Hyperion Task Group
Volume 3: Redemption
By: Jim Quigley
I'm going to try something different with this story. Most of it will be in chronological form. If anyone has seen the television series "Lost" watch the second season episode "The Other 48 Days". That's what I'm shooting for.
The first part of the story takes place twelve hours after Volume 2.
Jason was sitting in the observation deck of AULUS staring out into space, he had just finished reading Admiral Jensen's personal journal and the TERTIUS ship log. He was trying to take it all in. "Has he really changed that much?" he thought to himself as he grabbed Braylen's journal. Jason had just opened it when Colonel Brice interrupted him. Jason motioned him to sit.
"Finished with your inspections Colonel?
"Yes sir, this ship was definitely built for luxury." Brice began as he looked around. "It seems that her computer systems were decentralized so they wouldn't be effected by the cylon virus. The water recycling system is state of the art. We could have her recycle the water supplies of the civilian ships. AULUS can accommodate almost four thousand people. Her command staff is undermanned and needs to be augmented.
"What do you think of TERTIUS? Jason asked.
"Well, even though she's over fifty years old, it seems that's she's fully operational including her launch tubes. And there's no structural damage. She could definitely help us." Brice surmised. "It seems that they recovered over a dozen vipers during the attacks, but only have three left now all of which, are grounded.
"What about her crew?" Jason asked as he sipped his coffee.
The senior pilot was actually the CAG from the LYSANDRA. Spencer was on shore leave when the attacks began. Major Tillman later rescued him. Captain Rhodes has no combat operation experience and Coe was a drill instructor. The rest are basically restoration crew from Jensen's company. If the present commander structure stays as is, they'll need help.
"If they stay intact?" asked Jason.
"Sir," Brice began as he was searching for the right words as to not offend his superior. "Is it wise to keep Major Tillman in command of a valuable resource such as TERTIUS considering his past ties to the Black Market?"
"I understand your concern, but Admiral Jensen put a lot of faith in to him. Major Tillman was running a multimillion-cubit company. I am trying to learn why." Jason finished as his pointed to journals.
"Is there anything else, Commander?"
"Yes, Sit-rep from Shaker."
"What's their status?" inquired Jason.
"Commander Roberts reports that DAEDALUS has docked under the station and that they have begun repairs. He reported that she's in real tough shape and they might not be able to save her. She took a pounding from those basestars and the cylon boarding parties. Commander Peterson condition has stabilized for the moment. She's still touch and go." Brice started. "The fabrication bay on Naylor is operational and under the supervision of MCPO Perry. ADELPHIA is at the edge of the Cyrannus System monitoring for any traffic."
"Did we send them the civilian manifest?" he asked.
"Yes, it will take a few hours to go though it and see if the children have any relatives in the fleet. Hopefully we find a couple. "Shaker" will speak with the civilian representatives about child placement," replied Brice.
"Anything else?" asked Jason.
"Yes, Commander Roberts sent this scrambled." Joe began. " While raptor 594 was on the survey mission it literally ran into a problem. When they emerged from their final survey jump, they struck an unmarked colonial recon probe. It nearly destroyed them. ZEPHYRUS was able to recover them but nearly all the information in the probe was destroyed. The only thing they could recover was a single name. Cain."
"Cain? Which one Helena or Garris?" a mystified Jason asked.
"They don't know sir. They both commanded a battlestar. Maybe one of them survived." Brice responded.
Jason dismissed Brice and wondered which one sent the probe. Personally he hoped it was Commander Garris Cain that sent the probe. He is the more personable of the two. Everyone knew that there was bad blood between the cousins and he or she made no point of hiding it. Rumor had it that her parents were killed during the last days of the first war and that Helena blamed herself for her sisters disappearance. Through the years Helena felt that she always had something to prove to herself and left noone in her way to do it. Garris confronted Helena about her motivation causing a huge rift in the family that was never resolved. When she was promoted to Admiral she had his battlestar reassigned from his Battle Group and took command of it herself. Since then they haven't spoken to each other in years. At that moment Jason saw the parallel between Braylen and himself. While thinking about all that has transpired between them, he reached down and grabbed Braylen's journal and opened it.
TEN YEARS, ELEVEN MONTHS AGO - PICON FLEET HEADQUARTERS"Has the JAG officer explained your plea agreement to you?" asked the judge.
"Yes, he has, If I plead guilty, the conspiracy charges along with any charges pertaining to the black market will be dropped." responded the young man in handcuffs.
"Lieutenant Braylen Tillman, It is the judgment of this panel that you are guilty of the following, disobeying a superior's direct order, willful misconduct resulting in the injury of fellow officers, loss of military property, and striking a superior officer." Began the judge. "Per your agreement with this court and considering the thirteen months you have served awaiting trial, you are hereby sentenced to three additional months incarceration at the military stockade on Picon. Afterwards, you will be discharged from the Colonial Service." As the judge struck the gavel, ending the trial.
Braylen turned to see his mother in. She was the only one to come to the trial. His father and brother did not attend. It really didn't surprise him. They were different, they had always been. Jason was like his father, always the honor student and athletically gifted. They didn't want to share or be connected with his embarrassment.
"If they only knew what really happened,"Braylen thought, as he was lead out to the courtroom.
SEVEN YEARS & TEN MONTHS AGO – OASIS SALVAGE YARDS, OASIS, CAPRICA
"I couldn't believe it myself, she came in and told us to haul it away. It was sitting in their garage for over twenty years. He always promised to rebuild it but never finished restoring the old bird." began the salvage yard owner. "He hadn't been dead more than two days and she couldn't wait to dump it. The last time I had parts for a Mark One was over two years ago." He finished as to men chuckled.
"How long until I can get the thruster pedal assembly?" the other man asked.
