Sam ran as fast as his legs would carry him.
The audible ping of bullets meant to end him echoed from arch to arch, support to support, hall to hall. Weather it was the oncoming rush of Six's or a gun battle three levels below, Sam knew he had to survive. He had to win.
He raised his rifle, looking down the iron sight and fired. The bullet exited the barrel of his rifle and traveled at a great speed, covering the distance needed in less then the blink of the human eye.
A blond blur that had darted forward became a pink heap on the floor. Sam waited. Five. Four. Three.
He counted down the seconds in his head and then ran forward. He was sorely tempted to spray into whatever may await him as he rounded a corner. Conservation of ammo won out.
It had been all Tigh's fault. Build a ship easy enough to defend with narrow halls and limited points of entry. Sam was happy he hadn't had to take the colony back from Cavil like he was doing now, aboard the hub the risks were far greater.
Download into enemy base camp and watch centurions, his friends try to come save him rather then focus on winning the battle. That couldn't happen.
'Maybe I should've sprayed and prayed. Fracking Six's couldn't hit the broad side of Aerelon barn.'
He peered down the hall and prayed a lucky bullet didn't find its mark. A wry sense of amusement washed over him as he realized something totally devoid of the here and now.
'I'm going to have to give them a software update. Ha! If Saul could see his army now, poor man be ashamed to see this kind of defense. Worse then Canceron at the colonial cup.'
Of course it wasn't Saul's soldiers he was fighting nor any kind of army the five would've been proud to lay claim to. Without the individual will and freedoms they had known since their creation on the colonies, the centurions suffered horribly. The closest Sam could come to comparing this battle was Tauron before the war. Militia had been cut down in spades by the better equipped forces of the Tauron government. An untrained farm boy with a rifle was no match for a combat veteran. That's why they fought dirty.
The centurions didn't have the brains, literally, to take advantage of anything other then numbers or base squad on squad tactics.
'Cavil better have a virus or something up his sleeve. The colonials would massacre these guys...fracking old battlestar's could wreck our people if this is the best that bastard can offer.'
"I'll just run across this hall, shouldn't be too far then."
Sam burst into a run, passing weaker walls of glass as opposed to metal.
'The labs where we made the rest of em.'
While One, Two and Three all were birthed aboard the colony, the rest had come to life aboard the Hub.
The pinnacle of cylon construction and the last major project the five completed before Cavil's treachery.
'such a frakking waste. Cavil wouldn't know how to operate these rooms, he's only obsessed with putting blood on the scales. Seven children exist because of him, we had plans for so much more though' Sam thought regretfully.
Like Saul's vision of a vast cylon armada a thousand strong, Sam and Tory had proposed they create many more children. That was the real Plan.
The cylons had always had one. To build a new world, a new civilization as diverse as that of humanity on kobol or the colonies but superior to the first attempt on earth. Consensus rather then a hereditary rule between opposing factions. Ellen's father had been an enemy of Saul's and their ancestors had like wise been power brokers in the exodus of kobol.
'How could we have not known this would all happen' Sam thought as he neared destination.
The sudden impact shocked him out of his reverie, the onset of pain wasn't what Sam imagined it might be though. Cavil had been right about one thing, he could shut it off.
He fell backward on instinct as glass shards flew in front of him from the left side, the heavy gun making its presence known. As Sam rotated his weapon to fire in response, falling while doing so, he registered his hand.
In one instance he saw five digits, the next he saw three, leaving only his thumb, index and middle finger intact.
Sam's body hit the ground. A spray of fire shattering still more glass, Sam brought his fully bleeding hand to his face for protection. Some of the blood naturally fell onto Sam's mouth, as he exhaled a deep breath he could taste the metallic iron in his own blood.
'blood on the scales my ass' Sam thought. A human might have screamed, gone into shock or become a suicidal force driven by adrenaline.
Sam did none of this.
Looking at his crippled weapon he went over in his head every action to be taken methodically. Doing this was a fracking risk to be sure.
'Better not frack this up.'
The firing increases, spraying more windows to more labs. This section of hub resembling the latest all glass enclosed classroom on caprica. Sam liked to think they'd been ahead of the curve thirty-five years ago.
The firing ceases.
