Battlestar Galactica
Nightmare?
Chapter 10
On the Galactica's bridge, pandemonium threatened to run amok as the Cylons continued to pursue the beleaguered and dying giant. Everywhere one looked, there was smoke and fire, the result of the Cylons previous attacks on the Battlestar. The number of injured ….. and the dead where beginning to mount as the gallant crew fought on. It was a battle they knew they had little chance of winning.
"Commander, damage control teams report fires moving aft toward number three turbodyne." Colonel Tigh yelled to Commander Adama. "Number two turbodyne has been destroyed. Aft fire teams have set up a perimeter in sections Gamma thru Omega trying to cut the flames off."
"Very well Colonel, have them hold their positions and move the forward fire teams up into Beta and Delta sections." Adama answered. "They'll be able to contain it easier that way and protect turbodyne one."
Tigh nodded his head and passed the orders along. Adama turned back to the scanner screen he had been following the battle on when he heard the familiar voice of his daughter, Athena call to him from her scanners station.
"Father, I'm picking up a group of fighters coming in from Theta sector!"
Adama turned to her and asked, "More Cylons?"
Athena worked her controls for a moment, then a huge grin spread across her face.
"Their not Cylon father, their ours, their Vipers!"
"Thank the Lords of Kobol!", Adama said as he ran over to Athena's station, not able to believe what he had just heard. One look at the screen however confirmed that they were if fact Colonial Vipers! Their transponder signals told him that they were from Green and Orange Squadrons.
But there were so few of them.
"Can you make contact with them Athena?" Adama asked.
"Their just coming into range now father." She said as a voice, distorted by the heavy static could just barely be heard.
"Green leader to Galactica, do you hear me?"
"This is the Galactica Green leader, what is your status?" Adama asked.
"I am inbound with fifty one Vipers sir." Lieutenant Kolbe said "Eleven from Green squadron and all forty from Orange Squadron. We are low on fuel but we should be able to give you some breathing room before we get into our reserves."
"Thank the lords!" Adama whispered to himself, then over the Viper channel, he spoke.
"Very good Lieutenant, if you can just slow down those Penetrators for a few centons, we should be able to get free. Do you think you can do that Lieutenant?"
"We're sure going to find out Commander!" Kolbe said defiantly. "We're commencing our attack on the Cylons now!"
Adama and Athena watched as the pitifully few Vipers of Lieutenant Kolbe's group split into two groups with the larger portion heading off to engage the Cylon fighter squadrons and the smaller group moved toward the Penetrators. It would be a miracle if any of them lasted more then a few centons, outnumbered as they were, but there was no hesitation in the way they moved to the attack.
Lieutenant Levi and his squadron charged forward to meet the Cylon squadrons head on. They were outnumbered more then twenty to one, but that didn't matter. They had to push the Cylons away from the Galactica no matter what the cost. Failure to do so would mean certain death for the human race.
"Alright people, here they come." Levi said. "Let's hit em in force then break off into our battle pairs. Remember to stay with your wingmate and watch your tails. And keep an eye on your fuel gauges, don't run out or you're dead meat. If you run low, head for the Galactica and refuel. Everybody ready?"
The pilots of Orange Squadron replied as one with their traditional volley of laser fire as the came within range of the leading units of the Cylon forces.
The Cylons had pulled back from the Galactica momentarily when the Vipers from Green and Orange Squadrons appeared out of the darkness of space. Not knowing from wince they came or how many they were, the Cylon squadron commander called for an immediate retreat and regrouping with the Penetrators. When the Cylon commander discovered that there were only fifty one Vipers facing his squadrons, it ordered it's fighters to return to their attack on the Galactica.
The Vipers of Orange Squadron struck the Cylon formation like a hammer hitting glass as the concentrated fire of the forty ships utterly destroyed any ship that stood before them. They continued on thru the Cylon formation until they came out the far end. Once there, Levi ordered his troops to break off into their battle pairs and to attack at will.
