Some other ways to enjoy my writing

So I thought I'd mention some less traditional ways to enjoy my writing, both Star Trek fan fiction related to the Save Enterprise campaign at TrekUnited.

The first is something called Enterprise: Interactive Season Five. Lots of places have done virtual S5s for Enterprise, this takes a slightly different road by taking the form of a post-based roleplaying game where the players have a very real impact on where the plot goes. I'll be giving each "episode" a general plot and then the course of it and the ending is determined by the actions of the players. People can also submit their own plots if they want. We'll be starting soon so join up at TU (it's absolutely free), you can find a link on the right hand side of this page.

The other is called Dispatches from the Romulan War. It differs from other fan fictions series in that instead of stories it's a series of news reports from the Romulan war. Anyone can submit an article about pretty much anything related to the war and we are accepting articles not only from the human perspective but from Vulcan, Andorian, and Tellarite news agencies as well so it is extremely flexible and open-ended. DRW is now open to submissions so start sending 'em in. You need to be a member of TU to submit, send your articles to me via PM (I'm under the name ensign edwards), click here for guidelines relating to submissions.

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.

Battlestar Perseus Chapter Five

We are coming to the end of BSP. I hope you'll all enjoy the ending and the lead up to it. Let me know what you think.



When the attack came not all chose to flee. Some decided to make a stand. On the Battlestar Perseus there are 1858 survivors fighting to regain what they have lost…

Colonel Hathaway sipped his coffee and picked up the next form, a report on the amount of fuel salvaged from the Uria Four mining complex and the fleet the Pegasus had abandoned. Not nearly as much as I'd hoped but it should keep us going for another month or two. He took a few bites of his eggs and then read the next form from the pile on his desk. This one was from Doctor Devarro.

I have examined the cylon calling itself Cavil as ordered. At first glance I can see nothing to tell it apart from a human; blood tests, anatomy and brainwave patterns all conform to established norms for a human male of its apparent age. When I performed a detailed examination of the composition of tissue samples it showed readings that may indicate an artificial origin of the material. The difference was slight and had I not been looking for it I would have dismissed it as random variance or perhaps a flaw in testing. As of now I can see no reliable way to detect cylon agents among the general population.

Hathaway sighed and put down the paper. It just gets better and better. He ate a piece of toast and was about to move on to the next bit of paperwork when someone knocked at his door.

"Come in." The door opened and Lieutenant Erikson stepped through. "Good morning lieutenant, please sit down." He gestured to the chair across the desk from him. She greeted him and sat down. "What brings you here?" he asked.

"I wanted to talk to you colonel because I'm a bit concerned. I don't believe the Perseus can continue operating the way it has, skirmishing with the cylons off and on and picking up whatever groups of survivors we can find. We still act as though we're part of the fleet but we aren't, not counting the Pegasus, we're all that's left."

"Do you have any better idea?"

"No but I am sure we can't keep fighting like this forever. Our supplies are running low, we have an overcrowding of civilians who are kept barely under control at best, our ship is badly damaged and our crew is overworked. Sooner or later there will come a breaking point where one of these things will fail and then we all die." Hathaway stroked his moustache in thought. She makes a disturbing amount of sense.

"I think you might be right; there was another fight among the civilians last night. We just don't have enough marines left to keep them all in check. And Chief Campbell tells me that there are a lot of sections where it's only a matter of time before some lucky shot blows through what's left of the hull." She nodded. Hathaway sighed and sat back in thought. Reality is often an unwelcome guest.

"Let's talk to the commander about this." They stood up and headed for the door; Hathaway grabbing a piece of toast to eat along the way. A few minutes later they were standing outside Commander Brammel's quarters. Hathaway brushed crumbs off his uniform and made sure he was presentable before knocking.

"Enter," the commander called a moment later. They stepped in to find her at her desk with a half-eaten breakfast to one side studying photos taken of the ruins they had found on Uria. She looked up after a minute and gestured for them to sit down. "I've been able to decipher a bit more of these glyphs," she said. There was a tone of excitement in her voice he had never heard before,
"It seems this shrine was built by a military company from Kobol led by a demigod. This could be one of the greatest discoveries of the millennium. Now it says they were left behind on Kobol to prevent pursuit when the tribes left but its location and frequent mentions of the thirteenth tribe seem to indicate they got away at some point." She continued staring at the different pictures for another minute before she put them away and resumed her role as commander.

