Starcraft: Mind Over Matter

This story is based on the wildly popular computer strategy game Starcraft. It takes place roughly a year after the events of the Brood War expansion pack. It's actually based on a campaign I made with the game's map editor. I'm very proud of the final confrontation at the end so I hope you'll enjoy it. Remember to tell me what you think and stick around because I'm planning two sequels based on another campaign of mine.

Mind Over Matter

Following the devastation of Kerrigan's Brood War numerous small groups of Terrans and Protoss were scattered across the Koprulu Sector. Most became isolated from their fellows and were forced to survive by whatever means they could find. Some settled on isolated worlds while others wandered the cosmos in the hopes of reuniting with others of their race. Listen now to one of their stories…

Daniel Cortez was restless. He had wanted to get to bed early for once but now he found he was not tired. To make matters worse his right hand was hurting again. Though it was covered with the same dark-tanned skin as the rest of his body, the slight hiss of gears as he clenched and unclenched his fist was telling of the fact it was not the hand he had been born with. It's just my mind playing tricks on me. My hand can't feel pain. But it did hurt and it was driving him to distraction.

The hand had been lost to a hydralisk during the flight from Tarsonis. The same night I lost Penelope. His sister had been in the crowd running to the dropship with him but had somehow not made it all the way. I should have been paying closer attention. I shouldn't have let her fall behind. He could almost hear the screams of the dying, the thunder of battle. He stopped pacing and sat down at the only table in his shack. He shook his head to clear it. I can't go down this road again. It was a predictable progression. First his hand would hurt, then he would start to think of that last night on Tarsonis when he had lost Penelope. Soon he would be so lost in grief and self-recrimination that he wouldn't be able to function for hours if not days. I have to get my mind on something else.

Putting on his coat, he stepped outside into the night. The cold wind bit into his face. He shivered and pulled his coat tighter. His feet splashed into puddles of icy water as he walked up the street of ramshackle dwellings. Why couldn't we have found a nice warm planet like Tarsonis? Nine months here, you'd think I'd have gotten used to it by now. Daniel continued to march through the streets of the town called Sanctuary in the direction of the tavern. He did not pass many people - most in Sanctuary woke up and went to sleep early and most of the ones that didn't were at the lone tavern. It probably wouldn't have been advisable for someone of Daniel's importance to stay up late but he had gotten into the habit of sleeping little while serving in the Dominion Marine Corps. Daniel noticed that his hairline was beginning to recede as he ran his hand through his hair. Great. I wonder if it's genetics or all those nukes we used on the Zerg?

He approached the tavern and pulled open its rusty door. The tavern, like most buildings in Sanctuary, had been built from the remains of the ships that had brought them to the fifth planet of the distant Trojia system. Inside he was greeted by the stink of sweat and cigarette smoke. The tavern was crowded with off-duty workers and soldiers. He looked around until he noticed a familiar head of reddish-brown hair at a table near the back. The head belonged to Jessica Terrance, leader of Sanctuary's elite infantry squad; named Bravo Squad, it was a five-man team created to handle the most dangerous jobs. Daniel was the only member not sitting at the table with her. He quickly changed that.

He gave a casual salute to Jessica as he sat down. Daniel thought that the former confederate ghost had probably been very beautiful once but a hard life and long war with the Zerg had left her face haggard and worn. A long scar ran through her left eye - now replaced with a cybernetic implant. The other eye had a haunted look that spoke of long suffering. She nodded to him and he greeted the others. John Teckama sat drinking grain alcohol from a jug. A thin man from Mar Sara, he was charming in a redneck kind of way. Next to John sat his brother Billy. Billy was much larger than his brother and kept his hair extremely short. Both brothers had been rebels against virtually very Terran government one could name at some time or another. At the far end of the table sat the squad's sniper, Carl Leblanc. As usual his red hair was in complete disarray. Rumor had it that he had once been involved with a major crime syndicate in the Confederacy. Most knew better than to ask about his past. All anyone cared about was he was the best shot in Sanctuary.

"I thought you were turning in early tonight Dan," said John.

"That was the plan but… I don't know; I'm just edgy I guess. And my hand's hurting again."

"Have some of this. It'll fix ya up," John said in his fringe-world drawl, pouring Daniel a shot from his bottle. Daniel drank it in one go. He grimaced as the homemade brew forced its way down his throat.

"Anybody up for poker?" asked Leblanc.

"Are you crazy boy? Playing poker with the two telepaths," said Billy.

"I keep telling you I'm not a telepath. I'm just a sensitive. And if that helps me tell when people are bluffing I can't help it," Daniel reminded him.

"And I keep telling you I don't like reading minds. I can do without hearing your deepest secrets thank you," said Jessica impatiently.

John said, "I don't know. I remember a game a few weeks ago and I could sworn…" He stopped when he saw the look on her face.

"Well we gotta do something to liven things up. Dan here looks like he's just come from a funeral."

Daniel took another swallow of bitter drink and said, "I don't need to be entertained. What I need is for this damn hand to stop hurting."

"Still hurtin' ya huh?" said Billy.

"Never settles down for more than a week or two, and when it starts hurting I get thinking about Tarsonis." Turning to Jessica he added, "It's a shame you can't use your telepath stuff to get rid of that memory."

"Not unless you want me to completely scramble your brains. I can do that." Her voice was almost as bitter as the drink.

"No thank you," said Daniel, subdued. He wiggled his mechanical fingers and sighed. John poured him another drink and somehow he choked it down. Trying to change the subject he said, "Whatever happened to the idea of adding grapes to greenhouses? I thought we were going to start getting some wine. I'm sick of drinking this goop." Billy looked at his brother and muttered something about fancy Tarsonis people.

"You know how it goes, to add a greenhouse they need to up the power capacity. To up the power capacity they need to expand the mineral stockpile. To expand the mineral stockpile they need to deepen the mine. Etc., etc," said Jessica.

"Maybe we should have picked a planet where we could grow more than pond scum without a greenhouse," Daniel grumbled.

"I don't recall you complaining when we were running through space with the Zerg on our tails," Jessica pointed out.

"I don't know. I sleep in the same tin can and at least I was warmer then."

"Come on Dan, it isn't that bad. The Zerg hardly ever come out this far, we get three meals a day, no Protoss trying to blow us up; I don't think things are that bad."

"Yeah you're right. I'm sorry I'm bad company tonight. Let's just try and talk about something else."

"I heard Shimizu is going to build a stage in the east square. Maybe we should put together a band. I can play harmonica and Billy here's good with a guitar," said an inebriated John Teckama. Daniel could remember hearing him and his brother play once. It was an experience he hoped to forget. The conversation steered towards innocuous matters and eventually Daniel was able to forget about the pain in his hand and the memories of Tarsonis. An hour after midnight he trudged home and collapsed into bed.

His mind was quiet. Withdrawing himself from all telepathic connections Marzare'ul was able to achieve a state of peace undreamed of by those who followed the Khala. Physically he was perched on a cushion within his meditation chamber but mentally he had retreated to a place inside himself where no one and nothing intruded. The only sensations that he was aware of were the beating of his heart and the almost imperceptible interplay of energies deep in the void of space. Even these could be banished at will. He sensed someone outside the door. He pulled himself out of his inner sanctum and into the small tapestry-draped meditation chamber.

"Come," he projected to whoever was outside. The door slid open and Krassus, Marzare'ul's second-in-command, entered. Though he was tall even by the standards of his race Marzare'ul was dwarfed by his templar lieutenant.

"En taro Adun Marzare'ul," spoke Krassus in his rumbling mental voice. His electric white eyes flashed as he spoke.

Marzare'ul stood and responded, "En taro Adun Krassus. I assume that your reason for interrupting my contemplation is important."

"Yes. We have detected a Protoss energy signature on a nearby world." Marzare'ul's eyes flashed brightly.

"A ship?"

"Possible. However the signature is extremely weak, so most likely it could only be a shuttle or perhaps a scout," explained the massive templar.

"Hmm, we should still investigate. The prospect of rejoining any of our brothers is welcome. Where is it?"

"The northern hemisphere of a planet orbiting a nearby star. Ancient star charts identify it as Kytan," Krassus answered.

"Very well. Come with me." He left the compartment and strode down the central corridor of the ship, Krassus a step behind. The Myanot had been used by the Dark Templar to travel space for centuries but Marzare'ul had only taken command of it recently. Zeratul had granted it to him after his own ship, the Jia'val, had been destroyed by the Zerg and just before the assault on Kerrigan's stronghold above Char. They reached the ship's core. In the center of the domed chamber was the great khaydarin crystal that powered the Myanot. Scattered around the room were Protoss controlling the various ship's systems.

"Power up the engines, prepare to enter warp space," ordered Marzare'ul. He walked forward to the crystal and placed his hands upon two bronze-coloured globes supported by thin struts. His awareness stretched out from the core to encompass the entire ship. He was the ship.
A brilliant light flashed and a great hole opened in space before the ship. Controlling it as easily as he would his own body Marzare'ul guided the Myanot into the rift. Reality distorted all over the ship but he did not notice. He was focused on directing the ship through warp. For a few moments he swam through the fabric of space-time. It flew past him in a million shades of blue, gray, white, and violet. Then the ship emerged into normal space and it was over. Below him was a small world coloured in gray and black. He withdrew his senses and turned to Krassus. "We have arrived."

"Attention. Attention. Alert level two. Bravo Squad report to Major Mathews at defense command. Repeat: Bravo Squad report to Defense Command, alert level two." Daniel leapt out of bed and stumbled. Still half asleep, he searched for his clothes. Damn! I knew I should have gone to bed early. He dove from his shack and bolted down the street towards Defense Command. The announcement system was now giving out instructions. "Alert level two. Secure all SCVs, all civilians stay behind the walls and prepare for lockdown, Charlie Squad man the walls and prepare to lockdown the settlement."

Daniel jogged up to Defense Command. It was a low building constructed from an old valkyrie attack frigate. He burst in the door and blurted some form of apology for being late. The rest of Bravo Squad was assembled in the crude command center along with Major Argyle Mathews, the leader of Sanctuary's military, and some of the higher-ranking officers. The major was an old veteran from the United Earth Directorate with shoulder length gray hair. Mathews gave Daniel a look of slight irritation and began the briefing.

"Here's the situation. We've detected a protoss ship entering the atmosphere. It seems to be heading for a valley in the mountains north of here. Their intent is unknown; they have made no hostile actions toward us but they have not given any indication of their intent. I want you take vultures into the mountains and covertly observe them. Figure out what they're doing here and what, if any, is the threat to us. Meanwhile I'll prepare to defend Sanctuary should they attack. Understand?"

"Yes sir," said Jessica. She led Daniel and the others into an adjacent room where they armed themselves. First they put on their combat suits. Based on the armor given to ghosts, it was much lighter and more flexible than the heavy suits given to marines and firebats. Their helmets had no viewing ports; instead they were covered with cameras and sensors that fed information to an internal heads-up display. Next they grabbed weapons. Daniel chose the gauss rifle he had been given when he joined the Dominion marines, Billy and John also took gauss rifles, Jessica selected the C-10 canister rifle common to ghosts, and Carl picked his usual sniper rifle. They headed outside where two marines waited with five vulture hover-bikes. Daniel mounted his bike and sealed the visor on his helmet. Instantly the HUD activated and he was greeted with a bevy of sensor data. He hit the ignition and the engines thundered into life. He followed Jessica who was already heading for the west gate.

Before long they were gliding across the plains heading northwest towards the mountains. Trojia Five was an odd planet by Daniel's reckoning. It was very wet but had almost no soft soil, so most of the surface was puddle-ridden volcanic rock. The only life to speak of was a slimy, photosynthetic bacterium that interspersed the black plains and hills with streaks of bright green. The landscape could at best be described as stark. They entered the foothills following a meandering stream. Though the comm. circuits in their helmets allowed them to talk over the whine of vulture engines, no one said anything. Daniel had only encountered the Protoss on a few occasions and he had mixed feelings toward them. He had first seen them fighting the Zerg that last day on Tarsonis - and destroying most of Tarsonis City in the process. However the last time he had encountered them they had been fighting alongside the Dominion and the UED in a desperate attempt to end Kerrigan's reign of terror.

They continued their course through the jagged black mountains. The stream ended, the ground rose higher, and a chill wind blew through the pass. Daniel looked forward to his squad leader. I wonder what she thinks of the Protoss. Does being a telepath give her some insight into them? The vultures came around a bend in the pass and a broad valley stretched out before them. And there were the Protoss.

There looked to be at least a hundred of them, tall figures in golden armor that shimmered like the carapace of an insect. Above, standing out against the gray sky, was their ship. To Daniel it looked like a flower that had grown backwards with its golden petals arched back towards the stalk that was the main body of the ship. Though it was beautiful, he knew from experience that such ships could be devastating in combat.

