Chapter 10 Counter Attack

"Status Report?" Admire Ross ordered as both he and Commodore Masterman arrived on the Saratoga's Bridge.

"Multiple inbounds bearing 132 by 220; 600,000KM and closing; Silhouette and Energy signatures match the bandits that engaged the 51st a few days ago." The Lidar operator reported as he manipulated his controls "Reading 3 groups each consisting of 100+ Bandits and 3 Capital Ships."

"All 3 of those Capital Ships are 4 times the size of the Saratoga and 6 times our Mass." the Weapons Officer reported from his Station "They appear to be the Launching Platform for our friends out there."

"Carriers." Admiral Ross corrected absently as he studied the Main tactical Display his mind working like a seasoned chess master as he considered the best way to counter the enemy threat.

"Admiral Based on their Approach Vector I believe they may have come from Aris Mining Colony." Commodore Masterman replied looking up from the plot table he was hunched over.

"Almost certainly." Ross admitted solemnly, it seemed the mystery of Aris mining Colony had finally been solved and if Admiral Ross had to venture a Guess so had the Mystery of the Gettysburg and more recently the Ruben James which he had probably sent into an Ambush. He couldn't think about that now He had hostiles on approach threatening his Battlegroup He would respond to their aggression with the full force of the weapons at his disposal.

"Launch the Alert Squadrons and form them defensively ahead of the fleet! Have the reserve squadrons on hot standby. Move the Oliver Hazard Perry and the John Paul Jones to the outer flanks of their screen to provide support." Admiral Ross ordered "Get in touch with the Tecumseh and have her high tail it back expedite! I plan to put her guns to use." Admiral Ross smiled thinly.

"What about the Sacramento and the San Antonio Admiral?" Commodore Masterman asked suddenly.

"Move the Shiloh, Antietam, Bunker Hill and Pasadena to cover them." Ross ordered.

"That still leaves the Valley Forge and New Orleans uncommitted." Commodore Masterman observed.

"We'll hold them back for the time being allowing us to use their firepower as needed."

"Fighters Launching." The Flight operations officer announced.

"Admiral the Cunningham and Fresno are 50 Kilometers off our port and Starboard Bow respectively sir." the Weapons officer Reported "Receiving sensor feed and data link information now."

"Very good." Admiral Ross acknowledged before a thought came to him. "Who's lead squadron?"

Commodore Masterman shit eating grin gave Glenn Ross his answer, Bob Masterman always put his best people forward. "I took the liberty of giving Priority launch and lead position to the 58th." He began "And I'm certain the 51st wouldn't mind riding herd with them."

"I'm sure they wouldn't." Admiral Ross smiled. He returned his attention to the main tactical display showing the disposition of his forces and the forces arrayed against him. If only I had another Carrier Air wing he thought to himself. Our fighters will be outnumbered almost 4 to 1 but I can't throw every thing into the fight now without anything to fall back on.

"Sir our Fighters have formed up and the fleet is in position." Commodore Masterman Reported "The Tecumseh has activated her Echerlies drive and will arrive shortly."

Admiral Ross nodded; it was a risky maneuver using the ships FTL drive while in-system especially a System as cluttered as Zeta Reticuli, but they needed her firepower. The Tecumseh was an Arizona Class battleship just as big and looked superficially like her Carrier counterpart. However that's where the similarities ended. In addition to the extra armor plates, multiple gun batteries and phalanx missile tubes The Arizona class ship had 4 heavy kinetic particle weapons, the long cannons that ran the leng of the ship making her the meanest thing in Earths inventory a true testament to the title Battleship.

"Enemy fighters are in Range…They're firing!" The TAO reported.

"Have our fighters engage the enemy, all ships weapons free!" Admiral Ross ordered. With the Commencement of hostilities Admiral Ross banished all thoughts of how or why and concentrated on the job at hand, if these bastards wanted a fight he'd give them one.

Several Minutes Earlier.

"General quarters, General quarters all hands man your battle stations, I say again general quarters general quarters all hands man your battle stations." The Call over the ships intercom radiated throughout every section of the ships hull. The crew responding accordingly as everyone scrambled to their assigned stations. For Capt. Cooper Hawks it meant a straight bee line to the flight deck on bay 7. Running through two decks and swarms of personnel running to their assigned battle station, he arrived with some small relief to find his squadron arriving at precisely the same moment.

