Battlestar Argo
by AJ Marks
Part 5: Goodbye Friend
Martin and Nall sat at the table, as others waiting for the patrol to return. They talked about the Colonies and what they would miss and what they would not miss while they were on this mission. There was also a group of odds on a far board as to if they would ever find Earth and when. So far most people figured that they would never find Earth. The odds just seemed too great for people to believe.
“What will you miss,” Nall asked Martin.
“Jesse,” Martin replied referring to previous girlfriend. Nall shook his head in disbelief.
“Martin, she dumped you ten boyfriends ago,” Nall said. “She goes through them faster than I do girlfriends.”
“But she was special,” Martin replied, not really budging, tapping his finger on the table.
“I even heard she had a few girlfriends as well,” Nall said. “I don’t think she knows what she likes.”
“I liked her. She even told me that the time we spent together was some of her best memories,” Martin replied.
“Then why did the blonde ditz ditch you,” Nall said. He had never liked Jesse. Nall never said that any of his relationships with a girl were for long term and made sure that they knew that as well. A few tried to make it long term but it was not his style. They had been upset and even angry with him but they moved on. Jesse however said that she was looking for a long term relationship. Her relationship with Martin lasted less than half a yehren.
“Hey,” Bri said, as she and Troy sat down next to them. “So whatcha talking about?”
“Jesse,” Nall said with a roll of his eyes.
“Oh, that ditz,” Bri replied. “You’re better than her Martin.”
“You keep saying that, maybe someday I’ll believe it,” Martin said. “But the blonde hair, gorgeous body.”
“Don’t need that info,” Bri said holding up a hand.
“I got info,” Nall said waggling his eyebrows.
“Way too much info,” Bri replied burying her head into her hands. “I should have stayed in the cafeteria.”
“Finger foods,” Nall said with a grin. Martin started to laugh, joined by Troy when Nall found himself on the floor having been pushed off by Bri.
“I’m surrounded by perverts,” she said closing her eyes.
“Not our fault that you’re still pure,” Nall said from the floor. That earned a raised eyebrow from Troy who watched as Bri blushed red.
“God kill me now,” Bri groaned then glanced over at Nall who was getting back into his chair.
“We love ya anyways though,” Nall said with a smile. He knew that he had ruffled her a bit and that he would probably pay for it later, but the look on her face at that moment had been priceless. He also realized, with a pang of jealousy that Bri’s looked first at Troy, then away before she blushed.
*****
Ares leaned back in the command chair. So far there had been nothing from the scouting party. He felt worried and relieved at the same time. He knew that it would take time to gather the information properly but he was ready for action.
“Commander, scout ships returning,” Renee said, not looking up from her screen. She was looking to make sure that there was no other movement from the system.
“Have the pilots meet me in the debriefing room as soon as they detox,” Ares replied. He wanted to know what they were going to be up against right away.
“Yes sir,” he heard Pratt reply as he headed off the bridge.
Ares did not have to wait long until the two pilots entered the room. They did not have the attitude that they were going to be up against far superior numbers but he would wait to see what they had.
“Lieutenant Lycieus and Herald,” Ares said as the two men sat down at the table. “What did you find?”
“We took several scans to make sure and to time their orbits,” Herald replied. “It appears that there is one basestar and only one station.”
That made Ares feel a bit better. They would be able to dictate the term of the battle a bit better now, that and the Argo would not be facing more than one basestar.
“What about the station, what type is it?” Ares asked.
“Unknown configuration, the warbook was not able to identify it,” Lycieus said. “Here is what it looks like.”
An image of the station came up on the screen. Ares had to admit that it was not like anything he had seen before either. That could be an unknown element. The more he stared at the station however the more it looked vaguely familiar.
“Does it look familiar to you at all,” Ares asked the two men.
Both of the men looked at the station trying to figure out what their commander was talking about. It took a few minutes but Herald finally said that something did look familiar to him.
“Yeah, this area right here,” Herald said pointing out a part of the station.
Ares looked at it for a few seconds before realizing what it was. He looked at the other parts of the station to confirm his suspicions.
“This is a combo base,” Ares finally said. “This part here and here are from a combat base.”
“Yes, and this is a part of a factory base,” Lycieus said pointing to another part.