"Paulo, I can give it to you now. The new guy had the cockpit pulled apart and cataloged in less than two days. This kid is good," the owner said with a wide grin. Let me introduce him, come out back.
As the two men walked around back the yard owner explained to his old friend that this kid was restoring a Mark III for a private collector. He's a quiet one, doesn't speak much. His work is unbelievable. He's been a around viper before. The men stopped at the stairway gazing down at the man who was working. Jensen watched him for a while before going down and talking with him.
FIVE YEARS & TWO MONTHS AGO – JENSEN'S PEAK, AERELON"How long until Jana's due?" asked Jensen as the two men walked around his retreat in the mountains.
"Any day." Braylen replied. "She's been so irritable lately. I think she's had it."
"How's the new house in the valley?" the old man asked.
"Good, it has a large garage. I can actually squeeze the tank in there," laughed as he was referring to his military surplus truck.
"Have you thought about contacting your family?" inquired Jensen.
"I haven't talked to them in years. My father and brother will have nothing to do with me and told me as much the last time we talked. I thought about my mother recently. I don't know, maybe after the girls are born." Answered a reluctant Braylen.
"Braylen, there was another reason I brought you up here. Your work for me has been outstanding. What you've done with the restoration department is outstanding. You have that department streamlined and running smoothly. As a result I'm promoting you to Vice President of Operations." Paulo declared.
Braylen was shocked. Before he could utter a word Jensen continued.
"There's something else, as you know I lost my children in the war along time ago and Grace and I couldn't have anymore and with her passing last year this retreat is to big for me. I would like you to have it." A beaming Jensen announced.
"Sir, This is too much. This place has been in your family for generations! It should go family. Braylen stammered.
"Nonsense. I consider you part of my family, besides I never could stand my relatives. They're all too greedy." Jensen chuckled as they continued their walk around the property.
THREE YEARS & ONE MONTH AGO – SCORPION SAVLAGE YARDS"Jenco shuttle, you are cleared to enter. Please follow shipyard regulation and maintain minimum speed only. Please notify the yardmaster when you have selected your item." The voice over the wireless ordered.
"Yard Control/Jenco Shuttle, acknowledge your message and thank you." Confirmed Braylen who was manning the controls of the shuttle.
"This is our third salvage yard. I still think that old mono-hull battlecruiser is our best hope," Braylen announced as he looked at the old vessels floating in place as the shuttle slowly moved forward.
"I know," stated Jensen. "But, they're still two in service. I want to find something that the museum doesn't have," he said as they continued to search the yard.
They continued their search for over an hour when Jensen saw it out of the corner of his eye.
"That's it, he said as he pointed starboard. Down angle one twenty degrees, bring us closer." Jensen said with excitement.
The shuttle changed course and headed in the direction Jensen wanted. Braylen flipped on the exterior lighting so he could see the vessel before him.
"What the hell is that?" he said not realizing he was loud enough to be heard.
"It's a Defender Class Escort Cruiser. One of only three ever constructed. Her name is TERTIUS." Jensen began. "She was built by the Delphi Shipyards before the first cylon war."
"I've never seen one before or even read about them." Braylen replied as he tried to retrieve design specs on the old ship from the shuttles computers.
"Originally they were going to be built to patrol the shipping lanes between the colonies. When the hostilities escalated it was decided to stop this line and focus on increasing battlestar production. They were reassigned to battlegroups for the remainder of the war. TERTIUS was the only one to survive. She was my first command," said Jensen who couldn't take his eyes off the ship.
"Yard Control is sending the spec reports right now," Braylen informed Paulo who was still gazing at the ship.
"The last structural refit was five years before her decommissioning. She's been floating here for the last twenty years. Most of her flight and tactical systems were stripped shortly after that. They've been using her as a storage container." Braylen informed as he handed Paulo the Teletype report.
"It says that she's pressurized." Paulo read. "Bring us to the ventral docking hatch. I want to see what shape she's in."
Braylen acknowledged Paulo's command and guided the shuttle towards the ships belly and docked. It didn't take long for the two men to enter the old vessel. They made their way to the auxiliary damage control and were able to get the internal lighting online. The ship was cluttered with small containers and access panels were strewn throughout the corridors.
"She's been stripped alright," Braylen volunteered.
"Yes, she's been stripped but it's all superficial we can make it work." Paulo said.
"Rhodes is going to have kittens. Once he figures out labor and material cost." Braylen joked as they continued forward towards CIC.
"Don't worry about him. TERTIUS systems are compatible with the old single hull battlecruisers. That class is being decommissioned now. We can get all the parts we need.
NINETY-ONE DAYS AGO – TERTIUS CIC, INTERSUN CONSTRUCTION FACILITY"I'll see you in two weeks." Braylen said to Paulo Jensen as he swung the backpack on one shoulder.
"Are you sure you won't stay for the reception? After all the work you put in." Jensen pleaded.
"You know they still feel the same way, especially those old timers. Besides, I haven't seen the girls in over three weeks." Braylen replied.
"Alright then. In any case, will you take a normal shuttle home?" Paulo asked referring to Braylen's personal mark one shuttle.
"Hey, I rebuilt that old girl myself!" Braylen jokingly retorted
Braylen and Paulo exchanged handshakes and parted ways. Braylen was off to Aerelon to see his family. Jana had brought the twins home almost a month ago for the start of preschool. He missed his kids a lot and wanted to see them. TERTIUS was ready to be handed over. It had undergone over two years of restoration and had its test system checked for the event. Braylen was still disliked by most of the senior officers in the military and he felt the same way about them. He didn't want to be the source of any friction at the banquet tomorrow night. He wanted to just go home and return in two weeks to deliver TERTIUS to the museum.