"Over there." Jessica pointed to a groove in the ground behind a low rise. They steered their vultures behind it and powered down. They dared not get too close lest the Protoss notice them. Daniel dismounted and hunkered down behind the rise with the rest of Bravo Squad. Zooming in with the sensors on his helmet, he was able to pick out more details about the Protoss such as the looping wing-like protrusions on their armor and the long nerve endings sprouting from the backs of their heads. He also noticed another group among them clothed in dark blue robes with their nerve endings cut. Dark Templar. The Protoss seemed to have gathered in some form of ruins; there were broken columns and foundations made of a bronze-like substance littering the valley floor. There was also an intact room or structure of some sort being examined by a tall dark templar with talismans hanging from his head wrap. Next to the dark templar was the biggest protoss Daniel had ever seen. It was easily past eight feet in height and nearly as wide as two marines in full armor standing side-by-side.

"You aren't fooling us." Though he was at least two hundred meters away, the protoss' voice was as clear as if head been standing next to Daniel. It was cold and ancient and alien. The dark templar turned to face Bravo Squad. His eyes were a blazing red and they seemed able to bore through Daniel. "We have no quarrel with you humans. Leave us."

"What is your purpose on our world?" Jessica demanded. She did not bother to yell since it was clear the Protoss had some sense no human could equal. All the Protoss were facing them now.

"Your world? This world was protoss before your ancestors could dream of space travel. Though I doubt any line on a map has meant anything since the Zerg came." The speaker and several other dark templar vanished. Daniel scanned the landscape with his sensors but found no sign of them.

"Behind you." Daniel jumped and spun around. A dozen dark templar were behind them pointing blades of pale blue energy. In the center was the one with the fiery eyes whom Daniel took to be their leader. Unlike his fellows, his blades simply appeared out of thin air above his forearms instead of extending from bracers.

"I said we had no quarrel with you. Do not give us one. Leave. Now." The humans pointed their guns at the Protoss and a tense moment followed with neither side willing to back down or make the first hostile move.

A terrible crash tore through the stillness. Both sides looked up and saw the protoss ship burning and plummeting into the mountains surrounded by a swarm of winged shapes.

"Zerg!" roared the protoss leader. The Dark Templar leapt over Daniel and his comrades and ran back to their own lines.

"Defensive positions, man your grenade launchers!" Jessica commanded. They jumped onto their vipers and activated the grenade launchers at the rear of the bikes. Daniel looked up. The Zerg were wheeling around the protoss ship; as he watched they turned away from their crippled prey and attacked the Protoss on the ground. There were mutalisks, winged serpents spewing acid coated worms; overlords, bulbous things somewhere between a crab and a flying jellyfish; and a handful of scourge, small kamikaze gliders. Daniel picked his target, a mutalisk, and fired. The shot crippled its wing and it crashed to the ground. It was finished by the second shot. The Zerg were now aware of Bravo squad. Three scourge dove for them. The humans fired at them but the Zerg were too fast. Jessica lowered her weapon and a buzzing in Daniel's head indicated she was using telepathy. The foremost scourge detonated and the other two exploded as they were caught in the shockwave. A blast of hot air hurled Daniel off his bike, his rifle sent flying from his hands. He grabbed it and spun around to fire at a mutalisk strafing the humans. His vulture exploded as the beast vomited its projectile. The mutalisk soared towards the protoss lines. Daniel ran back to the rise to find another target.

In the middle of the valley the overlords were hovering above the ground, pouring zerg ground forces from the sacks in their sides. Serpentine hydralisks, quick zerglings, and nimble drones formed a teeming mass of claws, frills, and spines. The Protoss charged forward at incredible speed, moving with a long, loping stride. The two forces clashed.

Daniel was always amazed at the grace the Protoss displayed in battle. Like whirlwinds of jewelry they danced through the enemy lines slashing and maiming. It would be possible to forget they were fighting if one ignored the terrible destruction they left in their wake.

"Incoming!" John's shout distracted Daniel from the spectacle of the Protoss fighting. A group of zerg had broken off from the main battle and was charging them. Daniel set his rifle to full auto and opened up. His rifle spewed hot lead and zerg died but it made no effect on their charge. Explosions ripped through their ranks as Bravo Squad's grenade launchers were turned on them. Daniel felt the odd buzzing feeling again. Two zerglings were swathed in faint blue light and died in violent seizures. Wish I could do that. A hydralisk loomed up from the crowd and the carapace behind its head split open. Daniel ducked to avoid the acid slathered spines that slammed into the earth around him. He stood up straight, took aim, and fired. The hydralisk's head exploded, spewing forth its gooey innards.

Billy screamed, "Look out!" Daniel turned to his right and saw a zerglings leaping at him with its claws ready to start rending. He spun and fired into its belly. It was flung back and hit the ground hard. It started to scamper back up but he fired another burst into its chitinous hide and it stayed down. Daniel whirled back to the rest of Bravo Squad. A swarm of zerglings was on the verge of overwhelming Billy. He had leveled close to a dozen of them and was still firing but they were about to get the better of him. Daniel attempted to thin the herd by shooting controlled bursts; he had to be careful not to hit Billy. One of the zerglings slashed Billy across the leg with a bladed forearm. Daniel could hear his grunt of pain over the comm. Daniel shot it in the back, severing its spinal column. Billy hit the last zerglings with the butt of his gun and then finished it.

Daniel ran up to him and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah it's just superficial." Billy hit a button on his suit that shot painkillers into his bloodstream.

There was a brief lull in the attacks on Bravo Squad and Daniel was able to steal a look at the Protoss. Though they were killing at least three zerg for each of their casualties the Protoss had begun to lose ground. They seemed to be defending the structure he had seen them examining earlier. As he watched a half-dozen more Protoss were killed, their bodies erupting into uncanny blue flames and turning to ash.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" yelled Jessica. They leapt onto their vultures - Daniel got behind Billy. Before they had gone more than a few meters, the ground ahead exploded and several hydralisks emerged. A cloud of spines assaulted Bravo Squad before they could react. One pierced the vulture just behind Daniel. The grenade launcher behind him fired and Daniel emptied the last of his clip into the crowd. As he reloaded he thought, I hate it when they burrow. He fired indiscriminately while Billy attempted to evade the enemy's organic spears. After a minute of heavy combat the combination of grenades, gunfire, and telepathy finished off the hydralisks.

They were about to get moving again when Jessica screamed in agony and fell from her vulture. At the same time Daniel felt as if someone had punched his brain from the inside. His vision blurred and his head buzzed. When the disorientation lessened he looked around to see what was going on. Jessica lay on the ground clutching her head as if it might explode. Billy, John, and Leblanc were looking around with the same confusion as Daniel.

"Look!" said John. He pointed back to the zerg and protoss forces where a brilliant blue light illuminated the valley. Daniel zoomed in with his optical sensors. The structure the Protoss had been defending had been split open - by which side, he couldn't tell; inside was a man-sized blue crystal crackling with energy and spewing light across the battlefield. It seemed to hover above the ground by itself. The Zerg and most of the Protoss were lying on the ground and twitching. Just like Jessica. A handful of Protoss were standing, including their leader but they didn't seem right either. They were unnaturally still even for their stalwart race. They seemed to struggling somehow.

Then everything changed. The Protoss and Zerg came back to life and started fighting. Daniel thought the battle had resumed until he realized that the Protoss had begun fighting themselves as well as the Zerg. The battlefield had become total chaos.

"What happened?" asked Jessica as she got to her feet. She still looked a little unsteady.

"No idea. What happened to you?" said John.

"I don't know. It felt like someone reached into my mind and started digging through it. Let's get back to Sanctuary." She climbed back onto her vulture and they set off with the battle still raging behind them. What the hell was that? I've never seen her that shaken up before. The wind whipped around him as they sped home.

Marzare'ul paced in an extremely unprotoss sign of impatience. Whereas his templar companions sat in stoic meditation, he could not stand still. His rage emanated from him like a flare in the minds of those around him. He and the remainder of his group were waiting atop a flat and nondescript hill in the mountains, having escaped the zerg as well as the comrades that had turned against them. Forty-eight. Out of a hundred and twenty, only forty-eight left. The rest are dead or enslaved by that thing! He resisted the urge to take his aggressions out on a nearby boulder. The Khaydarin Mind. No word of it in millennia and then I'm losing my warriors to it. He'd heard the rumors from birth but part of him had never believed in the Khaydarin Mind. It seemed like a legend. A myth. But that myth had just taken over the minds of at least twenty-five protoss. Only the psionic powers of Marzare'ul and his high templar had saved the rest. Even now he could feel it gnawing at his defenses, ready to take over the moment he weakened. The Zerg had not been as strong. Every one of them had fallen prey to the Mind. The pounding of feet signaled Krassus's group was returning. Marzare'ul walked to the edge of the plateau and greeted his lieutenant.

"En taro Adun. What news of the ship?"

"En taro Adun Marzare'ul. The ship is crippled. At the least its engines, weapons, and shields are offline, probably more. There were no survivors." Marzare'ul's eyes flashed with anger and regret. They had left more than eighty templar warriors and several khalai engineers onboard.

"Any chance of repairing it?" Marzare'ul asked.

"Possible. I can't tell without further examination. But even if we could, it would take moon-cycles." Marzare'ul furrowed his brow and turned away. That was much too slow. In a few days his strength would fail and the Mind would take command. He strode to the center of his fighters and broadcasted the thought that he wanted a meeting. They stood up and looked at him expectantly.

"You know the situation. I want options."

"Could we destroy the Mind somehow?" suggested a templar warrior named Arakor.

"I don't think so. It is guarded by zerg, our own comrades, and its own telepathic powers. What say you Tikor? You know more of the history of our people than any here. Can the Mind be destroyed?" said Marzare'ul. Tikor, an ancient high templar, stepped forward.

"Certainly it is possible to destroy it, but can we destroy it with our current means? Very unlikely. Its powers would be even more dangerous at close range - we wouldn't have a chance." Marzare'ul growled telepathically.

"What does this thing want? What is the source of its aggression?"

"No one has ever explained the rage of the Khaydarin Mind. It is madness incarnate," said Tikor.

"Curse the Zerg for freeing that thing. Why would they want to? It's as much a threat to them as to us!" Marzare'ul ranted.

"I would assume they did not know what they were doing when they freed it. Most likely they just saw that we were defending ourselves and decided it would hurt us to attack it," replied Tikor. Marzare'ul could feel hatred toward the Zerg radiating from his soldiers, especially Krassus. They will not stop until they finish what they started when they destroyed Aiur. One of Marzare'ul's dark templar comrades spoke.

"Did any of the probes survive the crash? Could we use them to build a warp gate off the planet?" Marzare'ul looked to Krassus.

"I did not look. But even if they did survive, we could never get enough resources to construct the gate in time."

"There is something we have not considered." All eyes turned to Tikor.

"The humans. They are as much at risk from the Mind as we are. The days of the great stewardship may be past but is it right to abandon a less advanced race to death?" Marzare'ul felt guilty. He had forgotten the humans.

"You are right. But even if we sacrificed ourselves to protect them they would probably still die. I very much doubt they would join forces with us."

"Why not offer alliance with them? What have we to lose?" said a young warrior named Ubinsa.

Krassus said, "That may be a good idea. The Mind's telepathy doesn't seem to affect them." Marzare'ul considered. He had no particular dislike for them - certainly some had proven honorable. But they are also rash and unpredictable and because of that they are dangerous.

"Even if they did agree to fight with us I'm not sure we would be strong enough to face the Mind. I would like a better option."

"Unfortunately I do not believe there is one, master. We must seek allies among the humans or die," stated Tikor with finality. Marzare'ul furrowed his eyebrows.

"Very well. We will seek out the humans. Je'dax do you remember the location of their settlement?" he said to the former navigator of the Myanot.

"Yes master," he replied in his loud, clear voice.

"Then lead the way."

As Billy's vulture powered down inside Sanctuary's west gate they were met by Major Mathews and Councilor Shimizu. Major Mathews was in his huge powered combat suit and councilor Shimizu, the shrewd Kel-Morian leader of Sanctuary's civilians, was in his usual business style tan suit. Sanctuary was now in full lockdown. Marines patrolled the walls and the large AA laser turret in the center of town was online. No doubt they detected the Zerg. Daniel's assumption was confirmed a moment later when Mathews said, "What happened? We detected Zerg signatures and evidence of a battle." He then added matter-of-factly, "You're a vulture short." Jessica hopped from her bike and told him what had happened. While she talked the announcement system blared over the settlement.

"Attention. Alert level one. Zerg detected. Full lockdown is in effect. All personnel not essential to defense are to remain indoors. Charlie and Delta squads man the walls. Alpha squad, enforce lockdown."

When Jessica finished the major said, "And you have no idea what caused the Protoss to turn on each other?" She shook her head.

"We heard there were a few times when the dark templar would fight the other Protoss but I ain't heard of that happening in a long time," said John.

"And the dark templar were fighting each other too." Daniel pointed out.

"What about what you felt in your mind? Have you any idea what that was?" Shimizu asked her.

"No. I never felt anything like it. Except…"

"What?" inquired Mathews. Jessica sighed and took off her helmet. She ran her fingers through her sweat-drenched hair. Her face had taken on a pinched look as if she was struggling with something.

"There was a… device. The confederates used it to control telepaths. It prevented anyone from reading the users thoughts but it could also inflict pain on disobedient psychs." Her expression was still one of strength but Daniel could see tears in her eyes. "What I felt was similar to what the device did."

"I felt something too but it wasn't painful exactly. Just disorienting," said Daniel.

"Incoming!" bellowed a lookout.

"Where?! How many?!" shouted Mathews.

