nuBSG fanfic "Battlestar Urantia"

[RobertScorpio]

oh man, here we go again!

neat drawings

Hehe... thanks, all! I'll let Atolm know you liked his work.

Keep your eye on the Earth of this episode... a lot is about to be revealed, and it won't be what you expect...

Is this story taking place, on Earth, in the 70s? I remember reading Chariots of the God and many of those books that came out about that time. I also like the fact that the women of that time were sporting hair-doos like those of the original Cassie and Athenna...oh yeah!!!

Rob

 

[BolianAuthor]

It IS taking place on Earth. But not in the 1970's.

I used the good Professor, because that book was part of the inspiration for the original BSG.

 

[RobertScorpio]

It IS taking place on Earth. But not in the 1970's.

I used the good Professor, because that book was part of the inspiration for the original BSG.

Well..it was great to see that!! made me not feel like a kook like i did when i read it back then and was laughed at!!!

Rob

 

[BolianAuthor]

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - "Earth's Last Gleaming" (EP. 012)

CONTINUED...



The gentle breeze whipped through the tall grasses surrounding the tall ships, as the groups of humans were hard at work, setting up camp, unpacking food and supplies from boxes, etc.

As the people worked, one person looked up, and spotted something, calling out to alert the others...

"Over there... look!" he called, as one of the men paused, standing straight as he looked forward, as behind him, others now also stood and looked, their mouths open with surprise, at what they were seeing...

In the near distance before them, a lone human woman, walking with a wooden staff, was walking through the grasses, towards them.

Some of the humans began to shush each other, to keep from talking, as the woman drew closer to the camp setup. Finally, after a long moment, the woman paused, a mere dozen feet from the nearest of the new humans.

The woman and the group regarded the sight of each other for a long moment of silence. The people could see that this woman was wearing clothes... and was also human. The woman could see that these people also had technology... and ships. Finally, the woman spoke, frowning somewhat, a she tried to remember the words, as best she could...

"Wh--where are you from?" she asked, cautiously.

The people looked to each other, and then back to the woman.

"Where are you from?" she repeated, this time, pointing up to the sky, for emphasis.

"Sir... I understand some of what she's saying, but not all of it. I think she's asking where we're from. I don't know how, but what she said sounded just like old Omironian." one of the men said to the man in front of the group.

The lead man looked to the woman, as he replied.

"Kobol... we're from Kobol." he stated, gently and slowly.

At the sound of the name "Kobol", the woman's eyes grew wide, and she looked the man in the eyes.

"Kobol!" she repeated.

"Yes..." the lead man began, pointing to himself. "I am Captain Ventar... who are you?" he asked, pointing to the woman.

The young woman recognized the universal gesture... the man wanted to know her name... he had just told her his name.

The woman pointed to herself, as she answered...

"Hera... I am named Hera." she stated.

The lead man smiled, as behind him, the others reacted, also starting to smile, now that a communication had been established.

As the group stood in front of their ships, facing the lone woman, the lead man indicated to her with gestures, for her to come and join them. After a second, the woman began to slowly walk to join the group, as they led her to the inside of the camp setup, starting to show her around.





The lunch hour street traffic came to a grinding halt, as a pair of police officers stood at the intersection, and ordered all vehicles to stop, thrusting out their hands, as they blew on their whistles.

"Ah, fuck it... just great..." the driver of one vehicle said, as his passenger looked to him.

"What... what's going on?" the passenger asked.

"look..." the driver said, gesturing with his head, for the passenger to look ahead, out the window. "Another one of those fucking protests..." he added.

From inside the car, the people looked on, as the police held traffic at bay, while a massive group of protesters walked by, carrying large signs, and chanting loudly, as they marched.

"THE MANY TRUE GODS SHALL DRIVE OUT THE ONE!" they chanted. "YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM THE TRUTH! THE PROOF IS HERE!" they added.

"YOUR BIBLES LIE! FOLLOW THE TRUE GODS... OUR REAL FATHERS AND MOTHERS!" the second wave chanted.

As they walked by, one of the protesters noticed that the passenger was looking right at him, and called out, returning his look, as he walked...

"HOW COME YOUR CHURCH LEADERS... YOUR PROPHET... YOUR CLERICS... YOUR POPE... HOW COME THEY FALL SILENT? BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY FOLLOW A LIE!" the man shouted.

Finally, the group had walked across the intersection, and the police gave the signal for traffic to start moving again.

