Disclaimers: Battlestar Galactica and it characters are owned by Universal Studio City USA. The other characters are mine.
This is part three in Voyage to Earth series.
Recruits
by
AJ Marks
Aaron shifted uncomfortably in his shuttle seat, it seemed like the ride over to the Rising Star was taking a long time. He and his twin sister had been waiting for a while to go to the luxury liner for some entertainment, of course there were other ships with entertainment also, but the best was aboard the Rising Star. In front of him was a monitor that kept saying what type of show were showing, their locations and times. It had been repeating for the past ten centons and he was getting a bit bored by it.
"I wonder what's taking so long." Aaron asked to his sister, Bri.
"There's probably a lot of shuttles going to and from the liner." She replied. "I know that the Rising Star is the busiest ship in the fleet, except for the Galactica. At least one shuttle a day goes from our ship to the Rising Star."
"You're probably right." Aaron said accepting his sister's explanation, after all she was one of the flight officers aboard their ship and dealt with the shuttle operations everyday. The Captain of the ship had given her a couple of days off to enjoy the entertainment Rising Star.
"You know I am." She replied back to him. "But I would love to get in the military and be a flight officer on the Galactica." Bri said. Aaron knew of his sister's desire to be in a more active position, he, himself, had tried to enlist in the military, to become a viper pilot, but at the time they were not recruiting.
He decided to watch the entertainment listing that had been going on the monitor in front of him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen." The stewardess announced over the intercom. "We are next to land aboard the Rising Star, we hope you enjoy your stay on board."
'Finally!' Aaron thought. He could not wait get on board.
It took a while but the shuttle finally touched down and they the twins got through the gate and into the Rising Star for a much-needed break. They were staying on board for a night so they had some time to take in some of the shows that many people in the fleet raved about. After finding their room they both went their separate ways to explore the ship, even though they were twins they rarely agreed with each other, if one like something the chances were good that the other would not like it. Food was one of the few things that they could agree on. Aaron went to see the gambling area, he had saved up some credits for this purpose.
Bri meanwhile went toward the show, there was a great romantic thriller that was showing. She had heard from one of her friends, who had heard from their friend that the show was one of the best in the fleet. The show was about one and a half hours long, which would give her plenty of time to meet with her brother so they could eat. She figured that he would probably be gambling, he had been saving for a while. She found the theater and walked in to watch the show.
A half hour later Aaron was taking a break from the card tables to get something to drink. He passed a well-dressed and very pretty young lady. As he got his drink he thought about what to say to meet her when the corner monitor caught his eye. It showed a picture of the Galactica and cut to shots of the personal on board, from the flight crews to the viper pilots to the command bridge crew. A few centons later a message was passed across the screen that the military was taking recruits at almost all levels and a notice of where to apply was put up on the screen. There was to be a recruiting visit to the Rising Star tomorrow. 'Yes!' He thought to himself, he could finally get a chance to become a colonial warrior, he could not wait to tell his sister about this news.
Later as Aaron and Bri met for dinner he could not keep the grin off his face. Finally his sister could take it no longer. "All right what happened?"
"The colonial military is taking applications on all levels." He replied.
"I thought that they weren't taking any applications at the moment?" Bri asked him.
"I know!" He replied. "But I was a commercial while I was taking a break, and they are going to have a recruiting station here on board the Rising Star tomorrow."
"I know where you'll be." She said. "I'll try too, but I'm not going to get my hopes up." Bri got up and to refill her plate leaving Aaron alone with his thoughts. He knew that she had also been turned down several times when she tried to get on board the Galactica as an officer on the bridge. He also knew that her experience in shuttle control would come in very handy.
He watched as she returned to her seat with dessert on her plate. "Where was the chocolate cake? I don't remember seeing any up there." He asked her upon seeing the cake on her plate.
She smiled before answering. "They just put it out, I got the first piece." She smoothly sat down and took a bit of the cake savoring the flavor. Cake was a rarity on the fleet, but it was frequently served on board the luxury liners.
"That looks great!" Aaron said getting up out of his chair and heading toward the serving area. "Be right back!" He called to her over his shoulder.
