Starbuck rolled his Viper to the right just as a laser bolt shot past his fighter a mere micrometron from his cockpit. "I don't know if they got my message or not, Boomer. That baseship is sending up quit a lot of jamming."
"You call this careful? You need to change you middle name." Boomer cried out as he turned his Viper in a reverse roll from Starbuck's. "How many Raiders do you count on our tail?"
Starbuck checked his rear scanner. The green light from the scanner flashed across his face as he spotted five targets trailing them. "Five"
"Five? That's unusual, they usually travel in packs of three. You sure?
"Hey, check your own scanner if you don't believe me!" came Starbuck's irritated response. He was having trouble shaking the ones following him. "Boomer, these guys just won't give up!"
"Hang on Bucko, I've almost completed my loop. How many party crashers do you have?" Boomer double-checked his rear scanner before adding. "I've got two on my tail."
"I've got three," Starbuck responded. They'd done this maneuver millions of times; head straight for each other and then at the last micron do a snap roll, bringing the pursuing Cylons into each other's line of fire. Each time they did this maneuver, the Cylons fell for it. Each time he prayed they always would.
As Starbuck came around, he could see Boomer heading his way and checked his scanner, noting the two Raiders tailing Boomer. Normally, since Cylons flew in a pattern of three ships, Starbuck would target the ship in the middle, destroy it and fly through the debris. Then he'd try to blast one of the two remaining ships before they could fly past him. Since there were only two Raiders following Boomer, he decided to just fly right between them, trying to destroy both of them before they could fly past him.
The two Vipers approached each other head on, then when they reached the predetermined distance they both rolled in unison, flashing their undersides past each other.
"FRAK!" came Starbucks sudden cry of alarm. It reverberated though the com channel along with the sound of scrapping, straining metal.
"Starbuck!" Boomer cried out in alarm as the Raider he held in his sights disappeared into oblivion. Holding down the firing button as he turned his Viper in a wide arch, Boomer crossed the path of a second Raider as it flew past him. A shower of sparks and flames enveloped his ship as he flew through the debris.
"Starbuck, are you alright?" he shouted.
"Yah, I think so," came Starbuck's shaky response. "Frak, I hit something! The scanner didn't show anything - my path should have been clear!"
"What was it?" Boomer asked, relieved.
"I don't know! Black! It was black, that's all I saw before it scraped along my side! I barely managed not to smash right into it!" Starbuck cried out.
"Where did it go?"
"How the Frak should I know! It's not on my scanner! It wasn't before and it isn't now!" Starbuck was shouting in frustration and shock. What the frak was that! And the vibrations - his whole Viper had shook like it was electrified. His ears were still hurting from the massive pressure that had assaulted him. He was shaking with reaction and adrenaline as he angrily brushed at the sweat that was running down the side of his jaw.
"It must be the jamming from the Baseship. I know I only scanned two." Boomer answered.
"Well there were most definitely three!" Starbuck shouted as he hit his fire control and blew another Raider into sparkling dust. "That's no simple jamming, Boomer. How many do you still show on your scanner?"
"Two."
"That's what I'm reading too, but I know there are at least three out there." He paused as he again checked his scanner, "Boomer, we've got some kind of Dark Helix out here."
Dark Helix? The thought set the hairs on Boomer's neck on end. A ghost, a phantom, the shadowy figure of a hundred haunted space stories. Appearing only to lure wayward ships into mortal danger. But, unlike the haunted space tales of old freighter pilots, this one apparently had substance. Quite a bit of substance, he realized, as he got a glimpse of Starbuck's starboard side.
"Hey Bucko, is your starboard gun still functional? It looks like it took off half your wing off."
"It did and, no, it's not!" Starbuck was adjusting his scanner, looking for a frequency that could lock onto this 'ghost' ship, when he noticed the red smudges he was leaving on the controls. Perplexed, he pulled back his hand turning it over to look at his palm. It was covered in blood. He felt another drip of warm liquid run down his jaw and neck and brushed at it with his other hand, then pulled it back and looked at it. It, too, was now covered in red blood. Cautiously, he reached up and followed the wet path from his jaw up to his left ear. It was only then that he realize that he was only hearing with his right ear. He placed a hand to his right ear, pressing it closed, to listen with the left - but there was nothing. He could hear no sounds from his left ear. 'I don't have time for this now!' he thought as he wiped his hands on his pant leg.
