Post by James Hudson on Nov 9, 2013 15:21:43 GMT -5
Admin's note: This fanfic is the intellectual property of Matthew Manni, who graciously allowed me to repost it on this forum. Thanks again, Matt!.
Author's note: This fanfic had originated next door in our sister site Battlestarzone.com, and the RPG characters within it are the sole property of their owners who graciously allowed me to use them over time and in my past fics.
From the Adama Journals:
Today is the anniversary of the 2nd year of our second exodus and we have just arrived in a new quadrant that offers distinct possibilities for Tylium and food and water. Raptor 2 has been dispatched under viper escort to scan the largest of the four planetoids detected. The Raptor is under command of Margaret Edmonson who is training a new pilot, the trainee has been called up from the civilian fleet, his name is Niko Stratos, and he has been issued the call sign Sleep Walker. I have yet to determine the genesis for that call sign.
Galactica has slowly been replacing her viper wings with materials scavenged from earlier expeditions, and thanks to the upgraded flight simulator provided by the late PEGASUS, we have been training new pilots and keeping the actual wear and tear on our current viper compliment to a minimum. Six new vipers of the Mk VII variety have been put in service, and it has greatly increased morale with the pilots.
We have had no enemy contact in 67 days, and the peace has been quite welcome.
Sleepwalker backed off on the power and adjusted for drift, they were approaching the largest of the planetoids in this sector, and his FTO (Field Training Officer) was monitoring his every movement. Racetrack was an excellent pilot, and had a knack for training. The ECO stayed busy running various scans of the surface and smiled.
"Looks like we have vegetation in huge tracts down there, Racetrack. High iron deposits also detected." reported the ECO.
"Anything on subsurface scans?" She meant tylium deposits, and the hope was that one of these planetoids would yield that precious material used to make fuel.
"Nothing yet, but it's still early." For the next 12 hours, the Raptor remained in low orbit running its scans. The two viper escorts flown by Ares and Charon remained vigilant.
The remainder of the mission continued without incident, and the recon mission finally returned to Galactica with good news.
Adama and Tigh made a surprise appearance in the hanger bay when Raptor 2 was lowered. Gaeta was in command up in the CIC. The hatch opened, and after finishing his post flight checklist Niko stepped out onto the hanger deck. He snapped out a stiff salute to the two most senior officers aboard.
"Not a bad landing, Stratos!" grunted Colonel Tigh. "I'm sure you can appreciate the difference between a military raptor and a civie shuttle?"
"Thank you, sir, yes the Raptor handles like a dream, I could most assuredly get used to that."
"That would require a definite commitment to the service, and a commission." said Adama eyeing the trainee. He had read Stratos' file and knew this would be one man worth keeping an eye on. He had potential.
"Admiral, it looks like a decent tract of vegetation and mineral deposits of various types. Sadly there is no tylium on the large planetoid." informed Racetrack.
"Well we have three other planetoids to check out, perhaps we'll get lucky." replied Adama. "Good work people, get some rack time. Major Nintius will be departing in Raptor 1 shortly to scan planetoid two, perhaps she'll find something...she usually does."
Major Nina Nintius emerged from the storm clouds over her assigned planetoid; the storm was playing havoc with her Dradis and com systems. She brought Taz down lower into the atmosphere, initial scans revealed an unforgiving climate and terrain. A barely breathable atmosphere and cold. No human could last long here unprotected from the elements.
She made her way towards the north, a massive outcropping of rock loomed before her as far as the eye could see. The ECO's station was alive with alarms. Tylium! The scanners were picking up tylium deposits in vast quantities, but not from the planet's subsurface. These were surface readings.
"What the frak?" said the ECO. "This isn't right; I'm picking up tylium readings from the surface. The hair on Nina's neck started to bristle, her personal built-in warning that something was not right.
"Start scanning for surface structures immediately." she ordered, her voice raw. She chopped power and brought Taz lower to the surface near a ridge. Her ECO worked his scanners intently, his mouth opened and he slowly turned towards his pilot.
"Betty, I'm picking up a network of structures, metal alloy with strong energy signature."
"Spool up the FTL and prepare to get the frak out of here." The raptor was positioned behind a large rock outcropping, it saved them from being discovered when two Cylon raiders roared past them.
"Oh frak me..." said Nintius to herself. A Cylon outpost hidden in the base of the mountain. The ion storm that blanketed the planet had kept them from being detected by the Colonial vessels upon approach. Fortunately, it worked in the reverse; the Colonial fleet would not be picked up unless the Cylons sent out a patrol beyond the planet's atmosphere. "Let's get some camera shots of the base and jump out of here before we're discovered." The ECO activated the cameras that lined the underbelly of the raptor and took panoramic views of the mountain's base and the Cylon outpost nestled within it. Working the zoom, he magnified the airstrip and what looked like a massive fueling station.
"I got some terrific shots, Nina...lets get out of here!" said the ECO nervously. Betty powered up and reversed course taking her out of visual range of the base, she skirted the mountain range and aimed for the sky. Raptor 1 soon vanished.
