Shadows Gambit - Part 4
Optimum range," Colonel Tigh barked. "We can now adequately protect the fleet while we also conduct our rescue mission."
"Thank you Colonel," Adama replied. "Execute at your discretion."
"Very well," Tigh replied from his position at the com desk. "Navigation, set new course, four, one, seven, mark three, three six. Execute at flank speed."
The navigation officer acknowledged the orders and repeated them as he input the coordinates.
"Put me on unicom, please," Adama ordered, reaching down a few microns later to take the offered microphone from Omega.
Adama stood at the monitor.
"People of the fleet, this is Commander Adama," He began. "The Galactica is temporarily leaving the fleet in order to conduct a rescue mission on a nearby planet. Our Viper Squadrons are launching at this time, and will escort you to our rendezvous point. Thank you."
Adama gave a nod of his head to Flight Officer Rigel, and she released the vipers.
"All Vipers?" Asked Tigh.
"Yes," Adama replied. "I want the Raptors to handle this one on their own."
Tigh let his gaze linger on the commander for a few more microns, but held his anxieties in check. He was too well seasoned an executive officer to question his superior in front of the crew. Any concerns he had would wait until after the fighter deployment, when he could have a more private conversation with his friend and superior.
The Galactica's massive exhaust tails seemed to flare up as the thrusters roared, propelling the ship forward into a graceful turn as it headed after the two rogue fighters.
Starbuck was busy fiddling with the various controls of his ship as he and Apollo rocketed through the void. He saw a series of letters that he did not recognize. After a few microns of not-so-careful consideration, he hit the switch.
Immediately the sound of an alarm blared in the cockpit, as well as a slightly fuzzy female voice began to repeat "Missile Armed!"
In a panic, Starbuck began slapping cutoffs wildly before the voice cancelled with a "Missile Disarmed" message. In the process he had also switched off his scanners, running lights, marker beacon and a few other components. He looked over at Apollo, who stared back through his own canopy at him with a mixture of concern and annoyance on his face.
Starbuck saw his mouth moving, and realized he had also inadvertently shut off his com system. Quickly he hit the switch.
"You alright over there?" Apollo's voice faded in.
Starbuck gave a nervous shrug and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"Because the only way I know you're next to me is your engine glow," Apollo replied knowingly.
"Hmm?" Starbuck replied, and then he took in his surroundings again. "Oh, sorry."
One by one, the various systems came back up, and Apollo saw the marker lights illuminate again, while his scanner, once again recognized the other ship as more than an unknown anomaly.
Apollo shook his head. "You were playing, weren't you?" he asked.
"No," Starbuck replied a bit defensively. "I knew exactly what I was doing."
Apollo smiled in spite of himself. One aspect of his friend he knew would never change, was his child like curiosity.
"Of course you did," Apollo remarked.
Backis watched nervously, his eyes scanning the complex below through the micro binoculars. He had counted out five centons sine he had lost track of Athena. He bit his own lip unconsciously as he panned back and forth.
"Where the blazes are you," he whispered. He had seen her by the derelict fighter, and then he had seen the two cylons, one gold, and the command Cylon in his fire blue robes.
On reflex alone, Backis had snatched up his rifle and sighted the two figures as they approached the wrecked ship. The two had stood there, apparently inspecting the tiny craft. They gave no indication that they had found Athena. No perimeter lights burst to life, no alarm was sounded.
Backis knew that it would have been a long, very long, shot. He also knew that if he didn't take the shot, Athena would be finished. By giving the Cylons two targets, as well as a perimeter threat, it could increase her chances o escaping amidst the confusion.
His finger rested on the trigger as he watched the tiny figures until they slowly began to move away from the ship, heading back around one of the pre-fab buildings. A few microns later, the shadowy form of Athena moved stealthily away from the ship, towards the pile of supply cartons stacked off to one side. He breathed a sigh of relief as he let the rifle fall back to the soft earth and scooped up the binoculars. Athena looked warily about before she sprinted to her next place of concealment, along side the massive hauling machine. Her eyes moved from building to building and then to the open maw of the cave.