"Starbuck, how's your maneuverability, we can....." Boomer statement was cut off as one of the remaining Raiders came at him, firing from below. He hit his reverse thrusters, allowing the Raider to fly up in front of him, then took aim and fired. Suddenly, his Viper jarred sideways as a laser blast impacted on his shielding. He began to spin, his shot going wild, missing the Raider. "Frak, where did that blast come from?"
"I've got him." Starbuck answered. He was focused on the dark spot where he'd seen the laser blast come from. The dark shape turned, it's black wings spread wide, coming back around for another attempt. "Look out, Boomer! He's below you on your port side! He's coming around for another shot!"
"I don't make 'em!"
"I can see him, Boomer. Roll toward him, let him overshoot you."
"Where, Starbuck!"
"Left, turn left, Boomer!" As Boomer's Viper rolled over and past the flight path of the darkened shape, Starbuck took aim, and fired. His shot flew past the dark shape, missing it. "Frak!" It'd been a long time since Starbuck had tried to hit anything without his scanner lock. "Keep it busy, Boomer, so I can get in closer. I can't hit it from this distance."
"Keep it busy?" Boomer's exclaimed. His Viper rocked to the side as he barely missed another round of laser bolts. "Starbuck, I don't know how long I can keep this guy busy before he gets a direct hit. My shielding held out the first time, but I don't want to put it to the test again. Get this guy, already!"
"The scanner lock is no use. I'm going to have to line him up visually. I need you to roll into a dive, to bring him in front of me. And, Boomer, you'll have to bring him in close."
"If I get too close he could just as easily shoot you as me!" Boomer objected.
"We've got to take that risk. This ship isn't all that easy to spot. It appears to be Raider of some kind but it's been blacked out. I'm barely able to visually follow its outline. If I loose track of him, I don't know if we'll see him again before he gets a shot off at us."
"Where's the other ship?"
"You're going to have to tell me. I'm afraid if I take my eyes of him even for a micron, I'll lose sight of this 'Dark Raider.' "
As Boomer turned, diving up toward Starbuck's Viper, he checked his scanner. It still could not detect the Dark Raider following him but the scanner did have a lock on the Raider approaching Starbuck from behind. "If I can trust my scanner, the second ship is coming up behind you, on your six." Starbuck's Viper did not move but remained stationary. "You need to get out of its way, Starbuck."
"After you finish your dive, Boomer. My Viper's not maneuverable enough right now to turn back in time."
"Frak, Starbuck, this is going to be close!" Boomer cursed as he raced upward. He could see the other ship closing in on Starbuck.
"Good! The closer the better." Starbuck responded as his eyes tracked this new Dark Raider.
The Dark Raider fired again as the two ships raced toward Starbuck's position. Boomer couldn't turn aside or Starbuck would lose his shot, so instead, he put his Viper into a spin hoping it would miss him.
Boomer's Viper shot up past Starbuck's motionless Viper. Once past, Boomer pulled the nose of his Viper up into as sharp a turn as he could force out of his fighter. All motion seemed to slow to a crawl as the G-forces mounted and the pressure on Boomers body increased. His field of vision diminished as his peripheral vision faded out. His sight reducing itself to a small round area before him, the black edges creeping in. Then the emergency override kicked in, switching off the onboard gravity. In a flash, everything snapped back into real time. Floating free of the oppressive gravity, held in place by his harness, Boomer lined up the Raider coming up behind Starbuck's damager Viper and fired.
The flash of the explosion was reflected briefly on the inside of Starbuck's canopy as he watched the Dark Raider shoot up before him, hot on Boomer's tail, and soar right into his line of fire.
"Gotcha!" Starbuck called out as he fired his one remaining laser gun, hitting the Dark Rader dead center. To Starbuck's chagrin, the Dark Raider did not explode as he expected. Instead, bursts of arcing electricity surrounded it. It gave off a blue-white glow as the electrical discharges surged and flowed around and through it. Then the light faded and the Dark Raider drifted forward, listing on it side, dead in space.