And so, the Vipers of Orange Squadron began the fight of their lives as they began peeling back toward the rear of the Cylon formation. Most of the Cylon fighters did not engage the human squadrons, but rather, continued on toward the Galactica. Only a small portion of the huge formation, less then a hundred Raiders, had turned back to engage the Colonials. With odds of little more then two to one, the Colonials were for the first time in yahren had the advantage, and they took full advantage of the boon.
"Let's go people, let's get after em!" Levi called out to his squadron. He wanted to finish off the small group dispatched to take care of his squadron quickly so that they could go after the large formation that was advancing toward the Galactica. He knew if he couldn't find some way to stop those fighters, the Galactica was doomed!
Kolbe and his meager force of ten Vipers, all that remained of his squadron, moved to intercept and hopefully destroy the strange looking ships that now approached the Galactica. He had never seen vessels remotely similar to these and could not even begin to fathom their use. They had long, tapered forward sections and rather small, disproportionate drive section at the rear. They were traveling at a moderate speed along an intercept course with the Galactica. Judging from their size however, Kolbe believed that these strange craft were some sort of transports.
"Okay folks; let's hit these rust buckets fast and hard!" He said to his unit. "Go for the thrusters if you can and watch out for any fighters that come after us. Alright Green Squadron, let's do it! Good luck and good hunting!"
The eleven ships of the Green Squadron went to full battle thrusters and streaked away, on course for the first of the strange ships. As they neared weapons range, they were intercepted by a phalanx of Cylon fighters that had until then remained hidden behind the large craft. Kolbe had his people make a run at the "transports" instead of trying to engage the fighters since there was a good chance that their small number would not be sufficient to fight off the Cylon fighters and destroy the transports. Their best bet was to apply "Hit and run" tactics to the transports and hope to stay one step ahead of the Cylon fighters.
"Davi, you and Kort hit the first ship. Reeber, you and Briar take the second ship, Stowler and Griggs, the third." Kolbe ordered. "The rest of you war-daggits are on me. We'll provide the attack groups with as much cover as possible."
Acknowledgements came from each ship as they split up to make their runs. The Cylon fighters that had been hiding behind the Penetrators moved in to try and cut off the Colonials, but the superior speed and maneuverability of the Vipers made this a lost cause as the Vipers swung around the Cylon fighters and headed in on the large, slow moving craft.
The first run at the Penetrators was highly successful as the Vipers sweep in from their rear quadrant, giving them easy targets. The pairs of Vipers that Kolbe had designated for attack runs had great success as they flew over their intended targets, firing at will as they flew by. All three groups scored direct hits on the Penetrators, causing huge explosions and fires to erupt from the drive sections of each. Once they had completed their attack runs, the Vipers of Green squadron made a hard turn to port, toward the Galactica.
Kolbe looked back at the three Penetrators they had just attacked to see what kind of damage they had caused. What he saw was most encouraging! All three Penetrators were on fire and one had lost a portion of its drive section. All three appeared to be adrift.
He turned back and ordered his troops to begin the first turn of what would be a figure eight pattern that would lead them back over the Penetrators. He hoped that they could get at least two more solid runs at them before the Cylons caught on to what they were doing. But that was not to be.
As soon as they had finished their run, the Cylons fighters split up and were now coming at them from two directions. Kolbe's plan had been ruined before it even had time to get started. Now he and his people had to go on the defensive and hope for another opening on the strange looking ships.
"Listen up people, time to make tracks." Kolbe called over the Green Squadron frequency. "Regroup and let's see if we can draw these tin cans off. We'll try and work our way back in a few centons."
"Sounds good to me" Lieutenant Kort responded. "But I think you should know, my fuel is getting pretty low!"
Kolbe looked down at his own fuel gauges and discovered that he too was getting close to his reserves."
"My fuel cells are running low too and I seriously doubt we'll have time to refuel." Kolbe told them. "We might just have to fly till we're dry people!"
"What do you mean by that?" asked Kort.
"I mean that if worse comes to worse and we start running out of fuel, we do whatever it takes to save the Galactica, even if we have to ram these rust buckets."
