.
THE FLIGHT OF BELLEROPHON
Chap. 6
Author's note: Okay, I just want to say that I've never written anything this pseudo-technical before and it was very difficult (hence it took three times longer to get this chapter out than all the others). I borrowed a lot of the phrases and terminology that I used from Keith Douglass' "Carrier" Series and Patrick Robinson's "Nimitz Class". I also got a lot from the Discovery Channel's documentary "Carrier: Fortress at Sea" (have I mentioned how much I love the Discovery Channel?). Now, as to the Viper pre- launch sequence in the mini-series, I watched that scene several times and I'm still not quite sure what the hell they're saying and I couldn't match most of it up to what I'd gotten from the other sources, so I just fudged something. Anyway, if I screwed any of that, or anything else, up, let me just apologize right now. Granted, if I did screw something up, I'm sure that someone out there will be more than happy to let me know.
Starbuck sat in her Viper impatiently waiting for the clearance from CIC for the launch. Resolutely she put Lee out of her mind. Now was not the time to be worrying about how badly she had pissed off her best friend. She would deal with him later, if they both lived through this.
At last, she heard Dee's voice over her comm. link, clearing the Vipers for launch and Starbuck's Viper was inched forward into position to line up with the catapult.
"Nav. con. green," the launch officer, or shooter, called to her. "Interval check."
She turned to look at him through the viewport and gave him a thumbs up signal.
"Nav. cat. ready," he said, continuing his pre-launch checklist, as the catapult piston mechanism slid into place at the rear of the Viper. "Hangar door open. Thrusters positive... Good luck."
She leaned back in the seat, bracing her head and back in preparation for the G-force thrust that pushed her back, as the catapult slid her forward, slowly at first, but gaining momentum rapidly as it built to speed in a matter of seconds. She felt the last slight jolt as the catapult piston reached the end of the launch tube and she was flung out into open space. Once she had cleared the Galactica's perimeter, she slowed to await the rest of her squadron, who would be following immediately behind her.
Off to her right, she was aware of Apollo and his Red Squadron also beginning to form up. As soon as both squadrons were fully launched, they would proceed to join up with the Pegasus en masse. Glancing over at the other battlestar, just visible beyond the distorting radiation clouds of the planet's exosphere, she could also see the huge, ominous shape of the Cylon basestar bearing down on her. The Cylon ship, with its strange, leg- like projections, looked like a vast, menacing spider moving in on its prey.
"All Vipers launched. Good luck," Dee's voice called over the wireless.
"Alright everyone, let's go," Apollo's voice replaced Dee's. "Standard combat spread. We're flying tight. I want everyone holding hands."
The two squadrons moved out in two wedge formations, with Starbuck and Apollo in the front positions. They were flying in an echelon right spread, where each wingman flies approximately 45 degrees behind and above his leader's right wing line, so each V-shaped formation had a slight double-vision look to it. Starbuck's wingman for the mission was Julian "Crush" Cromwell. She had flown with Crush many times and they were comfortable together, not as comfortable as she and Apollo were, but close enough.
Glancing over at the captain, who was flying parallel to her position, about one click over, she felt a strange sense of uneasiness. One cause for this was the fact that Apollo had changed Vipers. Most pilots were very superstitious about their birds. Since he had already had success flying his father's old Mark II, Starbuck had assumed that Apollo would continue to fly it. It had been repaired from the damage it had sustained during the fight outside the Ragnar Anchorage and their subsequent unorthodox landing. But instead, only hours before the mission, he had abruptly changed his mind and decided to return to flying his own Mark VII. Tyrol and his deck crew had had to scramble to get the Viper ready, which partly meant changing the tail numbering to 000. The triple zeros being an honorific that designated that the fighter belonged to the CAG. Starbuck didn't understand why Apollo had suddenly switched planes and it made her unaccountably uneasy. While it was true that the Mark VII's had a better targeting system and more power, and could therefore fly at faster speeds, what they gained in speed, they lost in maneuverability. The Mark II's, with their smaller, lighter engines, were actually much more agile.
