{"id":592,"date":"2015-08-09T14:40:59","date_gmt":"2015-08-09T14:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=592"},"modified":"2015-08-10T12:25:10","modified_gmt":"2015-08-10T12:25:10","slug":"storm-clouds-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=592","title":{"rendered":"Storm Clouds- Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

Part 3: Patrols<\/span><\/p>\n

Phantom, an IL series Cylon, watched two centurions enter his command room with an update on the situation he so carefully planned.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeak centurion,\u201d he said, looking down at them from his command chair.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your command,\u201d the gold centurion said. \u201cAs you calculated, the Colonial ships turned upon intercepting our signals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen they are headed towards the trap?\u201d Phantom asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, two basestars are closing in behind them, and one waits for them in the system,\u201d the centurion said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake the preparations to destroy them,\u201d Phantom said, knowing his plan had been flawless in every detail. He had studied the ways of the humans though Blatar and Lucifer, and later Specter, and now, he would be greater than any of them. He, not those other IL series Cylons, would be responsible for the final destruction of the cursed human race.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your command,\u201d the centurion said, turning around and walking out to carry out the orders leaving Phantom alone to ponder his glory which awaited him.<\/p>\n

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

Sheba walked across the hangar of the Agamemnon. The battlestar had been detached to search another system. She would be on patrol with Coral, a new recruit. She missed Apollo and the Galactica, but she was helping the last of the recruits on board the Agamemnon.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ready?\u201d Sheba asked Coral, a red-head who looked back at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, can\u2019t wait,\u201d Coral replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember to be quiet, keep an eye on your scanners for any ships and check out the planets for supplies,\u201d Sheba said, watching Coral nod her head in agreement. Walking over to her viper she quickly checked it over before climbing in and being handed her helmet by the flight crew.<\/p>\n

\u201cCore control this is patrol five,\u201d Sheba said as she started the vipers engines.<\/p>\n

\u201cPatrol five, this core command, commencing transfer of flight path,\u201d the control said, recognizing Rigel\u2019s voice before looking down at her computer as the file was downloaded.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransfer complete,\u201d Sheba said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPatrol five, launch when ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheba pressed down on her turbos, feeling the normal acceleration pressing her into the seat. A second later she was out in space, followed closely by her wingmate, Coral. Turning the viper she headed towards the patrol area, a system which they hoped held some promise for supplies as well.<\/p>\n

She took one last look at the Agamemnon and with a bit of wonder at how lucky they were, looked back in front of her wondering what she might find this time. Anything could happen on any given patrol, including finding a hidden construction asteroid and two battlestars. Shaking her head again at the improbability of it all hoping if it was a dream, she wouldn\u2019t wake up from it.<\/p>\n

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

Ben and Issac walked over to the briefing room, knowing they were about to go on another patrol. It seemed like the commander trusted them more than anyone else for such missions. Not that either really minded, it got them away from the fleet for a period of time.<\/p>\n

The latest decision by the commander had been met with some anger by many others, mostly civilians on board the other ships. They were tired, hungry, and frustrated by everything. He even heard a few people speaking about a coup, something neither Ben nor Issac supported.<\/p>\n

They sat down at the table, and Ben noticed the weary appearance of Commander Tagget. He had bags under his eyes and looked to have aged even more if that was possible. He thought if the man wasn\u2019t already bald, he would have lost his hair out of frustration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have to tell you the situation,\u201d Tagget said, his voice tense.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, we\u2019ll do our best,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have many options here, we have to hope for at least one planet capable of supporting life, we might not be able to move on,\u201d Tagget said. \u201cGood luck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben understood the magnitude of the situation. It had become critical. Walking out of the briefing room neither spoke as they made their way down to the hangar where their vipers waited for launching. The entire flight deck seemed quiet as people went about their duties as best as they were able.<\/p>\n

With a nod towards Issac, who then headed to his viper, Ben climbed into his. Gaining the patrol coordinates and then launching out of the hangar. He turned slightly to look at the Sunflare, a bit smaller than a battlestar, and with only one hangar, the other side housing massive lasers. His home for the past yahren, privately he hoped they would find something useful. Heading towards the system he pushed aside everything else, and prayed to any divine being for something.<\/p>\n

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

Troy and Bri walked up to the bridge, having been summoned by the captain. Troy hoped for some news on the position of the battlecruiser they were after. With Cylon ships out here, they were unsure what else might be going on out here.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we should buy a house on Sierra,\u201d Bri said. \u201cIt\u2019s affordable, and close to the base, we can have a spot to call home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Troy thought about it for a few moments as they entered the elevator, heading up to the command deck. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but we can be part of a first group there,\u201d Bri said. \u201cNall and Rebecca are already planning on moving there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Rebecca is pregnant, Nall has to do something for a family,\u201d Troy said, agreeing with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a nice house close by in the same neighborhood,\u201d Bri said. \u201cAnd I know you\u2019ve been offered a position on the station, I could transfer to the training group, they\u2019ve been after me for a while now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Troy considered that, knowing that Bri would be very good at training recruits, and if the Cylons were close by, they would need highly trained pilots. The doors to the elevator opened allowing them out and the conversation was shelved for now. They made their way across the deck of the bridge to the captain sitting in his chair.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI need you to patrol an area up ahead,\u201d Johnson said, bringing up the starmap in the center of the bridge and walked over to it. \u201cThe lasts reports of the probs stated the battlecruiser was here,\u201d he said pointing to a spot, \u201cand they were headed probably to one of these two system.\u201d Now Johnson pointed to another area.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want us to check it out?\u201d Bri said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, and if anything else is there,\u201d Johnson stated. \u201cWe also have a new report from HQ, they are sending out a fleet as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich ships?\u2019 Troy asked, knowing by the ships it would determine what actions they should take.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Enterprise and Hornet along with a dozen other ships, all stealth ships, and the Yorktown and her escorts are on call,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