"So what brings you here?" she asked. Lieutenant Erikson explained her concerns and the commander's expression turned serious, "You're right, we can't operate as we would in a normal war. There's no dry-dock for repairs, no supply ships or reinforcements. We need some permanent solution."

"But what? We don't have the resources to defeat the cylons, we can't keep running forever we'll run out of fuel," said Hathaway.

"Settle on a planet perhaps?" suggested Erikson.

"If the cylons found us they could just nuke us like they did the colonies," Hathaway pointed out.

"The scriptures tell us of Earth, the thirteenth colony, we could attempt to find it. Settle there where the cylons hopefully won't find us," said Brammel.

"There are those among the crew who would object to searching for a place whose only evidence of existence is the scriptures," said the XO.

"Such as yourself?" inquired Commander Brammel.

"Such as myself." She sighed.

"Even if we could convince everyone it was a good idea. It's a big galaxy, the odds of finding Earth would be negligible," said the commander.

"So we can't fight and we can't run, what are we to do?" asked Lieutenant Erikson. No one answered for a moment that felt much longer than it was. Finally the commander spoke,

"Well, search the star charts for a good planet to settle on, something where the cylons aren't likely to find us. Hopefully we'll think of something better but if all else fails it will be good to have a hiding spot ready with a jump already plotted."

"Yes ma'am," responded the lieutenant. Hathaway nodded. Brammel looked at her clock.

"It's getting about time to start the day watch. Shall we?" They got up and went to CIC. The repairs on the command center following their rescue attempt on Sagittaron were mostly complete; as complete as they were likely to get with resources the way they were. Hathaway, the commander and Erikson relieved the night-watch and took their stations.

"I got the report on Cavil from the doctor," said Hathaway to Commander Brammel.

"And?"

"She says the difference between cylon and human is almost unnoticeable. She has no means to accurately tell us apart from the machines." The commander shook her head,

"Gods protect us, it just gets worse. How are the civilians holding up?"

"Well the good news is there haven't been any fights since last night. Major Phillips increased security again, he's asked for volunteers from among the pilots to help maintain order. The fact is we just don't have enough marines to keep things well controlled. And I'm beginning to regret making public the knowledge that cylons can look like us. It seems everyone with the slightest behavioral oddity is a cylon in the eyes of our guests. Erikson is right; we can't keep this up much longer." They fell silent. An ensign handed the commander a form that required her signature, she signed and sent him on his way.

"I have a DRADIS contact! Make that three DRADIS contacts. Cylon raiders incoming!" declared Lieutenant Erikson.

"Sound action stations!" commanded Hathaway. The CIC leapt into action.

"Order the vipers into the tubes but hold on launch. Gun Control, target those raiders for AA barrage and fire at will. Lieutenant, spin up the FTL and prepare to jump," ordered Brammel.

"One destroyed, the other two are breaking formation. One is heading for us the other away," reported Erikson.

"Don't let it escape!" said Hathaway.

"Too late, it's jumped away. The other is launching missiles," said the lieutenant. Hathaway swore.

"It'll bring basestars down on us," he said. The deck rattled lightly from the impact of the cylon missiles.

"FTL ready."

"Execute jump," said Commander Brammel. The familiar distortion wave came and went.

"Jump complete. DRADIS shows clear," said Lieutenant Erikson.

"Stand down from condition one," said Hathaway.

"That was a close one," Brammel said.

"Too close," Hathaway replied.

"Want to play some cards?" asked Jack.

Jim shook his head, "Ain't no point anymore now that money doesn't mean anything. Besides I got almost no cash left after the last game."

"What about you Phoenix?"

"Naw. You know I don't like to gamble, Jack." They were sitting around a table in the pilot's quarters. The two days since they found the fleet abandoned by the Pegasus had been profoundly dull, with the exception of the raiders' arrival an hour before. Could be worse, things could be interesting. The room was unusually lacking in people in large part because Gunner had ordered red squad to the gym for drills and the fact that many of the pilots had responded to major Phillips' request for help in keeping order among the refugees.

"Well I gotta do something to pass the time until my scouting mission," said Jack. The commander had recently ordered they return to surveying cylon activities in the colonies using the stealth ship they had recovered from Aegis station.