"What's going on Nate?" Hawks asked as both men jumped into the modules of their hammerhead fighters that were side by side. The flight crews helping them strap into their harnesses as well as making final checks of the modules in these last few moments before takeoff.

"We got inbound Coop." West replied putting on his flight helmet and running through his preflight checklist "Word from the bridge is it's the same group of hostiles that attacked Shane's outfit a few days ago." West elaborated with his hands flying across his dashboard still running through his preflight. Once he finished he called through the data link to his squadron. "This is King of Hearts Wildcards check in."

"Ace of Diamonds good to go!" Cooper Hawks replied, eager to get some payback on those that took from him the women he loved. Over the Years after her Rescue Cooper Hawks had never left Shane Vansen's side. Her grueling recovery had been made much more bearable with his presence and his patience to the point Shane Vansen couldn't imagine her life without him, nor could he imagine how his short life would be without her. Shane was one of the few people who never made lewd comments or insults about him being a 'Tank' she had always treated him with the utmost respect even in his more difficult moments. She had shown him the meaning of the word love and she gave it without reservation. And then suddenly the news came that she was gone, lost to the same bastards that now threatened his only family. Now as he sat patiently in his cockpit module the only thing he felt was cold killing Rage.

"Jack of hearts good to go!" Lt. Mickey Goins replied. A recent addition to Marine Corp Mickey Goins had yearned to go to space; the youngest of 4 brothers Mickey was never spoiled as the baby of the family quite the opposite, his father being retired from the Marine Corp had pushed his boys to be the best they could be. He received his master's degree in electrical engineering 2yrs Early from M.I.T before joining the Proxima Colonization program. After washing out of the Proxima program (mainly due to the fact he slept with the program directors daughter) Mickey Goins went searching for adventure and found it with the Marines. Now more than 3yrs later he was going on his first major deployment. Unlike many veterans still in the service from the recent Chig war, Goins was inexpierienced but as sharp as they came. Fortunately for him he had a high aptitude for learning and paid close attention to detail. though slightly shy in awkward situations (a fact many women found amusing) it did nothing to betray the killer instinct he showed in the cockpit, a fact that surprise Capt. Cooper Hawks when Goins nearly defeated him in their first air to air duel.

"Don't worry little bro I got your back!" David Goins chided his little brother. "This is Ace of Hearts LETS ROCK!" He announced excitedly. David Goins was the older brother of Mickey Goins by 2yrs. Unlike his shy younger Brother David was an outgoing party animal who didn't seem to take life seriously enough a fact that got him into a lot of trouble over the years. The two were so diametrically opposite in terms of personality that many people found it hard to understand how they could be brothers. Fortunately Like his brother he was highly intelligent and quick to adapt to changing situations, at least some traits were shared by both brothers.

"Ace of spades is good to go." The Calm collective voice of Chris Porter resonated over the net. After the loss of Vanessa Damphoose 1lt. Chris Porter had taken her place as the tech savvy know it all among the group, Annoyingly calm even in the most tense of situations Porter was one of the few gifted minds who could find off the wall answers to even the most complex situations, and usually without batting an eye, a feature that many star trek enthusiasts dubbed him the Vulcan. With Degree's in Nuclear Physics and Aeronautical Engineering it assured that Lt. Chris Porter was the smartest man on the ship…by quite a few points.

"6 of spades checking in." Lt. Mathew Brody replied over the net. The youngest member of the 58th Lt. Mathew Brody was fresh out of flight school and had only been with the 58th for 3 months before the 58th rotated to the Saratoga. Young and inexperienced like most new soldiers Mathew Brody tended to learn things the Hard way most of the time. Considered a screw up by his abusive father he was told he would never amount to anything in life, His mother had left him and his father when he was 14. When Mathew was 16 a drunk driver clipped the car he had been in careening it off the road killing his best friend and leaving him paralyzed for several months. Depressed and out of hope these were the toughest times for young Mathew Brody. It was at this time that Mathew Brody met the man who would reshape his life Father Michael McNeil, Father McNeil had taken the young man under his wing and gradually helped the troubled young man find a new lease on life. Father McNeil had helped the young man through his long and grueling physical Therapy becoming the father figure young Mathew Brody had lacked in his childhood. Thanks to his inspirations young Mathew Brody was able to make a complete recovery and fulfill his life long dream...to serve his country.

