When the attack came not all chose to flee. Some decided to make a stand. On the battlestar Perseus there are 1653 survivors fighting to regain what they have lost…
Colonel Frank Hathaway opened the door to the ship's gymnasium and entered. The gymnasium was a huge rectangular room that took up a large portion of the midsection on deck C. It was filled with weights, exercise equipment, boxing rings, unarmed combat training areas and even a small running track with obstacles that could be added to it. Right now the room was buzzing with activity; there were pilots, marines and other crew drilling and training on all of the equipment. This was how much of the crew's time had been spent in the two weeks since they had left Aegis station, drilling in preparation for an attack on the cylons that had not yet been planned. The raven stealth ship they had recovered had been sent out on repeated scouting missions observing the cylons and their activity in the colonies. They were hoping to find a weak spot in the cylon forces to hit but as yet they had not. Even so the crew was feeling better than it had since the attack by far. People had regained their confidence and were eager to strike back at the enemy. Hathaway had come to observe the training. He saw Major Phillips yelling at a squad of marines running around the track. George Phillips had taken over from Major Taylor as the commander of the Perseus's marines after Taylor's suicide and seemed to be adapting to the change well. Hathaway moved to far end of the gym where a group of pilots were sparring. He was drawn to one particularly interesting pairing, Captain Domas fighting a man twice her size. They traded punches for a few minutes then she aimed a kick at his left leg and he went down hard. He got up and they engaged again. He charged her but she sidestepped and hit him in the shoulder as he went past her, which sent him face first into the mat on the floor. She's good. Very good. I wonder where she learned to fight like that. He waved over Captain Tiryn who was overseeing the pilots.
"How has the training been going captain?"
"Getting better. Things have definitely improved since the commander said we'd be returning to the colonies. Not so much that they've been getting better in their performance, although they have been somewhat. It's more that before they would complain about the extra drills before and now they actually seem eager for them. Everybody here lost someone in the attack and there isn't a single one of us that doesn't want to repay the cylons for it. Only one that hasn't perked up since we found Aegis is Phoenix; pardon me, Ensign Thomas. You get used to the call signs. Anyway he doesn't seem to have any will to fight left in him."
"Do you think he could be a problem?" asked the XO.
"Don't know. I'd like to think not. He was a good young soldier until the attack."
"Well, keep an eye on him, we don't want him to become a liability to the other pilots."
"Is Gunner back yet sir?" Jack asked.
"Lieutenant Roberts is still away." The lieutenant was the latest pilot to be sent to scout out the colonies. She was observing Geminon and its moon Sagittaron. "Well there's still a lot of room for improvement but I like what I see captain. Keep up the good work."
"Thank you sir."
Ever since the attack he's been acting like a real CAG, I think he wants to make up for being so sub par in the past. Hathaway had never liked Captain Tiryn but his opinion had improved since Jack began trying to improve himself and his pilots. The ship's comm officer, Petty Officer Fallows came over the intercom.
"Call from CIC for Colonel Hathaway. Colonel Hathaway please respond." He walked over to a phone near the door of the gym and picked up.
"Hathaway here." Commander Brammel spoke.
"Colonel, Lieutenant Roberts has returned, she says she found signs of survivors on the colonies."
"Survivors? How is that possible?" said Hathaway.
"I don't know. I want a meeting in the strategy room as soon as she lands. Bring Captain Tiryn with you."
"Yes commander." He hung up and turned back to where the pilots were training.
"Tiryn! Commander wants us in the strategy room."
Twenty minutes later the commander, Gunner, Jack and Hathaway had gathered in the strategy room, a room situated near CIC used for planning attacks and other large scale operations. It contained a large table that currently was occupied by a huge overhead photo Gunner had taken of an area on Sagittaron. It also held numerous computers, star charts and other things needed for planning operations.
"Report lieutenant," ordered commander Brammel.
"As ordered I conducted orbital surveys of Geminon then Sagittaron. For the first few hours it was the same as every other mission has reported. The cylons occupying and rebuilding the colonies for gods only know what purpose. Then I detected an automated colonial transponder coming from Sagittaron. I flew lower to investigate and pinpointed the signal as coming from here," she pointed an area of dense forest in the picture, "near the village of Hawkstown."
"How could there be survivors on the colonies after such a holocaust?" wondered Hathaway.
"For that matter if they're sending out this signal why haven't the cylons destroyed them yet?" said the commander.
"It was a very weak signal; I barely detected it myself, and it was using an old frequency that's hardly used these days. If the raven hadn't been such an old ship it wouldn't have been calibrated to pick it up," said Gunner.
"Does it matter how they're alive? The point is there are still people alive on at least one colony. We have to help them," said Jack.
Hathaway spoke, "Although I'm inclined towards caution, I agree. We need to save as many people as we can and if there is someone down there it's only a matter of time before the toasters find and destroy them."
"You're right; we need to take this opportunity, were there any signs of cylon activity in the area?" asked Brammel of Gunner.
"Not that I saw, right now they seem to be focusing on the major cities. This place is pretty isolated and doesn't have any natural resources that would be of use to the cylons. It's mostly farmland."
"Still, we should probably send in a good-sized ground force just in case," said Brammel.
"Agreed," responded Hathaway.
Commander Brammel picked up a phone and said, "We should bring Major Phillips into this discussion." She called for the marine commander and he arrived within a few minutes. Major Phillips was a man in his late twenties with red hair and the fair skin common among those from Libron. Despite his relative lack of experience, he had proven himself to be a very competent soldier. Colonel Hathaway brought him up to speed and asked his opinion.