Jim shrugged, "Nothing to do." Jim had lost much of his usual humor as of late. Jack suspected the constant threat of cylon attack was wearing him down.

"Anyone seen Captain Domas?" Jack asked.

"Not since breakfast, why?" responded Phoenix.

"Just curious, she seems to have disappeared." Jack drummed his fingers on the table impatiently.

"Well since things are so exciting here I guess I'll head down to the hangar deck early. Launch as soon as the ship is ready." He got up and walked in the direction of the hangar deck. A few minutes later he was in his flight suit and walking up to chief petty officer Rick Campbell, a large, poorly groomed man with a perpetual scowl. "I want to launch early, is the Raven ready?"

"No it's not ready; I didn't know you wanted to launch early so of course it's not ready. It's still being refueled. Damn pilots." Jack ignored his characteristic rudeness and went to the edge of the hangar deck to wait. It wasn't long before Campbell called out:

"Hey! Captain In-a-rush your ship's ready!" He's lucky I'm a tolerant CAG, Hathaway would have torn him a new ass for that. Jack climbed into the cockpit of the Raven stealth ship and locked the windshield into place. Counter-intuitively the Raven Mark One was a rather large and chunky ship; one expected a stealth ship to be sleek and small. A group of deck hands slid him into a launch tube and the magnetic rails shot him into space. Jack spun up his FTL and dialed in coordinates for an area of space not far from Tauron, as he was to make a survey of Tauron and the surrounding area.

"Perseus this is Snake Eyes, initiating jump to Tauron."

"Acknowledged Snake Eyes, good luck," responded the ship's comm officer. He made the jump and began his survey route, a spiraling sweep ending at the planet. I always wanted to see Tauron, I suppose I'm getting the chance. He altered his course slightly to avoid a group of basestars. How did a machine come up with those ships? If they aren't shooting at you they're really quite beautiful. The survey continued for sometime, then as he was making an orbital survey of Tauron itself he noticed an unidentified DRADIS contact nearby. Changing his heading he was able to see it. It was clearly a cylon ship; it looked like one of the spokes from a basestar save broader and flatter. It had three large engines at the back and he could see a couple of small ships going back and forth between it and the planet. Better get some pictures. As he moved closer he activated the Raven's optics package and took several shots of the ships. Once he got close enough Jack could see that the smaller ships were of the same design of the one that had killed Aaron the day of the attack; larger than a raider and without the broad, sweeping wings. Looks like they're using them as shuttles, like raptors. I wonder what they're shuttling? He thought for a moment. If I set a steep approach vector I can land in the foothills southwest of where they're taking off from, then get in close on foot and see what they're up to. It's risky, but there haven't been reports of the cylons doing anything like this before and the commander will want to know what they're doing. Attempting to ignore his nervousness Jack turned the ship towards the foothills of Tauron's Salrian mountain range.

The birds sang as he ran through the forest. Having landed in the hills Jack was now moving across land to where he had seen the cylon ships taking off. They better still be there when I arrive. He held his pistol at the ready should he encounter any cylon guards. After moving at a good pace for what felt like twenty minutes he paused to catch his breath. Gods, this place is beautiful, the postcards don't do it justice. Tauron was famous for it's forests; composed of extremely tall and ancient trees forming a dense canopy overhead they were considered one of the greatest natural wonders of the twelve colonies. Jack resumed his running. After about another ten minutes of travel he heard what sounded like footsteps up ahead; he slowed down and began to creep forward. He encountered a break in the trees and peered out. Ahead was a small country road winding between the trees ending in a large clearing containing three of the ships being used as shuttles as well as a group of people he took to be cylons. One he recognized as Shelley the woman from Sagittaron; there was also a tall man starting to lose his hair and a short woman with a ponytail. Every few meters along the road a centurion stood watch, and coming up the road where several small groups of women each being led by a centurion. What the frack? He assumed the woman were humans and not cylons seeing as the way they reacted to the cylons indicated they were prisoners. His theory was confirmed a moment later when one of the women broke away from the group and ran for the trees opposite Jack. The centurion leading her group turned and mowed her down with its guns. It took all of Jack's military discipline to resist leaping out and destroying that centurion. Just here to observe; focus. As he watched a group six prisoners were ordered onto one of the ships by the woman with the ponytail. The ship's engines engaged once they were onboard and it took off. Since when do cylons take prisoners? Jack watched for another minute then left in the direction of the Raven.

