everyone sat down.
“Very nice,” Troy said, looking around. “Not quite the style I remember.”
“It had some modifications,” Tigh replied, not wanting to mention anything about the mysterious construction yard. “Its home though. But I don’t know anything about you.”
“And I can say the same, but trust has to start somewhere,” Troy said. “We were part of a special mission, given by Commander Cain twelve yehrens ago.”
The mention of Cain piqued Tigh’s interest. This would be a very interesting story.
“In secret he commissioned the building of a new battlestar without the Council’s permission. That battlestar was named the Argo, and under the command of Commander Ares, promoted from colonel of the Pacifica, and tasked with finding Earth,” Troy said.
The mention of Earth sent shock throughout Tigh’s body. The very planet they were searching for Commander Cain had sent a ship out to find it well. Had they succeeded? He calmed himself down waiting to hear what else Troy had to say. He listened in as Troy told his story about finding Earth, and the resulting debates on the planet to pull the governments together against the threat of the Cylons.
It all took time and were too far away to help before the massacre of the Twelve Colonies. It appeared Commander Bakkus had known, and sent a message about the disaster, and informed them that the Galactica might have survived. Now they were looking for the battlestars.
Tigh felt tempted to inform them about the fleet, but he and Adama had agreed, until they had solid proof, the fleet would remain a secret. The Agamemnon would be a ship launched and left the Colonies after the attack. Tigh gave his story, as best he could having made it up mostly. He expected Troy and Bri to not accept the story.
“Its amazing, two Colonial groups in a matter of a few days,” Troy said finally.
“What do you mean?” Tigh asked, concerned that they had already discovered the Galactica.
“We are helping out another group of refugees from the Colonies under the command of Commander Tagget,” Troy said.
“The Sunflare,” Tigh said recognizing the name. “A patrol group on the other side of the Colonies. They escaped?”
“Seems like they ran across survivors headed to the Galactica, and with two civilian ships they made out this far, though not without some sacrifices, like food,” Troy said. “We caught up to them in time.”
Tigh sat back thinking about what he heard. It seemed almost too good to be true, the entire situation. He looked over at the other three ho had remained quiet. Sheba spoke up first.
“So, those fighters, they are based on vipers?” Sheba asked.
“Yes, I helped out in the design process,” Bri said.
“Are you still that great pilot?” Bojay asked, gaining the attention of both Boomer and Sheba.
“She is, doesn’t like to brag, but when we’re in combat, I’m her wingmate,” Troy said.
“Commander Cain sealed my academy records,” Bri said finally.
Tigh thought that was odd, but said nothing. Everything in him screamed they were real, their story was real. However, he had to be careful. Any little mistake could cost them dearly.
“How many ships are here, and why don’t our scanners picked up your ships?” Tigh finally asked interrupting the conversation.
“We have two battlestars and a dozen support ships,” Troy said. “And the stealth materials ask the ships from the scanners. The people of Earth are big into such technologies. We’re able to hide even our large ships, but at a cost of the armor.”
Tigh gave it some thought, and it explained why two basestars would have been destroyed. “So, you destroyed the basestars?”
“Yes, they were on course to attack the Sunflare again,” Troy said.
An idea came to Tigh for proof of the situation before him. “Perhaps I can talk to Commander Tagget.”
“I can give you the coordinates, and we’re working to see where else the Cylon are,” Troy stated.
Tigh decided on that course of action. It would prove the best. If it was Tagget, they would recognize each other, but he would ask about the Galactica. The only drawback to the entire situation. He would have to take that risk.
*****
Commander Tagget went over the latest reports. The first civilians were being transferred to transports which would ease the strain on life support systems. His biggest concern, Sara, and what would be done with her. He had grown to consider the girl his daughter. Perhaps he could retire, become an advisor and raise her back on Earth.
He toyed with that idea a lot, Zaga could easily take over the Sunflare and its group. He would have retired after the armistice anyways.
“Commander, incoming communications for you,” Zaga’s voice said, interrupting Tagget’s musings.