Bri had thought about what her brother had said about the recruitment. It would be wonderful to be accepted in the military, she had been told by several people that she had what it took to be a flight operational officer aboard a battlestar, the only problem was the Galactica already had a flight officer. The only way she would get in was if there was another battlestar, and that was not going to happen.
Much later the twins left the dining area and left to go back to their room for a good nights sleep. Aaron noticed that his sister was unusually quiet since he returned with his dessert, and he thought he knew why.
"Talk to me sis, what's wrong?" He asked as they entered their room.
"You and I both know that I won't get into the military, my ambition to be a flight officer would only work if there was another battlestar." She said with a sigh before continuing. "And that would take a miracle."
"Well, the advertisement didn't say they weren't, try any ways." He said hoping to provide some encouragement to his sister. "We'll see what happens tomorrow." He said sliding into bed.
"Ok." She replied going into the bathroom to change. When she came out a few minutes later he was already asleep. She slipped into the other bed and decided to go to sleep and worry about tomorrow when it came.
The next morning the two of them walked down to the area where the recruiting was going to be. They noticed a line of people and wondered if they would even have a chance to even fill out the required paper work. They got in line anyway after Aaron told her that they would not lose anything by trying.
The line moved slowly but they finally made it to the front of the line. There were two warriors who sat behind a table. One was a slightly overweight man and beside him sat a woman, both had dark hair.
"Hi there, my name's Jolly." The man said shaking Aaron' hand. "I need for you to fill this out and then give it to Athena here." He gave Aaron an application and gestured to the women who nodded her head while taking an application from another person.
"Thank you." Aaron said and went to fill out the form. As he left he heard Jolly say the same thing to his sister.
A couple of minutes later Aaron had finished filling out his form and approached the women named Athena. His sister caught up with him. "What do you think?" He asked her.
"I don't know bro, part of me says we'll make it, the other part of me says no way." She said as they reached the table. She handed Athena her form and waited for a second.
"So you're Bri?" Athena said looking up from the form. "I've heard a lot about you from the shuttle pilots, they say you're one of the best. I've even heard Rigel talk about you."
"Thank you!" Bri muttered embarrassed by the compliment Athena gave her.
Aaron noticed his sister's embarrassment, but thought that she deserved the compliment. He handed his own form to Athena.
"You two are related?" Athena asked them both.
"I'm her twin brother." Aaron answered pointing at his sister. He could tell that she was embarrassed at the comment made about her skills. He knew that she was good at what she did, several pilots he knew had mentioned her skills. His sister's shy nature meant that she hardly recognized her own skills.
"Why don't you two wait in the next room, just follow the lieutenant here." Athena said motioning to a warrior standing just a few feet away.
Aaron and Bri nodded their heads and followed the warrior into the next room where they were told to take a seat. There were already several people in the room, all standing around waiting for further instructions.
A short time later another man walked into the room. "Hello there everyone, welcome to the invitation into the military. You have made it past the first round of tests and there is a good chance that many of you will end up to be warriors in serving on board our warships."
Aaron noticed his mentioning of 'warships' and wondered what he meant by that statement. He realized that his mind had wondered off and concentrated on what the man was saying.
"I realize that many of you still have other jobs on the fleet and need a bit of time in order to get your life rearranged to the military. How many can start tight away?" He looked around as a couple of people held up their hands including Aaron. "Those of you who raised your hands please stay, those who need some time to straighten out their jobs or family please talk to Athena in the next room."
Several people walked out the door, including Bri who said a hasty good-by to her brother. Aaron reassured her that they would be together real soon, he knew that she thought that they would be rejecting her, but he got the feeling that that would not be the case. Something extraordinary had happened lately, but he did not know what it could have been. Perhaps they were modifying one of the freighters into a military ship to help protect the fleet. Several times he had heard that rumor himself, but each time it was deemed unpractical for a moving fleet.
"If any of you need to make calls to family or roommates to let them know what you are doing. We will reconvene here in thirty centons, from here we will be leaving for the Galactica to begin your training." He told those who remained in the room. He watched as they left the room to make their personal calls to their parents, or roommates.
Bri walked through the doors and thought that her chances of getting in the military. She was a bit shocked at the announcement that the group she was in was given. They were given a half a day to get their affairs in order. Just before she walked out to get in touch with her captain to tell him of her decision to join the military she saw Aaron walk out of the room.