"Well, I agree we should attempt to rescue any possible survivors and I agree we need to do so in force, but at the same time there are two problems. One, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves and two, we lost nearly half our marines when the centurions boarded so I'm not sure how many we can send to the planet without making the Perseus vulnerable."
"We have more pilots than we do bunks, could we supplement the marines with them? Most of them have pretty good experience with small arms and some even have experience with larger weapons," suggested Hathaway.
"Small arms and assault rifles are two very different things colonel, but on the other hand I don't see that we have much choice." said Phillips. He turned to Jack, "Who would you be able to send? Who would lead them?"
"I could probably gather up a pretty good group, a fair few of my pilots have training with larger weapons. Gunner here used to be a marine so she's an obvious choice." He swallowed.
"I would lead them. If I'm going to send them into danger I should lead them," he said with trepidation. They spent another hour planning and discussing strategies. Eventually they came up with a basic plan that everyone felt had the best chance of success.
Most of the next two days was spent preparing for the trip to Sagittaron. The pilots were drilled and given instructions from Gunner and the marines on the finer points of rifles and ground tactics, the plan for the landing was refined and assignments as to who would go and who would stay were made. It was decided Captain Domas would command the pilots in Jack's absence, given her experience as CAG of the Lernia. At the end of the second day Jack sat down to his last dinner before the mission with Jim, Gunner, Marcus (better known as Javelin) and Bobby "Fire Starter" Davenport. Jack was worried about the coming day and ate sparingly; Marcus devoured his food with great speed in stark contrast to Bobby, his neighbor at the table, who ate slowly with an almost contemplative air. Bobby was somewhat short and had curly brown hair.
"So you're leaving in the morning eh?" said Jim.
Jack sighed, "Yes, hopefully we can just get in, get the survivors and get out. But I doubt we'll be that lucky." Jack still wasn't sure why he had volunteered, seeing as he could have easily turned things over to Captain Domas, but somehow as unappealing as the thought of seeing more of his pilots die was, the idea of sending them to die without him there to lead them was even worse. I just hope it doesn't start the nightmares again. Jack had only been free of nightmares for nine days.
Gunner spoke, "Remember what I told you. Better to fire once or twice when you have a good shot than to spray everywhere and hit nothing. Save your bullets, especially since we'll run out of explosive rounds fast if we encounter heavy resistance."
Jim chuckled to himself.
"What?" asked Jack.
"Trust the Sagittarons to be the only ones ornery enough to survive the attack."
"Well hopefully this means we'll find survivors on the other colonies," said Bobby.
"Yeah, you're right. Hopefully," responded Jim, now somber.
"I wonder how they could have survived? They would need to have a lot of anti-radiation meds, not to mention a place to hide and avoiding being nuked in the first place," Marcus said.
"It does seem strange. But I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth," said Jack.
"So I hear the commander's been spending all of her off time in the cargo bay with the civilians we rescued. Anybody know what's goin' on?" asked Gunner.
"Yeah I heard she's spending all her time with some priest, brother Cabbell or something," said Bobby.
"Brother Cavil," Jack corrected him.
"You met him?" asked Bobby.
"Yes, when they first arrived."
"What'd you make of him?" inquired Gunner.
"To be honest I didn't like him. I can't figure out what it is, but something about him just gives me the creeps. But I guess if he's making the commander feel better that's all that matters. Pass the salt. Anybody here ever been to Sagittaron?" asked Jack as he sprinkled salt on his potatoes.
"My parents and I took a vacation there when I was young but I don't remember too much," replied Bobby.
"Why would your parents go to Sagittaron for a vacation? From what I hear it's a rainy swamp of planet. Not to mention the terrorists," said Gunner.
"My parents had an interest in history. Sagittaron boasts some of the most ancient and interesting ruins in the twelve colonies. And besides there aren't really that many terrorist attacks, it's just that that's all that ever made the news from Sagittaron."
"I guess that makes sense. I still say the best place for a vacation is the Katemos Islands on Canceron though. Or it least it was before the attack," said Gunner. They continued to chat until they finished their dinner, at which point Jack left and went to bed. He wanted to rested for the mission tomorrow.
The last of the pilots filed into the briefing room and took their seats. Jack stepped up to the podium to begin the briefing. The marines were in another room receiving their orders from Major Phillips.
Slightly less than half of the pilots on the Perseus had been assigned to the mission; they included Gunner, Bobby and Phoenix among others. Jack hit a button on the podium and a photo of the area on Sagittaron they were heading to appeared on a large screen behind him. It had forest in its northwestern section, a town in the southeast corner and farmland in between.
