{"id":1809,"date":"2017-01-11T07:15:56","date_gmt":"2017-01-11T13:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1809"},"modified":"2017-01-14T07:37:46","modified_gmt":"2017-01-14T13:37:46","slug":"the-uneasy-alliance-part-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=1809","title":{"rendered":"The Uneasy Alliance – Part 25"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Uneasy Alliance<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

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

Part 25<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tigh walked onto the bridge along with Starbuck and was amazed at how much like the Galactica it appeared, despite the fact the electronics looked more futuristic. Everything appeared to be functioning as several techs from the Galactica were working already to get the programs loaded on and working.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir, we\u2019ve uploaded the programs, just working on making sure they are running correctly, should take a few microns,\u201d the tech said to Tigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, what about the engines?\u201d Tigh asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast I heard, fuel was being loaded, not sure if they finished that or not,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

He watched as several others walked up on to the bridge, including Apollo and Morpheus.<\/p>\n

\u201cColonel, they\u2019ve finished loading the fuel, about to bring the engines on-line,\u201d Apollo said to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, we\u2019ll be able to test the engines and navigation soon,\u201d Tigh said, realizing the battlestar was close to being operational as he looked over at Morpheus.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have impressive ships,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re working on bringing in some people from the Matrix, but its not a quick process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll work with what we have,\u201d Tigh said. \u201cAll we need now is a name.\u201d<\/p>\n

With this he turned back to Morpheus waiting for him to suggest a name for the battlestar.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about the Enterprise,\u201d Morpheus said. \u201cIt\u2019s a name with historical significance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEnterprise, all right, Enterprise it is,\u201d Tigh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommander, we\u2019re binging up the scanners now,\u201d one tech said.<\/p>\n

Tigh nodded seeing the many programs come on-line. The screen next to the command chair came to life showing the readouts of the ship evan as other monitors came to like making the bridge feel alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cUh, commander, we have a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong,\u201d tigh asked, wondering what system was having a problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cScanners are picking up a basestar.\u201d<\/p>\n

That news froze Tigh and it was the last thing he wanted to hear.<\/p>\n

\u201cA basestar here?\u201d he asked hoping the scanner might be malfunctioning.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir,\u201d the operator said as Tigh made his way over along with a few others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t good,\u201d Apollo stated as they looked at the screen and saw the basestar even as a machine came onto the bridge seeing Tight out.<\/p>\n

\u201cScanners have indicated a Cylon basestar nearby,\u201d Tigh said to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are unaware of such a craft nearby,\u201d it replied back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIts here,\u201d Tigh said to it, showing it the screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis basestar, how large is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs large as this battlestar, carrying 300 fighters,\u201d Tigh replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch a ship would cause great damage,\u201d the machine said.<\/p>\n

Tigh thought about it for a few seconds before coming up with a plan. \u201cNot if we attack first.\u201d\u00a0 His statement seemed to stun everyone on board.\u00a0 \u201cThis battlestar is operational, and we should attack before the Cylons know its here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would do that for a machine?\u201d it asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve acted more like allies than some others we\u2019ve come across,\u201d Tigh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure how combat worthy the crew is,\u201d Apollo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not have the pilots for an attack,\u201d Morpheus said. \u201cBut the machines might be able to help us, provide fighter escorts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe drones?\u201d Apollo asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething like that, they\u2019re called Sentinels,\u201d Morpheus said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould they help us?\u201d Tigh asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can,\u201d the machine said still on the bridge. \u201cI can stay and act as a communication bridge between us and you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, we\u2019ll need it,\u201d Tigh said before pausing and wondering something. \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am 01001101001,\u201d it said back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t think anyone will recall all that, how about if we call you zero?\u201d Tigh asked looking at the others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is acceptable,\u201d Zero replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, now, what about the engines,\u201d Tigh asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can power them up at any time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, power them up and prepare for lift off,\u201d Tigh ordered watching as people went around preparing for battle. Now the way he wanted to go into battle, with an undermanned battlestar barely out of the dockyard but he had no choice even as the engines came to life.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cReport centurion,\u201d the basestar commandeer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are approaching the large city on the planet\u2019s surface,\u201d the centurion said. \u201cAll stations are ready for combat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPrepare all fighters for combat,\u201d the basestar commander said, watching as the centurion turned to carry out the orders even as another one came into the room. \u201cReport.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cScans of the city have indicated where the concentration of humans are greatest, they also indicate the humans are powering the city,\u201d the centurion said, something the commander was not expecting to hear and made his objective much clearer.<\/p>\n

