Post by Batterstar Terra Story/Action on Jul 2, 2009 11:20:43 GMT -6
Story Timeline: 2 weeks prior to the Cylon destruction of the 12 Colonies
Following with standard Colonial Military practice, each graduating Officer from the ‘Commanders Program’ (training specifically aimed at allowing an Officer to assume command of a Battlestar) was required to complete a five week ‘training at sea’ exam that would decide if they were able to command a capital ship in the Colonial Fleet or if they would return to their previous assignment; waiting another 2 years before being able to retake the test.
The exam was pretty straight forward; a rookie crew (with varying experience), commanded by ‘rookie’ Officers and senior department heads, with the Executive Officer being the one taking the ‘exam’, the ships ‘Commander’ was a 25 year veteran of The Colonial Fleet and in final command of the ship, the exam, and the crew (if needed). The exam consisted of basic maneuvers, dumming/mock ‘ship-to-ship’ engagements, live fire ‘ship-to-surface’ engagement and stress testing with mock failures and the occasional real stressors (accidents happened whenever they want to); all these things tested the new Executive Officer and his handling during specific tasks.
It is during one of these exams, aboard The ‘Galactica Class’ Battlestar Terra, that the Cylons launch their devastating attack on the Colonies; being so far away, and holding complete radio silence as part of the exam, none aboard were aware of the holocaust that had occurred. The Terra had been on their ‘exam run’ for 2 weeks when the ‘bombs fell’.
Current Time: 3 weeks after the Cylon destruction of the 12 Colonies
Having completed the ‘exam’, The Terra had begun jumping back towards Scorpia and her ‘Tail’ Shipyards to return her Executive Officer after successful completion of his exam. As they continued to jump closer, they found that their radio hails advising their return were going unanswered; unsure if this was related to the exam or just radio difficulties, she continued to jump back.
The Executive Officer had control of the Bridge during their last jump, putting them right back in orbit of his home planet of Scorpia. The ships Commander and the majority of the senior officers and advisors had retired to the mess hall for a meal; regardless if it was part of the exam or not (that being the lack of radio/communication traffic), he felt his place was on the bridge and would eat later.
As they jumped back just out of reach of the Tail Shipyard, they saw a site of pure carnage. Where the shipyard had been, were large sections of debris and fragments of ship hulls; the space dock was gone, and from a quick dradis scan, the hulls of 3 battlestars and 9 escort class ships, not to mention an uncountable number of fighter craft, were all that was left. The planet itself was covered in nuclear fallout clouds, and a heavy, dark and thick haze almost completely encased it.
Regardless of the experience level, everyone on the bridge was stunned into silence and immobile as a statue; nobody saw that they’d jumped in next to 2 orbiting Basestars. The initial weapon impacts of the Cylon’s missiles easily penetrated the unsuspecting Battestar, and the sheer point blank range of the guns allowed even the ‘anti-fighter’ weaponry to strike home against The Terra’s hull, tearing great gashes in her flanks; however, it was this closeness that in the end save their lives, as the Cylons could not use nukes at this range.
The initial strikes were almost crippling in regards the ship, but basically crippled the command structure and the combat efficiency of her crew. The boreing missiles that impacted the hull caused secondary explosions deep within the ship, killing over 150 crew, a large majority of them located in the mess hall; all the senior staff were now dead. Engineering also took a beating, initially knocking out the ships FTL drive and general propulsion and sub-light engines.
Although he had passed his training exam, the ships Executive Officer was not prepared to be thrown into real combat in this manner, this quickly; however, he did rally fast. In addition to the initial bombardment, with the engines down, the ship was boarded in the bow ventral torpedo tubes by Cylon Centurions; it is at this time the story begins…
Following with standard Colonial Military practice, each graduating Officer from the ‘Commanders Program’ (training specifically aimed at allowing an Officer to assume command of a Battlestar) was required to complete a five week ‘training at sea’ exam that would decide if they were able to command a capital ship in the Colonial Fleet or if they would return to their previous assignment; waiting another 2 years before being able to retake the test.
The exam was pretty straight forward; a rookie crew (with varying experience), commanded by ‘rookie’ Officers and senior department heads, with the Executive Officer being the one taking the ‘exam’, the ships ‘Commander’ was a 25 year veteran of The Colonial Fleet and in final command of the ship, the exam, and the crew (if needed). The exam consisted of basic maneuvers, dumming/mock ‘ship-to-ship’ engagements, live fire ‘ship-to-surface’ engagement and stress testing with mock failures and the occasional real stressors (accidents happened whenever they want to); all these things tested the new Executive Officer and his handling during specific tasks.
It is during one of these exams, aboard The ‘Galactica Class’ Battlestar Terra, that the Cylons launch their devastating attack on the Colonies; being so far away, and holding complete radio silence as part of the exam, none aboard were aware of the holocaust that had occurred. The Terra had been on their ‘exam run’ for 2 weeks when the ‘bombs fell’.
Current Time: 3 weeks after the Cylon destruction of the 12 Colonies
Having completed the ‘exam’, The Terra had begun jumping back towards Scorpia and her ‘Tail’ Shipyards to return her Executive Officer after successful completion of his exam. As they continued to jump closer, they found that their radio hails advising their return were going unanswered; unsure if this was related to the exam or just radio difficulties, she continued to jump back.
The Executive Officer had control of the Bridge during their last jump, putting them right back in orbit of his home planet of Scorpia. The ships Commander and the majority of the senior officers and advisors had retired to the mess hall for a meal; regardless if it was part of the exam or not (that being the lack of radio/communication traffic), he felt his place was on the bridge and would eat later.
As they jumped back just out of reach of the Tail Shipyard, they saw a site of pure carnage. Where the shipyard had been, were large sections of debris and fragments of ship hulls; the space dock was gone, and from a quick dradis scan, the hulls of 3 battlestars and 9 escort class ships, not to mention an uncountable number of fighter craft, were all that was left. The planet itself was covered in nuclear fallout clouds, and a heavy, dark and thick haze almost completely encased it.
Regardless of the experience level, everyone on the bridge was stunned into silence and immobile as a statue; nobody saw that they’d jumped in next to 2 orbiting Basestars. The initial weapon impacts of the Cylon’s missiles easily penetrated the unsuspecting Battestar, and the sheer point blank range of the guns allowed even the ‘anti-fighter’ weaponry to strike home against The Terra’s hull, tearing great gashes in her flanks; however, it was this closeness that in the end save their lives, as the Cylons could not use nukes at this range.
The initial strikes were almost crippling in regards the ship, but basically crippled the command structure and the combat efficiency of her crew. The boreing missiles that impacted the hull caused secondary explosions deep within the ship, killing over 150 crew, a large majority of them located in the mess hall; all the senior staff were now dead. Engineering also took a beating, initially knocking out the ships FTL drive and general propulsion and sub-light engines.
Although he had passed his training exam, the ships Executive Officer was not prepared to be thrown into real combat in this manner, this quickly; however, he did rally fast. In addition to the initial bombardment, with the engines down, the ship was boarded in the bow ventral torpedo tubes by Cylon Centurions; it is at this time the story begins…