"Alright boys and girls here's the plan. Our mission is to locate and rescue a group of survivors whose distress signal was detected by lieutenant Roberts on a recent fly-by. The signal was traced here," he pointed to a red mark on the photo near its northeastern corner. "In the forest northeast of Hawkstown in the northern hemisphere of Sagittaron. We do not know how many survivors there are or what their condition is. We will land here." he indicated a small pasture at the southern edge of the woods that looked like a bite taken out of the forest. "We will then move to the location of the survivors on foot. The journey is estimated to take approximately one hour. The raptor pilots and a small group of marines will remain at the landing site to guard the ships. We do not have any indications of cylon activity in the area but I'm not stupid enough to think that means we don't need to worry and I don't think you are either. We will be jumping our birds into the lower atmosphere to avoid detection by the cylon fleet in orbit around Geminon so it'll get rough. Those of you with weak stomachs are advised to take anti-nausea medication now so I won't have to explain to Cambell why he's mopping your puke off the floor of a raptor. You are all also required to take anti-radiation meds before we launch. A nurse will administer it to you on the flight deck. Though I am still your CAG this mission will be commanded by Major Phillips so do what he says. The Perseus will remain at its current location awaiting our return however should they come under attack while we are away they will be jumping to a fallback point at coordinates one-one-nine by two-eight by three-two-seven in the Dorian system and we will be required to make a second jump to meet them there. Any questions?" None were asked. "Alright then let's go."
The pilots got up out of their chairs and headed for the flight deck. Jack had mixed emotions. He was very frightened as he always was before a fight but he was also feeling hope at being able to find and rescue survivors. There was a part of him that thought if some people from Sagittaron survived there might also be people left on Airlon. There was also a part of him looking forward to denying the cylons their prize by getting the survivors off the planet and keeping the human race alive.
The marines and pilots queued up on the flight deck and were administered their anti-radiation meds and then moved onto their raptors. They were taking nearly every raptor onboard due to the size of the force they were sending and the need to have extra space for the survivors. They didn't know how many they would find and didn't want to risk leaving anyone behind because they didn't have room on their ships.
Most of the pilots (including Jack) were wearing the combat armor given to marines rather than their standard flight suits since they would be acting as ground troops. Marines were handing out weapons to pilots just before they boarded their raptors. Gunner was given a sniper rifle and Jack was handed an assault rifle that he had only recently been trained to use. A handful was given grenade launchers though most of those went to the marines. They didn't want to take any chances after their last encounter with cylon soldiers.
Jack boarded a raptor and fastened his seatbelt. He shared the raptor with Gunner and four marines he didn't know, as well as the pilot, called Hydra.
As they were taxiing out of the hangar deck Gunner leaned over to Jack and asked:
"Are you sure it was a good idea to bring Phoenix? He looks ready to snap at any minute."
"Not really but I was ordered to find pilots with experience with rifles and his file says he spent a lot of time hunting when he was growing up. That means he knows his way around a rifle." Gunner nodded.
Before long they were in space waiting for the rest of the raptors to launch. As soon as all the ships were in the air they jumped. The usual disorientation of jumping was made worse by the fact that as soon as it ended they began to plummet towards the ground through turbulent air. The only thing showing out the windows of the raptor was gray cloud. The ship was rattled by the air currents as they fell. They emerged from the clouds to find themselves above their target. The ship gave a stomach-churning lurch as the thrusters kicked in to slow their descent. This reminds me of the G-force tests in basic training. The marine next to Jack was turning pale and Jack worried he might lose his breakfast but thankfully he kept it down.
Their descent began to slow and their flight path to straighten out as they made their final approach to the landing area.
Theirs was one of the first raptors to touch down in the small field. Jack got up shakily and opened the hatch. He walked into the field and took a look around as the last few raptors landed. They were in a small pasture that seemed to be a long since abandoned farmers field judging by the remnants of a stone fence he could see in places. It was surrounded on three sides by forest.
The weather could only be described as miserable; it was cold, damp and overcast. It seemed to have rained recently since everything was wet and the ground was soft and muddy.
Major Phillips disembarked and called everyone together at the edge of the field. "Alright everyone, you've been briefed you know what to do. Let's move out!"
The group of pilots and marines entered the woods, weapons at the ready. Judging by the state of the vegetation it was mid to late spring on this planet. Jack noticed he felt a bit lighter on his feet and remembered that Sagittaron is one of the smallest colonies and as such has lower gravity than most other worlds as well as the standard for artificial gravity. Well how about that, I remembered something from science class. That's a new one. Everyone was quiet just in case there were any cylons lurking nearby. Orders were given using whispers or hand signals.
It began to rain, slightly at first then increasing to steady rate not enough to be considered a downpour but enough to ensure everyone was soaked through within a few minutes. This just gets better and better, with weather like this it's no wonder the Sagittarons are so irritable.
There wasn't much undergrowth but it was still a bit difficult to maneuver due to the muddy conditions. Mostly the only things on the forest floor were ferns, grass and the occasional bush. At one point Jack noticed a stone foundation that looked like it had been a house a very long time ago. He felt nervous despite the lack of any sign of the cylons; the memory of the centurions boarding the Perseus was still all too fresh.
They continued to trudge through the swampy forest for what Jack rationally understood to be about three quarters of an hour but felt like many hours because of fear of finding the enemy. Then they found the scouts. They were crossing a small clearing not too different from many others they had passed when a man called out: "Who's there?!" Jack looked up and saw a man hiding behind some bushes pointed a sub-machine gun at them.
"We're a rescue party from the Battlestar Perseus!" responded Major Phillips.
"A battlestar? Thank the gods! We feared the fleet was destroyed." The man stepped out of from hiding and walked into the clearing.
He was a somewhat short man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties, he had short dark hair and a slightly pointed chin but was otherwise nondescript. He wore filthy camouflage colours and didn't look like he'd bathed recently. He was followed by an equally filthy woman who was tall with platinum blonde hair and blue eyes; she carried a pistol and had a hunting knife through her belt. She'd probably be very pretty if she weren't wearing half the forest.
