Beware…

(Battlestar Xanthi – War Room – Day 4570, 0755)

Colonel Dan McIvers looked at the tactical map and nodded. Xanthi had just gotten a whole shipload of tactical orders and intelligence reports. McIvers had come in at 0745 to plot them all on the map. He was preparing a briefing for the Commander and the XO. As if they smelled that McIvers had things all set up, both officers came in.

After Leyton's death, Tyler Williams had been promoted to Commander of the Big X. He had offered McIvers the XO slot, but he had turned it down. And it was not the only job he had turned away. Because he had also been offered the XO slot on the Battlestar Yashuman. The reason why was simple: Leyton's death had caused morale to take a nosedive. And the last thing the Air Group needed was to lose its own CO as well. So he had stayed put.

Fortunately, Fleet Headquarters had noticed what had happened and taken action. They had promoted McIvers to full Colonel as a way of saying that he wasn't going anywhere. And they had send the Xanthi a new XO, who had arrived on Day 4017. Colonel Zachary 'Zak' Peters. Before his reassignment, he had been the LSO on the Athena with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. After, he had been promoted to a full Colonel. He had proved to be quite a catch. Peters had helped him and Captain Nash to fast-pace several plans to improve morale. And it was starting to have effect. But that was not why they were here. He took a deep breath and turned his attention to the table.

"Perfect timing, gents." He began. "I've got everything ready to go."

"Okay, what's the grand plan, Lucky ?" Peters said.

"Here, smack in the middle, we have a nameless ice rock. The toasters have a major presence there and that why we're sending Galactica, Columbia and Athena to take it out. The brass is calling it Operation Raptor Talon. Other than that, they're keeping everything under wraps. Alas, there's also a Cylon base here…" He pointed to a red cycle on the map. "Proteus Outpost. We lost it in the second year of the war. And if those toasters jump in…"

"Those Battlestars will get slaughtered." Williams added.

"Right, fortunately the two bases are connected by a communications relay. The Battlestar Anubis, backed up by the support ships Loki and Berserk, is assigned to taking it out. Major Nash reports they are ready to go." Gaius Nash had been promoted to Major on Day 4565. He had then been asked to go to the Anubis to help prepare with the attack on the relay.

"Where does the Big X fit in ?" Peters asked.

"The brass wants a nice, big smoke screen to hide the plan behind. So, we are to take out these two relays at the Caesar Nebula. That would cut communications between these five bases…" McIvers pointed to five spots on the map. "…and keep the toasters guessing where we are going to strike."

"Okay, let's see what we have on those relays." Williams said.

"It isn't much." McIvers grabbed a folder from a nearby workstation. He opened it and started putting pictures on the main display. "We're going to need a recon mission before we plan the attack. Or else this whole thing is going to blow up in our face. And I have an idea or two on how to get the data we need."

"You have the floor, Lucky."

McIvers nodded and began explaining what he had in mind.

(Raptor 204 – Cockpit – Day 4570, 0930)

Ace put the Widowmaker through a slow turn and checked the DRADIS display. So far, it was empty. At 0815, the Wild Bunch had been called to the Pilot's Ready Room for a briefing. The brass needed a recon mission to two Toaster comm-relays. Ace got the feeling that it was part of a bigger plan, which involved blowing said relays to a thousand tiny pieces. Of course, Lucky was smart enough not to confirm any of it. But they both knew what she was thinking.

"Nothing but clear skies on my screen, boss." A male voice said from the back.

"Keep your eyes on that screen, Roy." Ace began. "This sneaking session could into a hot party any second."

Roy was actually called Donald Antonius. He had taken the pilot's seat on Day 2909, a couple of hours after Nash had left for the Anubis. Back then he had been a crewman, but he had worked his way up the ranks in record time. And he had done it the proper way, with zero connections and lots of hard work. But finally, he had hit a ceiling at Petty Officer First Class.

In fact, it was the highest rank anybody on the Wild Bunch – except Ace because she was the CO – could achieve. And then Gaius Nash – curse the man – had approached her and convinced her to accept a battlefield commission to Ensign. It raised the ceiling for the rest of her squadron to Warrant Officer. Roy had been one of three people to get promoted after that.

"How are our swallows looking, Ice ?"

"Primed and ready to go, skipper."