"Hey sis, just going to call mom and tell her what's going on." Aaron told her. "Unless your headed back there?"
"No, actually I'm on my way to contact Captain Tibon and inform him about my decision to join the military." Bri told him as they walked toward the communications area on the Rising Star. "I hadn't even thought of informing mom about our decision." Bri continued sounding a little bit worried. Their mother had never said if she supported her children's desire to join the military. Now they were both a bit worried about what their mother would say.
They had lost their father when the Cylons attacked the colonies four yehrens ago. They were fifteen at the time, now they were nineteen. Their mother never seemed to recover from their father's death, and both worried about her reaction.
"Why don't you call mother and I'll be calling the captain to let him know what is going on." Bri told her brother as they walked in the now crowded communication room.
"Well I guess we get in line." Aaron said to his sister who agreed with him. They made their way to a line to wait for an open communication line.
They finally made it to a communication line and Aaron got in touch with their mom.
"Hey mom." He said to her.
"How is your little vacation going Aaron?" She asked him.
"Uh, the vacation is going just fine." He replied trying to figure out a way to tell her about their intentions.
"That's good, did you win anything at the tables?" She asked, knowing that he had looked forward to it, and had saved up for that purpose.
"I just about broke even." He said, then continued. "But I'm calling for another reason mom."
"Oh!" She replied. She could already guess what was coming next. She had seen the recruitment ad by the military and knew of her children's desire to join. Her daughter had been disappointed last time. "So why are you calling?" She wanted him to tell her.
"Well," he fidgeted trying to make the words work. "Bri and I have joined the military." He said in a quick rush of words.
"I see." His mom replied. "I figured that you would, I saw the ad as well Aaron, and I thought that I would be receiving a call from you."
Aaron was a bit relieved at his mother's reaction to his news. "I saw the ad as well and just had to try, you do understand mother?" He said a bit pleadingly.
"Yes, I understand." His mother said recognizing her son's tone of voice. "Is your sister going to be able to get into flight control?"
"Now that I think about it, yes." He replied to his mother remembering Athena's word to his sister. "Its weird, but I got the feeling that something big is happening, usually their a bit more strict in their recruiting, its like they are adding another military ship to the fleet."
"Perhaps several members are retiring soon?" Her mother said.
"Probably." Although Aaron still was not convinced.
"Where's Bri?" His mother asked.
"She's talking to Captain Tibon, talking about what she needed to do." He said taking a quick glance around seeing his sister nearby. "Did you want to talk to her as well?"
"No, I'm sure you'll tell her for me that both of you will be careful, right." She said to her son.
"Yes mother." He said rolling his eyes at her words knowing that she would worry about both of them, the thought was both comforting and scary. He had not really thought about being killed in a battle, yet the possibly was very real. "I'll be sure to tell her, though she might have to go back to the ship to clear everything with the captain though."
"Ok, I better let you go, take good care of yourself." She said.
"I will, by mom." Aaron replied as he hung up the line. He noticed that Bri was also done with her conversation and they walked out the door together.
"So what did mom have to say?" Bri asked him.
"She said for us to be careful." Aaron said to her. "What did the captain have to say?"
"He said that I would not need to return to the ship, he had been contacted about me already."
"Really!" Aaron said in shock.
"Yeah, apparently something really big is happening. The council has been in almost constant meeting since last night, and the tankers and supply ships are doing a lot of transfers between each other."
Aaron pondered this but said nothing, as it did not make much since to him yet.
"How is the transfer of personal and supplies going?" Adama asked Omega as Adama stepped onto the bridge. He had just come form another council meeting. The thought of having three battlestars guarding the fleet was just to tempting to pass up and the decision had been made to leave a crew behind to man the Theseus. As for the Agamemnon, the technicians said her computers would be up to date before the crew started to arrive. Temporary command of the battlestar had been given to Apollo until Tigh got there.
"The personal are ready to leave and there is one taker that is almost ready." Omega replied.
"How is the recruitment coming along?"
"Athena said that it was going very well." Omega replied before continuing. "She also said that Bri, from the freighter Tomai has signed up, so there is at least one more experienced flight operator that can go almost right to her post."
