Adama stiffened as the young woman hooked her arm under his.

"Are you afraid I'll get lost?" he asked, trying to hide his annoyance.

"Terrified of it," Cassiopeia answered, playfully snuggling Adama's shoulder. As they walked.

He sighed with resignation. Salek had beaten him. He resigned himself to the fact that he was not going to be able to find a way out. In the back of his mind, he prayed to the lords of Kobol for a red alert.

Kadal entered the cavernous central chamber, and found Shadow waiting quietly. In the center, staring down at a ring of monitors. Unlike most command Cylons, he had decided to have his Centurions dismantle the towering platform that held the traditional command seat, opting for something simpler.

"By your command," Kadal droned.

Shadow looked up from his displays.

"Report," he said.

"Our patrols have identified the trailing vessels of the colonial fleet," Kadal said. "They turned back before being discovered."

"Were our fighters able to confirm the Colonial Fleets course and heading?" Shadow asked expectantly.

"Affirmative," Kadal answered.

Shadow entered a series of commands and then motioned the golden centurion to join him at the console. He stared at the red blips that indicated the Colonial Fleet, his hand tapping on the display as he mused.

"I want you to set a speed course to this point," he instructed, his robed hand sweeping in a wide arc around to a position in front of the Galactica

and her fleet. "Position us so that we remain out of range for both the Galactica and her fighter patrols."

"You do not wish to engage them?" asked Kadal.

"Oh, I do," said Shadow, his upturned lip lights flashing. "Once we are in position, I want you to match the Galactica's speed and heading, keepingup in front of her. Then launch our fighters into the estimated patrol routes of her fighters. Once our fighters reach the positions I will assign them, they are to power down and wait for the patrol ships to pass them, then ambush them from behind. The colonial vipers will have two choices.

Fly further away from the Galactica until they run out of fuel, and die. Or die quickly." He chuckled in amusement. "We will first whittle down their defenses, and then we will attack the fleet."

"By your command," said Kadal. The golden centurion turned and headed towards the transparent doors of the dimly lit chamber.

"Kadal," Shadow called out.

The centurion stopped and turned back to face its commander.

"Make certain that the pilots understand. There MUST be no survivors from the colonial patrols. I want Adama to wonder what is ahead of him. By the time he figures it out, the Galactica and her humans will be mine."

"By your command," Kadal said again.

Shadow turned back to his displays. In his mind, he realized that the simple truth was, the Imperious Leader, the late Darnos, and even Baltar

lacked one vital ingredient in winning conflicts. They lacked patience, as well as the flexibility to creatively produce strategy. That had been their undoing. Darnos had been ill prepared to anticipate the uncouth tactics of the new colonial craft, and The Imperious Leader had been fooled by a ruse, while Baltar, though still alive, was constantly in need of replacement weapons and ships because of his two dimensional thinking.

It would not be so with him. He had the necessary "glitch" that allowed him more freedom of thought, and creativity. Now he planned to use all his mechanical wits to bring about the greatest victory in the history of the Cylon Empire.

Adama stood on the bridge, his face set in stone as he watched the monitor. His face was a mask of grim resolution. In the early cycles of the secton, he had begun to lose patrol ships.

"Omega," he said into his headset mic. "Patrol status, please?"

After a few microns, Omega answered.

"Red Squadron patrols one and seven, still unaccounted for. Blue squadron three and four, also unaccounted for, and Silver Spar squadron patrol four, also unaccounted for."

"Tigh?" Adama turned to his second in command.

Colonel Tigh checked his wrist computer. "If they were using turbos, they'd have powered down almost half a centar ago." His voice was filled with grim resolution.

Adama shook his head. "Were there any signals from the missing ships?"

Omega shook his head. "A few scrambled communications attempts, commander, but that was all."

Adama sighed. "Ten lives, lost, including Jolly and Greenbean, Det and Dietra."

"I'm afraid so, Commander," Tigh replied. "We could launch a shuttle probe?"