Normally, the co-pilot's seat was empty so that the ECO could sit there if needed. But Ace had had gotten the feeling that this mission would be tricky. So all four Raptors were travelling 'Three Load' on this one. For the Widowmaker, the extra pair of hands was Crewman Felix Henderson. He was a rookie, having arrived two days ago. But he had already earned the call-sign Ice for saving a knuckle-dragger. (The man had suffered a heart attack and Ice's cool head had saved him.)

"Don't go melting on me, Ice."

"Yes, skipper."

Ace looked at the DRADIS screen again. They were approaching their first target through the Caesar Nebula at full sub-light speed. (They had jumped in as close as they could without being detected.) She could see it as a dot at the far edge of DRADIS range. This was where the soup would stick to the spoon. But so far, there were no unwelcome guests. Ace looked at Ice, who was biting his lower lip. Fortunately, he was looking more surprised than panicked.

"Ice ?"

"Where the DRADIS buoy." He said. "What ? If it was my relay, I'd place a booster buoy to increase resolution inside the Nebula." He looked at Ace and Roy. "Is that so stupid ?"

"No." Roy said as he hit several buttons. "That's clever, Rookie. That's very clever." He hit more buttons and second, smaller dot appeared. Based on the signature, it was indeed a boosted buoy. The Cylons had strategically placed it between several pockets of dense gas, so that it could see, but not easily be seen. "And there is it. Are you sure you're a rookie ?"

"Yes, sir."

"Let's presume that's not the only one, Roy." Ace said. "Ice, tell the other three Raptors to prepare for Phase Two. And get ready to do some dancing. The interesting part is about to start."

The two men nodded and set to their tasks, while Ace began putting the Widowmaker through a turn to avoid the booster buoy.

(Raptor 204 – Cockpit – Day 4570, 0948)

It had been a roller coaster ride to get passed the buoys. But they were finally past the last one, so now Widowmaker could finally do the job she came here to do: spy on the relay. She was sitting behind a dense gas pocket and studying the situation. Ace counted seventy-two raiders, two troop transports and four asteroid-mounted missile banks. The relay itself was also armed with six heavy cannons, which could take out Vipers and Raptors with a single shot. It was a defense set-up with teeth, but it still felt wrong to Ace.

"There should be more." She bit her lip and turned to Roy. "Anything from Outer Circuit ?"

Outer Circuit was their codename for the other Raptors of the Bunch. They were making a circuit around the area - one high, one middle and one lower – while staying out of the Toaster's DRADIS range. Their orders were to look for anything that was 'off'. Roy's face, however, told her that they hadn't made a peep.

"Keep listening, Roy."

He nodded and she turned back. Ace took a deep breath and looked at the DRADIS display. It appeared the toasters still didn't know they were here. She just hoped that the Outer Circuits folks were also still unnoticed. Two seconds later, the wireless crackled with a coded burst. It lasted only three seconds, but that was enough for it do what it had to. She could hear Roy's fingers fly over the keyboard.

"Well….?"

"Outer Circuit found the trap that comes with particular piece of cheese." He punched several buttons to bring a schematic up on the screen. "There's a Basestar hiding in the Nebula. It's only one jump away. If we had triggered one of those buoys…."

"Hold her steady, Ice." Ace said. "I need to go in back."

"I've got her, skipper."

Ace let go of the controls and went in back. She studied the schematic on Roy's screen and cursed. It was a Mark-II Basestar. These ships had been introduced during the tenth year of the war. They had proved to a nasty piece of kit, costing the Fleet many a ship. (From the top of her head, however, the only one she could think of was the Battlestar Osiris, which had been lost during Battle of Djerba.) She took a deep breath and bundled up her worries.

"Log it, Roy." She began. "Then ready the FTL. It's time to get the frak out of here."

Roy nodded and set to work. Ace returned to her chair and waited for him to start the countdown. She didn't have to wait long. Twenty-two seconds later, the Widowmaker was gone.

(Battlestar Xanthi – Commander's Quarters – Day 4570, 0955)

Williams sat behind his desk and looked at the data one the first Relay. The Wild Bunch had send them a whole load of DRADIS info on the target, along with several very clear photos of the Basestar, which the Wild Bunch had codenamed The Trap. The relay and its defenses had been codenamed The Cheese. The Bunch was currently scouting the second Relay, but he wanted to have his attack plan ready when they came back. (He and Lucky had decided to split the work up to safe time. Williams would do the math on one relay and Lucky on the other.)