Matthew Lensherr and Mark Sarnex were startled to see Raptor 1 emerge from a jump from the planet's surface. Lensherr opened up his commline. "Betty-Hephaestus...come in."
"Hephaestus-Raptor 1...maintain radio silence and return to Galactica immediately." Matthew Lensherr realized something was not right, he could tell by Nintius' voice and bluntness. Glancing over to his wingman Nightstalker, he nodded and gestured back. The two Mk. II vipers formed up on Raptor 1 who was now traveling at top speed away from the planet and back towards the fleet.
Galactica was at condition 1 and ready for action when the recon patrol landed. All pilots were manning their fighters awaiting the orders to launch if needed. Nina Nintius bounded out of the hatch and was making her way to the CIC when she met up with Lensherr and Sarnex who were attempting to catch up her.
"Nina, what the hell is going on?" asked Lensherr coming alongside his superior officer. Mark Sarnex brought up the rear of the group.
"Cylon outpost, well hidden behind the ion storm clouds."
"This far out?" asked Sarnex.
"I’ve got some good footage that the knuckle-draggers should be downloading as we speak. I need to get to the old man." she said referring to Admiral Adama.
Upon entering the CIC, she was greeted by a very concerned looking Admiral, and Galactica's CAG Apollo. "What have you got, Betty?" said the Admiral wasting no time.
"Toaster outpost sir, a fraking big one at that!" said Nintius paying no heed to protocol. Lee Adama just rolled his eyes thinking how much she reminded him of Starbuck.
Adama turned to Tigh. "Order the fleet to jump to the emergency coordinates immediately. I want Red Aces tasked with protecting them until further notice." Tigh carried out the order, and one by one, the fleet disappeared. Red Aces squadron launched and immediately landed on the Stryker, which was one of three armed civilian ships and would jump the squadron to the new coordinates.
After the camera footage was viewed, the senior staff and squadron leaders started to discuss the options before them. Lee was first to speak. "Admiral, we can assume that the storm has prevented us from being picked up by the outpost, we might have to consider passing this sector up and search the next one for tylium." Starbuck let loose a sigh that was unmistakable in meaning; it was obvious she disagreed with the CAG.
"You have something you'd like to add, Captain?" said the Admiral.
"Sir, if we are to assume that we haven't been detected than I say strike them. Strike them hard and fast, we secure the airstrip and fuel depot and kill any toasters manning it. Chances are this is a remote outpost, and they would probably have to travel beyond the ion clouds to communicate with whatever Baseships are close by. We do this right, and we can take the fuel and blow the base before anyone else is the wiser."
Nina Nintius nodded in agreement; she was just as gung ho as Kara Thrace, and admired Starbuck's military judgment and guts.
Author's note: This fanfic had originated next door in our sister site Battlestarzone.com, and the RPG characters within it are the sole property of their owners who graciously allowed me to use them over time and in my past fics.
Attack On Cylon Outpost #4
From the Adama Journals:
Today is the anniversary of the 2nd year of our second exodus and we have just arrived in a new quadrant that offers distinct possibilities for Tylium and food and water. Raptor 2 has been dispatched under viper escort to scan the largest of the four planetoids detected. The Raptor is under command of Margaret Edmonson who is training a new pilot, the trainee has been called up from the civilian fleet, his name is Niko Stratos, and he has been issued the call sign Sleep Walker. I have yet to determine the genesis for that call sign.
Galactica has slowly been replacing her viper wings with materials scavenged from earlier expeditions, and thanks to the upgraded flight simulator provided by the late PEGASUS, we have been training new pilots and keeping the actual wear and tear on our current viper compliment to a minimum. Six new vipers of the Mk VII variety have been put in service, and it has greatly increased morale with the pilots.
We have had no enemy contact in 67 days, and the peace has been quite welcome.
Scene 1.
Sleepwalker backed off on the power and adjusted for drift, they were approaching the largest of the planetoids in this sector, and his FTO (Field Training Officer) was monitoring his every movement. Racetrack was an excellent pilot, and had a knack for training. The ECO stayed busy running various scans of the surface and smiled.
"Looks like we have vegetation in huge tracts down there, Racetrack. High iron deposits also detected." reported the ECO.
"Anything on subsurface scans?" She meant tylium deposits, and the hope was that one of these planetoids would yield that precious material used to make fuel.
"Nothing yet, but it's still early." For the next 12 hours, the Raptor remained in low orbit running its scans. The two viper escorts flown by Ares and Charon remained vigilant.
The remainder of the mission continued without incident, and the recon mission finally returned to Galactica with good news.
Adama and Tigh made a surprise appearance in the hanger bay when Raptor 2 was lowered. Gaeta was in command up in the CIC. The hatch opened, and after finishing his post flight checklist Niko stepped out onto the hanger deck. He snapped out a stiff salute to the two most senior officers aboard.
"Not a bad landing, Stratos!" grunted Colonel Tigh. "I'm sure you can appreciate the difference between a military raptor and a civie shuttle?"
"Thank you, sir, yes the Raptor handles like a dream, I could most assuredly get used to that."
"That would require a definite commitment to the service, and a commission." said Adama eyeing the trainee. He had read Stratos' file and knew this would be one man worth keeping an eye on. He had potential.