“That’s why the scanners couldn’t identify it,” Herald said.
“Judging by the looks of the station it probably holds only about fifty to a hundred additional fighters plus the three hundred that the basestar carries,” Ares said calculating the best plan of attack. “Were there any patrols on the surface of the planet?’
“We didn’t see any, nor did we observe any patrols coming out from the basestar,” Herald replied.
“Good, I have an idea,” Ares said. “Have all pilots report to the mission room immediately. We need to put the plan in action right now.”
“Yes sir,” Pratt replied then walked off the bridge to inform the pilots.
*****
Troy sat at the table listening in on the banter between Nall and Bri wondering how they kept it up. Taking a glance at Martin he noticed that he seemed to find all of this funny. They had currently moved the center of attention away from Bri and to Nall. Troy believed that Nall enjoyed being the center of attention even if he was being the brunt of all the jokes.
Troy looked up seeing Colonel Pratt walk into the room and realized that they would find out what the next mission was going to be. Reports that the two pilots from red squad had landed and were debriefing the commander had reached him not long ago. Now it appeared that that debriefing was over and the planning phase had begun.
“Commander Ares requests all squads report to the briefing room right away,” Pratt said to Troy who nodded his head as Pratt went in search of Gunther to tell him the news as well.
“Everyone report to the briefing room now,” Troy said standing up to make the announcement. When the colonel had walked into the room everything had gone silent waiting to see what he had said to Troy. Now everyone moved quickly out to the room.
Pilots filed into the room, the air tense with nervous anticipation. They felt that a battle would be coming soon but it was how it was coming that had them nervous.
Troy sat down, watching as everyone else made their way to a seat. Commander Ares stood in the front of the room, looking at the group. His eyes seemed to take in every pilot who entered the room. What was going on in his mind? Troy figured he would find out soon enough.
“Thank you all for coming so soon. I know that you’re all wondering what we found on the scouting mission,” Ares said looking at as many pilots as he could. A few people shifted in their seats waiting for the rest of what the commander would say. Troy knew his squad would do something when Ares made eye contact with him. “Tell me captain, how does blue squad feel about roughing it for a short time?”
Troy was taken by surprise by the question, not expecting such an odd question. He glanced at his squadron noticing a few surprised faces, but everyone appeared ready for whatever they had to do.
“I think we can handle it commander,” Troy replied with a slight grin on his face.
“Good, the scouting report shows that there is one Cylon basestar and one combo station,” he said, a picture of the station and basestar for everyone to see. “We’ve estimated that the two have a combined fighter compliment of three hundred fifty to four hundred.”
Several pilots were shocked at that number but did not say anything. They had been outnumbered for every fight so far, this one was no different. The Argo carried one hundred vipers, or two extended squadrons. This meant that they would only be outnumbered by about three or four to one.
“I doubt that being outnumbered will be anything new to any of you ,but I think we can manage a surprise and take out several hangars before they get a chance to launch their fighters,” Ares told his pilots. “We have on board ten bombers that I plan to use in this battle.”
Troy was not sure about this. The bombers were not as fast or maneuverable as the vipers. The pilots flying those craft would be in trouble in a dogfight.
“The plan is to use the planet as a staging area for the attack. We have shown that we can move small groups of ships to the planet without being noticed, I plan to use that to our advantage,” Ares said. “For some reason the Cylons are not sending out patrols which is also to our advantage. I want to send blue squad to the planet along with the ten bombers. Once everything is set blue squad will attack from the planet’s surface. The close proximity of the Cylon forces to the planet’s surface should give you the element of surprise.”
Troy glanced around to see how everyone was reacting to the news that had been given. This was an ambush in every sense of the plan. HE realized that it would take a bit of time to get his entire squad on the planet’s surface without the Cylon’s noticing.
“I’ll be sending the shuttles to the planet’s surface as well with the supplies that will be needed. You will not be able to group your fighters close together in case they are spotted by the Cylons,” Ares said to the group. “Once blue squad is in place we well set up a time for the attack. With the Cylons attention focused on blue squad in the Argo will attack from behind the gas giant of the system. Red squad will launch for a two pronged attack. Hopefully the bombers will have been able to hit the launch bays of the basestar to limit the amount of fighters and inflict some damage on the basestar and then return to the Argo. After that the Argo will close in and launch her missiles to destroy the basestar and station. Any questions?”
