Part 2: Battlestar Galactica, Dawn: Collision

Chapter 5

V

Admiral Wheeler had a jeep waiting for Hoshi before he left the building, and the Ensign immediately took him out to his Raptor which was waiting on the flight line. A UED Lieutenant would be his left-seater and do most of the flying. The newly (again) minted Admiral had a lot to go over on the flight from San Diego to the base about two-hundred miles Southeast of Madrid. He had already sent orders to have the nameplate on the outside changed to VICTORY. That would take a couple of days, but it was the first thing he had advised the shipyard, after telling them to increase the construction to 24/7 until she was completed. UED was already cutting orders to fly experienced workers from the Arizona shipyard to Spain to augment the work.

The new crew had been training for over a year and had been scheduled to board her in about four weeks once most of the major construction was done. Now, UED cut orders for them to report to the Shipyard if they weren't already in Spain immediately and to await orders from their new Admiral.

He was in the information center on the Raptor for a good portion of the flight, reading up on exactly where the construction was at to this point, and making mental and computer notes on the best way to speed up the process. He also knew he would need some time in the sim located at the Spanish shipyard to sharpen his knowledge of the new girl. He was well-versed with the new ship but had been working up to become Tactical and third-in-command. That was still different than being The Man on board. He would have to make a great first impression with the crew who had been expecting The Old Man and Tigh running the ship. Those were huge shoes to fill.

About halfway through the flight, the Lieutenant doing the driving informed him he was being hailed.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Kutzinov", as he slipped on his headset. "This is Admiral Hoshi, go ahead."

"Admiral, Commander Agathon. I just want you to know that I'm preparing my Raptor on Pegasus to head down to Spain. Do you have any further instructions for me when I arrive, sir?"

"Yes Athena, when you arrive I will be in the Admiral's quarters just West of Galac...uh, Victory", he quickly corrected himself. "I'm calling in our new staff for a meeting at 0900 local. UED has already made the call for the entire crew compliment to be in Spain no later than 2000 tomorrow evening. We have a lot of work to do. Admiral Tyrol will be arriving sometime tomorrow as well to take command of finishing the construction."

"Aye, sir. It is going to take a few times saying Victory for it to sink in, sir. But it wouldn't be fun with two Galacticas running around." Hoshi could hear her smile.

"Tell me about it, Commander. But it's an appropriate name for the time being. I am arriving at about 1500 local. Advise me of your ETA once airborne."

"Copy that, Admiral. I should be departing within the hour. I will advise when en-route."

"Very well, Commander, have a safe flight. Hoshi out."

He and Lieutenant Kutzinov still had about two hours to go. He advised his underling that he was going to close his eyes for a while. He knew he wouldn't get much rest in the next thirty days.

"Dad, this plan is almost suicide for Galactica, and you know it." Lee, being the good soldier, had dutifully fallen into line when at UED Headquarters, but the full impact of this battle plan had sunk into him almost immediately.

"I know the risks, Lee. But we also know the odds if Pegasus has to do most of the work by herself. The odds are we'll both get destroyed. I'm going to work like the gods to try and beat the Cylons with what we have, but the odds are long, and we both know it, son. We can't just hope we can make the Cylons dance until Victory is ready to fly."