{"id":1384,"date":"2016-04-02T07:30:41","date_gmt":"2016-04-02T12:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1384"},"modified":"2016-04-06T07:24:29","modified_gmt":"2016-04-06T12:24:29","slug":"black-alpha-one-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1384","title":{"rendered":"Black Alpha One – Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Black Alpha One<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 3<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Starbuck glanced down hearing warning alert and froze hoping it would say anything but what it expected to see. Perhaps he had a malfunction of some sort, computers were prone to breakdowns.\u00a0 He looked anyways and wished he hadn\u2019t as he saw what was there on the screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cStarbuck, you see that?\u201d Apollo said confirming Starrbuck\u2019s fears.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, wish I wasn\u2019t seeing it though,\u201d Starbuck replied back honestly. They both looked at their scanners seeing a large, growing, group of Cylon attack raiders heading towards them.\u00a0 \u201cIt can stop growing any micron now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHaven\u2019t see that many since Gamoray,\u201d Apollo replied, something Starbuck had to agree with. \u201cSending a message back to the Galactica now, along with their course.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re headed towards the fleet, they know where it is,\u201d Starbuck said after doing some quick calculations in his head about the direction they were headed. He had no doubt the Cylons had found them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in for a battle,\u201d Apollo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith those number, are you sure its going to be a battle?\u201d Starbuck said looking down at the large number of incoming raiders.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but we\u2019ll take out as many as possible, and as quickly as possible,\u201d Apollo said.<\/p>\n

Starbuck knew what his friend was saying, but he saw no way they could survive this battle this time. The numbers were not in their favor at all.\u00a0 Even as he thought that the additional raiders from the Galactica headed out and in their direction ready to take on the Cylons.<\/p>\n

Starbuck readied himself for a quick hard battle.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Adama quickly made his way over to where Athena sat, her face pale and scared.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you have?\u201d he asked calmly, fearing the answer inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cApollo states he had a large number of Cylon raiders, they are headed in the direction of the fleet,\u201d she replied to him.<\/p>\n

Adama looked over at Tigh, who had been listening in as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeems like they\u2019ve found us,\u201d Tigh said quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Adama said, wondering how long they could kept the Cylona at bay, and lose them with such a slow fleet. \u201cRed alert, have all vipers launch and engage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes father,\u201d Athena said.<\/p>\n

Adama moved back to the command chair knowing he would have to inform the fleet. Switching the communications he waited a few seconds until he felt sure all ships were now listening.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll ships, red alert, we have inbound Cylon raiders,\u201d he said to them knowing not much else was needed. All ship captains understood what might happen.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Nick stretched as much as the cockpit allowed him to. He had been on patrol for a short time now and knew it would be a long one if he was already uncomfortable.\u00a0 They were about to arrive in the patrol sector and form some reason they would exercise silence, or that was the procedure they were expected to follow.<\/p>\n

He looked around at the vastness of space, something which always took his breath away. There were many, many galaxies out there, but he never had such a view like this back on Earth, or even on board the Seydlitz.\u00a0 Every pin prick of light was a star, and around that star could be planets, and on one such planet they might even find life.<\/p>\n

He knew back in his home system they had already started terraforming Mars, with the hope of colonizing it within a year or so. He wondered what it might be like to live on another planet.<\/p>\n

A buzz from his scanner interrupted his train of thoughts and looked down at the scanner expecting to see something about an asteroid, or perhaps a rogue planet. Such things happened frequently during patrols and they catalogued every one for further study.\u00a0 Glancing at his scanner he stopped and frowned.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwitch, you see that?\u201d Nick asked James knowingly breaking protocol but wanted a conformation of what he saw on his scanner.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, yeah, I don\u2019t understand it one bit,\u201d James replied back to him.<\/p>\n

Nick had to agree as well, considering what he saw on the screen in front of him. The computer already identified what they were looking at but what really concerned him, the red \u2018hostile\u2019 on the screen even though he had never seen it before.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink we should inform the fleet?\u201d James asked, the very question Nick struggled with as well considering he had no idea what do with such a weird scanner contact.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Nick finally answered. \u201cThey might want us to start first contact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even as he said it, he hoped he would not have to do it. First contact with an alien race, though exciting, wasn\u2019t something he wanted to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat, first contact, just what I wanted to do in this patrol,\u201d James said, his tone matching Nick\u2019s attitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, yeah,\u201d Nick said, switching over to the fleet com. \u201cSeydlitz, this is patrol five-one, come in.\u201d<\/p>\n

He waited a few second before the flight controller replied back to him. \u201cPatrol five-one, this is Seydlitz control, go ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cControl, we have, well, something strange on our scanners and are requesting instructions on how to handle the situation,\u201d Nick replied back information the controller of their situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat type of situation patrol five-one?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cScanners are showing a ship, probably sentient,\u201d Nick replied, not saying anything about what the scanners said to him about it. He heard silence and wondered what might be happening.\u00a0 Perhaps they would want him to make contact.<\/p>\n

He looked over at James making contact and he saw him shrug as they waited for the reply. Things would be getting interesting he figured.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Ryan looked over at the communications officer on duty, Sara, who appeared to be pulling out a large book and looking something up. He walked over wondering what she might be doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything wrong Sara?\u201d he asked, surprising her a bit as she looked up at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, no, yes, I don\u2019t know,\u201d she finally replied a bit confused. \u201cPatrol five-one indicated they found something strange on their scanners, might be a sentient ship, or so they said.\u201d\u00a0 She looked down at the book then back up at him and froze.<\/p>\n

Ryan reached down taking the book from her hands knowing what needed to be done wasn\u2019t in the book, at least not for the Black Zone. He knew what needed to be done first, and steeled himself for this.<\/p>\n