"What are you doing here?" asked the man.
"We detected a distress signal from orbit and came to investigate. Are you two the only ones left?" asked the major.
"No there are more at our camp, we need to keep hidden because the cylons patrol here regularly. We will take you to them. Are your ships near?" asked the man.
"They are at the southern edge of the forest not far." Responded Major Philips.
"That's good to know. Thank you, you're our saviors. My name is Dorral and this is Shelley. We'll take you to our camp."
They were making to move out when Jack heard the sound. The distinctive whine of gears and clank of machinery. Centurions! "Cylons!" he screamed.
Things started to happen very fast. Dorral brought his gun up as if to shoot Major Phillips; the marine anticipated his move and drove his shoulder into the man's gut bringing him to the ground. The woman named Shelley began firing into the ranks of pilots and marines as centurions began to appear out of the trees seemingly from nowhere.
Jack lifted his assault rifle and unloaded several rounds into the woman, knocking her off her feet and killing her. He then turned his rifle on the centurions and started firing indiscriminately as terror began to grip him.
Within moments the forest turned into a scene that could have been one of Jack's nightmares as pilots and marines were slaughtered by cylons and the clearing was lit by grenades and gunfire. Many of the colonial soldiers began to break ranks and flee in all directions. The air was filled with explosions and screams.
Somehow Major Phillips managed to disengage himself from Dorral and began yelling:
"Retreat! Retreat!" He led those still together and alive out of the clearing in a desperate bolt for safety as the centurions followed, guns blazing.
Jack ran faster than he ever had before as bullets whizzed by and people fell all around him. Afterwards Jack was never able to remember if the mad flight took minutes or hours as it all faded into one horrible blur of death and fear. Occasionally he would point his gun behind him and fire one or two shots blindly but he doubted he hit anything.
The major led them into a part of the forest where the undergrowth was much thicker and it was much harder to maneuver, at first Jack wondered what Phillips was thinking but then he realized that the larger and bulkier centurions would have an even harder time getting through and sure enough within a few minutes they began to leave their pursuers behind as they were forced to use their mechanical claws to hack through the foliage.
The colonials emerged into a more spacious section of forest and ran at full speed to lose the cylons. They took a snaking path and attempted to only move across rocks or relatively dry places so as to confuse any attempts to track them. After several minutes of exhausting running without any sign of pursuit they ducked down behind a small rise and Major Phillips called a halt.
Jack almost collapsed he was so tired. He realized that it had stopped raining at some point during their flight.
"I think we lost them." said the major. Everyone was silent for a few minutes as they tried to get their breath. Jack looked around and saw that nearly half their number was either dead or had gotten separated during the retreat. Among the missing was Phoenix. Damn, poor bastard.
"Where are we?" asked Gunner.
"I don't know, somewhere east and north of the clearing." said Phillips.
"We have to get back to the raptors," said Bobby.
"It's not gonna be easy with all those toasters in our way. How the frack could they sneak up on us like that?" wondered Phillips.
"The better question is what were those people doing helping the toasters?" Bobby pointed out.
"I've been thinking the same thing for weeks about the Lernia since the only way it coulda been hijacked was by people helping on the inside. People willing to help the toasters is hard enough to believe but people willing to die for the toasters makes no sense at all." said Jack.
"These are all good questions but we can try and answer them when we are safe and sound on the Perseus. We need to get to those raptors before the cylons do so let's get moving." said Phillips. They began trying to make their way back to the ships.
"This is discrimination!" yelled Caleb Prenian.
Colonel Hathaway had been sent to the cargo bay where the civilians from the Jewel of Tauron were housed because of a number of complaints made by the young art student from Sagittaron. He was now forced to listen to a litany to complaints about as long as the ship's landing pods. The dark haired young man seemed to have a very big chip on his shoulder.
"Sir I can assure you we are not discriminating against you in any way. You are treated the same as everyone else." Hathaway said in as soothing a voice as he could manage.
"I don't want to hear one more word of it! I have been marginalized since the moment I stepped on this ship! I'm not allowed in virtually every section of the ship, I have to wait until everyone else finishes to use the showers and no one here is willing to talk to me! I am little more than a prisoner here and all because I'm Sagittaron!"
"Mr. Prenian, as far as the first two things that is standard procedure for treatment of noncombatants aboard a battlestar. You can't expect us to put you before our soldiers who protect us everyday. The reason it doesn't apply to the other evacuees is because they have all volunteered to help us in some way and even so their privileges when it comes to roaming the ship are greatly limited compared to our standard crew. As far as no one talking to you that is a personal matter and not my concern." It's probably because you glare at everyone like they are about to strap you to a pole and sell tickets.
"I refuse to contribute to the military tyranny that has oppressed my people for generations, does that make me less of a human to you?" said Prenian in response.
Hathaway rubbed his eyes. This is not what I signed up for. "Listen to me, we have no wish to discriminate against you or treat you unfairly because of your lineage but there is nothing we can do about your complaints. You are going to have to learn to live with being onboard a military ship and following its rules. It's not like there's anywhere else for you to go."
Caleb looked ready to object again but seemed to think better of it and instead went to lie down on his cot looking furious and oppressed.
Colonel Hathaway left the cargo bay and went to get some lunch in the mess hall and calm down. Can't he just be grateful the toasters didn't kill him? For frack's sake! While he was en route a message came over the intercom from lieutenant Erikson.