"You're not serious!" Ensign Gallo said incredulously.
"That is exactly what I mean Ensign, we use whatever means possible to stop them! If that means we have to sacrifice ourselves, then so be it! The important thing is to get the Galactica clear of this trap. That is our one and only priority."
The silence on the com system was deafening, as each of the pilots of Green Squadron realized what Kolbe was saying. They had always known that someday they might have to die in order to save the fleet and the Galactica, but none had ever really expected that day to come.
Especially not today!
"Look, I know that none of you expected anything like this to happen when you woke up this morning, I know I sure didn't! But this is the job we all signed up for, we're Colonial Warriors, and that means we are responsible for the protection of the Galactica and the fleet. I don't want to die any more then you do, but I swore an oath to protect and defend the colonies and the fleet, and by the Lords of Kobol, I will do just that!"
There was another long silence before Lieutenant Kort came on channel.
"Alright skipper, lets make those galmonging Cylons regret the day they crossed paths with Green Squadron!"
The Viper channel came to life with the voices of the other members of Green Squadron.
All except Ensign Gallo.
"Green Squadron has inflicted heavy damage to three of the Penetrators Commander." Omega reported as he monitored the battle. "One ship is adrift while the other two have come to complete stops."
Adama nodded his head.
"Good, good, that cuts the odds down some!" he said to Tigh, who was standing next to him, directing the damage control teams. "Now if we can just slip past the rest of them, we might be able to make a run for it!"
"Don't forget Adama, we've already lost turbodyne number two and number three is in jeopardy." Tigh reminded him. "If we lose number three, we won't stand a ….."
Tigh didn't have a chance to finish because at that moment, the entire ship was rocked by an explosion from deep within the bowels of the vessel. Adama and Tigh were thrown to the deck as the lights throughout the Battlestar went dark. Several microns passed before the emergency lights came on, revealing the devastation that had occurred.
The number three turbodyne, which had been in the path of the spreading fire had finally blown. That alone was devastating enough, but had the solium cells ruptured and ignited, the Galactica would have turned into a fireball. As it was, there was now a gapping hole in the heart of the Galactica and she slowly began to lose headway.
Adama struggled to his feet, trying to find out what had just happened. At first he thought they had been hit by the mega pulsars of one of the Cylon Baseships, but they were still well out of range, so it had to be something else. But what?
"Commander, I've lost all contact with the damage control teams." Omega said from his console.
Adama thought for a moment then realized that one of the turbodyne's had to have blown to cause such an explosion. He also realized that if that was the case, there was no way they were going to outrun the Cylons. As much as he hated to admit it, their luck had just run out. He walked over to his command console and placed his headset on his head, then he opened up the ship wide intercom.
"All hands, this is Commander Adama speaking. We have just lost our propulsion system and are now adrift. The Cylon battle fleet is closing in and will soon over take us. There is little hope that the few Vipers we still have will be able to defend us, therefore I am ordering all hands to go to your abandon ship stations and leave the Galactica immediately. I will give orders to our remaining Vipers to rendezvous with the shuttles and escape pods and escort you to the fleet where you will proceed on whatever course Colonel Croft decides to take. Those of us staying behind will do whatever we can to cover your escape. I send with you my blessings and the blessings of the Lords of Kobol."
He then took the head set off and placed it on the console. He stood silently for a moment then turned to see that all hands on the bridge staring at him, including Colonel Tigh.
"Commander, are you sure you want to abandon ship?" Tigh asked. "There has to be something we can do!"
Adama walked over to his old friend and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Tigh, we've lost propulsion." Adama said sadly. "We're dead in space. The best we can do now is get as many people off the ship as possible and when the Cylons get close, blow up the Galactica and take them with us."
"Adama, if that is what you think we should do, then I'm with you." Tigh said as he grasped the Commander's wrists. "We'll make them regret the day they ever started this damned war!"
"Yes we will!"
