I've been away so this one is a little delayed.
Seven
The next morning Kat and Starbuck were flying CAP through the asteroid field and their disagreement had not ended. "Face it Starbuck you are getting comfortable on the Pegasus shacked up with your Pyramid player, you've lost your edge."
"I've lost nothing, Kat, which is why I'll be killing Scar"
"Only in your dreams, Starbuck" the younger woman said shifting her fighter up onto its wing avoiding some asteroids. "You should retire to your trainees" she taunted the other pilot. Both pilots were some distance from Galactica now patrolling a thick section of the asteroid field.
"There's plenty time left to retire, Kat, and it won't be today." Starbuck said quietly glancing around the rocks there was a glint of light in the asteroids as something caught her eye.
"Tally, Tally! One Cylon Raider!" Kat shouted moments before Starbuck called in the raider as it began to retreat Scar didn't like a straight up fight. "Haha Scar you're mine!" She said diving her fighter after the retreating Raider.
"You got lead, Kat, I'm your wing!" Starbuck said diving her fighter after Kat's fighter.
The Icarus emerged in the target system depositing its complement of Vipers before jumping immediately to its second set of coordinates leaving the Wildcards to their own fight. "Queen of Hearts to Wildcards, our mission is simple we take out the four Chig fighters and open the door for Paul and Vanessa to lay down their hammers." Vansen said as the Vipers formed up "our Vipers have twice the firepower of the Mk. II and Mk. VII models but we still can't match the Hammerheads." She said "make sure you use your missiles to weaken the Chigs" she reminded them all.
As the fighters continued towards the station being detected by the station's sensors eight Chig fighters launched to engage them. "Jack of Spades, I have double the fighters we were expecting!" Hawke called out
"Twice as much fun" West called back as he and Vansen broke high and to the left following the first Chig fighter. The other Wildcards broke in various angles as four pairs tried to keep the Chigs busy Paul Wang and Vanessa Damphoouse tried to avoid the Chigs, their fighters each weighed down by nuclear warheads.
The Chig fighters although bigger and less manoeuvrable than the Vipers were still fast and still had plenty advantages almost instantly two of the Wildcards Lynch and Hunt were dead cut down by the Chigs. "Got one!" Hawke shouted as missiles struck one of the Chig craft and it exploded spinning end over end Hawke's fighter was quickly facing the opposite direction and a second Chig fighter was behind him he immediately opened fire with all four cannons and his last two missiles "make that two!" He shouted out triumphantly.
"Two over here too, keep your flight suit on Hawke!" West shouted back
"You boys are having way too much fun" Damphoouse called back fighting against the G-Forces "we could use some assistance!" She said as Chig fire flew past either side of her fighter.
"Vanessa, we're on our way" Vansen called back spinning her fighter towards Damphoouse and Wang the two fighters had been avoiding the fight but now were being chased by two Chig craft Paul Wang's craft was ahead of Damphoouse but both craft were under fire.
"One more second" Paul Wang said angling his fighter towards the station. Moments later he fired off his nuclear tipped missile without a moment's hesitation he spun his craft and began to fire his cannon's at the incoming Chig fighter. Damphoouse flew straight past his fighter into her own firing position "I've got your back!" He called out screaming as his fighter charged at the Chig craft, the larger fighter was unstoppable however and in front of the rest of the squadron Paul Wang's fighter exploded as the pursuing Chig fighter rammed it destroying both fighters.
"Missile away! Paul you did it!" Damphoouse shouted triumphantly spinning her fighter around straight into the weapons fire from another Chig craft. Damphoouse's fighter followed that of Paul Wang as it exploded in a ball of flames moments before the first of the two nuclear missiles struck the space station.
Even as the Wildcards fought and died Colonel McQueen was landing on the planet aboard the Raptors. Moving up a sand dune near the facility he peered over the edge and saw a Cylon Centurion standing guard "Cylons Colonel they have formed an alliance." One of the marines said bracing his sniper rifle at the Centurion.
"No wait look" McQueen said sat beside the Centurion a humanoid with cut skin revealing circuitry underneath.
"Silicates" the marine cursed sighting the AI with his sniper rifle.
"Steady marine" McQueen said watching the Silicate and Centurion move in the same exact way. "Marines take the Silicates, they are slaved into the Centurions, take two kills with one shot." He called into his radio moments later there was a series of shots that rang out gunning down four visible Silicates at the same time taking out the Centurions beside them. "From now on we take the Silicates where possible now move in." He said across the sand dune the dozen or so marines and Colonel McQueen charged towards the facility. Across the installation battles raged between the marines, the Silicates and their Centurions with the marines rapidly gaining an advantage.
With the external areas secured the marines began blowing the doors charging into the facility engaging the Silicates inside the building. Several of the marines were killed in the close quarters but even suffering the casualties the marines held their upper-hand. Standing outside a pair of blast doors McQueen stood with the marines as a demolition trooper set a timer. All the marines took several steps away from the doors before the explosion rocked the entire building charging in the marines levelled their weapons at a single individual inside.
Like the Silicates before him he was a humanoid but like the Centurions his body was entirely chrome other than a brightly lit head. "Good Afternoon, my name is Lucifer, I would assume you are here for the human captives held on this planet? Would you require these Centurions to be activated for your use?" He asked bowing slightly looking down at a Cylon Centurion which lay on the desk.