"That's good." Adama responded, he had heard of Bri from his daughter. She had said that if Rigel had ever stepped down or got promoted up that Bri would be a good replacement.
"The first of the personal shuttles are launching right now, they should arrive at the Agamemnon shortly." Omega told Adama.
Adama nodded his head, which was good news, the sooner the Agamemnon arrived at the fleet the quicker the Galactica could begin her repairs and refit.
"Colonel Tigh is on the com line sir."
"Tigh, how are things going?" Adama said turning to face his second in command's face.
"Things are looking good from this end, when can I expect the first of the crew to arrive?" Tigh asked.
"They're on their way now Tigh." Adama replied, he knew that Tigh was anxious to begin this operation. "The first of the tankers is also on the way, so at the first chance you get move the battlestar out of the way. Also inform Starbuck and Apollo to head back to the Galactica on one of the returning shuttles"
"Yes sir."
"you know, its I've never been aboard a new battlestar before, the Galactica was my first one, and she was already five hundred yehrens old." Starbuck said as they looked around the Anemone.
"I know what you mean Starbuck." Apollo said agreeing with him. "But you know, if I was stationed on here I would miss the Galactica."
"I know, I don't think that your father is going to transfer the fleet flag from the Galactica after its refit. I think Adama likes the Galactica to much and is to well acquainted with the old warship." Starbuck commented.
"Apollo, Starbuck!" They both turned around to see Colonel Tigh walking toward them. "Commander Adama wants you both to report back to the Galactica as soon as you can."
"I wonder what's up." Starbuck muttered.
"Probably wants us to help with the transfer of new recruits and personal." Apollo replied to his friend. "
"I don't know if I'm ready for all of this!" Starbuck said as they started to walk toward the landing bays. "I mean I don't know if I ready for this responsibility of training this many recruits."
"You'll both do just fine." Tigh said from behind them. "I wouldn't be surprised if you both don't get your own commands when we decide to retire."
They chatted a bit more as they walked to the landing bays in order for Starbuck and Apollo to get back to the Galactica. There was still a shuttle in the docking by on the asteroid. They decided to take that one back to the Galactica. As they reached the landing bay Boomer caught up with them.
"I heard that you were on your way back to the Galactica, how about a ride." Boomer asked them.
"Come on, we can probably use your help." Apollo said to him.
Bri and Aaron walked back into the waiting room where the other recruits were waiting. They still had to wait for about ten centons for the rest to make their way back into the room. When they finally were all in the room they were lead to the shuttle that would take them to the Galactica.
The twins sat down with several other recruits. Aaron took an opportunity to look around at the others who were in the shuttle. Sitting next to him was a tall young man with short black hair, and appeared to be quite muscular. Sitting next to his sister was a much smaller young man, he had longer than average beach blond hair, but looked to be in good shape.
"Are you two related." The guy next to Aaron said gesturing to him and his sister.
"Yes, she's my twin sister." Aaron replied. "My name is Aaron, and her name is Bri." He said offering his hand.
"My name's Jason." Jason said shaking Aaron' had. "What have you two signed up for? I'm hoping to get into the fighter pilot program."
"That's what I would like to do also, my sister is going for flight control officer." Aaron replied.
"She's looking for a job on the bridge, huh?" Jason said quite impressed. "Does she have any experience?"
"She was the flight controller on our ship the Tomai." Aaron said taking a glance at his sister who was conversing with the guy sitting next to her.
"She's very beautiful." Jason leaned over to whisper to him.
Aaron looked over to his sister. "I guess so?" He replied. "it's that sibling thing."
Jason nodded his understanding. "I've got three sisters, all younger than me, so I understand."
Meanwhile Bri had struck up a conversation with the guy sitting next to her. She had learned his name was Cronus and was hoping to be a viper pilot also. The one thing that had concerned him was his small size, and was hoping that it would not be a factor in his abilities. Bri thought that he would probably make it and that his height would not be a factor.
"So what are you going to try and do?" Cronus asked her.
"I'm hoping to become a part of the flight command officers." Bri replied.
"Wow!" He replied. "You're going for a bridge job, I've heard that Rigel is one of the best flight control officers. Do you have any experience?"
"Yeah, I'm the senior flight officer on the freighter Tomai." Bri replied shyly, she never liked to talk about her abilities.