The other, more concrete, reason for Starbuck's discomfort was the fact that Apollo had insisted on taking Trent "Phoenix" Warrick as his wingman. Phoenix was one of the Pegasus' rookies and he was probably the least experienced pilot in either squadron. The only pilot with less experience was Mouse, but she was safely tucked away on the Raptor, where she could get into very little trouble with Boomer watching over her. Starbuck had tried to talk Apollo out of flying with Phoenix, but the captain had been unwilling to saddle anyone else with the rookie. Starbuck had already mentally written the young lieutenant off as an inevitable casualty. She only prayed that he wouldn't take Apollo with him and she vowed to keep an eye on that situation. She knew that Apollo would most likely resent her trying to play mother hen to him, but she decided that she could live with his resentment, because she wasn't sure she could live without him. She had always had precious few loved ones in her life and the Cylon massacre had wiped most of them out. She couldn't afford to lose any more.
They were now rapidly approaching the Pegasus and could see the Cylon basestar beginning to deploy her own fighters. Within seconds they would be in the thick of it. Starbuck breathed a silent prayer for the Lords of Kobol to protect the Galactica and the Pegasus and all their people (yes, even Bridget Cain), but especially William and Lee Adama.
"Pegasus, this is Apollo," Starbuck heard him call out. "We are inbound and will be approaching from your port side."
"Roger that, Apollo. Welcome to the party."
And then they were flying in to engage the Cylons and Starbuck lost much of her conscious thought processes. She simply felt and reacted. She and the Viper seemed to meld and become one. It wasn't always this good. But sometimes she seemed to have flights or combat runs where everyone else seemed to be moving just a little bit slower than her and she could react to their movements so much faster than they could handle. She had always had excellent situational awareness, but sometimes it was like she was reacting to a script, all of her movements having been pre-determined. Today was one of those days and, damn, it felt good! She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her, sharpening her reactions and clearing her mind as she rolled and weaved her Viper, cutting a deadly swath through the oncoming Cylon ships.
"All engines ahead, full!" Cain called out, as she watched the radar screen before her in satisfaction. The fighter battle was going well. The Vipers were actually beginning to push the Cylon fighters back, allowing the Pegasus to move in closer for the kill.
"All batteries execute," she ordered. "All batteries commence firing!"
The big guns flared to life, spewing nuclear warheads at the basestar with deadly efficiency. The Cylon ship seemed to be taking a massive amount of damage, but, so far, showed no visible signs of distress, as she continued with her own barrage of missiles.
"Sir, we have incoming ordinance, 100 meters and closing!" Lt. Atlan called out.
"Brace for impact!" Col. Tolan yelled, grabbing a hold of the console before him. A moment later the entire ship gave a violent jolt as the Cylon missile found its target. "Damage report!"
"Starboard side landing bay is reporting extensive damage, sir," a technician responded. "There's damage to the port side as well, but not as bad."
"They're targeting the landing bays, just as Adama said they would," Tolan remarked.
"That's fine, let them," Cain said grimly. "We don't need our landing bays. The Vipers can drop back to the Galactica when we're finished. We need to get in closer, so we can take out her guns and finish her off."
"Is that wise, sir?" Tolan asked. "We can't go toe-to-toe with her. She's got us out gunned."
"Look at her, she's in her death throes. She can't possibly take that much damage and not be seriously hurting. Now, get me in closer."
"Yes, sir."
"Um, Boomer, I'm getting some weird readings on the radar here," Mouse said, staring at her screen in confusion.
"What do you mean weird?"
The Raptor was flying a high surveillance pattern over the combat zone, monitoring the battle's progress and occasionally calling down warnings or instructions to the Vipers below her. She was also standing by for the coded transmissions from either the Galactica or Pegasus that would indicate that there was a message to be delivered.
"Well, I don't know if it's just an echo from the Cylon basestar, or interference with our radar, but it looks like there's another ship out there, a smaller one, tucked behind the basestar."
"What? I'm going to move us in closer for a better look," Boomer said, adjusting the controls to take the Raptor closer to the basestar, praying the whole time that with all the activity in the combat zone, the Cylons wouldn't notice her relatively unobtrusive Raptor.
As they cleared the space above the basestar, they could easily see that indeed there was another, slightly smaller ship tucked in tight behind the larger ship. It was bristling with guns and appeared to have several tubes for launching more drone fighters.