The room was silent as they absorbed the plan. There was a lot of risk in the plan but it was simple enough. The only thing they had to worry about was the Cylons finding them on the planet’s surface. No one said anything for many moments.
“Who will be flying the bombers,” Troy finally asked.
“I would like people with experience but I’ll also take volunteers,” Ares replied.
Troy figured that it would take ten of his pilots away from the fighters, but they needed the heavy weapons of the bombers to take out the launch bays. Troy knew that he had experience with the bombers but did not know who else did.
“Once the bombers have completed their attack runs they have the choice of returning to the Argo to switch to their vipers or to continue to attack until they run out of ammo,” Ares said.
Troy thought about that for a few moments. A quick run in the bombers then switching to the viper and coming out fresh into the battle might help out. The only thing was they would have to be sure of their targets so no one attacked the same target as someone else.
“I’ll volunteer, I have experience,” Troy said taking the lead.
“Me too,” Martin said from behind Troy. Several others quickly joined them as well. Each of them had some experience with the bomber. It did not take long before they had ten pilots, a few from Red squadron.
“Looks good, let’s get this plan into action,” Ares said. “We should send the fighters to the planet’s surface in groups of two or three. The first three groups will also have a shuttle along with it for the supplies. Then when everyone is there we’ll attack. The last group down will have that information as we are not sure how long this will take.”
“Yes sir,” Troy said. “I think I should be one of the first ones down though.”
Ares nodded his head in agreement. “Anyone you want to be in the last group.”
“Nall, let him and whoever goes with him to know when the attack is going to occur,” Troy said.
“I will, and good luck captain,” Ares said as the meeting ended.
Everyone left the room to get ready for the upcoming battle. Red squad would continue to maintain the combat patrol in short range of the battlestar just in case.
*****
Troy climbed into the bomber he would use for the battle. It was a ship that he really did not like to fly but it would do this time. He would be flying down with Bri and one shuttle. They would be responsible for beginning to set up the base camp which they would probably be at for about a couple of days. It had been determined not to rush this part of the operation. If more supplies were needed another shuttle would be dispatched.
“Core command to Blue one launch when ready,” Troy heard Renee’s voice say over the intercom.
Troy took a breath and released it in anticipation of the launch. He then pressed the button feeling the G-forces tug at his body. It was not quite as powerful as the viper but more than a shuttle launch. Once in space he was quickly joined by Bri and the shuttle. The most dangerous part of the journey was about to begin.
They used the gas giant as a shield to approach the planet. They would have to wait until the Cylon forces disappeared behind the planet to make the approach to the planet’s surface. The air was breathable but thin so they would have to work slowly on the planet’s surface to avoid exhaustion. They had picked a predetermined spot on the planet to land.
The flight from the gas giant to the other planet was done on turbos to get there as quickly as possible. Troy had wondered why Ares just didn’t send the entire squadron in one flight, but a large group of Colonial craft might be easier to pick up on then a few fighters. They quickly landed on the planet and powered down their fighters just in case. They would also have the scanners on to make sure that nothing else happened to the Cylon forces.
The small group began to set up the camp as quickly and carefully as they could. There were extra oxygen supplies just in case anyone strained themselves in the thin atmosphere. They were joined several centars later by another two fighters and shuttle. The incoming flights were spaced cautiously keeping an eye on the orbit of the Cylon ships.
Troy knew when Nall landed he would carry when the attack would start. Until then, they would lay low, scatter the vipers and bombers and spread the camp out a bit to avoid any scans from the basestar.
*****
The Battlestar Argo slowly made its way to the gas giant. Ares was hoping to use the planet to shield the approach and get even closer. The closer he got without detection by the Cylons the better chance he had of firing the first shot. That would help out greatly with the battle that was about to take place. Ares knew that he could not underestimate the Cylons but he hoped that most of his pilots made it back safely.
The one command that he hoped he did not have to give was the one to send the signal to fleet command. From what he had heard everything had been quiet lately. That did not seem good to Ares. He had the feeling that whatever the Cylons had planned with this station would happen soon.