Adama nodded. "Have Colonel Jodas report to my office immediately." He stepped from the command station and left the bridge.

Twenty-four teams of pilots sat in the crowded amphitheater style briefing room as the hatch slid open. Instantly, every pilot and RO stood at attention.

"Be seated," Jodas barked as he walked into the room. The men and women of the Black Raptors and the Gray Talons slid into their seats.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen," Jodas said, standing off to the side of the hollow display, his hands clasping behind his back as he scanned the faces in the room.

"Up to this point, the Raptor has been utilized as a long range strike, and support aircraft," Jodas said, a gleam in his eye. "All of that is about to change."

A low murmur rippled through the assembled pilots.

"As of this micron, you two groups of people have been upgraded to primary patrol status." Said Jodas. He pressed a button on the table and a holo of the surrounding area materialized on the white wall behind the Colonel.

Then a series of red dots appeared.

"The Red, Blue, and Silver Spar people have been getting chewed to pieces over the last half secton. We've lost a lot of good people, ten today alone."

Athena glanced up, behind her, at Brie, who sat with a numbed look in her eyes. She had just learned that her friend, Dietra, was one of the pilots who were missing, presumed dead.

Brie's eyes were red rimmed from crying, and she had her lips clenched tight as she watched the briefing.

"Now," said Jodas sharply. "I know that each and every one of you people had friends and acquaintances in the other squadrons, and the desire to get even runs high. Here's the reality of it, however. We don't know who our enemy is. We are going to assume the role of scout for the duration, extending our patrol range according to the Raptors fuel capacity. We will be patrolling the areas last explored by the previous Viper patrols. These areas are considered hot zones. Extremely hostile. Should you be spotted, assume hostile intent and go weapons hot immediately." He stepped back around the table, looking over the men and women in front of him.

"Now, I want you to understand this, people," he said. "These are recon patrols! The reason for the recon patrol is to assure the safety of our people and our ships. This will not be accomplished if you go out there with the intention of single handedly wiping out the forces of evil in the galaxy.

If you come under attack, you are to immediately return to the home base. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES will you engage the enemy in prolonged battle! Is that perfectly crystal clear?"

In one voice, all forty-eight men and women in the room barked "Yes Colonel!"

"Very well," said Jodas. "Congratulations ladies and gentlemen, you are now the proud protectors of humanities remains." He stepped to the table and switched off the holo.

The image died as Jodas lifted a stack of papers.

"When you hear your team, step up and get your patrol schedules..."

Athena and Backis sat at ease, in the cockpit of their Raptor, watching as the panorama of stars slowly moved around them.

"Anything?" asked Athena.

"Nothing concrete," said Backis, focusing on the small monitors in his control console. "Electro magnetic interference is a bit higher than usual, but that's it."

"What's on your mind, Athena?" Brie asked from her ship.

"I don't know," said Athena, unconsciously biting on her lower lip. In the back of her mind, a silent alarm bell was beginning to sound. Her eyes scanned her own consoles, intent on seeingàsomething?"

"What is it?" asked Backis. "Come on Athena. You're holding out on us."

"What?" Athena snapped out of her reverie. That nagging sensation refused to leave her.

As the two Raptors soared on through the blackness, the alarm klaxon in Athena's head continued to rise in pitch.

Off in the distance, silent as death, hung six powered down Cylon Raiders.

In the foremost ship, the flight lead centurion watched the two shining points of light.

"Scan for identification," he ordered. The Centurion in front of him, to his right, checked the scanners.

"Unknown configuration," he reported a micron later. "Markings suggest Colonial design."

"Stand by to intercept," the command centurion droned.

The blue white engine exhausts of the Cylon warships slowly came to life with their characteristic howl.

The command flight centurion watched the two points as they continued on their path.

"Ten microns," he ordered. "Arm weapons."

"Activate defense shields," Athena barked suddenly, as the alarm bells went from a quiet ring to a full-blown clamor.

"But-" Backis started.

"Do it!" Athena hissed.