"Oh, frak!" Boomer breathed. "That basestar is luring the Pegasus in close so that smaller ship can pounce. We've got to get to the Pegasus and warn Commander Cain."
Starbuck smiled grimly as she bore down on the Cylon fighter ahead of her. Seeing its reverse thrusters engage as it slowed slightly and began a rolling turn to the left, she called out, "Lag roll!" to Crush and the two of them simultaneously rolled their Vipers to the right, so that they remained behind the drone ship. Firing her guns, she watched in satisfaction as it blew apart. Glancing around for her next kill, she spied a lone Viper being harassed by two drones. Apollo. His wingman was gone, probably dead, and he was on his own and in trouble. The attack geometry flashed through her mind and she realized that the Cylons were going to try to bracket him. Seeing another flash of movement off to her side, she noted that Horus was also alone.
"Crush, Horus, clear! I've got Apollo!" she barked, ordering the first two pilots to switch their roles. Crush would take over as lead and Horus would act as wingman.
"Apollo, I've got your back!" she called as she streaked in, destroying the trailing drone ship. As she did, Apollo activated his reverse and port side thrusters simultaneously, sending his ship into a controlled tumble, which ended with him facing the oncoming Cylon upside down. With desperate precision, he fired his guns and slammed the throttle forward to dive his ship under the debris field left by the drone ship as it exploded.
"All Vipers, be advised, you've got inbound enemy fighters!" the Pegasus' communications technician reported over the wireless. "Repeat, inbound enemy fighters!"
"Starbuck, get back with your squadron," Apollo ordered, recovering his position and bearings.
"Not a chance, I'm your winger now. Besides we're too disorganized at this point."
Quickly seeing that she was right, he called out, "Everyone, reform combat spread. If you don't have a partner, just pick somebody."
Starbuck turned her attention back toward the Cylon basestar where she saw several squadrons of drone ships emerging from somewhere behind the basestar to swarm towards them like angry, poisonous insects. Another, slightly smaller, basestar began to distinguish itself from behind its larger companion as well.
"Oh, frak me!" Starbuck moaned.
With nothing to do but wait, the technicians and petty officers on the Galactica's CIC sat in tense silence, listening to the communications between the pilots, which was being broadcast over the bridge's speakers. The radiated exosphere of the planet distorted the transmission horribly, but it was possible to get a general idea of the ongoing battle. William Adama stood staring down at the lighted console before him, but his eyes did not see it. In his mind, he saw the battle as it was unfolding. His right hand, which lay on the console, twitched unconsciously, as if itching to grasp the throttle of a Viper.
"Sir, we have a possible situation developing," Lt. Gaeta reported, interrupting the commander's thoughts. "It's hard to get a clear radar picture through all the E.M. interference, but it appears that there may be a second basestar."
Turning to face the Draedus console and its radar screens, the Galactica's commander gave a heavy sigh. He should have known. It had all been going entirely too well.
"Engines all ahead, full," he ordered. "Bring us out of the planet's exosphere. We need to get a better look. I want a defensive perimeter established. Order the civilian fleet to standby by to begin jumping in sequence. Get our own computers ready for the jump as well. And send out the signal to Lt. Boomer."
"Weapons grid to full power," Tigh barked. "All batteries standby for enemy suppression fire."
There was a chorus of "Aye, sir"'s as various technicians and officers responded to these orders.
"Sir, sensors show the Galactica has emerged from the planet's exosphere and is providing back-up," Lt. Atlan reported to Commander Cain.
"Good. Order all Vipers to disengage and return to the Galactica. Contact engineering and tell them to set the electric pulse generators to my exact specifications. Get the computers warmed up and readied for hyperlight jump. Mr. Rome, can you get me a link with the Galactica?"
"Negative, sir, they're still too close to the planet. There's too much radiation interference for a clear link."
"Do we still have a secure link with Boomer?"
"Yes, sir," the young man said, moving to her side and handing over his head set.
"Boomer, you still there?"
"Yes, sir, I'm here."