"Not at the moment." McQueen admitted glancing at the Centurion then back at Lucifer "how many humans are here?"
"Five hundred-and-ninety-seven" Lucifer said as matter of fact McQueen was stunned by the robot's revelation he hadn't expected as many. There could be people from the Colonies or from the Saratoga, friends he or the Colonials thought they had lost could be in the number.
"We're going to need a bigger ship" McQueen admitted.
Half way between the planet and the Wildcards battle the Icarus reappeared from its second FTL jump in near perfect position beside the Cylon freighter. Immediately the patrol ship locked weapons onto the freighter "this is Captain Karl Agathon to Cylon freighter. You will surrender or be destroyed." Karl Agathon transmitted through the ship's Wireless. There was a series of beeps in reply before any spoken words replied.
"You have recently attacked our ground forces and our space station?" The female voice asked followed by a second series of beeps.
"Correct, and you'll be our next target if you don't surrender now." Agathon said
"If we surrender you will destroy us." The female replied followed by several more beeps.
"Use the ship's escape pods we won't bother you." Agathon said "you have my word as a Colonial officer."
"How can we accept the word of any human? After all our kind have done to yours?" She replied again there were several beeps. Karl guessed these people had encountered the peoples of Earth before without any of the Earthers on the bridge he had little other options.
"Listen Miss Beep" he said not knowing her name instead using the beeps as an identification without another word only more beeps he continued "I don't care who you are or what you have or haven't done I just want the ship so get the frak off it or we will come and get it ourselves."
"We will comply I thank you for your compassion human." Miss Beep replied with several more beeps. Several moments later the freighter ejected a small shuttle which immediately turned away and began to burn its way clear of the ship.
"Bring us alongside marines are to board the ship and ensure there is no-one left aboard." Agathon said getting used to command of a larger ship. "Contact Colonel McQueen inform him we have the freighter."
"Communication from the planet Colonel McQueen reports planet facility secured and that he needs the freighter intact." One of the crewmen reported Agathon leaned against the console and smiled.
"For once something goes right" Agathon whispered in response. "Once the prize crew is aboard we're going back for the Vipers, hopefully the Wildcards have been as lucky." Soon after the Icarus found that the Wildcards had not been so lucky although the station had been destroyed by the nuclear weapons, and the Chig fighters had eventually been destroyed, five of the squadron had died in the attack including Vanessa Damphoouse and Paul Wang. The other Wildcards were feeling shell-shocked following the battle, they had lost people before but Vanessa and Paul had been with the squadron from its start and their loss had hit home. Even with the recovery of more people from the planet it did not make up for the losses the squadron had taken.
Elsewhere Kat and Starbuck were involved in their own battle the Cylon Raider known as Scar the sole enemy fighter had avoided them continuously ducking and diving behind asteroids which took their fire for it. Other Cylon fighters had jumped in but they had been taken care of by Galactica's other Vipers instead Kat and Starbuck had been left to Scar alone so far Scar had not been able to strike at them either but neither had they "Com'on!" Starbuck screamed seeing Scar escape from her grasp again she and Kat had taken turns at making runs against the Cylon fighter but neither had been able to take a clear shot.
"If your screaming was weapons fire half the Cylon fleet would be dead, Starbuck."
"And if your cursing was as deadly Kat then the other half would be dead"
"An entire fleet between us lucky us plenty targets." Kat joked as Scar flew over an asteroid and weapons fire cut between the space between them. "Motherfracker!" Kat screamed as her fighter took several hits "Starbuck, I've lost an engine!"
"I've got his attention Kat, recover your fighter!" Starbuck said leading the Cylon into the asteroids the two fighters exchanging weapons fire as they went.
"Negative Starbuck we don't abandon our wingmen your first lesson" she said diving her damaged fighter after Starbuck and Scar. "The first one I listened to anyway!" She joked as she followed her damaged Viper wasn't even nearly fast enough to keep up with the other two craft.
Starbuck continued to dodge Scar and asteroids nowhere she went was she able to get a clear shot on the Cylon Raider. "Alright Kat I have one job for you..."
"I'm not heading back to the ship" Kat broke in
"...that's not what I was going to say." Starbuck said spinning her fighter back towards Scar firing off a burst of fire at the Cylon "I'm going to get this son-of-a-bitch right in front of you. Don't miss him or we're both frakked!" She cursed looking her Viper over an asteroid behind Scar followed her fixating on her Viper knowing that Kat's damaged craft was of little threat to it. As Starbuck's Viper looped around the asteroid it brought her onto a direct course with Kat.
"Starbuck break!" Kat shouted in return as the other Viper approached her head-on behind Kat could see glimpses of Scar as it appeared and disappeared from view. "Get out of the frakking way!" She shouted
"Not yet Scar isn't getting away this time!" Starbuck shouted back as Scar's fire came closer to her Viper. At the very last moment Starbuck jinked clear just as Kat opened fire cutting through the space Starbuck's fighter had just passed through into the Cylon Raider known as Scar. The Raider for all it's infamy within the Galactica's Air Group had no more armour or lives than any other craft and it exploded under Kat's fire. Both Colonial pilots cheered at the loss Starbuck had given up the kill to Kat but by the same throw of the dice Kat hadn't abandoned her wingman despite having a damaged fighter which made Starbuck just a little proud.