"Huh... that was different... never actually been in the middle of one of those things." the passenger stated, as the car traveled down the street.

"Yeah, well... here we have 'em every week, it seems... ever since the stories on the Tanzania Honeybee... these fuckers come out, and start blabbing that we need to start worshiping the true gods." the driver replied.

"Huh. Well, I suppose they'd have a point, though, right? I mean, we know that the Tanzania Honeybee is linked to the Mitochondrial Eve... we know that we came from that group of people... wouldn't it make sense to admit our religions are wrong, then?" the passenger asked.

"Jesus... don't tell me you're thinking like them now." the driver said, looking to the other man, before looking back at the road, as they cleared another intersection. "Look, did it ever occur to you, that there really IS only one God? Just because we came from this ancient people doesn't mean that they were not created by God. God created the universe... we are all his creations. Those bastards just want an excuse to cut school, and shout in the streets... but they're ignorant." he added, looking to the other man, until finally, the passenger just relented, and turned away, looking out the passenger side window of the car, as the reflections of passing buildings flew by, on the glass.

"I'm not gonna argue it with you." the passenger softly began. "Something tells me that this argument could go on forever, without getting anywhere." he added, as the car pulled away, and continued on down the street, before turning a corner, and vanishing behind a building.

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

[RobertScorpio]

Re: BATTLESTAR URANTIA - "Earth's Last Gleaming" (EP. 012)

Great dialog in this segement. I could see it as if it were an episode!!! keep it coming!!!

Rob

 

[BolianAuthor]

Here's one more bit of Urantia art... I drew up the Urantia Compact (from earlier in the story) in Illustrator. Here it is.

-BolianAdmiral

 

[RobertScorpio]

These are quite good...how about creating a map, in that same style, showing us where they came from...but yeah, I'm down with that!

Rob

 

[BolianAuthor]

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - "Earth's Last Gleaming" (EP. 012)

CONTINUED...

The combined force of Clymian Stalkers, and Cylon Raiders raced towards the first gathering of targets before them... the fleet of one-hundred small Earth civilian ships, breaking formation, as they drew nearer.

In unison, the Cylon Raiders launched dozens upon dozens of missiles, which raced towards the Earth fleet, as the long smoky contrails drew the path to the target ships. As the missiles struck the targets, the defenseless ships exploded apart in fire and debris, cutting the size of the Earth fleet in half, in mere seconds, as the Clymian Stalkers raced forward, weaving in and out of the massive volleys of cannon fire, from the Urantia, and the other military ships of the fleet.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

CIC

The ship was rocked hard, as the crew held onto whatever they could, to brace themselves, as Admiral Standish looked to the DRADIS, as Hindri called out damage reports.

"Frakking Cylons just took half the Earth fleet! We've got explosive decompressions on multiple decks, aft of central frame C!" he shouted, as Standish looked to him.

"Get the fleet out of here! What's taking the FTL's so frakking long?" Standish shouted.

"It'll take the fleet another ten minutes at least, Sir... they're having to spool up from a cold shutdown." Hindri offered, as the ship was again rocked, and sparks erupted from some aft stations.

"I want full ahead, all engines... put us in front of the fleet, and orient for a full portside barrage. Have the Starfreeze and Ironstar do the same! Sal Caltanis, Maj Tauri, and Liberator, assume forward position, and provide cover fire for all Raptor and Raptor-T units!" Standish shouted, as the crew scrambled to work, as the Condition One alarm continued blaring, in the background.

IRONSTAR STARCAT WING

The vast wing of Starcats sailed towards the oncoming Cylon and Clymian fighters, joined by Urantia's Vipers, and the Cobras from the Orion.

One trio of Starcats broke off, and began to race through the formation of Earth ships, weaving in and out between the small ships, as they gave chase after the Cylons. As the fighters wove through the formation, a second volley of Cylon missiles, this time from the Basestar, struck the small Earth ships on both sides of the Starcats, and another seven Earth ships blew apart.

One Starcat now cleared the formation of Earth ships, and opened full fire on the Cylon Raider in front of it, just as the Raider flipped over, and changed position to face the Starcat directly, as its red scanner moved from left to right. Just then, the Raider opened fire, scoring a direct hit on the Starcat, as the controls in the cockpit instantly began to spark and smoke, as the warning alarm went off.

The pilot of the affected Starcat groped for the release to the ejection seat, and finally found it, pulling hard, as within a split second, the blaring noises of cockpit alarms, and sparks was replaced by complete and total silence, as the pilot was rocketed into the black of open space, in his seat.