"Good, I've ordered all the Vipers to drop back. I can't reach the Galactica, but I have a plan to create a diversion that may buy us a little more time. I need you to relay the message to the Old Man. Tell him to begin jumping the fleet and to keep up the suppression fire, but tell him to keep his distance. Oh, and I'm going to need those jump coordinates."
"I'm sorry, sir, I can't relay the coordinates until I'm given the go- ahead by Galactica Actual."
"That's fine, just remember to get that when you talk to the Old Man. Carry on, Lieutenant."
Moving her Raptor away from the Pegasus, Boomer flew in to join up with the Vipers as they were slowly working their way back to the Galactica. As she moved in closer to the battlestar, she heard Dee's voice crackle over the wireless.
"Boomer, Galactica Actual orders you to return to the Pegasus and relay message to Pegasus Actual that fleet jump has begun and Pegasus is ordered to disengage and follow. You are ordered to transmit jump coordinates to Pegasus Actual. After you have delivered the coordinates, you and Mouse are to make your jump. You will rejoin Galactica at the meet coordinates."
"Roger that, Galactica. I have a message from Pegasus Actual. Galactica is to continue with suppression fire and she is to keep her distance. Repeat keep your distance. Pegasus Actual has a plan."
"Copy that, Boomer. See you on board shortly."
"Yes, ma'am."
Turning the Raptor, Boomer headed back toward the Pegasus. Her flight this time would be much more interesting. With all the Vipers leaving the combat zone, she would be left to face the remaining Cylons on her own, with virtually no weapons. The Raptor was a fairly maneuverable ship, but it was no match for the drone fighters. She hoped that she would be able to make it to the Pegasus in one piece.
"Boomer, where are you going?" she heard Apollo's voice over the wireless.
"The Galactica can't reach the Pegasus with all the radiation interference. I need to deliver the jump coordinates."
"Starbuck, let's clear her a path!"
"You read my mind, Apollo!"
The two Vipers executed flawless in place turns and headed back the way they had just come. Taking up escort positions just in front of the Raptor, they flew ahead, guns blazing, clearing a wide corridor of enemy ships in front of the Raptor. They escorted her past the heaviest concentration of fighters, within three or four clicks of the Pegasus. She was now flanked on either side by the two basestars, but neither Cylon ship seemed to notice, or care about the small Raptor and her two-Viper escort.
"You're green dead ahead, Boomer," Apollo called, as he and Starbuck rolled their Vipers away to either side. "Good luck."
"See you in a few, Boomer," Starbuck called.
"Thanks, guys, I'll see you soon."
She felt horribly alone and vulnerable without the two Vipers to keep her company. She had almost completely forgotten Mouse's presence, until the other woman called out, "Boomer, that smaller basestar is sending out a full barrage of warheads! Oh, frak, so is the bigger one! Just send the coordinates to the Pegasus and let's get the hell out of here!"
"Right," she said, flipping her comm. switch. "Pegasus, this is Boomer. I've got your coordinates... Come in, Pegasus."
There was no reply to her call.
"Frak! Are we not close enough?" she asked.
"I don't know," Mouse replied. "We should be. We certainly can't get any closer."
"Pegasus? Come in, Pegasus."
There was still no answer.
"Boomer, those fighters are turning back!"
"Frak! Pegasus, respond!"
As Boomer watched in horror, she saw the first three warheads strike the battlestar. Explosions and the warm flashes of internal fires erupted along the ship in several places. Then there was a sudden, blinding flash of light. Turning her face away from the unbearable glare, she activated the Raptor's hyperlight system.
"Hang on, Mouse, we're jumping!"
On the Galactica, Commander Adama watched the radar blips indicating the Cylon basestars, which had moved in to flank the Pegasus, open fire with all their guns. A moment or two later, the radar picture dissolved in heavy static.
"Sir, 70 kiloton, thermonuclear detonation," Lt. Gaeta said softly. "Sensors indicate that all three ships were destroyed."
"Any sign of the Raptor?"
"No, sir, but she may have managed to jump before the explosion."
"Are all the Civilian ships away?"
"Yes, sir."
"All Vipers are back on board?"
"Yes, sir," Duella answered.
Addressing Lt. Gaeta, Adama said, "Get us out of here, Lieutenant."
To be continued... (Only one chapter left. We're almost there...)