The basic formula was really simple. They would jump in and nuke The Trap to pieces. Once it was gone, they would head for The Cheese and melt it. He wasn't taking any chances and using all four-eight of his Vipers, along with all thirty-six of his Raptors. The Raptors would be armed with missile pods.

"Are you sure about the Raptors, Boss ?" Peters said. The ship's XO was sitting on the other side of the desk. "The numbers favor us on this one."

"Yes, the toasters were smart enough to park The Trap in the neighborhood." Williams began. "Rule one in situations like this…never, ever underestimate the toasters. Or they'll fry you like a piece of bread." He smiled. "I paid attention to my predecessors and that one is from Magnus."

"Steal from the best. So I'm taking notes on my meetings with you." Peters said with a snicker.

"Thanks for the complement." Williams put away the photos and the DRADIS data. Then he took out a blank piece of paper. He began drawing the situation. "Okay, here's the detailed version I'm going to run by Lucky…."

(Raptor 204 – Cockpit – Day 4570. 1002)

Relay number two presented a whole new challenge. The Cheese was located at the edge of the Caesar Nebula, which – if the Nebula hadn't been there – would have put it in the perfect place to Relay wireless contact between the five bases. But the Nebula was there. And it interfered with the wireless channel between The Cheese and three of the bases. So the toasters had been forced to build The Eye. It was located smack in the middle of the Nebula, inside an area clear of gases. Like the eye of a storm, hence the name.

The upside of this was that there were no booster buoys. Alas, the downside was that the toasters didn't need any. The Eye had full DRADIS resolution. Worse, as they passed through the gas, they left a clear and obvious trail. Not to mention the fact that the gas directly around the Raptor lit up like a Caprican Eel. There was simply now was to get close to the Eye without alerting the Cylons.

"Well, folks…" Ace began. "…I'm open to suggestions."

"Roy, could be please bring up the chart on the Pupil ?" Ice said. "It might be helpful."

"One chart, coming up."

The Eye existed because of the Pupil. Above the Caesar Nebula was a star called Brutus, which the Pupil – a rocky ice-planet – orbited. The Pupil cut through the Nebula, absorbing enough gas to leave a clear area. The chart said that an orbit took thirty-six point five days. And according to the chart, the planet would begin its next passage in roughly two hours. Sometimes, there was no substitute for PDL or – as most people called it – Plain, Dumb Luck. And Ace knew that turning it away when came along was extremely stupid.

"Nice one, Ice." Ace said. "Okay, we're hitching a ride. Ice, find us a spot where we can see the toasters, but they can't see us. Roy, let's jump out of here before they notice us."

The two men nodded and set to their tasks. Ace just hoped that their luck would hold. Because if she was the toasters, she would have secured The Pupil to prevent them from doing what they were planning to do. Alas, they didn't have any other options. And there was only one way to find out. Before she could ponder it further, Roy began counting down to the jump.

(Battlestar Xanthi – CIC – Day 4570, 1030)

Williams, Peters and McIvers stood around the central tactical table. They had just received another burst transmission from the Bunch. If their plan worked, it would take them several hours to gather the data they would need for the attack. McIvers was currently doing the math on how much time they were looking at. Finally, he shook his head.

"This plan is insane. Even if they manage to land without the toasters detecting them, they would have to spend eight hours and seventeen hours on that rock." He scratched his face. "They've got enough air and rations for the trip, but the chance of them being spotted…." He shook his head. "It's insane. Unfortunately, it's also the only plan we've got…"

"Then the insane plan it is." Williams said. "Major DeSalle, I want a countdown on the clock." Andrea DeSalle had been the Big X's weapons officer since she had been launched. "Program it to hit zero when the Wild Bunch can jump out."

"Yes, sir."

DeSalle set the clock, while Peters turned to Williams. The look on his face told him that they both knew what the question was….would they wait until the clock hit zero. Or would they attack The Trap and The Cheese now ? There were risks with both options. If they waited, there was the chance of the toasters getting wise to the attack. If they attacked now, the toasters would probably send reinforcements to The Eye. And that would put the Wild Bunch at even greater risk. Williams weighed the options in his head and made the call.

"Colonel McIvers, gather and brief your people." He said. " Colonel Peters, give the chiefs a heads-up. They're going to have to start getting the birds ready, because I want to make a combat jump at 1300 hours."

"Yes, sir." Peters and McIvers said.

Williams took a deep breath. There was no turning back now. All they could do now, was prepare and beware…