The attack he planned would start shortly. He glanced down at the clock to notice that the attack would begin five centons.
“Battle stations,” Ares said, watching the ship and crew go into full alert.
The bridge was bathed in a red light as crew members scrambled to their stations. This was the moment of truth that they all were waiting for.
“Anything from the Cylon forces,” Ares said.
“No increase in activity that we can see yet,” Renee replied, watching her screen. Red squad was ready for launch and they were just waiting for green squad to begin their mission.
*****
Troy sat in the bomber’s cockpit watching the time. The clock ticking down the final microns for the battle. He felt the adrenalin rushing though his body like it always did when he was about to enter a fight. A sudden beep noise made him jump even though he expected it.
“Green squad, move out,” he said as he pushed the turbo button on the bomber. He and six others would attack the basestar. They each had a different bay that they would be attacking. The vipers would be attacking the gun emplacements on the basestar hopefully before any raiders could be launched.
Troy watched as Martin lined up on his wing. He briefly felt bad about what was going to happen but had to push that thought out of his mind. He glanced at his scanner and noticed that the Cylon forces were right above them decreasing the time that the Cylons had to launch their fighters.
“All groups break and attack,” Troy said, turning with Martin to line up their shots. They were flying as fast as the bombers could go closing the distance to the basestar.
Everyone was amazed that the Cylons still had yet to open fire on them. The thought was just in Troy’s mind when the basestar opened fire. The explosions rocked the bomber a bit as the battle began.
Troy concentrated on his approach and lined up. He then saw the door to the hanger open. That was both a blessing and a curse. It meant that the raiders would be launching but it also meant that he had a clean shot inside.
Troy pushed his thumb down on the fire button and several large heavy laser shots pulsed from his bomber to impact in the hangar. He could see explosions inside and hoped that most of the Cylons raiders had been destroyed.
The vipers had already been in and out destroying gun emplacements while Troy and the other bombers lined up their missiles. He pushed the button for the missile and felt the difference as the missile left the ship. He had to turn but took a few shots at the hull of the basestar as he turned away. He knew those shots probably would not inflict much damage but a little bit was better than nothing.
Two of the missiles were destroyed by defensive fire, others hit the hull causing damage but did not destroy the hangar. Three hit the hangers causing massive damage inside the basestar. The station was hit harder by the three bombers. They did not miss their targets as all three hit a hangar.
Cylon raiders were now starting to come out of the basestar as the hangers on the station had been destroyed. The bomber squad had made their run and now raced back to the Argo which was making a fast dash into the battle. They passed red squad on the way into battle. That was when Troy heard it.
“Martin turn, you have one on your tail,” Nall’s voice said.
“Frack,” Martin replied, as he turned his bomber hoping to avoid the Cylon raider. He made a turn and Troy say the bomber get struck. “I’m hit.”
“I’m on it,” Nall said, lining up the attacking raider. He fired once and destroyed the Cylon raider. “You’re clear Martin.”
“Thanks, I think,” Martin’s voice said but did not sound that convincing.
“What’s wrong,” Nall replied concerned.
“I can’t turn it,” Martin said.
Troy quickly made his way to the Argo’s landing bay wishing that he could not hear the conversation but knowing he had to for the battle. This was what he was dreading since he had seen the vision of Martin. His path was now different from the rest of them.
He quickly got out of the bomber and headed to his viper. It was already fueled and ready to go. The flight crew handed him his helmet as he jumped into the viper. He was quickly given permission to launch. He felt the force of the launch push him into his seat as he went to join the ongoing battle.
The Argo and basestar now hammering away at each other but it was obvious that the basestar was losing. The Argo was doing more damage then the basestar was. Then he saw the large anti-ship missiles launch. They streaked towards the basestar as Troy lined up a raider, destroying it. The basestar exploded in a mass of light and debris leaving just the station. Only a few raiders managed to launch before the hangars were destroy.. The Colonials outnumbered the raiders which was a rare feat.
The Argo then lined up the station which did not seem to have much defensive armament on it, or the damage to it was already severe. A few more missiles were launched destroying the station.