Eight hours had passed and Braylen's shuttle had reached Aerelon space. He radioed for landing clearance he was told it would be at least three hours due to weather delays. Braylen then decided that he would land at the family retreat in the mountains and drive himself home. Braylen was final approach from the north to the landing pad when he remotely turned on the landing lights. Braylen landed and secured the shuttle in the small hanger that Jensen built in a cave on the mountainside. After locking up the hanger Braylen jumped on his motorcycle and headed home.
The next evening TERTIUS hosted a reception that that included a few senior officers and two of his former executive officers that were now commanding their own battlestars. The highlight of the evening was when TERTIUS left the dock to take a trip around the moon the shipyard was orbiting and launched a ceremonial volley with all of her guns.
EIGHTY-SEVEN DAYS AGO – ZERO HOUR"Braylen! Get up now! GET UP!" screamed a horrified Jana.
Braylen jumped out of bed half asleep and looked at the clock, it was 9:00 in the morning. He had never heard his wife scream like this before. He ran downstairs to find out what was wrong. Jana was standing in front of the television watching the special reports when she turned to Braylen.
"Picon been nuked!" she stammered.
"What are you talking about?" he replied half asleep.
"Picon has been attacked. They're now reporting Caprica and Virgon are under attack by the cylons." Jana cried as she grabbed his hand.
At that moment, Braylen was thinking about Aerelon's planetary orbit and where it was in relative to the other colonies.
"Where are the girls?" asked Braylen as thoughts were racing through his mind.
"They're out back playing." She replied in a daze.
"Get the girls now! Pack food and clothing. We are going to get out of here!" he said as he head toward the front door.
ZERO HOUR plus TWENTY MINUTES - TERTIUS CIC, INTERSUN CONSTRUCTION FACILITYJensen was giving a tour of the CIC to one of his former officers when Rhodes shouted for him across the room.
"Sir, Battlestar THERON reports they're getting a priority one alert message from fleet headquarters!" Rhodes began, "Attention all colonial units. Cylon attack underway. This is not a drill," he added with a look of disbelief.
Jensen signaled to Kester to prep the commander's raptor for emergency departure while Hedges was on the line with his battlestar. After he hung the receiver back in it's cradle Hedges told Jensen that the cylons had launched a surprise attack starting with Picon and he was ordered to Aquaria. Paulo told him that his raptor should be ready by the time they reach the hanger bay. Once they reached the raptor Jensen asked if there was a chance that THERON could leave a CAP to protect the civilian facility.
"Nagala's orders are to jump and launch everything we have. We can't spare even four vipers. That's why I'm sending a cargo shuttle full of ammunition for your Point Defense Turrets (PDT) as we speak." Hedges said as he stepped up to the shuttle.
Jensen thanked his former junior officer as the two shook hands and parted ways.
ZERO HOUR plus TWENTY MINUTES - AerelonBraylen ignored the muted screams in the neighborhood and continued around the side of the house to the detached garage and ran through the door. He pushed aside a small workbench and moved an old carpet to reveal a large piece of iron plating. He looked for a moment and then found the heavy chain he was looking for. After attaching one end to the bumper ring of his truck and the other to the plating. After moving the truck forward and pulling the plate aside he reached down and pulled up two locked trunks. He opened one and rummaged around until he found an old military wireless, he quickly replaced the old batteries, placed on the earpiece and flipped on the emergency channels. There was a lot of cross talk, mostly confusion about the main battle over Virgon. Braylen was able to confirm the timetable that he postulated in his head, they had two hours before the cylons made their way to Aerelon.
Braylen opened the second trunk revealing a lot of different weapons. He rummaged through looking for his military issued sidearms. Just as he was finished loading the second of two Jana ran in.
"What are you doing?" she asked as she carried the supplies in.
"Aerelon will be in chaos. Mayhem will soon begin and it will spread!" he retorted as he continued to load the handgun.
"My sister called. She said that Paul is stuck in the city." She began. "The roads are gridlocked and he can't get back. I told her that she can follow us to the space port." She stammered.
Braylen thought about it as he loaded the two trunks into the Humvee. He told her to call her sister back and tell them to get over here as fast as possible as the screams outside were getting louder.
"The phones are dead!" she cried. "Braylen can we please go get them!" she begged.
"We can't take the truck outside! People will try to take it!" he told her.
"Braylen she only three streets away! Please!" she cried.
"Finish loading the truck in the garage. Don't let anyone see you! Get the girls in here and wait!" he told her as he handed her the gun. "You know how to use it, if anyone tries to come in, stop them!"
Braylen ran out back and scaled the fence. Jana's sister only lived three streets away. He would grab her and the two kids and head back the same way. It took a few minutes for him to reach his sister-in-law's street. As he ran up to the house he could see her in the car and was pulling out of the driveway. He tried to stop her by screaming her name but it was too late. The car was half way out when the driver side was t-boned by a box truck.
Braylen ran to the car he could see his nine-year-old nephew Dillon in the back seat crying. He tried to unbuckle her but she stopped him.
"I'm pinned Braylen!" she gasped as she was bleeding from her mouth and ear.
Braylen looked down and saw her leg pinned under the steering column.
"Get Cory!" she whispered while handing him a flash drive.
Her hand went limp as she died. Braylen put it around his neck and jumped around the other side and pulled him out of the wreckage and asked where his fifteen-year-old sister was. The boy was in the onset of shock pointed toward the Jenkins house. Braylen grabbed the two bags from the backseat and ran across the street with Dillon in his arms and shouted for Cory.
Cory was at the door asking what was going on when Braylen arrived. Why do you he have Dillon? Where is my mother? Braylen put Dillon down yelling that they had to leave and said that her mother was waiting for them. Cory told him that she couldn't leave and pointed to a two-year-old girl named Molly.
"Her parents are still in Aerelon City. I can't leave until they come home!" she bellowed.
