The radio crackled on the military band. She looked up, it took all her will to move. She noticed that ice was forming around her helmet. Again it crackled. She turned up the gain, another difficult thing to do, she was focussed on the dial, but her hand didnt want to move. She had to scream, which she again tried to do but it came out a whimper. Her hand moved slowly to the wrong dial. She cried and screamed, a little louder. Finally it was within her fingers. She turned the gain up and tried to speak. It came out as whimpering sounds, so improper for a Colonial Warrior. Then she felt a thump. She looked up, through her hair and saw something block the light outside the iced over canopy. She grunted, it was all she could do. The sensation of being pulled was like heaven to her. She didnt know who or what or why, but she was being taken somewhere. Anywhere was better than here.
She slept fitfully. The voices she heard when the drugs allowed her to come near wakefullness, they were all strange. Finally she felt a pin prick in her arm. Minutes later she felt just enough energy to open her eyes.
Looking down at the nearly dead pilot, Steph was not sure he was glad she was awake or not. He smiled, but the way she looked, he wasnt sure if she was all there inside. He tugged the collar of his white Pilot Cadet uniform looser and leaned over to hear her whisper.
"Where..." was all she could croak out.
"Your on the Colonial Training Platform Avalon. Were now comissioning her Battlestar Avalon." he said proudly. The Avalon... Tabitha fought to remember what she heard of it. It was the first Battlestar ever built. Noone was sure exactly how old it was. Some claimed it was thousends of years old, others claimed that it didnt even exist, that this one was just an ordinary Battlestar that was given mythic status to scare cadets. Still, it was twice the size of a modern Battlestar. It had room for eight squadrons, and its landing and launch decks were stacked two high on each port. It had its own green house and everything any city had. At one point they even used some of the internal space to make a sort of small city, where the families of the officers assigned to training duties lived. She had never seen the supposed city, but she knew that it was huge. She had graduated from here not more than a year ago, but... she was having trouble remembering, her head spun again.
"Take it easy Ensign. Youve had a long day at work." another voice said. A Marine Leutenant General walked into view. The cadet snapped to attention. "Get well soon, your friend is recovering nicely as well. We will need as many pilots as we can get. Later, you can tell me what you know about Galactica, your friend over there says you two were part of a rear guard for her escape. I wish to hear your tale." he smiled. She remembered him, General Brandt. She nodded, unable to get her voice to work.
Steph smiled and held up a drinking straw. "Your probably wanting this." he said quietly. "Just a sip, not too much or youll get sick." he warned. She sipped and he put it away on the table next to her bed. "I have to go, but I will be back, ok?" he asked as if she were anyone to say yes or no. She nodded...
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