"Action stations! Set condition one throughout the ship. This is not a drill. I repeat: Action stations. All hands set condition one throughout the ship! This is not a drill."
Hathaway ran for CIC, all thoughts of food forgotten. Fracking Sagittaron! I should be in CIC! He burst through the door to CIC and took his position beside the commander.
"I was detained by our guest in the cargo bay. What's our situation?"
"Two cylon basestars have jumped in and are launching raiders. We're spinning up the FTL and are preparing to jump to fallback coordinates." replied commander Brammel.
"Gun control fire on the cylon ships, keep them on their toes until we can jump." ordered the XO. The floor vibrated as the first enemy missiles hit.
"FTL ready!" said Erikson.
"Jump now!" said the commander. The distortion that came from jumping was felt and then things returned to normal.
"Stand down from condition one." Hathaway instructed.
Commander Brammel shook her head. "How do they manage to find us at such inopportune moments?" she said.
"Beats me commander." replied Hathaway.
"Multiple DRADIS contacts!" reported lieutenant Erikson.
"Who?" demanded Hathaway.
"Two cylon basestars and numerous raiders. It looks like the same group followed us." Replied Hathaway. "How the hell could they have found us? Gun control fire all weapons on the cylons! Should we prepare to jump commander?" he asked.
"We can't jump until our landing party gets back or they won't be able to find us. Launch the alert vipers, prepare to defend the ship." replied Brammel.
"Yes commander. All hands prepare to repel the cylon attack!" Ordered Hathaway just as the lights flickered from a volley of enemy fire hitting the ship. The cylons have us right where they want us.
"Helmsman position us so as to minimize the target we present to the cylons without comprising our ability to fire." ordered Brammel.
"They're trying to hit us in the aft port section where we were nuked by the Lernia. The hull is still weak there." said lieutenant Erikson.
"Come about so the other side is showing to them but try not to let them get too good a shot at our engines." said colonel Hathaway.
Unlike most battlestars the Cerberus class had only two engines; it was easier to maintain and allowed for more power in forward motion but meant it was easier to disable its sub-light capabilities.
Captain Domas came over the wireless. "All my birds are in the air and we are moving to engage the cylon fighters."
The wireless began to buzz with the chatter of combat. Thankfully due to the overcrowding of pilots the Perseus had only slightly fewer pilots than usual to send into the fight. Still it was yet another disadvantage for a damaged ship whose fighters were severely outnumbered at the best of times.
Hathaway stumbled as the ship was rocked by an unusually violent blast.
"Hull breach on deck C; casualties reported." said lieutenant Erikson.
"We could be stuck here for a long time, our estimates were that the mission would take three hours and that was optimistic. They've only been gone just over an hour and a half. Recommend we fire nukes." Hathaway said.
"No," said commander Brammel. "We have a very limited supply of nukes, I don't want to use them unless we have absolutely no choice."
"We have to do something, we can't just sit here and get shot at." said Hathaway.
The commander thought for a moment. "Helmsman take us between the two basestars at maximum speed, gun control prepare for a spearhead maneuver." She picked up her radio.
"All pilots prepare for spearhead maneuver."
The spearhead maneuver was where a battlestar flew through a group of enemy ships firing all guns in three different directions, forward guns shooting straight ahead and all other guns firing port and starboard. The vipers would then follow in the ship's wake and cause further damage and chaos. It was designed to break enemy formations and create disarray. Though other ships could use it the Cerberus class had been designed specifically for the spearhead maneuver. The class was named after the mythical three-headed dog because of the three directions of fire. The CIC prepared to carry out the maneuver.
"Turn completed, accelerating towards enemy ships." reported the helmsman.
"Guns ready." said the officer in charge of gun control.
"Captain Domas reports ready." said petty officer Fallows.
"Commence spearhead maneuver." commanded Brammel. The deck hummed as the sub-light engines kicked into maximum speed. The lights went out briefly and the deck shook from a hit by an enemy missile.
"Power surge heading for CIC!" warned lieutenant Erikson.
"Duck and cover!" shouted colonel Hathaway. Everyone got down and covered their heads. There was an explosion in a cluster of computers and one of the operators was hit by a ball of fire.
"Medics to CIC!" ordered Hathaway.
"What computers have we lost?" asked Brammel.
"One damage control and two FTL navigation computers." responded lieutenant Erikson.
"Could be worse." said the commander. Hathaway checked his DRADIS screen and saw that they were now directly between the two basestars. He braced himself on a console as they were hit by another powerful blast.
"Bulkhead support collapse on deck G, casualties reported. Damage control teams en route." said lieutenant Erikson.
Medics entered CIC and began to treat the wounded. Hathaway looked at the DRADIS and saw that they had passed through the cylon forces. "Spearhead maneuver completed." he said.
"Lieutenant Erikson, report on effect of spearhead." said Hathaway.
"We destroyed about a quarter of the enemy raiders but the basestars are still relatively undamaged commander." Was the reply.
"Come about and continuing firing on the basestars. Try and hit them in their midsection where the spokes meet." Brammel ordered.
Hathaway spoke; "We can't keep this up much longer. We're outnumbered and out gunned. We need to jump."
"We can't leave our landing party behind." said the commander.
"I agree; send one of the raptors they didn't take. Tell them to get off the planet immediately, bring them back here and jump away."
Brammel considered for a moment, working her jaw in thought. "Alright, launch a raptor, tell Captain Domas to get her vipers to guard it until it jumps. Spin up the FTL and get ready to jump as soon as our troops are back onboard."
