"The long Journey" (a Shadowrun crossover with everything)

[Praeothmin]

Chapter 24

Boomer’s eyes widened in surprise, her gaze quickly scanning James’s entire body before settling back on his face, her cheeks taking on a red tint.

*Cue LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” *

James had been so surprised at seeing here there that he reacted only after her gaze had come back to his face, his hands covering his groin area, trying to regain some modesty.

“Do you always offer such a big welcome to people? I mean, er…” She said, forcing her gaze to remain on his face.

“No, yes… I mean... Of course not… I’m still a bit dazed from the drugs and my wounds, that’s all.” He said, trying to hide his embarrassment.
Boomer wasn’t buying it, he could see, and after a few seconds where she looked intently at his face, he saw understanding dawn in hers.

“Were you waiting for someone in particular, then?” She asked coyly, his discomfort taking hers away.

“No, not really…” Was James’s answer.

Boomer smiled and said:
“Anyways, I just wanted to see how you were doing, but it seems everything is fine, so I’ll just let you get out of bed properly.”

As she turned around and was about to leave, she stopped and added over her shoulder:
“By the way, you should put some pants on, your hands aren’t that big.”

*Cue Queen’s “Another one Bites the Dust”*

She left an uncomfortable James to close his door behind her.
Vowing never again to do that, James got dressed, drank a protein drink from the Replicator and waited for Valis while cleaning and tweaking his gun and armor.
Looking at the time, he realized he had slept for over ten hours uninterrupted.
He figured he was still pretty banged up, because since the grafting of his Sleep Regulator gland he had never slept over five hours in a row, and then only after extremely tough missions where he’d spent days awake and active.
Valis called him half an hour later to let him know she’d have to postpone their “conversation” because she was needed in Sickbay for a crewman who’s condition had gotten worse.
She had paid him a visit earlier, she said, but after ringing for over five minutes with no answer, she concluded he was too tired to answer the door.
Swearing inwards at the missed opportunity, he wished her luck, and told her he could wait.
He decided to talk to Boomer when he thought about the earlier incident, deciding instead to go see Teramak to offer some help.

As he left his quarters, he heard a call for him over the intercom.

“Bridge to James Reynolds, please come to the ready room immediately.”

“James to Bridge, I’m on my way.” Was his simple reply.

He made his way to the Bridge, and noticed how different the corridors looked from when he had arrived from the Galactica, nearly a day ago.
Battle scars were becoming rare, and there were less repair crews deep in the Akira-class ship.
Now, most efforts seemed concentrated on the decks closer to the outer layers of the ship, the ones that had been hit the hardest in the battle.
As he neared the Turbolift that would get him to the Bridge, he came upon a repair group trying to install a new strut in a corridor archway.
There were only three crewmembers, which showed how stretched thin the repairs crews were.
This job should have required at least one more man, or at least an anti-gravity sled to lift the strut and keep it in place while the welders did their work.
As it was now, two of them struggled to lift the strut, while the third used one hand to hold it in place and the other to weld it there using an instrument that required two hands to use.
The inevitable happened, and the welder dropped his welding instrument.
Trying to catch it, his other hand slipped off the strut, unbalancing it, and making one of the other crewmen to let go with a yelp.
The welder lifted his gaze upwards in time to see the strut stop an inch above his head, held there by James powerful hands.
The welder let out a sigh of relief, and thanked James profusely for his intervention.
After holding the strut in place long enough for the welder to fix it in place, he left the men to continue their work, and resumed his way to the ready room.

The Turbolift stopped at the Bridge, and the doors hissed open, exposing James to a sad spectacle: the Bridge was like a battle field, half the consoles still damaged and inoperative, burn marks all over the walls and the ceiling; some bulkheads even had burned holes in them, where circuits had exploded.
Still, repairs had been made and all the main consoles seemed up and running, some being manned already.
James figured these were the consoles dealing with ship system regulations and control, where the crewmembers manning them could keep an eye out for some issues after repairs, and could monitor the power allocation for the ship, being in the damaged state it was.
He saw on one console that the ship’s power core was running at 56% efficiency, a far cry from the regular 94.7% he remembered to be the norm.
Still, it was much better than it was two days ago, when the ship was nothing but a lifeless hunk of metal alloys floating in space.
He nodded to the crew in place, and entered the ready room.