The pilot drifted upward, into the heavens, as the epic battle played out, in grand scale, in the distance before him.

He watched in silence, as the countless ammunition tracers and missile contrails lanced out through space, eventually finding their targets, as the Urantia and her fleet exchanged fire with the Cylon Basestar. Off to the left, the smaller military ships, the twin Emilon military cruisers, and the Gunstar, were encircling the Cylon Basestar, constantly firing full guns and the occaisonal missile at the Basestar, as they circled it, trying to draw its fire from the civilian fleet.

At the same time, the heavier missiles from Urantia and the two Omiron warships were slamming into the long spires of the Basestar, as the Cylon ship returned fire. All the pilot could do was watch, as a pair of strong Cylon missiles pushed past the Urantia's firing solution, and struck the ship full force, causing an explosion that created a huge gash in the aft port hull, as debris and people were blown out into space, and the portside engines began to flicker on and off, until going dark.

The Earth warship, the Wanderstar Orion, was devoting all of its energy to trying to take down as many fighters as possible... every single weapon on the ship's port side was firing relentlessly, creating a constant stream of thousands upon thousands of shimmering silver bullet tracers, which shot out towards the Cylon and Clymian fighters, as uncountable numbers of flak bursts exploded all over the sky, in close proximity to every large warship, as the battle raged on.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

CIC

The ship was struck with an extremely violent impact, as almsot everyone was thrown off-balance, and with an awful groaning sound, every single light and computer on the deck went dark, creating a dark and totally silent CIC.

"What the frak..." Hindri uttered, as suddenly, the ship was hit with another impact, the sounds of thudding and then the shaking and shuddering of equipment filling the ship. Finally, a second impact hit, creating more sounds of distant thuds and shudders. After a few seconds, a third impact struck the ship, and this time, the impact traveled along the ship, and the distant thuds and shudders grew from distant, to incredibly loud, as it hit the CIC, and a creaking sound was heard, as the overhead DRADIS column began to swivel slightly.

Finally, as suddenly as it had began, it was over, as with a very loud snapping sound, the lights came back on, and instantly, the DRADIS proximity alarms began beeping, as the Condition One alarm again blared to life, as Standish and Hindri looked to each other, the crew snapping to duty all around them.

"SITREP!" Stansish shouted out, looking to Miss Zamfir.

"Cylons struck our main power bus... repair crews have re-routed to restore power flow. We've got new wounds... ventral port engines are down." she replied, looking to the Admiral.

"Let's not do that again..." Standish replied, turning back to face Hindri, just as the DRADIS alarms went off again, and both men looked to the monitors...

"We may not get the chance, Sir." Hindri began. "Two more Base Ships just jumped in... we got three of them out there now, Sir." he said, as Standish looked to him.

"Really, I'm getting to old for this crap." Standish stated, looking up to the DRADIS, then back to Hindri, with serious eyes.

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

[BolianAuthor]

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - "Earth's Last Gleaming" (EP. 012)

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

All around the mighty Battlestar, the battle raged on, as a combined wing of Cylon Raiders and Clymian Stalkers raced towards Urantia's port side, firing the entire way, only to be cut down, by the guns of the Battlestar, as the craft exploded apart, debris racing forward, with the momentum of the blast.

CIC

Standish and Hindri gazed at the DRADIS, ready to once again jump into action.

"Have the Ironstar and Starfreeze redepl--" Standish began, as Miss Zamfir cut in...

"SIR!" she called out, "The new Basestars... they're targeting D'anna's ship!" she added, as Standish shot Hindri a look.



In space, the two new Basestars began launching Raiders, as they both opened fire, with full guns, on D'anna's Basestar.

The wings of new Raiders swarmed out of the two new Cylon ships, and began to race forward, in a black and gray cloud.



One Clymian Stalker wove sharply about, in a dizzying array of maneuvers, as it pursued a Viper, lining up for the kill shot. Just then, a hail of rapid-fire gunfire lanced out in space, drilling into the Clymian Stalker, finally blasting it completely apart, in a huge fireball.

CYLON RAIDER COCKPIT

The fiery explosion of the Clymian Stalker flew past the cockpit windows, as three vintage Cylon Centurions sat in the cockpit... two silver Centurions, and one gold Leader.

"Clymian Stalker destroyed." one of the silver Centurions stated.

