The Steps of Odessa - BSG drabble
Drabble inspired by Memorial Day movie marathons, Battleship Potemkin, and the I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag. 289 words.
And then the day came when the Cylons decided to kill their masters.
*****
They had an idyllic youth, full of promise and ease. Anything was possible: arts and sciences were encouraged equally; families lived safe from harm; travel and commerce were thrifty and efficient; all because of the Cylon improvements instituted by the governments of the twelve colonies.
And then one day the trains stopped working. That was their first sign.
*****
Their childhoods were engulfed by flame and fear.
Buildings with integrated systems were reduced to rubble, and then burned just for good measure. Where schools were still open, children were taught from out-of-date texts instead of sophisticated AI aides.
Then came the massacre on the Odessa steps. Cylon Centurians, guardians of their cities, broke the covenant with their human masters and descended upon a group of women and children enjoying the warm spring day.
Fear turned to bloodshed and flame turned to war.
Legions of young men and women answered the call, took up arms, and went to war.
Back then, it was easy to tell hero from enemy.
And through it all, the Battlestars protected them all.
*****
The Second Cylon War is different.
There are no battles, only flight. Paranoia extends beyond distrust of machines and systems, now it extends to the person standing beside.
And there are heroes. There are always heroes, but now they are not just the Viper pilots. In the Second Cylon War they are techs, machinist mates, Raptor pilots and ECOs. They are prisoners and farmers; The men and women that have taken in orphans, the ships that have taken in the sick.
Their past stands in ruin, and their future is uncertain, but they are surviving, and that makes heroes of them all.
And only one Battlestar remains.
-end-
And then the day came when the Cylons decided to kill their masters.
*****
They had an idyllic youth, full of promise and ease. Anything was possible: arts and sciences were encouraged equally; families lived safe from harm; travel and commerce were thrifty and efficient; all because of the Cylon improvements instituted by the governments of the twelve colonies.
And then one day the trains stopped working. That was their first sign.
*****
Their childhoods were engulfed by flame and fear.
Buildings with integrated systems were reduced to rubble, and then burned just for good measure. Where schools were still open, children were taught from out-of-date texts instead of sophisticated AI aides.
Then came the massacre on the Odessa steps. Cylon Centurians, guardians of their cities, broke the covenant with their human masters and descended upon a group of women and children enjoying the warm spring day.
Fear turned to bloodshed and flame turned to war.
Legions of young men and women answered the call, took up arms, and went to war.
Back then, it was easy to tell hero from enemy.
And through it all, the Battlestars protected them all.
*****
The Second Cylon War is different.
There are no battles, only flight. Paranoia extends beyond distrust of machines and systems, now it extends to the person standing beside.
And there are heroes. There are always heroes, but now they are not just the Viper pilots. In the Second Cylon War they are techs, machinist mates, Raptor pilots and ECOs. They are prisoners and farmers; The men and women that have taken in orphans, the ships that have taken in the sick.
Their past stands in ruin, and their future is uncertain, but they are surviving, and that makes heroes of them all.
And only one Battlestar remains.
-end-