Chap. 6
Author's note: Okay, I just want to say that I've never written anything this pseudo-technical before and it was very difficult (hence it took three times longer to get this chapter out than all the others). I borrowed a lot of the phrases and terminology that I used from Keith Douglass' "Carrier" Series and Patrick Robinson's "Nimitz Class". I also got a lot from the Discovery Channel's documentary "Carrier: Fortress at Sea" (have I mentioned how much I love the Discovery Channel?). Now, as to the Viper pre- launch sequence in the mini-series, I watched that scene several times and I'm still not quite sure what the hell they're saying and I couldn't match most of it up to what I'd gotten from the other sources, so I just fudged something. Anyway, if I screwed any of that, or anything else, up, let me just apologize right now. Granted, if I did screw something up, I'm sure that someone out there will be more than happy to let me know.
Starbuck sat in her Viper impatiently waiting for the clearance from CIC for the launch. Resolutely she put Lee out of her mind. Now was not the time to be worrying about how badly she had pissed off her best friend. She would deal with him later, if they both lived through this.
At last, she heard Dee's voice over her comm. link, clearing the Vipers for launch and Starbuck's Viper was inched forward into position to line up with the catapult.
"Nav. con. green," the launch officer, or shooter, called to her. "Interval check."
She turned to look at him through the viewport and gave him a thumbs up signal.
"Nav. cat. ready," he said, continuing his pre-launch checklist, as the catapult piston mechanism slid into place at the rear of the Viper. "Hangar door open. Thrusters positive... Good luck."
She leaned back in the seat, bracing her head and back in preparation for the G-force thrust that pushed her back, as the catapult slid her forward, slowly at first, but gaining momentum rapidly as it built to speed in a matter of seconds. She felt the last slight jolt as the catapult piston reached the end of the launch tube and she was flung out into open space. Once she had cleared the Galactica's perimeter, she slowed to await the rest of her squadron, who would be following immediately behind her.
Off to her right, she was aware of Apollo and his Red Squadron also beginning to form up. As soon as both squadrons were fully launched, they would proceed to join up with the Pegasus en masse. Glancing over at the other battlestar, just visible beyond the distorting radiation clouds of the planet's exosphere, she could also see the huge, ominous shape of the Cylon basestar bearing down on her. The Cylon ship, with its strange, leg- like projections, looked like a vast, menacing spider moving in on its prey.
"All Vipers launched. Good luck," Dee's voice called over the wireless.
"Alright everyone, let's go," Apollo's voice replaced Dee's. "Standard combat spread. We're flying tight. I want everyone holding hands."
The two squadrons moved out in two wedge formations, with Starbuck and Apollo in the front positions. They were flying in an echelon right spread, where each wingman flies approximately 45 degrees behind and above his leader's right wing line, so each V-shaped formation had a slight double-vision look to it. Starbuck's wingman for the mission was Julian "Crush" Cromwell. She had flown with Crush many times and they were comfortable together, not as comfortable as she and Apollo were, but close enough.
Glancing over at the captain, who was flying parallel to her position, about one click over, she felt a strange sense of uneasiness. One cause for this was the fact that Apollo had changed Vipers. Most pilots were very superstitious about their birds. Since he had already had success flying his father's old Mark II, Starbuck had assumed that Apollo would continue to fly it. It had been repaired from the damage it had sustained during the fight outside the Ragnar Anchorage and their subsequent unorthodox landing. But instead, only hours before the mission, he had abruptly changed his mind and decided to return to flying his own Mark VII. Tyrol and his deck crew had had to scramble to get the Viper ready, which partly meant changing the tail numbering to 000. The triple zeros being an honorific that designated that the fighter belonged to the CAG. Starbuck didn't understand why Apollo had suddenly switched planes and it made her unaccountably uneasy. While it was true that the Mark VII's had a better targeting system and more power, and could therefore fly at faster speeds, what they gained in speed, they lost in maneuverability. The Mark II's, with their smaller, lighter engines, were actually much more agile.