"Don't you fracking do it," Backis muttered, his teeth grinding. "Don't even think abou-" He stopped as she darted into the cave and vanished from sight.
"FRACK!" He hissed as loud as he dared.
Another movement caught his attention, and he panned the glasses in that direction to see the blue robed Cylon step from around the building. Next to him, the massive bulk of the gold Centurion also strode from the shadows.
Both of them were watching the entrance of the cave. The Command Cylon made a few gestures and then turned and departed. The gold Centurion stood still for a few more microns, and then began walking towards the cave.
"Frack!" Backis said again, dropping the binoculars and raising the rifle again. "No, no, no, no, no, " he bit back a more colorful curse.
The golden Centurion continued forward, and stopped at the cave entrance, waiting.
As Backis watched, his heart sinking, he saw shadows moving from within the dimly lit cave, and then several silver centurions came marching out carrying a large circular cylinder, draped in a tan cloth. Backis was smart enough to realize what they had.
He grabbed the binoculars back and zoomed in on the object. From the front corner, he could see the material of the component and he gasped.
"That looks like a colonial computer core," he thought. He looked back over at the golden centurion. Instead of following the laborers, the gold one turned its helmeted head back towards the dark cave entrance and watched. Then it took two steps and vanished inside before Backis could, once again, grab his rifle and fire.
"There!" Starbuck exclaimed as he flipped through the various channels.
"One Cylon Base Ship, in low orbit."
"I see it," replied Apollo. "Just coming around with the planet's rotation." He studied the scanned for a micron. "They're in synchronous orbit," he finally said. "That means they're protecting something on the surface."
Starbuck took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling the beginnings of an adrenaline surge.
"So," he asked. "How do you want to do this?"
Apollo hit several switches, setting up to transmit. "I'm going to send a short pulse message to the survival beacon." He said. "See if I can get it to respond."
"And then?" Starbuck asked.
"We'll see."
He sent the short signal, requesting an information dump from the indestructible pod. A few microns later, a confirmation signal returned and then the monitor showed the dump in progress. Once the indicator was complete, Apollo hit the appropriate switch, and the information on his
scanner was replaced with the image of a man, leaning down in front of the lens, staring back at him, his hair a bit disheveled and his uniform showing the dirt and tears of hasty travel.
"Galactica," The Colonial Warrior said. "This is Lieutenant Backis of the Black Raptor squadron. We went extra vehicular and reached surface in one piece. No serious injuries to report. Will switch transponder on every three centars until you signal other instructions."
Backis turned his head, and Apollo saw the form of Athena lying on the ground, unconscious. Then the pale eyes came back to the screen. "Do me a favor. Don't take too long to get here."
The image winked out, and was replaced with a second one.
This time, Apollo gave a short laugh of relief as Athena stared out at him from the monitor. Her hair was stringy and her uniform was dirty and torn in a few places, but she was alive.
"Galactica," she began. "I've done all I can to boost the signal of this thing, but I don't know if you're receiving our signals. The Cylons landed on the surface here about eight centars ago and began setting up some sort of mining operation. I think our attack on them did more damage than we were led to believe and right now, they're scrambling for raw materials to conduct repairs." She paused for a few microns. "We'll be maintaining surveillance on the site until you arrive. The special crypt sequence included in this transmission will allow secured communications between our position here, and any ships in orbit." Then she paused again. "Get here as quickly as you can. They're short on troops right now, so they aren't sending patrols out to try and capture us, however, at the rate they're going, they won't be short handed for very long." The image winked out again and changed into a third image. One that seemed familiar to Apollo.
He stared at it as the lens of the transponder was turned to take in the tiny closed space. When the image finally stopped, Apollo's eyes went wide as he realized that he was staring at the interior of a colonial shuttlecraft.
Backis's voice came over the speakers.
"We discovered this place when we were attempting to locate a safe base of operations." He said. "I do not know what era this shuttle is from, but after clearing out the vegetation surrounding it, well.."
Then Backis stepped in front of the camera and knelt down, his face staring out at Apollo again.