Cronus noticed her shyness and thought that it was very cute. He had noticed that the guy sitting next to her looked a lot like her. "Is he your brother?"
"Yes, actually he's my twin brother." Bri said.
"Hey, there's the Galactica!" Someone on board said as everyone looked out the windows to catch a glance of the battlestar. Bri's first sight of the battlestar made her think that the ship was just awesome to see. He brother made a similar comment to her as they both watched the battlestar come closer and closer. Bri noticed that there appeared to be quite a lot of activity around the ship. Shuttles were launching and heading off in front of the fleet and there were a lot of shuttles that were landing in the landing bays. She commented on the activity to her brother, who dismissed it as just the normal activity around a battlestar.
Fifteen centons later they were on standing on the landing bay of the Galactica waiting to be taken to the meeting room. There was about twenty-five of them standing around, nineteen men and six women. Aaron and Bri were watching the activity of the landing bay, they noticed a warrior approaching them.
"Welcome to the Galactica." He said stopping in front of them. "My name's Bojay and I'll be one of your instructors, if you'll follow me we'll get you to the main training room to get you orientated." He said then led them off the landing bay and into the heart of the battlestar. He pointed out the various hallways and rooms as they passed them. "Ok, here we are, everyone take a seat ad I'll get your paperwork so you can start that." He told them as they walked into the room and took their seats. A couple of other people handed out some forms for all of them to fill out.
Starbuck and Apollo walked into the room after the recruits had finished filling out their forms.
"Hello there, my name is Apollo and next to me is Starbuck." Apollo said addressing the room. "Everyone here has an excellent chance of becoming a warrior. As you may or may not know, we are recruiting for all areas, from pilots to bridge crews."
Bri and Cronus exchanged glances at each other at Apollo's words.
"For those of you wondering, no there isn't any mass retiring or anything like that. This news isn't out yet but it will be shortly, but many of you will probably be serving aboard either the battlestars Agamemnon or Theseus." Apollo said to a now stunned room. There were whispers of the names Agamemnon and Theseus, two battlestar names no one had ever heard of before. Apollo waited just a bit to allow some of what he said to sink in before continuing. "I realize that this news is a shock to all of you but there has been some interesting developments in the last few centers. The finding of the two battlestars, the Theseus is not yet complete is very important it will allow us the time to refit the Galactica and be able to better protect the fleet. Those who have training already in specific areas will be put to work right away."
Aaron looked at his sister in surprise, and knew that she would be at work quicker than he would be.
"Ok, now that we have your forms we will be separating you according to your entry level , fighter pilots, technicians and others." Starbuck announced to the group. "When you name is called please step forward."
Names were called and people left, Bri's name was called before her brother's name. In just a few minutes only seven were left in the room along with Starbuck and Apollo.
"Ok guys and gals, you seven have said that you would like to train for fighter pilot duty. You will be reporting directly to either Starbuck or myself." Apollo told the group.
Aaron looked around and noticed that Jason and Cronus were still in the room. 'Cool' he thought, 'at least I'll know somebody.' They walked down the corridor towards what would become their new quarters. They were grouped off into men and women.
"For the next couple of days this will be your new home, until we decide who is going to remain aboard the Galactica or who will be assigned to either the Agamemnon or the Theseus." Apollo told them.
"You wanted to speak with me?" The figure in the shadows said to the man sitting down.
"Yes, I did." The sitting figure replied. "I need a favor, Adama is becoming to powerful, he needs to be removed!"
"What did you have in mind?"
"Here." The sitting down man said handing a file over to the man in the shadows who quickly scanned the document.
"Are you sure about this." He said when he finished reading it.
"Just be ready to do your part, the rest will be taken care of."
"Ok, I'm taking an awful risk for you."
"It will be worth it." The sitting man said and watched as the other man disappeared and let a smile cross his face. 'Adama, everyone has placed you on a pedestal, I'll be glad to see you fall!' He got up and walked out of the area nodding to a mother and her baby who were just walking into the park area. He had others to talk to before he could move into power.
Aaron stowed his gear into the small closet beside the bed he had managed to grab before anyone else took it. They had a few centons to rest before their real training began.
