Kobol's Legacies

Dearest Jake,

( Happy Hunting )

Jake's life the past few days had been filled with work and nothing but. With the sudden removal of his deputy his workload had increased and there was much to do with the upcoming operation. Her own people were competent enough, but Jake was a hands on sort of person and it took a few days to make sure everything was up to speed.

( checking in )

Alone in her semi-private cabin with light music playing, Jilleen typed the last sentence of her report on her lap top computer. Her report documented all that took place from her point of view in the hanger earlier and listed the names of witnesses she knew were present.  She expected she would take the full blame. She was a Colonial officer, she should have known better than let her personal feelings interfere with the performance of her duty. 

( Leave of duty )

The heavy echo of combat boots on the metallic flight deck carried across the hanger bay like the opening beats of some annoying song that gets stuck in the brain. A few working mechanics turned to see who was bothering to make all the noise.

He was lithe and lean and carried himself with the swagger of someone whose abilities were only outmatched by his ego. An athletic frame was wrapped in the gray-green flight suit of a viper jock. He was a short man, with an almost elfin sparkle in his dark brown eyes. The thin, well trimmed facial hair an loose cascade of brown hair only added to his mischievous aura. A duffel bag was held loosely in his right hand while an old fashioned guitar case was slung over his shoulder. Both were beaten and patched in several places.
( He nodded... )

Reconnaissance could come in many forms. Intercepted signals, DRADIS reports, photographs... One of the best forms, in the super-cooled vacuum of space, was that of Infra-Red. Glancing over the data and associated analysis passed across her desk in a folder, Admiral Sinclair exhaled slowly, clenching jaw in reaction to what this now meant.

Some observed that interesting times could be a curse. The dillemma confronting her most surely qualified as that. It could mean salvation and damnation in equal measure. It was going to be one for the history books, regardless of the outcome or decision.

She could only hope that such texts would end up being written by human hands.

A few hours later and she had convened a meeting of all available military heads. If Comanders could not make it, then they were to designate a trusted representative. Marines were posted at the door, such was the sensitivity of what was to be revealed. The planning room was one of those areas of the ship which were sealed against electronic signals leaking out, even going so far as to be coated in a special type of paint, upon its construction.

Waiting for the last to file through, Sinclair nodded and the entrance was closed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you'll have to excuse me for convening at such short notice... I trust you'll understand the need for such precautions, as soon as I reveal the latest and my intentions as for how to deal with it. Please believe me when I say this could be the most lethal engagement of the entire war... Please, also, believe me when I say this has the potential to cripple us, as much as the enemy. Whatever we decide in this room is going to affect our very survival as a species. If any of you feel unable to prosecute what will be asked of you, then I'll want you to make your voice heard, are we agreed?"

[Open to any relevant characters:]

Note: Takes place the night before Dani's wedding and after the Conversation at the Bar

( Tropical Paradise )

Jake leaned back in his seat after bidding the last of his team members from the Tournament of the past two days farewell. Roughly half the team was returning to Avalon this evening as they had duty the next day, and the rest was staying over for the upcoming wedding of CPO Gaither and Lieutenant Kypros. Gaither had been pounced upon by several members of his deck gang and dragged off to an impromptu bachelor party at a bar two decks up, and the other members of the team eventually left one by one, leaving Jake by himself.

He'd politely declined an invitation to the bachelor party, claiming an early morning meeting he had to attend before the wedding tomorrow as his an excuse. The truth was there was no meeting, as a high ranking officer in the chain of command his presence would only have been a distraction. Jake sipped his beer, a pensive expression on his face before he shook his head and banished the ghosts that had been hovering on the edges.

This was a time to think of the living and celebrate the future, not mourn the loss of the past. He'd known Kypros since she'd arrived as a fresh faced nugget aboard Vulcan a few months before the attacks and he was happy for her, it wouldn't do to get maudlin the night before her big day.

( Didn't you get the memo? )

Jake emerged from the locker room feeling refreshed after a long shower and a change into one of his few sets of civilian clothes.

He'd participated in five different games of pyramid that day, and knew he was going to pay for it in a few hours once his body had a chance to wind down for the night. Even though he kept in excellent physical condition his muscles weren't used to playing pyramid that intensely for so long, having only played in causal pickup games since he'd graduated from Gladius Cross more years ago than he cared to think about at the moment. It had been fun to play in these sorts of conditions again, to feed off the energy of the crowd and to have fresh opponents to play against where you didn't already know their every move.