\u201cAsk the patrol if their targeting computers have identified the unknown ships,\u201d he told her, watching as she looked confused at the order.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust ask them, and open a channel to the Kiev as well,\u201d Ryan said, knowing the orders were odd and strange, but he had a reason for doing it. He wanted to be ready for anything even as Captain Chin\u2019s face appeared on the screen before him.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything all right admiral?\u201d Chin asked, his tone curious about what might be going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps,\u201d Ryan replied, looking over at Otto as he walked onto the bridge and immediately seemed to guess something had happened. \u201cWe might have company, one of our patrols picked up something and we\u2019re waiting for conformation.\u201d<\/p>\n

He watched as both of their faces showed the same tense expression. It was something they all talked about in hushed tones, in back room meetings which were off the record, and now he might be confronted with the very thing they spoke about.\u00a0 He had to be ready for any answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir, the patrol reports the unknown ships came back identified as a Cylon basestar,\u201d Sara replied unknowingly giving the worst answer possible. He needed to know more, and then inform HQ.<\/p>\n

\u201cSend the patrol closer and inform them that their weapons are hot, if they do not have to wait to be fired upon to fire first, and open a channel to HQ,\u201d Ryan said turning to Otto and Chin. \u201cPut the fleet on yellow alert,\u201d he said to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir,\u201d Otto replied, heading out to carry out the order.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t take long before HQ appeared on the screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral Anders?\u201d the young captain said.<\/p>\n

\u201cInform Admrial Cave, code Black Alpha Ten,\u201d Ryan said to him, watching as the captain seemed a bit stunned, but nodded.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Jack Cave walked into his small quarters after a long day and wearily sat down clicking on the TV seeing the news channel come up. Some news story about another government conspiracy causing him to shake his head in amusement.<\/p>\n

He yawned and watched another couple of minutes before switching the channel to a sports game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s better, much more interesting,\u201d he mumbled to himself settling into to watch the game and unwind.<\/p>\n

His communicator had other idea, going off and causing him to stare at it. Grumbling he walked over to it and activated it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral Cave here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry to bother you sir,\u201d Adam, his aide said. \u201cCaptain Silvis received a code Black Alpha Ten.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words woke Jack up right away, knowing what the code meant. The first word indicated the zone, in this case the black zone, second word, alpha, indicated Cylons, and the third the level of involvement, ten indicated the Cylons were only spotted, the lowest level.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell HQ I\u2019ll be right there,\u201d Jack said all signs of weariness gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir, anything else?\u201d Adam asked<\/p>\n

Jack paused and gave the question some thought. \u201cNothing at the moment, we need information about what\u2019s going on before making any decision, but have the captains of the Bismarck and Ark Royal briefed as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

He quickly gathered his stuff back up and headed back out almost running over a person in the hallway but never paused to see who it was.\u00a0 He needed more information and things might get worrisome rather quickly.\u00a0 The last thing he needed would be for things to get out of control.<\/p>\n

Thinking about who was in charge of the patrol fleet he recalled Admiral Anders, a capable man who was calm under pressure and not prone to quick reactions. He would contact him when he got to HQ for more information.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Nick frowned at receiving the orders from the Seydiltz. What did they mean their weapons were hot?\u00a0 He hoped to gain more information other than to close and the last thing he wanted to do, start an intergalactic war with some unknown race who was probably more advanced than they were, by a thousand years or more.\u00a0 Sure, they had some pretty advanced fighters and military now, but he doubted it was a match for some alien race.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Slim, take a look at the scanner again,\u201d James said interrupting Nick\u2019s thought process.<\/p>\n

He glanced down, almost afraid of what he might find, but did so anyway to see what James was talking about. He noticed, off to the side of the scanner, another large group of ships.\u00a0 These were smaller and a lot more of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on out there?\u201d Nick asked, more to himself than anyone else and didn\u2019t expect to hear an answer at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t know, but the scanners are identifying the ships as well,\u201d James said in the same confused voice he had since this entire thing had started.<\/p>\n

Taking a closer look at the scanner he saw that his scanner also identified the ships as well. He noticed the words \u2018raider\u2019 next to some while \u2018viper\u2019 represented the others.\u00a0 Even as he watched he noticed one disappear.\u00a0 \u201cTwitch, you see that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, wish I wasn\u2019t though.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKnow what you mean,\u201d Nick answered even as he looked on seeing that the raiders were Cylon and hostile, while the vipers were Colonial, and he paused looking at the screen once more, unable to fathom what he saw. The lifeforms in the viper came back as human.\u00a0 \u201cOh boy, this just got complex.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d James asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vipers, the scanner says the pilots are human,\u201d Nick replied wondering how James would reply to such a result. There was silence for several seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I\u2019m confused, what are humans doing out here?\u201d James finally said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, but I\u2019m calling control again and hopefully get some real answers about what is going on,\u201d Nick replied, switching his communicator back over to the control. \u201cPatrol five-one to Seydlitz control, come in.\u201d<\/p>\n

End part 3<\/p>\n

Continued in part 4<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Black Alpha One by AJ Marks Part 3 Starbuck glanced down hearing warning alert and froze hoping it would say anything but what it expected to see. Perhaps he had a malfunction of some sort, computers were prone to breakdowns.\u00a0 He looked anyways and wished he hadn\u2019t as he saw what was there on the […]
Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,9],"tags":[3,14,11,16,10,15,5,12],"class_list":["post-1384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-battlestar-galactica","category-fanfiction","tag-aj-marks","tag-battlestar","tag-battlestar-galactica","tag-fanfaction","tag-fanfiction","tag-galactica","tag-sci-fi","tag-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1384"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1394,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1384\/revisions\/1394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}