"Hey, anyone want to play a round of pyramid before we begin training?" Jason asked the group.
"Sure!" Aaron said and sat down at the table. They were joined by Cronus and another one who's name Aaron did not know yet. Aaron did know that he should start to get to know his fellow mates before the training started.
"So what are the rules going to be?" Asked the one whose name Aaron did not know. "By the way my name is Galax just so you know."
"Well why don't we start simple." Crorus told the group. He sat down and dealt the cards so quickly Aaron thought that Cronus was a dealer at one time.
''why don't we just have some fun right now. We can get serious later." Galax asked the small group.
''I don't see why not, unless someone has some objections?" Cronus replied.
Jason should have known that he was in trouble by the looks that Cronus and Galax were giving each other. Cronus won the first hand. The second hand Jason barely won. The third went back to Cronus only after bluffing Galax in a close hand. Aaron watched as he had not even been able to even win yet.
"So is every one warmed up?" Galax asked the small group. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. "OK, this time its for credits, is that ok with everyone?"
''I've been ready for awhile." Cronus said. Aaron and Jason both knew that Galax and Cronus were the serous players at the table, and now they were using credits. The last time Aaron had played he had accumulated some credits for the purpose, he knew this time he would have to be careful in his betting.
Several hands later Aaron knew that he was in over his head. Cronus and Galax were defiantly much better than he was. Jason had managed to hold his own. Aaron had decided that he would not bet a lot until he had gotten a better feel for his opponent's style of playing.
It was in the middle of a serious hand between Jason and Galax that Starbuck and Apollo walked into the room.
''Hey, alright a pyramid game is gong on." Starbuck declared as he eyed the game with interest. ''Can anyone join?"
"Yeah!" Galax said not seeing anyone object to his statement.
''you can have my seat Lieutenant Starbuck." Aaron said to his superior officer as he got up to offer his seat for Starbuck. Aaron grabbed his credits before getting up.
Starbuck sat down in the vacated seat and placed some credits down on the table. ''So what type of rules are we playing by?" Starbuck asked the group warming up to playing a good game. Apollo just grinned at his friend's behavior. He knew that Starbuck could not resist a card game.
Apollo sat down next to Aaron and observed the behavior of the rest of the recruits. The three playing cards with Starbuck wore Jason, Galax and Cronus, who Apollo figured would either end up dead real quick or be an ace like Starbuck. Aaron, who was sitting next to Apollo seemed to be a person who could have leadership abilities if they could train him just right.
"Ah, captain, do you mind it I ask you a question?" Aaron asked Apollo shortly after he sat down.
"No, go on ahead." Apollo replied to Aaron.
''Why are you in here?"
''To get to know the recruits better." Apollo replied. ''It allows as to get a better idea of what type of pilots you are going to be."
Aaron thought about that for a couple of microns before replying. ''So what do you think about the seven of us?" He asked Apollo.
''Well you'll just have to wait and see." Apollo replied purposely being vague about his response. He allowed mural to think about what he had just said.
"Commander, the tanker Yestyi is ready to leave the fleet to resupply." Omega told Adama.
"Have Silver Spar squadron launch for escort to the resupplying ship." Adama replied. "Tell Sheba that her squad is to report aboard the Agamemnon when they get there."
"yes sir! I'll also tell the captain of the Yestyi that they are clear to leave as soon as their escorts leave the Galactica's landing bays." Omega told Adama. He knew that Adama wanted the tankers to start refueling as soon as they could.
''Get me Colonel Tigh." Adama said. He waited a few microns before Tigh appeared on the screen. "Tigh, I like for the Agamemnon to reach the fleet as soon as you can get her here. The sooner the Agamemnon reaches the fleet the sooner I can get the Galactica to the factuality to begin repairs."
"I'll leave as soon as the Yestyi gets here." Tigh replied. ''We are just about to start up the main engines."
"Good. I'll see you in a bit." Adama told Tigh and then signed off. Adama turned to Omega and asked, "Are all transfer personal packed and ready?"
"Yes sir!" Omega replied.
"Good, I'll be in my ready room. Call if you need anything." Adama told his aide before leaving the bridge in Omega's hands.
To be continued in 'Movement of the Giants'
Send comments to: AJMarks01@aol.com