\u201cDestroy the humans and we destroy their defenders,\u201d the commander stated. \u201cMake sure none survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have detected an anomaly,\u201d the centurion replied back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it, I want no surprises,\u201d the commander said, nothing would remove his path to victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cScanners have picked up signs of a tylium reactor,\u201d the centurion said.<\/p>\n

That comment caused the commander to pause slightly. There were only a few reasons for such a power source, and the fact the city had such a power source confused him.\u00a0 If they had a tylium reactor why use humans to power the city.\u00a0 Was it a back up?<\/p>\n

\u201cAttack it, it might be a back-up for any loss of humans,\u201d the commander said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your command.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cPower levels coming up,\u201d another person on the bridge said taking on his duties.<\/p>\n

Morpheus looked over at the people on the bridge as people went to work and felt a bit out of place. Normally he would know what to do, but this wasn\u2019t his ship nor was it anything he had experience in.\u00a0 Tigh seemed calm despite the fact Morpheus thought they were short-handed.\u00a0 Apollo stood nearby along with Zero.<\/p>\n

\u201cSound red alert,\u201d Tigh said.<\/p>\n

Morpheus looked on as the normal lights went off and the bridge was bathed in red light. No one seemed alarmed on the bridge as people continued to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have full power,\u201d Apollo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLift off,\u201d Tigh said.<\/p>\n

They felt the battlestar shake as it rose from its position. Apollo had gone over to another system.<\/p>\n

\u201cWeapons ready\u201d Apollo stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat Cylon basestar probably has us on their scanners by now,\u201d Starbuck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that bad news?\u201d Morpheus asked trying to gain as much knowledge as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that\u2019s good news,\u201d Tigh stated. \u201cIt means the Cylons will be concentrating on us instead of the city or the humans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see,\u201d Morpheus said realizing heh ad a lot to learn about this type of warfare. He was used to the Matrix and the machines of Earth, not machines which fought space warfare.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn weapons range, basestar still has yet to fire,\u201d Apollo said. \u201cIt might be confused.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s not give them any time to figure things out,\u201d Tigh said. \u201cTarget basestar and fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

The main weapons of the Enterprise opened up on the basestar.<\/p>\n

\u201cSigns of raiders?\u201d Tigh asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot yet,\u201d Apollo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cZero, the Cylons will probably be launching fighters any moment now, we need your help to keep them from the Enterprise,\u201d Tigh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnderstood,\u201d Zero said, plugging into the communications.<\/p>\n

Morpheus watched even as he heard the high pitch of the engines and from the screens the weapons had opened fire.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cReport centurion,\u201d the basestar commander said, having felt the ship being hit by something he had not expected. Reports did not indicate such weapon systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have come under attack by a battlestar,\u201d the centurion said confusing the commander.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Galactica is not close enough to the planet\u2019s surface, and it if had come here we would have been informed of her arrival,\u201d the commander said confused by this turn of events.<\/p>\n

\u201cScans have indicated the battlestar is not the Galactica, as the design is different, but it is a battlestar,\u201d the centurion replied back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave our raiders launched?\u201d the commander asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cRaiders are launching now, but they are being met with some sort of flying defense by the city, they might not be able to engage the battlestar,\u201d the centurion said.<\/p>\n

The commander thought for a few more seconds before giving the command to engage and destroy the battlestar. Once that was done they could attack the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your command,\u201d the centurion said.<\/p>\n

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

On the bridge of the Enterprise Tigh looked on, watching the scanner as the Cylons began to launch fighters, but he could see a mass of sententials rising from the surface of the planet to greet them.<\/p>\n

