In shock, Celeste pulled out. She was barely aware of Apollo finishing the destruction of the two Cylons. She was barely aware of anything. All she could see was Ithaca squadron being destroyed, one by one, by a Cylon attack force. She saw herself, unable to help them, hopelessly caught in Vaga's gravity. She saw her home in flames. She could do nothing. She saw the smiling family she never knew in the picture she used to have on her desk at the Academy. They were gone. All of them. She saw Starbuck, cocky and handsome, at the card table on the Galactica. He was gone too, now. She could do nothing.
Yes, she could. Because she knew…
"NO!" yelled Celeste. She turned her Viper and turboed straight in the direction of the Cylon basestar.
"Lt. Celeste! Get back here!" Apollo ordered.
"But Starbuck…we've got to…" Celeste stammered.
"There's nothing we can do now." Apollo had tears in his words.
Celeste swallowed hard and reversed her Viper's course. The fleet needed her now more than Starbuck did. There would be time, later.
Poor Apollo, thought Celeste, Starbuck's like a brother to him. Now he's lost two.
Celeste halfheartedly rejoined the battle. Aside from Starbuck, the Warriors seemed to have the upper hand in the fighting. Celeste fired here and there. She shot a Cylon off the Red Squadron leader, Ajax's tail. Then she shot one off Boomer's. She hardly noticed when her main engine exploded.
"I'm hit," she said matter-of-factly.
Apollo blasted the Cylon who shot Celeste's Viper.
"Are you okay? You'd better try to get back to the Galactica, Lieutenant." Apollo sounded very concerned.
"Yes, Captain." Celeste wasn't in the mood to argue. She rolled her Viper to line it up with the nearest landing bay. She tried to slow it down, but the controls were unresponsive.
"Uh, oh," Celeste said. She flicked her comm. to the Galactica's channel.
"Uh, Galactica, I've got a problem."
"Who is this?"
"This is Lt. Celeste of Ithaca Squadron," Celeste answered without thinking, "Um, requesting permission to make emergency landing in Bay, uh, Alpha."
"Please hold."
"Yes, ma'am," Celeste sighed frustratedly, "Hold! Hold? Exactly how am I supposed to do that?" she shouted at no one.
Her comm. crackled, "Permission granted, Lieutenant. Landing bay Alpha is notified and ready."
"I hope so! Tell them to get out of the way, I'm coming in hot!" Celeste said. She concentrated on the small hole that was Alpha Bay. This was hard enough when I had full control. Celeste thought grimly.
She brought the Viper in fast and hard, trying desperately to slow it down. It hit the landing bay floor at an angle; the landing gear crumpled, snapped off, and skidded across the bay ahead of the Viper. Sparks flew from the skidding metal ship on the metal bay floor. Finally, the Viper crashed to a stop into some empty storage barrels. Ground crews began spraying it with fire retardant almost before it stopped.
Celeste leaped out of the cockpit, down the hastily moved staircase, and hit the ground running toward the launch bay. She flew past the medical crew who waited for her. Bewildered, they watched her go.
She reached the launch bay in record time (not that there was a record for that particular activity) and halted next to an empty Viper. Before anyone could react, Celeste had powered up and launched.
On the bridge, this caused a commotion.
"Sir, an unmanned Viper just launched from Bay Alpha!" a bridge crew officer named Athena cried. She was Commander Adama's daughter, and her job was to monitor the Vipers.
Commander Adama looked perplexed, but remained calm and cool.
"Impossible. Who's flying it?" Adama asked.
"All available pilots are already in the air, sir!" Athena listened to her earpiece. "Wait, except a Lt. Celeste who just landed a crippled ship in Alpha Bay."
Adama shook his head, but he said nothing.