"Break formation, and begin pursuit of rebel Basestar." the gold Leader ordered.

"By your command." the Centurion replied.

In space, the Cylon Raider sharply flipped around, and reversed course, racing towards D'anna's Basestar, as dozens upon dozens of additional Raiders, old and new, followed, chasing the Clymian Stalkers back to the rebel Basestar.



Suddenly, without any warning, multiple flasrings of pure golden light began to sweep over the small ships of the Earth civilian fleet, as well as a few of the Colonial civilian ships, vanishing them from sight.



BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

CIC

Admiral Standish and Colonel Hindri's eyes were glued to the DRADIS, as Miss Zamfir called out the good news...

"Sir! The fleet is away! The FTL's are now all online!" she said, with obvious relief and joy.

"Thank the Gods..." Hindri sighed, looking to Standish.

"Have the Liberator and Maj Tauri jump out with them... provide protection!" Standish called out. "Tell the Sal Caltanis to open a hole for us... the Omironians and us are gonna help those new Cylons finish this!" he added.

EMILONIAN MILITARY ESCORT SAL CALTANIS

The small ship continued to encircle D'anna's Basestar, throwing her full gunfire at the dark giant before her, as a pair of Cylon missiles from the closest of the new Basestars slammed into the core of D'anna's ship.

BRIDGE

The alarms blared, as Captain Kline and his XO glared at the RADEX display with awe in their eyes... the two new Cylon ships were changing the tide of battle. Suddenly, Kline's Deck Watch Officer called out some new information to him...

"Sir!" he called out. "Urantia wants us to punch a hole in that ship... clear a path for those new Cylons ou there!" he added.

"Aye, so be it, then, Mister Xyle... ready all missiles, an' bring our full guns a'bear on her central core section!" Kline shouted out, as he looked out the small Bridge windows, at the sight of the hull of D'anna's Basestar, looming large, filling the view. "'Tis you an' me now, dark beastie... we'll be settlin' this once and for sure." he said aloud, to himself, as he then gave the final order... "NOW!" he shouted, "Be firin' all missiles, fore an' aft!" he called.

In space, four missiles shot out from the Sal Caltanis, and raced towards the hull of the Basestar, striking with full force, and smashing a massive hole in the core hull, as hundreds of debris fragments and Cylons were blown into space. Not a second later, the Sal Caltanis was engulfed by the golden FTL flashring, vanishing from sight, just as a single Cylon missile shot through the space where the ship had just been.



From the closest new Basestar, a squadron of a dozen Cylon Heavy Raiders made their way towards D'anna's Basestar, flying through the massive open gash in the hull that the Sal Caltanis had just made.



D'ANNA'S BASESTAR

The Heavy Raiders began to land, and the hatches open, as a massive army of vintage and a few modern Cylon Centurions began to swarm out, each Centurion heavily armed with massive rifles.


Just as the invading Centurions began to leave the Heavy Raiders, they were met by a waiting army of Clymian Centurions, equally well-armed.

The metallic and low voice of the Clymian Centurion Leader boomed loudly in the cavernous area, as it called out its orders, to the others...

"Enemy Cylon targets... annhilate... annhilate!" it called, as the Clymian army began to run forward.

The response from the golden Cylon Leader was equally to-the-point...

"Clymians... exterminate... exterminate!" it shouted out, as it led the Cylon charge forward...

The two robotic armies ran forward, towards each other, clashing together, as one massive sea of clanking and shooting metal.

Instantly, both groups... Clymian and Cylon realized that they were too close for rifle combat, so both sides drew their swords, and began to have at each other, stabbing each other, and slicing away, as both Clymian and Cylon began to fall, sparking and convulsing.



BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The large Battlestar crept forward, closer to D'anna's Basestar, as beside it, on all sides, the Omironian warships and the Wanderstar Orion continued to throw missiles at the black Cylon ship, along with Urantia.



D'ANNA'S BASESTAR

A Clymian Centurion tried to rise up again, as the gold Cylon Leader extended a dagger from its "wrist", and used it to slice the Clymian's head clean off, as the body of the robot fell back to the floor, leaving the gold Leader holding the Clymian's head, as behind it, the Cylons were finishing off the last of the Clymians, as a modern Centurion walked up to the gold Leader, standing behind it.

"Enemy extermianted." the Leader began. "Procced to command level, and apprehend rebel Cylon Model Three." it ordered.

The modern Centurion merely nodded in silence, as it turned to face the others, and gestured for them to follow him, as the Cylon army proceeded onward.

