{"id":606,"date":"2015-08-12T13:01:55","date_gmt":"2015-08-12T13:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=606"},"modified":"2015-08-13T12:25:58","modified_gmt":"2015-08-13T12:25:58","slug":"storm-clouds-part-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=606","title":{"rendered":"Storm Clouds – Part 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

Part 6: Relief Ship<\/span><\/p>\n

Troy looked at his scanners for any further Cylons, not seeing anything and finally sat back in his seat. They had managed to win the battle. He had been Bri\u2019s wingman during the battle but now he resumed command. He would have been foolish to take the lead when Bri was the better pilot.<\/p>\n

\u201cSydney, this is Troy, come in,\u201d Troy said, waiting a few seconds for the Sydney to reply and finally to get a hold of Captain Johnson.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes lieutenant commander,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to land aboard the Colonial warship, it will get us contact, and I can adjust their communications with ours,\u201d Troy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a good idea, I\u2019ll inform HQ about the situation,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I\u2019ll talk to you later,\u201d Troy said, before turning his attention to his wife. \u201cYou heard that Bri?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, switching over to Colonial frequencies now,\u201d she said. Troy reached down turning his own communications over waiting a second before it became filled with voices of pilots lining up and the control officer on board the Colonial warship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Lieutenant Troy to Colonial warship, requesting permission to land aboard your ship,\u201d Troy said, hearing the sudden silence his comment made. He waited several seconds before repeating his request this time knowing they would hear it.<\/p>\n

\u201cLieutenant Troy, hold,\u201d the reply came back. Troy waited patiently knowing Bri was probably having a fit with the prolonged silence. \u201cLieutenant Troy, we don\u2019t have you on our scanners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, sorry,\u201d Troy said, flipping on a switch which turned on his emitter, as Bri did the same. It would allow the scanners to locate the ships. \u201cThere, you should have us on your scanners now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAffirmative,\u201d the reply came back. \u201cTransmitting vectors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVectors received,\u201d Troy said a second later, following the path given to him. Landing was easy, and seconds later Bri followed before he climbed out of the viper before looking around at the ship. He noticed everyone looking back at him. The crew finally managed to move the vipers out of the way so the rest could land. Troy was joined by Bri, and they shared a look. The people looked weary, beaten.<\/p>\n

A man dressed in the blue bridge uniform appeared walking up to them. He had white hair and was about as tall as Troy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Colonel Zaga, welcome aboard the Sunflare,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, well, we weren\u2019t sure which one had survived, it\u2019s been years, I mean yahrens since we left the Colonies,\u201d Troy said, watching as Zaga blinked in surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re from the Colonies?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m from Caperica, my parents lived there as well, at least until they were destroyed,\u201d Troy said, amending his statement from the past to the present.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou survived?\u201d Zaga said, obviously at a loss for what was going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, yes and no, perhaps we can sit down somewhere and talk,\u201d Troy said, seeing the colonel confused by the answer. He hoped his explanation sufficed.<\/p>\n

Troy made his way through the corridors of the battlecruiser along with Bri, who remained quiet, as they looked at the people. He thought they appeared thin to him, and many looked at him in disbelief. Sitting down in the briefing room, he was taken back to another time when he served on board the battlestar Colombia. Zaga excused himself to get the commander leaving the two of them alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you feel the atmosphere on board?\u201d Bri asked, looking around again.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, they are barely surviving,\u201d Troy said, watching as a taller, bald man entered the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry for keeping you, I\u2019m Commander Tagget, and welcome aboard the Sunflare,\u201d Tagget said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLt. Commander Troy, and this is my wife, Lt. Bri,\u201d Troy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cZaga says you are, or are not, from the Colonies?\u201d Tagget asked, confusion in his voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we were both born there, however, we left about twelve yehrens ago aboard a secretly constructed battlestar,\u201d Troy said. \u201cOur mission, given by Commander Cain, was to find Earth, the Thirteenth tribe.\u201d<\/p>\n

He watched Tagget take this in for a few seconds before saying anything. \u201cYou found Earth?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we came out looking for you in the Sydney,\u201d Troy said. \u201cIt\u2019s based upon the Tiger class.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t appear on our scanners?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, with Earth we\u2019ve developed new stealth technologies,\u201d Troy stated.<\/p>\n

Tagget thought about something for several long seconds, almost as if he struggled with some question. \u201cHow quickly can you get us relief?\u201d<\/p>\n