"Hey!" came Justi's voice. "Where did they come from?"

Justi was Brie's somewhat nave and childlike R.O. Her fingers bounced across the tiny keypad as she focused in on the incoming ships. The form scan read back and she looked up, behind them.

"Cylons!" She shouted.

At the same micron, the six raiders sprung their trap, their blue laser bolts sizzling after the retreating Raptors.

One stray bolt connected with the shields on Athena's ship. The ship bounced, but was undamaged.

"Break out of it!" Athena called out

The two Raptors split in opposite directions, a completely unexpected tactic for standard Colonial fighter craft. The maneuver caused the Cylons to hesitate a micron before choosing their target. The six ships also split off, three after each Raptor.

"Malon Flight leader to base," the command Centurion called. "We have intercepted two Colonial fighter craft in quadrant Otaarsis."

Then he looked down at the gunner Centurion in the right forward seat.

"Commence firing."

Athena rolled the Raptor away from the trio of ships as they all opened fire on her at the same time.

"Talk to me Backis!" she called out.

"They're still back there!" Backis replied, his head craned over his shoulder, watching the three approaching Cylons as they scattered lethal blue bolts through space.

Athena whipped the Raptor to one side, turning her head to catch a glimpse the three Cylon Raiders behind her.

"Okay!" she called. "I got em!"

She leveled out, and hit the reverse thrusters. The ship shot backwards through the trio of attacking ships.

Athena jammed down on the stick, using a maneuver she had done before in the simulator. Her ship shuddered as two of the three Raiders passed. She pressed the fire button and the third Cylon ship erupted just in front of the Raptors nose. The exploding fragments bounced against the shields throwing white coronas of energy off into the void.

Her ship finished its suicidal maneuver and then rocketed off in a different direction.

"Are we clear?" she asked as she blinked, focusing her eyes. Backis said nothing.

"Hey!" Athena shouted.

"Y-yeah," came Backis's weak reply. He fought off the wave of dizziness from the unexpected maneuver. He watched the two other Cylon fighters as they wheeled away in a long arc so they could regroup and jump back into the fray.

Athena looked the other direction and spied Brie and Justi, with three Cylons on their tail.

"Hang on Brie!" Athena shouted, turning the ship towards them. She switched over to the missile system, arming the new solonite missiles under her wing. She watched the cross hairs center on one of the targets. A loud tone reverberated through the cramped cockpit .

The missile rocketed away from the Raptor's wing, a few microns later a second missile detached and plummeted after its target, and then a third.

In rapid succession, the three raiders pursuing Brie and Justi began to detonate struck from above by the explosive missiles.

"Whoa!" Justi cried out as a pair of blue bolts sizzled past her head, just before the forward most fighter erupted in a ball of flame and expanding gasses.

Brie kicked her ship over, and looked about.

"Thanks Athena!" she called out.

"No problem!" Athena replied. "Break off and return to base!"

The two Raptors kicked their turbos in and rocketed away from the fight, leaving the two remaining Cylon fighters to pursue in vain before being recalled.

Kadal entered the central command chamber and found Shadow standing at his usual place amidst his circle of monitoring equipment.

The large golden centurion stopped in a circle of light placed a respectful distance from his commander.

"By your command," he droned in his deep mechanical voice.

"Report," Shadow said with a tone that indicated boredom.

Kadal hesitated for a micron, prompting Shadow to raise his bouncing eye sensors towards his second in command.

"Kadal," He repeated. "Report."

"Malon Flight Leader reports encountering a pair of unknown Colonial fighter craft," Kadal said.

"The two ships were destroyed?" Shadow asked.

"Negative."

"What?" Shadow all but screamed. "I thought your centurions would have taken them by surprise? Was this not the case?"

"Malon Flight Leader reported attacking the Colonial ships from behind," Kadal said. "Apparently, the Colonial fighter craft used tactics and weapons that were unfamiliar to the patrol. Four Raiders were destroyed before the Colonial fighters escaped."