Troy nodded slowly at that news. Using the stealth ships meant Ares was worried about where the Cylons were. They had two types of ships, the high stealth which were designed and made of such materials, which were not as strong as normal armor. The other ships were coated with a layer of stealth materials, which was about half effective.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about our mission?\u201d Troy asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cStill the same, haven\u2019t heard any differently,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich system should we investigate?\u201d Troy asked, turning their attention back to the starmap.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake this one, it\u2019s a bit closer, if nothing\u2019s there come back and we\u2019ll have you head out to the other one,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, we\u2019ll get going,\u201d Troy said, looking over at Bri, who nodded her head before they headed off towards the small hangar on the Sydney.<\/p>\n

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

Ben kept a close eye on the scanners, watching as the planets came into range. There were a dozen in the system, several looked promising to him. He hoped their luck held out once more. He looked over at Issac, signaling to him his intentions trying to avoid using the communicator, not with Cylons so close by.<\/p>\n

He watched Issac acknowledge the signal, which meant they would split up each taking several planets. Doing this conserved fuel and time. Ben would take one half of the system, he would take the other half.<\/p>\n

Heading towards the nearest planet, he found it to be a gas giant, which would do no good, but looked at the moons. None were very large, and he continued on to the next planet. It held no promise either and continued to move on, his hope dwindling as he passed the third planet.<\/p>\n

The fourth planet was also the fourth in the system, and was in the range considered to form life. He approached, seeing encouraging signs ahead. Keeping a close eye on his scanner, he understood this planet had an excellent change of being what they needed. Closing in his scanners showed signs of plant life, and water, the atmosphere appeared to be similar to their own.<\/p>\n

He relaxed slightly, he found good news.<\/p>\n

Warning signals went off on his scanners, breaking his bubble. He looked, feeling his heart sink at the sight. A Cylon basestar rising from the opposite side of the planet and it looked to be in orbit.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrack,\u201d he muttered to himself, quickly turning around and heading out of the system riding his turbos and flipping his communicator on. \u201cIssac, get out, now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their unwritten rule, if silence was broken, leave now. He hoped Issac was listening. He fled as fast as the viper could, watching the scanners, relieved at seeing Issac leaving as well but no sign of any Cylons. A few seconds later Issac joined up with him as he kept an eye on the scanners, nothing. That was some good news, but not a lot. He wondered how the commander would take this bit of new, and didn\u2019t pity the decision they would have to make.<\/p>\n

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

Troy and Bri flew along in their patrol, heading into the system. They were looking for any sign of ships, and he recalled the first time they came through this way on board the Argo. They had stopped at a planet in a nearby system to resupply with some water and food. They even relaxed a bit in this system.<\/p>\n

Lost in his thoughts he had to refocus on his scanners. So far he spotted nothing, but they closed in on the system, and headed straight to the spots where a Cylon basestar might be hiding. Previous knowledge of the system helped them out with such things. Both headed straight towards the planet, and he saw it right away, a basestar in orbit around the planet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that confirms one problem,\u201d Bri said, obviously having seen the same thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, let\u2019s get closer,\u201d Troy said. \u201cKeep an eye out for any raiders nearby.\u201d<\/p>\n

They both knew as long as they maintained a certain distance, they would be safe from detection. Despite that knowledge he still felt nervous about the situation. He participated in drills, but never against a Cylon in such a situation. He hoped they had not improved their scanners in the years after he left.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far, nothing,\u201d Bri replied back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, and its sitting there, around the planet, the one planet they know any fleeing humans might stop at,\u201d Troy said, pondering the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cTroy, entering the system,\u201d Bri said, causing him to look back down at his scanners. He saw two incoming boogies, and watched them split up heading through the system. It took a second but the computer finally identified them, vipers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh boy,\u201d Troy said, knowing the silent communications they were using would not be compatible with the incoming vipers. He watched as the one approaching the planet with life spotted the basestar. It streaked out of the system at full speed. Troy turned his viper to follow for a little bit, gaining the direction of the vipers. The vipers would lead them to a group of Colonials. However their fuel became a problem causing them to turn around.<\/p>\n

They had information they needed, and so turned around himself heading back to the Sydney. From there they could close the distance and make contact with the commander of the group.<\/p>\n

End part 3<\/p>\n

Continued in part 4: Decisions<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Storm Clouds by AJ Marks Part 3: Patrols Phantom, an IL series Cylon, watched two centurions enter his command room with an update on the situation he so carefully planned. \u201cSpeak centurion,\u201d he said, looking down at them from his command chair. \u201cBy your command,\u201d the gold centurion said. \u201cAs you calculated, the Colonial ships […]
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