The rain had started again. The landing party from the Perseus had spent the last twenty minutes trying to find their way back to the raptors without success. Luckily they had not encountered any more cylons. Jack was walking next to Gunner, keeping an eye for any signs of centurions.
"We lost Phoenix." he told her.
"I know." Gunner replied.
Jack lamented, "I shouldn't have brought him. He wasn't up for ground combat. He was already too stressed."
"It wasn't your fault Jack, you said it yourself you needed people with rifle experience. If you'd sent someone else it would have just been someone without proper training or experience into a situation where they would be a risk to himself and everyone around them."
He knew she was right but it didn't make him feel any better. Jack heard a strange high-pitched whine that was followed by an explosion on a hill not far from them. Everyone crouched down out of reflex.
"What the frack was that?" asked Bobby.
"Sounded like a mortar." said Major Phillips.
They got up and began moving again, this time with more urgency. Before long more mortars began to hit throughout the forest.
"Sounds like they're coming from the direction of Hawkstown. They're having to guess where we are." deduced the major.
Suddenly the sound of metallic footfalls was heard and Major Phillips shouted, "Centurions! Take cover!"
Everyone dove behind trees, rocks or whatever other cover they could find. Jack got behind a thick trunk of an evergreen moments before the forest floor where he had been was strafed by machinegun fire. Jack peaked around the tree and saw that there were about eight centurions firing at them.
Jack fired a short burst at a centurion and hit it in the knee; it stumbled but righted itself. He ducked back behind a tree and was hit by a blast of splinters as a barrage of cylon bullets hit it.
The colonials and cylons traded shots for a few minutes with neither side gaining ground. A mortar landed just behind the human forces with a deafening boom. A wave of searing hot air rushed over them and the rearmost marine was hit by shrapnel. The marine didn't get back up.
"They've transmitted our position! We have to get out of here!" bellowed Phillips.
They began to fight with increased desperation as another mortar landed a few feet from them. Jack loaded a clip of explosive rounds (his last one) and fired a long burst at the centurions. Two went down, one completely disabled.
"Why don't we use the grenade launchers?!" Jack yelled over the din of battle.
"Were too close! It's too dangerous!" shouted Gunner.
"Seems to me we're in danger anyway!" he replied.
"Tiryn is right! If we stay here we're mortar fodder. Grenade launchers fire! Duck and cover!" called out Philips.
Everyone took cover as the cylons location exploded from grenade hits. Shrapnel filled the forest but none of the humans were hit.
"Charge!" roared the marine commander. The colonial troops burst from cover and charged the cylon position shooting at anything in the area that was still moving. The centurions were quickly overwhelmed and the colonials bolted away from the mortar's field of fire.
They continued jogging through the woods for some time, only pausing to check what direction they were heading in with a compass. The mortars continued to rain destruction throughout the forest but the cylons no longer had a means of knowing their location so none hit near them.
Gunner held up her hand and called for them to stop. "Wait! I recognize where we are, see that tall tree over there with the burrow in its trunk? We passed it on our way in."
Major Phillips took a look around and said, "You're right, this is the way we came in. We're not far from the raptors now. Varus, Liddell run ahead to the raptors and tell them to get ready to leave as soon as we get there."
The two marines ran ahead. Jack was impressed with their ability to still be able to run at full speed after jogging around the forest for hours. He felt ready to collapse any minute. They followed the two marines at a light jog. Before they were halfway back to the landing area Varus and Liddell came running back towards them out of breath.
"The cylons have captured the ships!" said one.
"Frack!" exclaimed Phillips. "How many? Did they see you?"
"I don't think they saw us major. There looked like there are at least thirty of them." Said Varus.
Phillips sat down on a rock and began shaking his head. Out of fear or frustration Jack couldn't tell.
"Damn, damn, damn." said Phillips.
Jack began to worry. How are we going to get off this gods forsaken rock?
The major got up and seemed to gather his strength. "Well we can't just sit here. Let's try and find a position where we can get a look at what we're up against."
They headed out slowly, trying not to make any noise as they got closer to the raptors. The mortars were still shooting but none were landing in the section of the forest they were now in. Probably don't want to risk hitting their own troops.
They circled around the landing field and eventually found a heavily forested hill overlooking the raptors where they could observe with little risk of being seen. They quietly settled themselves into a thicket at the top of the hill comprised of evergreens and small bushes.
Jack looked out over the landing site while Major Phillips scanned it with binoculars. There did indeed appear to be at least twenty to thirty centurions guarding the ships. The field was littered with the bodies of the pilots and marines left to protect the ships. Then Jack saw something very strange, a woman stepped out of one of the raptors and began walking through the field unmolested by the centurions.
"Major hand me those binoculars." he whispered urgently. Phillips gave them to him and he pointed them at the woman. It was the woman they met just before the ambush; Shelley. She was cleaner and in much nicer clothing but it was unmistakably her. How is that possible? I shot her. She's dead! "My gods."
"What do you see?" asked the major.
"It's the woman from the clearing." replied Jack as he handed the binoculars back to the major.
"Lords, you're right. How can she alive? I've seen tougher people die of lighter wounds than what you did to her."
They sat in silent surveillance for another minute then Major Phillips spoke up again. "There's somebody else there now."
"Who?" asked Bobby.
"A man, short, gray hair. She's talking to him."
