Apollo poured on the speed when he heard the explosion behind him. He felt the blast of hot wind hit him, and he kept his feet, using it as a push off to run harder. He worried less about cover and more about putting some distance between himself and the clinic. It wasn't until they were amongst the last few houses before the hills that he finally halted in the cover of a residential home's patio, breathing hard as he waited for Avery to catch up.

Apollo could visibly see the toll that the toxicity of the planet had taken on Avery, as he wheezed like an old man coming to a stop beside him, bending over, hands on thighs, as he struggled to catch his breath. He fell to his knees, retching and then wiping his mouth on his sleeve as he looked up at Apollo.

"Is he insane?" Avery gasped.

"Yes, but he's on our side. Sometimes unconventional works in our favor." Apollo watched as the black smoke roiled into the sky and then began to descend again, filling the streets they had just raced down. "Insanely intelligent. He's provided us some excellent cover, not to mention one Hades of a distraction. We should use it while we can. "

Another explosion echoed off the hills, and they both instinctively crouched down. When he recovered from his shock, Avery lashed out and snatched the collar of Apollo's jacket,. "This is my planet! I might need those resources he's blowing to hades back there! Did you think of that?"

"Not if you're dead, you won't! Starbuck just saved our astrums back there and gave us the best chance to get back to the others unseen, so gripe to the Cylons, not me." He hesitated as he regarded the Caprican. The man showed signs of low-grade radiation exposure; fatigue, hair loss, nausea, loss of appetite. They all did. It was a miracle they weren't all dead. "We thought we were rescuing you. If the Cylons don't kill you, this planet will. The radium level is too high to live a long life here and your men are in poor shape. Are you that hungry for power that you would kill your own people just so you can be in charge?"

Avery stared at him dumbfounded. "Is that what you think? If someone else wants command, they can have it. You volunteering? It's not about being in charge, it's about not leaving my people behind! I won't abandon them!"

"We weren't talking about abandoning them. We were prepared to take everyone," Apollo answered, beginning to wonder if the three yahrens of radium poisoning had affected the man's reasoning capabilities. It was possible he had a brain tumor.

"Not us you idiot, the rest of them!"

The crazed look in the man's eyes made Apollo uneasy and he didn't have time to set the man straight. Boomer's life was depending on the medications in his pack.

"Look we should take advantage of this cover while we can. We can talk on the way about how my group intends to get off this planet and back to the fleet. You can either help with that, or get out of our way."

Avery kept hold of his jacket, leaning in nose to nose. "You would just leave us behind again? Do you have any idea what they have been through? The Cylons are using them, for what purpose I don't know, but we can't just leave them there. If nothing else, for the safety of the human race we need to save them. They have learned too much about us already!"

Apollo pushed the man away gently, but firmly. "We can talk on the way. I don't want to leave any of you behind, but I feel you aren't giving me much choice."

"Then help me rescue them. You all seem insane enough to pull it off. But you're right, we should get going or we will become one of them and need the rescue ourselves." Avery suddenly let go and began sprinting for the hills.

Apollo followed baffled by the man's behavior. One centon he was treating the Colonials with disdain, the next begging them to be his avenging angels. Waiting until they were behind the first ridge, he pieced together a few facts from Avery's frantic words and his various accusations of the Colonials leaving them behind. "Wait a centon, are you trying to tell me that the Cylons have humans in captivity?"

Avery was still puffing and wheezing from the pace Apollo had set for the base camp. "Yes, over a hundred, maybe more. That's all we've seen. They're being held at a mine about ten kilometrons west of our camp."

"How long have they been there?" Apollo began to calculate the time since the destruction and what condition human captives might be in after three yahrens. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but saving them might be a pointless endeavor. Cylons were known to toy with men's minds and didn't understand the concepts of basic sustenance. Before the destruction, pilots didn't last long as Cylon captives. Since the destruction, very few had been saved from the Cylons, and those like Cree had been tortured and interrogated nearly to death in the few cycles they were in captivity. Starbuck had got off lightly when he'd been released from Baltar's base ship over Kobol. Since the destruction, if the warrior wasn't rescued within a cycle or two, they were considered deceased. Every pilot understood that capture meant death. How anyone could last yahrens as a captive was inconceivable to Apollo. The tortures they faced would surely destroy a man's mind after just a few sectons. Were they still human after this long?

