{"id":588,"date":"2015-08-08T12:28:59","date_gmt":"2015-08-08T12:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=588"},"modified":"2015-08-09T14:41:26","modified_gmt":"2015-08-09T14:41:26","slug":"storm-clouds-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=588","title":{"rendered":"Storm Clouds – Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Storm Clouds<\/span><\/h2>\n

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

Part 2: Movement<\/span><\/p>\n

Troy looked up as Captain Pratt entered the room. The normal rank would have been commander now, but with them adopting Earth military ranks everything changed. He had become a Lieutenant Commander, but Bri remained a Lieutenant.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, Troy and Bri, lucky to find you both in one spot,\u201d Pratt said, approaching them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s up?\u201d Troy asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re to head over to the Sydney right away. You\u2019ll be briefed once you get on board,\u201d Pratt ordered.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right,\u201d Troy said looking over at his wife then at Nall who seemed disappointed he wasn\u2019t going.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet going, Ares wants it to leave right away,\u201d Pratt said. \u201cHe\u2019s also ordering all leaves cancelled, and reorganizing the fleet. Something big is going on,\u201d Pratt said.<\/p>\n

Troy understood that as he looked over at Nall. \u201cWell, guess we\u2019ll have to see you later.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything I should do?\u201d Nall asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo yet, but keep the squadron ready for anything,\u201d Troy replied. \u201cNot sure how long we\u2019re going to be gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, we\u2019ll keep things working while you two are gone,\u201d Nall said. He would take over the squadron while the two were gone. \u201cBut, it won\u2019t be the same with you two gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have Rebecca,\u201d Bri said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but with only two of us, not quite the same,\u201d Nall sad.<\/p>\n

Finally making their way out of the rec room and towards the hangar where Pratt informed them their vipers were being fueled.<\/p>\n

The entire trip went smoothly, landing in the smaller hangar bay and made their way to the briefing room where Captain Johnson waited for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWelcome aboard Troy, Bri,\u201d Johnson said, as they sat down at the table waiting for the mission briefing. \u201cThe Sydney is headed out to investigate some new contacts, a Colonial battlecruiser has been discovered on the last probe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Troy looked on in shock, not expecting to hear that. He assumed they were part of the closing Cylon signals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the Cylons?\u201d Bri asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThem too, we have no idea what to expect, only that the probe picked up some Colonial survivors,\u201d Johnson replied.<\/p>\n

Troy nodded in understanding. If they could make contact with this ship it might help discover where the Galactica might be. Had this group been with the Galacitca? So many questions in his mind and no real answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe admiral wants you two here in case we decide to make contact,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be ready,\u201d Troy said with the realization he would be the one making contact because he was from the Colonies.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, settle in, we\u2019ll be leaving shortly, they are a couple of days away at our fastest speed,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

Troy and Bri walked out and headed towards their new quarters. Being married had its advantages he thought as they made their way down the corridor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you think?\u201d Bri asked.<\/p>\n

Troy considered the question carefully before answering. \u201cI\u2019m not sure, they might know where the Galactica is, or were part of their group and they were attacked. Personally I hoping for the former.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey might not even know where the Galactica is,\u201d Bri stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Troy said, agreeing with her. He had a feeling in his gut, something big was about to happen.<\/p>\n

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

A single Cylon basestar sat silently in the midst of the asteroids. It watched and waited for its prey. On board the basestar commander looked down as two Centurions approached him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeak,\u201d the commander said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your command,\u201d one centurion said before continuing on. \u201cWe have updated information about the incoming Colonial fleet. Probes have discovered it to be a Colonial battlecruiser, an older design.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot the Galactica?\u201d the commander asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur orders from the Imperious Leader?\u201d the commander asked, knowing what the orders were going to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne basestar should be enough to defeat a battlecruiser, we are to attack and destroy this small fleet,\u201d the centurion said.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery well, how long until they arrive?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf their course remains constant, two days,\u201d the centurion said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen make the preparations to destroy them,\u201d the commander ordered, knowing that while it wasn\u2019t the Galactica, destroying a remaining Colonial warship would add to his prestige. He would not fail the empire.<\/p>\n