Boomer turned her head towards him, and smiled warmly at him.
James froze for a nanosecond, then continued on to the table, returning the smile in a slightly embarrassed way.
Teramak saw this, as he shot a questioning look at James which he ignored.
He saluted the Captain and Cmdr Teramak, then Boomer, and took a seat opposite her, so that he would not always see her face when talking to the Captain, who, as usual, was sitting at the head of the table.

“James,” Captain Krikinger said, with a big smile on his face “Glad to see you on your feet and feeling well.”

“Glad to be better as well, Captain.” James replied.

“Last time I saw you,” The Captain continued, “You collapsed after forcing open a door that wouldn’t budge.
I must say, that was impressive, although seeing you collapse after was a bit scary, considering I was already fearing losing my First Officer.”

“That’s James all right, always making great big impressions on people.” Quipped Boomer.

James smiled at her, but his eyes sent daggers her way.
She ignored them, and added:
“He definitely made a lasting impression on me the last time I saw him in action.
It’s not something one forgets so easily.” She finished.

“I’ll say,” Teramak said, “Seeing you appear as those doors opened was a sight for sore eyes.”

“Wasn’t it?” Teased Boomer.

James decided he should take control of the conversation, or else he would never hear the end of Boomer’s quips.

“So, Captain, Cmdr Tremblay is doing well it seems, as is the ship.” He said quickly.
“Was there something you needed from me?” He tried to ask innocently.

He noticed Boomer’s smile widen while she looked at him.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, there was.” The Captain answered.
“Cmdr Teramak and I feel that as long as you were going to be on this ship, and participate in missions, well, you should have a rank.
Since we intend to use you only for special missions, we figured you should be our very first MACO member.”

“MACO, Sir?” James asked, curious.

“Yes, Military Assault Command Operations. Think of it as our own version of your SWAT teams.” Captain Kirkinger explained.
“You would not be part of the regular branch of Starfleet Command, but you would constitute a separate entity, although you would be under orders from me, Cmdr Tremblay, and Cmdr Teramak, from whom you would accept missions.
This would be a temporary posting, only as long as you remain onboard.
What do you think?”

Captain Kirkinger was eagerly awaiting James answer, it was easy for James to see.
The answer wasn’t a difficult one to make either, for James felt he owed much to the Starfleet crew, their present problems being his fault entirely, since had they not tried to recreate the event that had brought him on their ship using the Orb of the Prophets he had found, they would still be back home, patrolling Cardassian space, and participating in battles of their choosing, with full Starfleet support for repairs afterwards.

“Do you really have to ask?” James said.
“Of course I’m in.”

“Great, I’m very happy you accepted.” Kirkinger happily responded.
Of course, you will thus have the rank of Major.
You’ll also need a team to command.
Cmdr Teramak suggested we assign the team you used to infiltrate the Cylon’s Resurrection Hub to you, since they were trained by you, know your methods and you had handpicked them for it.
They were offered this position, and they all said yes.
I’ll leave the ranking within your group up to you.”

“That will be perfect, Sir.” James said.
“I know these men, and know they will do their jobs efficiently.
Had I the possibility of getting Cmdr Teramak on the team, we would have the perfect Tactical group.” James added playfully.

“Well, you can’t have him,” The Captain said with a smile, “He’s mine, Captain’s prerogative.
We do, however, have the perfect replacement for him.” He added, a glint in his eyes.

James knew what he was going to say before he said it.

“Boomer… I mean, Sharon, has accepted to be part of the team, conditional on your acceptance.” He explained.

James looked at Boomer, who was grinning, and could only grin in return.
He knew the Captain was right, of course, for while in pure skills she was not Teramak’s equal, she was the only one onboard the Musashi who could even remotely hope to match him in strength and durability.
She had also demonstrated her ability and resolve on the Resurrection Hub, and he knew that with his training, the already formidable Boomer would indeed become quite fearsome, and a welcome addition to the MACOs.

James quickly reviewed his team in his mind, and was happy.
He would have a good team, and with it, he would repay Captain Kirkinger for all the kindness he had shown him.

“If there’s nothing else, Captain, with your permission I’d like to hold a meeting with my team in order to work out the details of our operations.” James told Captain Kirkinger.

“Go right ahead… Major Reynolds.” Captain Kirkinger said, rising up and saluting James.