Where's it off to? He had been back in space for only a few minutes when the ship had left orbit. It's using sublight not FTL so wherever it's going can't be too far. Jack followed the ship at a safe distance. I'll bet it's transport taking prisoners from Tauron to a cylon base somewhere. Jack's assumption proved correct, within minutes he registered three DRADIS contacts along the course taken by the transport. Two were identifiable as basestars but the other was unknown. As he got closer he was able to see it clearly.

"Gods." It looked much like a basestar at first glance but was significantly larger. It had the same basic design of spokes jutting out at the top and bottom of a center stalk but it had a much larger midsection and four spokes on the bottom instead of three. Glass ridges ran along the top of each upper spoke, getting taller until they met at the center forming one gigantic glass spire. It was beautiful and majestic but at the same time cold and frightening. He could now see a number of transports identical to the one he was following docked on the various spokes and hundreds of raiders patrolling around it. He took a number of pictures of it then retreated to a distance where he could jump back to the Perseus without being detected.

Jack threw the pictures on the table, "Near as I can tell it's some kind of space station." He was in the strategy room with the commander, Lieutenant Erikson and Colonel Hathaway. Commander Brammel had ordered a meeting to discuss his findings.

"And you say they were only taking women?" asked Hathaway.

"At least when I was watching."

"I wonder if they're only taking people from Tauron or from the other colonies as well?" said the commander.

"Judging by the number of transports docked at this thing I would say they're rounding them up from all the colonies. I doubt there's that many survivors on Tauron," said Erikson.

"What would the cylons want with captured human women?" wondered Hathaway.

"I don't know, nothing the cylons do seems to make sense anymore," replied Jack.

"Why doesn't really matter, the important question is what do we do about it? There are possibly hundreds of survivors being taken to that station. There must be some way we can rescue them," said Commander Brammel.

"I agree in principal but practically I don't know that we can. That station is guarded by two basestars and gods only know how many raiders. It's even possible the station itself is armed. We are in no condition to fight those odds. There's also the problem of where do we put them? The ship is already badly overcrowded," said the XO.

"I may have a solution to that," said Lieutenant Erikson, "The commander ordered me to look for a planet we can settle on where the cylons would have trouble finding us. I think I may have one. Galeos Three is far away but close enough; we can get there in two jumps, one if we want to push the FTL to its limit. The star it orbits puts out a great deal of radio interference and the planet is just past an iron rich asteroid field that creates a vast field of EM distortion making DRADIS next to useless. It's possible the cylons could find us there but it would take them a lot of work. We could rescue the prisoners and settle them there." Everyone was silent for a moment as they considered this.

"It's still a pretty big risk, there's a good chance we wouldn't be able to survive long enough to get the prisoners off that station and if the cylons find us on Galeos we'll be sitting ducks," said Hathaway. The commander didn't seem to have heard him; she seemed lost in some thought of her own.

"Commander?" said Lieutenant Erikson. She looked up.

"I was just thinking. The glyphs we found in those ruins mention the thirteenth tribe. Some of what it says could be interpreted as someone trying to enslave the thirteenth tribe as it left Kobol and it being rescued by the company that built the shrine. The scriptures tell us that all of this has happened before and all of it will happen again. What if we are repeating the same role played by that company. If that is the case then it may be our destiny to liberate these prisoners. It says they were led by a demigod, Perseus was the son of Zeus; that makes him a demigod."

"With all due respect to your faith commander, I'm not sure we should be basing life and death military decisions on the scriptures." said Colonel Hathaway.

"You have to admit it's an intriguing possibility," she replied. The colonel grunted noncommittally.

"Didn't it also say they were defeated?" asked Jack.

"Yes, but it also said they were victorious so it's a bit confusing," responded Brammel.

"It looks like this thing is still under construction," said Lieutenant Erikson, who was still surveying the pictures. Everyone looked where she was pointing.

"See these external struts on the lower spoke? They look like what you put on a ship while adding the outer shell."

"I think you're right lieutenant. That would make sense, a station that size would take a prodigious amount of effort to complete in the time since the attack," said Commander Brammel.