"All right lets do this." Major Nathan west replied once his squadron checked in, the sooner they were in space the happier he would be. Like many pilots Nathan West loved the freedom afforded to him by flying the Hammerhead. Though he loved planet-side deployments to be with his wife Kylen and their two children he still felt a thrill every time he went to space.

"58th standby for immediate launch and assume defensive formation ahead of the Fleet, 51st squadron will act as your support." The flight operations officer chipped in over the net. "Wildcards you have priority, launch when ready."

"Roger, 58th has priority launch." Major Nathan west confirmed. "Looks like we're leading the Charge again Coop."

"Ahhh great!" Hawks Replied unenthusiastically "I'd have been happier if they gave the honor to someone else."

"All personnel clear the flight deck!" The Voice over the intercom announced. the Various crew men performing last minute checks on the modules cleared the flight bay as the bulkhead doors slowly closed, a few just barely making it by the skin of their teeth. Idly Hawks wondered what would happen if a crewman wasn't fast enough in getting out in time, however he didn't get much time to think about an answer as the voice over the ships intercom once again blared to life.

"Initiate Hammerhead sequence." The locking clamps that held the Hammerhead flight modules retracted allowing the modules to be slowly lowered to the main body of their fighters. Once that was done the Magnetic catapults charged while the Air lock doors cycled open. Once opened the Hammerheads were launched from the Saratoga first one after another then in two's and finally entire squadrons.

"All right boys and girls form up on my wing." Major West ordered.

"Copy, were all with you." Capt Hawks replied as the 58th squadron formed up flawlessly onto their squadron leader.

"This is knight 1 we've got your back 58th." Capt Juan Avila reported bringing his squadron behind the 58th in support.

"Juan it's good to see you again." Major West replied genuinely. If there was any outfit that West would allow to ride herd with the 58 it was the 51st Silver knights, Shane Vansen's group. She had trained them rigorously since her reinstatement to active duty following her capture on Anvil. There wasn't a finer group of Pilots out there in West's opinion excepting his own of course.

"We're eager to make these bastards bleed for what they did to the Lady!" Capt. Avila stated referring to the Loss of Major Shane Vansen a few days ago.

"I hear you." West replied, he too was eager for some payback. Shane Vansen and Nathan West had always been friends, After the Loss of Paul Wang; West felt it was his duty to retrieve his lost comrades from Anvil following the failed peace talks. However the planet was too hot to allow a rescue mission and subsequent Chig reinforcements had forced the Saratoga Battle group to withdraw leaving Shane Vansen and Vanessa Damphoose stranded on planet. Both had eventually been captured and tortured by the Chigs, a process that Vanessa Damphoose in her wounded state didn't survive. Until the War's end West had believed he was responsible for their capture, as he had felt responsible for the loss of Paul Wang. However it was Vansen herself who forced West to see the truth 'there was nothing you could have done Nathan! Had you even tried you would have gotten both yourself and Hawks killed as well!' Leave it to Shane Vansen to slap him with some common sense; she was always like that...God how he missed his friend.

The Fighters of the Saratoga Formed up in a Diamond formation Ahead of the ship 75 in Total with the 58th as the tip of the Spear. The Frigates (SFFG) John Paul Jones and Oliver Hazard Perry moved to support them at their extreme flanks setting up an interlacing sector of fire. It had been a tactic developed during the Chig war and the Chigs fell for it every time, the Anti-fighter Missiles and Sky Eye Rail guns had proven deadly effective against the Chig Fighters when they swarmed the BattleGroups of the Earth Fleet, It was hoped that the same kind of Mutual protection would prove effective against this new enemy. The Destroyers (SDDG's) Cunningham and Fresno closed the distance to the Saratoga data linking their Close in weaponry and Laser Pulse Batteries. While the Gettysburg class Cruisers (SCG) Shiloh and Antietam moved to cover the Replenishment ships Sacramento and San Antonio, Assisting them were the Bunker Hill and Pasadena. The Valley Forge and the New Orleans remained uncommitted; Admiral Ross had decided to keep the Ships Mobile to shore up defense or to counter attack the enemy when the opportunity arose. Of Course a cruiser and a destroyer while extremely well armed needed a little more muscle to back them up, and that's where The Arizona Class Battleship Tecumseh would play her vital role.