Braylen walked towards Cory and told her that they weren't coming home. Traffic was backed up for miles and the cylons were on their way. Cory told him that she wasn't going to leave the girl here alone. Braylen told Cory she had thirty seconds to pack a bag. As Cory ran into the child's bedroom she asked Braylen to grab the flash drive on the refrigerator. As they made their way back up the street Cory saw her mother slumped back in the crumpled car and screamed. Braylen grabbed her arm and pulled her forward while holding Dillon in the other.
"Its too late!" he began. "She told me to take you and your brother. We don't have time to stop. We have to keep moving!" Braylen said in a strong voice. Braylen kept pulling the children moving as he watched his neighborhood descend further into chaos.
People were driving erratically running into each other and driving over sidewalks trying to leave the small town and reach the spaceport near the city. Braylen and the children finally made it back to his house when he saw people trying break into his garage. Braylen put Dillon down and pulled out his sidearm, raised it and threatened the group. They only fled after Braylen shot at their feet. Braylen pounded on the door yelling for Jana to open up. Once she recognized her husband's voice she unbolted the door and left them in.
ZERO HOUR plus FIFTY MINUTES - AerelonBraylen bolted the door behind him, as he was the last one in. The children ran to their aunt crying while she asked where her sister was. Jana looked to Braylen and her returned her stare with a shake of his head no. Jana started to cry was well. Braylen still monitoring the military channels when he heard the report that the Civilian Government had suspended all space travel. "How stupid can they be?" Braylen thought to himself as he handed Molly to Jana so he could finish loading the truck.
"The government just closed civilian spaceports! No more ships are getting up!" Braylen started. "Our only chance is get to the shuttle in the mountains!" he exclaimed.
"That's a three hour trip. The cylons will be here before that!" she cried.
"I know the longer we wait, the harder it will be. We need to leave now!" expressed Braylen as he looked out the garage door. "The battlegroups above Aerelon should buy us some time. Let's go!"
With everyone gathered inside the truck Braylen opened the door and exited the garage pushing his car out of the way. The truck sped down against the flow of traffic; it didn't take long for them to make there way to the mountain road. As they turned on to it, Braylen heard the roar of viper engines overhead. He looked up and counted twenty to thirty vipers climbing into the sky and behind them ten to twelve transports. Braylen told Jana that the old airstrip must have been used as a staging area before joining with the fleet above the planet.
ZERO HOUR plus ONE HOUR FIFTEEN MINUTES - TERTIUS CIC"According to reports that we've picked up, the cylons are inflicting heavy losses. Thirty battlestars, Picon fleet Headquarters and the Scorpian Shipyards lost in the opening wave. Nagala has taken command of the fleet onboard ATLANTIA." Kester shared from the message he was reading.
"Where's the fleet now?" Jensen asked as looked over charts on the plotting table
"It looks like most of the fleet is regrouping over Virgon with pockets over Aerelon, Libra and Scorpia" inferred Jensen.
"Admiral, AULUS is asking is requesting instructions. They want to know what to do?" relayed a technician who was manning the communication station.
"This platform is a sitting duck." Kester whispered to Jensen.
"Tell them to cut their moorings and set a course for the magnetic pole of the moon. Have the others land as close to the pole as possible, power down and wait" Jensen ordered as he turned back to Kester and whispered "Find out if any one on AULUS has military experience and get them over here."
As Kester went about his tasks Jensen called down to the tactical station to find out when his FTL computers would be online. The old FTL computers were removed during the restoration and a new computer was being retrofitted with the old system backups.
ZERO HOUR plus THREE HOURS - Aerelon MountainsAs they drove up the mountain road Jana noticed the streaks in the sky and pointed it out to Braylen. There were many of them. He knew it was debris falling into the planets atmosphere and burning up. He was hoping for the best but feared the worst. The debris was falling at a greater rate and Braylen knew that the fleet had engaged the cylons above Aerelon. All of a sudden everyone could hear multiple sonic booms. The debris was falling nearby. Braylen looked up and saw what he thought could be a viper. It was descending at a remarkable rate. "He'll never recover it!" Braylen thought to himself. The pilot ejected a few hundred feet before it crashed. They watched the parachute deploy and pilot land in the woods ahead of them.
"We should check on him!" Jana said.
"We don't have time. The cylons are here. We're still over an hour and a half drive to the compound!" he retorted.
"Braylen, That man needs our help. We can't leave him. What if he's helpless?" Jana fired back.
Braylen continued up the road until he found somewhere he could pull aside. He parked the truck far enough off the road so no one could see it. He loaded a third sidearm and handed it to his wife.
"That pilot should be about a hundred yards behind us. If anyone comes near the truck, shoot!" he told her.
"You can't just shoot someone!" Cory yelled from the back.
"These aren't civil times anymore! They will take the truck and try to get away!" said Braylen as he looked in the mirror at Cory.
Braylen exited the truck and ran into the woods. It didn't take long to find the wreckage of the viper. He continued to look around until he spotted the parachute in the trees. The straps were cut. "He must of cut himself down!" he thought to himself as he looked on the ground underneath to the parachute. Braylen found blood on the ground and followed the trail behind a boulder, where he found a gun pointed at him.
"Do you want help?" Braylen asked the pilot.
The pilot didn't respond.
"I don't have much time! If you want help I'll give it to you. If not, I'll be on my way." Braylen told the pilot as he holstered his weapon.
The pilot slowly lowered his own weapon and finally spoke. "Major Jonathan Spencer, CAG, Battlestar LYSANDRA."
"Well Major, mind if I look at that shoulder?" asked Braylen as he bent down over Spencer. Braylen removed the pilot's helmet revealing that he was older that most CAGS these days. "Your arm is going to need stitches and I have a MED kit back at my truck. We need to leave now because I don't want to leave my family alone for too long." Braylen told Spencer as he picked him up. "I'll drop you off at the old airstrip ahead.
