Major Maria Ramirez looked totally\ndifferent that she had the day of the attacks on the colonies. She\nhad lost a lot of weight and had finally had a new uniform issued to\nher. She looked good in the immaculately pressed blue uniform. She\nwaited for the Admiral’s secretary to escort him into his tiny,\nbarely furnished office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Admiral did not look very good.\nThis eyes were sunken and he looked like he was going downhill pretty\nquickly. His movements were stiff and his hand shook badly as he\npaged through the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo Major,\u201d he asked after\nmotioning her to a chair. \u201cDo you think our distraction plan is\nworking?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAdmiral Cobb,\u201d she answered. \u201cWe\nhave been at it for three weeks now. We have literally run in excess\nof one thousand sorties. The Cylon network remains hacked and they\nhave not moved Commander Lawson. What the hell are we waiting for?\nI’ve got the equivalent of two squadrons of warships waiting in line\nat the shipyard to get damage repaired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs the operational tempo too high?\u201d\nAdmiral Cobb asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot necessarily. Our hack has led us\nto understand that the Cylons have mothballed sixty base stars\nbecause they can’t supply the Tylium. This is a great outcome,\u201d she\nconcluded, \u201cbut we don’t have Commander Lawson back and our\nreadiness is dropping every day this campaign drags on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat is my assessment. Take a look\nat this.\u201d He took up a remote in his quivering right hand and\npointed it at a wall mounted monitor. He flicked another button. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cavil came online. \u201cAll right,\u201d he\nsaid. \u201cYou have made your point. If you stop attacking our fuel\nsupply and our other logistics we will give Commander Lawson back to\nyou. This is a one time offer. If you don’t mind picking up some\ntroublemakers on Caprica, we can make a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are going to do the negotiation,\nbut will launch our daily raids. Your task force will be hitting a\nshipyard on the Cylon side of the old Armistice line. It has hundreds\nof first war ships that they were trying to get ready for operations\nbefore we squeezed their fuel supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJust blow the crap out of it\nAdmiral?\u201d \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes and while you are doing that,\nyou will launch a two raptor sortie of elite Marines that will jump\nin and infiltrate the detention center we believe Commander Lawson is\nin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo backup?\u201d Ramirez asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe think small is better in this\ncase. We will throw them off balance by attacking during the\nnegotiation. The commando team will meet you at a way point that we\nwill share if the rescue mission is successful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pushed a small jeweler’s box across\nthe table. \u201cYou are out of uniform commander,\u201d he said softly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh no,\u201d Ramirez backed away. \u201cMy\ncrew already has a commander.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf course they do,\u201d Cobb smiled.\n\u201cThis is partially to let the Cylons believe we have given up on\nCommander Lawson. But after this mission, you will have a new job.\nThe Saturn is ready for trials. We believe it is beneath the dignity\nof a Mercury Class Battlestar to be commanded by a Major.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes Sir,\u201d Ramirez took the box,\nsaluted and requested permission to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood hunting commander,\u201d he said.\n\u201cDismissed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
* * *<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The voices canceled each other out as\neveryone shouted at once when Commander Ramirez gathered the senior\nofficers in the ready room. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll right,\u201d she thumped a book on\nthe table. \u201cListen up!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShut the frak up!\u201d Jaybird roared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll right, we have a mission, a\nshipyard to destroy. While we are there, we will be launching an\nelite Marine commando force that will hopefully liberate the\ncommander.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy can’t we back up the commando\nforce?\u201d Sausage asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause those are our orders. If a\nMercury class ship with a six ship fleet jumps into your\nneighborhood, you are going to know that something is up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCommander Lawson is our commander,\u201d\nshouted a voice in the back of the room. \u201cWe should have waited for\nher.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFirst,\u201d Ramirez spoke in a harsh,\nfirm voice. \u201cThis is NOT a democracy. We follow the orders we are\ngiven. If the Cylons have the same reaction as you knuckleheads then\nit is perfect. We want the Cylons to believe we have written off\nCommander Lawson. Finally if this works it will be my last mission as\nMercury actual. The Saturn is ready for trials. I have been given my\nown command.\u201d\\<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She then pointed a finger at \u201cSausage\u201d\nwho was in his flight suit. \u201cI get to pick one transfer to bring\nalong for the adventure. \u201cSausage,\u201d she repeated. \u201cHow would\nyou like to be my CAG?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCopy that,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou will lead red squadron on this\nstrike. Try not to get yourself killed today. It will take four jumps\nto get to our strike location. Make sure everything is ready for\naction. We need to hit those jump coordinates bang on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor Commander Lawson!\u201d \u201cSausage\u201d\nshouted thrusting his fist in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo say we all!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
* * * \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Usually after a few FT jumps a colonial\nofficer got used to the feeling. There was often a queasy feeling as\nthe jump began. The feeling never went away, most of the time you\njust forgot about it as you piled up jumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commander Maria Ramirez was not that\nkind of person. Every jump made her sick to her stomach. She wanted\nto lean over an wretch as if began. Soon enough the white flash of\nlight faded and she heard the noise of systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll fleet ships are on DRADIS. We\nhave the Cylon shipyard up and the intel weenies were right, there is\nnot even a CAP up.\u201d The DRADIS officer reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOrion’s exit stealth mode, all ships\nlaunch all vipers. Full offensive profile, target the big ships\nfirst.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now it was the nerves of battle, people\nrisking their lives on her orders. Commander, she thought. I am a\nfrakking IT geek Lieutenant, what is the big idea calling me a\ncommander. Her stomach contracted into a solid ball of lead. They put\nthe chatter of the viper pilots as they talked and announced they\nwere destroying targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was completely unreal to her. She\nwas going to get her own command. That was a big joke. She was still\nwriting code to help further hack the Cylon network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After about five minutes it was over.\nIt was a turkey shoot. The enemy barely shot back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was now time for the second jump. During the second shipyard they would release the commando force that was due to jump to the detention facility that had Commander Lawson in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n