The three mighty base stars hung back, gauging the battle and monitoring with the cold and clinical detachment of machines the formation these human ships were taking. From their view the forces were setting up to defend a number of other large vessels, if they needed protection then they were to be considered primary targets for destruction. Foremost among them was the ungainly brick off a carrier at the heart of the group, if machines had true emotions they would despair of such poor design. As it was they were happy just to destroy it.

At the front of the Earth forces line the 58th once again prepared to meet the tidal wave, the alien looking ships were extremely different to Chig designs; they had a more menacing profile and hard cleaving edges. If they were built to intimidate they were doing a damn good job.

The aliens fired first at extreme range, that far away the effect was limited but did cause a few SA 43's to take evasive action. A few moments later the US Frigates opened up with their coordinated space domination systems, pin point rail guns silently chattered in the emptiness and jets of gas and vapour poured missiles from their silos into battle. Raiders vanished in plumes of superheated gas as the precision Earth weapons homed in, one Raider pulled a tight turn and was tracked by a missile, its guidance keeping it with the target even as it weaved, slamming finally into its drives and shredding it.

The Saratoga fighters deployed to meet their aggressors under the cover of the Frigates guns, the bright lights racing past them almost like guides on a darkened highway. Any introspective thoughts rapidly vanished as the Cylons entered range at extreme speed, barely giving the Marine pilots time to react. With mechanical precision the Cylons fired on the formation and began finding targets. The 58th and 51st as the units with most combat time under their belts had an almost supernatural ability to dodge the enemy fire, predicting its path and likely targets the fighters proved why they could out manoeuvre Chigs, pulling tight turns, flips and spins to get clear of the enemy fire. Unfortunately some of the newer units were slower off the mark, four fighters fell apart under Cylon guns without even time to eject, the vicious opening volleys steeling the Marines and Naval pilots for the reality of this duel.

The SA 43's were able to turn sharply and use their turreted main guns to great effect. Keeping up with the Cylons was tough but the ability to fire off axis meant the human pilots didn't need to glue themselves to the enemy's tail, just stay close enough to bring them down. The purple hail scattered through space as the 58th maintained a tight formation and worked as a tem to bring down hostiles and cover each other. The blast of burning fighters and sudden flames marked their successes, but things were gradually getting worse. The Cylons had a vast number of craft which were proving a dangerous match for the American space fighters, more and more of the grey warplanes were being shot out of the sky without making an impact on the battle while each Cylon loss was replaced instantly with another menacing scimitar winged fighter.

"Oh Shit!" Lt. Mathew Brody gasped as few rounds barely missed his right wing, the rounds coming so close as to almost peel the paint off his bird. In response Brody threw his SA-43 into a series of tight spins followed by a barrel roll, hoping it was enough to throw off his antagonist. His answer came in the form of more tracers streaming past his cockpit. With his heart pounding in his throat his body drenched in sweat Brody continued his evasive dance with death using every trick Major West and Capt Hawks had ever shown him. He activated his tail firing gun but found the perusing bandit was staying well out of the fixed firing arcs of the gun. Almost on the verge of Panic Brody cried out for help.

"I've got a bandit on my six! I can't shake him I need some help!" he practically screamed into the net.

"Calm down Brody." 1lt. Chris Porter chided his wingman "I've got him, Standby to break right on my command." Porter ordered bringing the sights of his gun to rest on the enemy bird that threatened his wingman.

"Acknowledged!" Lt. Brody replied while still using all his skill just to stay one step ahead of the enemy.

"Break Right." Porter called out to his wingman.