"Pity," Shadow said, his voice taking on a sad tone. He motioned for the golden centurion to approach. Then he gestured to a read out on one of the monitors.

"Malon Flight was positioned here," he stated, indicating a red dot on the screen. "Therefore, I would expect Adama to send a force patrol in this direction." He drew a line with his midnight blue finger, passing very close to where his ship was.

"Therefore," Shadow continued. "Take our ship around, this way, like so." He pointed to a new section on the scanner, on the opposite side of the fleet's projected path.

"Position our ship here, in direct field of Adama's best possible escape route."

Then Shadow paused for a micron as his processor ran an algorithm. Then he looked back at Kadal. "Have a radiation pod dropped at this location.

Then order a phalanx of fighters to create a corridor around it. I want to plan a surprise for the Colonial's."

"By your command," Kadal said. Shadow waved his hand in a dismissive gesture, and the giant gold centurion retired to his duties.

"I should have realized," Adama sighed after listening to Athena and Brie's report. "Cylons must have really spread themselves thin to catch us."

"With the placement of the skirmish zone," said Tigh. "We have a pretty good idea where their base ship would be. We could attack them and take the base ship out."

Adama looked up at his old friend and second in command.

"Did I just hear you correctly?' he asked.

"Adama," Tigh said. "We saw what happened when four Raptors and Blue Squadron engaged a base ship. They were able to destroy it in a matter of a a few centons. If we send two squadrons, that base ship would be gone in even less time."

Adama looked up at Tigh, desire and caution playing over his face. Then he looked over at the figure seated on the couch below the window.

"What do you think, Colonel?" He asked Jodas, as the man reclined deeper into the cushions, his brows furrowed in thought.

Jodas nodded. "I think we could take it out. I've trained the Gray Talons in the tactic that Athena came up with during the last skirmish. We could send the Gray Talons fly a long distance strike against the ship. We'll hold the black Raptors back as support."

"What about Viper protection?" asked Tigh. Jodas shook his head.

"This base ship is too far out of range," He said. "The Gray Talons should be able to handle this one."

"And the Cylon fighters?" asked Adama.

"Right now, that ship is lightly defended," said Jodas. He stood up and stepped over tot he monitor showing the point where Brie and Athena had their battle.

"The Cylons pulled their Fighters out away from the ship, then had them power down so they wouldn't be detected. That's the only way our ships wouldn't be able to find their targets until it was too late. They sit, dead in space, wait for our boys to pass them, then jump them from behind, putting themselves between the patrol and the Galactica. The pilots of those ships are then forced to run a gauntlet." He let his hands drop from the monitor and sighed. "Until today, no one passed."

Then he stepped forward. "If their ships are hanging out there, waiting.

That means they won't communicate for a specified number of centons, or until they make contact with one of our patrols. That also means they won't know when their own base ship is under attack!"

The debate went back and forth for a while longer until Adama granted permission for the strike.

The Gray Talons were in space, fifteen centons later, screaming through the void and hungry for their first Cylon base ship.

In the launching bay, The Black Raptors sat in their ships, engines at idle, listening on the com frequency. At the first sign of trouble, they would launch and rocket to support the Gray Talons.

Athena sat back in her seat, her eyes closed as she visualized the situation while listening to the radio chatter.

Suddenly, the mood of the conversation became more serious. Her head snapped forward as she concentrated on the myriad of voices.

"Talon Leader, this is five, I have six ships on intercept course...Copy, five. Go weapons hot. Defense shields up....Do we have an I.D. on the incoming?...Copy seven, they're Cylons all right...Roger three, weapons up...Check! Check! Here they come!...Talon leader to squad, break and attack! Wingmen, stick to your leaders!...Wax one! Wax one!...I see it four, nice shot...Watch your back nine, fighters above you, coming in!...Copy, get the snitrad off me!...Got him nine...That's two!...Third target down!...Nice move, six...Leader, looks like they're making a run for it! Copy two, they're heading the same direction as we are. Pursue and destroy....Copy, Lead!"