Now all that was left was the destruction of the raiders and the attack was over. It was a mop up operation and Troy let his thoughts drift over to what Nall and Bri were doing noticing they were with Martin. He turned his viper to go and catch up with the three of them.
Martin was still unable to turn his bomber. Troy looked at the damage to the ship and noticed that there appeared no way to repair the ship.
“Can you turn off your engines,” Bri asked having tried everything else.
“Already tried, the circuit seems to be fried,” Martin replied.
“Nall, Bri, how’s your fuel,” Troy said. They replied that it was fine. “Scout on up ahead and see if there are any hospitable planets.”
Bri hit her thrusters and went on ahead of the group. She used her long range scanners to see if there was anything. It took a bit but she replied back that on the edge of the scanners there appeared to be a system that Martin was approaching that he might find a planet to land on. It was at the edge of the scanner, well within the range of the bomber, but not the viper.
“All right, you two head on back to the Argo, that’s an order,” Troy said. There was a bit of protesting but the two pilots finally backed down. The wished Martin good luck and promised to send a rescue mission. Once they were gone Troy knew that he had to tell Martin.
“What do you think, honestly,” Martin replied. “I’m going to drift forever in space right.”
“No, but there won’t be a rescue mission Martin. Your path from here on out is different than the rest of us. You have a mission already my friend,” Troy replied, knowing he would have to tell him the truth now.
“A mission,” Martin asked not sure he understood.
“I don’t know it all yet but if we rescue you then we risk changing future events, perhaps drastically. I just know you will help out a lost warrior, but I don’t know much else,” Troy replied.
“I don’t die alone in space,” Martin asked.
“That I did not see. I saw you land on a planet with people. Beyond that it did not tell me,” Troy said.
“You’re a gifted,” Martin asked.
“Yes,” Troy replied knowing that he did not have to hide anything.
“That makes me feel better. Do me a favor though,” Martin said. “Tell Nall and Bri for me.”
“I will,” Troy replied. “Take care friend,” he said then banked his viper away from Martin and headed back to the Argo.
*****
Ares was listening to Bri and Nall as planned a rescue mission for Martin. He was about to give it the go ahead when Troy walked into the room. From the look on his face Ares knew that something was up.
“You wanted to know when I had a vision,” Troy said, to Ares who nodded his head. “Well I had one of Martin some time ago. We can’t go to rescue him.”
“What,” Bri shouted, as she turned to face him. “You better explain and what do you mean by vision?”
“He’s gifted,” Ares said calmly. “Now what do you mean.”
“Martin is destined to another fate,” Troy said. “If we rescue him we doom another which would have grave consequences for everyone.”
“I see,” Ares replied.
“You’re dooming him to die in space,” Bri said, turning around and walking out the door without looking back.
“He lands on a planet but his bomber will be pretty much wrecked. He helps another who I feel is important to our survival. I do know that Martin will not be alone,” Troy said.
“I once had a gifted person tell me that I would go on a long journey that would take me away from the colonies for many yehrens. I didn’t believe him until now,” Nall said. “I believe you and don’t worry about Bri. Once she calms down and thinks about it she’ll be your friend again.”
“I hope so,” Troy said.
“She will,” Nall said. “Come on, let’s go toast a friend to a new path.”
Ares watched as the two walked out. He wondered about Nall and his apparent calmness about everything. He was actually glad he did not have to authorize the rescue mission. The ships would have been stretched for fuel as it was and there was only about a fifty percent chance they would return. He could have turned the Argo around but that would be on a path closer to the colonies and perhaps even the Cylons. The Delphian Empire was not far away and they were at war with the Cylons as well. He would trust in Troy’s vision this time.
“Helm set in a course for the next system and have damage reports sent to my office,” Ares said then turned and walked out.
*****
Martin groaned as he fought to remember what had happened. The crash must have been worse than he thought. The planet seemed to be right in front of him and he had no control over the flight path as he went straight into the planet.
“There, there, take it easy,” he heard a female voice say. He was able to open his eyes and saw a beautiful woman looking into his eyes. She had blonde hair and he could see another blond man standing behind her.
“Looks like you are lucky to be alive,” the man said. “I’m Bootees and this is my sister Vella.”
“Martin,” he replied knowing that he would not be alone, Troy had been right.
End part 5