James saluted in return, smiled and nodded at Teramak, and left with Boomer on his heels.
They entered the Turbolift, and as soon as the doors closed, James pressed the “pause” button.

He looked at Boomer, who knew what was coming.

“I would be very grateful,” He said, “If you could stop the size jokes for a while.”

“How grateful?” She asked playfully.

“Enough not to kick your ass.” He said, then pressed the “resume” button, Boomer grinning like the Chershire Cat.

He told Boomer to contact the rest of the team and have them meet at his quarters in half an hour, explaining that he still needed some treatment for his wounds.
He headed to Sickbay, where he found Valis still at work on her patients.
Cmdr Tremblay was conscious, he saw, and seemed to be doing very well.
They exchanged small talk while he waited to speak to Valis.
She invited him to dinner at nineteen hundred hours, at her quarters.
After accepting, he went to see a nurse to receive his treatments.

Feeling much better, he headed for his quarters for his team meeting.
They were waiting for him at the door, and he invited them in.
Boomer smiled as she entered, and then turned around without a word.

“Well guys, it seems we’re stuck together now.” He started.
“We’re all part of a team, and I’m your leader.” He said, smiling.

His team members were all smiling.
They knew him, knew his disposition and character, and knew that, while the missions would no doubt be tough, their leader would never give them hell unless forced to.

“In order for us to work well together, we’ll need a clear chain of command.
I’m the Major, but I want a second in command who knows how to react well, and follow orders well.
Doc, that would be you.
Congratulations, Sergeant Epstein.” He said, shaking Doc’s hand.
The others clapped Doc in the back, all happy for him.

“I’ll need a third in command, in case Doc and I are gone on the same mission.
Lt. Banner, you are now Corporal David Banner.
Congratulations!”
Again, all the others congratulated the man, no one showing any sign of jealousy.

They spent the rest of the afternoon defining how things would work in the unit, James using his background in the military as a basis for his team.
Each member had a special role assigned to them, Doc of course being the Field Medic, Boomer the Pilot, Corporal Banner the electronic specialist, Private Jack Heyes the explosive specialist, and Private Mike Wilson would be the team’s Sniper, since James would need to be on the front lines more often then not.

They were planning their team training when the Red Alert klaxon blared to life.

[sonofccn]

Pants. Just pants.

Overall a nice breather episode after going through the wringer but of course I'm hopping to see what that red alert is.

[Praeothmin]

Pants. Just pants.

Overall a nice breather episode after going through the wringer but of course I'm hopping to see what that red alert is.

Glad you liked it...
What do you think of the musical numbers? ;)

[sonofccn]

Pants. Just pants.

Overall a nice breather episode after going through the wringer but of course I'm hopping to see what that red alert is.

Glad you liked it...
What do you think of the musical numbers? ;)

I do find them interesting and you have given me an idea or two to experiment with.

[Admiral Breetai]

"your hands aren't big enough' that's just..woooww I think that was more graphic than any scene I have ever written LOL...funny though Boomer is coming into her own there as a character Reynolds keeps being khan jr and it's awesome

when you do the musical numbers I keep imagining Qjr and one of his buddies as Beavis and butthead laughing and making observations I have to say the musical bit is very fun

[Praeothmin]

Next chapter is coming up soon...
The original direction I wanted to take the story has taken a slight detour due to a brainstorming session while falling asleep...
I think you'll like this...

And I plan on keeping Boomer along for a while at least, as she is the perfect complement to Khan... I mean, to James... :)

[Admiral Breetai]

Next chapter is coming up soon...
The original direction I wanted to take the story has taken a slight detour due to a brainstorming session while falling asleep...
I think you'll like this...

And I plan on keeping Boomer along for a while at least, as she is the perfect complement to Khan... I mean, to James... :)

I am eagerly awaiting your continuation for sure, James isn't nearly as hammy as his grand pappy I'm kinda glad for that if TOS Hammyness collided with the sheer wansgt of NBSG the universe would implode

[Praeothmin]

Short Chapter, the first sip of a new glass of awesome... I mean, wine... ;)

Chapter 25

James hit his communicator with a lighting fast move:
“Bridge, this is Major Raynolds of the MACOs, what is happening?”

“This is the Bridg…” Was the Bridge’s response, which was interrupted by a flash of light.