Out in space, the Warriors of the Galactica's Orange Squadron were doing everything within their power to hold back the never ending masses of Cylon fighters, but outnumbered as they were, it was very apparent that they would not win the day. They had started their attack with forty Vipers and a lot of courage, now there were only sixteen of them left, and those few were now resigned to the fate that was theirs.
"Orange nine to Orange leader, my fuel is almost gone!" yelled a frightened voice over the Viper channel.
"We're all running out Dag!" Levi said as he sweep in on another group of Cylon fighters. "Break off and head for the Galactica."
"Orange nine acknowledges."
Levi glanced off to his left to see the lone Viper heading off in the direction of the Galactica and he wondered if he would ever see young Ensign Dag again. He had already sent a dozen ships off to refuel and so far, not one of them had returned. It was as if there was a giant hole out in space that kept swallowing up his pilots. But he had little time to worry about it now. He just had another score of Cylon fighters move in behind him and had to get back down to the business of staying alive.
It was at that moment that a huge flash caught Levi's eye. It came from the direction that Ensign Dag had flown off in, but was far too large to have been his Viper. This was something much larger. Levi realized that there was only one ship large enough to make that big of a fireball ….. the Galactica! A few moments later, the voice of Colonel Tigh came over the Viper channel.
"Galactica to all Vipers, we are abandoning ship! I repeat, we are abandoning ship! Your orders are to break off immediately and rendezvous with the shuttles and escape pods and escort them to the fleet. May the Lords of Kobol watch over you all, Galactica out!"
Levi could barely believe what he had just heard. The Commander was going to abandon the Galactica! Things must have gone seriously wrong if the Commander was abandoning ship. Levi opened up the Orange Squadron frequency and ordered all his remaining Vipers to break off from the Cylons and make for the Galactica. He received acknowledgments from only thirteen pilots, having lost three more in the past few centons. The Cylons began pursuing their human foe as soon as they broke off, but with their superior speed, the Vipers were out of range before they could stop them.
Kolbe and his people were still trying to find an opening to the strange looking transports, what was it the Commander called them, "Penetrators", when he heard the recall. He too was shocked at the prospect of the Galactica being abandoned.
"Did you hear that Kolbe? Their abandoning the Galactica!" Kort said over the Viper Channel.
"Yea, I heard. Things must have really gone sour if the Commander is abandoning ship."
"So what do we do now?" asked Gallo.
"We don't have enough fuel to reach the Galactica as it is, let alone escort the escape pods to the fleet." Kolbe said. "Therefore I'm ordering each of you to do whatever you can to protect and defend the Galactica, the escape pods, and the fleet. You can take that any way you want it. If you want to try and make it back to the Galactica, you have my blessings to do so. As for me, I'm going to go out facing the enemy. If any of you would care to join me, I will be executing a one hundred eighty degree turn in fifty microns. I wish you all the best of luck and may the Lords of Kobol bless you."
Kolbe counted down the microns, knowing that this would be his last battle. He surprisingly felt no fear. He was very calm, to the point of almost serenity, his mind at peace with what was about to transpire. He had lost his entire family in the attack on the colonies and had never really become too close to anyone aboard the Galactica except those few people from the Pacifica that had survived the Cimtar disaster. No, Kolbe was at peace with what was about to come and would face the hated Cylons with no fear.
As he approached the end of his countdown, he opened the Viper channel.
"Green leader to Green Squadron, I am making my turn to port in three…..two…..one…..executing!"
On his mark, Kolbe threw his control stick hard over to port, taking his Viper into a hard, one hundred eighty degree turn. As he came out of the turn he looked back over his left shoulder, expecting to see the rest of Green Squadron heading back toward the Galactica, but what he saw filled him with surprise and pride. There, following him in formation were five Vipers. He quickly looked over the other shoulder and found five more Vipers riding in perfect unison off his starboard wing.
All ten members of Green Squadron had stayed with him!
Kolbe hit the Viper channel switch and said to his people, "Alright people, lets make this one for the history scrolls. Assume wedge formation. We're going to plow right thru those fighters and go after those transports. Hit em with everything you got. If you run out of fuel…..well, you all know what to do. It's been a pleasure serving with you. Good luck and good hunting!"