The Colonel spotted Anika Jereldsen coming out of the opposing team's locker room and he gave a friendly wave. "Hey Anika, you guys put up a hell of a fight in there, good game." He'd greeted her before the start of the game and offered to be on a first name basis with the pretty civilian pilot, figuring 'Colonel Mackenzie' would be a mouthful to try and use on the court. The woman had been a formidable opponent, he'd been surprised at how dangerous someone seven inches shorter and several pounds lighter could be.

Wishing she was going back to her room, or Bethany's and knowing a rubdown from Sephy would be a godsend right then Anika was instead on her way to the hangar. Bethany had agreed to ferrying over some high-rollers from Babylonia for the finals the following day, and a few others from ships lying further out in the fleet. So instead of relaxing she was flying, there not being many civilian shuttles up to carrying this caliber of passenger. Her head jerked up when she heard Jake's voice. Yeah, yeah, get used to it sunshine, he said to call him that! the small voice inside her head told her before she had a chance to ignore it.

"Thanks, weren't too shabby yourselves," she returned, their teams both having made it through to the playoffs the next morning followed by the final in the afternoon.

( worthy opponents? )

[Note: Takes place a few days after Choices]

Jake made his way down to the hanger deck, the box containing a Chief Petty Officer's insignia in his pocket. He'd wanted to do this with Kobe at his side as well, since the other officer actually had direct day to day authority over Avalon's Airgroup, but a good opportunity for the two men to present together hadn't occurred and the task needed doing. Gaither's section had been without a Chief Petty Officer since the Cylon attack the previous week and the next senior man lacked that formal authority that a Chief possessed.

He spotted Gaither standing next to another crewman, looking over an engine that had been pulled from a Viper for repair, and made his way over toward them.

"All right, this shouldn't be too complicated," Rhys said, examining the engine that had been extracted to pinpoint the problem. "Sometimes things jar loose at high speeds, it might just need to be re-calibrated. Hand me that wrench, will ya? And hold that light steady so I can get a good look."

He was just about to set to work when the crewman next to him poked him lightly in the ribs with an elbow, and when he looked up the other man made a 'look there' gesture with his head. Rhys turned, then straightened up when he saw Colonel MacKenzie headed in their direction. The wrench was placed back on the movable workbench so that he could salute, his posture straightening to half-attention.

"Sir," he said politely. Things might be more relaxed as far as regulations went these days, but showing proper respect towards an officer never went by the wayside. "Is there something I can do for you this afternoon?"

( something to do for you )

It was the late in the ship's day aboard Avalon, and work was done for now for one Jake Mackenzie.

The young Colonel hadn't had a chance to exercise in the morning due to a meeting first thing with some of the Captains of the industrial ships in the fleet about the material and parts needed for the repair of the destroyer Brownlee, and he was making up for it in the evening now that he finally had some free time. Two laps around the central corridor of the ship was just a bit over four miles, and he added a fifth by taking a lap around the upper causeway of the hanger deck.

The deck was somewhat back to normal now several days after the Cylon attack. Most of the damage had been repaired and debris cleared away, and operations had resumed their normal tempo. The sounds heard on a hanger deck were soothing to Jake, having spent most of his adult life as a combat pilot aboard battlestars, and the sights were familar friends.

Except for one ship that he couldn't recall seeing before. It was definitely a civilian ship, and it had him curious. Jake slowed to a walk as he finished his run and started the cool down. He'd have to go down and investigate, indulge his curiosity.

( Rank had its privileges, after all. )

Note: Takes place before Rest Stop

( Three good choices...who gets the job? )

 It had been nearly 48 hours since the last engagement with the Cylons, and the crew aboard the Avalon had been very busy in its wake. Jilleen had been busy seeing that the Destroyer Brownlee got what it needed to bring it back to combat readiness, and had spent some time there. It had been a mess aboard that ship, it had suffered some significant damage, but nothing that was not fixable. It was the lives lost that were not replaceable.
( A moment of rest )

( Sitrep )

( Raising Hell )

( Gallows Humor )