BATTLESTAR URANTIA - "You Can't Go Home Again" (EP. 007)
Welcome to Battlestar Urantia... Season 3!
PREVIOUSLY, ON BATTLESTAR URANTIA...
"What the frak do you mean, she said no?" Tina Standish shouted at him. "Did you even bother to tell her that you requested this over a year ago?" she added.
"Of course I did!" he shot back. "It makes no difference... she's an Admiral. I'm a Commander. I have my orders to follow." he said.
Tina nodded her head, angry with what he was saying.
"Oh... well, maybe that's the problem, isn't it? Maybe, if you asserted yourself more aggressively, from time to time, YOU'D be the Admiral... the dominant one... the one making all the calls... you know... like a MAN?" she threw in, for emphasis, as she walked over to the corner table, and poured herself a glass of ambrosia.
That was all Tyler could take... he was sick of arguing with this frakking woman. Fine... she wanted it rough... she'd get it rough.
As she began to lift the glass to her mouth, Standish's hand locked onto her wrist, with mighty strength, and she looked to him.
"You frakking want me to assert myself aggressively?" he said to her, his voice laced with anger, as he shoved her against the wall, which she hit hard, and with a quick movement, shoved both of her arms over hear head, spread out, causing her to drop the glass of ambrosia, which fell to the floor, shattering, as she looked to him, her breathing deep and hard, her passions now excited.
- - -
"Mister Benassi... we need to talk." Standish said, calmly.
"In a bit, Sir... I'm off-duty now." he replied, not even looking to Standish.
This pushed Tyler over the edge, and with a snarled grimace, he quickly pulled Jareth off his barstool, and shoved him onto the ground, as Grae jumped off her seat, and stood back.
As Jareth began to get up, Standish picked him up from his uniform chest, and punched him... HARD, sending him back to the ground.
"Commander!" Grae called out, reaching for him, to hold him back, as Standish landed yet another puch on Jareth's face.
"Hotshot motherfrakker! I don't know how the FRAK you ever earned wings... but I'll be damned, if you're gonna frak with MY planes, and MY pilots!" Standish shouted out at Jareth. "Get the frak up!" he shouted, Jareth got up, wiping his hand across his bloddied face.
Standish pushed Jareth hard against the bar, and leaned into him, placing his left arm over Jareth's neck, in a chokehold.
- - -
"Commander Standish... it's true, Sir... we found a planet... or at least, what looks like a planet... on the far side of the nebula." the man said.
"What do you mean "looks like a planet"?" Standish asked, as now the second Specialist, a female, also jumped down onto the deck, also saluting, after dropping her gear back on the deck.
"It's true, Sir." she offered. "That region of the nebula is riddled with interference that made our DRADIS almost totally useless... but we DID see a large celestial body... it had to be a planet." she added.
- - -
"I don't know why you're waiting, Eliza... the number of available men on this ship is going down each month... you should get married, as soon as possible... start a family!" she offered.
"I don't want anyone on this ship... I know who I want... who my heart likes." Eliza replied, looking into her friend's eyes.
Sariah placed her hands on Eliza's shoulders, as she looked into her eyes, her face close to Eliza's.
"I know, baby... but that man is taken... Commander Standish belongs to another." she offered.
"That's just the thing." Eliza began, looking to her friend. "I don't think he really does. The whole way Urantia's XO spoke to me... she wasn't threatening me, in the same way a woman who is truly in love would... there was anger behind her voice... real and deep anger... like she just wanted me out of the way." she said.
- - -
Standish picked up the photo, holding it to the light, examining it.
"It has to be Pegasus, Sir." Grae said, from behind Standish. "Given that we also found some personal artifacts from that ship... we have to assume it's her... that Pegasus was destroyed here." she added.
- - -
"There's no frakking way two Battlestars could have ended up here... no frakking way... it's too great a coincidence." Standish offered. "Besides... the SAR teams have only found debris from one Battlestar." he added. "I need more." he began. "Do whatever you can to sharpen that up... clean it up... I need more than just a fuzzy blotch." he said, as the Specialist saluted, and turned around to leave.
- - -
"I am NOT a Cylon!" Cavil shouted out, looking to D'anna.
"We'll see..." Standish said, drawing his sidearm, and raising it at aim, at Cavil's head. "If Cavil number four pops up... we'll know, won't we?" he offered.
The look on Cavil's face was one of genuine fear and desperation. Finally, he did all he could think of doing...
"Her! She's a Cylon!" he shouted out, pointing to D'anna, who wore a look of shock.