CONTROL ROOM

A desperate D'anna stood over the data table, trying frantically, to call any remaining Centurions to her aid. Suddenly, she knew that somehow, she was not alone, and turned around, to see the Cylon army led by the gold Leader, walking towards her, rifles drawn in aim.

"Stand down, and surrender." the gold Leader demanded, growing closer.

"Frak that..." D'anna said, as she slammed her hand down into the liquid on the data table, as the entire ship suddenly lurched forward...



D'ANNA'S BASESTAR

In space, the entire massive black vessel began to creep forward, picking up speed, hell-bent towards its target...

Suddenly, the tip of D'anna's Basestar impacted with the first new Basestar, and the two Cylon ships began to collide, and smash apart, before both Cylon ships exploded apart, in an utterly massive explosion, which sent fire and debris out, in a massive wake of destruction.

The explosion expanded outward, heading right for the Urantia, and her companion warships, just as multiple FTL flashrings washed over all ships, vanishing them from view, as the wake of debris sailed through the space they just occupied, as now the third Basestar was struck by the debris, and also broke apart, exploding outward, as hundreds of whining Raiders and debris filled the sky.

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

[RobertScorpio]

Re: BATTLESTAR URANTIA - "Earth's Last Gleaming" (EP. 012)

whew!! I usually like to do light reading on the weekends...but wow..WHAT a heck of a battle scene. You described it so well. And in my mind i can almost hear those old classic Cylons 'talking'...not sure how the urantia is going to get out of this one!!!! Great job!!! (Now...can i catch by breath???)

Rob scorpio

 

[BolianAuthor]

^

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.

Though, I lied... lol...

This was NOT the last battle with the Cylons... ONE more is coming up, and THAT one will be the final battle.

 

[Radiogod]

shades of the Pegasus flight pod taking "one for the road"

 

[BolianAuthor]

shades of the Pegasus flight pod taking "one for the road"

Aye... I thought it would be a cool twist if this time, the Cylons did it to themselves, though.

 

[BolianAuthor]

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - "Earth's Last Gleaming" (EP. 012)

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

With a loud snap, and a brilliant flash of golden light, the slowly rotating form of the Battlestar Urantia was spat back into normal space, once again joining its fleet of civilian ships, as the Wanderstar Orion and the twin Omironian warships now emerged from FTL, in the distance.

CIC

All was strangely silent on the command deck, as Standish and Hindri faced each other, looking down from the DRADIS, sharing a silent moment.

As the two men regarded each other, everyone on the deck was distracted, and began to look up, all around the room, as a series of loud creaking and groaning sounds was heard, working their way over the edges of the walls.

With wide eyes, Admiral Standish scanned the edges of the CIC ceiling, to see a long spidery crack working its way around half of the wall joints. Finally, after a long moment, he looked back to Hindri.

"That was the last straw... she's dying... coming apart." he said.

"We'll effect repairs immediately." Hindri began, now looking Standish in the eyes. "Sir... what's our course now? We can't go to Kobol, or New Kobol, for that matter. Our Colonies are a graveyard, and so is Earth." he added, as Standish retunred his look, solemnly.

"Fix the ship. I'll be in my quarters." Standish said, softly, but firmly, as he picked up a thin folder of documents, and began to walk off the deck, as everyone silently looked after him, as he left.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The great ship led the fleet through space, at a very slow drift, while EVA teams and spotting Raptors effected repairs to the damaged sections of outer hull, while Vipers flew CAP alongside the ship.

ADMIRAL STANDISH'S CABIN

The Admiral's hand ogled a half-empty glass of water, as his other held up a framed photo, as the Admiral stared at the photo inside the frame... the photo of Tyler and Eliza at Gladmyston Harbor, on Emilon.

Eliza appeared behind him, and placed her hands on his shoulders, as he looked up to her, holding her arms, smiling.

"Trouble sleepin'?" she asked.

"I guess you could say that." Tyler began. "Just a lot of things going through my mind... things to think about." he added, as she moved to stand beside him, facing him.

"Such as?" she inquired.

"Well, for one thing... where to go now. Where do we go from here? All our homes are gone, and we now know that Earth suffered the same fate... so, where do we go... do we try to find a new habitable planet, or are we doomed to spend the rest of our days with our ships as our homes, forever roaming through the starry dark?" Standish asked.

"Well... where is it that you're wantin' to go?" she asked.

