A/N: Sorry, my adventures in the military had me...preoccupied and whatnot. Now I'm I'm injured and off-course, I can resume writing, hopefully.This is the final chapter of Trials, then I'll see if I can muster the ability to start another Gunny Sims series.

The field was beautiful, he had to admit. Being in space for so long had left Gunny Sims with a soft spot for ground under his feet. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. Pine needles and freshly turned earth mixing intoxicatingly. It was bliss.

"Gunny, you just going to stand there, or are you gonna help us fill some sandbags?"

"Shut up, Hernandez. I'm trying to get used to my new home."

BSG BSG BSG BSG BSG BSG BSG BSG BSG BSG

"So, Firebase Alpha is good to go, Gunny?" asked the Colonel as he looked around at the HESCO bastions and concertina wire of the first field base on New Caprica. It had taken the marines two weeks to build.

"Is it ready, Gunny?"

"We're already running the training program for the former Resistance fighters, sir."

"Excellent, Gunny, excellent. How are the men holding up?"

Sims stared at his CO cockeyed.

"Sir, this is a great vacation for them. After being on ships for so long...it does them good, sir. They haven't had heavy weapons practice in forever."

"HA! I hope that's not all they approve of. "

"Fresh air is also appreciated, sir."

"Good, good. The President wants all civvies on the ground in a half-year."

Sims did a double take.

"All of them, sir?"

"Every stinking, whiny one of them."

"Sir...what about the orbital defense platforms?"

"Shot down in Quorum. We apparently have to spend the money on infrastructure and other bullshit."

"He's right...can't have the civvies living like soldiers, sir. We already don't have enough police on the ships."

The Colonel chuckled at the comment.

"Still...it'll do us good to have boots on the ground. First civvie ships start landing in two weeks."

BSG BSG BSG BSGBSG BSG BSG

One Year After

Gunny Sims strode the empty, barely-lit corridors of Battlestar Galactica. It seemed so empty, so vacant with a skeleton crew. The 352cond was a reserve company now, and he was one of a dozen full-time marines left. Sims was on rotation to the Battlestar for six months, leaving only occasionally to see Jean, who had slowly become his girlfriend for no reason he could really speculate on. He was nice enough, fun to be around, but there were inklings beneath the surface that all was not well with her. He made a point of talking to her the next time he was planetside. He was thinking about it when the klaxons began to sound.

“Action stations, action stations. Set condition one throughout the ship!”

The decks lurched, and he staggered. He dashed to his station, wondering what in the hell was going on. The world spun, the ship jumped, and he knew in the pit of his stomach: the Cylons had returned, and he had left Jean behind.