Starbuck was firghtingly pleased to see that the Basestars were finally deploying their normal assault of missiles as the delay in their actions concerned her. Signaling that the Cylons didn't have some grander scheme. The relief that she felt was quickly overcame by the realization that she now had to shoot down those missiles before they reached the fleet.

"Starbuck, I'll need you and Kat to knock down those missiles." Apollo radioed over to the two pilots, knowing that they were already in pursuit.

The vapor of the six missiles fired by the Basestars trailed half way to the fleet before Starbuck and Kat reached within firing range. The two Vipers split up, each taking however as many missiles they could take out. Given the limited amount of time the two viper pilots took aim and eliminated most of the missiles at an alarming ease.

Starbuck trailed one of the last two missiles. Ahead of it, she could see the fleet edging closer.

Kat was chasing the other remaining missile. As she approached the missile on it's right side, she took aim at the warhead. With her finger firmly pressed against the trigger, her Viper's bullets sprayed across space towards the missile. Unbeknown to her, the warhead was unarmed. Regardless of the outcome of her efforts if the missile were to hit the Galactica it simply would shatter amongst contact. The fleet's protector and Kat's home would still be left with barely a scratch. None-the-less, she was able to make a direct hit causing a brilliant explosion. To her, she just made one step further at saving the Galactica.

"I got it!" Kat declared. Her voice garbled as it came over the radio.

Starbuck's pride was beginning to bruise as she tried to race ahead of the missile. Her visibility became poor with the missiles vapor acting as a shield to the missile. With the possibility that she might not be able to get a clear shot, she looked ahead again at the fleet and the Galactica where the missile appeared to be heading. She knew she needed to warn them of the possibility of her failure to down the nuke.

"Galactica, this is Starbuck. You have an incoming nuke. Prepare for a possible impact."

Starbuck pushed her viper as hard as she could. She had reached the point where even without a clear shot, not making an attempt would be idiotic. Blindly, she began firing. The sound of her Viper's gun's rapid fire reverberated throughout the cockpit. The repetitive thud stopped as Starbuck released her finger from the trigger. An alarm within the cockpit had been set off. The words "weapons malfunction" flashed up in the right hand corner of her Dradis console. "That's great." Starbuck had no weapons and the missile was still heading in a direct line to the Galactica and she had no way of knocking the missile out of commission. Kit was pulled too far off course to come to her assistance. Starbuck needed another plan. But, with an unsettling sensation there was no ideas, words or phrases appearing outside of that box that most average minds worked within.

In the CIC Adama gave the Dradis screen a defiant stare. His eyes concentrated on the incoming missile and the blip that portrayed Starbuck and her Viper. She had come through before in times like this. He had no reason to think this was going to be no different. She is more then unorthodox in her ways and Adama thanked the Gods for that. It was that unorthodox thinking that has saved humanity more times then Adama would like to think about. He figured that it was that random way of thinking that would be what saved their collective behinds in this moment of crisis. Adama wasn't about taking chances like Starbuck just for the sake of it. He still knew what had to be done. "Mr. Gaeta. Do you have the coordinates for the jump?"

"Yes. They are ready to be sent, sir." Gaeta replied calmly.

"Get them out to the fleet. Tell them to get the hell out of here. Inform them we will be with them shortly."

"Yes sir."

A few tantalizing moments past as the drama unfolded on the CIC. Cassia stood at her post as she spoke to someone on her headset. She soon looked over to Adama. "Sir. I have the President on the line."

Adama looked over at Tigh. Both men had an uneasy look. Adama picked up his handset. "This is Adama."

"Admiral. Is there a reason that you're sending the fleet away without the protection of the Galactica?"

"I have a pilot out there. I'm not willing to leave her behind."

"I see. Captain Thrace, I presume?"

"Yes."

"I appreciate the many times she has proven her worth to our plight. But, how many times is her life going to be chosen over the welfare of the fleet?"