Jack spoke, "I say we attack it. Scriptures aside, those are people that need to be saved. I don't know what the cylons have in mind for them but it can't be good. If it's still being constructed there isn't going to be a better time to attack. And if we're destroyed there will still be the Pegasus out there somewhere so it won't be the end of humanity."

"I'm not sure it would be a good thing to have Admiral Cain in charge of our race's future." said Colonel Hathaway.

"It wouldn't be my first choice either but that's why we try not to get killed," responded Jack. The commander thought for a moment.

"Does anyone here object to attempting to liberate the human prisoners and settle them on Galeos three?" Her question was met with silence. "Very well then that's what we'll do. But we'll need a couple of days to prepare, plans need to be made and there are still some ship's systems that need to be repaired before we can even think of battle. Colonel, I want you to interrogate Cavil about this station they've built, try and see what it's for and what they want with human survivors. Tiryn, prepare your pilots. Lieutenant Erikson, I want you to oversee the repairs, make sure we're ready when the time to fight comes."

Jack missed the bull's-eye. It was about an hour after the meeting and he was in the firing range practicing with his pistol. After telling the other pilots about what was coming and a quick lunch he had come here to hone his marksmanship in preparation for the upcoming attack. The news they were planning to assault a cylon stronghold had been greeted with mixed feelings among the pilots but most agreed with the reasoning behind it. One surprise had been Phoenix who seemed eager to get into the fight. Jack fired off three rounds and hit reasonably well with two of them. The comm officer came over the intercom.

"Call for Captain Tiryn, Captain Tiryn please respond." Jack went over to the range's phone and picked up. "Jack Tiryn here."

"This is Corporal Tabern down in the port brig, Captain Domas just came in here and had me lock her up in one of the cells. She said something about her trying to kill a pilot. She's not making a lot of sense. You'd better get down here."

"On my way." Jack put the phone down and returned his pistol to the adjoining weapons locker. He then set off at a quick walk to the port brig. Frack me, what now? The port brig was mainly used for overflow from the main brig but had become the more commonly used of the two out of a desire to keep Cavil separated from other prisoners. Jack arrived to find a confused corporal standing watch over Captain Domas who paced in one of the cells.

"Open the cell," he instructed. The corporal opened Domas's cell and Jack stepped in.

"Go take a coffee break, I'll deal with this." Jack told the marine. The corporal saluted and left. Jack turned to Captain Domas.

"Now would you mind telling me what the frack is going on?" he asked with a mixture of irritation and resignation. The ex-CAG looked up at him; she appeared angry but also frightened, an emotion he had never seen her display.

"I was going to kill Phoenix," she said.

"What?"

"I thought he was a cylon and I waited in alcove with a knife for him to come by and…" She talked very quickly and he gestured for her to stop.

"Whoa, slow down. You thought Phoenix was a cylon?" This is messed up. She nodded.

"You've noticed he's been acting differently since Sagittaron right? More confident, calmer." He nodded. "So I get to wondering why and I also thought it was weird he managed to survive and make it back when so many others didn't and somehow I got convinced he had been killed and replaced by a cylon." That kinda makes sense in a paranoid sort of way. For a moment Jack wondered if Phoenix could be a cylon but he ignored the feeling. Domas continued. "So I decide he's a threat to the ship and I have to kill him. I got my knife and waited in a storage locker near the showers for him to come by." There were now tears running down her face. "I was there for awhile and then it hits me. What the frack am I doing? I'm sitting in a closet waiting for a fellow pilot to walk by so I can slice him open like a fish!" She suddenly became very angry and slammed her fist into the bars hard enough to make Jack wince. She then sat down on the cell's bed and put her head in her hands. "What was I thinking?" Gods this fracked up. What the hell am I gonna do with her? He knelt on one knee in front of her.

"The important thing is you didn't hurt anyone," he told her.

"But I was going to! Frack, I wanted to be a cop I should know better than this!"

"Well I'm not gonna lie to you and say you didn't frack up pretty bad but what matters is you stopped yourself in time. You're not likely to make this mistake again. I need all the pilots I can get, we're launching a big attack in a few days and I need you to command orange squadron."

"I'm not fit to command! Haven't you heard what I said?!"