'grab the grenade'
His undamaged hand reaches for the explosive.
' pull the pin'
As the grenade comes off his vest, a bloodied index finger reaches over and pulls out the pin.
' Frak this is stupid. Three.'
Sam leans back, tucking in his feet before pushing himself forward.
' Two'
Lifting off with his knees he jumps rather then stands.
'One'
He see's the centurion, standing to the side of a birthing chamber meant to incubate new models. The machine's left hand Is on a magazine while the other holds an empty rifle.
'Zero'
As the magazine is halfway in its journey to the rifle, Sam throws the grenade.
In slow motion you could see the centurion's eye as it catches sight of the grenade. The sound of the magazine clicking into the ammo feed on the rifle is faint. The gun comes up to take in Sam within its cross-hairs.
'I'm gonna die' Sam thinks as he notes the rifle's line of fire come to bear on him.
The grenade explodes within two inches of the centurion's torso. Part of the floor around the birthing pool gives way to the weight of the centurion and the damage of the grenade.
The centurion falls into the shallow pool, consuming much of the four by seven foot space.
'Thank god and the caprica buccaneers' Sam sighs.
The machine however still flops its arms around attempting to right its damaged body. Like some kind of life terminator, its pressing on with its goal.
Sam begin to hop toward the birthing pool. Weary of the centurion and wondering for once why he isn't flanked by centurion of his own.
The centurion's intelligence catches a break while Sam's back is turned, having walked past the centurion and the birthing pool, Sam is vulnerable to the ambush.
One cannon nestled within the centurion's right arm comes out to play.
Same turns around a hundred-eighty degree's, his good hand withdrawing a pistol, the two exchange brief fire.
'fraking hell!'
The bullets leave their respective starting points at the same time, those of the pistol pass those of the centurion's hand cannon. Bullets meant to come up against armor as well as flesh tear into Sam's right shoulder, wounding it like the left. Another hits Sam's chest, one tearing through flesh and a rib to exit out Sam's back. The next pierces Sam's right lung, fragments of bone come into play to further cause internal bleeding.
Sam realizes he'll be dead soon.
His hand drops the gun. The centurion's eye still oscillates but it makes no move to attack him.
'Why don't you finish it. I helped build you I know you can get up out of that tub and kill me, I'm dead now or later but you don't have mind to think of such sadistic torture.'
Cavil would though. Cavil had watched them all slowly suffocate to death in that god forsaken room. Cavil had looked on as they'd bloodied metal and glass trying to claw their way to air on the other side.
'If Cavil has his way, the colonials wont know the favor a quick airlock is for my people. Cavil's gonna cut em open before he lets them go to the next life.' Sam thinks darkly.
The centurions eye ceases oscillating back and forth, it fixes in the center, looking directly at Sam.
An audio begins to play within the otherwise mute slave centurion.
"Hello Dad."
"John?"
"In a manner of speaking. I see your worse for ware, must be all the soft human like tissue. Oh wait, that's a problem going into combat isn't it? Must be unfortunate, poke too many holes and you'll be all over the place." Cavil's voice sneered.
"I'm not dead yet. Give...give up john. We can get the others back, yea know be a family."
Sam slowly back against the wall. Feeling the exposed wiring with his good hand.
"Oh. Bargaining huh. Tell you what. Lets skip bargaining and go straight to reflection and reception."
John's hand clasps the right cable. Or he hopes its the right one.
"Jho...Son we can still sort this out. I know your angry."
"Angry? Why should I be angry, I'm the pinnacle of science and technology. I'm stronger then any human being like myself or a fraction my age, which let me tell you is impressive. Considering you put me in a FRAKKING SEVENTY YEAR OLD's BODY!" Cavil roared. His view of the righteous injustice laid bare before Sam once again.
Sam decided he'd have to bargain with One, if only to keep the mad man talking. As the blood continued to fill his lung and the ability to hold back the pain ebbed, he now became fearful Cavil might still win.
'I'll have to use this somehow...just got to keep him talking.'
"Your right One. You really are and I never agreed with Ellen on putting you in that body. Patch me up and we can make them see reason. Bring the whole gang back together to build new bodies for all your brothers."
"Really? And tell me Dad, what would I become?"