The other, more concrete, reason for Starbuck's discomfort was the fact that Apollo had insisted on taking Trent "Phoenix" Warrick as his wingman. Phoenix was one of the Pegasus' rookies and he was probably the least experienced pilot in either squadron. The only pilot with less experience was Mouse, but she was safely tucked away on the Raptor, where she could get into very little trouble with Boomer watching over her. Starbuck had tried to talk Apollo out of flying with Phoenix, but the captain had been unwilling to saddle anyone else with the rookie. Starbuck had already mentally written the young lieutenant off as an inevitable casualty. She only prayed that he wouldn't take Apollo with him and she vowed to keep an eye on that situation. She knew that Apollo would most likely resent her trying to play mother hen to him, but she decided that she could live with his resentment, because she wasn't sure she could live without him. She had always had precious few loved ones in her life and the Cylon massacre had wiped most of them out. She couldn't afford to lose any more.
They were now rapidly approaching the Pegasus and could see the Cylon basestar beginning to deploy her own fighters. Within seconds they would be in the thick of it. Starbuck breathed a silent prayer for the Lords of Kobol to protect the Galactica and the Pegasus and all their people (yes, even Bridget Cain), but especially William and Lee Adama.
"Pegasus, this is Apollo," Starbuck heard him call out. "We are inbound and will be approaching from your port side."
"Roger that, Apollo. Welcome to the party."
And then they were flying in to engage the Cylons and Starbuck lost much of her conscious thought processes. She simply felt and reacted. She and the Viper seemed to meld and become one. It wasn't always this good. But sometimes she seemed to have flights or combat runs where everyone else seemed to be moving just a little bit slower than her and she could react to their movements so much faster than they could handle. She had always had excellent situational awareness, but sometimes it was like she was reacting to a script, all of her movements having been pre-determined. Today was one of those days and, damn, it felt good! She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her, sharpening her reactions and clearing her mind as she rolled and weaved her Viper, cutting a deadly swath through the oncoming Cylon ships.
"All engines ahead, full!" Cain called out, as she watched the radar screen before her in satisfaction. The fighter battle was going well. The Vipers were actually beginning to push the Cylon fighters back, allowing the Pegasus to move in closer for the kill.
"All batteries execute," she ordered. "All batteries commence firing!"
The big guns flared to life, spewing nuclear warheads at the basestar with deadly efficiency. The Cylon ship seemed to be taking a massive amount of damage, but, so far, showed no visible signs of distress, as she continued with her own barrage of missiles.
"Sir, we have incoming ordinance, 100 meters and closing!" Lt. Atlan called out.
"Brace for impact!" Col. Tolan yelled, grabbing a hold of the console before him. A moment later the entire ship gave a violent jolt as the Cylon missile found its target. "Damage report!"
"Starboard side landing bay is reporting extensive damage, sir," a technician responded. "There's damage to the port side as well, but not as bad."
"They're targeting the landing bays, just as Adama said they would," Tolan remarked.
"That's fine, let them," Cain said grimly. "We don't need our landing bays. The Vipers can drop back to the Galactica when we're finished. We need to get in closer, so we can take out her guns and finish her off."
"Is that wise, sir?" Tolan asked. "We can't go toe-to-toe with her. She's got us out gunned."
"Look at her, she's in her death throes. She can't possibly take that much damage and not be seriously hurting. Now, get me in closer."
"Yes, sir."
"Um, Boomer, I'm getting some weird readings on the radar here," Mouse said, staring at her screen in confusion.
"What do you mean weird?"
The Raptor was flying a high surveillance pattern over the combat zone, monitoring the battle's progress and occasionally calling down warnings or instructions to the Vipers below her. She was also standing by for the coded transmissions from either the Galactica or Pegasus that would indicate that there was a message to be delivered.
"Well, I don't know if it's just an echo from the Cylon basestar, or interference with our radar, but it looks like there's another ship out there, a smaller one, tucked behind the basestar."
"What? I'm going to move us in closer for a better look," Boomer said, adjusting the controls to take the Raptor closer to the basestar, praying the whole time that with all the activity in the combat zone, the Cylons wouldn't notice her relatively unobtrusive Raptor.
As they cleared the space above the basestar, they could easily see that indeed there was another, slightly smaller ship tucked in tight behind the larger ship. It was bristling with guns and appeared to have several tubes for launching more drone fighters.