Both ships opened fire, pounding on each other in an attempt to destroy the other first. Tigh felt the ship rocked slightly as it was hit but maintained his balance while looking on.\u00a0 The fighter battle seemed to be equal at the moment and Tigh focused all of his energy on the basestar.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasestar is showing signs of damage,\u201d Apollo said to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d Tigh replied, knowing they had to end the battle quickly as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have seat belts?\u201d Morpheus asked as he was jostled by another hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes and no,\u201d Tigh said. \u201cWe learned that sometimes they cause more harm than good.\u00a0 \u201cWe had many injured by the seatbelts when they otherwise would not have been injured at all.\u00a0 It\u2019s a balance that is hard to maintain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCommander, basestar is trying to move around us,\u201d Apollo said.<\/p>\n

Tigh gave it some thought, knowing there was little room to actually maneuver in atmosphere of a planet, and actually something he had never done before. Most times the capital ships fought in space, or in orbit, never in the actual atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cMove us to intercept, don\u2019t let it past us,\u201d Tigh ordered.<\/p>\n

The Enterprise moved to intercept the basestar, both sides firing at will and Tigh hoped they had enough of the weapon systems active to hurt the basestar considering how new the battlestar was. He disliked taking a ship straight from the construction yard to the battlefield not knowing if the systems were working properly.<\/p>\n

\u201cCylon raiders?\u201d Tigh asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cStill engaged with the Sententials,\u201d Apollo replied much to Tigh\u2019s relief. If they were still engaged then they could harm the Enterprise of the machine city.\u00a0 There was a lot of unknowns in the battle as the Enterprise was rocked by a hit but continued to function.<\/p>\n

\u201cBring us around, continue firing,\u201d Tigh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEngaging the front batteries,\u201d Starbuck said from where he sat operating the weapons along with Apollo, both doing their best.<\/p>\n

\u201cReading massive damage to the basestar,\u201d another tech said taking over the scanners. \u201cBasestar in range of the human fields.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t let it focus on them,\u201d Tigh said knowing that even a few shots could kill hundreds or more.\u00a0\u00a0 He hoped he had moved to where stray shots would hit the fields either.<\/p>\n

\u201cReading energy overload in the basestar\u2019s power core,\u201d the scanner operator said and Tigh realized it would explode soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack us away,\u201d Tigh said, \u201csituation on the raiders?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStill engaged, but it appears the Sententials are winning,\u201d Apollo said.<\/p>\n

Tigh nodded knowing that the Enterprise had managed to win in a battle he wasn\u2019t expecting to undertake. He still had a lot of problems before the battlestar was fully operational.\u00a0 He also knew landing it again probably wasn\u2019t a good idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasestar destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tigh turned to Zero. \u201cHow many machines are on board?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are several of us,\u201d it replied back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs the ship space worthy?\u201d Tigh asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but we would need to leave first,\u201d Zero replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cLanding is a difficult process and could damage the ship more than the battle,\u201d Tigh said, \u201cand remaining in the atmosphere burns fuel faster than in orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand, the ship is 98.6% complete,\u201d Zero said. \u201cWhat is incomplete is all internal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we can finish it, and provide repairs,\u201d Tigh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI shall inform all machines to exit the ship,\u201d Zero said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWon\u2019t you fall?\u201d Starbuck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can hover, not for long but enough to reach the ground,\u201d Zero said. \u201cIt was a pleasure working with you.\u00a0 I shall give the word to all machines then contact you when I leave being the last.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d Tigh said, watching as the robot left the bridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, wasn\u2019t expecting to head into space, but I\u2019m not jumping,\u201d Morpheus said.<\/p>\n

Tigh waited until they received word and he ordered the Enterprise up.<\/p>\n

End part 25<\/p>\n

Continued in part 26<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Uneasy Alliance by AJ Marks Part 25 Tigh walked onto the bridge along with Starbuck and was amazed at how much like the Galactica it appeared, despite the fact the electronics looked more futuristic. Everything appeared to be functioning as several techs from the Galactica were working already to get the programs loaded on […]
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":[3,14,11,10,15,68,5,12],"class_list":["post-1809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-battlestar-galactica","category-fanfiction","tag-aj-marks","tag-battlestar","tag-battlestar-galactica","tag-fanfiction","tag-galactica","tag-matrix","tag-sci-fi","tag-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1809","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=1809"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1818,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1809\/revisions\/1818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}