He knew Rene had spoken of the capture of her and her friends, but the details she gave were few, focusing mostly on the unavailability of food and the forced labor. Her captivity had been but a few sectons, and she indicated that the Cylons had no interest in keeping them alive, just contained. Plus Rene and her friends had no secrets to share, no information on troop movements or battle plans. Rene had never indicated how many of them there had been. All he knew actually was what Starbuck had shared, and that story focused on the heroic arrival of Dante as their savior. The man had chosen whom he wanted to save, looking for those in the age range of Academy Cadets, not to mention good looking young women, and left the rest to their demise. Rene had never indicated how many there were, or how large the detainment area.

Who had the Cylons captured on Caprica? If they had been military, which Apollo assumed is who might have survived, pilots whose ships were destroyed or those from the various installations on Caprica, they would have had their minds probed until they were jelly. They would not have survived long. The idea that civilians could survive three yahrens in Cylon captivity was beyond believable. Rene and her friends had been young and strong at the time of the destruction, but could they have survived close to four yahrens?

The bigger mystery to Apollo was why the Cylons might want to keep human captives for as long as four yahrens. Compared to machines, humans were poor workers requiring food, water and rest, while centurions required only a power source to recharge. Humans were easily damaged, especially by centurions with no concept of their relative strength and size. Then there was the inherent human desire for freedom. Apollo knew if it was himself in Cylon captivity, he would not last more than a sectar, surely being executed while trying to escape. He'd always known that if Starbuck was taken alone, well, he would die before he was placed in a cold cell, fighting with everything he had in him to break free until they'd have no choice but to execute him. It is what he had assumed when Starbuck was captured back at Kobol. His friend had been lucky once again as it was Baltar and a far too curious IL series that had imprisoned him. Baltar's influence had increased Starbuck's odds for survival.

But he and Starbuck were trained Warriors with yahrens of experience. How long would civilians last in the care of machines intent on their destruction?

"If we try to save your people, can they aid in their own rescue?" Apollo tried to fathom where to even begin on creating a rescue mission. If it were that many humans, well his small team would need their help. He wouldn't be able to rescue the weak and infirm. A cold shiver jolted up his spine as he suddenly understood Dante's dilemma. The man probably hadn't set out to be cruel. It was just simple pragmatism. If you couldn't save them all, who did you save? In reality, when Adama had amassed the Fleet, he had made the same decision, only it had been passively made. Those that didn't make the rendezvous were left behind. Apollo realized he hadn't really given it any particular thought at the time, he was so caught up in doing his duty while trying to survive, all while reeling under the impact of such tragic loss and devastation. "What kind of shape are they in? I mean if they have been with the Cylons long…" He left the implications unsaid.

"Some have been with the Cylons since the destruction, but some a lot less as they are my men who have been captured. Those youngsters with you said they could help. They promised help!"

Rene had mentioned none of this to anyone, and Apollo had thought she had changed at least a little. She had been far more open with Starbuck and he was pretty sure she would have mentioned Cylon captives at least to Starbuck.

"Are you sure about that? Rene didn't say anything about rescuing civilians from Cylon captivity. All she told us was of survivors needing a ride. She indicated it would be a quick mission, to land, take you on board and leave. I don't believe she would mislead us on what you needed on purpose."

"Really? She wouldn't lie to you? Did she tell you why she came here then? What she's been pulling out of that shopping complex?"

Avery had him on that score. As for Rene's shopping trips, Apollo knew what she had been shopping for, anything and everything she could make a profit on. He was beginning to realize the true attraction Starbuck held for Rene. She was just like him, a bit self-centered and followed the rules only when it suited her. He may have to recommend to his father they give Rene the coordinates to Earth in order to save the fleet from the couple. Exile might be the only way to keep everyone's cubits safe.

Her little shopping trips had been selfish and irresponsible. She had risked not only her life, but also that of Gage, who counted as essential personnel, and two of his best pilots. Now he was learning that her friend Jake might be one of the best field trained medics he'd seen, and she had thought nothing of putting him in peril. She was young and inexperienced, and that was being kind. If he was honest in his annual military review of her and odds for promotion, he'd have to admit that she needed to be stripped and moduled before being allowed anywhere near a viper even as a technician, let alone a pilot.