“All right, be right there,” Tagget said, the one drawback of the battlecruisers communication system. He had to go to the bridge for any reports.
“You all right staying here?” he asked, looking over at Sara, who was using a small tablet computer on the floor, something brought over by the Earthers, watching as she absently nodded. Shaking his head he left the office arriving at the bridge.
“It’s a current Alpha line,” Zaga said.
Tagget understood the implied meaning. The Earthers used a different code, and their Alpha code was older. Whoever was using this, escaped from the Colonies. Activating the screen he saw a man sitting there, and took a second to recognize him.
“Commander, this is Commander Tigh of the battlestar Agamemnon,” Tigh said, surprising Tagget. “You probably never heard of it, commissioned before the armistice. I was transferred from the Galactica to the Agamemnon.”
Tagget thought about that for a second. Recent discoveries meant anything was possible. Another group from the Colonies meant even more survived. If one battlestar could be constructed without his knowledge, why not a second.
“Amazing, so many survived,” Tagget finally said. “I had almost given up hope for finding anyone human ever again.”
He did not say how close he was to settling down on a planet’s surface, destroying the ships, or stripping them and using their parts to help colonize a new world.
“I know the feeling,” Tigh said.
Tagget recounted his flight from the Colonies, trying to catch up with the Galactica, rescuing the civilian ships from a basestar, and their flight away from the Colonies. Tagget wondered a bit how they had survived without an argo ship? He also knew a battlestar had large storage areas for food and water for long deployments. An improvement over the battlecrusiers.
“So, you think they are legit?” Tigh asked.
“Yeah, talked to Admiral Ares, the commander of the Earth’s military forces,” Tagget said. “Reminds me a bit of Cain.”
Tagget watched as Tigh looked on thoughtful about something. He had a feeling Tigh knew something else, but he had a right to be cautious. Everyone leaving the Colonies had to be, in case of a Cylon trap. He would wait to see what Tigh thought before making any judgments.
*****
Phantom walked over to the communications screen, the Imperious Leader called to be brought up to date. Despite the constant reports, the Imperious Leader wanted to talk to Phantom personally.
“Report Phantom,” the Imperial Leader stated, as it appeared on the screen.
“By your command,” Phantom said. “It appears things are not going according to logical calculations.”
“Explain?”
“By all logical processes, the human fleet with the battlecruiser should have turned and continued heading into space towards the next system, where I had two basestars waiting for an ambush,” Phantom said, still unsure why the plan failed. “Instead the battlecruiser attacked the basestar at the system.
“Illogical indeed,” the Imperious Leader said, making Phantom glad he was not the only one confused by the actions.
“You made haste to bring the other two basestars into the system to destroy the humans?”
“That was my plan my leader, however,” Phantom paused, wondering how the Imperious Leader would take the next bit of news. “I have lost contact with both basestars before they arrived at the system. I have received no reports of the human fleet leaving the system, or any ships nearby.”
“Most interesting,” the Imperious Leader said, pausing before talking to someone else. “What is your take on this Baltar?”
Phantom watched as another figure appeared, one he despised. Baltar!
“What is the composition of this human fleet?” Baltar asked, irking Phantom, who wished to execute the human.
“Five warships and two civilian craft,” Phantom replied.
“No argo ships?” Baltar asked.
“None, what does that matter?” Phantom replied, hearing Baltar laugh.
“Everything,” Baltar replied back. “Humans have to eat, remember. Without an argo ship they have no way to produce food. They probably have no food, they had to attack for that planet or starve.”
“And what about the missing basestars?” Phantom asked, wishing to wipe the smirk off Baltar’s face.
“That, I don’t know,” Baltar replied, and Phantom felt glad. “The Galactica doesn’t have that type of jamming ability.”
“Proceed with the destruction of the battlecruiser, and report on this new enemy of the empire,” the Imperious Leader ordered.
“By your command,” Phantom replied, ending the communications. He would have nine basestars under his command. His fleet would be invincible. The humans would be destroyed, and whoever attacked the Cylons would be discovered.
End part 9
Continued in Part 10: The Trap
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