"We found the remains of the pilot, who appears to have dies in the crash, lord knows how long ago. Amidst the wreckage, I was able to find two insignia pins, but I cannot make out which ship they are from, or how old they might be." He stood and then held his hand in front of the lens. In the palm of his hand were two, dirt encrusted pins.
"Nagon," Backis continued. "This is for you. If we don't get the originals to you, then you should be able to pull it out of this imagery with the computer."
Backis knelt down in front of the lens again.
"The Cylon base is growing fast guys." He swallowed. "I think part of the reason is because they've been pulling refined material out of their little hole. Athena and I saw them yank several ancient fighter class ships out of the mining shaft they blasted. Lords only know what else is in that hill."
The image winked out and a series of numbers scrolled across the screen, loading into the Raptors communications system.
"Did I hear all that right?" Starbuck asked.
"You heard it," Apollo replied. "I think it's time for us to break our silence. I'm sending these scans back to the Galactica along with a message of my own."
"Okay," Starbuck said. "You're the Captain."
"In the mean time," Apollo continued. "Follow me in. We'll come across the night side with the planet between us and that Base Ship."
"Will do," Starbuck replied. The two Raptors turned and fell towards the distant glowing sphere of the nearby planet.
Adama stood like a pillar of strength on the bridge. He watched his crew going through their pre-combat routines quickly and efficiently, preparing his ship for battle.
"Colonel," Adama inquired over his headset. "What's our status?"
"On course and battle ready, Commander," Tigh reported crisply. "Forward scanners show no signs of Cylon Base Ship, or any attack force."
"Thank you Colonel," Adama said, and he turned to his console, keying the launch bay.
"Colonel Jodas," he said. "What is your status?"
In the launch bay, the Black Raptors sat waited with engines at idle. In the command center of the bay, Jodas hit a switch.
"Give the word, Commander," he said. "My kids are ready to fly and itching for a good scrap."
"Thank you Colonel," Adam replied with a voice tainted by a hint of amusement. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Commander," Omega said, turning to face him, one hand covering the speaker on his headset. "We're receiving a signal from the planet."
Adama stepped up next to Omega and leaned down to peer over the flight officer's shoulder.
Together, they watched the three feeds from the survival pod of Athena's ship, and then, a dark screen replaced the image.
"This is Captain Apollo," his son's voice rang out. "These scans were received while we approached the planet during a rescue attempt. Currently, there is a Single Base Ship in orbit of the planet in the Omega Sector. Starbuck and I are about to attempt to land and recover our missing people."
There was a silence for a few microns. "It might be good for whoever gets this to offer up a prayer or two." The hiss snapped off, and the series of numbers for the encryption code scrolled across the screen before the open channel was established.
Adama felt as if his heart were about to burst. The sound of his son's voice had been different somehow. A harder, grimmer edge had come from it, almost as if he was not expecting to survive the attempt.
"May the blessings of the Lords of Kobol go with you, my son," he whispered. Then he turned back to Omega.
"Relay that encryption sequence to the rest of the fighters in the bay."
"Yes Commander," Omega replied as he began entering the commands.
Adama keyed the mic on his headset. "Tigh, I want a concentrated scan of the Omega sector, and full tactical display."
"Yes sir," Tigh replied.
"And get me more speed," Adama finished sharply.
"The engines haven't been pushed like this since the incident on Terra," Tigh began. "We don't want to blow an energizer."
"No excuses, Colonel," Adama said, more sharply than he intended. "Push the Galactica for all she's worth!"
"Yes sir," Tigh replied.
A tremor ran through the deck plates as the Galactica began to increase her speed even more. The ship gave a deep, metallic groan as the stresses increased but she held together and stabilized after a few microns. Adama let a proud smile momentarily flash across his lips.
"Are we close enough to release the Raptors?" he asked Rigel.
"In twelve centons, Commander," Rigel replied quickly.
The good thing, Shadow mused, as his shuttle landed back on the base ship, was that he had nearly replaced all the fighters he had lost in the previous skirmishes with the Colonials. The bad thing was that most of his pilots were back down on the surface, still supporting the newly manufactured groups of centurions that slowly and steadily swelled the ranks of his war machine. As an afterthought, he suddenly realized that he had made a grievous error in judgement. He should have allowed the production of both fighters and crews to be simultaneous. Here he was with a fleet of fighters, and no one to fly them.