"Zerg fliers coming in from the north!" Things happened fast. Jessica put her helmet back on and bolted for the walls. She moved so fast she seemed to glide up the ladder. Daniel followed her as the Teckama brothers mounted their vultures.

Major Mathews yelled, "Get out of here!" to Shimizu - who bolted into a nearby alley - and sealed the helmet on his combat suit. Leblanc clambered onto a roof and took out his sniper rifle.
Daniel crested the wall and saw a flight of zerg gliding towards them. Sanctuary's massive AA cannon fired into their midst. Where it hit the Zerg were obliterated, but it had been designed to fight large battleships and had difficulty with fast moving targets. Daniel and the soldiers around him crouched behind the battlements to await the Zerg entering their range. Major Mathews was jogging through the courtyard behind the gate barking orders. He resembled some kind of bizarre mechanical bear in his combat suit.

"Wait for it," said Jessica. Daniel looked up. The Zerg were closing in. A shot rang out from behind him and the foremost mutalisk fell screaming from the sky.

"One down," said Leblanc over the comm. Daniel knew him well enough to guess he had an insolent smile on his face.

"Now!" Jessica screamed. They stood up and opened fire. Two of the aerial Zerg were felled within seconds by Jessica's canister rifle. Daniel blasted a mutalisk but it flew too fast for him to land a killing blow. The Zerg scattered and began to wheel over Sanctuary. An acid coated worm impaled a marine next to Daniel. Billy and John crippled a mutalisk that crashed into the west gate. Major Mathews was firing in all directions with his gauss rifle. A mutalisk careened into the wall after Jessica blew a hole in its head. A Zerg with a segmented body and beetle-like wings shot past Daniel as he attempted to bring it down. The devourer wheeled and hurled a blob of acid at him. Even though he attempted to dodge, a gobbet stuck to his shoulder and began to burn through his armor. He grabbed it with his right hand and hurled it over the wall. It burned through his glove and his skin revealing the mechanical hand underneath. Suddenly he was hit by the memory of a hydralisk looming over him about to strike. Not now!

Jessica screamed, "Look out!" Daniel looked up in time to see a scourge slam into the wall. A blast of searing hot air sent him flying backwards. He collided with Jessica and they landed in a heap a few meters down the wall. Still disoriented, Daniel rolled off her. No, he realized belatedly, she pushed me off. A globe of something smashed into Jessica. It exploded, covering her and Daniel in thick, sticky slime. Daniel tried to stand up but found his feet were glued to the wall. Jessica was even worse off. She tried using her telepathy to break the cords of mucous binding her but she seemed to be having trouble focusing it. A large creature with webbed skin between its legs and upward arching limbs landed on the wall. It shot a long tongue into the body of a marine. A moment later the flesh of the marine's neck burst open and a number of ant-like creatures with sharp mandibles crawled out. Daniel had to fight not to vomit. He had lost his rifle when the scourge hit, so he grabbed a pistol from his belt and picked off the horrible spawn one by one. The creature let out a deep bellow and shot its tongue out again. Daniel slid to the left and it missed him by inches. Raising his gun he emptied a clip into its head. It stumbled and screamed, then died. Daniel pulled a knife from his boot and sliced through the goop that secured him to the wall. He moved to Jessica and freed her.

"What the hell was that?" he said.

"A queen. I've seen them before." They grabbed their rifles and rejoined the battle. Daniel was able to hit a mutalisk's wing and it collapsed on top of a dwelling. The roof buckled but held.
The numbers of zerg had diminished but the fighting was still fierce. Major Mathews was still running from one end of the courtyard to the other and firing into the air. Leblanc picked off another flier. Jessica attempted to use her telepathy to slay a mutalisk. It was merely disoriented but it did allow her to fire a canister straight into its gaping maw. The creature ricocheted off the wall and landed on the ground outside. Daniel reloaded his rifle and when he looked up he found that there were no more opponents. He took a moment to catch his breath while everyone checked that there were no more zerg in the area. Daniel and Jessica descended to the courtyard where the Major was already giving orders for clean up and repair.

"Get these carcasses out of here. Somebody get an SCV to repair the walls. Medics see to the wounded!" He looked at Daniel and Jessica. His hair was sweat drenched but his expression did not show any sign of fatigue.

"All right Cortez?" he asked. Daniel was about to say yes when, with a wrench of his stomach, he remember the damage to his hand.

He changed his response to, "More or less. Nothing that can't wait."

"We've got incoming!" yelled a marine on the walls. Mathews swore.

"What now?!"

"Protoss sir! Protoss infantry coming in from the west."

"Damn it. We'll set up a defense on the first rise outside the gate. Bravo and Delta squads head out. Engineers man the arclite and train it on the Protoss."

Daniel stood on the rise outside of Sanctuary, which was too short to grant any real height advantage. Beside him was the rest of Bravo Squad and around them were three dozen heavily armed marines. They were a rather miss-matched group. Some were in the heavy, clumsy suits of the former Terran Dominion and its predecessor the Confederacy, while others wore the sleeker armor of the Umojan Protectorate. Still others sported the tall, imposing UED combat suits. Behind them, just outside Sanctuary's west gate, was the settlement's half-crippled arclite siege tank. Its drive chain had stopped functioning long ago but its heavy artillery cannon still worked. Ahead were the gold clad forms of the Protoss.

They were still far off but close enough for some distinctions to become clear. They moved in that same steady, loping stride. It was so smooth they seemed to gliding across the planes.
Daniel checked his rifle to make sure it was combat ready. Though he didn't think the Protoss wanted to fight, and had helped convince Major Mathews not to make any hostile action, he wanted to be ready in the event combat did break out. They're unpredictable. He zoomed in with the cameras on his helmet. The Protoss were being led by the same dark templar. Beside him was the giant protoss Daniel had seen earlier. Considering his size he moved with great speed and grace. There are a lot less of them. The Protoss seemed to have lost at least half their number. The Protoss got ten meters from the human ranks and stopped with inhuman abruptness. The growling voice of the protoss leader echoed in the minds of the terran soldiers.

"En taro Tassadar humans. I am Marzare'ul." Daniel was smart enough to guess that the mention of the protoss most famous among humans was intentional.

"What do you want?" Jessica demanded.

"You can lower your weapons. I said we have no quarry with you and that has not changed." No weapons were lowered.

"What do you want?" she repeated.

"Simply put, I offer alliance."

"Alliance?" said Jessica, somewhat surprised.

"The Zerg have freed an ancient artifact of our people. It is extremely dangerous. Separately neither of us would stand a chance against it. You are a telepath; no doubt you felt it come alive."

"Wait, is this thing alive or a machine?" asked Daniel.

"In a way, both. It is an artificial psionic entity. Tikor knows more of it than I do." Marzare'ul stepped aside and a protoss with knobby gray skin wearing light armor and robe-like garments stepped forward.

"Millennia ago there was a group known as the Order of Atal. There is little known about the Order's motivations but we do know they believed they could create a psionic entity of incredible power that would be the perfect counterpart to the purity of the protoss form. Eventually they succeeded by reordering a khaydarin crystal into a complex, psionically resonating matrix. They called it the Khaydarin mind.

"Then they made the mistake of activating it. No one knows what went wrong but it was a creature of pure malice. Most of the Order was killed before they managed to seal it away. When the Zerg attacked, they released it. It used its powers to enslave them and many of our comrades. Eventually all of us will succumb, though you humans appear to be immune."

"So you want us to help you fight this crystal thing?" asked Jessica.

Marzare'ul answered, "Essentially. Though you are at as much risk as us."

Jessica seemed somewhat incredulous, a feeling Daniel shared, but she said, "I will discuss this with my superiors." Marzare'ul made a dismissive gesture that was a little too imperious for Daniel's taste. She led Bravo Squad back through the ranks of marines to Sanctuary. They crossed the courtyard - still spattered with the innards of zerg - to where Major Mathews and a slightly less trim Councilor Shimizu were overseeing the repairs.

"What news?" the major asked.

"The Protoss want to join forces with us." Jessica said. She went on to explain all that had transpired with Marzare'ul. She closed with, "I believe at least some of what he says is truth. His description of what this Mind thing is supposed to do sounds a lot like what happened to me."

Daniel flipped up the visor on his helmet and said, "I felt it too. I'm sure they're telling the truth about the Mind."

"They all but attacked you when you first showed up. I'm not sure we can trust them to stay on our side if we help them," said Mathews.

"Whether or not they have ulterior motives, I'm sure the Mind is a threat. Why not do whatever we can to destroy it?" offered Jessica.

"I'm gonna side with Jes. I don't much about telepathic mumbo-jumbo but that thing culled off about a hundred Protoss. That isn't easy to do. We need to protect ourselves," said Daniel.

"I agree. The safety of Sanctuary must be maintained above all else," Councilor Shimizu asserted.

Mathews countered, "Of course, but is joining forces with the Protoss the best way to do that? They are alien, unpredictable."

"These are the same people who destroyed Mar Sara," added Billy.

"And the same people who fought the Zerg tooth and nail and joined forces with us to stop Kerrigan," said Councilor Shimizu.

"I don't see that we have much to lose by fighting this thing with the Protoss. They've never struck me as the deceptive type. If they wanted to kill us I think we'd be fighting them now," said Leblanc.

"That's true. They can be brutal at times but they aren't particularly shady," Daniel said.

"I say we take their offer," said Councilor Shimizu.

Mathews said, "Hmm. Let me see him. You can tell a lot about people by talking to them. Maybe it works for aliens too." He left the town with Bravo Squad and Shimizu in his wake.

Daniel handed Shimizu a pistol and whispered, "Just in case."

They ascended the rise. The sun was just beginning to set and a cool wind was blowing from the mountains. The Protoss had not moved an inch since they left. They stood like statues on the damp flats.

Major Mathews fixed Marzare'ul with an iron stare and called, "You are Marzare'ul?" across the field. The protoss nodded. "I'm told you want our help." To Daniel's eye Marzare'ul looked a little angered at the phrasing. Hard to tell with Protoss.

"Not precisely. I believe we will both be doomed without each other's help. The Mind has great power."

"What will you do if and when we defeat this crystal thing?" said the major. Daniel wondered if his interrogatory tone was wise.

"Try to repair our ship and leave." Right answer. Mathews considered for a moment.

"Okay. We will join forces. When do you want to launch the attack?"

"We have sent scouts and determined the Mind has taken refuge in a zerg hive cluster that was established when the Zerg landed. It is breeding the Zerg and expanding its forces. We must attack immediately before it gets any stronger."

Major Mathews gritted his teeth at the presumptuous tone the Protoss was taking but said, "All right. We need an hour or so to get our forces organized."

"We will wait." Almost as one the Protoss sat cross-legged on the ground.

"One more thing Protoss." said Mathews.

"Yes?"

"What do we do if we have to fight some of your men this thing captured?"

Marzare'ul looked pained for a moment and said, "If they fight us then we must kill them."

It was getting colder. The sun was getting closer to the horizon, staining the sky orange and pink. The sound of marching feet was all around Daniel. Major Mathews had brought nearly all of Sanctuary's military to bear. The colony had been founded primarily by soldiers so the attack force numbered close to a thousand. Most of them were marines but there were also squads of vultures and firebats. Daniel was near the front of the column with the rest of Bravo Squad. The protoss forces had been incorporated into the ranks and he was only a few feet from a templar. He had never been this close to a protoss before for any length of time and he had to stop himself from staring at the seven-foot alien warrior. Eyes forward Cortez. Daniel jumped as a dark templar materialized in front of the army and ran forward to where the major and Marzare'ul led the pack.

"It's just up ahead. They have not had time to spawn defensive structures but their forces are large," reported the scout. Major Mathews beckoned Bravo Squad forward. They gathered in a circle with him and Marzare'ul. Daniel was thankful that John was between him and the imposing protoss leader. Mathews placed a holo-projector on the ground and activated it. It showed a valley not far from them. It included several dots representing the positions of the zerg forces.

"Here's the plan: Delta and Charlie squads will attack on the flanks supported by our vultures. You, Alpha, and Gamma attack in the center with the Protoss. Our protoss friend tells me his people are too vulnerable to the Mind's powers to attack it directly, so you'll have to get inside the zerg hive and destroy it." Daniel could tell Mathews didn't like the idea any more than Daniel did by the way he was glaring at Marzare'ul. I wonder if protoss can understand our expressions? "We think that if you can attach some of these charges," he produced a number of flat disc-like bombs, "to it they should be able to shatter its crystalline structure." The members of Bravo Squad collected the explosives.

"Understood sir," said Jessica. She sealed her visor and Daniel did likewise. Despite the numerous times he had fought the zerg he was nervous. Zerg and protoss on one side is bad combination. He checked his gun, secured the bombs to his belt, and tried to shake off his nerves.

"Move out!" called Major Mathews. Daniel wondered momentarily why Marzare'ul had not briefed his own men and decided that he had probably done it telepathically. The column continued south towards the hive. Daniel set his helmet to filter out the glare of the setting sun and tried to focus on the march rather than the impending danger.

They came to a sloping cliff and the zerg hive cluster was revealed to them. It rose up from the earth like some horrible parasite on the world. It was roughly three sided and came to a point at the top. Its base was pitted with entrances into its dank inner tunnels. A handful of zerg fliers circled above it. The surrounding area was covered with a pinkish gray slime lined with miniscule veins. Everything was still for an instant.

