The tenth story in the Red Squadron series. This story is set just days after "Keeper of the Stars." Day Of Songs By Tice Leonard "Day of Songs?" Lieutenant Cree asked. "What's that all about?" Lt. Athena could have slapped the young warrior seated next to her in the shuttle craft. "Keep your voice down," she said. "Don't spoil it for the others." She turned her head and glanced back at the half dozen passengers seated in the cabin behind them. Cree continued his line of questioning, albeit in a softer tone. "It just seems like such a made up holiday." "They're all made up," said Athena. "Or did you think they were inborn instinct?" "I mean it doesn't celebrate anything real," said Cree. "Not like Harvest, or Remembrance Day, or the Equinox." "In case you didn't notice," said Athena, "this fleet of space ships doesn't have an equinox, and the Agroships pull a new harvest every five days." "And Remembrance Day?" Cree asked. "Look," said Athena. "Without the sidereal calendar of the Colonies, we have only two holidays in the whole yahren. Yes, the Day of Songs is made up, mandated by the Council, but it is an official holiday, and I for one support it." In truth, before the destruction of The Colonies, there had been over one hundred separate holidays and festivals. Nearly all were governed by the positions of the stars and planets. Only a very few followed a calendar. As such, many had been forgotten as the Fleet drifted further and further from the home worlds. Of course, it was still possible to track the time, and know at what moment Leon would track into the constellation Antiquity. It was just that without the pageantry of the actual event, the meaning was lost. There was no reason to celebrate the Harvest, or the Equinox, or the Emergence from Gemon. In short, there was little reason to celebrate at all. The Council had decided to repopulate the calendar with holidays, incorporating symbology and traditions of other sidereal holidays. The Day of Songs was a cross between the Emergence Celebration and the Feast of Unity. During the Feast of Unity, choirs from each of the Colonies would come together and sing a song of peace, hope, and of course, unity. The date for the first Day of Songs had been set on the calendar date for the last Emergence Day. In practice, the Day of Songs would be celebrated with over two hundred singers, spread among the various ships of the fleet. The song would be the traditional finale from the Feast of Unity. To allow each ship to participate, there would be a single singer on each ship, all connected to an audio channel. The one singer on each ship would actually be there, but the voices of all would be heard - one big unified voice of the fleet, singing a song and celebrating. Cree and Athena were at this moment transferring singers to the ships. They had made twelve stops, and had two more before they would arrive on the Celestra, where Athena would sing her part. Cree had no official part in the holiday. His was just the role of showing up in uniform to give the appearance of military support for the Council's new holiday - a display of unity between the civilian government and the military. "Do you think it's going to work, though?" Cree asked. "I mean the holiday consists of two hundred people singing." "You mean are most people as thick-headed as you?" Athena asked. "I'm not thick-headed," said Cree. He set his eyes forward, no longer paying attention to the conversation. "Maybe we could just have each colony have its own holiday. That would promote unity among the fleet." "How do you figure?" Athena asked. "Well," said Cree. "I know the Sagitarans don't celebrate Leon Souls Day." "Of course not," said Athena. "It's the same day as Sagitaran Solstice." "That would be a great celebration," said Cree. "Get totally drunk and remember your dead ancestors!" Athena rolled her upper lip. "I'd like to see Caprica Day." "Me too," said Cree. "We could all dress up, throw a parade, drink, sing, dance, and enjoy the fine arts until we drop dead from sheer exhaustion." "And what about the Gemonese?" Athena asked. "They don't do ANY of those things." "Well," said Cree. "I suppose on their day we could wear sackcloth, stay at home, fast, meditate, and denounce the fine arts until we drop dead from sheer exhaustion." Cree was really obnoxious. He brought the shuttle down on the glide slope toward the Schooner Leon. They dropped off two passengers and left again. "Would you be so caught up in this thing if you hadn't spent the last few sectons preparing for it?" Cree asked. "I wouldn't have spent the last few sectons preparing for it if I didn't believe in it," said Athena. "Fine," said Cree. "But I still don't see why. Why is one person singing on a stage in the bowels of a freighter something we should celebrate." Just as Athena started to slap Cree again, he jerked the shuttle around toward the Colonial Movers transport. He spun the shuttle around, and docked alongside the boarding stint on the transport's starboard side. The few remaining passengers bustled around, taking their time to collect their things. All the while, Athena glanced at the shuttle's chronometer. She began to prod them toward the passengers toward the door, and finally sealed the hatch as the last person stepped down. "I thought they were never going to leave," said Athena. She glanced down at her chronometer. "We can still make it to the Celestra if we hurry." "Leaving now," said Cree as he disengaged the clamps that held the shuttle fast against the freighter. Slowly, he brought the little craft up and over the back of the transport, coming full about as they passed the big yellow container marked "Colonial Movers." "Kick in the power, Cree," said Athena as she quickly slipped on her gold robe. "We're going to be late." "Whatever," said Cree as he revved up the shuttle's reactor. No sooner had Cree begun to pull the shuttle away from the Mover's transport did the fleet-wide emergency signal activate. "Frak," muttered Cree. "What's that?" Athena asked as she jumped back