"You call this careful? You need to change you middle name." Boomer cried out as he turned his Viper in a reverse roll from Starbuck's. "How many Raiders do you count on our tail?"
Starbuck checked his rear scanner. The green light from the scanner flashed across his face as he spotted five targets trailing them. "Five"
"Five? That's unusual, they usually travel in packs of three. You sure?
"Hey, check your own scanner if you don't believe me!" came Starbuck's irritated response. He was having trouble shaking the ones following him. "Boomer, these guys just won't give up!"
"Hang on Bucko, I've almost completed my loop. How many party crashers do you have?" Boomer double-checked his rear scanner before adding. "I've got two on my tail."
"I've got three," Starbuck responded. They'd done this maneuver millions of times; head straight for each other and then at the last micron do a snap roll, bringing the pursuing Cylons into each other's line of fire. Each time they did this maneuver, the Cylons fell for it. Each time he prayed they always would.
As Starbuck came around, he could see Boomer heading his way and checked his scanner, noting the two Raiders tailing Boomer. Normally, since Cylons flew in a pattern of three ships, Starbuck would target the ship in the middle, destroy it and fly through the debris. Then he'd try to blast one of the two remaining ships before they could fly past him. Since there were only two Raiders following Boomer, he decided to just fly right between them, trying to destroy both of them before they could fly past him.
The two Vipers approached each other head on, then when they reached the predetermined distance they both rolled in unison, flashing their undersides past each other.
"FRAK!" came Starbucks sudden cry of alarm. It reverberated though the com channel along with the sound of scrapping, straining metal.
"Starbuck!" Boomer cried out in alarm as the Raider he held in his sights disappeared into oblivion. Holding down the firing button as he turned his Viper in a wide arch, Boomer crossed the path of a second Raider as it flew past him. A shower of sparks and flames enveloped his ship as he flew through the debris.
"Starbuck, are you alright?" he shouted.
"Yah, I think so," came Starbuck's shaky response. "Frak, I hit something! The scanner didn't show anything - my path should have been clear!"
"What was it?" Boomer asked, relieved.
"I don't know! Black! It was black, that's all I saw before it scraped along my side! I barely managed not to smash right into it!" Starbuck cried out.
"Where did it go?"
"How the Frak should I know! It's not on my scanner! It wasn't before and it isn't now!" Starbuck was shouting in frustration and shock. What the frak was that! And the vibrations - his whole Viper had shook like it was electrified. His ears were still hurting from the massive pressure that had assaulted him. He was shaking with reaction and adrenaline as he angrily brushed at the sweat that was running down the side of his jaw.
"It must be the jamming from the Baseship. I know I only scanned two." Boomer answered.
"Well there were most definitely three!" Starbuck shouted as he hit his fire control and blew another Raider into sparkling dust. "That's no simple jamming, Boomer. How many do you still show on your scanner?"
"Two."
"That's what I'm reading too, but I know there are at least three out there." He paused as he again checked his scanner, "Boomer, we've got some kind of Dark Helix out here."
Dark Helix? The thought set the hairs on Boomer's neck on end. A ghost, a phantom, the shadowy figure of a hundred haunted space stories. Appearing only to lure wayward ships into mortal danger. But, unlike the haunted space tales of old freighter pilots, this one apparently had substance. Quite a bit of substance, he realized, as he got a glimpse of Starbuck's starboard side.
"Hey Bucko, is your starboard gun still functional? It looks like it took off half your wing off."
"It did and, no, it's not!" Starbuck was adjusting his scanner, looking for a frequency that could lock onto this 'ghost' ship, when he noticed the red smudges he was leaving on the controls. Perplexed, he pulled back his hand turning it over to look at his palm. It was covered in blood. He felt another drip of warm liquid run down his jaw and neck and brushed at it with his other hand, then pulled it back and looked at it. It, too, was now covered in red blood. Cautiously, he reached up and followed the wet path from his jaw up to his left ear. It was only then that he realize that he was only hearing with his right ear. He placed a hand to his right ear, pressing it closed, to listen with the left - but there was nothing. He could hear no sounds from his left ear. 'I don't have time for this now!' he thought as he wiped his hands on his pant leg.