"Listen Allia, we all have our demons. We've all looked into a crowd and seen cylons but none of us have given in to fear and none of us have given up. You've come closer than most but you still took a step back before it was too late. If times were different I'd send you on leave but I can't. We can't afford to lose any more pilots, either to the toasters or to their personal conflicts."

"I don't know Jack. I don't know if I can trust myself anymore."

"All you have to do is take control and not let your fear control you again. It's your life, you can live it how you want." She seemed to recover somewhat.

"Alright if you think I'm up for duty, I'll try. Damn it, why did the toasters have to start fracking with our minds like this? I can fight a raider no problem, but going to sleep every night not knowing if the next bunk has a cylon in it is too much. Frack!"

"Things are bad all over; we just have to deal with it as best we can," Jack replied. Captain Domas seemed to have gotten her emotions under control somewhat and they left the cell. Jack went to find Corporal Tabern wondering what was going to go wrong next.

Hathaway stepped into Cavil's cell flanked by two marines. One quickly placed shackles on the cylon while the other watched him. They then brought in a table and two chairs, Hathaway sat down at one chair and Cavil was placed at the other. The two marines then stood to either side of the false priest.

"Colonel Hathaway. How are things?" asked Cavil with mock friendliness. Hathaway placed several pictures of the station Captain Tiryn had found on the table.

"What is this and what is its purpose?"

"Why should I tell you?" The colonel nodded to a marine who hit Cavil with the butt of his rifle.

"That's why. Now what is it and what are its weaknesses?" Cavil said nothing so he ordered the marine to hit him again.

"Ah frack!" he exclaimed as blood began to run from his nose. Hathaway let him recover for a moment before resuming his questioning.

"What is it, what is its purpose and what are its weaknesses?"

"Since you're clearly planning to attack it I'll save you the trouble and tell you not to." Hathaway raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? And why not?"

"Well aside from the fact that this ship has taken a pounding and those basestars will chew you to pieces, destroy that station and we will hunt you down and destroy your ship if it takes us a hundred years."

"And why would that be?" His question was met by silence. Hathaway gestured at the marines and they began to beat Cavil again. "Why will they hunt us down?" It took several more minutes of interrogation before Cavil answered.

"The station is considered to be a holy place." Hathaway was taken aback.

"The cylons believe in the gods?"

"We do not worship your false idols. The station is considered to be a place where we will be able to carry out the commandments given to us by God. I personally don't see it as much more than a space station but there are many who consider it a sacred place."

"And just what are these commandments you'll be carrying out there?" Cavil didn't answer. One of the marines delivered a backhanded slap to his face.

"I will ask you again, what are these commandments you're carrying out? What is the purpose of this station?" He again refused to answer. The marine on his right punched him in the cheek. "Let's try this another way, why are you taking human survivors to the station?"

"They are there to carry out God's commandment."

"What commandment?" No answer. Another punch. "What commandment are they carrying out?!" The marine on Cavil's left elbowed him in the head. This is going nowhere. Try something else. "Alright then, who is this God of yours and how did you get these commandments?"

"It's beyond your ability to understand, human," he spat.

"Try me." Cavil once again failed to answer. He got another blow to the face for his silence. "Answer!" He said nothing. It seems it's only going to tell me enough to confuse us. "Let's go back to the beginning, what are the weaknesses of this station?" When he didn't answer the marines once again began to beat him. The interrogation continued for several more minutes with Hathaway learning nothing new. Eventually he called off the marines before Cavil became too severally damaged and left to report to the commander.

Hathaway entered the CIC and took his station.

"Learn anything from the cylon?" asked the commander. He shook his head.

"Very little and none of it useful. It says if we attack the station the cylons will never stop hounding us because they believe it's sacred."

"Sacred?"

"I'm as confused as you are; it says the station was built to carry out commandments given by God. Not gods, just God. Cylons believing in the gods would be absurd enough, but a single God? As far as who this God is or what commandments they're trying to carry out it isn't saying."

"Does anything make sense anymore? Cylons worshiping God, what next?" said Commander Brammel.

"It said they do not worship our false idols, that its God is beyond human understanding; what in the frack does a machine worship?" said Colonel Hathaway.

"Well it doesn't matter; the cylons will never stop hunting us anyway so we might as well attack something important to them. Hit 'em where it hurts," said the commander. Lieutenant Erikson looked up from her station.

"Three new DRADIS contacts; cylon raiders inbound," she reported.