into the copilot's seat. Of course she knew what the signal was, her question was meant to convey her annoyance at the timing of the alert. She tossed her music pad on the floor beside her chair. "The commander's put the fleet on alert," said Cree. "It's a Cylon attack." "Let's get to the Celestra," said Athena. "Give it up," said Cree. "There won't be a show while the Cylons attack." "It's not that," said Athena as she tried to wrestle control of the shuttle from Cree. "I want to be as safe as possible during the attack." "Regulations say we make for the nearest ship," said Cree. His eyes drifted toward the Colonial Movers ship. "No," said Athena. "I don't want to be on that rattle trap during an attack." "That rattle trap has taken out five Cylons since we left the Colonies," said Cree. "She's as safe as the Celestra." "Still, I'm in command," said Athena. "And I'm flying this shuttle," said Cree. As Cree whipped the ship around for the Colonial Movers transport, Athena maxed the throttle to make best speed for the Celestra. The shuttle creaked and moaned, and a hideous clanging sound came from the engine housing. With no further ceremony, all but minimum power on the shuttle was gone. "Felgercarb," said Athena. She drew back like she meant to hit Cree. "Alright. Work on the radio. I'll have a look at the power cells." Cree crawled up under the shuttle's cockpit control panel and began tracking the power supply. Everything checked out okay. There must have been a problem with the main power cell coupling that was shorting out the rest of the system. As Athena worked, she found her eyes floating from the ergon cell to the shuttle's front window. Every now and then, she would catch sight of a blue or red flash when a fighter would shoot off a blast. She could almost sense which way the battle was raging. She was used to watching combat in this fashion, though usually from her control station on the bridge. "I'm getting something," said Cree. "Don't transmit," said Athena. "One peep out of us and the Cylons will bore down on us." "We don't have the power to transmit," said Cree. "And I can just barely receive - - WHAT IN HADES???" Athena looked up. Cree's face was pale white, slack-jawed, and blank-eyed. He seemed to be fighting just to switch the unicom speakers on. Athena was just as surprised by what she heard as Cree had been. The choir was singing. Even as the battle went on around them, the singers sang. Casting a glance back down at the power cell, Athena hid her heartbreak. Cree was right. She had been sectons preparing for this and she was sad to miss it. She would never let Cree know it, though. If she had to take her own life, Cree would never sense her disappointment. Cree could not focus on the repairs. He looked forward, at the gray/white ships lumbering along on their trek. He was hardly listening to the words that were being sung over the unicom system, he was more caught up in what they meant, and what the defiant chorus was all about. He pulled himself to his feet, took Athena's song book from the floor, and handed it to her. "What's this?" Athena asked. "We've got to get this-" "Sing," said Cree. "This is a ship, and it's part of the fleet." Cree again shoved the book into her chest. This time, Athena took it, and began flipping madly to the spot where the choir was singing right then. "You really want me to sing...here?" Cree couldn't speak. He merely nodded his head, and spun the pilot's seat around to face the golden-robed woman. He sat down, and waited, almost sadly for her to began. The sea of sound engulfed both of the warriors on the shuttle's flight deck. Athena, though she was right there with Cree, was almost unheard. Her voice, while strong and full was absorbed by the onslaught of music from the other ships. Cree suddenly had a singular sense of where he was, and what he was witnessing. It was more than a woman standing on a shuttle belting out an ancient Colonial hymn. This was a moment in history that would be remembered for generations. During an enemy attack, the human survivors sang their song. Cree was lucky enough to be here to see this. He was part of history. He would be able to tell his children and grandchildren that he had been part of the first Day of Songs celebration, and that it had been one of the most inspirational moments of his life. It wasn't for several centons that the song ended. Athena plopped down in one of the passenger chairs. She had gone unheard throughout her whole performance, except for Cree. She felt disappointed that she had missed her chance to be part of history. She gave Cree a somber look. He had ridden her so hard about the whole Day of Songs thing and now she had missed it. So why was he so glum? "I thought you'd be laughing at me," said Athena. "No," said Cree. He worked the shuttle's signal lights, guiding a flight of Vipers to where the dead shuttle drifted. The battle was over. It was time to be rescued. "Forgive me for asking," said Athena. "But why not?" Cree just shook his head. "I want to say thank you." "For what?" Cree didn't want to over dramatize the moment. He didn't want to go into the miracle he had just experienced. He didn't want her to know that he was deeply moved by the scene. "For letting me be a part of the Day of Songs." "Yeah, right," said Athena. She moved back to the copilot's seat. As she looked side-long at the lieutenant, she got the idea that maybe his thank you had been sincere. Maybe he had changed his mind about the made up holiday and what it meant. Maybe she hadn't missed her chance to be part of the celebration. Maybe she had participated in a far deeper and more personal way than she could have ever hoped for. This story is a work of fan fiction, and is not intended to infringe on the copyrights of Universal, ABC, Glen Larson Studios, or any other corporations involved with Battlestar Galactica. It is intended solely for distribution on the Internet, and the enjoyment of those BSG fans who read it. Please direct feedback to me at TiCeL@aol.com I hope you enjoyed it.