In space Lt. Brody yanked his Hammerhead hard to the right and just in the nick of time as several tracer rounds flew threw the spot his bird had previously occupied. Using this opportunity with his wingman out of the line of fire Lt. Chris Porter squeezed the trigger sending a steady stream of depleted uranium rounds right into the enemy fighter destroying it in a spectacular display of fireworks. With his wingman now clear for the moment Lt. Porter risked a glance at his display screen. The first wave of enemy bandits was currently heavily engaged with the battleGroup and was taking the losses to show for it, while the second wave would be on them within moments. Bringing his attention back up he scanned the area ahead with his eyes looking for the rest of the squadron whom they were separated from.

"Brody you have any idea where they are?" Porter asked still scanning space ahead of him with the occasion glance to his six.

"Stellar wave point finder says they're 40 kilometers ahead ducking it out with 2 squadrons of bandits." Brody replied breathlessly still a little shaken from his near brush from death but the kid was holding up rather well and Porter had no doubt of what he was truly made of.

"That's where we need to be, form up on my wing and let's move." The two Hammerheads reformed and moved as one engaging enemy fighters as they carefully tried to make their way back to their squadron. However the persistent enemy bandits were making that extremely difficult.

"Wow that was close!" Lt. Mickey Goins whispered as another enemy bandit fell to his guns exploding 30 feet in front of him. Lt. Mickey Goins had racked up an impressive kill record in this fight splashing 7 enemy bandits while his brother had splashed 5. Mickey Goins moved his hammerhead to support his Brother the two hammerheads bearing down on 5 Bandits that were in turn making a run on the Perry.

"This is Ace of Diamonds target acquired tone and locked, Fox 2!"Lt. David Goins called.

A Spartan space to space missile leapt off the rail and flew unerringly into the right most raider turning it into a ball of ionized plasma, the four remaining bandits continued on as if nothing had happened.

"Ok that's strange." Lt, Mickey Goins began "Usually people tend to take evasive action when one of their buddies bites it."

"Strange! Who the hell cares damnit that was the easiest kill I've had the whole engagement!" His brother enthusiastically shot back as he lined his sights on yet another bandit. Lt. Mickey Goins followed suite lining up a bandit himself. Both brothers fired at precisely the same moment blue tracers flying straight into the enemy formation destroying one bandit and damaging another.

"Scratch one more for me!" Mickey Goins bragged.

"Like hell!" his brother countered "That was so my kill!"

"It was not!"

"I don't give a damn who made the kill!" Major West broke in on their argument the acid in his voice belaying no argument "They're almost on the Perry take em down!"

Both Hammerheads moved in perfect unison doing everything they could to take some much needed pressure off the Oliver Hazard Perry. The ship was heavily engaged and several bandits had already made strafing runs on her stripping one of her sky eye mounts. Luckily this flight of bandits would never get a chance to make their mark on the Perry as the Goins brothers swatted the raider flight out of the sky with little difficulty. Major West reformed his squadron with the return of Brody and Porter, with the squadron now fully reformed he counter-attacked a formation of enemy fighters that were making life unpleasant for the John Paul Jones The ship having lost some of her fighter screen had become vulnerable to a massed force of Cylon Raiders. The bullets of the raiders ripping into the relatively thin armor of the Frigate causing small breaches and mounting damage all over the ship. The Cylons pressed their attack but were driven off with half their number destroyed in the opening volley as the 58th announced its presence. The defenders were holding their own for the moment but all it took was for one thing to go wrong, one mistake to make the whole thing collapse on itself like a house of cards.

Unfortunately the inevitable happened Two Cylons rammed the Perry, caring nothing for their existence they sacrificed their wing mates to the ships defences to open a channel for their own attack, burrowing into the thick hull and tearing holes in the warship. The fire slackened as internal damage ruptured control lines and power systems, creating a huge amount of work for damage control. Sensing blood the Cylons began to converge on the wounded ship, losing some of their number to the guns and missiles but not enough to slow them down. They made a fast pass of the damaged Frigate stripping away hull armour and weapons and arced around for another pass. As they closed their path was suddenly blocked by the 51st, meeting them head on the squadron had every reason to take the fight to the alien craft and opened fire with everything the had, randomly weaving back and forth to confuse the mechanical minds of their foes. The usually precise Cylon fire now hit nothing but vacuum as the US fighters chewed into the enemy, lessening the assault on the Perry and giving the Frigate some breathing room.

