Prelude

Of this would happen on the first day of shore leave – it was fated by the Gods…

The freighter Monster had been heading towards the surface of Caprica when the Cylons had struck with their pinpoint attacks. If it was not for the Captain's standing FTL order, the Monster would have been destroyed by a pair of Cylon Raiders that had bounced them. A veteran of the last days of the Cylon War, Thomas McCoy had worked a number of jobs as a pilot before buying his own ship and setting up his company running freight between the colonies. His company, Delphi Deliveries, had a total of seven ships, with the Monster still in service twenty years after he had purchased her as he couldn't bear to part with her.

"Report!" he called out.

"We've jumped, but I've no idea where" replied his pilot John Smith. "I never had time to put anything in before you turned the key"

"Start DRADIS sweeps and take star chart readings" McCoy replied. "Engineering, what's your status? Engineering, this is the Bridge"

"Comm system appears to be either offline or there is nobody to answer" shrugged Smith.

"All hands, this is the Captain… Report in by section if you hear me"

"Cargo Bay 1 reporting – no damage"

"Cargo Bay 2 reporting – no damage but we've got injuries"

"Medical Bay reporting – the Doc is dead"

"Galley reporting – no damage or injuries"

"Shuttle Bay reporting – no damage or injuries"

"Must be their comm unit… Any idea where we are?" McCoy asked.

"We've jumped somewhere near to the Leonis planetary system, but I can't get better than that. The entire navigational network has either been shut down, disabled or destroyed by the Cylons"

"I'm picking up scattered messages" said his communications crewman – a gruff woman who'd been in the service at the same time as McCoy. Sylvia Monroe had embarked on Columbia as a communications specialist and had survived her destruction by being in her forward section repairing an antenna array when she was blown up.

"What do you hear?"

"All of the colonies have been hit… The fleet is trying to get in and fight back, but when they pull inside their engagement zones, they simply lose power – Vipers and Raptors too. Rumour going around its that new NAV program most of them had fitted…"

"Just lost DRADIS" Smith called out.

"Bridge, this is the Shuttle Bay"

"Go ahead" McCoy flicked the right button on the overhead panel.

"I'm seeing a load of debris around us, chunks of rocks and some powered down fleet vessels – think we're in the Leonis Fleet Reserve"

"Are you sure?" McCoy frowned.

"Aye… I'm looking out of the bay window and seeing a Triton class Battlestar in the middle of being broken up. I brought it here a few months ago"

"Helm, set course to get us inside the yard – if the Cylons go looking for survivors, they might be confused by dead ships and rocks floating around" McCoy said. "This is the Captain, begin damage control in all affected areas. I need a few people to crew a shuttle with me… Report to the Bridge in person"

"Sir, what are you doing?" asked Monroe.

"I'm thinking that if the Cylons have hit this hard, they mean to wipe us out, Sylv – we could get a hell of a lot of spare parts and fuel before running"

"What if its all a massive drill?" asked Smith.

"Not with the amount of messages I'm getting" Monroe shook her head. "Units are getting shut down and wiped out all over the place. I saw something about a staging of fleet units under Nagala, but only a handful of Battlestars reported in. Those that did have only done so because they had systems shutdown or offline for repairs or were in dockyard hands"

"Keep an eye out on the wireless and see if there is any good news" McCoy ordered. "Look, I'm going to talk to the crew later, but I think we've already lost this war. We should get as much as we can aboard and then run and find a planet well past the red line"

"If we do that, we'll never be able to find our way back" Smith turned round to look at the other two on the Bridge of the Monster.

"I think that's the point" Monroe whispered as the implications hit her.

"If we're found, this ship isn't going to take more then a single missile to destroy" Smith shot back. "We should go to ground in caves or something"

"And how long would that give us before the Cylons bomb them or simply seal them off?"

"You're assuming, John, that we're staying on the Monster" McCoy was looking out of the window at the various ships stored in the yard.

"Engine Room reporting… Sorry for no comms, Captain, but we had to replace the entire unit"

"No problem" McCoy said as he replied into the handmike. "Are we okay with engines?"

"Yes, but the Chief is injured"

"Anybody else hurt?"

"No"

"Then have as many people as you can spare meet me in the shuttle in ten minutes"

"Tom, what are you thinking?" asked Monroe.

"Well… I've been looking at the Comms whilst you two have been arguing, and the Cylons seem to be going for live ships first and then dead ones"

"So?"

"So I'm thinking we upgrade to something bigger"

"Such as?" Smith raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Such as that" and the two followed their Captain's finger to look at a Battlestar seemingly intact and waiting for her fate.

"You want to steal a Battlestar with a crew of just two dozen?" Monroe spun round to face her Captain and old comrade.

"It would give us a hell of a lot more protection than a freighter's hull" McCoy shrugged. "Maybe its enough just to get battery systems working and sit there until its all over"

"Why not take a ship?" asked Smith as he piloted the Monster through lines of colonial warships. "We could find the yard station and plunder it for food and supplies before coming back here and jumping out"

"It's a buyer's market" Monroe chuckled grimly. "If you're set on doing this, Captain, I'm with you to the end. I'd suggest that we take a ship only recently arrived – little will have been stripped from her… if anything"

"We did a run for the Fleet a few weeks ago – think the name was Virtutem or something. It was a short notice trip when we were on our way back from Virgon – a delivery crew needed picking up as their Raptor had broken down. Could be our best bet…" Smith said as he swung the freighter round and headed towards a part of the yard filled with heavier ships.

"Never did understand why they mothballed a ship only a few years off the slips" McCoy said as he played with the handmike before replacing it on the hook to his right.

"My sister said something about her FTL drives needing overhaul and Adar forbid the expense"

"For want of a nail…" McCoy quoted an old poem taught to him in school decades before. "Alright, then, take us to this ship. Sylvia, keep an ear open for any good news but don't send anything back without my express permission. John is busy flying through this shitstorm, so power up the gun and anti pirate missiles"

"That won't do much"

"Rather go down swinging". Monroe looked at the communications panel which still displayed every wireless message it received.

"Aye, me too…"

"Make for the Virtutem – thrusters only. When we get near, we'll go aboard in the shuttle and see if we can get her moving. I want another team in the other shuttle ready to go to the next Battlestar and get parts" McCoy headed towards the hatch leading to the corridor beyond. "Be careful, people" and left the Bridge. Monroe and Smith looked at the Captain and then at each other.

"By your command" they both said coldly.

A/N:

First chapters are always my weak point…!

Yes, I know I should really be doing Harry Potter fics, but I wanted to get this down and published before my mind went crazy and lost the thread.

Reviews in the normal manner, please

Regards,

Pixel