This story is based on the original series of Battlestar Galactica and the characters from the book series, and I make no claim of ownership over any existing characters or story elements that I have stolen from other shows! Even my O.C's seem disappointed to belong to me - sob they have filed for emancipation ...

By the way, this is my first fanfic, so please don't expectmuch! I would love all readers to review...pleease! To those who have (ok - only the one: but thanks anyway!) thank you for taking the time to drop a line - much appreciated!

Chapter Two: Fighting for a Chance.

Athena spun to the left, her leg swinging to connect the head of one of her assailants. The stinging in her thigh was gone already, her adrenaline pumping as her training came to the fore. Trying to keep off three aliens at once was harder then one would suppose, but Athena was trained for this and the exertion did her good.

On board the Galactica, Athena could only practice her martial arts moves in her small quarters, occasionally sparing with other members of her team when they could arrange it. But in situations like this, Athena came alive. Grabbing the third alien in a quick headlock, she snapped his neck and threw his lifeless body towards the other two, knocking them back to the ground.

Appearing suddenly, a fourth alien arrived. He was much stronger then the two other aliens, his training making him an equal opponent. He smiled menacingly at Athena, and launched himself at her. Athena blocked his first few moves, but his fists flew almost faster then her own and one of them connected, sending her stumbling backwards.

Keeping momentum, he followed up his advantage with a few more punches and a kick that sent her flying into the trunk of a tree. Shaking her head to remove fallen foliage, Athena braced herself against the trunk and kicked out as her opponent came rushing closer, sending him flying backwards. The other two aliens used this as an advantage, and each grabbed one of Athena's arms, holding her up for the third alien's recovered attack. Athena again kicked out, but her kick was not as effective, and after swinging one of the two aliens around so that his head connected with that of the first alien and knocking them out, she was unprepared for the third alien's attack, which sent her flying backwards, smashing into the side of her own ship.

The impact stunned her, and realizing she was vulnerable, the young girl ordered Starbuck to fly off, hoping it was enough to maybe distract the attack from her to them. Starbuck, after glancing at Apollo and receiving his agreement, flew off a few hundred meters, their sensors still trained on Athena; but the ruse didn't work.

Athena stumbled to stand up, but her leg gave her a little trouble. Focusing on the injury, she realized it wasn't broken as she thought it might have been but only sprained. Her distraction allowed the alien to get his arms around her neck, holding her in a chokehold, grinning maniacally. "There is no point in trying to stand up to us, hu-man; you are no match for us!" he sneered. Grunting with the strain, Athena braced her feet against the ground and grasped the alien's forearm, trying to dislodge his grip. Slowly choking, her fear built up inside her until it became anger. She remembered her family – she wanted to see them again; and her opponent's smug superiority was the final insult. With a snarl, she snapped, "My name is Athena!"

Grabbing his arm firmly, she used the last of her strength to flip them both in the air, landing hard on the alien's back. The force of the fall loosened his grip and Athena pulled away, landing an elbow to his neck before rolling away. Gasping in a lungful of air, she focused on her inner strength, readying herself for the fight. The alien had rolled over himself, feeling his neck for injury before forcing himself to stand, growling out inhumanly. As he turned to Athena, she braced herself for his attack in an ancient martial arts pose.

Rushing her, the alien threw himself into a frenzy, his blows coming faster and faster as his anger intensified. Athena met each strike in a cold anger of her own, determined to beat him and finish the job as meant to be done – failure was not one of her options, not if she was to save her people from this threat. With a practiced move, she sidestepped one of his blows, turned neatly to follow up, and grabbed his neck with a vicious grip. Twisting his body to loosen her hold, he vaulted himself over her head, with the intention of grabbing Athena from behind. Prepared for this, Athena twirled around and kicked him while he was still in mid-air. The force of her kick sent him spinning rapidly backwards, crashing with a sickening thud against the trunk of the nearest tree and snapping his spine with enough strength to kill him instantly.

Turning towards the shuttle, Athena felt the number of aliens around her increase. Taking a breath and steadying herself, she spoke one word directed to her Captain.

"Hurry!"

"Move it – we gotta go get her, now!" Chandra turned to Apollo, who had pushed Starbuck out of the pilot's seat. With a firm nod, he flew the shuttle back in the direction of where his sister was fighting for her life. Holding Athena's pack in her hands, Chandra moved back to the holding bay, readying the controls to open the hatch. A muffled shout, "Open it!" from the cockpit, and Chandra hit the switch with her palm. Swinging into the hatchway, she pulled her weapon and hunched down to begin firing around Athena, who had started running towards the now open hatch.

Chandra turned around to grab the pack, turning back to fling it out to the ground; the momentary lapse in cover fire was enough to give one of the aliens a chance to get a good shot back. With a loud, "No!", Athena dived in-between Chandra and the bullet. Time seemed to slow down, then speed up – Boomer hit the switch again to lower the door, and Chandra pulled Athena further in.

It was a slight whimper from Athena followed by the telepathic stab of pain that made Chandra realize Athena had been shot. Rolling Athena over, Chandra's eyes searched for and found the entry wound in her lower torso. Athena's blood pooled under her tender hand, but the touch was enough to make Athena tense. Grabbing hold of Chandra's arm before she could do anymore than move for the medico kit, Athena shook her head and bit her lip firmly.

"No, Captain, the pack –it's now or never!" her sentence was cut of as she gasped in pain. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself up, pushing Chandra's hand away as she attempted to help, and dragged herself to the nearest bulkhead.

Chandra leant back on her heels uncertainly, but she knew Athena was right. Moving swiftly to the nearest computer terminal, she punched in a few commands then moved back to the porthole above Athena's head. The ground was disappearing fast, but from the distance, she could still see the large explosion when the pack detonated. A large cloud of bluish green gas dissipated from the blast, then spread like a shock wave across the ground.

With a satisfied sigh, Chandra leant her head against the glass for a moment, and then pushed back when another telepathic shot of pain hit her, this time much stronger than the last. Crouching down beside Athena, she used the tips of her fingers to rest above the wound. Athena tried to pull away from the connection, knowing what her Captain meant to do, but the bulkhead reminded her there was no room to move.

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Next Time: Will Athena make it back to the Galactica alive - and if she does, will she suvive question hour!

Tune in next week for another thrilling episode in this not so thrilling story ...

A/N: Well, I hope that was better than the first chapter ...drop me a line if you liked it - or hey, even if you don't; I don't have any high standards!