With that said, the eleven Vipers of the Galactica's Green Squadron engaged the Cylons one last time. They hit the Cylon fighters with a hail of fire, blowing a huge hole thru their formation. Once they had cleared the Cylon attack phalanx, they drove straight for the Penetrators. Without breaking formation, the Vipers attacked the Penetrators one after another, causing considerable damage as they went.
One of the Penetrators lost its attitude control system and veered off course, directly into the side of another of the large craft. The two ships became one massive conflagration before finally exploding in a star-like fireball.
This was a welcome site to the pilots of Green Squadron, but they had little thought for celebration at that time. Their only concern was to destroy the remaining Penetrators before they ran out of fuel…..or were themselves destroyed. They continued to press the attack, firing at any target that came within range, always aware that the next micron could be their last. They scored hits on four more Penetrators before the inevitable happened.
Their fuel had run out!
Kolbe was the first to feel the sputtering of his engines. He immediately cut the fuel to his number one engine, hoping this would give him a few more microns to do what he knew he had to do.
"Green leader to all units, my fuel is out! I'm running on vapors." He told them. "My last order to you is to make them pay for what they did. Take as many of them with you as possible. Fight on Warriors! Fight on!"
With that said, Kolbe aimed his Viper at the closest Penetrator and hit his turbos. He started firing as soon as he was in range, causing explosions and fires to erupt from what he believed was the control center. He continued to fire right up until he crashed his ship into the bridge of the Cylon vessel.
"Dear lord! Did you see that?" exclaimed Gallo as the members of Green Squadron watched Kolbe's suicide attack.
"Yea Gallo, we all say it!" Kort said. "And I think its time we all think about doing the same thing! I say we each pick a ship and take the damn thing out!"
There was an over whelming consensus, all except Gallo, who said he couldn't commit suicide because of his religious beliefs. The others didn't believe him, thinking he was just too cowardly to make the sacrifice, but they didn't say anything. They simply ignored him and made their plans to follow Kolbe's example.
"Alright then, everyone pick a ship and make your attacks." Kort said. "It's been my honor to serve with you all. God's speed my friends."
"We'll see you on the other side! Ensign Gawin said.
Then the remaining ten Vipers of Green Squadron split up, each heading for a different Penetrator. All except Gallo, who decided he would try and make a run for it. His fuel indicator still read more then a hundred kilons, more then enough to make it back to the Galactica. So he turned his ship back toward the Galactica and headed off to what he hoped would be safety. He however forgot one very important thing. That between him and the Galactica were hundreds of Cylon fighters that were at that very moment closing in on him from all sides.
Gallo didn't bother to check his scanner, in fact he had turned it off as well as his homing beacon and any other electronic devices that would give his position away. He hoped that by doing this, he could slip thru the Cylons and reach the Galactica unseen.
He was wrong.
Dead wrong!
Gallo had only been underway for about ten centons when a group of Cylon fighters surrounded him.
Gallo was scared senseless! He never saw them coming. Everywhere he looked, there were Cylons. It was at that moment he knew he would never see the Galactica, nor anything else again. He was about to die…..alone. Gallo's hand fell from the control stick of his Viper into his lap as he stared out his canopy at all the Cylon fighters. His Viper began to slow down, causing the Cylons behind him to alter their course to avoid hitting the human craft. Those that were in front of the Viper began turning around, not sure what the human was trying to do.
After several centons of coasting along on inertia, Gallo's Viper came to a stop. He still sat there, motionless, staring blankly into the blackness of space. He no longer saw the Cylons that swarmed around him, or the stars off in the distance. His mind had taken him away from all that, away from all the horrors of reality. Gallo was in a world all his own. He was back on Pisceria, at his uncle's estate. His uncle was a prosperous merchant who had just recently been chosen to the Council of the Twelve. He had been given this great honor because of his work in bringing about a peace treaty with the Cylons.
Uncle Baltar had become the greatest hero of the age!