The order came from Mathews, "Charge!"

"For Aiur!" Marzare'ul roared. He and his men leapt straight from the cliff and ran across the valley floor. The humans had to be more careful in picking their way down the slippery rock face.
Suddenly zerg were appearing from the out of the hive's tunnels and even from the ground itself. In moments their numbers had gone from dozens to hundreds. Daniel reached the valley floor and opened fire into the wave of armored flesh that washed towards him. The Protoss had already reached the Zerg and begun cleaving towards the hive.

"Forward!" Jessica ordered. The terran forces charged across the flats and were soon in range of the hydralisks projectile spines. A marine's helmet was cracked open by one such barb a few feet from Daniel. Daniel nearly fell when they reached the greasy slime around the hive. A zergling burst from its burrow and leaped for him. He knocked it aside with his rifle. As it hit the ground it was engulfed by plasma fire from a nearby firebat.

"Need a light?" said the soldier.

"Thanks," said Daniel. Running forward again he crested a rise. Below was a squad of Protoss carving up a swarm of zerglings. A hydralisk attempted to join the fray but Daniel's rifle stopped it. He heard a rustle next to him and turned. A dark templar materialized before him. Its eyes glowed with an unnatural energy. It raised its energy blade to strike. Daniel rolled over as it sliced the ground where he had been. He began to slip and rolled down the hill. The possessed protoss leaped for him. He raised his gun and blasted it at full auto. The dark templar exploded in blue flames and fell in a heap. Bladed limbs burst from earth and wrapped themselves around Daniel's chest. His heart leapt into overdrive as the ground gave out beneath him and he fell. Bands of blue light sliced through the limbs holding him, he felt himself being levitated back to his feet. Daniel recognized the protoss that saved him as Tikor.

"Thank you," he said, and he meant it. The high templar nodded and returned to fighting. A globe of blue energy formed in his hand and he hurled it at an oncoming zergling. Jessica's voice came over the communication circuit.

"We're getting separated. Form up! Form up!" Daniel realized he had completely lost track of the rest of Bravo. He activated the homing system on his suit and an arrow pointing to Jessica's location appeared on his HUD. He ran back up the rise then turned right. Ahead he could see Jessica, Leblanc, and a few marines fighting off a crowd of zerg. An enemy protoss ran forward and began slicing up the marines. Daniel ran forward, firing at the armored alien. He was able to damage one of its legs so that it fell to the ground. Jessica killed it with a shot to the head.
The audio pick-ups on Daniel's helmet detected the whine of vultures' engines. John and Billy had arrived.

"Where did you get those?" asked Leblanc.

"Their owners were killed," explained John. Daniel noticed that the Zerg had started backing off their attacks on Bravo Squad, clearing the ground before them. What the hell? Suddenly the reason was revealed. Spines burst from the ground all around them. Billy and several marines were hit and fell to the ground.

"Billy!" yelled John.

"Lurker!" Daniel bellowed. Daniel had fought these burrowing horrors before and he remembered the strategy to survive them. Run around like an idiot until someone finds it and kills it. He began to jog randomly around the battlefield. He noticed with relief that Billy was able to evade the creature's attacks despite a bleeding wound in his side. Daniel felt a buzzing in his head. Jessica had jumped onto a vulture and was looking around frantically. Daniel knew she wasn't looking with her eyes. Once more spines erupted from the earth some mere inches from Daniel's feet, causing dislodged stones to pelt his armor. Hurry up Jes! He jumped in a new direction. One of Marzare'ul's templar soldiers charged the Zerg and ran right into the lurker's path of fire. Daniel could feel the warrior's psionic death scream rattle through his mind.

"There!" Jessica pointed to a slime-covered patch of ground. Daniel and everyone else in the area fired. The ground was ripped apart. A huge spider-like creature emerged shouting its rage across the field of battle. Its hard carapace was riddled with injuries that Daniel's companions happily added to. It gave one last scream of hatred and died. Having tried to avoid death at the hands of the lurker, the Zerg had opened a wide gap in their ranks.

"Let's go!" said John from his vulture. Daniel swung into the seat behind him at the same time as Jessica got behind Billy. Leblanc climbed behind her and perched awkwardly behind the grenade launcher. The Teckama brothers engaged their throttles and flew towards the zerg hive through the rapidly closing breach. The buffeting wind nearly knocked Daniel from his seat. He fired his rifle into the crowds that rushed to consume them. One of the possessed protoss launched itself at John and Daniel. Daniel hit it in the chest with his rifle and it was hurled to the ground behind them. He felt exhilarated as they hurtled towards the zerg structure. Then a hydralisk's spike flew past his head and he regained his focus. Looking behind, he saw that about two dozen protoss had placed themselves in the channel behind and were succeeding in causing havoc in the enemy lines.

Now only a small cluster of zerglings and hydralisks stood between them and the base of the hive. A hydralisk's projectile slammed into the left engine of John's vulture. It lost control and spun out. Daniel and John were thrown clear. Though his armor protected him from serious harm, Daniel had the wind knocked out of him. As he stopped rolling he heard an explosion behind him and assumed he had just been saved from a mauling. He jumped up into a sitting position and emptied the last of his clip into a mass of zerglings. Jessica's telepathy and Billy's grenade launcher took care of the rest.

"In here!" said Leblanc, gesturing towards a fleshy tunnel in the base of the living structure. They crowded into its opening and started firing out at the zerg that rushed towards them. Thankfully Mathews and the Protoss were doing a good job of keeping most of them busy.

"Shouldn't we stay at the vulture and use the grenade launcher?" said John. Jessica shook her armored head.

"It's too exposed." Leblanc flipped up his visor, picked his mark through his rifle's scope, fired, and repeated. Daniel had seen him do this before. "Auto targeting lacks intuition," he says. A broad grin spread across his face. I'm glad he's on our side. Daniel picked off a zergling. Then he turned around and examined the tunnel they were in. It split in three directions. On the ground level it went left and right but in the center it led up along the outer skin of the structure. The floor of the upward leading tunnel was studded with ribs that resembled the rungs of a ladder.

"I wonder which way to the Mind?" said Daniel.

"Up," said Jessica. He was going to ask how she knew but decided that she just knew. Telepath.

"Leblanc, Teckamas, stay here and guard the entrance. Cortez with me." She started climbing up the slippery tunnel. Daniel followed, hoping the zerg were all outside fighting the main battle.

Marzare'ul stood surrounded by fallen enemies. Still they flung themselves at him. To his left Tikor blasted the enemy with psionic attacks while to his right Krassus waded through zerg, his blades rising and falling without cease. Finally there came a brief pause after Marzare'ul bisected another hapless zergling. He took a moment to survey the battle. The humans were doing a surprisingly good job considering their crude technology and the enemy's superior numbers.
His attention was drawn to more important matters, as a swarm of zerg advanced on his position. Marzare'ul cast his senses outward into the darkness of space. Drawing energies from the cold void, he formed them into a globe of black fire in his hands. He hurled the orb into the advancing knot of enemies and watched the destruction it caused with satisfaction.

A high-pitched squeal echoed across the plane. Marzare'ul looked upward and saw a scourge hurtling towards him. He choked back rage and summoned a shield of void energy around his two comrades. Fire exploded all around them. Despite the shield, he was flung back several paces. Tikor and Krassus were less well protected and were slammed to the earth. Then it was over. Marzare'ul released the shield and looked around. Krassus was recovering but Tikor did not move. Marzare'ul had no time to worry about the high templar's fate. Four templar - clearly under the control of the Khaydarin Mind - were charging him. One he recognized as an old comrade of Krassus's named Galedorn. Ah Galedorn. This is a cruel turn of fortune. Marzare'ul had only fought fellow protoss a handful of times in his four and a half centuries during conflicts between the dark templar and those of the Khala. He found it even more distasteful now then he had then. They had chosen their fate. Galedorn and the others approached. Marzare'ul bared his psi blades. Two threw themselves at Krassus and the others attacked Marzare'ul.

Blade met blade with electric flashes of blue. A hot flash of pain erupted in Marzare'ul's right arm from the slash of an enemy. He responded with a mighty thrust that burst through the enemy's blade and sliced across his chest. Galedorn took the opportunity to stab at Marzare'ul's left shoulder. He cut robe but thankfully not flesh. Marzare'ul leapt into the air and landed behind his adversaries. Before they could react he decapitated one. The psionic chaos of death burned away the possessed warrior's body. Now he squared off against Galedorn. They lunged, feinted, blocked, and lunged again with neither gaining ground. Krassus had defeated his opponents but was now set upon by zerg and unable to offer aid.

Marzare'ul found himself remembering stories of Galedorn's heroism. He recalled the hundreds of years the veteran had spent protecting lesser worlds as part of the Dae'uhl - The Great Stewardship. He experienced a surge of hatred towards the Khaydarin Mind for bringing things to this. He began to search for a way to defeat Galedorn without costing the brave soldier his life. Then he remembered an ancient technique he had learned in his youth created by some hotheaded dark templar to fight The Conclave that used the energies of the dark templar to rend through the powers of a templar. He focused the powers of the interstellar wastes once more and sent them forth like jagged spears of power. An explosion of crimson energy enveloped Galedorn. When the light dimmed he lay on the ground, burned and scared but alive. Marzare'ul felt some relief at being able to save at least one protoss from a dishonorable and pointless death. The attack on Galedorn had exhausted him but he rallied his strength to continue the fight. For some reason he recalled a strange human phrase he heard once. We're not out of the woods yet.

Daniel clambered up the low, sloping tunnel next to Jessica. His head had started buzzing so he guessed they were close. They had not encountered any guards so he assumed they had all been sent out to fight Marzare'ul and Major Mathews' troops. Still he kept his rifle ready at all times. Occasionally the sound of gunfire would echo up from below. Daniel had never been this deep inside a zerg hive before and it unnerved him. His marine training allowed him to persevere.
Jessica moaned and slumped onto her side.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," she said but she sounded like she had just run a marathon and it took her too long to get moving again. That thing is doing something to her. Upward they climbed. Jessica became slower and slower the further they went. It seemed to be a struggle for her just to put one hand in front of the other. When they were near the top she collapsed again. Daniel rushed to her side. He could barely hear her as she said, "Daniel… Go… Keep…Going… Out me." She seemed to lose consciousness. He tried to revive her but to no avail. He had no choice but to keep going without her.

He bared his rifle and looked back and forth. I could have sworn I heard a hydralisk. He was sure he'd heard a growl but his helmet sensors detected nothing, so he chalked it up to an overactive imagination. Anyone would get jumpy in a place like this. He kept going. A deafening blast echoed through the tunnel. Daniel shut his eyes against the pain it inflicted on his ears. When he opened them he was standing on a street corner. His armor was gone; he was wearing civilian clothes. What in the…? Another skull-rattling roar tore through his ears.

"We have to get moving!" said Penelope, her long, dark hair in shambles. Daniel stared at his sister in disbelief. A waver of people collided with them and they were propelled forward. Daniel tripped and hit his head. He cradled it in his hand and found it covered in knobby, helmet-mounted sensors. He was back in the tunnel.

"What the hell?" He wasn't sure if he'd said it or thought it. That thing is getting inside my head! He tried hard not to panic. There was something fundamentally wrong about the idea. He continued forward but more and more he found himself attacked by odd sounds or images. His sister's face, a hydralisk looming over him, protoss ships burning his neighborhood. At last he reached the top of the tunnel. Ahead he could see the Khaydarin Mind - a man sized blue crystal sitting atop a dais made of the living floor. Inside it were thousands of tiny facets that burned with refracted light and some internal glow. It was probably his mind playing tricks on him but he imagined he could see a face inside its glimmering heart. He stepped out of the tunnel…
…And onto the street.

"We have to get moving!" screamed his sister. They were caught in a press of panicking citizens running for the dropships that would carry them to safety. Enormous protoss ships hovered over the city. They were annihilating it block by block with bolts of energy that echoed through Daniel's mind as much as his ears. He looked back and found his sister getting lost in the chaos of terrified refugees.

"Penelope!" he yelled. She was falling farther and farther behind. Now he couldn't even tell for sure which head was hers. Zerglings pounced into the rear of the column causing people to become even more panicked and disorganized. Screams of pain and terror filled the spaces between protoss spawned thunder. A man collided with Daniel and sent him to the ground. A hydralisk slithered from a nearby alley and towered over him, showing rows of yellow teeth. It raised a bladed forelimb and brought it down. For a moment he couldn't believe it. He couldn't understand the bloody stump where his right hand should be. He looked down at the hand lying on the pavement and reality dawned on him. He howled in agony and horror…
…And fell against the organic wall. Tears streamed down his face as he clutched at his right hand. The ethereal face of the Khaydarin Mind seemed to be mocking him.

"Damn you!" He grabbed the rifle he had dropped and fired. The bullets glanced off the crystal with no effect. There's only one way to finish this. Grabbing an explosive from his belt he advanced on the crystal.