Captain Juan Availa of 51st Silver Knights looked on in detachment as the Perry limped away under minimal power her guns only offering token resistance to the few Cylon raiders that continued to harass her until they were cut down buy Knight 3 Lt. David Riker and Knight 6 Lt. Joseph Valentine. However the damage had been done. The Perry in her weakened state was considered combat ineffective and was forced to withdraw from battle the smoke coming from a small breach in the hull spoke of another battle its crew was fighting.

"Madre de dios!" Lt Nina Gutierrez; knight 5 muttered in horror as she watched the wounded ship limp away trailing smoke debris …and bodies.

"There's nothing we can do for them now." Capt Availa said coldly hating himself for saying so, but they were still heavily engaged even now his Lidar showed another squadron of Bandits on an intercept course. The quicker he led them away from the Perry the better, but it seemed the enemy had an inexhaustible supply of reinforcements to throw at the US Carrier BattleGroup and losses seemed unimportant to them.

"Looks like were getting some help!" Knight 3 Lt. David Riker announced noting a fresh wave of blue diamonds on his Lidar screen indicating friendly contacts.

"Capt. Availa risked a quick glance at his Lidar and noted the multiple blue diamonds of friendly aircraft coming from the Saratoga. Could the battle be going that badly? He wondered. Risking another look at his Lidar He scanned the area where the main fight was shaping up near the John Paul Jones and winced when he saw how many blue diamonds he saw...or rather how many remained.

The fresh wave of Hammerheads came in guns ablazing intercepting the few raiders that had breached the forward fighter screen and rendered them to nothingness. Not having liked the fact they were held in reserve for so long they tore into the ranks of the enemy with all their pent up fury giving much needed support to their heavily engaged comrades, however the enemy also had reinforcement of their own, a third wave of Cylon raiders arrived several minutes later just as the battle seemed to turn against them, with their reinforcements now in place the Cylons once again pressed their attack and despite the best efforts of the American Pilots enemy raiders broke through in sufficient numbers to threaten the Saratoga.

The Raiders weren't the only threat to face the Carrier Battle Group, while their fighter hoard kept the Saratoga fighter wings busy the Three Base Stars were moving into position to strike at the hear of the battle group itself. Cylon fighters swung around the dogfights and charged for the Carrier while their brethren kept the SA 43's busy, strafing the large warship from range as they accelerated into battle. The pulse cannons swung into action lancing fire at the incoming fighters, swiping them from the sky but in too few numbers.

The escorting destroyers Cunningham and Fresno add their strength to the defence, the sky sparkled with dying alien craft but they never faltered in the face of the firestorm, driving on into the Saratoga. Their guns and missiles pounded the hull, while one fighter alone was no major threat the Cylons were swarming the ship buy the dozens, even with the heavy crossfire provided by the escorts enough craft were getting through to be a major problem.

"Ready those forward tubes NOW!" Commodore Masterman practically shouted. The Saratoga was being swamped and she had already committed her reserve fighter squadrons into the fight and it hadn't really changed the tactical situation one bit.

"Tubes reloading as fast as we can sir." The weapons officer replied tiredly.

"INCOMING ORDINANCE!" The Lidar tech shouted. The decked heaved heavily to starboard tossing crewmen to the deck and igniting consoles as two missiles impacted somewhere on the ship. Commodore Masterman and Admiral Ross had managed to keep their footing but just barely as they hung onto the main tactical plot map.

"Were getting pounded Glen!" Commodore Masterman hissed quietly to the Admiral. "There's just too many of them."

"What is the Status of the Tecumseh?" Admiral Ross barked out. If there was ever a time they needed her it was now.

"Unknown Admiral, the Enemy ships are jamming our long range communications!"

"More bandits inbound!"

"Concentrate our fire forward throw everything we've got at them!" Admiral Ross Turned towards the communications officer "Get on the net to the Valley Forge and the New Orleans and get them here now!" Admiral Ross ordered.

Another series of hits to the Saratoga rocked the ship hard causing several consoles to explode and rendered the bridge in near darkness, Emergency power immeadiately kicked on suppling power to the consoles that still operated and bathing the bridge in a smoky red hue. Another series of missiles struck near the bridge, damaged support beams that had already been weakened in the battle came loose crashing to floor, One of those beams being directly above the stoic form of Admiral Glenn Ross. In a moment when time seemed to standstill Commodore Masterman watched as the beam broke lose, moving with unheard of speed he shouted his friends name as he pushed him out of the way taking the hit for him.