Then all the lights went out and the ship bucked as a stallion trying to dislodge an unwanted rider, followed by some creaking noises, a few of which became cracking noises, and then nothing.

“Oh frag! Not again…” James groaned.

*******************************

T’Len was looking at the Orb, once more inert, thinking it had chosen a very bad time to manifest again, wondering what had prompted its activation.

As the systems came back online, with panels which had been functioning a few minutes ago now dark, the engineering crew, looking tired, all sighed in unison and went right back at work, trying once more to restore full power to the ship despite the setback they had obviously just suffered, all the while hoping that this time they had not appeared in the middle of a battle.

******************************

“God damn it!” Said Captain Kirkinger.
“Not this again. Damage report!
Cmdr Teramak, I want sensors, and I want them yesterday.” He barked.

“Yes Sir!” Teramak answered, just as eager as his Captain to know where they were, and if any enemies might be there, ready to fire at the suddenly appearing ship.

Slowly, as it had the previous time, power returned to the ship.
Consoles throughout the bridge came back online, most with alarm messages flashing across them, as the ship’s weakened state had not allowed it to fare this trip unscathed as it had the last.
When power was fully returned, the displays read only 47% available power on the Tactical readout.
Teramak scanned the area quickly, but noted no other ships, no possible enemy.

“We’re clear, Captain.” He said.
“We are alone this time, no one is here to welcome us.” He finished.

The officer at the Conn console called the Captain over.

“Sir,” He began, “I am reading a planet, two million kilometres off the starboard bow.
Sensors scans reveal it’s a class L planet, roughly Earth sized, no lifeforms, though there are highly localized radiation emanations from the Northern Hemisphere.
Current sensor damage and those radiations prevent us from obtaining more precise information, Sir.”

“Do we have Impulse?” Asked Kirkinger.

“Yes Sir, we do” Replied the Conn officer.

“Great, then takes us in, set us in orbit, and let’s see what this planet has to offer.”

After a few minutes, the Conn officer said:
“Standard orbit, Sir!”

“How about another sensor sweep?” Asked the Captain.

The Conn officer’s fingers flew over his console, acquiring data, the software inside correlating and analyzing it before presenting its findings.

“Sir, closer sweeps show us the radiation is coming from an active Nuclear Reactor.
It is online, and the levels are not dangerous to living organisms at the moment.
I also read an immense structure close by, four kilometres square in size, six meters tall.
I detect many energy sources, and a power regulation station connected between the Nuclear Reactor and the structure.”

“Any life signs?” Kirkinger asked.

“No idea at this range and in the state of our sensors, sir.” The Conn officer stated.

The communication suite in his chair arm beeped, and so he answered.

“Captain Kirkinger here!” He said.

“Captain, Cmdr. T’Len here.
We have restored main power, but at a very low level.
I trust we won’t be fighting soon?” She asked.

“No, doesn’t look like it.” Replied Kirkinger, smiling slightly.

“Good! In that case, may we take main power offline for 4.2 hours and run on emergency battery power?
This would allow us to complete 92% of the necessary repairs in Engineering, bringing the available ship power to 89%.”

“Make it so.” Was Kirkinger’s reply.

James arrived on the Bridge at that moment.
Kirkinger saw him and smiled.

“Great timing, Major.” He said.
“It seems our friendly Orb has done it again.
We’re now orbiting a class L planet, and have detected some buildings.
Our sensors cannot penetrate the low-level radiations at this time, so your team will make first contact.”

“Any idea where or when the orb sent us this time?” James asked dejectedly.

“Unfortunately, in our current state, sensors aren’t much help.
So, Major, your mission is the following: find out is this installation is inhabited, by whom, and see if there’s any help they can give us.
Oh, and, since we aren’t exactly in any fighting shape, try not to provoke anyone you meet.” Kirkinger finished with a grin.

“I’ll do my best, Sir!” James said as he saluted.

He spun around and headed for the Turbolift doors as the communicator on the Captain’s chair beeped again.

“Kirkinger here!” He said.

“Captain, this is Ensign Horton from Shuttle Deck 2.
We have a confused Raptor pilot here who was wondering what had happened, and if it was possible to contact Galactica?”

“Damn!” Was the Captain’s silent whisper.