"Let me see." said Jack. Phillips handed him the binoculars again and Jack trained them on the man Phillips was talking about.
"Oh frack. It's brother Cavil." said Jack.
"Who's that?" asked one of the marines.
Jack explained, "The priest we picked up from the Jewel of Tauron. What's he doing here?" Son of a bitch this getting way too weird! How could he have gotten here from the Perseus and what's he doing with the toasters? Frack me.
"What the frack is going on here?" asked Gunner.
"Listen it doesn't matter how they got here, the important thing is they're working with the toasters. We need to get to the raptors, if they get in our way it'll be the worse for them. We need to attack and recapture our ships now." said the major.
Suddenly they heard a rustling in the undergrowth behind them. Everyone pointed their guns backward and got ready to shoot. A figure emerged from the bushes and there was ensign Paul "Phoenix" Thomas. He looked horrible. He was covered in mud and debris from the forest floor and his right arm had clearly been slashed by a centurion as it had four deep cuts in it. There was something else different about him too, since the attack his expression had shifted between grief, fear and shocked resignation whereas now he had a hard aggressive look in his eye. He looked ready to fight.
"Phoenix! Gods what happened to you?" asked Jack.
Phoenix climbed the hill and sat just below Jack. "After the ambush I tried to run back to the raptors. I got separated from everyone else and was nearly killed by the centurions but I was able to escape in the chaos and made my way back here. I was just about to enter the field when they attacked the raptors. It was awful, they slaughtered them like cattle. Not long after that blonde woman showed up and started sniffing through the ships. I've been wandering around the field since trying to see if there was a weakness I could attack, then I your heard voices and came here."
Jack slapped him on the shoulder and said, "Good to have you back boy."
"Sorry to interrupt the reunion but we need to get on those ships and outta here before the toasters find us." said Major Phillips.
"What's the plan?" asked Gunner.
"You stay here until we recapture the ships and provide sniper fire. Everyone else charge with me, those of you still have grenade launchers I want you in the front row on the sides of our assault. Unload all the grenades you have left before we get close enough to risk hitting friendlys but be careful not to hit the raptors. Roberts, I want you to start shooting just before we leave the woods. Everyone else just load your explosive rounds, keep shooting and stay alive."
They were about to move out when their radioman announced they were receiving a transmission, he activated the speaker on low volume. "Landing party come in. Gremlin to landing party, you are ordered to pull out and return to the Perseus immediately. I am moving to your landing zone now, report there ASAP."
Major Phillips grabbed the microphone on the radio. "Gremlin this is Major Phillips, pull up now. I repeat pull up now. Cylon ground forces have captured our landing zone, if you leave the clouds you will be shot down."
"Oh frack, pulling up now!" responded Gremlin.
"What are you doing here?" asked the major.
"The Perseus was attacked by cylon basestars and they were followed to the fallback coordinates. They cannot hold out much longer but are unable to jump while you are down here."
Jack was somewhat impressed; if it were him he didn't think he would be able to risk his life for the landing party. He would probably just leave them to die.
Major Phillips spoke into the microphone. "Stay in the clouds, we are about to try and retake the ships. If you haven't heard from us in twenty minutes jump away and tell the Perseus we are dead."
Gremlin replied back, "Understood major."
Phillips put down the radio and turned to the remnants of the landing party. "We can't wait any longer, we have to attack now. Go! Go!"
They stood up and ran down the hill towards the raptors as Gunner began to pick her shots.
Jack's usual fear at entering combat was somewhat muted by concern by those at risk on the Perseus, he thought of Jim and Marcus and the civilians they had rescued among others.
Just as they were about to burst from the foliage Gunner's shot rang out and a centurion collapsed from a headshot.
All the centurions in the field turned towards them and moved to engage. The battle was joined.
Jack shot three rounds into the closest centurion and it toppled like a felled tree. Two more centurions turned on him and fired. He dove behind a raptor as two marines that had been behind him were mowed down. He heard explosions as the grenade launchers opened up. Jack leaned out from cover and emptied his clip at three of the enemy. Two were hit and one was badly damaged. He got back behind the ship and reloaded. Damn, I'm out of explosive rounds.
The air was filled by the sounds of gunfire and the cries of wounded. A grenade flew by Jack and there was an explosion a few meters on the other side of the raptor. He peeked around the ship and saw the way was clear so he moved up to the next raptor, which happened to be the one he had come in on. Hydra was lying facedown on the ramp in a pool of his own blood.
A centurion appeared from behind the engines of the raptor. Luckily it didn't see Jack right away or it would have shot him dead. Jack squeezed the trigger on his assault rifle and unleashed a long blast at the centurion. Even without explosive rounds it took damage and fell to its knees. It was about to get up when a bullet struck it right in its red "eye". Thank you Gunner.
Phoenix, Major Phillips and a pilot called Phobos ran past the raptor and Jack joined them. They came around a raptor into the center of the landing field and spotted two centurions. At about the same time Bobby ran at one of the cylons and opened fire. It was not damaged and responded with a blast from it's own guns. Bobby was hit three times, once in his left leg and twice in his chest.
"Bobby!" shouted Jack. He and his companions fired on the two centurions and they were quickly dispatched thanks to the fact Phoenix and Major Phillips still had explosive rounds.
"You three go on ahead, I'm gonna try and get Bobby to safety!" said Jack.