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

Adama sat on the bridge, a position that he forced himself to continue despite the fact very little required his attention these days. No, he was disturbed by his recent talk with Crystal. Her dream and mentioning they were being watched made him uneasy. There was someone out there, watching their movements, but who? He increased patrols today, and while it caused some concern among the regulars, he told them it was due to additional training. He felt sure Apollo and Starbuck were not buying the excuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir, incoming message from the Hyperion,\u201d Athena said.<\/p>\n

Adama looked down at the screen watching as Omega\u2019s face appeared.<\/p>\n

\u201cWanted to let you know sir, we\u2019ve finished our scans of the planet, send the supply ship. There is abundant water and iron deposits on the planet which we can use,\u201d Omega said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood news then,\u201d Adama said. An increase in water was always good considering the strain on the water supplies on board the fleet and having extra never hurt. \u201cHow long will it take?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI estimate a day or two depending on how fast they can work,\u201d Omega said. \u201cThe water will be easy, the tests came out very positively, we\u2019ll just treat it for viruses and bacteria and it will be good. The iron deposits are on the surface so the ore should be easy to mine. Its quite rich.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll inform the forge ship to prepare for the ore,\u201d Adama said, making a note to himself for later.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny sign of civilization?\u201d Adama asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo sir,\u201d Omega replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep a look out,\u201d Adama said, knowing the statement was unnecessary but said it anyways. He would continue to feel uneasy until he knew more.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir,\u201d Omega replied.<\/p>\n

The conversation ended and Adama sent off a message to the forge ship to prepare for iron ore and to one of the supply ships to head out to the Hyperion. He paused in thought, knowing not long ago such an undertaking would have been impossible. Perhaps things were looking up after all.<\/p>\n

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

Tagget waited in the briefing room as Ben and Issac entered to debrief him of their patrol.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what did you find?\u201d Tagget asked, bracing himself for the worst.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe moved as close as could, and the Cylon signals increased. There is most definitely some sort of Cylon presence ahead,\u201d Ben stated, knowing the statement was not what Tagget wanted to hear.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat,\u201d Tagget said, pondering his choices he could make. He had no idea what to do next. It seemed as if things were conspiring against him and any decision he might make. Buzzing the bridge he waited for Zaga to answer. \u201cCome down to the briefing room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBe right there,\u201d Zaga said, realizing such a decision would need more than his thoughts. He considered even asking the other captains to join in, but dismissed that for now. He wanted to have some answers to the questions.<\/p>\n

He only had to wait a few minutes before Zaga entered the room, and sat down.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take I the news isn\u2019t good,\u201d he said, running a hand through his white hair.<\/p>\n

\u201cNope, we probably have Cylons ahead of us,\u201d Tagget said. \u201cI want to know what other solutions we might have at our disposal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could turn away from them,\u201d Ben suggested.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t fight them,\u201d Zaga said. \u201cA full basestar is a challenge for our fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that, Tagget considered, was the largest problem for what faced him. He had limited fighting strength, and while the Sunflare could easily exchange fire with the basstar, it was the raiders it carried that would cause the problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to admit, turning might be the best solution,\u201d Zaga said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there a direction we can take?\u201d Tagget said, trying to recall the information they had of nearby systems. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the supplies to go out of our way.\u201d<\/p>\n

And a second problem to their situation. Their supplies were so short, they were almost going from system to system to survive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be a stretch,\u201d Zaga said. \u201cWe\u2019ll have to ration food even more, but we do have the fuel. If we do this, we won\u2019t have reserve food to make it to the next system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tagget considered the problem before finally making a decision. \u201cWe turn.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other three looked at him, understanding the problems and the only real solution they had for survival.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll inform the other captains,\u201d Zaga said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019ll inform the fleet,\u201d Tagget said, it was his decision, he would take the responsibility. A decision he never wanted to make, but a choice between battling the Cylons and hoping the system held some life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich system?\u201d Zaga asked.<\/p>\n