******************************

Thomas Menk, the Raptor pilot who had brought Doc back to the Musashi, had been seeing to his ship when all lights went out.
Hearing the creaking and cracking noises, he had feared a Cylon attack which never came.
As he had looked around nervously, he’d heard someone say “Oh damn, not that again!”, which had done nothing to calm him.
That was when he had decided to talk to the Captain of the Musashi, as much as that had unnerved him.

[Praeothmin]

Chapter 26

Captain Kirkinger had not thought about it, but the call from the Raptor pilot had made him realize the horrible truth:
He had lost some crewmembers still on the Galactica, in their Medical Bay under the care of Doctor Cotter.
After the Cylon attack, the Musashi had been so devastated that its Sickbay could not cope with all the injured crewmembers.
Some had to be transferred to the Galactica’s Medical Bay, Admiral Adama having had graciously offered the help of his ship and crew.
Six Musashi crewmembers had been sent to the Galactica’s Medical Bay, six crewmembers who would not be coming back home with them.
If we ever get there, thought Captain Kirkinger.
And while the Musashi had lost people, they had left with a Raptor pilot, and thus with a recon shuttle from the Galactica.

“Ensign Horton,” The Captain said, “Tell our “guest” we need to talk.
Bring him to the ready room.”

“Yes Sir!” Ensign Horton said.

It seems I’ll be offering another field commission today, thought Kirkinger.

*********************************

James had made it back to his room, his team still working out the details of their future operations.

“Officer on deck!” Cried Doc, and everyone stood up and saluted as James entered.

They had even started manufacturing some equipment they would eventually need for their missions, such as an electronic kit, explosives and detonators, and they had designed, under Doc’s supervision, and improved field Medic kit, easier to carry and to use.
Each and every member, it had been decided, would carry a smaller, more limited version of the one Doc would use.
Seeing his team’s initiative made James smile even wider than he already was.

“Team, we have our first mission.” He exclaimed.
He explained what had happened to the ship, where they were and what the Captain wanted from them.
After one member reminded them of their comrades who had been left behind on the Galactica, they offered a salute to their lost and fallen comrades, and then went to work planning the mission.

Since the ship was using reserve power, and since the sensors had trouble penetrating the ambient radiation at the location, transporters were out of the question, so they decided, having learned of the Raptor in their Shuttle Bay and with Boomer’s familiarity with it, that they would use the ship to land on the planet.
Once there, they would deploy with James at the point, and with Boomer at the rear, and then penetrate the premises and try to establish contact with the inhabitants.
Since the atmosphere was breathable, they would go down wearing only their armors, and no hazard suits.
They would get their radiation shots before going down, and would wear radiation badges at all times, in case the levels increased.

“Am I the only one worried about walking in a radiation zone?” Cpl. Bruce Banner asked.

After a look around, James said:
“Yeah, it seems so.
Why are you so nervous?” He asked the Cpl.

“I don’t know, it’s just pre-mission jitters I guess.
Also, my ancestor had some issues with radiations apparently.
It’s always on my mind whenever I approach radiations.”

“Well, don’t worry about it.” Said James reassuringly.
“This is a simple meet n’greet mission, so nothing’s going to go wrong.”

When their planning was done, they geared up, cleared the appropriation of the Raptor with Captain Kirkinger, and left the ship.

They could see the clouds covering almost all the planet, their moving and roiling indicating that the ride down would be a rough one.
Strong winds buffeted the ship as they entered the clouds, but Boomer’s piloting kept the bobbing of the Raptor at a tolerable level.
Her skills were evident to all, and they all silently thanked the Captain for assigning her to the team.
Still, the ride was rough enough, with the engines howling their defiance at the strong air currents, the frame of the small ship groaning at the beating the winds were laying on it.
Finally, they broke through the lower layers of the clouds, and things smoothed out a bit.

A few kilometres ahead, they could see the buildings they were looking for, the familiar ant-hill shape of a Nuclear Reactor – a shape used in all realities it seemed – looming up front, with the smaller, flatter building slightly to the right of it.
James pointed that building to Boomer, who nodded and aimed the Raptor towards it.
They landed a few minutes later in what seemed to be a vehicle park, filled with all sorts of wheeled and tracked loaders and trucks.
They landed close to what appeared to be a huge door, most likely a loading dock.
The equipment strew all around them reminded James of a huge mining installation.
What he thought was really strange was that all the vehicles were unmanned and empty, some of them even had their doors left opened.
It seemed as if everyone has left in a hurry.