"Oh, frak!" Boomer breathed. "That basestar is luring the Pegasus in close so that smaller ship can pounce. We've got to get to the Pegasus and warn Commander Cain."
Starbuck smiled grimly as she bore down on the Cylon fighter ahead of her. Seeing its reverse thrusters engage as it slowed slightly and began a rolling turn to the left, she called out, "Lag roll!" to Crush and the two of them simultaneously rolled their Vipers to the right, so that they remained behind the drone ship. Firing her guns, she watched in satisfaction as it blew apart. Glancing around for her next kill, she spied a lone Viper being harassed by two drones. Apollo. His wingman was gone, probably dead, and he was on his own and in trouble. The attack geometry flashed through her mind and she realized that the Cylons were going to try to bracket him. Seeing another flash of movement off to her side, she noted that Horus was also alone.
"Crush, Horus, clear! I've got Apollo!" she barked, ordering the first two pilots to switch their roles. Crush would take over as lead and Horus would act as wingman.
"Apollo, I've got your back!" she called as she streaked in, destroying the trailing drone ship. As she did, Apollo activated his reverse and port side thrusters simultaneously, sending his ship into a controlled tumble, which ended with him facing the oncoming Cylon upside down. With desperate precision, he fired his guns and slammed the throttle forward to dive his ship under the debris field left by the drone ship as it exploded.
"All Vipers, be advised, you've got inbound enemy fighters!" the Pegasus' communications technician reported over the wireless. "Repeat, inbound enemy fighters!"
"Starbuck, get back with your squadron," Apollo ordered, recovering his position and bearings.
"Not a chance, I'm your winger now. Besides we're too disorganized at this point."
Quickly seeing that she was right, he called out, "Everyone, reform combat spread. If you don't have a partner, just pick somebody."
Starbuck turned her attention back toward the Cylon basestar where she saw several squadrons of drone ships emerging from somewhere behind the basestar to swarm towards them like angry, poisonous insects. Another, slightly smaller, basestar began to distinguish itself from behind its larger companion as well.
"Oh, frak me!" Starbuck moaned.
With nothing to do but wait, the technicians and petty officers on the Galactica's CIC sat in tense silence, listening to the communications between the pilots, which was being broadcast over the bridge's speakers. The radiated exosphere of the planet distorted the transmission horribly, but it was possible to get a general idea of the ongoing battle. William Adama stood staring down at the lighted console before him, but his eyes did not see it. In his mind, he saw the battle as it was unfolding. His right hand, which lay on the console, twitched unconsciously, as if itching to grasp the throttle of a Viper.
"Sir, we have a possible situation developing," Lt. Gaeta reported, interrupting the commander's thoughts. "It's hard to get a clear radar picture through all the E.M. interference, but it appears that there may be a second basestar."
Turning to face the Draedus console and its radar screens, the Galactica's commander gave a heavy sigh. He should have known. It had all been going entirely too well.
"Engines all ahead, full," he ordered. "Bring us out of the planet's exosphere. We need to get a better look. I want a defensive perimeter established. Order the civilian fleet to standby by to begin jumping in sequence. Get our own computers ready for the jump as well. And send out the signal to Lt. Boomer."
"Weapons grid to full power," Tigh barked. "All batteries standby for enemy suppression fire."
There was a chorus of "Aye, sir"'s as various technicians and officers responded to these orders.
"Sir, sensors show the Galactica has emerged from the planet's exosphere and is providing back-up," Lt. Atlan reported to Commander Cain.
"Good. Order all Vipers to disengage and return to the Galactica. Contact engineering and tell them to set the electric pulse generators to my exact specifications. Get the computers warmed up and readied for hyperlight jump. Mr. Rome, can you get me a link with the Galactica?"
"Negative, sir, they're still too close to the planet. There's too much radiation interference for a clear link."
"Do we still have a secure link with Boomer?"
"Yes, sir," the young man said, moving to her side and handing over his head set.
"Boomer, you still there?"
"Yes, sir, I'm here."