But he didn't think she would outright lie about how many civilians needed to be saved. She was a lot of things; crude, selfish, evasive in her facts at times, but she was not negligent in her duty to mankind. She had to have been completely unaware. She hadn't gotten all the facts so she had none to give.

They crested the second ridge, and looked back to see that not only was the clinic engulfed in flames, but several homes closer to the city were ablaze. They watched as another small explosion went off, and a raider swooped low over the home the flames were sprouting from. "Starbuck's leading them away. How many of the enemy are there in the city?"

"Not many, less than a hundred. Most are in the hills in the mining operations. Looks like they're headed right for their tylium processing operations. Are they planning on blowing that up too?"

"Will he find a raider in that direction?" Apollo asked, avoiding Avery's question. Apollo had his speculations as to what Starbuck was up to and doubted he'd take the risk, but if he thought he could find Rene a raider, that might be another story. They'd have to wait and see where the next explosion occurred to figure out Starbuck's plan.

"No, the tinheads have been launching from outside of town, near the old spaceport and landing strips. He'd have to go through all the industrial facilities first, about a hundred centurions, before getting to one. I seriously doubt your plan of taking a raider is going to work. A few sectars ago there was some strange activity at the tylium production and storage area. After the tankers took off, the place became a hive of activity and since then, they have guarded their vessels well. You're not going to get a raider from there. But near the mines, after we save our people, I'm sure we could take a vehicle."

Apollo nodded, trying to piece together a plan. He knew he wasn't going to leave those people on Caprica in Cylon captivity, but he also knew he did not have the manpower or the firepower to take out the Cylons guarding them. He didn't need to see the mining facility to make that assessment. He just needed to look at the events of the day. They had been forced to separate into three teams, and one of his teams was laid up in a cavern debating on an amputation before dinner. From the looks of the fires below, Starbuck would not make it back to them before dawn, if then.

"First things first. We get everyone back to camp, then we will discuss rescuing your people. Had you told us this right away…"

"She said she was bringing help," Avery growled. "I thought you knew! That's why I thought you were such an astrum's equine."

"Well, I'm glad to know it wasn't personal," Apollo replied ruefully. He looked over his shoulder at the city in flames below. "We're going to need more help if it's as many people as you're saying. I think the bigger issue may be how many centurions are there? I'm assuming you don't have the firepower needed to take them out or you would have by now. And if we pull off a rescue, we're going to need another transport to bring them to the Fleet. We may need to go for help and you are going to have to let us leave to do that."

"And what guarantee do I have you'll come back?"

Apollo turned back to the man, read the desperation on his face and offered the only answer he could. "My word as a Warrior."

Avery glared at him, then turned away to continue hiking back to the cavern. Apollo considered trying to speak to him again, to explain how precarious a situation Avery had put them in. With her viper most likely destroyed, Apollo didn't even know if Rene could jury rig a raider to achieve the same results. But he had no idea how to explain that, and doubted he should even try. Had Avery taken the rescue they had offered when they first arrived they could have formulated a better plan, one built on mutual trust and good will, with the full support of the fleet.

He waited until they crested the third ridge and was looking down upon the entrance to the cavern, so well hidden even in the full light of day it was hard to find, before he spoke to Avery again. "You and your people have done well here. You have survived incredible odds."

"Well gee, thanks, means a lot coming from a coward," the man snarled.

Apollo reached out to grab the man's arm. "We are going to help you. I won't leave you or your people behind. I swear it."

Avery opened his mouth to say something, his eyes narrowed, his face one of contempt, but suddenly the man dropped his anger. His face morphed from rage to desperation. "Don't just say it. Do it! I mean it, they have learned too much about us, as humans I mean. They have experimented on those people and when they are done with them, they just…they don't even have the compassion to put them out of their misery. They just leave them out to die, or worse, send them to us with injuries we can't fix or diseases we can't cure. I have buried too many children, too many men and women. This isn't just about my people; this is about all of us. That's why I've stayed here to fight. I could have gone with that gal the first time I met her, left all this and everyone behind. I didn't. I won't. Be the hero in the televids. You owe us that much, to live up to the gallmonging recruitment advertisements. And if we can't save them, we need to put them down, to release them from their pain. Can you at least promise me that?"

Apollo didn't know what he could say to convince this man who had just laid bare his soul. "Yes. We will do more than that if we can, I promise."