They made it to the doors in the howling wind, and Cpl. Banner took care of the smaller service doors.
Once they were opened, the team penetrated inside slowly, Tricorders fully scanning their environment, sending the readings on their helmet’s visor, the data streaming down in front of their eyes.
This had been a modification they had performed on their armors with the help of Cmdr. Teramak.
They had modified Tricorders, and had created a bracer version, which was linked to the armor’s visor, so all one needed to do to activate it was to touch the controls on his wristguard, and the results would be displayed on the visor.
They could use the armor’s Tricorder to establish what James had called a Friend-or-Foe signal, allowing for one to easily find his enemies and friends on the battlefield.
This allowed a MACO to have two free hands during missions.
Each MACO still carried a standard Tricorder in their backpack, though, in case their armor’s unit was damaged.

As they entered the loading dock, they felt as if the storm outside had happened inside.
Everything was a mess, tools were littering the floor, carts were tipped over, their contents spilled on the ground, as if people had come through running in panic.
When they penetrated the inner doors to the compound, things were even worse.
They saw kitchen utilities strewn everywhere, and all sorts of items of clothing, even a lone shoe, sitting alone in a corridor.
Doors were ripped opened, objects behind having been clearly used to block them, and in one corridor they found a half completed barricade, obviously made with everything people could find: pipes, pans, wall panels.
The people who had made the barricade never had the time to finish it, apparently, as it only covered half the passage.
They went through, still no contact on their Tricorders, still no sign of any living being anywhere, when they noticed a hole in the ground.
It was directly in the floor grills of the corridor, about a foot across, and its edges uneven, as if the hole had been cut by a blowtorch, as if it had been melted there.
The hole, they could see, continued on two levels lower, in the service corridors.

[Admiral Breetai]

a new universe? one with a dead earth it seems...and a guy related to Arcturus menk in the colonial fleet?

[sonofccn]

Nice update but I got to ask. Is this going to be a stand up fight or a bug hunt? :)

[Praeothmin]

Nice update but I got to ask. Is this going to be a stand up fight or a bug hunt? :)

I knew someone would get it...
Well, I guess you'll have to wait and see... :)

[Admiral Breetai]

if only they had the MI to back them up.

what an update!!!

[Praeothmin]

Another update, this one without music, as writing during my spare time at work, I don't ahev access to the music I'd like to cue...

Chapter 27

The stepped around the hole, and slowly made their way further in.
They noticed everything was written in English, which led them to the conclusion the people who lived here were most likely humans.
This was solidified by the objects they found littered all over the place, human objects, James realized.
There were toys, cooking utensils and many other different objects haphazardly strew about the place.
Whoever had lived here had left in a hurry, that much was clear.

After a few meters, the corridor ended in a T.

“Let’s see if anybody’s home,” James said, “And if so, where they are.
Guys, we split in two teams: Boomer, you’re with me, we’re Team Alpha and we take the left corridor.
Doc, you lead Team Beta and you go right.
We meet back here in an hour.
We keep regular updates, I don’t want anyone to stray on their own, the teams stay together.
I don’t want any heroes either: you find trouble, you fall back here, understood?”

“Yes, Major!” Doc replied.
“Although our Tricorders won’t be able to see very far.
So close to a live Nuclear Reactor, it’s a good bet all the walls are lead shielded.
The material’s density will hinder our scans and limit the range to a few meters.”

“Noted. Now move out!” Was all James added.

James and Boomer started their sweep in the left corridor, moving silently, weapons at the ready, advancing in standard two-man cover formation.
James saw that, while he sometimes had to compensate for Boomer’s positions and tactics, she was good.
She had done this before, he knew, and more than just a couple of times.
She was also very silent for someone in armor, although nowhere near his level of stealth.
They were making good progress, and moving so fast they were done after less than forty-five minutes.
They were making their way back towards the rendez-vous point when their Tricorders picked up something.

“Major, are you picking up the same thing I am?” Boomer asked James.

“I am! It’s a human signature if I’m reading this right.” He said.

They tried to pinpoint the location of the human they were picking up, but it kept moving around, kept evading them .
After a while they realized the human was probably moving in the service crawlspace, as they sometimes had to stop for walls, or closed doors, while the human signature continued on.
Eventually, they found a small ventilation duct opening at the baseboard, and the end of which their Tricorders told them they’d find the human.
The ventilation was much too small for James, but they both knew Boomer could fit without her armor.