"Admiral, it looks like a decent tract of vegetation and mineral deposits of various types. Sadly there is no tylium on the large planetoid." informed Racetrack.
"Well we have three other planetoids to check out, perhaps we'll get lucky." replied Adama. "Good work people, get some rack time. Major Nintius will be departing in Raptor 1 shortly to scan planetoid two, perhaps she'll find something...she usually does."
Scene 2.
Major Nina Nintius emerged from the storm clouds over her assigned planetoid; the storm was playing havoc with her Dradis and com systems. She brought Taz down lower into the atmosphere, initial scans revealed an unforgiving climate and terrain. A barely breathable atmosphere and cold. No human could last long here unprotected from the elements.
She made her way towards the north, a massive outcropping of rock loomed before her as far as the eye could see. The ECO's station was alive with alarms. Tylium! The scanners were picking up tylium deposits in vast quantities, but not from the planet's subsurface. These were surface readings.
"What the frak?" said the ECO. "This isn't right; I'm picking up tylium readings from the surface. The hair on Nina's neck started to bristle, her personal built-in warning that something was not right.
"Start scanning for surface structures immediately." she ordered, her voice raw. She chopped power and brought Taz lower to the surface near a ridge. Her ECO worked his scanners intently, his mouth opened and he slowly turned towards his pilot.
"Betty, I'm picking up a network of structures, metal alloy with strong energy signature."
"Spool up the FTL and prepare to get the frak out of here." The raptor was positioned behind a large rock outcropping, it saved them from being discovered when two Cylon raiders roared past them.
"Oh frak me..." said Nintius to herself. A Cylon outpost hidden in the base of the mountain. The ion storm that blanketed the planet had kept them from being detected by the Colonial vessels upon approach. Fortunately, it worked in the reverse; the Colonial fleet would not be picked up unless the Cylons sent out a patrol beyond the planet's atmosphere. "Let's get some camera shots of the base and jump out of here before we're discovered." The ECO activated the cameras that lined the underbelly of the raptor and took panoramic views of the mountain's base and the Cylon outpost nestled within it. Working the zoom, he magnified the airstrip and what looked like a massive fueling station.
"I got some terrific shots, Nina...lets get out of here!" said the ECO nervously. Betty powered up and reversed course taking her out of visual range of the base, she skirted the mountain range and aimed for the sky. Raptor 1 soon vanished.
Scene 3.
Matthew Lensherr and Mark Sarnex were startled to see Raptor 1 emerge from a jump from the planet's surface. Lensherr opened up his commline. "Betty-Hephaestus...come in."
"Hephaestus-Raptor 1...maintain radio silence and return to Galactica immediately." Matthew Lensherr realized something was not right, he could tell by Nintius' voice and bluntness. Glancing over to his wingman Nightstalker, he nodded and gestured back. The two Mk. II vipers formed up on Raptor 1 who was now traveling at top speed away from the planet and back towards the fleet.
Galactica was at condition 1 and ready for action when the recon patrol landed. All pilots were manning their fighters awaiting the orders to launch if needed. Nina Nintius bounded out of the hatch and was making her way to the CIC when she met up with Lensherr and Sarnex who were attempting to catch up her.
"Nina, what the hell is going on?" asked Lensherr coming alongside his superior officer. Mark Sarnex brought up the rear of the group.
"Cylon outpost, well hidden behind the ion storm clouds."
"This far out?" asked Sarnex.
"I’ve got some good footage that the knuckle-draggers should be downloading as we speak. I need to get to the old man." she said referring to Admiral Adama.
Upon entering the CIC, she was greeted by a very concerned looking Admiral, and Galactica's CAG Apollo. "What have you got, Betty?" said the Admiral wasting no time.
"Toaster outpost sir, a fraking big one at that!" said Nintius paying no heed to protocol. Lee Adama just rolled his eyes thinking how much she reminded him of Starbuck.
Adama turned to Tigh. "Order the fleet to jump to the emergency coordinates immediately. I want Red Aces tasked with protecting them until further notice." Tigh carried out the order, and one by one, the fleet disappeared. Red Aces squadron launched and immediately landed on the Stryker, which was one of three armed civilian ships and would jump the squadron to the new coordinates.
After the camera footage was viewed, the senior staff and squadron leaders started to discuss the options before them. Lee was first to speak. "Admiral, we can assume that the storm has prevented us from being picked up by the outpost, we might have to consider passing this sector up and search the next one for tylium." Starbuck let loose a sigh that was unmistakable in meaning; it was obvious she disagreed with the CAG.
"You have something you'd like to add, Captain?" said the Admiral.
"Sir, if we are to assume that we haven't been detected than I say strike them. Strike them hard and fast, we secure the airstrip and fuel depot and kill any toasters manning it. Chances are this is a remote outpost, and they would probably have to travel beyond the ion clouds to communicate with whatever Baseships are close by. We do this right, and we can take the fuel and blow the base before anyone else is the wiser."
Nina Nintius nodded in agreement; she was just as gung ho as Kara Thrace, and admired Starbuck's military judgment and guts.