But wait! Baltar wasn't a hero. He had betrayed the colonies! He had conspired with the Cylons to help destroy the fleet. To destroy the Colonies! Uncle Baltar was not the greatest hero of the age!
He was the greatest TRAITOR of the age! Of all-time!
Gallo snapped out of his dream-like state just as the Cylon ship directly in front of him fired. Gallo instinctively grabbed his control stick and managed to get off several shots of his own before his Viper was vaporized.
The other members of Green Squadron met their fates in a much different manner then had Gallo. They had each chosen to follow Lieutenant Kolbe's example, to make one last suicide attack on the large, slow moving ships that Commander Adama had called "Penetrators". And so they did. In all, they scored hits on six of the Cylon vessels, destroying two and crippling one other. Their courage and sacrifice, thou great, was not enough. There were still four Penetrators left, and they were on their way to the Galactica.
On the Galactica bridge, Adama was trying to get everyone he could off the ship and into the escape pods. He knew there was little time and even less chance that any of them would survive even if they did get off, but he had to try! He wanted his daughter and grandson, Boxey off the Galactica but Athena refused to leave and so far, nobody could find Boxey.
Colonel Tigh stepped up next to him with another report. The look on his face told Adama it wasn't good news.
"Commander, our Vipers have broken off their attacks and are returning to the Galactica. They report that they are all dangerously low on fuel and request permission to land and get as much fuel as possible before the Cylons close in again."
"Can we land and refuel them in Beta landing bay?"
Tigh shook his head and said, "The last report we had from Beta bay was that the landing and refueling facilities were still operational, but that was before number three turbodyne blew. We've heard nothing from them since."
Adama thought for a moment, then told Tigh to have as many Vipers as was possible land and refuel. Tigh nodded and passed the orders along. Adama wondered if any of them would survive the day.
The Vipers of Orange Squadron arrived at the Galactica well ahead of their Cylon pursuers and were greeted by a horrific site. The Alpha landing bay was missing from the left side of the ship with only the tattered stubs of what had once been the support struts remained. It was clear to Levi that the landing bay had been separated purposely for some reason because of the evenness of the supports.
But this was the least of the visible damage to the ancient warship, for the entire drive section was literally hanging on by a tread. On the port side, aft of the center support strut was a gapping hole that ran clear across the Galactica to a point just aft of the last support going to Beta landing bay. The only thing keeping the drive section connected to the ship at all was a few dozen cables and what was left of perhaps three or four bulkheads. The entire drive section floated off at an angle, across and above the opening to Beta landing bay. Levi wondered if he was returning to a ghost ship.
"Holy Frak! What happened?" asked someone on the open channel.
"Looks like they got hit by a Baseship or something." Another voice said.
"Alright you guy's, stow the chatter." Levi admonished them, then he tried to raise the bridge.
"Orange leader to Galactica, come in please."
Nothing.
"Orange leader to Galactica, please respond." Levi tried again.
After a few microns, a staticy signal could be heard.
"Galac…here, what is…. status?"
The voice was that of Commander Adama. Levi moved his Viper as close to the bridge as possible, hoping to improve the signal.
"I hear you sir but you're breaking up. Please repeat."
"What is your status Lieutenant?" came Adama's voice, much clearer this time.
"I have twelve ships with me sir. What are your orders?"
"Can you tell me how much damage we've sustained Lieutenant?" Adama asked, knowing the answer would not be good.
"Yes sir, you've lost the entire drive section and Alpha landing bay. There's a hole thru the entire primary hull running diagonally from amidships on the port side to just aft of the last landing bay support strut on the starboard side. I'd say everything aft of the number one turbodyne is gone sir."
It was worse then he had feared. He had thought that the turbodynes blowing up like that would have only taken out a few sections of the ship, not bisected it as it seemed to have done. The last hope of saving the Galactica faded from his heart.
"Understood Lieutenant, can you and your squadron make it into the landing bay and refuel?"
"We'll sure give it a try sir." Levi said.