Avery measured Apollo's words, staring deep into his eyes and wasting precious microns Apollo knew he needed to save his friend. He figured it was what he owed Avery at least for the shelter the man had provided. He hoped Avery could read his sincerity.

The man finally nodded accepting the oath. "Good. If you don't, I will kill you myself and I won't dig you a grave."

"I see we're making some progress on our relationship," Apollo murmured as the man brushed past him, heading down the hill. The man was infuriating, but he reasoned he might be just as intractable if it was his own people in the same situation. If it was Starbuck in Cylon captivity being tortured, he knew he'd either save him, or burn the place down trying. He forgave Avery for his words, and followed him down to his hideout. He hoped he wasn't too late to save his friend.

They entered the dim cavern to find most of Avery's men gone, Jake alone and frantically trying to care for Boomer on his own. He had the fire going strong, water boiling, and conspicuously laid out was the medical equipment they had, including what looked like a bone saw. Boomer was sweating, tossing his head back and forth and mumbling incoherently, as he struggled against restraints that had been applied.

"What's going on?" Apollo asked.

"Oh thank the lords. Tell me you got it?" Jake replied as Apollo handed the young man the pack.

"Yes, we did. I hope it's enough. We took everything they had. Why's Boomer restrained?"

"He's delirious. Kept ripping off his dressing. Avery's men wrote him off, said to put him out of his misery. Most of them left. Didn't want to listen to him scream anymore."

Jake was rooting around in the pack, pulling out bottles holding them closer to the fire to read the labels in the light, before his head snapped back up, looking at the entrance alarmed. "Where are they?!" He got up from the fire, taking a step towards the entrance, but Apollo cut him off.

"We had to separate. They were fine when I last saw them. They laid down cover for me and acted as a decoy."

Jake's eyes darted from Boomer to the entrance, before meeting Apollo's eyes. Accusation flashed across the young man's face, followed by defeated acceptance. He looked away from Apollo, his eyes downcast in subjugation, seeming to understand and accept that Apollo had chosen to abandon Starbuck and Rene to save his friend. He slurred an almost inaudible "Yes sir," before turning away to tend to Boomer.

"Listen, Jake, they were alive and fine when I left them. Starbuck knows what he's doing. Gold clusters and all. He'll keep Rene and Max safe. Now, tell me what you need. What can I do to help? Are we in time?" He eyed the bone saw again.

Jake gave a ragged sigh, almost choking it down before he mumbled again. "Yes, sir. You got the drug we needed. A little help here would be good, sir. Hold him still so I can inject the drug into a vein."

Apollo helped Jake tend to Boomer, doing as asked, repeatedly reminding Jake he didn't have to call him 'sir'. The cynicism was thick today, thicker than the clouds roiling over Caprica, and felt just as oppressive. He didn't know how to clear the air between him and Jake, and certainly had no idea how to dispel the distrust with Avery. He found himself trying to imitate Starbuck's confident tone, repeating often, "They'll be fine. Starbuck knows what he's doing."

But by nightfall, when Boomer seemed to be responding to the medications and had woken clear- headed and in less pain, Jake had taken to pacing, edging closer and closer to the entrance of the cavern. Apollo had finally asked Avery if he would keep an eye on Boomer so he could take Jake out to climb the ridge and show him the fires that Starbuck had started in the city below. Once they had a clear view of the city, he outlined the sequence of the day's events as he had seen them play out, pointing to the furthest fire, that was now just smouldering, as the downpour had extinguished the flames. Jake was nearly silent as Apollo detailed what Starbuck was probably doing at the moment, getting as far away from the fires as he could, making sure the Cylons weren't following before even attempting to climb the hills.

Apollo resorted to logic to restrain Jake from following his impulse to go down and find his friends. "We don't know where they are right now, but that also means the Cylons don't know either. If they aren't here by morning, we will go looking for them."

Jake had given him the blank thousand kilometron stare, devoid of emotion, and Apollo seriously wondered if that had worked with Dante. Was their former Commander so cruel and callous that he had demanded his warriors to be uncaring obedient slaves? Jake's mumbled "Yes sir," was all the answer he needed. They still had a long way to go in creating trust. Apollo gazed out at the burning fires in the dark and hoped Starbuck could help him with that. "Come on, Bucko, where are you? I need some of that happy-go-lucky optimism you spread around like your cubits."