He exited the shuttle and went to the control center.
"Centurion," he said as he entered the chamber. "Have engineering begin to retrieve any useful data from the computer core we just brought aboard. All information to be transferred directly to my chamber."
"By your command," the silver centurion droned in response.
Shadow withdrew to his darkened chambers for some much needed peace and quiet.
Athena crept along the rough-hewn passage, ducking into the shadows whenever a threat presented itself. The cave dead ended at a turn, and beyond that... Her mouth fell open as she gazed into the gaping cavern of a Battlestar's landing bay. The garish yellow work lights that the cylons had strung about, gave the entire scene a macabre, skeletal look. She could see the bends and breaks in the superstructure where the ship had collapsed under the pressure of its own massive bulk. The rocky earth beyond looking like brown and white slashes in the skin of the giant ship.
Fighting to keep her wits about her, she crossed the threshold into the bay and scurried into the shadows at the corner of the structure. Only when she was safely tucked away in the darkness did she allow herself to be awed by what she saw. The entire bay lay, slightly bowed but mostly intact. Off to her side she could recognize the loading platforms of the launch tubes, and across the way she could see the opening for the ascender, which led to the other levels of the ship. The Cylons had rigged a temporary lift in place of the decrepit lift car sitting at the bottom.
She was just getting ready to move again when the golden centurion from outside stepped into view, his head turning from left to right.
"Human," it droned. "You have been observed. You have twenty microns to surrender."
Athena lowered her rifle and took aim. At least ten more centurions, most of them a dull gray in color, came into view as the golden centurion stepped forward.
"Ten microns!" The golden one counted out. One of the gray centurions turned its red sensor eye in her direction, and she saw it freeze in place, locked onto her.
"Halt!" it called out, instantly raising its weapon to fire. In the same micron the rest of the phalanx raised their weapons.
The golden one turned and also found her in the shadows.
"Five microns!" he intoned. His own weapon also rose.
Athena froze as those final microns dragged out.
"Starbuck would have something clever up his sleeve about now," she thought. Here eyes darted between the gold centurion and it's silver and gray minions. Then they flicked down to her weapon. In those few precious microns, an idea came to her.
"Alright!" She called out, trying desperately to suppress the quaver in her voice. She raised the weapon into the air in surrender, and at the same time, quickly removed and reinserted the power cell. But she inserted it backwards. She began to tick the microns off in her mind. In about a centon, the weapons capacitor bank would overload, and the weapon would explode like a solonite grenade.
"Alright," she said more softly. "I surrender." She hoped desperately
that the Cylons would not simply decide to burn her down where she stood. Ten microns passed.
"Come forward," the golden centurion commanded. She did so, slower than usual. Another fifteen microns passed.
The centurion ordered her to turn around and kneel on the ground. She complied and burned away another twenty-five microns in the process. Fifty microns left.
"Take her weapons," the golden centurion commanded. Her pistol was yanked from her hip, and then the massive gloved hand closed on the rifle. She held onto it, seeming to be reluctant to relinquish it, and then let it be taken as a second hand smacked her forward to the ground. Another fifteen microns gone.
"Thirty-five," she thought as she slowly got up, her hair hanging in her face as she looked up at the group. She forced herself not to smile as the booby-trapped centurion stood center mass in the group.
"On your feet," The gold centurion commanded.
Slowly, Athena moved to a crouch, her eyes locked on the golden Cylon as she stood.
The Golden Cylon shoved her out of the bay and into the rough-hewn tunnel.
She moved along obediently until the count reached five, and then she darted around the corner. Athena dove, face first into the cool, earth as the explosion took out the majority of her centurion escort. The rest were buried in the small avalanche of falling stone from the ceiling.
Athena covered her head as rocks and dirt fell from the ceiling above. When the rumbling was over, she slowly looked up, dirt and stone sloughing off of her. She looked behind her and saw several hands and feet protruding from the pile of debris.
Her entire body ached from the pummeling of stones on her back and legs.