Once again he was lying on the pavement in Tarsonis city clutching at his arm and screaming. With a monumental effort, he pulled himself back to the present. It was only a few paces to the Mind but it might as well have been miles as images from his past constantly assaulted him. One moment he seeing his street get incinerated by the Protoss, the next Penelope was falling behind him or the hydralisk was preparing to strike. He felt as if his mind was being torn apart. He couldn't tell if he was screaming in the present, the past, or both.

As he was being dragged aboard a dropship and losing consciousness from blood loss he felt the hard surface of crystal beneath his outstretched palms. Unsure of how he could be holding a bomb when he had no hand he placed the explosive on the Mind and activated the countdown.
He wasn't sure if he was diving back into the tunnel or crawling up the last few feet of a dropship's ramp but whatever he did he acted on some deep ingrained survival instinct. An explosion sounded and this time it was not the Protoss.

Daniel was lying in a tunnel of flesh, drenched with sweat and weeping. For several minutes he couldn't even remember where he was or how he got there. He just clutched his hand and mourned an oval-faced, dark-skinned girl he would never see again.

Eventually he was able to collect himself and return down the passage. It was even more difficult to get down than up. About halfway down he encountered Jessica. She was leaning against a wall and holding her head.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Without looking up she said, "I have God's own headache but I'll be fine. Are you all right?" Daniel nodded, perhaps a bit too vigorously.

"Yeah I'll be fine. It's done."

"I can tell. Let's go." She grabbed her rifle and they headed down. When they reached the bottom they found John Teckama waiting for them, his visor flipped up.

"There you are. They're dead! The zerg are all dead! The Protoss reckon that thing damaged their brains and they couldn't live without it. Come look!" He led them to the hive entrance. Billy and Leblanc were still sitting in the entrance, looking across the planes but now their guns were silent.
The setting sun set the landscape afire. Zerg were scattered all around; some were still twitching but most had expired. The Protoss were gathering their dead and burying them. The templar were being placed in some sort of large, communal cairn in the shape of a circle, armor and all, whereas the dark templar were being buried individually in circular, well-like graves.

"This is gonna be one hell of mess to clean up," said Leblanc.

"They'll probably have to haul in the arclite to tear this down," said Daniel indicating the artery-lined ceiling.

"We should report in to Major Mathews," Jessica reminded them.

John said, "Yeah. Let's go Billy." Billy didn't move.

"Billy?" John got worried.

"Billy?" Daniel bent down and removed Billy's helmet. He looked horribly pallid. Daniel checked his pulse. "He's alive but he's lost a lot of blood. We need to get him treated before he bleeds out or infection sets in." John shot from the hive shouting for a medic.

Some other good writing

So I'm not much for fan fiction believe it or not. My interest in it was zero before I started writing and even now I have little time for it. However once in awhile I will read something, usually just because I like the writer, and sometimes it'll actually be good. So I thought I'd make a mention of two series I have enjoyed despite their occasional flaws.

One is written by Christena of the Sci-fiUnited network of sites, it's called Star Trek: New Era and I've found it quite intriguing. So far I've read up until chapter three and I'm looking forward to chapter four. She's recently gotten a forum set up for it, here's a link.

The other is based on the reimagined Battlestar Galactica and is written by boomstick of GalacticaBBS, you can find it in GBBS's fan fiction section. It's called Titan V, it isn't what I'd call great but it has some unique ideas and if you're a NuBSG fan you'll probably find it interesting.

If you're wondering what's next for me expect Mind Over Matter-a story based on the wildly popular computer game Starcraft-soon. I'm also planning two sequels to it.

Battlestar Perseus Chapter Six

Well this is it, the last part of BSP. It's been quite a ride. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Tell me what you think, I'm curious if anyone has any favourite characters or scenes. Also, has my writing improved since the "Last day of Libron"? I'd like to extend one last thank you to P0is0n0us for the banners.



When the attack came not all chose to flee. Some decided to make a stand. On the Battlestar Perseus there are 1732 survivors fighting to regain what they have lost…

The hybrid babbled.

"I'll never understand what you think you can hear in that," said Three. Leoben grinned.

"The word of God."

"If you say so."

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"What do you make of this?" She handed him a photograph of a bright flash in space.

"It looks like an FTL jump," he said.

"That's the general consensus; most of us think that the Perseus is sending out the Raven again. This was detected by a patrol near Tauron a few days ago." Leoben got up from where he had been kneeling.

"Did they find the temple?" he asked anxiously.

"We don't know. As you're aware, we haven't had any word from our agent there for some time." Leoben nodded. They left the hybrid's chamber and began walking down one of the corridors in the basestar. Three projected a woodland path beside a river onto her surroundings.

"He's most likely been discovered. Hopefully he will be killed and return to us soon," he said.

"Agreed. Thankfully they haven't gone far enough for us to need the resurrection ship, it won't be ready to launch for another week or two at least. At any rate I wouldn't worry too much, after the punishment we gave them two days ago the Perseus is in no condition to threaten the temple." she said.

"That may be true but humans are unpredictable and it only takes a few well placed warheads to destroy it. Our work at the temple is too important for us to risk it. We have to make sure the Perseus can't threaten it."

"We have raiders out searching for it but it could be awhile before they're successful."

"Then we should strengthen our defenses at the temple," said Leoben.

"That's what the Eights and most of the Sixes have been advocating; I suppose we could pull a basestar off patrols," she said.

"I doubt anyone would object to that. No one wants to take chances with this; we've been working towards it for years."

"Very well, I'll see if I can steal away a few squads of raiders from the assault fleets too. You're right we can't be too careful," said Three.

"Good. Just think, in a few weeks we will be able to begin a whole new era for our people."

"Stand to attention!" shouted Major Anna Erikson, executive officer of the Battlestar Perseus. Everyone on the hangar snapped to attention as the service commenced. A Geminese man from the Caprican Wanderer stepped up to the podium and began to read from a book of scriptures that had once belonged to Commander Brammel. He was the closest thing to a priest they had found. He was a nondescript man with brown hair and a soft voice.

He finished reading and spoke, "We are gathered here to mourn the loss of those killed in the last battle with the cylons. Good men and women who died giving their all for the good of mankind." That's almost true except for the civilians who were killed. Well it makes people feel better, that's all that matters. Commander Hathaway stood behind and to the right of the podium looking out over the crowd gathered for the memorial dedicated to Commander Brammel and the others killed in the cylon ambush two days ago. Most in the crowd were officers on the Perseus but there was also a large grouping of civilians allowed to attend. Chief Campbell had complained about having to halt work on the hangar deck for the ceremony but even he had relented in the light of the number killed. Over a hundred and twenty killed, dozens of hull breaches, systems out all over the ship. It's almost enough to make me want to track down the Pegasus and place the ship under Admiral Cain's protection. Almost. Gods what am I going to do? The man from Geminon continued his speech.
"We are lesser for having lost these people but do not be saddened, for the gods have granted them eternal life in paradise. Their souls are watching over us and we will go forward knowing that we do it for them. Let their names be known so that we may always remember: Thea Brammel, Karen Edmond, Jason Ferian, Marcus Walden…" He continued on for some time. This is a hell of a way to take command. All my heroic dreams of leading a battlestar against the cylons seem so foolish now.

The man finished listing the names. "Now we commit the bodies of the fallen to the timeless depths of space." The viper launch tubes had been filled with the flag draped coffins of the dead and now the inner doors closed and the coffins were launched. "And now Commander Hathaway will say a few words." The man stepped aside and Hathaway took the podium. He cleared his throat and spoke.

"We lost a good woman two days ago. Our commander, Thea Brammel. She was a woman of strong convictions and deeply held beliefs. She and I disagreed often but she was a good leader who had earned her rank well. I find myself constantly wishing for her certainty and clarity of purpose to guide us through these hard times. But she was not the only one lost and we cannot let ourselves forget the others who were lost, there are many stories of heroism tied to the dead, some of which will probably never be known. Close to three hundred people have died on this ship since the attack; let them not have died in vain. Fight on and survive in the name of those lost. So say we all."

"So say we all," echoed those assembled.

Hathaway tossed. He was lying in bed in his quarters - he hadn't been able to bring himself to move into Commander Brammel's quarters. Gods, what am I going to do? We won't stand a chance if we attack the cylon station but I can't in good conscience leave those prisoners to the cylons. His indecision had kept him awake for the last two hours. He sat up and turned on the light next to the bed.

"Frack me." He went to his desk. He spent the next hour pouring over star charts and intelligence reports trying to think of a way they could attack the station without getting killed. There just aren't any plans with a chance of succeeding much better than fifty-fifty. Even if we nuked the basestars guarding it the cylons would just send in more. And even if could somehow pull it off the ship would to damaged to survive even a skirmish afterward. He shut off the lights and returned to the bed in the hope of sleeping but his mind still kept him awake. Every time he thought of calling off the attack the commander's last words would play in his mind. "Save the thirteenth tribe." I don't see them being some mystical equivalent of the thirteenth tribe but they still need saving and it's still her dying wish. Frack! After several more minutes of trying to sleep he got up again and began looking through his books on military strategy. He read for almost another hour until he became too tired to concentrate. He sat back in his desk chair and rubbed his eyes. Gods I'm tired. Damn it I wish the commander was here! She'd be able to make a decision. Hathaway stood up and began to pace. Where do a commander's loyalties lie? His ship or the populace? Do I risk everyone under my command to save hundreds more or leave them to the cylons in the hopes we'll survive on our own? He thought back to his childhood when he'd thought of the military as shining heroes protecting humanity from the cylons. I know what I would have done then, I would have said rescue the civilians; nothing can defeat the colonial fleet! But things aren't that simple anymore. He started to think maybe going through with the attack might be the right thing to do when doubt began to creep in again. But what if it's the wrong choice? What if I send seventeen hundred men women and children to their deaths? All that's left of humanity will be a battlestar commanded by a lunatic. He sat down on his bed and sighed.

"I know why people turn to religion, so they can blame any mistakes they make on fate or the gods' will. What I wouldn't give for that kind of clarity right now," he said to himself. For the first time in his life Hathaway felt a small amount of regret at joining the military. I didn't expect to be responsible for the survival of my species! Once again he was reminded of his childhood when he had dreamed of being an officer in the colonial fleet. He also thought of his father, whom the cylons had killed when he was six. My father wasn't afraid to act when the time came. He thought for a moment. My father didn't join the fleet to play it safe and neither did I. If I'm going to die, let me die fighting, let me die for what I believe in. A plan began to formulate in his mind but it was still sometime before he could sleep.

Captain Tiryn entered the strategy room followed by Majors Erikson and Phillips. It was the next morning and Hathaway had called a meeting to discuss his decision. He was still tired but the knowledge he had made the right choice granted him enough energy to cope. Everyone looked exhausted - most of the crew had been working extra hours since last attack - especially Major Erikson who was still functioning as operations officer until a new one was appointed, this in addition to her new duties as XO. They all took their positions around the table and Hathaway spoke.

"I have decided to go through with the attack on the cylon station." Major Phillips showed no reaction at all but Jack looked oddly pleased.

Major Erikson simply said, "Are you sure that's what you want to do commander?"

"Yes," he said without doubt. She nodded and smiled slightly. "Does anyone object?" he asked. No one said anything. "Very well, then I want some ideas on how to do this without it being a one-way trip. We have twelve nukes left and I intend to put them to good use but that's not enough." Erikson walked over to a computer and pulled up a chart they had made of the area around the station.

"If we jump in here we'll have a clear shot at the two basestars and we can nuke them while they're still launching raiders. Then we can launch raptors to board the station and rescue the prisoners. With luck they won't send reinforcements quickly and we'll only have to deal with a few raiders and whatever defenses the station has for awhile."

"That's more or less what I had in mind," said the XO turned commander.

"It's going to be hard to gather together enough marines for a boarding party; we'll probably have to recruit some pilots again," said Major Phillips.

"Will we be able to do that and still muster enough pilots for a proper air group?" Hathaway asked Jack.

"It'll be a stretch but if we use every pilot I should be able to give you a reasonable number."

"Good, I want you to assign blue squad and a handful of the better ground fighters from the other squads to the boarding party. Get them to pilot the raptors that will transport them too, it's more efficient that way. You'll lead the pilots under Major Phillips as before."

Jack nodded and said, "We'll have to cut into the hull to get out men aboard since I doubt they'll just let us dock."

"Good point; where would be the best place to do that?" said the commander.

"Most of the transports seem to be docking on the lower spokes so I'll wager they keep the prisoners somewhere on the lower levels," said Major Erikson.

Hathaway shrugged, "That's as good a place as any. Lower spokes it is. We'll split the boarding party into four groups, one to go ahead, one to go left, one to go right, and one to stay and guard the raptors."

"What are we going to do about Cavil? It doesn't seem smart to keep a cylon onboard during an op. like this." observed Major Erikson. Hathaway thought for a moment.

"I agree but what do we do with him? If it's true he can download into a new body he'll warn them about the attack," he said.

"I have an idea," said Jack. The others looked at him. "A lot of vipers were damaged in the last attack, some beyond repair. I say we seal him in a viper with no weapons, communication or engines and launch him into space. He'll die but it won't be for a day or two until his air runs out."

"Sounds good to me," said Erikson.