The two men started to walk back towards the truck when Braylen asked what happened. Spencer told him that the battle was a lost cause. Somehow the cylons were able to shutdown most of the battlestars without firing a shot. They were easy pickings after that. Some ships were able to put up a fight but they were outnumbered three to one. The part of the squadron I was with wasn't affected. I lost two engines in a dogfight and tried to make it back. The two made it back to the truck Jana got out with the MED kit. Braylen was finishing stitching the Spencer's arm when out of the corner of his eye he saw a bright flash of light.
"The cylons have broken through." Braylen said as he closed the medical kit.
"We should be safe up here for a little while, but the radiation levels will start to rise very soon." Spencer replied as he pulled his flight suit back over his injured shoulder.
They got in the truck and headed for the airfield. As they drove Braylen asked Spencer if the LYSANDRA was above Aerelon. Spencer told Braylen that he didn't know. He was on shore leave at the time of the attacks. He was going to meet his brother who was in the process of being reassigned from GALACTICA due to it decommissioning. When the attacks began he made his way to the base near the capital city grabbed a viper and waited for an assignment. Which eventually, was to meet up with the task force above. As Spencer finished his story, they pulled up to the airfield.
It was nearly empty. All ships were gone. The only thing that remained was a couple of tents and a guard. Spencer and Braylen made their way to the guard and asked why he was still here. The young guard explained that he and a fellow guard were ordered to stay behind and wait for a shuttle to pick them up. Braylen stood back and listened to the conversation and watched the reaction to the guard when Spencer told him there would be no shuttle. A moment after he spoke up.
"What are you going to do?" Braylen asked Major Spencer.
"I don't know?" Spencer began. "Maybe gather what we can and head deep in the mountains."
"What if I were to tell you that I have a way off Aerelon and I have room for you." Braylen said as he watched the other guard return from walking the perimeter.
"You have a ship? Why didn't you say anything?" an annoyed Spencer asked.
"All you wanted to do was return to this airfield. Do you think I was going to take my family up here and hide? The radiation or cylons would eventually do us in. I'm not waiting here for either." Braylen said boldly.
"We have a family of six in that tent. They were hiking up the lower path when the attacks began," the young guard who later identified himself as Petty Officer Cameron Karnes.
"I don't have room for them in my truck. Use one of the military trucks and follow us up the mountain." Braylen began. "What else do you have that's useful?" he asked.
"Water, medical supplies and a little ammunition." Karnes replied as another nuclear detonation occurred near the capital city.
"Get it all in the truck and hurry! We don't have much time." Braylen ordered as he turned to Major Spencer and asked him the last time he heard or seen any colonial ship in the sky.
"Over a half hour ago, Maybe?" Spencer responded.
"That means there's nothing between the cylons and Aerelon. If I was them I would start sending down scouting parties." Braylen surmised and Spencer later agreed with as they ran back to Braylen's truck. Everyone was loaded on the two trucks and they soon continued up the mountain road again.
ZERO HOUR plus THREE HOURS FIFTY-EIGHT MINUTES - Aerelon MountainsAfter twenty minutes Braylen hit the brakes hard and the truck came to a screeching stop. Rocks and gravel was blocking the road. He jumped out of the truck and it didn't take long to see that a viper had crash into the side of rock wall and knocked the debris on the roadway. Everyone exited the truck to see what was going on.
Panic began to set in among the children, Braylen shouted for everyone to calm down.
"Listen, the only way out of here is up there. It's only two to three miles away to the north. We have to go on foot but we now must go through the woods and get off the road." Braylen directed as he slowly looked around towards everyone but what he was actually looking past them and into the woods. He slowly went to the back of his truck and grabbed his sidearm and walked towards Major Spencer.
"We're being watched! Don't stop what your doing!" he whispered to the CAG as he took a drink of water.
"I'll be right back." Braylen announced loud enough so whoever was watching could hear. "I want to get a look at the terrain ahead," As he walked up the road. Braylen felt that more than one set of eyes on him. He hoped to divide up the forces watching his family and trucks.
Braylen walked for about ten minutes and started to cut into the woods as he heard movement from behind, he knew that he had two people following him now and was waiting to find the time to turn on his followers. He didn't wait long to attack. As he turned around a large boulder, he scrambled up it and waited. A man and a woman in marine uniforms came around the corner and Braylen leaped at them both knocking one against the rock and knocking him out cold. The other was able to land a roundhouse shot to Braylen's ribs knocking him back. The marine then tried to kick him but was stopped when Braylen grabbed her foot and twisted it forcing the marine to flip over. Braylen grabbed his knife and held it against the marine's throat and pulled his microphone cord out of the radio.
"How many?" Braylen asked the marine who wouldn't respond. Braylen tried again but she still wouldn't say a word. He finally grabbed her and pushed her forward and headed back towards the trucks. Braylen figured that she might respond to Major Spencer.
When they returned, Spencer took off the jacket he was wearing to reveal his uniform. The female captive stood to attention.
"Sit-rep!" Spencer barked.
"Sir, Lance Corporal Athena Spang, Fireteam Bravo Eight. We were on survival training with our platoon when the attack began. We were trying to return to our checkpoint for pick-up but no one came." She responded.
"Are you the ranking officer on your team?" asked Spencer.
"That would be Master Sergeant Coe," replied Spang.
Spencer ordered her to reconnect her radio and give the all-clear signal and to assemble at her location. Spang followed the command and told Sergeant Coe that it was clear and a superior officer had ordered them to rally on her position. After a minute, six marines led by their C.O. exited the woods.
"Sergeant, where's the platoon you were with?" Spencer asked.
"Sir, what we think was a cylon transport went down two miles east of here. Lieutenant Milo took the platoon to check it out about thirty minutes." Coe answered
"Where are your weapons Sergeant?" asked Braylen.
"We were on a training exercise, No weapons except the sidearms we were issued." Coe retorted.