"Me?" Standish replied, looking to her. "I'm going the same place you are... Emilon. I'm going home with you." he answered.

Eliza smiled, looking to her husband, as she replied.

"Sure as great as that'll be... are you sure it's what you'll be wantin'? After all, this is your life... you're the Admiral of this fleet... you've led them this far, through this much." she stated.

"That's the whole point..." Standish began, "For all this time, this has been my life. And what kind of life is it? We set out in space, get attacked by the Cylons, jump out, only to repeat the sequence, all over again, time and time again. At what point does it stop? I can't do this anymore... I'm getting to old for this. I have a wife now, and my wife has a world... a beautful, peaceful, world. I want to enjoy the time I have left, and leave all this behind. Let someone else take over, as Admiral of this fleet. I've paid my dues... I've served my time." he said, extending his right hand, as Eliza reached out, and held it, smiling, as she shared a moment with him.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The reapirs on the mighty Battlestar continued, as the twin Pan-Galactic liners sailed slowly past the ship, along with a Viper CAP.

ADMIRAL STANDISH'S CABIN

The hatch opened, allowing Colonel Hindri into the room, as Standish stood facing him, behind his desk.

"Sir!" Hindri greeted, standing straight, as he saluted the Admiral. "You wanted to see me?" he asked.

"Aye, thanks for coming." Standish began, returning the slaute. "At ease, Colonel." he said, looking to Hindri, after shuffling some papers on his desk. "There's no real easy or proper way for me to say this, so I'm just gonna put it out there. I'm going to Emilon." Standish stated.

"Of course, Admiral... I'll order Miss Zamfir to prepare a course for the fleet back to--" Hindri began, as the Admiral cut him off.

"No... not the fleet... me. I'm going. Me and Eliza." Standish replied, walking around the table to stand in front of his XO, and face him.

"Sir?" Hindri asked, puzzled.

"I meant what I said back there, in CIC, Mister Hindri... I'm getting too old for this. I can't spend the rest of my life fighting and running from the Cylon. I have a wife to think about now, in addition to my own life. I've lived a full life, and been honored to lead a valiant career... I've been honored to meet the new humans of this fleet, and lead them this far. But now it's time for me to say goodbye to that, and live my own life. The fleet will follow you, just as well as they've followed me. It's time for me to be with my wife." Standish said, as Hindri looked to him.

Standish reached up to his uniform collar, and took his Admiral's pips off, and held out his hand, holding them out for Hindri to take.

"Congratulations, Admiral Hindri." he began, "The Battlestar Urantia, and the civilian fleet, are yours." Standish added, waiting for Hindri to respond.

With a mouth open is disbelief, Hindri slowly took the pips from Tyler, as Standish stood straight, and snapped to a proud salute of his former XO, now the Admiral of the fleet.

Slowly, Hindri looked his former Admiral in the eyes, and returned the man's salute, looking to Tyler with respect and pride.

"Thank you, Sir... I shan't let you down Sir." Hindri stated.

"I know you won't." Standish replied, offering his hand to Hindri, as the two men shook hands. "Take the fleet... find a new home." he instructed, as Hindri looked to him, nodding.

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

[RobertScorpio]

Great character episode for Hindri (and a great promotion) and Standish. But settling down??? I believe it when I see it!!!

Rob

 

[Radiogod]

Will fate allow standish to quietly fade away? At least Hindri isn't the weasel Hoshi. No "stain of Cain" on him.

 

[BolianAuthor]

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - "Earth's Last Gleaming" (EP. 012)

CONTINUED...

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The proud ship sailed along through space, her fleet behind her.

ADMIRAL STANDISH'S CABIN

The hatch opened, allowing Grae Azaire to enter, as she closed the hatch behind her, heading to the Admiral's desk, only to see him sitting down, signing paperwork.

"Sir?" she announced, as he looked up to her, motioning for her to stand in front of him.

"Thanks for coming." Standish began, as he pulled a single folder filled with documents, from under a pile of other folders, on the desk, and held it up to Grae, looking to her with only his eyes. "You recognize this?" he asked.

"Aye, Sir... it's my folder." she replied, sheepishly.

At that, Standish stood up, a serious look growing on his face.

"It's your disciplinary file." he replied, as Grae gulped, like a guilty schoolchild.

"Aye, Sir. That it is." she said.