"Sound action stations! Gun Control, target for AA fire. Spin up the FTL and prepare to jump," ordered Commander Brammel.

"One of them is breaking away from the other and preparing to jump," said Lieutenant Erikson.

"That tactic again, target the raider and do not let it escape!" said Brammel. Hathaway watched his DRADIS as the raider flew away from the Perseus. Then it vanished from the screen.

"It's jumped." stated Lieutenant Erikson.

"Damn," Hathaway muttered. The two raiders were quickly dispatched.

"New DRADIS contacts! Two cylon basestars, they're launching raiders."

"What's the status on the FTL?" asked Brammel.

"Engineering has just reported a glitch with the FTL commander; it's going to be a few minutes."

"Frack! Launch the alert vipers, gun control fire at will. Helmsman, take us about and make sure we show them our starboard side." As the ship began to shake from enemy fire Erikson's words from that morning echoed in Colonel Hathaway's head. "Sooner or later there will come a breaking point where one of these things will fail and then we all die."

Jack was launched into space and moved to engage the enemy ships.

"Snake Eyes to all pilots, our orders are to hold off enemy fighters and take some of the pressure away from the Perseus while they nail down an FTL problem. Make sure to stay away from the killing field between the Perseus and the two basestars." Jack crested the port side of the ship and saw a wave of raiders flying towards them just above the spray of shells between the larger ships. One was close and he was able to dispatch it before it noticed him. The raiders in the front row each launched a missile into the Perseus and then broke formation to engage the vipers. One soared right over Jack firing a spray at him, thankfully none connected. He flipped his so that he was now upside and facing the opposite direction and set off in pursuit of the raider. He fired several short bursts but none connected. Pushing his engines to the limit, he closed the distance from his quarry and fired again. He managed to hit its right engine; it became out of control and slammed into another raider, destroying them both. Jack spun his viper around and flew towards the heart of the battle. As he was turning a raider came seemingly from nowhere and strafed his viper. He felt an impact but none of his systems showed damage. A voice came over the wireless.

"This is Dodge to any available pilot. One of my engines is hit, I have a toaster on my tail and I can't lose it!" Jack looked around and saw him, his left engine was on fire and a raider was close behind. Jack set off to intercept Dodge's pursuer at full throttle. Before he had made it halfway the raider fired and Dodge's viper was torn apart. Jack swore and slammed the windshield with his fist. He closed on the raider and shot a burst at it. He missed and the cylon fighter swerved away. It flew between two other raiders and Jack followed at close range and narrowly avoided crashing into the raiders above and below. He fired a long burst and it went up in a ball of fire. Seeing a potential weakness in the cylons, he activated his wireless and spoke.

"This is Snake Eyes, green squad and red squad form up with me. I think we can punch a hole in their formation." The members of the two squads formed up behind him and he led them into the heart of the enemy fighters at full speed. Both sides opened fire and numerous ships, both colonial and cylon, were destroyed. The wireless became filled with screams of the dying and the cheers of the victorious. A raider flew directly towards Jack; it shot off several quick bursts and a bullet smashed into the nose of his viper. His DRADIS went offline momentarily then came back, albeit not at peak performance. Frack that was too close. He was about to pursue the raider when Phoenix flew by and unleashed a barrage which disabled it. "Thanks buddy," said Jack.

"Anytime boss." Despite taking heavy losses the colonials were able to create a hole in the enemy formation as the cylons were either scattered or destroyed. Jack was about to congratulate the other pilots when he saw another wave of raiders heading towards them in a staggered formation. The cylon fighters launched missiles from their underbellies that arced towards the humans.

"Incoming missiles! Scatter! Scatter! Scatter!" Jack screamed into the wireless. The colonial formation flew apart in disarray as they attempted to avoid being killed by the missiles. Jack turned his throttle to maximum as a fleeing viper just above Jack was blown apart.