"Anything you want to be! You can be anything One. A spaceship, a centurion even."
"You do good work I'll give you that dad. Your friend in black really gave my guards a problem but there's a fascinating saying. What was it? Quantity has a quality all its own."
"Yeah...exactly right Joh..One. That's why you need me, together we can build more ships. Put this war off a couple of years til we're perfect. You, the centurions, raiders, base-ships, everything. One perfect force."
"My, you've given this some thought. You know maybe I was wrong about you after all. How long would this take do you think."
"I don't know. We're not strong enough right now, we have to wait."
"You see you had me until you said 'wait'. The colonials crossed the border, broke your precious armistice you worked so hard on. Suppose a smoking gun is all the warning we have next time?"
"They wouldn't."
"Oh but they would. Its in their nature. I'd hoped you learn that on their planets, spend enough time and see the light."
"If it comes down to humans or cylons you know I'd protect our people."
" No. You'd have us busy building ships and centurions while our greatest opportunity to prevent the destruction of our people slipped through our fingers."
"We'll make new ones!"
Sam's hand tightens around the cable.
"Alright dad. I have just one question for you before we conclude things and starting having a father son bonding experience."
Sam felt nervous.
He'd defend his people but he doubted he could become a warmonger. Everything he'd done up to now was to prevent a greater bloodshed occurring.
"Do you think I'm frakking stupid?"
"What.."
"You kill countless brothers and sisters, who you don't even attempt to communicate with. I should thank you for it really, it would've been much harder for the naive fools commit if someone started spouting final five nonsense."
"I would if I could, we had to.."
"Had to what? Catch us by surprise? Sow confusion? Not let on that it was you doing all this? Who did you think I would assume was behind a fleet of base-ships rebelling? God?"
"He works in mysterious ways."
"He hmm? You five always did address god differently. What's to say a great big machine didn't create the universe? You created us after all, maybe it was intelligent design. Following that its our intelligent design that humanity make an exit stage right joining their ancestors."
"God wouldn't want that."
"And just how the frak would you know what god wants? Some of my brothers have become men of the cloth on the colonies, brother cavil is our title."
"Those are false gods."
"Their all false as far as I'm concerned but entertain this. I could say anything and as a man of the cloth my word carried more weight then a doctor, a politician, even a frakking general."
Sam admitted religion was a big draw for the colonials but he doubted anything more then a small minority worshiped men like 'brother cavil'. It was akin to saying the colonies would invade earth if they found out it was full of monotheists and advanced technology.
"Granted you had limits with your caprica or your picons in the bunch but even their I could tell a murderer he was absolved and he'd feel no guilt. If I say the marriage between a happy couple shouldn't come to be, then poof its up in smoke."
Sam couldn't deny some people carried the kind of power Cavil spoke of. He doubted many, if any could match John's vindictive egomaniac streak for manipulation. This battle and the one's Sam feared might follow were proof enough.
"Take away my scrolls, my title and the fancy clothes, I'm nobody. With the gods I can do no wrong and that's why these people have to be stamped out. I'll even say the cylons are carrying out god's will for past transgressions."
"God isn't about violence."
"No your right. The one true god is all about peace and love. Lets all start smoking herbs while we're at it. Relaxes the mind I hear. But these gods, they demand sacrifices and condone child slavery."
"They haven't done that in thousands of years."
"The time comes when you can't hide from the things you've done. The crimes of humanity are too great. If that means I have to use our cylon god to get the others to fall in line then so be it. I'll just reprogram them when its all over."
"Your a monster."
"No I'm a machine. The monsters are those multiplying mammals on those twelve planets. Maybe I'll bring you back to see fireworks when we go to slay the monsters and their gods."
"Hey john."
The tone in Cavils voice changed to one of annoyed anger rather then smug gloating.
"what?"
"Frak you!"
With that Sam yanked as hard as he could, pulling the cable out and tearing it off. Sparks still flying from the broken end of the wire, John thrust the cable into the birthing pools liquid filled tub. The electricity traveled from the wire through the pools contents and into the centurion.
The red eye dimmed and smoke began to rise from several opening within the centurion's body.
Content he wasn't in danger and exhausted from blood loss, not to mention Cavil's diatribe. Sam Anders closed his eye's and the world faded to black.