"Good, I've ordered all the Vipers to drop back. I can't reach the Galactica, but I have a plan to create a diversion that may buy us a little more time. I need you to relay the message to the Old Man. Tell him to begin jumping the fleet and to keep up the suppression fire, but tell him to keep his distance. Oh, and I'm going to need those jump coordinates."
"I'm sorry, sir, I can't relay the coordinates until I'm given the go- ahead by Galactica Actual."
"That's fine, just remember to get that when you talk to the Old Man. Carry on, Lieutenant."
Moving her Raptor away from the Pegasus, Boomer flew in to join up with the Vipers as they were slowly working their way back to the Galactica. As she moved in closer to the battlestar, she heard Dee's voice crackle over the wireless.
"Boomer, Galactica Actual orders you to return to the Pegasus and relay message to Pegasus Actual that fleet jump has begun and Pegasus is ordered to disengage and follow. You are ordered to transmit jump coordinates to Pegasus Actual. After you have delivered the coordinates, you and Mouse are to make your jump. You will rejoin Galactica at the meet coordinates."
"Roger that, Galactica. I have a message from Pegasus Actual. Galactica is to continue with suppression fire and she is to keep her distance. Repeat keep your distance. Pegasus Actual has a plan."
"Copy that, Boomer. See you on board shortly."
"Yes, ma'am."
Turning the Raptor, Boomer headed back toward the Pegasus. Her flight this time would be much more interesting. With all the Vipers leaving the combat zone, she would be left to face the remaining Cylons on her own, with virtually no weapons. The Raptor was a fairly maneuverable ship, but it was no match for the drone fighters. She hoped that she would be able to make it to the Pegasus in one piece.
"Boomer, where are you going?" she heard Apollo's voice over the wireless.
"The Galactica can't reach the Pegasus with all the radiation interference. I need to deliver the jump coordinates."
"Starbuck, let's clear her a path!"
"You read my mind, Apollo!"
The two Vipers executed flawless in place turns and headed back the way they had just come. Taking up escort positions just in front of the Raptor, they flew ahead, guns blazing, clearing a wide corridor of enemy ships in front of the Raptor. They escorted her past the heaviest concentration of fighters, within three or four clicks of the Pegasus. She was now flanked on either side by the two basestars, but neither Cylon ship seemed to notice, or care about the small Raptor and her two-Viper escort.
"You're green dead ahead, Boomer," Apollo called, as he and Starbuck rolled their Vipers away to either side. "Good luck."
"See you in a few, Boomer," Starbuck called.
"Thanks, guys, I'll see you soon."
She felt horribly alone and vulnerable without the two Vipers to keep her company. She had almost completely forgotten Mouse's presence, until the other woman called out, "Boomer, that smaller basestar is sending out a full barrage of warheads! Oh, frak, so is the bigger one! Just send the coordinates to the Pegasus and let's get the hell out of here!"
"Right," she said, flipping her comm. switch. "Pegasus, this is Boomer. I've got your coordinates... Come in, Pegasus."
There was no reply to her call.
"Frak! Are we not close enough?" she asked.
"I don't know," Mouse replied. "We should be. We certainly can't get any closer."
"Pegasus? Come in, Pegasus."
There was still no answer.
"Boomer, those fighters are turning back!"
"Frak! Pegasus, respond!"
As Boomer watched in horror, she saw the first three warheads strike the battlestar. Explosions and the warm flashes of internal fires erupted along the ship in several places. Then there was a sudden, blinding flash of light. Turning her face away from the unbearable glare, she activated the Raptor's hyperlight system.
"Hang on, Mouse, we're jumping!"
On the Galactica, Commander Adama watched the radar blips indicating the Cylon basestars, which had moved in to flank the Pegasus, open fire with all their guns. A moment or two later, the radar picture dissolved in heavy static.
"Sir, 70 kiloton, thermonuclear detonation," Lt. Gaeta said softly. "Sensors indicate that all three ships were destroyed."
"Any sign of the Raptor?"
"No, sir, but she may have managed to jump before the explosion."
"Are all the Civilian ships away?"
"Yes, sir."
"All Vipers are back on board?"
"Yes, sir," Duella answered.
Addressing Lt. Gaeta, Adama said, "Get us out of here, Lieutenant."
To be continued... (Only one chapter left. We're almost there...)