"Good, then proceed to Beta landing bay and take on as much fuel as you can before the Cylons get within range." Adama told him. "As soon as your people launch, join up with the escape pods and take them to the rendezvous point with the fleet. Colonel Croft will be in command from this day forward. Follow his orders as you would mine and he will lead you to safety. Good luck Lieuten……good luck Levi."
The com signal went dead.
Levi pulled his Viper around and joined his squadron which was circling the Galactica and told them what the Commander had said.
"So what about the Galactica? What are they going to do, just leave it behind?" asked Ensign Lundy.
"I doubt it, the Commander would scuttle her before he lets the Cylons have her. Whatever the case, we have a job to do so let's get on the deck and see to it." Levi said definitively.
The Vipers of Orange Squadron made their way to the opening to Beta landing bay. There were only a few landing lights operating inside the bay and the wreckage from the drive section hung precariously close to the entry making landing anything but easy. Levi saw this and told his people to take extra precaution when making their approaches, then he led the way in.
He made his approach from what was almost a right angle to the landing bay, making his turn into the bay at less then twenty metrons from the landing bay opening. Inertia caused Levi's Viper to move sideways farther then he intended, thus causing him to clip the far wall of the landing bay. If not for the fact he had been moving at such a slow rate of speed, Levi most likely would have crashed and burned. Instead he only damaged the left side stableator on his Viper. He continued on, finding that the environmental fields that provided a breathable atmosphere in the bay was not working nor was the artificial gravity. This was going to be much more difficult then he had planned on.
Levi slowly made his was down thru the landing bay to the fueling stations where he found them to be intact. He landed at the nearest station and after sealing his helmet and flight suit, popped his canopy. Even thou they were not truly designed or intended for zero G and zero atmosphere, the flight suits and helmets could sustain a person for short periods of time in the vacuum of space. Levi dismounted from his cockpit and moved over to the fueling station. He tried the control panel, but found it had no power. He switched the control lever over to manual and hooked up the fueling lines and grounding straps to his Viper. With that done, he began the process of hand pumping the fuel into his ship.
One after another, the ships of Orange Squadron made their way to the fueling stations and began refueling their ships by hand. Ensign Lundy was the last to land and had to wait, as there were only eight stations. As she sat in her cockpit watching the others, she noticed something off to one side of the bay in the shadows. She pulled out a hand lamp and shined the beam in the direction of the object. She let out a scream as the light fell upon the body of a Warrior.
"Lundy, is that you?" called Levi as he was finishing the fuel transfer to his Viper. "What's wrong?"
"There's a body floating over there!" she said, not realizing that Levi couldn't see where she was pointing.
"Where?" Levi asked as he moved around to where he could see Lundy.
"Over by that access hatch." She said and shined her light in the direction of the corpse. Levi and Flight Sergeant Viara moved closer to the dead Warrior and gasped as they recognized who it was.
"It's Bojay!" said Levi sadly. He pulled out a small hand lamp that he always carried with him and shined it on the mans face.
"Looks like he was caught out here when the landing bay decompressed." Viara said.
Levi was about to check the hatch when a call came in from Ensign Wheeler, who had been given the job of monitoring the Cylons that were following them.
"Hey Levi, those Cylons are about five centons out and closing fast. You might want to think about wrapping things up and getting out of there."
"Right, we're on our way out. You get your butt in here and grab as much fuel as you can, then get out. We'll rendezvous with the escape pods and take them to the fleet." Levi told him. Then he told all those pilots that had already refueled to launch immediately and head for the rendezvous point.
The other three Vipers that had been waiting to refuel were moving into the vacated fueling stations and beginning to refuel as the first of the Vipers from Orange Squadron launched for the last time off the Galactica. As they made their way toward the rendezvous point, they each cast a glance back at the Galactica. The last of her kind, she was a sad site to behold. Broken and battered, with no power to defend herself, she would soon cease to exist. Four centons later, the last four Vipers from Orange Squadron left Beta landing bay and rendezvoused with Levi and the others. With all hands accounted for, He led the way toward the escape pods and an uncertain future.