Greetings BSG fans,
I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place to post my fanfiction, but I don't see a designated section so I just said What The Frak. Enjoy the story. You can read all of my fanfics at Fanfiction.net
-Matt
Series in order:
1) The Hephaestus Chronicles (prequal to Earth 2010, almost finished)
2) Earth 2010 - The Colonies of Kobol Reunited
3) Galactica 2010 - The Fleet Reborn
4) Galactica 2010 - Avengement
5) When Thunder Strikes
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1492358/Firematt97
Here's a sample of Chapter 1: Battlestar Galactica – The Hephaestus Chronicles Editor's note: This fan fiction is about the career of Galactica viper pilot Matthew “Hephaestus” Lensherr, from his early days as a farmer and firefighter on the colony Aerilon, to his current assignment as Silver Spar's squadron leader aboard the Battlestar Galactica. Lensherr is a non-canon character of the BSG storyline that got his start in “Earth 2010 – The Colonies of Kobol Reunited,” and continued in the subsequent “Galactica 2010 – The Fleet Reborn,” and “Battlestar Galactica – Avengement” fan fictions. Enjoy. Chapter 1. The colony Aerilon, known as the “food basket” of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol was one of the poorer colonies in the system. A hardscrabble world that produced men and women of steely strength and grit, honed by the tough and usually dirty work of farming. The inhabitants of this colony seldom left the world of their birth, farms handed down generation to generation, son or daughter. The natives spoke with a thick, guttural sounding voice that was often misunderstood by non-Aerilonians. Along the river Euclid lay a sprawling dairy farm, measuring three hectares, or three hundred acres. The rocky land is dotted with smaller ponds and streams that drew cattle to them daily. The Lensherr dairy farm was by far one of the largest on the planet, but not the largest. The majority of cattle produced milk for sale, with the rest producing beef for several of the closer colonies. Matthew Lensherr was eighteen years of age and had never been off world. He was the middle of three children, and knew at an early age that farming was not in his future. Despite furious efforts by his father to instill upon him the honorable, and vital importance of dairy farming to the colonies, deep down he knew that his destiny lay out there, in the stars above. Today was no different than any other day on the farm, today a transport from Tauron would be arriving at the spaceport, six hours southwest of the Lensherr farm to pick up fifty tons of beef freshly butchered by the on-site meat cutters in a large windowless building in the north corner of the farm near the highway. Matthew Lensherr's job was to drive the massive transport truck six hours to the spaceport, where upon delivery the agreed upon amount of cubits would be wired to the bank account held by the family. Matt usually volunteered for this duty, anything to get him off that farm and into some semblance of civilization. He steered the truck with his left leg as both hands grasped a copy of the day's Aerilon Gazette. The lead story for the county was about the death of local farm hand due to a malfunctioning combine, that gruesome story was followed by the winner of a cattle competition. “Ugghhh...Fraking fish-wrapper was a waste of cubits.” Lensherr cursed as he balled up the paper and tossed it onto the floor of the passenger side of the truck. “There has got to be a better life for me than this!” At eighteen, Matthew Lensherr was one of the few his age that knew beyond doubt that his future did not include farming. His older brother took to farming like he was genetically bred to do so, while his sister who was three years his junior harbored no feelings on farming one way or the other. His father was not wealthy, but lived comfortably, and could easily afford to replace him. The six hour trip was over sooner than he wished as he pulled within visual range of the city where the spaceport was located. The city was called Greer, and it was the only source of civilization in a thousand kilometers. With a population of 1,668,267, Greer was one of the major cities on the small planet. It boasted a large spaceport and numerous processing plants that employed thousands. As the city grew in population, the need for more housing became imperative, and housing units were built at an incredible pace, with safety and structural integrity not always the chief concern by the construction company owners. Public safety institutions were slow to expand as the population itself expanded. Crime was high, as where the occasional fire and collapse of poorly constructed housing units. The mayor of Greer often sought help from Colonial Marine units based on Aerilon to fight crime, but the regional marine commandant was uneasy about using the military for policing civilians. In the end, a major recruiting drive for firefighters and law enforcement officers was implemented. One such recruitment drive billboard was prominently displayed upon entering the city limits; a good looking, muscular young man dressed in a sharp black uniform with crimson piping standing with arms crossed in front of a large parked fire apparatus. The words “We serve to save lives and property.” Matt slowed to a stop before the two-story advertising board. The shiny red pumper truck was sharper than any Mk. IV viper he had seen, not that he saw many Colonial vipers up close and personal. He had seen some of the sleek Mk. IV's at an airshow last year, marveled at their beauty. At this moment, the fire pumper was all he could think of. Spaceport slip #72 The transfer of the beef from the truck to the cargo hold took roughly two hours of strenuous activity, Matt was soaked to the skin, and his muscles ached something fierce. He handed the ship captain a bulky clipboard that had an antenna array and card slot. The captain withdrew a gold card from his breast pocket and inserted it into the slot. A stream of red lights flashed across the top of the board for thirty seconds before all six lights turned green. “Cubit transfer complete, our account has your deposit, pleasure doing business with you captain!” said Matt offering his hand to the shady-looking captain of the transport ship Tolarr who merely nodded. While walking back to his truck cab, Matt couldn't help but wonder what other types of cargo the sleazy-looking captain of the Tolarr had transported over the years. The transfer had left him hungry, and he decided to grab a bite to eat at a nearby cafe. Sitting at the outside tables, Matt had let the warm sun shine on his tanned face, soaking in the peace and quiet before the long ride back to the farm. A commotion to his right caught his attention, people were running towards something around the corner. Casually grabbing his sandwich he leaped over the waist-high railing and followed the crowd. As he rounded the corner he could smell smoke, fifty yards ahead he could see thick black smoke pouring out of the second floor window of an apartment complex. The sound of sirens grew louder, and soon the screams grew louder as bystanders pointed up. Three stories above the fire floor a woman holding a scared toddler filled the window. The fire had cut off their escape route, and the flames were making their way up floor by floor. Unknown to anyone there, but would eventually be discovered by arson investigators, the construction of the apartment complex was so substandard that fire stops were purposely left out between floors. The flames traveled through the walls vertically, unhindered by crucial flame-retardant stops between floors. “Omigods, there's somebody trapped up there!” screamed a bystander. Matt looked on horrified as wisps of smoke started to puff out from the window the mother and child were standing in. Like the dozens of people around him, Matt felt helpless to do anything. An explosion blew out a window on the fourth floor directly beneath the woman and child, her screams for help were mixed with choking from the acrid smoke billowing up beneath her. The pumper was first to arrive, pulling past the structure in order to get a look at at least three angles of the building on fire. The driver of the pumper left enough room for the massive truck containing a large ladder attached to a revolving platform to pull in front of the building, just far enough out to extend the ladder. The loud hum of the large outriggers extended two meters out on each side of the truck, they would keep the truck from tipping over once the ladder was extended over to one side. Matt stood their agape as firefighters in full gear and air packs mounted the ladder and climbed. At street level, crews from the pumper truck stretched uncharged hose lines into the building's entry and advanced to the fire floor, signaling for the line to be charged with water once they had reached the fire itself. He was struck at how well the firefighters acted as a team. His heart raced as he watched these...heroes, attempt to save a the lives of the mother and child. Within a minute that seemed like an eternity, the mother and child were rescued amidst the roar of cheers. At that moment, Matthew Lensherr's life had changed.