"The same for the platoon?" Spencer asked.
"Yes, Sir." Coe acknowledged.
Spencer and Tillman looked at each other and knew that the platoon would be no match for the cylons. Tillman informed the Sergeant about the scale of the cylon attack and offered him and his men a way off the planet. Tillman knew that his group didn't have time to carry all the supplies by themselves. After the Sergeant agreed Tillman went over to his trunk and opened the larger of the two trunks revealing multiple military issued weaponry.
"Where did you get this?" Coe asked.
"Let's just say I always like to be prepared for the unexpected." Tillman answered as he kept handing out weapons to Coe's team. He then told everyone to grab what he or she could. Braylen then pointed further north and towards the peak of the mountain and told Coe that's where they need to go. Instantly Coe ordered Spang to take the point. Everyone with the exception on Tillman headed north, Spencer seeing this stopped and headed back.
"What are you doing? The cylons could be heading this way." Spencer asked.
"I'm leaving a surprise for them." Braylen responded as he revealed the trip wire he was working on. Spencer grabbed Tillman's hand and pulled him up and they ran towards where the others were heading.
Six cylon centurions who were sprinting up the mountain road stopped when they came upon two abandoned trucks. Two of the six headed towards the one with the opened door. As the two-dozen refugees reached the notch in the peak they heard an explosion. Braylen, Spencer and Coe looked back, and saw the flume of black smoke rise.
"I count four of them, heading this way." Braylen said as he continued to look through his set of binoculars.
"They must be at least seven feet tall!" Spencer added.
"We have about thirty minutes at the most!" Coe announced.
"We need to buy some more time!" Braylen stated as he turned and headed down the other side of the peak. He knew that they had only three G-4 charges from the supplies at the airfield. "The only problem was that we have no remote detonators."
"Use our wireless phones." Jana said as she approached her husband.
"How? We have no signal up here," asked Karnes who held the explosives charges in his hands.
"One of Sergeant Coe's men is carrying a military transmitter. It can be modified to broadcast on commercial frequencies. We can use it like a satellite." she stated while holding one of the twins.
"She's right!" Coe added. "We can place it up in one of the trees."
"Alright, this is where we'll make our stand. We'll set one of the charges up the rock face. Hopefully we can catch the cylons in a rockslide as they're coming down." Braylen stated as everyone started to move. He then turned to his wife and told her that he and half of Coe's team would ambush the cylons and to take everyone else to the complex which was only a half-mile away.
ZERO HOUR plus FOUR HOURS EIGHTEEN MINUTES – Aerelon MountainsTillman, Coe and four of his team members wait what seemed like an eternity for the cylons to poked their mechanical heads through the notch and made their way through. As the last cylon descended down, Tillman who was watching only two hundred yards away opened his wireless phone and dialed a number. The cylons heard a noise and looked up to see an explosion bring down part of the slope above. The rockslide crushed two of the cylons and partially pinned another. The trapped cylon was working on freeing its pinned arm while the other modified its configuration. Gone were its long fingers, in its place was a gun built in to its wrist. Tillman who could see Coe from his location gave him a head nod an turn Coe slapped the back of the man next to him. The man jumped to his feet and while running down the over growth of shrubs fired at the cylons. The cylons returned fire and started to chase the marine. Tillman waited for the cylon to hit the mark and dialed another number. The explosion caught the cylon and lifted what was left of it over ten feet in the air.
Everyone opened fire on the damaged cylon while it worked on freeing its crushed arm. The team retreated in the direction of Braylen's compound. The cylon slowly followed as it leg was also damaged on the rockslide. It fired at the six of them as they ran across the overgrown field. It hit one of the moving targets, dropping him immediately. As another ran to help she was struck down. Tillman and Coe stopped and turned towards the machine. They both emptied their clips into the cylon when it finally exploded. Braylen turned around to see Major Spencer with his gun still smoking, standing a few feet behind them.
"It seems that explosive rounds are the only thing really effective!" Spencer said as he reloaded his sidearm.
"Where is everyone?" Braylen responded as Coe checked on the two wounded.
"We almost made it to your main house when I heard the guns fire. Jana said that they would go inside and pack what they could. Once they were out of sight I headed back to see what was going on." Spencer answered as they waited for Coe and the injured marine.
Braylen, Coe and Spencer made there way to the hanger and entered through the small access door built into the hanger door. Spencer was a bit surprised to see an old mark one shuttle in such pristine shape. Coe looked around the exterior of the ship as Braylen and Spencer went inside and powered up her systems. Braylen was sitting in the pilots seat running through a checklist when noticed the others starting to gather near the shuttle hatch. Braylen turned to Spencer and told him that he would be piloting the shuttle while Braylen and Munduro would provide cover. Spencer looked at him and asked him with what. Braylen told Spencer to follow him. The two men exited the shuttle and proceeded to the rear corner of the hanger and uncovered two vipers.
"Can they fly?" asked Spencer.
"Yes, I was going to ship them to a flight demonstration team next month." Braylen started. "She can even fight in combat. All her weapon systems are active." He finished as he released the cockpit canopy of the first viper.
"I should be in one! I have the most experience." Spencer barked.
"You probably do but with the injury to your shoulder and those bruised ribs you couldn't stand the g-forces of combat flying. Munduro can pilot the other." Braylen retorted before he yelled for Munduro. Spencer knew he was right but still didn't like the decision and walked off in a huff as Braylen waited for Munduro to help prep the vipers. Once all three ships were filled with supplies, they launched.
ZERO HOUR plus FOUR HOURS FIFTY THREE MINUTES - TERTIUS CIC,Jensen, who was standing over the communication console read the last message again to himself, "To all colonial units: Am taking command of fleet. All units ordered to rendezvous at Ragnar Anchorage for regroup and counterattack. Acknowledge by same encryption protocol. Adama". Paulo looked around the CIC he knew almost all these people had no combat experience. If this ship were to be useful again he would need to get trained help. He also knew the Kester was in over his head. Kester was a good manager of finance but not of people especially under these circumstances.