0000

"Coop you seeing what I'm seeing?" West asked after dispatching another enemy bandit.

"It looks like the Saratoga's in trouble." Hawks began "We get to get back and take some heat off her!"

"This is Jack of Hearts." Lt. Mickey Goins spoke up "I'm down to half my fuel and about 1/3 of my ammo left.

"This is Ace of Diamonds I've got two Spartans on the rails and about half my ammo." Lt. David Goins reported.

"Ace of spades checking in." Lt. Chris Porter stated. "I've got one Spartan left and less than a third of my ammo.

"This is 6 of spades…I'm bingo on Spartan missiles and have less than a 1000 rounds in my guns." Mathew Brody reported.

Major West mentally checked off each member of his squadron as they reported their status to him. He was proud of his squadron, they had performed well in the face of the unknown, even the young Matt Brody while understandably being the worst off had fought like a season veteran making Ace in his first ever engagement. But if would all be for nought if the Saratoga fell, something West was determined to never let happen.

The Cylons regrouped and launched another withering attack against the Saratoga and her escorts. The Machines had little concept of Honour in war, only to inflict the most telling damage. They made run after run on the Saratoga Bridge ripping into the armoured decks and slowly whittling away the defences. It cost them dearly but the damage to the Carrier was mounting. A new wave of explosions signalled the arrival of the 58th, having fought their way out of the tangled dogfight they had seen the emergency with their Carrier and rushed in to help, sweeping in behind the Cylon attack waves and trying to disrupt their attack runs. A large number of the raiders had to break off to face the sudden threat, but as the battle seemed on the brink of turning the Cylons dropped the Hammer.

The Destroyer Fresno suddenly turned sharply and retraced its guns, its batteries swinging to engage new targets but not fast enough. She vanished in a terrific explosion, a colossal wall of nuclear tipped missiles launched from the base stars turning it into a brief supernova sending 400 American servicemen to their graves. The terrible violence of its demise stunned the navy crews into inaction for a few moments until the galre faded and the culprits became visible. The three Cylon Base stars were in firing range, and with the Fresno gone they had a clear shot at the Saratoga itself.

More nuclear missiles launched from the Base Stars, a seemingly constant stream roaring across space for the heart of the BattleGroup. Immediately the Carrier and its surviving destroyer put every available weapon into the point defence, guns, cannons, and Phalanx tube missiles, everything rose up to meet the incoming barrage and save them from the same fate as the Fresno. As the guns focused on stopping the missile storm the raiders found themselves unmolested by the defensive fire and stepped up the attack, only the 58th and newly arriving 51st stood between them and the carrier and a desperate battle ensued, space was torn and illuminated by thick defensive fire while raiders sneaking past the defence screen fired freely on the Saratoga going for fire control and weapon systems. In addition to nuclear missiles the Base Star fired conventional weapons into the fray, badly out gunned the task force had no way to meet the new attack and kinetic weapons tore into the Saratoga rupturing hanger bays and blasting open areas of the hull.

But as the defences weakened the battle turned again, the cruisers Valley Forge and New Orleans which had been held in reserve now entered the fray, their point defences relieving the burden on the Saratoga and allowing the ship to defend itself more from the incessant fighters. Each cruiser had superior armament to the carrier and was able to take up the slack but facing three massive base stars was still a losing proposition.

The Cylons shifted their fire to the cruisers making sure the fighters kept the Earth Warships isolated from further help they began barraging the escorting force with the intention of later finishing the Carrier. Heavily damaged the Saratoga began to turn away under the cover from the destroyer Cunningham, but with her engines damaged and Echerlie's drive offline the vessel was just prolonging the inevitable.

The New Orleans spluttered and fell out of formation, its hull pieced by hundreds of anti-ship round and its reactor smashed, the shattered vessel was marked as minimal threat and logged for destruction after the primary mission was achieved. The Valley Forge took thirteen hits to its port flank shearing away almost a third of its mass before a nuclear missile impacted and ended the vessels valiant defence in a blaze of light.