The question caught Troy off guard. \u201cRelief? The Sydney will help provide protection for your ships.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, food, we\u2019re out,\u201d Tagget said. \u201cOur food stores are empty, gone, this planet was our last hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

It explained the atmosphere on board and the reason the fleet attacked. Troy made a decision.<\/p>\n

BSGBSG<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeak centurion,\u201d Phantom said, watching the gold centurion approach his chair. He expected news of the upcoming battle as his basestars closed in on the small human fleet.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your command,\u201d the centurion said, before giving the report. \u201cThe Colonial fleet is not in the position they should be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement caught Phantom by surprise. \u201cExplain!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of moving away from the system, it entered and engaged our forces there. Basestar eight was destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phantom sat stunned. How could this have possibly happened? He calculated everything perfectly and yet, somehow, the humans surprised him.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamage to the human fleet?\u201d he asked, hoping they at least managed to destroy something.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnknown, the last communication was it came under attack by an unknown, and unseen, enemy,\u201d the centurion reported.<\/p>\n

Nothing made sense here. The humans should have backed down, moved on, why had they chosen to fight? What did he not know? He paused to consider the situation, going over where his forces were.<\/p>\n

\u201cInform basestars six and nine to converge and attack the human fleet in mass. They are to destroy the enemy in a massive attack,\u201d Phantom ordered. The human fleet could not take on two basestars and win. He felt certain the Colonial warship had taken damaged, it only required a mere push to complete their destruction.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy your command,\u201d the centurion said, turning to carry out the order.<\/p>\n

BSGBSG<\/p>\n

Ares looked up at the screen on his desk when it flickered to life, showing the emblem of the Sydney. He felt relieved knowing the ship survived the battle, and saw Captain Johnson\u2019s face appear on the screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain, glad to see you,\u201d Ares said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSame here Admiral, we\u2019re going to relay a communications from the Sunflare, Troy and Bri landed aboard it after the battle to begin talks,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy all means,\u201d Ares said, waiting a second as it switched, and Troy appeared on the screen. \u201cTroy, how are things?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBad,\u201d Troy said, not something Ares expected to hear.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, in what way?\u201d Ares asked, unsure what bad might mean. Were some ships damaged?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fleet is made up of seven ships, five warships which were on patrol when the destruction of the Colonies happened, and two civilian ships, some thirty-five hundred people, and they are out of food,\u201d Troy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, by out, you mean,\u201d Ares said, trailing off, waiting.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone, zip, nada,\u201d Troy replied. \u201cCommander Tagget attacked the basestar because he no choice. It was either die taking the planet or starve to death. Now, I think we might be able to help quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSupply ships won\u2019t reach your position for a couple of days,\u201d Ares said, already thinking about the logistics.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but I have a plan which can help out until those ships get here,\u201d Troy said, quickly explaining his plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat can work,\u201d Ares said. \u201cCaptain,\u201d he said catching a nearby officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes admiral?\u201d the captain replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrder the head of fleet logistics to the briefing room asap, there\u2019s a lot of work to do,\u201d Ares said.<\/p>\n

BSGBSG<\/p>\n

Starbuck and Apollo flew on patrol towards a system which had a known basestar in it. Starbuck protested it as usual, unsure of why they were heading into danger. Commander Adama himself had ordered the patrol, to check out the basestar, making sure it was still there.<\/p>\n

Apollo was nervous about the patrol, but knew they had the best odds of surviving, and were veterans of such patrols. Both kept a close eye on the scanner not wanting to be caught unaware. Sheba had given them which planet the basestar was at, and continued on into the system still not picking up anything.<\/p>\n

Closer and closer they went, and with each passing second the tension went up. Any second Apollo expected to see the basestar rising from the backside of the planet. However nothing appeared, which made him nervous. Where was the Cylon ship?<\/p>\n

They reached the planet and Apollo knew the basestar had enough time to orbit as least halfway around. It should have appeared.<\/p>\n

\u201cStarbuck, you go one way, I\u2019ll go the other,\u201d Apollo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, isn\u2019t that dangerous,\u201d Starbuck said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a hunch our basestar isn\u2019t here anymore,\u201d Apollo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, great, thought it was bad enough,\u201d Starbuck replied, but followed peeling off to go around the planet.<\/p>\n

Apollo only had to wait a moment before seeing Starbuck on the other side.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s do a quick search of the system and get back to the Galactica,\u201d Apollo said, knowing his father would not like this development.<\/p>\n