Jack ran to Bobby and began dragging him to the nearest ship. Once inside the relative safety of the raptor Jack grabbed the ships first aid kit and began to treat Bobby's wounds. He was slightly pleased to discover that one of the bullets had been stopped by the body armor they all wore.
"You're gonna be okay buddy." Jack assured bobby as he bandaged his leg. Bobby groaned in pain as Jack tightened the bandages. Next Jack patched up the wound in Bobby's chest and attempted to stop the bleeding, then he gave him an injection of painkillers. Right I think that's all I do for now.
Jack picked up his gun and took a look outside the ship. He couldn't see anyone from where he was but from the sounds of things the battle was winding down. Within a few minutes the sounds of gunfire stopped.
Phillips began yelling. "Alright everyone on to the raptors! Hurry, the Perseus is in danger! All pilots find a raptor and power it up! We have more raptors than pilots so we're going to have to leave some behind. If anybody has any grenades left use them to disable the ships we leave behind. Radioman, tell Gremlin we will be leaving immanently!"
Jack put down his rifle and hopped into the raptor's pilot seat. He began to power up the engines and prepare for flight. A trio of marines boarded the ship and strapped themselves in. A moment later they were joined by Major Phillips and another marine.
Explosions echoed out as they disabled the raptors were leaving behind. The hatch was closed and Jack fired up the engines.
He radioed the other raptors. "This is Snake Eyes to all raptors, spin up your FTLs and jump to the fallback coordinates as soon as you're far enough above the surface."
Jack activated his jump drive and took off. "Did you get brother Cavil or the woman?" he asked Phillips.
"No. There was no sign of them." Replied Philips.
They were now flying up through the dense clouds. The ship rattled slightly from turbulence. Jack got a green light on his FTL panel. "Jumping now!" He activated the FTL drive.
Jack could tell immediately that the Perseus was in trouble. It was being pounded by two basestars and was swarmed by raiders. Just after he'd completed the jump he saw a cylon missile blow a hole in the ship's forward section.
"Snake Eyes to Perseus, landing party is returning."
"Snakes Eyes this is Perseus actual, thank the gods you're here."
"We're gonna land ASAP Perseus, please tell Blade to give us an escort."
"Acknowledged Snake Eyes, how many people were you able to retrieve? Where are the rest of the raptors?"
"We didn't recover anyone actual, it was a trap. The signal was sent by toasters. We lost over half our number. Is brother Cavil still onboard?"
After a pause was the reply," Yes, why?"
"We saw him on Sagittaron, he was working with the cylons."
"What? How is that possible? Are you sure?"
"Positive actual, recommend you search Cavil's quarters and arrest him if he's till there."
Colonel Hathaway entered the cargo bay followed by two of the marines who had stayed on the Perseus. They marched down to the tent brother Cavil had set up as his living space. Those in the cargo bay looked at them with curiosity, with the exception of Caleb who looked at them with open suspicion.
Hathaway lifted the flap into the priests quarters and said, "Brother Cavil, you are under arrest."
Cavil looked up from the book he had been reading. "What for? What is this about?"
"We have reason to believe you are a cylon agent." He turned to the marines. "Take him."
The marines began to handcuff Cavil.
Cavil protested, "I don't know what made you think I'm working for the toasters but it's not true. Why the frack would I work with the cylons?!"
"Take him to the brig." instructed Hathaway. The marines dragged Cavil off as he continued to complain and profess his innocence.
Hathaway began to search through Cavil's belongings as he was hit by the disorientation that signaled a jump. He opened up a duffle bag and began throwing out clothes and other belongings in a search for evidence. It was nearly empty when he found a strange device. It was roughly a half sphere in shape and mostly white. What the hell is this? He grabbed it and left the cargo bay at a run.
He found the nearest phone and dialed CIC. "This is colonel Hathaway, Cavil has been arrested. I found some kind of device in his quarters; I can't determine its function. Request orders."
Brammel responded "Shoot it out an airlock. We can't take the risk that it's a bomb or a homing beacon."
"Yes commander." Hathaway put down the phone and ran to the nearest airlock. The airlocks were located near the cargo bays. He put the device into the airlock and sealed the hatch. He then entered his password and blew the airlock. Hathaway breathed a sigh of relief once the thing was blown out. He then headed for CIC. When he arrived he found a repair crew working on the damage CIC.
"The device has been removed from the ship." Hathaway reported as he took his station.
"Good." responded the commander.
"What's the situation?" Hathaway asked.
"DRADIS shows clear and all hull breaches and fires are under control. We are expecting Captain Tiryn to arrive soon and report on what happened on Sagittaron."
Within a few minutes Jack arrived in CIC. He was covered in muck, grime and blood.
"Report captain." said Brammel.
Jack proceeded to explain everything that had happened between when they landed and when they jumped back to the Perseus. He was clearly shaken up by everything that had happened.
"I don't get it, why would anyone choose to side with the toasters?" said Hathaway.
"It doesn't seem to make sense but it might explain a few things if they had human agents working among for them, like how they were able to disable the fleet and how they hijacked the Lernia." said commander Brammel.
"What I wonder is, how could Cavil have been down there and up here at the same time? And how could that Shelley woman have been dead in the clearing and alive at our raptors?" pondered Jack.
Brammel sighed and leaned on her DRADIS console. "Too many questions not enough answers. You're dismissed captain, go get yourself cleaned up."
Jack snapped a salute, "Thank you commander."
Brammel turned to colonel Hathaway. "Prepare to interrogate brother Cavil. It's time we got some answers."
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