Chapter 37

Major Ramirez was on a video screen from her quarters. The virus outbreak had reached every corner of the Battlestar. The small, cramped but well protected CIC did not allow for the social distancing necessary to prevent the spread of the virus.  Fortunately, the ship had a robust network that allowed people to work from any part of the ship and control and the other part of the ship. 

It was an ideal situation for those that private quarters. Most of the officers and enlisted people were not so lucky.

“How is it working out of your quarters?” Commander Lawson asked in a half-hearted attempt to lift her XO’s spirits.

“You mean my prison cell?” she asked, panning the camera around to cramped stateroom still decorated with the effects of the late Colonel.

“Sitrep”

“We have 21 viper pilots, 11 raptor pilots and 9 weapons officers tested and quarantined in one of the viper repair bays. Exposure rate is about 80%. It will take 14 days to see who is symptomatic. I’ve called off offensive operations. Its hard on the pilots we have left even to maintain a CAP.” Ramirez sighed deeply.

“Raptor one niner niner?”

“Just jumped back from an attempt to gather sigint on Caprica. Six hours late but there was an interesting find. She reached forward and changed the picture Eva Lawson was viewing. A wrecked Battlestar appeared on the screen.

“Why do I care Major?” asked Lawson. “Another wrecked Battlestar. Looks like Valkarie class.”

“Good eye Commander,” she zoomed in on a part of the launch bay. A light, battery-powered was flickering on and off.”

“She had power,” Lawson whispered.

Every other wreck they had found outside a shipyard had been completely powered down. All electrical systems had been shut down by a wirelessly delivered virus.

“This wreck was fresh, three hours old,” Major Ramirez reported. “I think we should risk salvaging the remnants.

“You are damned right Major,” Lawson stood up, feeling a sense of purpose. “There could be FTL parts, spare plane parts, maybe even whole vipers. Pair up some of the exposed asymptomatic pilots, if it can be done safely. Lets get the data recorders from CIC.”

“Aye Sir,” Major Ramirez stood up straighter. “It appears part of the Colonial fleet may have survived to fight on. Maybe there is a commander or admiral out there that wants to command this shit show,” Lawson spoke aloud but was not expecting to be overheard. 

Authors note: As an IT professional it never seemed realistic to me that a navigation program could be installed on 120 Battlestar’s and other fleet vessels without even a virus check or a penetration test vetting the software. I have long wanted to change the story, but have avoided it to remain cannon. This is a fan project, with no attempt to make money. So I’m going to retroactively change the story. I won’t reveal now how it changes, but the CMP virus will be discovered at the last minute allowing some of the fleet to survive. My vision of the colonies will still be dark at least with the politics of the day. I hope you like it.

In another note slitherine games Battlestar Galactica Deadlock has some unique features that allow me to record battle sequences. I have requested permission to use limited footage from that game to illustrate combat scenarios in this story.

The game makers recent release of modern ships including the Mercury and Valkyrie class in the modern basestar will enable me to illustrate the story.

This will slow down the story process because the choreography will have to be done carefully. But I think using clips to illustrate the story will make it more engaging to the reader. I hope the update is paid shortly to include a YouTube video of a prewar combat exercise.