"Alright, that's what we'll do," said Commander Hathaway. He took a deep breath before speaking again. "Now after the attack, no matter how well it goes, we're going to be too badly damaged to do any significant fighting so I intend to carry out the back up plan we made with Commander Brammel; that being settling on Galeos Three. We'll drop off the civilians and wounded on the planet before we jump to the station and return there once we've finished the op." If we finish.

"What will become of the Perseus once we settle on Galeos?" inquired Major Phillips.

"We'll keep it in orbit with a sparse crew, it won't be much of a defense if the cylons find us but it's something. It's an imperfect solution but we live in an imperfect universe." replied Hathaway. No one looked pleased with the idea but no one objected. He paused a moment before speaking again. "Now am I correct in assuming it won't make much of a difference if we wait on the repairs a few days before launching the mission?" he asked Major Erikson.

"More or less, most of the major damage can't be repaired in a long lasting way with the resources at our disposal," she responded.

"Good, because I want to launch the attack tomorrow. That thing's still under construction so the sooner we attack the better. We'll jump to Galeos in a few hours and begin the evacuation of the civilians. Any questions?" None were asked. "Very well. Take your stations. Captain Tiryn you're with me, we have to get rid of Cavil," said Hathaway. He left the strategy room with Jack a step behind. They headed for the brig at a brisk walk, neither of them saying anything. They stepped through the hatch and Hathaway indicated to the marine on guard to open Cavil's cell. "Stand up," Hathaway told Cavil. The cylon obliged reluctantly. At the commander's instruction the marine guard, Private Mathis, placed shackles on Cavil's wrists and ankles. "Bring him," ordered Hathaway. Hathaway and Jack left the brig followed by Mathis leading Cavil. They headed for the hangar deck with Cavil glaring at them all the way.

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me where you're taking me?" asked the cylon. No one answered. "Right, I didn't think so." They arrived at the hangar deck and Jack called over Chief Campbell.

"We need a crippled viper, one with none of the major systems functioning," he said.

Campbell looked at Cavil curiously and then said, "I got just the one for ya. Come with me." They followed him to the other end of the hangar where sat a viper with its left wing and most of its engines destroyed. "You could get it to fly again but it'd be easier to build a new viper," said Campbell. Hathaway nodded.

"Good. Mathis, get Cavil into the cockpit. Campbell, get a welder and prepare to seal the canopy." Cavil's eyes widened as Private Mathis began to drag him toward the viper.

"Wait a minute, what the frack are you doing?!" yelled Cavil.

"You've become a liability; we need to dispose of you without you being able to download and warn your friends," said Hathaway dispassionately. Cavil began to struggle and Jack was required to help Mathis in keeping him under control.

"Get your hands off me!" the cylon bellowed. Jack and Private Mathis continued to drag Cavil towards the viper with him cursing and fighting all the way; eventually they got him into the cockpit. Still Cavil resisted and Mathis had to punch him in head before they could get the canopy in place. One of the deck hands came and began to weld the canopy to the body of the viper while Jack and Private Mathis held it shut. Inside Cavil's face was a mask of fury as he screamed obscenities at Commander Hathaway. Campbell watched with an evil grin on his face. Once the welding was complete Hathaway ordered the deck hands to move the viper into the launch tubes. The damage to the viper's undercarriage made this difficult but after several minutes it was secured in the tube and the hatch was closing. A few minutes later the hatch was sealed and a dull thudding sound signaled the ship's launch.

"Good riddance," said Hathaway. He instructed Jack and Campbell to prepare for the evacuation of the civilians and then headed to take his station in CIC. Hopefully the evacuation won't be too much trouble; all we need is that Sagittaron to start stirring up trouble again. He was almost to CIC when a voice called out:

"Commander!" He turned and saw Lieutenant Bobby Davenport walking towards him with the aid of crutches.

"Lieutenant, I thought you were still bed ridden."

"The doctor said it's okay for me to leave sickbay as long as I don't do anything too strenuous."

"What brings you here?" asked Commander Hathaway.

"I heard you needed a new OO; I wish to volunteer."

"Are you sure you're up to it?"

"My leg may be fracked but I can still sit at a chair and hit buttons. I don't want to be lying in my rack while everyone else is risking their lives." said Lieutenant Davenport. Hathaway considered. He's not as experienced as I'd like but experienced officers without assignments are hard to come by.

"Very well, if you think you can do it you're our new OO."

"Thank you sir." They walked the rest of the way to CIC and stepped in.

Hathaway clapped his hands to get everyone's attention and said, "Attention everyone, let the ship's records show that on this time and date the position of operations officer was assigned to Lieutenant Junior Grade Bobby Davenport." Major Erikson left the operations console to be replaced by Bobby and took her proper station as XO; relief evident on her face. "Prepare to jump to Galeos," said Hathaway to Major Erikson.

"Aye sir. Lieutenant, spin up the FTL and dial in the coordinates for Galeos Three."

"Coordinates dialed in; FTL ready," reported Bobby.

"Execute jump," ordered Commander Hathaway.

Jack looked up as the door to the pilot's quarters opened. Gunner stepped through along with Gremlin and a handful of other pilots. They had been the group assigned to taking the last of the civilians down to Galeos. Gunner sat down across from Jack. Jim and Phoenix were also at the table.

"How'd it go?" asked Jack.

"One of the civvies' kids was screaming the whole flight down but other than that it wasn't too bad," replied Gunner.

"What about the rest of you?" she asked.

"Nothing worth reporting," said Jack.

"I brought down a family of Geminese. After I took them down they had to spend ten fracking minutes thanking me and offering their blessings; I know they're just trying to be nice, but frack I got better things to do," complained Phoenix.

"What about you Jim?" Gunner inquired. Jim shrugged.

"What's to say? A wounded marine and three Picons."

"I don't relish the idea of living there. Frack it was hot!" said Phoenix. Captain Domas snorted in amusement from across the room.

"You see what's like during the summer on Canceron," she said.

"You could always request to stay on the Perseus. I hear Hathaway wants to keep it in orbit just in case," suggested Jim.

"Maybe I'll do that."

"What about you Jack? Any plans for after the mission?" asked Gunner.

"Right now my only plans are to not get ripped apart by a centurion; I ain't thinkin' ahead beyond that."

"You're sure you don't want to assign me to the mission? I was a marine; I know how to use a rifle better than most people here," Gunner said for the umpteenth time that day. Jack shook his head.

"I'm already sending in myself and Jim; if I bring you too Domas is going to be the only squad leader in the air. I need you to lead red squad." She didn't look pleased.

"Alright but remember what I said: make your shots count. Don't just spray into the crowd like you did on Sagittaron. It would work well against unarmored humans but not against centurions." A knock sounded at the so Jack got up and opened it.

"Bobby! You're back."

"Hello Jack. Sorry I can't open the door myself but these crutches make it a bit difficult."

Jack stepped aside so Bobby could enter and said, "I heard you've been promoted."

"Yeah, the commander made me the new OO."

"Well congratulations. It's good to see you out of bed," said Jack.

"It's good to be out of bed. I ran out of paper a few days ago and I've been bored outta my fracking skull," said Bobby. He went over to his bunk and took paper and a pencil; he then turned on his oldies record, sat down at a table, and began drawing. Frack not that record again. Well at least he's feeling better. Jack sat back down across from Gunner.

Phoenix spoke, "So Jack, did they really shoot Cavil out of an airlock? I'd like to have seen that."

"Sort of, they locked him in a damaged viper and shot it out the airlock. He says if we kill him he just downloads into a new body so I figured we could just seal him in viper and he won't die for a day or two, but he'll be out of our hair. Needless to say he wasn't too happy about it."

Jim got up and said, "I'm gonna get some dinner, I want to turn in early."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Jack as he followed Jim.

"Everyone ready?" Jack asked the squad of marines in his raptor. They nodded. It was next morning and the pilots were awaiting the jump that would take them to the cylon station. All the raptors had been placed on the landing deck so that they could launch as soon as the jump was complete. Similarly all the vipers had been placed in the launch tubes. Commander Hathaway didn't intend to waste any time once they arrived. Jack yawned; it had only been an hour since he had woken up. There hadn't been much conversation at breakfast; everyone's mind was on the coming attack. Though many were nervous there was also an odd sense of excitement in the air, like what you feel before a storm in the summer. There was something different in the attitude of every pilot, Jack included. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, perhaps a little less fear in their eyes or a bit more surety in their steps, but people were more confident then they had been since the attack. Maybe it's because we're fighting back instead of running, or maybe the knowledge we're doing the right thing. The ship's comm. officer came over the wireless.

"All pilots prepare for jump." As the distortion of the jump passed through the ship Jack still felt his usual fear of the coming battle but he also felt an odd sense of rightness, as if everything was as it should be. Then the jump was complete and he had no more time for reflection. He said a quick prayer to the gods and engaged the engines of his raptor. The raptors began to depart the landing pods. Commander Hathaway came over the wireless.

"All pilots this is Perseus actual, you all know your jobs. It's time to make the cylons bleed." A few moments later two blinding explosions erupted as the Perseus fired its nukes.

"Snake Eyes to all pilots, you heard the man, form up and then give 'em hell." Jack looked up from his console and saw station. "My gods! I forgot how big it is," he muttered. This time there were no transports but it was surrounded by what looked like hundreds of raiders. On either side the wreckage of the two nuked basestars could be seen. Above it was a third, undamaged basestar, which was launching raiders. The crew on the Perseus must have just noticed it too for the ship launched two missiles at the basestar. They were nukes and Jack was forced to shield his eyes from the brilliant conflagration. At least one of them must have been intercepted because when the light dimmed he saw that while badly damaged the cylon ship was still intact. The Perseus began to train its guns on the basestar and Jack focused on his job as CAG. By now all of the vipers and raptors had been launched and were assembled in one giant formation with the vipers in front and the raptors behind them; dozens of ships arrayed in a wide arc. Jack gave the order to commence the attack and every pilot left from the Perseus and the Lernia engaged their engines. At the same time a massive wave of raiders had gotten into formation and were now speeding to engage the colonial ships. Here we go. Every third raptor had been armed with ship-to-ship missiles and just before the cylon ships arrived they launched them. Numerous enemy fighters were destroyed but it barely made a dent in their numbers. Then the two formations collided and all hell broke loose. What had been an orderly military operation a moment before was now chaos.

"All raptors this is Snake Eyes! Focus on landing, focus on landing!" Jack was hit his braking thrusters hard to avoid hitting Captain Domas as she flew by in pursuit of a raider. "Blade watch where you're flying!" He turned his raptor right towards the spoke chosen as their landing zone. A raider followed him and fired several volleys; Jack took evasive action and they missed but it kept following him. "Snake Eyes to any nearby fighter, I have a raider on my tail. Assistance please."

"Snake Eyes this Monkey, I got him." A viper flew under Jack's ship, then spun around and up so that it faced the raider on Jack's tail. Monkey fired his guns and the raider was destroyed.

"Gunner to Snake Eyes, they got gun batteries on the station, one near the top just ripped through three of my fighters!"

"Acknowledged Gunner." He looked up and saw a group of AA guns nestled between two of the top spokes. "Perseus this is Snake Eyes, an AA battery between two of the station's spokes is shooting up our birds, request missile barrage."

"Acknowledged Snake Eyes." The forward missile launchers on the Perseus fired and the AA guns were obliterated. Jack returned his attention to trying to land his raptor. A trio of raiders strafed the group of ships near Jack. Most of the shots missed but a raptor near his was hit in the engines and careened into the viper belonging to Phobos destroying both ships. A proximity alert on Jack's DRADIS warned him of a cylon fighter directly behind him.

"Frack! Hold on!" he shouted and spun his raptor into a hard roll to the right. The raider soared past him and he barely avoided being shot. I miss my viper. Before the raider could turn on him it was destroyed by the flaming wreckage of one of its fellow ships. Jack was now close enough to the station to pick out small details such as places where the hull was not finished being installed. A heavy shell flew past Jack's raptor. "Whoa!" He hit his reverse thrusters and pulled up hard. He tried to find the source of the shot and saw a group of large guns at the base of the spoke he was attempting to land on. "All raptors; this is Snake Eyes, they've got guns guarding our landing zone. Hold your landings. Repeat: hold your landings! Perseus I have a battery of heavy guns preventing our landing. Request a barrage at the base of the spoke." There was a short pause before Commander Hathaway responded.

"Snake Eyes this is Perseus Actual, Major Erikson is warning me that our guns are too powerful; if we fired there we would breach the stations hull and decompress most of the spoke. You're going to have to get some of your vipers to do it."

"Damn. Roger Perseus. Snake Eyes to all vipers, anyone capable is to attack and destroy the gun battery defending our landing zone." After a moment a number of vipers led by Captain Domas emerged from the pack.

"Orange squad responding to your request Snake Eyes," she said. They flew up the station's spoke as the huge guns blasted shells into their midst. Several were hit but it did not slow their advance. A series of small explosions showed that they had hit their target.

"Blade to Snake Eyes, the way is clear." Orange squad turned to engage the squad of raiders that had broken off from the rest of the cylon ships and made to attack them.

