"All right, let's get this loaded!" Commander William Adama called out to his people. He looked around as he watched the crew start to work frantically to load up the Galactica with the needed munitions.
"Sir! We found someone here!" one of the petty officers shouted.
Adama walked over quickly. He looked at the scruffy and ill looking man. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" he asked.
"I'm just a man trying to make a buck on the side. Once the Cylons attacked, I figured I'd head out here for a while." He smiled unconvincingly.
"Commander Adama!" a woman with a Captain's insignia on her uniform called out.
"Hold him under guard. Yes, Captain Terris?" Adama said to the captain of the Sea Wraith.
"Where is all the munitions? This place is just about empty!" she exclaimed.
"Explain, captain! What do you mean exactly?"
"I was sending a few of my crew to help load up your ship as a few of us served on the Pacifica, a fleet tender and transport. There should be enough munitions for ten Battlestars here! And I'm only seeing enough to barely top you off." Her short black hair peaked out of her uniform cap, while her slanted eyes that were green gave her an odd and beautiful exotic appearance.
"I thought it looked a bit bare, but really that bad?" Adama stared around.
"It's mostly the nukes that I'm worried about. There should be two thousand of them here. I'm only seeing about a dozen now. And those are all in the breaker, fore repair and refurbishment."
"My God, they stole our nukes to use against us." Adama couldn't believe that, it just didn't seem possible. But it fit the evidence.
"How could they penetrate our security, Adama? We have means in place already! We may as well have left our doors open!" Fila Terris seemed very agitated. She spotted the man the Galactica crew had grabbed. "And who is this?"
"Just someone making a buck off the military. I don't mean any real harm. Just making some money," he said with a weedling tone.
"A weapons dealer, eh? On a base that is missing most of its munitions? Sounds like a Cylon spy, Captain." Terris was giving him a very serious look.
The man suddenly reacted by grabbing the nearest soldier and throwing him a good ten feet into the nearest group of soldiers with superhuman ability.
"CYLON!" Adama yelled.
Terris snapped out her hip pistol, even as the infiltrator grabbed a rifle from his guard that was just stunned at the action. She snapped off three shots even as a duo of guards unloaded their rifles into him before he could fire his weapon.
She toed the Cylon spy. "He's bleeding. My god, they can make them look that human?"
"Take his body aboard the Galactica. Maybe we can figure out some means of ferreting out these infiltrators," Adama said with a shaken voice.
"Commander? Do you want me to send over Fleet Scientist Grentwe to help in that?"
"A Fleet Scientist? What the hell is a Fleet Scientist doing on a repair tug?" Adama asked.
"She was assisting us with the SDF-1 and getting them operational. She's a bit... tempermental."
Adama smiled. "A real pain to work with, I take it?"
Terris just nodded mutely. "She holds a commissioned officers ranking of Captain. Non-flight command. She's with the Naval Yards normally."
"She may be our best hope." He turned to the crew. "Listen up! Take every box of ammo that this place has. We need everything!"
--------
The BSG 109 Pegasus appeared outside the storm near Ragnar Station. "Get me an update from the fleet," Commander Cain called out. His bridge was quiet efficiency as they bent to the tasks of running a warship.
"Commander? It looks like all ships made it here. The SDF-1 is signaling that they are continuing repairs on their Fold Generators and main conduits."
"Doesn't that thing have a proper name?" he groused. He turned to his tactical board. "Launch a recon flight of Vipers. We don't want any Basestars sneaking up on us here."
"That interesting. Commander Hayes says the SDF-1 was interrupted before they could undergo some sort of christening ceremony by an enemy attack that eventually led them here."
"What?" Commander Cain asked. He realized what he had asked his communication's officer and he had then asked the SDF-1 about their name. "It is not lucky to be on a nameless ship," he noted.
"Yes, sir. But they really don't seem to care."
"We're not going to force them to give it a proper name," he told the officer.
"Of course, sir." He just neglected to mention that he had left the channel open.
--------
"They have a superstition about nameless ships?" Captain Gloval asked.
"Yes, sir. I guess they think it is unlucky or something." Lisa Hayes shrugged.
"We have had a very bad string of luck, wouldn't you say?"
Claudia laughed about that. "I think that would be an understatement, Captain."
"I concur with our hosts. A nameless ship is unlucky. We were only hours from christening the SDF-1 the Independence when the Aliens attacked. Find me a bottle of bubbly and invite the captains from the Pegasus, Galactica, Sea Wraith and Unicorn. Also invite the President of their government."
"Are we still going to name the SDF-1 the Independence?" Lisa asked.
"No, I think we should name it for the people we carry within us now. The Macross."
--------
"Captain Gloval wants us to do what?" President Rosilyn asked.
"I guess they heard something from one of the ships about un-named ships being unlucky. So they are going to do a quick ceremony to name it. As a courtesy, they invited you and the captains of our war vessels."
"This doesn't seem like quite the right time," the president noted.
"Ii it might make our side feel more comfortable in any fights, I say we take an hour and do it."
"Very well."
--------
President Rosilyn sat at a conference table with the five captains that comprised her people's only hope. "So you are just planning on attacking the Cylons wherever they are?"
"That's what the Navy is for, Madam President," Commander Adama said tersely.
"We have to take the offense before we become unable to press any attack," Cain injected into the conversation.
"Commanders and Captains, we have two Battlestars against the entire Cylon armada. Even if they only held themselves at the numbers at the end of the last war, you are looking at being outnumbered twenty-five to one. And they more likely continued to build up their fleets just like we did. So you are more likely outnumbered fifty to one. Are you going to risk the two hundred thousand civilians to throw your lives away?" The president looked over the five military officers.
Adama looked like he had bitten into something sour. "Are you ordering us to protect the civilian fleet and what? Run?"
"If I have to, yes."
Captain Gloval ahemed. His accent when he talked was atrocious. "And I have a duty to the civilians within the Macross. I have over fifty thousand of them crammed inside my ship. And I am still repairing my ship from the disastrous accident that sent us here."
"We have enough ships for flexibility here. We can defend the fleet while striking at the Cylons!" Captain Terris said suddenly.
Captain Freemont shook his head. "We have no supply lines, no bases and no supplies. We have to retreat to someplace and rebuild. It may take centuries, but attacking the Cylon fleet head-on is pure suicide. And you both know it!" he said while glaring at Adama and Cain.
"Our supply issue may not be quite as bad as we think," Adama said grimly. "It appears the Cylons are capable of using our munitions. Which means that we can raid on their depots and use theirs."
"The Macross has a factory complex within itself also. With your two fleet repair ships, you should be able to replenish your lost fighters," Gloval asked the captains of said ships.
"Technically correct. Given enough materials and manpower, we could build another Battlestar eventually," Captain Terris replied. She drummed her fingers on the table. "We may have to change our design philosophy. But I expect that our highest priority will be either fitting the non-FTL ships with FTL or adjusting the FTL engines on a few ships to make them have the same capability as the SDF-1. Sorry, the Macross. And replacing the lost Mark VII Vipers."
"As commander in chief, I then order the military to provide protection for this fleet until such a time as we find safe haven. Humanity must survive."
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(Posted Tue, 25 Jan 2005 00:53)
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