"Look at this thing... look how frakking thick it is." Standish began, firmly, looking right at Grae. "Admiral Hindri wants you to be his XO." he said, as Grae wore a look of shocked surprise, her mouth open. "The question is... how can I allow such an officer, with such a file, to serve as the XO of the flagship?" he added.

Grae looked to Standish, uncertain of how to reply, or what words to choose.

"I... I don't know, Sir..." Grae stammered.

"Hmmm..." Standish uttered, his lips tightly closed, as he looked right into Grae's eyes.

As Grae watched, Standish reached down to his desk, and picked up a small lighter, and flicked it open, igniting a small flame, as he held the lighter to the folder, allowing the documents to start burning, as Grae watched, utterly shocked.

"Sir... wha... what the frak are you doing?" she asked.

"Giving you a clean slate." Standish replied. "Who will know any different? Do you see Admiral Nagala here? Do you see Admiral Cain? Admiral Lorenz? Nobody gives a frak... there's no more Colonial government... no more military board. Just me, Admiral Hindri, and you." he stated, as he now threw the rapidly burning papers into the waste bin beside his desk, as Grae watched her rocky past burn away.

At her former Admiral's words, Grae began to tear up, as Standish walked around the desk, to meet her, as the two embraced, Standish holding her tight, as Grae cried on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Sir." she replied, pulling away, and looking at him, as she wiped her tears.

"Don't call me Sir." Standish began, smiling as he looked at her. "I'm your father, and you're my daughter." he added.

"In that case... thanks, dad." she said, smiling, as she looked into his eyes.

"I think..." Standish started, thinking about his words, "I think, at this point, all of us are about ready for a fresh start. We've been doing things they same way for so long... like nothing ever really changed. But it has, and we can't keep going back... we have to move forward." he said, as he reached into his pocket, and pulled out the small black box with the XO's pips in it, opening it, as he handed it to Grae. "Congratulations, Colonel Azaire." he said, as Grae took the box, looking at the two pips.

"Thank you." Grae said, looking back up at her father, to find him saluting her. With trembling lips, she returned the gesture, as the two shook hands.

"That being said... you're out of uniform." Standish stated, as Grae chuckled, nodding.

"That I am, Sir." she replied. "Permission to go and change?"

"Granted." Standish replied, as Grae smiled, and began to turn away, before looking back to him.

"Hey, dad... can I make one request?" she asked

"Name it." Tyler said, looking to her.

"Permission to lead the Viper escort for you, when you leave?" she asked.

"I can think of nothing finer. Make it so." Standish answered, as Grae smiled, as she turned, and walked away, leaving Standish to look after her.

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

The ship and her fleet continued along through space, as a Viper CAP sailed by.

CIC

Tyler Standish stood outside the door to CIC, Eliza at his side, as he held her hand, looking to her for both courage and support. Standish was out of uniform now, and was in business-casual civilian attire.

He looked into his wife's eyes, knowing that she was his future, and his one true love. When he had fallen, and lost everything, including the will to live, she had been there, to lift him up again, and heal him. She was his anchor, keeping him straight and true.

However, just behind that hatch, was the CIC of Urantia... his home for the last six-plus years. The people in that room had become his family as well. Over the many years in the Colonial Fleet, the ghostly whine of the DRADIS had become so ingrained into his mind, that he swore that some nights, he could even hear it in his mind, the sound lulling him to sleep, on restless nights in his cabin. How many battles had he planned out, over that command table? How many FTL jumps had he ordered? Finally, he allowed a small sigh to escape, as he looked up to the Marine guarding the hatch.

"I'm ready." he stated, as the Marine nodded, opening the hatch.

"Admiral... Mrs. Standish." the Marine acknowledged, nodding, as theMarine followed the couple into the CIC, and announded them. "ADMIRAL AND MRS. STANDISH, ON DECK!" he shouted out, his voice booming through the room.

All eyes on deck were trained on the couple, as every single person stood straight, each one saluting Standish with pride.

Standish looked around, at the people at the aft stations, and on the mid and upper-level stations, as everyone remained in a frozen salute. Slowly, his eyes made their way to the command table, and the large DRADIS cluster that hung over it. Admiral Hindri and Grae were there, both now in full proper uniforms, also saluting him.

Standish held Eliza's hand tightly, as he returned the slaute, with his right hand, paying his final respects to the people who had given so much to both him, and the ship, and whom he had had the privilage and honor of serving with. Finally, he lowered his hand, and spoke.