"Much appreciated Blade. Snake Eyes to all raptors, commence landings! I repeat: all raptors commence landings!" Ignoring attempts by numerous raiders to stop them, the raptors made a beeline for their chosen landing zone. Jack's was one of the first to reach its destination. He activated the docking mechanism and sealed the ship to the station's hull. Jack got out of his seat and grabbed a rifle as one of the marines, a corporal Shelburn, produced a torch and several pairs of goggles to protect their eyes from the bright flame. Once everyone on the raptor had their goggles in place and the floor hatch was opened Shelburn began cutting into the shell of the station. Just before the cut was complete the corporal stopped-they had been instructed to wait for a signal from Major Phillips indicating that all raptors were ready; they would then all complete their cuts simultaneously and board in one wave. After a seemingly long couple of minutes the call came through and Shelburn finished breaching the station's hull. With well-drilled speed a second marine tossed a grenade through the hole. Jack and the marines moved away from the hatch to avoid any possible shrapnel. They could hear several explosions from the grenades dropped by each raptor crew to clear the area below. Once things turned quiet the marines removed their goggles and jumped through with Jack a moment behind. He found himself in a broad corridor with lights embedded in the metal walls. The floor was covered in debris; some of it was recognizable as pieces of centurions. Major Phillips began shouting orders.

"Squads form up and move out! Hell-fire, Damien, Sorvis, Goldman, Grin, Tabern, you're with me!"

"Phoenix, Calvin, Shelburn, Wild Cat, Liddell, Jumper, you're with me," said Jack. Jack had been assigned to lead the group that would go straight ahead whenever possible. As soon as the four squads were organized Phillips gave the order to move out. The first intersection they encountered was a corridor branching off to the right from the one they were in. Major Phillips' squad was assigned to go right so they left at that point. Jack and Jim's squads continued on. They passed several more halls to the right then came to a point where passage turned away from the outer hull. Jack sent Corporal Calvin to peek around the corner and see what lay ahead. As soon as the marine looked around the bend shots rang out and bullets bounced off the corner inches from his face.

Calvin flattened himself against the wall and called out, "Two centurions!"

"Toss a grenade," Jack hissed in an attempt to be as quiet as possible while still being heard. I don't know if centurions can hear but I'm not about to assume they don't. The corporal pulled the pin on a grenade and hurled it around the bend. An explosion rung out and Jack shouted, "Go! Go!" With rifles blazing, they rounded the bend. It was clear the centurions had run from the grenade, as they were only slightly damaged but they had still been disorganized. They only killed one marine before being crippled by colonial fire. The humans closed the distance between them and ended the centurions twitching with a few well-placed shots. They continued their march deeper into the station. Before long they came to another place where the corridor curved. When they came around the turn they saw that the passage split in a Y shape, with one corridor going left and one right.

"I'll take the left tunnel you go right," said Jim. He was in command of the group going left.

"Good luck Jim," Jack said.

"You too Jack." The two squads split company and Jack led his men deeper into the station.

Despite the chaos occurring in space it was eerily quiet inside the station and Jack's footsteps echoed off the metallic floor. It had only been a few minutes since he had left Jim but it felt like hours. Jack worked his neck to remove tension. The passageway continued on for what seemed an incredible length without any turns or branches. Then without warning things changed; they entered a baffling area where doors were set into the corridor at every opportunity. Some led off into other hallways while others opened into rooms, most of which were completely empty and served no function Jack could determine. Suddenly Jack heard the sound of gears and machinery.
"Cylons! Take cover!" Jack and his squad ran into a room on their right filled with several thick pipes running from the ceiling to the floor. Jack got behind one of the pipes and the others followed suit. The sound of mechanic footfalls grew louder. Jack peaked out from behind the pipe just as one passed the doorway and looked through. Immediately guns extended from its forearms and it started shooting. Jack ducked back behind the pipe as it was blasted by the cylon. Frack! Jack turned and fired several rounds at the centurion as two others joined the fray. The room was now filled with the deafening sound of gunfire as the colonials traded shots with the three centurions in the doorway. Several of the pipes had now sprung leaks and were gushing a red liquid that was oddly similar to blood. Jack again leaned out from his cover and shot at the cylons. This time he was able to hit one in the knee and it crumpled to floor but kept shooting. While firing he noticed a fourth figure behind the centurions: a cylon he recognized as the short woman from Tauron. She held a handgun and was using it against Jack's men. One of Jack's pilots, Wild Cat, looked out from cover for a moment and was gunned down by the cylons. He screamed and blood sprayed across the room. Seeing no other option, Jack removed a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin, and hurled it into the doorway. "Grenade! Duck and cover!" Jack screamed as he flung himself to the floor. Shrapnel sprayed in all directions but thankfully none of Jack's men were seriously hurt by it.

After the chaos of the fight the silence that followed the grenade blast was surreal. Jack looked up and saw that the three centurions had been completely destroyed. Of the woman there was no sign. He left the room with the rest of the squad a few steps behind. Then he found the woman. He was forced to fight down a wave of nausea and remind himself she was only a machine as he saw the previously attractive young woman holding her guts in with her hands. She looked at him with an expression of rage.

"Finish it," she said. Jack raised his assault rifle, closed his eyes, and squeezed the trigger.

"Let's go," he said. He reloaded and they began walking again.

Phoenix came up beside Jack and said, "She was our enemy. You did what you had to do." Jack sighed.

"I know but my father taught me never to hurt a woman and it still doesn't feel right even if she is a toaster." Phoenix nodded. They heard the sound of approaching centurions again and ran to take cover in a side corridor. When they got close two centurions emerged from it and the two groups nearly walked into each other. The cylons were caught off guard and the colonials were able to dispatch them before they deployed any weapons.

"Frack, that was close," said a marine named Liddell.

"You can say that again," agreed a second marine. Jack said nothing but led the group forward once again. Before they had gone ten meters they heard the sound of approaching centurions again.

"Take cover," whispered Jack. He crouched in a doorway with Corporal Calvin as the rest of squad scurried to hide in doorways or small rooms. Jack looked out in time to see five centurions appear out of a nearby hall and begin firing on his men. He fired three shots and ducked back into the doorway.

Someone screamed, "Grenade!" and an explosion ripped through the hall. Jack looked around the corner and saw that two of the centurions had been completely destroyed and two others badly damaged though still able to fight. He shot a quick burst at the head of one that had lost its legs and it crumpled to the floor. Corporal Calvin leaned out and unleashed several bursts. Judging by the loud crash, he felled one of the centurions with them. Then there was another crash followed by silence. Jack looked out hesitantly and discovered the centurions were defeated.

"All clear!" called Phoenix. Jack and Calvin left the doorway and the rest of the squad formed up again. Without any order they started moving again. Soon they came to a point where the labyrinthine area ended. The path they were using ended and two long passages branched out on either side.

"Which way do we go?" asked a pilot called Jumper.

"Right takes us deeper into the station. It stands to reason the prisoners will be in the heart where they're most defended," said Jack. He turned right and started walking. They found themselves in a long hall that occasionally intersected small corridors. Once in a while they passed an area that was clearly still under construction; often they had no lights or holes in the walls where pipes were visible. When they reached the end of the hallway they found a broad staircase leading up; it turned to the left halfway up so Jack couldn't see what was at the top. He started ascending the stairs and the rest of the squad followed. He turned at the landing and found himself staring at a centurion on the next step up. It raised a taloned hand to strike him. Acting on instinct alone, he raised his rifle and shot it in the head. The machine fell forward and drove him to the floor. Jack could feel the air being knocked from his lungs as it landed atop him.

"Holy frack! Captain, are you all right?" asked Corporal Calvin.

"Ugh. Aside from having the crap scared out of me and getting half crushed by a centurion I'm fine. Now would someone get this thing the flying frack off me?" Phoenix, Calvin, and two other marines grabbed the centurion and hauled it to one side so Jack could stand up. "Thanks." He led them up the stairs and they came to another corridor running to their right. This one, like the others, was periodically connected to other passages or small empty rooms with no discernable purpose. Jack was passing one such room when shots rang out. He dived across the doorway and took cover on the other side as the rest of his squad crouched down opposite. Jack peeked around the doorway to get a better look at his assailants. There were two centurions and three humanoid cylons armed with pistols. Two were identical to the one called Shelley he had seen on Sagittaron. The other was a dark skinned man he did not recognize. Phoenix pulled a grenade from his belt and threw it into the room. A moment later an explosion was heard but the shooting did not diminish. Jack looked to see what had happened and saw that a centurion had thrown itself on the grenade and taken the brunt of its detonation. Jack shot at the dark skinned cylon and hit him in the shoulder. He grunted in pain and fired back. Jack barely got back behind the wall in time to avoid being killed. He heard the remaining centurion moving and a metal arm shot around the corner to smash into the wall. One of its talons pierced Jack's flight suit, pinning him. The centurion emerged from the doorway and prepared to skewer Jack with its other hand. Phoenix shot it in the knee and it fell to the floor. Three shots from Jack and it lay still. With the centurions gone Liddell chucked another grenade into the room. One of the female cylons managed to run from the room before the blast but she was quickly killed. Jack reloaded. Panting from fear and exhaustion, he said, "Move out." They continued forward for several minutes until they reached the end of the corridor. It emptied into a hall curving off to both sides. Jack gestured to the right and they went in that direction. Every few meters the outer wall was interrupted by a passageway not unlike the one they had come from, but there didn't seem to be any offshoots in the inner wall. This assumption proved incorrect a few minutes later when they came to a sealed door in the inner wall. Beside it was what appeared to be a computer terminal. It was set at hand level and had a screen that flashed odd symbols in various colours.

"What do you make of this?" asked Jack.

"A door release maybe?" suggested Phoenix.

"Perhaps a place to enter an access code?" said Shelburn. Jack experimented by hitting a couple of the symbols. He was surprised to find that it was not rigid like a normal computer screen but yielding almost like flesh. He tried several combinations but nothing happened.

"Nothing. What about the door? It looks fairly heavy-duty so it's safe to assume whatever's behind it is something the cylons don't want us finding." The marines went and began examining the door.

After a few moments Liddell said, "You're right, it's pretty tough. We have some charges that might be able to get through it but it would alert anyone inside we're coming."

"They probably already know we're here anyway. Do it." The marine nodded and produced four charges from his backpack. He then placed them at the corners of the door and armed them.

"We'd better put a safe distance between us and here before we blow it," said Liddell. Jack nodded and led them back several meters. When Liddell indicated they were at a safe distance Jack gave the order to detonate the charges. They ran back to the doorway and found it a pile of flaming debris. Cautiously Jack looked around the corner. A corridor several meters long ran to a brightly lit room filled with cylons of both types. The moment they saw him they erupted like an angry swarm of bees. Jack ducked back behind the wall as the hall filled with the sound of gunfire. Jack's squad took up positions around the doorway and began to trade fire with the cylons. Jack emptied his clip into the crowd of cylons with little effect. He reloaded and called to Corporal Calvin. Jack pointed to a grenade in his belt as a way of asking, "Should we use grenades?" The marine shook his head.

"The hall is too long; we wouldn't be able to throw far enough." Jack swore and fired at the cylons. Shelburn leaned to take a shot when a spray of bullets hit him in the neck, nearly decapitating him. Blood spurted in all directions. Jack was forced to look away to avoid being violently ill. After a moment he regained control of his stomach and turned to fire another burst into the enemy ranks. When he ducked back behind the wall Phoenix spoke.

"I have an idea Sir."

"What?" Jack nearly had to shout to be heard over the sounds of battle.

"I can see another hall leading from the other side of that room. I can take a marine around to the other door, blow it, and attack them from the rear. As I'm tearing into them you can charge and we'll crush them." Jack considered. It was a risky plan, not one he would have expected from Phoenix up until recently.

"Alright do it. Take Calvin." They departed. Jack and the other two remaining soldiers focused on keeping the cylons occupied. Then a thunderous blast echoed from behind the cylons. They stopped firing briefly to look behind them and Jack took the opportunity.

"Charge! Go! Go!" They leapt around the corner and began firing indiscriminately. At the same time Phoenix and Corporal Calvin were charging in from the opposite side. The cylons were caught in the crossfire and died quickly, but not before they killed Jumper. The remaining four met in the chamber the cylons had guarded so jealously. Jack looked around in awe. The room was in the shape of a blunt-pointed triangle. While not unusually wide it had an extremely high ceiling, Jack estimated at least two or three stories in height. Suspended over the center of the room was a gigantic crystal of marvelous clarity. It was surrounded by a red glowing circular band that cast a bloody glow to its facets. In place of a floor the room had metal a platform connected to the chamber's exits. It was suspended over a vat of water fed by streams running through slits in two of the walls. After a closer inspection Jack realized the liquid was not water. Whatever it was it had a slight pinkish colouration and was slightly more viscous than water. A slight hum permeated the chamber.

"What do you suppose this place is?" wondered Phoenix.

"I have no idea," responded Jack.

"Captain!" called Corporal Calvin. Jack shook away his awe and turned towards the corporal. Calvin was standing by a third exit Jack had been too distracted to notice; a wide staircase at the base of the triangle leading downward.

"Let's check it out," he said. Jack gathered the remnants of his squad and led them down. Pulsing red lights were located along the walls of the staircase, which provided an uncomfortable reminder of a centurion. They reached the bottom and found a broad but relatively short hall. Closed doors were located at regular intervals along each wall. Jack approached one and saw what appeared to be a large button next to it. He pressed and the door slid open to reveal a huddled group of women in chains.