Ignoring the pain, Athena scrambled back over the pile and slid down back into the bay of the ship. She darted back into the shadows as several more centurions came running toward the explosion and began to dig through the debris.
One of the centurion's rifles had landed in the corner. After a quick check, she found it to still be in working order. She checked the charge and then began moving quickly down the length of the bay.
Backis was beside himself with anxiety. He watched in horror as the golden centurion followed Athena into the cave, and then, not five centons later, the muffled thump of an explosion.
"Frack!" he hissed. "Frack! Frack! Frack!"
He let his head drop to the grassy earth, smelling its musty scent. He bit back tears, and quickly got to his feet, heading back to their shelter.
Once the sun had set on the next day, it was his turn to go in.
It took a few centons before he saw the flashing indicator on the transponders glow panel. When he knelt down in front of it, the words "link established" flashed on the little screen. Quickly he opened the channel.
"This is Lieutenant Backis," he said. "Is anyone receiving this signal?"
"Backis," an unfamiliar voice answered. "How are you two doing down there?"
His eyes widened as recognition dawned on his face.
"Starbuck?" He asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Getting ready to come down and pick you two up," Starbuck replied evenly.
"You're nuts for bringing a shuttle out here alone!" Backis replied.
"Well, we aren't exactly in a shuttle," Starbuck replied. "Apollo and I sort of borrowed a couple of your Raptors. We figure that we'll land where you tell us. Apollo will jump in with me, while Athena and you take the other one."
"Athenaà" Backis started, and then he stopped.
"What is it?" Another voice came in. It was Apollo.
Backis swallowed hard. "I think Athena's deadà" his voice trailed off.
For a long time, both Starbuck and Apollo were silent.
Apollo felt as if someone had just torn him wide open. First, his younger brother, Zac, was killed when he couldn't get back to him fast enough. Now Athena, dead because he couldn't get to her until it was too late.
"Dead?" He stammered, his voice sounding hollow in his own ears. "Wh- what happened?"
His eyes drifted to the Raptor next to him, and saw Starbuck looking back, his own eyes wide in shock.
"Well," Backis started. "We found something amazing down here. I'm talking to you from the passenger compartment of an ancient colonial shuttle. Anyway, we set up a post to observe the Cylon operation here, and Athena saw them pulling several old ships from the mineshaft they had dug. She went down to try and find what the Cylons had gotten their hands on. She went in about ten centons ago. Then there was a muffled explosion - I think - andà" again his voice dropped off.
Apollo's eyes squeezed shut as the emotions crashed over him in a wave. He felt his heart slamming in his chest. The grief was suddenly replaced by the frustration that he had now failed; both times a family member was in trouble. Frustration and rage.
"Backis," he said with a cold growl in his voice. "Give us the nearest landing field. We're coming in."
"Coordinates transferred," Backis replied a few microns later.
"Uh, Apollo?" Starbuck said. "Shouldn't we hold off until - " he didn't finish as Apollo pitched his Raptor onto its side and dove for the atmosphere.
"Apollo!"
Starbuck matched his friends maneuver and followed as they descended towards the planet.
Adama stood on the bridge. He could feel all eyes upon him as the cross talk between his only surviving child and the stranded warrior on the surface, transpired. He felt their sympathy and cold rage as he stood there. Many on the bridge had worked closely with Athena, and a few even
considered her a friend. Now they had lost one of their own. Biting back the fury that boiled in him, Adama spoke through clenched teeth.
"Tigh," he said. "Bring the Galactica in straight at the Base Ship. All forward batteries stand by to fire."
"Yes, sir," Tigh replied, his own voice tight and more fiery than usual.
A few sounds traveled across the bridge. The Galactica was beyond a rescue mission now. She was on a mission of vengeance.
"Commander," the silver centurion called over the monitor in Shadow's chamber. "Scanners indicate two ships penetrating the atmosphere."
"Indeed?" Shadow said, stepping up to the monitor. "Have you identified the intruders?"
"Profile matches previously unknown colonial design," The silver centurion replied dutifully. "Long range scanners have also picked up an approaching Battlestar."
"The Galactica?" Shadow said in surprise. "Coming here?"
"Apparently," the centurion replied.