"Starbuck, how's your maneuverability, we can....." Boomer statement was cut off as one of the remaining Raiders came at him, firing from below. He hit his reverse thrusters, allowing the Raider to fly up in front of him, then took aim and fired. Suddenly, his Viper jarred sideways as a laser blast impacted on his shielding. He began to spin, his shot going wild, missing the Raider. "Frak, where did that blast come from?"
"I've got him." Starbuck answered. He was focused on the dark spot where he'd seen the laser blast come from. The dark shape turned, it's black wings spread wide, coming back around for another attempt. "Look out, Boomer! He's below you on your port side! He's coming around for another shot!"
"I don't make 'em!"
"I can see him, Boomer. Roll toward him, let him overshoot you."
"Where, Starbuck!"
"Left, turn left, Boomer!" As Boomer's Viper rolled over and past the flight path of the darkened shape, Starbuck took aim, and fired. His shot flew past the dark shape, missing it. "Frak!" It'd been a long time since Starbuck had tried to hit anything without his scanner lock. "Keep it busy, Boomer, so I can get in closer. I can't hit it from this distance."
"Keep it busy?" Boomer's exclaimed. His Viper rocked to the side as he barely missed another round of laser bolts. "Starbuck, I don't know how long I can keep this guy busy before he gets a direct hit. My shielding held out the first time, but I don't want to put it to the test again. Get this guy, already!"
"The scanner lock is no use. I'm going to have to line him up visually. I need you to roll into a dive, to bring him in front of me. And, Boomer, you'll have to bring him in close."
"If I get too close he could just as easily shoot you as me!" Boomer objected.
"We've got to take that risk. This ship isn't all that easy to spot. It appears to be Raider of some kind but it's been blacked out. I'm barely able to visually follow its outline. If I loose track of him, I don't know if we'll see him again before he gets a shot off at us."
"Where's the other ship?"
"You're going to have to tell me. I'm afraid if I take my eyes of him even for a micron, I'll lose sight of this 'Dark Raider.' "
As Boomer turned, diving up toward Starbuck's Viper, he checked his scanner. It still could not detect the Dark Raider following him but the scanner did have a lock on the Raider approaching Starbuck from behind. "If I can trust my scanner, the second ship is coming up behind you, on your six." Starbuck's Viper did not move but remained stationary. "You need to get out of its way, Starbuck."
"After you finish your dive, Boomer. My Viper's not maneuverable enough right now to turn back in time."
"Frak, Starbuck, this is going to be close!" Boomer cursed as he raced upward. He could see the other ship closing in on Starbuck.
"Good! The closer the better." Starbuck responded as his eyes tracked this new Dark Raider.
The Dark Raider fired again as the two ships raced toward Starbuck's position. Boomer couldn't turn aside or Starbuck would lose his shot, so instead, he put his Viper into a spin hoping it would miss him.
Boomer's Viper shot up past Starbuck's motionless Viper. Once past, Boomer pulled the nose of his Viper up into as sharp a turn as he could force out of his fighter. All motion seemed to slow to a crawl as the G-forces mounted and the pressure on Boomers body increased. His field of vision diminished as his peripheral vision faded out. His sight reducing itself to a small round area before him, the black edges creeping in. Then the emergency override kicked in, switching off the onboard gravity. In a flash, everything snapped back into real time. Floating free of the oppressive gravity, held in place by his harness, Boomer lined up the Raider coming up behind Starbuck's damager Viper and fired.
The flash of the explosion was reflected briefly on the inside of Starbuck's canopy as he watched the Dark Raider shoot up before him, hot on Boomer's tail, and soar right into his line of fire.
"Gotcha!" Starbuck called out as he fired his one remaining laser gun, hitting the Dark Rader dead center. To Starbuck's chagrin, the Dark Raider did not explode as he expected. Instead, bursts of arcing electricity surrounded it. It gave off a blue-white glow as the electrical discharges surged and flowed around and through it. Then the light faded and the Dark Raider drifted forward, listing on it side, dead in space.