BSGBSG<\/p>\n

Captain Scott O\u2019Malley walked onto the bridge, having been summoned by a communications from HQ. He sat down in the command chair and pulled up the communications screen, surprised to see Admiral Ares.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral,\u201d Scott said, wondering what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain, I have a new mission for the 1st scouting squadron, you are link up at the dock, take on supplies, and leave to the area of the Sydney at once,\u201d Ares said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, supplies? What type of supplies?\u201d Scott asked, unsure of the unusual order. The scout ships were not large, had a crew of twenty men and women and almost no supply holds. The order seemed strange.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoxes of MREs and water,\u201d Ares said, confusing Scott before he continued on. \u201cWe have thirty-five hundred starving refugees from the Colonies who need immediate resupply, they can\u2019t wait a couple of days for the supply ships to get there. Every scout ship not on a mission is to undertake this mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, I\u2019ll inform my ships of the mission,\u201d Scott said, ending the conversation. With the lightning drives the scout ships could be there in less than an hour. \u201cHelm, take us to the supply area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm, captain, we\u2019re getting orders to take on a lot of supplies, they won\u2019t fit in our supply area,\u201d his XO said.<\/p>\n

Scott understood the situation, and activated the internal communications. \u201cMay I have your attention,\u201d he said, waiting a second. \u201cThis is Captain O\u2019Malley, we will be taking on supplies, a lot of them. These supplies are MREs and water for a fleet of three thousand five hundred survivors from the Colonies who are out of food. We\u2019ll be putting boxes and bottles everywhere, for the jump to their position. I think we can all suffer slightly for a short time to help out those in need. I have every confidence in you that is all.\u201d<\/p>\n

He turned to a shocked XO who shook his head and became serious. \u201cWe\u2019ll find the room sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUse my quarters as well, no spot is out-of-bounds.\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott relayed the message to the rest of the 1st scouting squadron.<\/p>\n

BSGBSG<\/p>\n

Tagget sat along with Sara, watching as she ate in silence. She had not even looked up from the moment the food was set in front of her. Looking around the room he watched as they all ate a full meal for the first time in so long, he could not even remember when. Troy had brought over something Earthers called MREs, or meals ready to eat. It seemed they developed this process for food where you only add water. There were a lot of choices, and it had been self-heating.<\/p>\n

Reports came in from all seven ships are they received the boxes of the meals and water. The news that even more supplies were coming from Earth boosted moral more than anything else. He marveled at the technology the Earthers seemed to have. Ships which could travel so fast.<\/p>\n

\u201cTroy, why do the larger ships not have such drives?\u201d Tagget finally asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lightning drives requires a tremendous amount of energy, and to propel a ship the size of a battlestar would require more energy than the entire fleet produces. The scout ships are the largest ships we can currently employ the drives on,\u201d Troy replied, as he ate as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see,\u201d Tagget said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how you survived,\u201d Bri said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWasn\u2019t easy,\u201d Tagget stated, recalling everything which happened over the course of the past yahren. \u201cSome days I\u2019m not sure how we survived either. I can\u2019t even imagine how many times we were close to mutinies on board.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMust have been hard,\u201d Troy said. \u201cNot knowing where you\u2019re going to get food, and how far behind the Cylons are, glad we didn\u2019t have that problem on the Argo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tagget still found it almost impossible to believe a battlestar had been sent to find Earth. In fact, if Cain had not been mentioned, he still could hardly belief it. However, the proof sat before him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happens now?\u201d Bri asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess we continue on to Earth with these supplies, and then get the Sunflare ready for combat again,\u201d Tagget said. \u201cShe might be old, but she\u2019s still useful, and the crew is willing to help still.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the Galactica?\u201d Troy asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo idea, ran across a few areas where they might have been, but no sign of the ship or the fleet it was with,\u201d Tagget said, having asked that question many, many times over the course of his travels. Troy appeared silent for several seconds before saying anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bigger question is what else were those tin cans planning,\u201d Troy said, catching Tagget off guard. He had no idea if anything else had been planned. \u201cThere are more basestars around here, a lot more than just to destroy you.\u201d<\/p>\n

It gave Tagget something to think about. Perhaps the Galactica was nearby as well.<\/p>\n

End Part 6<\/p>\n

Continued in Part 7: Stealth Attack<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Storm Clouds by AJ Marks Part 6: Relief Ship Troy looked at his scanners for any further Cylons, not seeing anything and finally sat back in his seat. They had managed to win the battle. He had been Bri\u2019s wingman during the battle but now he resumed command. He would have been foolish to take […]
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