What Starbuck saw as he entered the Galactica's triad court made his blood boil. Two large men, one with a shock of short red hair, and the other platinum blond with the strangest blue tips, had wrestled the helpless woman to the deck. 'Red' held a hand over her mouth while the other ran his gruff hands over her body, tearing at her clothes. She whimpered in terror through the burly man's hand as she stared up at her assailants.
Starbuck quickly covered the short distance between them as he used his body weight and the element of surprise to knock the blue-tipped blond to the deck. The man flew a metron before hitting the surface hard after Starbuck collided with him full force. The other man looked up in shock at their barely dressed attacker, and was unprepared for the speed with which Starbuck rolled back to his feet and caught him under the chin with an uppercut.
Starbuck could hear the man's jaw snap shut as his blow connected. There was a satisfying crunch as the man was propelled upwards and then backwards by the warrior's blow.
"Starbuck!" Luana called out as she entered the court still fastening her top, only to see an enormous cretin advancing on him from the rear.
Starbuck feinted and pivoted to feel a glancing blow on his side, as the walking landram's arm passed between them. The warrior grabbed the meaty arm and pulled hard. That, combined with the man's own momentum, caused him to tumble to the deck once again. Starbuck delivered a powerful kick to the man's gut, which caused him to double up in pain. There were no rules of engagement when you fought scumbags like them.
"Call Security, Lu!" Starbuck directed her as he turned to ensure the other man was still lying on the deck. The man was supporting his jaw, which Starbuck was fairly certain was broken. He glared at the warrior and searched the court for a way out. "You're not going anywhere, pal, except to the nearest brig." Starbuck told him as he watched Luana enter the corridor to the locker rooms, where he knew there was a comm unit.
The dark-haired woman inched herself backwards on her bottom across the court towards the exit. Her blue eyes were wide with fear, as she watched all three men while trying to cover her body with her torn clothing. She pushed her long hair back off her face.
Starbuck raised his hands in front of him and moved slowly towards her, "It's okay. I'm a Colonial Warrior. I'm not going to hurt you," he told her gently and was rewarded with a guarded nod, as she wrapped her slender arms around herself protectively and started rocking, tears flowing silently down her cheeks.
He again turned to check his quarries, who were still on the deck looking stunned. Starbuck didn't exactly feel confident about keeping the men subdued unless Luana made it back quickly and brought her laser. After all, they outweighed him significantly and he wasn't exactly an intimidating figure standing there dressed in his triad shorts. Besides that, the foot he had used to kick the cretin was throbbing. Yeah, shoes would have been a nice luxury. He looked around for anything he could use as a weapon should it become necessary.
The men suddenly moved as one, both regaining their feet, having obviously exchanged some kind of signal while the warrior was speaking to the woman. Apparently, it wasn't the first time they had worked together. They lunged for him at the same time.
Starbuck grabbed the only weapon close to him, the triad ball. He hurled it straight at the face of the redheaded man with the broken jaw. His aim was true as the man howled in pain when the projectile smashed him hard on the chin. About the same time the cretin was upon him, knocking him bodily to the deck much as Starbuck had done to him mere moments before.
You really should focus less on your 'follow through' while throwing a triad ball as a weapon, Starbuck noted as he tried to regain the breath that had just been knocked from his lungs by the bruiser sitting on him. He felt the goon's hands wrap around his throat and immediately thrust his thumbs into his attacker's eyes.
The man screamed and reflexively reached towards his eyes in agony. That was the opening Starbuck needed to deliver a quick jab to the man's jaw. There wasn't a lot of power behind the blow, due to the fact that he was lying flat on his back, but the man again yelled in pain. He keeled over on his side, now covering his face protectively with his hands, as blood ran through his fingers from his nose.
From his peripheral vision, Starbuck saw a flash of dark material leaving the court. He turned his head to find the woman had fled. Obviously, she had less faith in his capabilities as a fighter than he did. He rolled in the opposite direction of the human landram and jumped to his feet to find himself face to face with goon number one again. These guys were starting to get annoying.
The goon swung a beefy fist at Starbuck, which he easily evaded as he agilely stepped back out of the way. A good general rule when he fought giants was to stay out of the way of their fists. It was best to use their own size and weight against them . . . unless, of course, you had your laser and then things were less complicated.
"I'm going to tear you apart!" The red-haired man sputtered, bloody spittle on his lips, as he advanced on the warrior.
Starbuck couldn't help but think that the guy seemed to be living in some kind of an alternative reality, as he held his hands up protectively in front of himself and tried to look worried.
The man grinned at the surrendering posture. The supposed warrior was backing up slowly as he stalked him. One good hit to the jaw and the practically naked man would hit the deck and not get up. The goon swung hard and quick with his right hand and was astonished when he only hit air. To his further surprise, the warrior advanced on him and head butted him right between the eyes. The world went black.
Starbuck smiled with satisfaction looking down at his victim. Suddenly, strong arms came around him from behind, trapping his right arm against his chest and squeezing his neck as though he was a tube of dental cleanser. He felt himself lifted up off the deck as the pressure on his throat increased. He tried to kick backwards, but couldn't connect with any force due to his newly acquired levitation. He clutched at the meaty forearm with his free hand, but was unable to dislodge it. He felt as though his neck would snap and the pressure on his spine increased, as his attacker pulled the warrior tightly against him, squeezing the very life out of him.
"Drop him!" Luana shouted as she ran into the court to see a red-faced Starbuck struggling for breath. His eyes were beginning to roll up into his head as he fought with his last bit of strength for a precious breath.
The roaring in Starbuck's ears was only outdone by the pressure on his neck. He could feel his grip on the scumbag loosen as his conscious mind surrendered and retreated into the comparative safety of blissful anaesthesia.