The lights flickered. A loud explosion caused the hull supports to groan.

"That last hit ruptured the water tanks on C deck!" said Lieutenant Davenport. The Perseus had been fighting non-stop for close to an hour now. The first minutes had not been too difficult; the first three basestars had been destroyed or incapacitated with relative ease. Then the cylons had sent in a two basestars as reinforcement, then another.

"Lieutenant Roberts reports red squad has been all but destroyed," informed communications officer Fallows.

"Focus all forward weapons on AA fire," ordered Commander Hathaway.

"Sir our supply of ship-to-ship missiles in the forward battery is running low," warned Lieutenant Davenport.

"Bring out any spares from the aft weapons lockers," commanded Major Erikson.

"Has there been any word from the boarding party yet?" asked Hathaway.

"No sir," responded petty officer Fallows. Another loud boom rocked the Perseus.

"The port landing pod is taking heavy damage!" reported Davenport.

"Helmsman, take us down two hundred meters and tilt to port fifty degrees. Gun control focus on disabling the basestar to port," said the commander. He looked down at his DRADIS screen-which was fuzzy thanks to heavy damage to the DRADIS sensors-and saw that there was still no sign of the raptors taking off. We can't hold out like this much longer.

"Radiological alarm! Nuke incoming from starboard!" screamed Lieutenant Davenport. Hathaway grabbed his phone.

"This is the commander. All hands brace for impact!" He put the phone down and grabbed his DRADIS console. A thunderous blast was heard and shockwaves ripped through the ship. Hathaway was flung to the floor and everything in CIC went offline. For a moment the only illumination in CIC came from a small fire that had erupted among the damage control computers. The next few minutes were utter chaos as some of the systems came back up and people rushed to extinguish the fire. Hathaway got to his feet. His vision was blurry from the impact to his head.

"Damage report," ordered Erikson.

"The nuke hit our starboard engine. It's been rendered inoperable and we have multiple hull breaches in that section. We're sealing it but we've lost a lot of people down there. We have fires and power failures on all decks," said Lieutenant Davenport.

"Commander we're receiving a transmission; it's from one of the basestars," said petty officer Fallows.

"A basestar? Put it through." He picked up his phone. A woman spoke.

"Commander Hathaway. It doesn't look like you're going to get out of this alive if things keep going the way they are so I have a proposal. If you pull your men off the station immediately and make no hostile actions we will allow you to jump away in one piece. However, should you refuse we will destroy your ship and kill everyone you have on the station." He recognized her accent from the last transmission of the Lernia.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that? If so you're not as intelligent as I thought you were. You are holding colonial citizens and I intend to liberate them."

"Don't be a fool. Are you willing to consign what little is left of your race to death?"

"You seem to be forgetting about the Pegasus, they'll still be here if we fail." An evil grin played across his face. "And somehow I don't think the situation is as hopeless as you want me to believe. Why else are you trying to reason with me when instead of blowing my ship out of the sky?"

"Do not provoke us Hathaway! Ruin what we are doing here and we will hunt you down to the ends of the universe!"

Hathaway covered the receiver with his hand and said, "Load nuclear launch tube four and target the source of this transmission." Then into the phone he said, "I don't see how that would be any different from our current situation. Even if you did let us leave the next thing you'd do would be to send raiders out to find us so you can finish the job. You know what I think? I think you can see that we humans are finally going to hurt you for the first time in this war. You came into this war so confident and now you're about to be hurt and you're scared. You started this. You've had this coming since the moment you broke the armistice. You reap what you sow." He put down the phone. "Launch nuke."

The centurion fired. Jack leaned around the corner and returned fire up the stairs but missed. They had been waiting for the other squads to meet up with them for close to twenty minutes. Jim and his group had arrived quickly but Major Phillips' squad was delayed. They had radioed ahead saying that they were encountering heavy fighting along their route. The cylons had attacked nearly nonstop since they had liberated the women. Despite handing out side arms among some of the prisoners they had only barely held their own. Jack looked at the body of Corporal Calvin as he reloaded. Suddenly there was a blast of gunfire and the centurion collapsed down the stairs.

"Captain Tiryn!" shouted Major Phillips.

"Here! Thank the gods. What took you so long Phillips?"

The major ran down the stairs and said, "Sorry the toasters didn't make it easy getting here. On the plus side I think we may have found a quicker route back to the ships." The rest of the Phillips' squad made it down the stairs; a pilot-Grin-as well as a marine named Damien was missing.

"Everyone ready to move out here?" asked Major Phillips. Jack nodded. "All right then. All prisoners keep to the center and don't get in our way. We'll get you back to the Perseus soon enough. Goldman, Bat, Sorvis, and Mathis you're on point with me. Tabern, Hell Fire, Liddell, and Joris guard the rear. Tiryn, Brawler, Phoenix, and Varus protect the sides. Move out!" They formed up into a long column with the prisoners in the middle. Some were clearly terrified while others showed relief at being rescued. They headed out of the room above the cells and past the circular hall into a corridor that was unfamiliar to Jack. It was much like all the others and ended at a flight of stairs leading down. From the signs of combat and wreckage of centurions Jack surmised this was the way Major Phillips' squad had come. As the front of the column reached the end of the corridor shots rang out. Several prisoners flinched and one screamed as private Sorvis fell to the floor with blood spewing from his chest. Phillips crouched down and began shooting at whatever lay at the bottom of the stairs. Jack started moving forward to help the marine commander when he shouted, "Hold your positions!" Jack stopped. Phillips pulled a grenade and hurled it downward. An explosion echoed through the hall followed by silence.
"The way is clear." announced a tired sounding major. They moved down the stairs and into yet another long corridor. Once again they passed room after empty room. I don't know how the cylons find their way around this place. Gunfire exploded from the rear.

"We got company!" yelled Corporal Tabern. The colonials broke into a run while the rearguard attempted to fend off a pack of centurions. Just ahead of Jack two centurions burst from a room to the left and charged into the human ranks. Metal claws flashed and prisoners and soldiers alike were killed. One of the cylons grabbed Jim. Slamming him against the far wall it impaled him with its right hand.

"Jim!" Jack screamed. Seized by an animalistic rage he threw down his rifle and leaped onto the back of the centurion. It became unbalanced and had to stumble backward to keep its footing. Phoenix blasted it in the torso and it collapsed. Jack rushed to Jim's side and he could see immediately that he was dead.

"We have to get moving!" bellowed Phoenix. His point was reinforced by shots and screaming from the back of the column. Choking back tears, Jack nodded and ran. He could barely comprehend what happened after that. His world was a blur of grief and terror. People died all around him and his ears ached from the constant noise of combat. Eventually he realized they were back in the hall they had landed in and approaching the rear guard. With the cylons still harassing them from behind they began to board the raptors. Jack ended up on a different raptor then he had come in on. Phoenix, two escaped prisoners and Corporal Tabern climbed in after him and they took off. What Jack saw around him was nightmarish. Debris and flaming wreckage were everywhere. The few remaining vipers were fighting against impossible odds and the Perseus was wreathed in flame as it was bombarded by three basestars. Four more basestars were destroyed or crippled.

"Snake Eyes to Perseus we have the prisoners and we are returning home. We'd appreciate it of you could keep the toasters off our back."

"Snake Eyes this is Perseus Actual. I'm afraid our forward batteries are depleted. We can't provide any cover fire."

"Damn. Snake Eyes to all available vipers, request escort back to Perseus for the landing party." Several pilots responded but there were startlingly few left and most of those were too occupied staying alive. A squad of raiders strafed the area around Jack destroying several ships.

"This is Gunner! I'm hit! I have a fire in my fuel lines, I'm gonna have to eject!" Jack looked and saw her viper. The back had gone up like a fireball and she was spinning out of control. She ejected and it exploded moments later.

"Gunner this is Snake Eyes. Hold tight I'm going to get you!" I've already lost one friend today. No way I'm going let it be two.

"Shouldn't we be making for the Perseus?!" said Tabern.

"I'm not going to leave her!" Ignoring bullets and flying debris he kicked his throttle into maximum. Once he got within a few hundred meters he spun so that the right of the raptor faced Gunner. Then he inched sideways on maneuvering thrusters until he was practically on top of her.

"Grab on to the fins on top!" he said over the wireless.

"I can't reach them." He inched closer.

"Okay I have a grip. Are you sure this is a good idea Jack? Has anyone ever tried this before?"

"Do you have a better idea?" She paused for a moment and then said, "Okay, let's go." Jack set a course for the Perseus' starboard landing pod. The colonial ships were now in a full rout; most were simply trying to land in one piece.

"Jack there's a raider on our tail!" warned Gunner. A moment after she said this a spray of enemy rounds passed over the cockpit. Jack began weaving in all directions. The raider continued shooting. A viper above and to the right of Jack was shot down by a different raider and flew overhead to smash into the pursuing cylon fighter. Jack's raptor was now only a few hundred meters from the landing pod. A raider flew by from underneath him and started shooting but the AA gun on top of the pod destroyed it. He entered the landing pod and set down hard. The landing pod was crowded by dozens of raptors and vipers-many damaged. Jack took a deep breath and looked around.

"Holy frack, I'm alive."

Commander Hathaway covered his head as a chunk of metal fell from the ceiling. He looked over to the ash-covered face of Major Erikson. Both knew that if they could only survive a few more minutes they could jump away and victory would be theirs.

"We've lost power to all port batteries," reported an exhausted Lieutenant Davenport.

"Focus any guns we have left on AA fire. Just get our birds back alive," ordered the commander.

"The last of them are landing now sir," said the lieutenant.

"Thank the gods. Spin up the FTL. Load nuclear launch tubes one and two and target the station."

"Sir launch tube two is not functioning," said Davenport.

"Tubes one and three then."

"Aye sir." Hathaway stumbled as the deck lurched. He looked around CIC. Most of the illumination now came from smoldering fires and nearly half of the computer terminals no longer functioned.

"The last of our pilots are aboard commander. FTL is ready," reported the OO.

"Launch nukes and then execute jump." After a long moment of distortion things returned to normal.

"Jump complete commander. Now in orbit of Galeos Three." Things were silent in CIC for a minute. It seemed as if people checked to make sure they actually were alive. Then a great cheer went up from the officers. Everywhere people were clapping, cheering, and hugging each other. Tears of joy ran down Major Erikson's face and Commander Hathaway's face broke into a broad smile. The colonies may be gone, and there may only be a few thousand humans left but in a small way they had defeated the cylons. Their arrogance had been punished and humanity would live on. You could take our homes but you couldn't take our will and you couldn't take our humanity.


Epilogue


A hot wind blew across Jack's face. It carried a hint of moisture from the sea a few kilometers to the east. From the boulder he sat on he could see the cliffs where the new city was going to be built and the vast stretches of arid scrub around them. He heard footsteps behind him. Turning, he saw Major Erikson walking towards him.

He gave a casual salute and said, "Major. What brings you out here?"

"I finished overseeing the well digging and thought I'd take a walk outside the camp. What about you captain? What brings you out here?"

"Just felt like taking a walk. It's been awhile since I could be on a planet without looking over my shoulder for toasters. Have a seat." He gestured to a spot on the rock next to him and she sat down.

"My gods it's hot here," complained the major.

"Aye. And I've been told it isn't even summer yet. I imagine most people will want to live in the caves along the cliff. It's cool in there. Captain Domas says the weather reminds her of home."

"Well at least somebody likes it." They sat in silence for a time, looking out over the desert.

Then Major Erikson asked, "How many of your pilots are planning to move to the surface?"

"Most haven't decided yet. I know Captain Domas is, and I'm pretty sure Gunner - Lieutenant Roberts - is going to move here eventually. Right now she's still enjoying being a pilot and putting red squad back together."

"And what about you? What are you going to do?" she asked him.

"I don't know. I think I want to stay on as CAG for at least a few weeks. There aren't going to be many suitable replacements once Gunner and Domas make the move to the surface. I'd pick Lieutenant Davenport but he's the OO now. Not that an air group is going to make much difference if the cylons find us. I had given thought to being a farmer like my parents; somehow it doesn't seem as boring as it used to. What about you? What are your plans?"

"I'll stay on as XO for the moment. Hathaway's gonna need all the help he can get getting things organized with all the casualties and people moving to the planet. And I can't say the weather endears me to this place." She sighed.

"So Hathaway still intends to try and keep the Perseus running like normal?" said Jack.

"Oh yeah. It's the only thing he knows how to do. Have you ever sat down and talked to the man? The only reason he doesn't sleep in his uniform is because it would get wrinkles if he did." Jack laughed. Major Erikson stood up.

"Well I'd better get back. The last raptor to Perseus leaves at fifteen hundred hours." Jack got up as well.

"I'll come with you. I don't feel like camping out again tonight. My rack is much better." They walked back across the dry plains and into the shantytown that had sprung up along the cliffs. They passed Captain Domas and Major Phillips trying to organize a police force and Chief Campbell constructing a water pump. Jack looked up into the sky where somewhere the Perseus stood watch over this tiny remnant of humanity. He thought of all the people that had died since the attack: Aaron, Jim, Commander Brammel, Major Taylor, Dmetri, Corporal Calvin, Marcus; and prayed their sacrifice would not be in vain.