"Gunner to Snake Eyes red squad is taking heavy losses! We just lost Marcus!" Damn it! Marcus was a good pilot! The missile pursuing him allowed no time for regret; Jack rolled off to his left at incredible speed then shot forward towards the wreckage of a destroyed raider. At the last minute he swerved around the destroyed ship. Jack struggled through the G-forces as a ball of flames erupted behind him. An enemy ship flew in front of him and on instinct he fired. It was hit four times and crashed into the hull of the Perseus. That was lucky. The battle had now lost any semblance of order as colonial and cylon ships flew in every direction. Bullets and debris flew everywhere. Suddenly an alarm sounded and his DRADIS flashed red. "This is Snake Eyes I have a radiological alarm! Repeat I have a radiological alarm! There's a nuke inbound for Perseus! All available pilots move to intercept it!" Jack set off in the direction of the nuclear signature but had trouble pinpointing it due to his damaged DRADIS. He was quickly joined by Jim and a handful of fighters from blue squad. "Brawler. Snake Eyes. Take point, my DRADIS is damaged and I can't pinpoint the missile."

"Roger that Snake Eyes." Before long they had zeroed in on the nuke and Jack could use his eyes to pinpoint it. It was more than halfway to the Perseus. They opened fired at the missile but it was a small target taking a weaving path towards its destination and was extremely difficult to hit. A group of five raiders moved towards them and began shooting.

"Take evasive action but do not fire on the raiders! Focus on destroying the missile!" Jack shouted. He began swinging his viper back and forth in wild attempt to evade being hit by the cylons while still firing at the nuclear warhead. Finally a bullet connected and Jack was forced to close his eyes as a blinding light exploded in front of him. All the fighters colonial and cylon broke away at full speed to avoid by consumed by the massive explosion. Tracker, a pilot from blue squad, was too slow. Jack spun his viper around and shot off a spray at the raiders who had been attacking them. In the confusion he was able to destroy one. The rest turned on him and began firing. I really hope they fix that FTL soon.

Hathaway stumbled and had to grab his DRADIS console to keep from falling.

"That last shock was a hull breach a deck below us," said Lieutenant Erikson.

"What the frack is taking so long with that FTL?!" said the commander.

"One of the EM coils isn't powering up, they've had to replace it," Lieutenant Erikson replied. Several of the lights went down and others began to flicker. "Power surge on deck D, fires reported," said Erikson. There was another large jolt and she added: "Another hull breach, deck A at the join between the forward and mid sections."

"Tilt the port side up, get a clearer shot at them and target their midsections," ordered Commander Brammel.

"Heavy casualties reported on all decks!" shouted captain Sallib, the head of damage control.

"We can't keep this up much longer, if that FTL doesn't get working soon we'll be too badly damaged to manage the jump," said Hathaway to Brammel.

"Radiological alarm! Inbound nuke!" warned Lieutenant Erikson. Oh frack. Captain Tiryn was heard over the wireless.

"Perseus this is Snake Eyes. My pilots are too hard pressed; we can't intercept the nuke."

"All hands brace for impact!" yelled Commander Brammel. A deafening boom was heard and several people including the XO were thrown to the floor. The lights went out, as did most of the computers and DRADIS displays.

"Power surge detected in CIC!" screamed Lieutenant Erikson. The commander's DRADIS console exploded hurling her backwards into the operations console behind her.

"Medics to CIC!" commanded Colonel Hathaway. He crawled over to where the commander lay. A piece of shrapnel had cut a deep slash into her throat and blood was gushing out in time with her heartbeat. Oh no. Oh no. This is bad. She looked up at him. In a barely audible voice she said one sentence.

"Save the thirteenth tribe." Her head rolled to one side and she stopped breathing. In a dead voice Hathaway said:

"Cancel the request for medics." He stood up as some of the lights returned to operation. Everyone in CIC stared at the commander's body in open shock. "What's the matter? Is the battle over? Do you people not have anything to do?" said Hathaway. They got back to their jobs, though all maintained an expression of disbelief.

"Sir, engineering is reporting that the FTL drive is back in operation and we should be able to jump shortly," said Erikson.

"Order combat landings!" The Perseus continued to be pounded by the enemy as the pilots landed and the FTL was spun up.

"FTL ready." Thank the gods.

"Execute jump immediately!" The distortion of the jump was made worse by the damage to the hull, which caused jolts and shakes.

"Jump complete. DRADIS shows clear commander." Hathaway nodded numbly. It's all on me now. He looked down at the commander's body. Lords of Kobol, I don't know if you are truly watching over us but if you are, have mercy on her soul. She was a good woman. She will be missed. Captain Sallib came over with a report on the damage and Hathaway buried his grief and doubt to focus on running the ship.