"Sir, FTL computers are still offline!" shouted Kester.
"Helm, release all moorings, all portside thrusters full! Set course for the moon." Jensen barked as he turned to Kester and ordered him to have the ship go to condition one.
ZERO HOUR plus FIVE HOURS TWENTY MINUTES – AerelonAs three ships escaped they planet's atmosphere they started to see the carnage the cylons inflicted on the fleet above Aerelon.
"I count eight battlestars." Munduro said in a somber voice.
"Shadow," Braylen began. " Watch out for debris. Stuff is flying everywhere!"
"Understood, we should be out of range in another minute," replied Spencer who couldn't stop gazing at the destruction.
Braylen saw a massive ship in off in the distance and radioed Spencer to look portside.
"That's a cylon baseship." Spencer started. " They hold hundreds of raiders. Let's hope they don't spot us."
"DRADIS contact off to port! It's a civilian freighter!" She's requesting assistance." Spencer announced.
"Sir, a cylon baseship has spotted us. It's heading our way, five minutes to intercept." Munduro declared.
The commanding officer of the freighter spoke to Braylen and told him that the two vipers could land in a cargo bay and they would jump to a different location hopefully where the cylons haven't been yet. Braylen radioed the shuttle and told Jana to input the FTL destination and jump and they would follow as soon as they land. The two vipers quickly landed in the forward cargo bay of the freighter and relayed the jump coordinates to the bridge. Just as the cylon launched its missiles the tanker disappeared.
ZERO HOUR plus FIVE HOURS THIRTY TWO MINUTESAfter emerging from the FTL jump the shuttle radioed Braylen who was still on the freighter. Spencer reported that the jump drained more than two-thirds of the ships fuel reserves. Braylen acknowledge that he knew it would happen and made arrangements for them to dock with the freighter and replenish fuel. Once docked, Braylen made his way to the passageway to see his family and to confer with Captain Spencer and Lt. Jennings the C.O. of the freighter.
"Why did we jump here? There's nothing here!" asked Jennings.
"We jumped just out of range of Intersun Liners main construction platform." Braylen began. "As you should be aware, the cylons probably targeted all military assets near the colonies and would likely move outwards after. I work for a company that was hired to restore an old warship that was going to be presented to the fleet museum. We spent almost two years restoring her to full operational status. If she still out there she's our best chance of protection." Braylen advised as checked the freighters manifest.
"Why did the military contract a civilian freighter to remove a dozen fully armed defense satellites with a skeleton crew? How many did you recover?" Braylen asked Jennings.
"We retrieved seven. I don't know about why? I received my orders a week ago. I assume we were behind in the retrieval of the satellites and they outsourced for help." Jennings responded.
"What about the fighting? We've been cut off from any news," Spencer asked.
"After Picon was nuked the military recalled everyone when the cylons ignored the Presidents' surrender." Jennings started. "Last reports had the cylons overwhelming our forces. They were able to do something to our ships. Most of the fleet has been wiped out. The only battlestars that were having any luck were the old ones. GALACTICA had ordered a regroup at Ragnar, but that was hours ago. We lost communication shortly after. We were going to join them but this crew is from Aerelon that they wanted to see how bad it the destruction was."
"My brother is on that ship. Maybe he still alive." Spencer stated.
"Lt. Jennings we have a few civilian survivors on the shuttle, I would like to transfer them to your ship," asked Braylen.
"That's fine. I had picked up about four dozen or so from small shuttles before we jumped to Aerelon," answered Jennings
Braylen checked his watch and announced that they were about ten minutes from the station. He asked Jennings and Spencer to come up with a couple of escape routes incase the cylons were waiting for them. As soon as everyone went about there tasks, Braylen walked to the back of the shuttle to visit his family.
He had modified the storage area into a small room that could sleep six. On one set of bed were his twins who were both asleep. On the other side were Dillon and Cory, both still awake and probably in shock. Molly was asleep in Jana's arms. He kissed his wife and asked how they are doing.
"The girls finally fell asleep a few minutes ago. Dillon hasn't said two words since we left and Cory has been watching Molly for the most part," she began. "What if Paulo left or was destroyed? What are we going to do?"
"TERTIUS will be there. If not, we'll abandon the shuttle, move over to the freighter and try to find other ships," he answered softly.
"What is President Adar going to do? Who is going to protect us? The cylons have wiped out the fleet!" she asked.
"Once Picon was attacked Adar recalled all military personnel including inactive. No one has heard from Adar since Caprica was attacked. Battlestar GALACTICA ordered a regroup at a remote station for a counterattack. That's all I know."
Braylen kissed his wife and held on to her until they were interrupted by a single knock on the doorframe. It was Captain Spencer letting him know it was time to detach from the freighter. Braylen touched his wife's face and then went forward. Spencer noted that only Coe, two marines and himself remained on the shuttle.
"Freighter 77482, the docking collar is depressurized. We're releasing clamps." Spenser announced over the wireless.
It didn't take long for the shuttle to pick-up the construction facility on dradis.
"No signs of activity," stated Spencer.
"Continue on course. I want to get closer. Notify the freighter to FTL to the emergency coordinates at the first sign of cylons, " replied Tillman.
"Where is this ship of yours?" asked Coe.
"I'm not sure. She's gone along with the other ship that was in the docks." Braylen replied as he checked the dradis for debris. "Let's find out!" he added as he changed course for the nearby moon.
Braylen changed the frequency on the wireless and opened a channel. "TERTIUS this is Mustang, do you copy? Repeat, TERTIUS this is Mustang, do you copy?"
At that point Spencer and Coe realized that they were with a man who was kicked out of the Colonial Service years ago as the wireless crackled.