Shadow thought for a micron. His worst fear was beginning to manifest. A colonial Battlestar, wounded and short on ships, could still defeat his ship in close combat, and he knew it. He needed time to plan. He needed a miracle.
He glanced over at the monitor which showed the detail scan of the information stored in the ancient Colonial computer core and watched the spotty information scroll by, and in those long sequences of seemingly random numbers, he found that miracle.
Shadow touched a switch on his console. "Kadal. Return to the ship at once."
No response.
"Kadal?" Shadow repeated. "Are you receiving?"
A single line flashed onto his monitor.
"UNIT OFFLINE"
Quickly, Kadal switched frequencies and contacted the communications station at the refinery, only to discover that a subterranean explosion had cut off access to the mine works and the underground wreck. It had also deactivated several centurions.
Shadow let a sigh escape his audio processor.
"Those little daggits," he said. Then he turned back to the monitor.
"You're garrison is recalled, effective immediately. Transport all active centurions and equipment aboard the Base Ship without delay."
"By your command," the centurion below droned, and the image went dark.
Athena was part way down the length of the bay when a sound caught her attention. It was a grating sound of stone upon stone. She turned back and watched in horror as the dented and maimed figure of the golden centurion pulled itself from the pile of rubble. The red sensor eye flickered unsteadily as it moved back and forth in the dented, misshapen helmet. The smooth shining surface of the armor was dented and punctured in several places. Smoke poured from several gaps in the flexsteel covering of the body, and she could hear the arcing and popping of crossed circuits from inside the body.
The flickering sensor eye locked on Athena and froze.
In a popping, faltering voice, it spoke. "Kiii...iiil....hU....man..n!"
It began moving towards her. She raised her rifle and took aim. The weapon fizzled and popped as a single weak bolt bounced harmlessly against the command Centurions heavier, if bashed armor plates. It continued inexorably towards her.
"Ki.i.i.lll... Hu..ma...nnnn..."
Athena turned and fled, heading deeper into the depths of the buried ship.
The lights flicked in the network of corridors as the power being fed to them fluctuated unsteadily. Apparently, her exploding gun trick had done more damage than she thought. If the corridors and chambers of the ship were plunged into darkness, she would be helpless.
She darted down the corridor and headed into the ancient Life Center.
Ducking behind one of the overturned, and dust covered support chambers, she inspected the weapon. The pulse capacitor was damaged beyond repair, making the weapon effectively useless, except as a club.
"That won't do much to you," she thought, referring to the golden behemoth on her trail.
A sharp noise caught her attention and she froze, her heart pounding in her chest. Then she heard the tonal noise of the Cylon's sensor eye. It was accompanied by a slight fizzling and popping noise.
With a screech of metal, the ancient chamber was wrenched from the floor. Kadal raised the metallic cylinder over his head, and brought it crashing down at the girl on the floor.
Athena rolled away as the chamber slammed into the metal floor beside her. She scrambled on all fours before finally getting her feet under her and sprinting down the corridor, back towards the landing bay. She could hear the relentless thud of Kadal's booted feet as he came after her. A massive hand caught her between the shoulder blades and sent her skidding forward
until she slammed against the bulkhead.
Gloved hands reached down and grabbed her shoulders, tossing her back down the corridor, where she landed in a heap with a sickening thump.
The good thing was the fact that she didn't feel like any bones had broken in that second landing. The bad thing was that she was still dizzy from her headlong slide into the bulkhead, and now, she was having trouble getting the air back into her lungs.
She forced her aching body to move, looking up in time to see the battered golden form stop before her. One massive leg went back and she felt the air blasted from her again as she went skidding a good distance down the corridor, a hoarse cry escaping her lips as the pain lanced through her midsection.
"If you stay down," she thought, gasping. "You'll die here."
She forced her feet under her and stumbled against the wall as the golden centurion came after her again. Athena looked past the Cylon at the open hatch. If she wanted to get out, she would have to get past it. The Red Sensor light flickered as it centered in the dark visor, fixing on her.
"Kii...llll.....HuuuuuuMmMmAAAnnNnn!" it droned in a static filled voice.