Once again the Saratoga was almost defenceless, its weapons overheating through the constant use and Phalanx missiles almost expended.

Anti-ship weapons blazed past and crashed into the Carriers stern, a grazing shot opening up half a dozen hanger bays on the ships lower port side. A suicide Raider screamed past the 58th picket line and crashed into the aft defensive turret opening up the rear of the ship to attack. A group of nuclear weapons were launched to take advantage of the weakness, the fighter squadrons protecting the Saratoga moved to intercept, stopping many of the missiles but not all of them. One Missile got through and lined up on the Carrier heading with cold precision for its target.

In a move of quiet bravery the destroyer Cunningham put itself between the missile and the carrier, out of ammunition and usable weapons it performed its final duty as escort and saved the carrier from the hit, sacrificing itself in a brief rising star of light so the carrier could continue.

It was an act of amazing heroism, but sadly it appeared to have bought only a few more seconds of time for the battered carrier, with nothing left to defend it and the fighter screen heavily engaged by raiders the Base Stars had a wide open target.

They never got a chance to take the shot, the further most Base Star suddenly rippled away in a haze of light, flanking and disintegrating as a titanic explosion engulfed it. When the momentary sensor blindness faded the black slab of the Battleship Tecumseh occupied the space where the Base Star had been.

Now it was the Cylons turned to be surprise, they switched targets to the new priority threat and began lashing the battleship with heavy fire, some hits caused damage but the thicker armour of the Tecumseh gave it much greater survivability. She bombarded the two enemies with pulse cannon fire and a storm of anti ship missiles, most of the weapons getting through and causing heavy damage. The Cylon tactic of tying up fighters now came back to haunt them with the situation reversing and the hard pressed fighters from the Saratoga now finding new heart and keeping the Cylon raiders pinned down and unable to cover their mother ships.

The Tecumseh lost a chunk of armour to a direct hit but barely slowed down; the closest Base Star was angling to launch a nuclear strike at the Earth Warship and was locked as the main target. The four massive particle accelerator cannons, ship length weapons used for long range fire, charged and locked on the alien command ship. With a shudder the Tecumseh fired, the green rounds punching straight through the Base Star in a show of debris and fire.

The Base Star spun out of control, more and more shots spearing it and blasting away its extremities until one hit took out something vital, secondary explosions wracked the base Star and it tore itself apart. Now facing an even fight with a seriously over gunned opponent the last Base Star opted for discretion being the better part of Valour. The Tecumseh's renewed volley's found nothing but empty space and the Base Star engaged its sub light drives to full in a desperate attempt to escape. The Earth forces were in no shape to pursue, and the Battleship altered course to close on the wounded carrier and finish off the last raiders which were still causing difficulties for the surviving Saratoga.

"Enemy if full retreat sir." a voice broke through the thick smoke that blinded Admiral Ross "Shall we persue?"

"We're in no condition to continue this fight." the Admiral answered tiredly "Damage report?"

"Damage to all sections sir, we have buckling from frames 15 through 20, Lauch bays 7 through 13 have been completely destroyed, Hull breache's on deck 3, 5 and 7, Comm lines to Engineering are down but at last report we had a deuterium leak in one of the storage tanks, nothing on Casualties yet." the DCO reported.

Admiral Ross nodded as the reportes filed in, watching in concern as 2 coreman put the limp form of Commodore Bob Masterman on a stretcher to remove him from the bridge. Ross wanted to run to the side of his old friend to see how he was doing but he couldn't. The Masive bruise on the left side of his face and the blood oozing from his nose, ears and several lacerations to his face speaking ill of his condition.

In Space the Saratoga listed heavily to port, like several of the surviving ships that had been heavily damaged she too had smoke coming from breaches in the hull. Shuttles loaded with medical personnel and engineering crews were launched to the damage ship to help with casualties and damage, both of which were substantial. This had been Earths second engagement against this unknown enemy in the first engagement Surprise and Cunning had been in their favor allowing them to outsmart and outfight their enemy. Although the Earth Forces had fought valiantly and well in this fight many lessons would be learned but one point had been hammered home very clearly, Earth was at war.