"TERTIUS this is Mustang, do you copy? Repeat, TERTIUS this is Mustang, do you copy?" repeated Braylen.
"Dradis contact! Coming from at the moon!" Spencer yelled
"Mustang / TERTIUS Actual, Do you copy?" the voice said through the static of the wireless.
"TERTIUS Actual/ Mustang, we are glad to hear your voice. We thought you'll be gone by now." A relieved Braylen announced with a smile.
"Mustang, we're reading a second vessel." Jensen inquired.
"Second ship is friendly, copy?" Braylen answered.
"Copy that Mustang! Jensen replied. "Instruct vessel to proceed to magnetic pole of the moon and wait with the other ships. Land the shuttle in the hanger and meet me in the wardroom room once you're onboard. Over?"
"Instructions confirmed. Heading for the hanger, Mustang out!" Braylen responded.
After giving the freighter its instructions, the shuttle made its final approach for the hanger bay.
ZERO HOUR plus SIX HOURS TWENTY MINUTES – WARDROOM ROOM, TERTIUSRhodes was bringing Braylen, Coe and Spencer up to date on the battlefront and the recall of all inactive military personnel while they waited for Jensen. Captain Spencer was hopeful that his brother was still alive when he was informed about the GALACTICA's regroup communiqué. He was about to ask a question when Jensen walked in.
"Thank the gods you're alright!" Jensen exclaimed as he shook Braylen's hand and grabbed his shoulder.
"Admiral, we were lucky. We almost didn't make it off Aerelon." He began. "This is Master Sergeant Paul Coe and Major Jonathan Spencer. He's the CAG of the LYSANDRA.
"Admiral, What the frak happened? How did the cylons achieve a complete surprise? Coe asked.
"We're still not sure. From what we can tell is the cylons have found a backdoor in to the computer systems. They've been able to shut down battlestars and vipers without firing a shot." Jensen replied. "Those who can't fight are sitting ducks."
"Sir, I was wondering if theirs a shuttle available. I should get back to my ship." Spencer asked.
"I'm sorry, the LYSANDRA was one of the first ships taken out by the cylons." Paulo said as we watched Spencer's reaction. "I could use all of your help. This ship is manned by a bunch of technicians who have no military training."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Braylen told Jensen about petty officers' Munduro and Karnes who were on the freighter. Jensen asked Kester to go up to CIC and send for them. Jensen waited for him to leave before speaking again.
"Well Braylen, you know that all inactive personnel have been recalled, I'm returning you to duty and making you my executive officer. I'm also giving you the rank of Major." Jensen announced. "Major Spencer, right now we have four vipers at our disposal. I would like you to take charge of the pilots. I see that you're injured and I'm guessing that you can't fly right now. Until your injuries heal, I could use you at tactical.
"Understood." Spencer responded.
"Sergeant Coe, How many men did you bring with you? Paulo asked.
"There are seven of us left, sir." Coe replied.
"Sgt, we have about a dozens marines between this ship and the passenger liner hiding on the moon. They are now under your command. Security on every ship is now your responsibility. Please see to it," finished Jensen.
"Sir, where is the personnel from the station and AULUS?
"Everyone is down hovering over the magnetic pole of that moon. We have a little over two thousand survivors a lot of which are children. They were on a field trip to AULUS when this all began. We have enough food and water for a couple of months.
"How long before we can rendezvous with the rest of the fleet? What about our fighting ability?" asked Spencer?
"Unknown, when we restored the TERTIUS installing a FTL computer was the last thing on our minds. We are in the process of retro fitting a new FTL computer to the old systems. Before we jump to Ragnar, I want to jump to near Aquaria. That is one of the two colonies we haven't received any reports from." Jensen began as he turned towards Braylen. "Battlestar THERON was assigned to that area. I personally need to know what happen to him. I can't explain it but its something I need to check before we leave.
Braylen knew that Hedges had stayed in contact with Jensen over the years and didn't question him on this.
DAY 1 (EIGHTY-SIX DAYS AGO) – CIC, TERTIUSAlmost twenty hours had passed since they received the regroup order from GALACTICA. Paulo knew that they should be heading for Ragnar but he wanted to see if there were any other survivors left. TERTIUS had just finished its third and final minor FTL jump around the moon and abandon construction facility. The FTL system was working perfectly.
"Admiral, All systems online! FTL board is a go!" reported Kester who was now the second officer.
"All ship have received the list of emergency jump co-ordinates and report ready. All secondary weapons online." Braylen reported.
"Good, we'll jump once all ships have cleared the moon's gravitational field. Keep an eye on dradis, I don't want any surprises." Jensen ordered.
"All ships acknowledging orders and are heading to our co-ordinates for the jump to Aquaria" reported Petty Officer Karnes who was now manning communications.
A few minutes later he reported that all ships are ready for the jump. Jensen gave the order for all ships to jump near Aquaria. In an instant all five ships reappeared not far from their target.
"Dradis, Any signs of cylons?" asked Rhodes.
"It looks clear. I'm picking up multiple disaster beacons coming from the debris ahead." Spencer reported.
"Launch all vipers. I want two forward and two aft," ordered Tillman
"Mr. Munduro, set course for the debris field. I want to see if anyone is still alive." Jenson ordered as he studied the dradis monitor.
"Sir, the forward CAP reports they are approaching the debris field and can spot numerous destroyed vipers and raiders. They're proceeding deeper in the field. WAIT! I'm receiving multiple Krypter calls," Karnes reported as he turned back to the communication panel when he suddenly flipped on the speaker.
"Krypter, krypter, krypter, this is colonial viper 1916WT. Do you copy?" the voice asked over the wireless.
"Viper 1916WT, this is Colonial vessel TERTIUS. Do you copy?" replied Karnes.
(To be continued)