"At ease, everyone. Thank you. Thank you all!" he called out, as he walked over to the command table, looking to the new Admiral and XO of Urantia, as he slowly looked down, and after a moment of thought, lifted the phone from its cradle for the last time, activating the intercom, as he prepared to address the fleet. "Attention, people of Urantia... people of the fleet. This is the Ad... this is Standish." he began. "For many years now, we have been in space... wandering, running, and fighting. We have endured much. We have lost many friends, and we have made many more friends. We have learned much about ourselves, and our history." he stated.

THE FLEET

Sailed through space, Urantia leading the flock, as Standish's words continued.

"During that time, it has been my supreme honor, to guide you, to fight alongside you, and to know you. We started our journey as a small group of ships, but now continue it as one big family. We are no longer Colonial, or Emilon, or Omiron, or Earth. We are one family, and that is the HUMAN family. When we have lost everything, and have nothing left, we still have family."

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

CIC

Admiral Hindri, Grae, and Eliza looked to Standish, as he continued his last speech...

"It is that family, which has kept this fleet alive... not just the bullets, or missiles, or Vipers of Urantia, but our love and support for one another... our unity. We have lost ships. We have lost lives. We have even lost entire worlds. But there is one thing we have never lost, and will never lose... our spirit... our will. Now, as I leave you, I ask you to trust Admiral Hindri, and sustain him, as you have trusted and sustained me. For many years, you have placed your trust in me, and I now place it in him. He will not fail you, nor lead you astray. He is capable of making the decisions I can no longer make. And he is a good and honorable man. Best of all... he doesn't have my temper." Standish threw in, as everyone in CIC chuckled at the remark.

THE FLEET

Various small ships of the civilian fleet slowly sailed past and alongside Urantia, as Standish continued to speak.

"So, with this, I bid you goodbye, men and women of the fleet... people of Urantia... my friends, and my family. And I leave you with the hope that you shall go forth, and find a new home. Although I leave you, I shall never forget you. With everything I am, I thank you. Goodbye."

BATTLESTAR URANTIA - BSG-53

CIC

Standish set the phone down on the table, looking straight ahead, as if he were lost in thought, as everyone in CIC began to applaud.

Suddenly, someone from the upper level shouted out "STANDISH!", which prompted the others to also shout out, as the entire CIC crew began to chant Standish's name, over and over again.

PORT FLIGHT POD

A single Colonial Shuttle emerged from the flight bay, and out into open space, as the entire compliment of Urantia's Vipers fell into position behind it, flying escort.

"Urantia Shuttle is clear, and all fleet vessels are in holding pattern. You have a clear course, Admiral." the flight tower com voice stated.

"Roger that, Tower... we'll take it from here. Assuming escort lead." Grae's com voice replied, as the lead Mk. II Viper fired thrusters, and picked up speed, moving alongside the Admiral and Eliza's shuttle.

COLONIAL SHUTTLE COCKPIT

Tyler and Eliza sat at the two forward seats, as Standish flew the shuttle along, looking out the window, as he did, taking in the sight of his ship, the Urantia, and the ships of the fleet.

The Urantia was a beautiful ship, even as battle-scarred as she was. And what had begun as a mere dozen small civilian ships, was now an entire fleet of hundreds of civilians ships, from various worlds, all of them a new home of humanity. Tyler looked to his upper left, to see Grae's Viper sail into formation alongside him, as her com voice filled the cabin.

"You're clear for FTL jump, Sir." she began. Good luck, Sir... and thank you... for everything." she added.

URANTIA VIPER #5 (MK. II)

In the cockpit of Grae's Viper, Grae switched off the "public" comm radio, and over to a private channel.

"I... I love you, dad." she said, not wanting him to leave without her having said it.

"I love you too, baby." Standish's com voice stated. "You take care of yourself now." he added.

Grae looked out her cockpit window, just as the Admiral's shuttle pulled forward, and was suddenly engulfed in a brilliant flash of golden light, as it vanished from sight, leaving only a view of a starry night.

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

[Radiogod]

Hopefully Emillon has not been vaporized

 

[BolianAuthor]

LOL... indeed.

No, it's still there, waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Standish. Stay tuned... the end is near, and many surprises still await!

 

[RobertScorpio]

LOL... indeed.

No, it's still there, waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Standish. Stay tuned... the end is near, and many surprises still await!

dude..STOP PLAYING with us..LOL...you are ramping this up at the right speed!! love the pacing..loved standish/grae dialog. I can practically see it in my mind...

gonna be sad to see this end...

Rob