Tagget brought up the star map they had for the area, looking over the nearby systems. He noticed that one system had several planets and make his decision. \u201cWe go to the system with the most planets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVery well,\u201d I\u2019ll get the ships on the new course, and inform the captains of the Cylons,\u201d Zaga said, leaving the room, as did Ben and Issac who were dismissed leaving Tagget alone in the room.<\/p>\n

The weight of command now weighted heavily on him. Had he brought them all this way only to die of starvation? He hoped not, and prayed to any god in the universe for some miracle.<\/p>\n

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

Ares looked over the latest intelligence from the probes and stationary scanners. A larger picture had started to unfold in front of him. They were now certain of Cylon basestars in a few systems. They were stationary, and one appeared to be powered down in an asteroid belt. What really concerned Ares was the sudden turn by the Colonial battlecruiser group.<\/p>\n

What was the commander of the ship thinking? He turned the wrong way, instead of away from Cylons to more Cylons. Probes picked up Cylon radio traffic in that direction, even more intense than anywhere else.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooks like a mess,\u201d Otto said, walking up beside him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, as you Earthers say, a clusterfuck,\u201d Ares said, having adopted some of the Earth slang.<\/p>\n

\u201cAhyep,\u201d Otto replied. \u201cHow many Cylons?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know of three confirmed basestars, here, here and this one here is powered down in the asteroid belt,\u201d Ares said pointing to three systems. \u201cOur Colonial friend is here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe we should destroy those basestars, they are getting close,\u201d Otto said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is something else going on out there, the positioning of the basestars is erratic,\u201d Ares stated. \u201cIf they were looking for something they would be more evenly spread out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think somewhere in this area is the Galactica?\u201d Otto asked, motioning to an area on the map.<\/p>\n

\u201cPossible, have a situation of several warships, this doesn\u2019t seem to be only for the batlecruiser. If so, the Cylons would have attacked already. A basestar can easily overwhelm the defenses of a battlecruiser with raiders. And there could still be other basestars out there we don\u2019t\u2019 know about,\u201d Ares said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould we activate more outposts?\u201d Otto asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, activate them all,\u201d Ares said after several seconds of thinking. \u201cI\u2019ll inform the president back on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll leave that one to you then,\u201d Otto said, heading off to carry out the order given.<\/p>\n

Ares turned back to look at the starmap. Something was going on out there, and he wanted to know what it was. He wished he had more stealth warships, and decide on another course of action as well. He activated the communications waiting for Captain Gunther to answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommander, uh, I mean admiral,\u201d Gunther said, having come from the Colonies.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain, organize the Enterprise with a squadron of stealth ships, include the Hornet as well and prepare to move out,\u201d Ares said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir, any word on where I\u2019m going?\u201d Gunther asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cTowards the Cylon communications, we\u2019re going to use your stealth to figure out what else is out there, take a few supply ships as well,\u201d Ares said. \u201cLet me know what ships you include, I\u2019ll sign off on it, take about ten warships and supply ships to support you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, I\u2019ll get on it now,\u201d Gunther said, signing off.<\/p>\n

Now all Ares had to do, wait for the report and hoping he was moving things in time. Looking at the map he still felt uneasy about it all. He looked down at the spot where the Sydney was. They would be the first out there, and hoped they found something worth reporting.<\/p>\n

End part 2<\/p>\n

Continued in part 3: Patrols<\/a><\/p>\n

Comment below or send to AJMarks01@aol.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Storm Clouds by AJ Marks Part 2: Movement Troy looked up as Captain Pratt entered the room. The normal rank would have been commander now, but with them adopting Earth military ranks everything changed. He had become a Lieutenant Commander, but Bri remained a Lieutenant. \u201cAh, Troy and Bri, lucky to find you both in […]
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":[23,14,11,10,15,5,12],"class_list":["post-588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-battlestar-galactica","category-fanfiction","tag-argo","tag-battlestar","tag-battlestar-galactica","tag-fanfiction","tag-galactica","tag-sci-fi","tag-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588","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=588"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":594,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588\/revisions\/594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}