- - -
"Attention people of the Urantia, and the fleet... this is your Commander." he began. "Over a week ago, we were forced to leave the planet we came to know as New Caprica, due to the Cylon's arrival. While at New Caprica, we learned of the fate of one of our brethren... the Battlestar Pegasus. We know not still, how Pegasus ended up there, nor why the crew of Pegasus decided to establish settlements there. We know only that she met her end locked in combat with three cylon Basestars. However... there is something that those of you outside Urantia did not then know, but must know now... before we jumped away from New Caprica... one of our search and rescue teams made a discovery... a fragment of a Viper wing... a Viper that was not from Urantia, or Pegasus. The markings on this wing indicated that the Viper was from the Battlestar Galactica. Not only did we recover a wing... but we also discovered evidence that there was indeed another Battlestar present here at one time. That had to be Galactica. Because we found no debris from Galactica herself... I must conclude that the ship was able to jump away, to safety. Where she is, we know not. But she is one of ours... she has a Commander... a crew... and a story. She is struggling to stay alive, as are we. Because of these things... it is my responsibility... my DUTY... to seek out Galactica."
- - -
"This is... this is the Colonial Battlestar Urantia, to Colonial vessel. Identify your--" he began, but was cut off, as the transmission from the other end came on, highly fritzed with static, as if the other ship was having problems with its systems.
"This is the Colonial Gunstar Liberator to the vessel claiming to be the Urantia... Tyler... is that you?" a man's voice sounded.
The voice from Standish's past hit him as if he'd seen a ghost... he recognized the voice of his old friend, Commander McAllister. Standish allowed a look of relief to escape to the surface, as he wore a small smile.
"McAllister? Gods dammit... what the frak... how the frak did you end up all the way out here?" he asked.
- - -
AND NOW... SEASON 3...
BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53
ADMIRAL STANDISH'S CABIN
D'anna Biers stood, looking down, as Admiral Tyler Standish lowered himself to his knees before her, and held up a black jewelry box, which he opened, as he looked up to her, facing his XO.
"D'anna Biers... will you be my wife? Will you marry me?" he asked.
THREE MONTHS EARLIER
The arc of sunlight highlighted the planet, against the starry black of space.
It was a beautiful planet... vast blue oceans, fluffly white clouds, and vast continents of green and brown.
Suddenly, off in the distance, in the far corner above the arc of the planet, dozens upon dozens of flashes of light signaled the arrival of the Urantia and her fleet, as the ships emerged from FTL.
BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53
CIC
Admiral Standish looked cautiously to the DRADIS displays, waiting for Mister Hindri to confirm his position.
"Coordinates conformed, Sir... we are now locked in high orbit... of Aerelon! We're home, Sir!" Hindri called out, as instantly, everyone in CIC broke out into joyous cheers, throwing clipboards into the air, as people reached to embrace the person beside them, while others clapped and cheered, and others cried tears of joy and relief.
Standish looked to D'anna, and his features softened, as he reached to draw her close, embracing her.
BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53
The Battlestar led her fleet along, in orbit of Aerelon, the homeworld of Tyler Standish, as wings of Raptors flew towards the atmosphere, along with Viper escorts.
STANDISH RESIDENCE - AERELON
Admiral Standish emerged from the Raptor, and climbed down, landing on the Aerelon ground, as he began to walk past the group of Urantia crew and Marines already present, making his way towards his destination, undeterred.
Finally, he met up with D'anna and Grae, and both women looked to him.
"You sure you want to do this, Sir?" D'anna asked him softly, as he looked to her.
"I have to do this." he stated, softly, but very firm, as he slowly continued on his way.
Tyler Standish walked towards his house... or the remains of his house. What had once been a beautiful ultramodern luxury Caprican-style home, was now nothing but a pile of rubble, of smashed concrete, broken glass, and fallen wood beams, in the middle of a field of tall weeds.
For a moment, he stopped in front of the ruins, looking at it, drinking in the sight of it. Finally, with a deep sigh, he carefully worked his way into what once was his home.
Gradually, he worked his way into what used to be his vast living room. He paused, and stood, looking around. Almost instantly, vivid ghosts from the past began to flood his brain with memories... he could see himself fighting with Tina, and hear the verbal assaults fly, like knives through the wind. After a moment, he looked to a certain spot, in the middle of the room...
It was the spot where the glass coffee table had been... the table that Tina had fallen through, when she killed herself... and her unborn child.
As Tyler gazed at the spot, his mind recalled that gruesome image, of his wife's bloodied and dead body, on the floor, surrounded by broken glass. His face was a mix of emotions, as Tyler struggled to cope with the flood of memories.
Finally, Tyler stood up, and with a roar of rage, pulled out his personal sidearm, and aimed it in front of him, firing shots at the spot where his wife had once laid on the floor, yelling as he fired shot after shot, until his magazine was emptied, and he fell to his knees at the spot, surrendering to his inner torment, and breaking down, crying, as he buried his face in his hands.
TO BE CONTINUED...