Adama sighed. "President Zarek, if it was anyone of my pilots, I would do the same."

"But, you see that's exactly my point. It is never another pilot. That is because your other pilots are responsible when it comes to their own actions."

"I understand your concern. But, this is a military decision."

"A military decision. That may of worked when President Roslin was in Office. But this is a different administration, Admiral Adama." Zarek bit back.

"That, I am aware of." Adama returned Zarek's ire.

"I hope that your military decision doesn't leads to the end of our race."

"I assure you Mr. president, it will not."

"Please forgive me for not sharing in your confidence."

With that, Zarek dropped off the line.

Adama with his eyes trained on the Dradis again, watched the civilian ships including the Colonial One vanish from the Dradis screen as they jumped to the new coordinates. "Cassia, recall the Vipers. Tell them to be prepared for a jump once they land."

Officer Cassia took the order and acted swiftly. "Vipers pilots, come back home and prepare for jump. I repeat, comeback home and prepare for jump."

Amidst the wreckage of Raiders and Vipers Apollo responded to the order. "You heard her. Get back to the Galactica."

"Frak!" Starbuck still in pursuit of the missile was beginning to realize that it was inevitable that the nuke was going to hit the Galactica. But, her unorthodox way still had the best of her.

"She's not pulling away." Colonial Tigh said with surprise and frustration. Even after all these years he was caught off guard when Starbuck tried something stupid. Adama called it unorthodox. Tigh considered it stupidity. "The longer she stays with that thing, the less chance we have to jump. We can't just open fire with her in Galactica's solution either. The only other option is to jump without her."

"No." Adama picked up his handset as he opened a channel throughout the ship. "This is the Admiral. Prepare for impact."

"We're taking an awful risk. Depending on the damage, we could be stuck here for a long time while the fleet is left alone, to be picked apart by a passing Cylon fleet. I'd hate to see Tom Zarek prove you wrong."

"She's going to do it." Adama said adamantly. "The fleet will be fine. Besides, even if we could open fire, the likely hood of us hitting a lone nuke, is minimal."

Tigh chuckled seriously. "If she didn't think with her ego, we wouldn't be talking about the odds. "

All Vipers, except for Starbuck are accounted for." Cassia announced.

Adama gave Cassia a quick look of confirmation then returned his eyes to the Dradis screen. Starbuck's location edged closer and closer to the bottom of the Dradis indicating her proximity to the Galactica.

Why haven't they jumped yet? Even Starbuck found her ability to come through in the clutch a burden. Adama has too much faith in me.

Baltar aboard his Basestar watched as the lone nuke blasted its way towards the Galactica. He imagined that the crazy Viper pilot was Starbuck. His intuition was correct. As he watched he felt relieved that he had ordered the warheads to be disabled on the nukes. From where he stood, there was no way Starbuck was going to down the nuke in time. It was going to hit the Galactica straight on. If anything was to happen to Adama, Baltar was done for. He was sure he could put up a good show for a few months, but the Cylons would quickly become impatient and do away with him.

As the missile closed in on the battlestar, the Viper pulled away.

"Sorry Galactica." Starbuck said, as she pulled up hard on her controls.

Baltar stood at the monitor with a cooling calm flowing though his body. Soon the charade would be over and Galactica was going to jump. His Basestars would of course follow as they continue to track the fleet. With the Viper pulling further away from Galactica, Baltar turned to walk away from the monitor as well. He had no need to see the splintering of the missile against the hard shell of the Galactica.

What was to suppose be an innocent thud, was much more. Baltar's cooling calm, began to become a boiling caldron of hysteria. He knew something wasn't right. His chest tightened. He turned back around in frantic horror at his display. Hunched over with one hand clenched to the console and the other wiping the immense sweat from his forehead he did not want to believe what he saw. In a moment of petrified grief just one thought came to his genius mind. I am a dead man.