“Don’t even think about it!” James said, opening his visor so Boomer could see his face.

“Do we have a choice?” She asked, doing the same.
“We need to know what happened here, if we’re going to get help for the ship.
We can’t risk assuming all is safe and then getting attacked by an enemy vessel or troops.”

James knew she was right, of course.

“Ok, but you go in armed, and that’s an order.” He told her.

“Eye, eye, Sir!” She said, saluting, before removing her armor.

She stripped down to her under armor lycra suit and socks, took her pistol from her armor’s holster and her small flashlight from her belt pouch, and then went in the ventilation shaft, momentarily distracting James as she kneeled on all four, dipped her head down towards the ventilation shaft, thus lifting her buttocks slightly right in front of him.
He realized he was staring, and so shaking his head to regain his concentration, he used his Tricorder to scan the surrounding areas for signs of hostiles, all the while listening to Boomer’s progression in the shaft.

“The shaft isn’t too long.” She said.
“I should be out soon.”

Boomer was making quick progress, her augmented Cylon strength compensating for the small movements she had to make to move forward.
In less than thirty seconds, she had crawled the ten or so meters separating the corridor from the small ventilation access hub.
She stopped when her way was blocked by a light grate, but she quickly discerned how to slide it open with little effort.
The grate aside, she oriented her light in front of her, then peered in the softly lit interior of the ventilation access hub.
The hub was small, less than two meters across on each side, and barely a meter in height.
But what held Boomer’s attention were the multiple objects haphazardly piled around the hub, and the small human girl clutching a large doll to her chest, huddled in the far corner of the hub, away from her.
The place reminded Boomer of a nest, a human nest, created by the small girl.
She could see her look around feverishly, as if looking for another exit to escape through, fear evident in her eyes.
The girl was small and very young, no more than six or seven years old, Boomer thought, with a dishevelled blond head, blue haunted eyes and a small, pert nose.
She was dirty, and evidently malnourished.
She wore what Boomer could only imagine were slacks and a jacket, so torn and dirty were her clothes, matching the little girl’s appearance.
Boomer, not wanting to scare the child further, hid her pistol by slipping it at the back of her lycra suit and by pulling her shirt over it.
She then entered the hub slowly, trying to be as unthreatening as possible.
She stayed at the entrance of the hub, crouching, and using her softest voice, she smiled and said:

“Come, little girl, I’m not going to hurt you. In fact, my friends and I are here to help.”

She extended her arms wide, in an embracing gesture, and waited for the child to make the first move, knowing that she couldn’t advance towards her without the young girl panicking.
After a long while, Boomer decided she couldn’t wait any longer, so she slowly started advancing towards the girl.
Panicked, the girl tried to bolt right past Boomer back in the access shaft, but she wasn’t quick enough.
Boomer caught her, and held her in a hug, trying to calm her.

“Ssshhh, it’s okay, I’m not here to hurt you… Sssshhh…”

The girl struggled a bit, but soon realized that the lean woman holding her had incredible strength, so it was no use to try to escape.
Still, for all her strength, the little girl thought, the woman had a soft touch, a motherly touch, one she had not felt in a long, lonely time, so she gave in to that embrace, careful not to let this newfound warmth erode the fear that had kept her alive all this time.

While hugging and caliming the little girl, Boomer had been looking around the hub, and her eyes fell on a framed photograph of the girl, smiling, dressed up in a gown and with a bow in her hair.
Embossed in gold letters at the bottom portion of the frame, it said:
FIRST GRADE CITIZENSHIP AWARD
REBECCA JORDEN

Boomer looked at the little girl, and softly called:
“Rebecca?”

The girl reacted, if only to tighten her grip around Boomer.

[Admiral Breetai]

"they come out at night..mostly at night"

my god..Xenomorphs boy he better hope Grandaddy's royal augment immune system is powerful enough to shrug off face rape baby daddy. Boomer better hope cylon nanoprobes are up to the task

on the bright side a mere trip in a transporter should cure acute chest explosion syndrome if there's still time.

man..first aliens what's next starship troopers? oh..Terrors? Tides? Jackson vs James? Guylos and kirkinger? Vi'retess and Cavil?

or better yet more awesome..Char Aznabal vs James mayhapse?