Athena sat in nervous silence as she waited for the next wave. The next would be the attack on the base ship. She turned the gain up on the com as the signal began to get weak.

"Gray Talons to Galactica, We have no contact with target! Repeat, no contact with target! Requesting instructions....Talons, scan the area and see if you can pick up the trailààCopy base."

Adama stood on the bridge, with Jodas and Tigh flanking him on either side, watching the progress on the scanner monitor.

"Something's wrong here," said Jodas. Stepping closer to the monitor, he saw it flare up suddenly. Quickly he keyed the com. "Talons? What the blazes was that?"

"Unknown," came the static filled reply. "Some sort of radon field that just blinded our sensors."

A numb dread filled Jodas's gut. "Talons! Get the hell out of there!

It's an ambush!"

But it was already too late.

"Alright Talons let's get going. Let the runners go... Check! Check!

Incoming fire! Watch-...Six is down! Six is down! Watch your tail two! There's a whole bunch of them!"

Suddenly, that voice vanished in a hiss of static.

Athena slapped the com switch.

"Core Control! Request permission to launch!"

"Core Command to Black Raptors, hold position." Rigel replied.

"What?" Athena bellowed as she heard two more signals wink out into static. "They're getting chewed up out there!"

"Hold position," Rigel repeated.

It was over in a matter of a few centons. Athena listened with numb horror as the number of pilots dwindled, until just before the end, one voice came over saying.

"We're not gonna make, are we?" A few microns later, it was finished, the channel hissing ominously.

Athena glanced around at the other ships in the bay, each team had their heads hung low. She saw Milesar, in the Raptor next to her, his whole body shaking with rage.

Jodas stood over the monitor, staring at the space where "his" kids used to be, his mouth slack, eyes burning with unreleased tears. Behind him, he heard Adama and Tigh, shuffle uneasily.

"Have the Raptors stand down," he heard Adama, as if he were a great distance away.

"Yes, sir," Tigh replied.

Jodas's head dropped to rest against the monitor screen. His eyes closed, fighting back the tears.

This had been his mistake. He had been so certain that the Cylon base ship would have been there. It should have been there! Cylons, as a rule, were dogged tacticians, not brilliant ones. They stuck with what worked.

"I don't understand it," he finally croaked.

"Perhaps it was Baltar?" asked Tigh. "He would know how to anticipate such a maneuver."

"Yes," said Jodas. "But he would have just run and hid. He's not smart enough to think of something like this."

"It looks as if we have a new adversary," said Adama grimly. Then he turned to Omega. "What is our current compliment of support craft?"

"We're down to seventy-two ships," Omega said dutifully. "Full compliment for Blue, Red, and Silver-Spar squadrons, plus the Black Raptor compliment, minus their two casualties thus far. Plus another six support Vipers from what remains of Green and Yellow Squadrons."

Adama closed his eyes, feeling a headache coming on.

"Well," he said grimly. "We can't just rush blindly ahead without knowing what's in front of us." He considered his words for a micron. "Maintain the patrol schedules. Tell the pilots to take no unnecessary risks, and return home at the first sight of trouble."

"Yes, sir," Tigh replied, his teeth gritting nervously. His eyes flitted between Adama and Jodas, who now turned to face the Commander.

"You realize, Commander," Jodas said. "That no matter how cautious they are, some of them will not come home every time you send them out."

"Yes," Adama replied shortly. "But what else are we left with?"

Jodas was about to reply when a signal crackled over the com frequency.

Omega quickly fixed on the source.

"It's coming from the skirmish zone." He reported. "Narrow beam. Definitely directed at us."

An image appeared on the monitor. It was a dark blue colored IL series Cylon. His red eye sensors bounced back and forth in their sockets, while the white globe of neural indicators flashed in a spiraling pattern within the clear cover of his head.

"This is a signal for Commander Adama of the Colonial Fleet," the Cylon stated in a smooth, slightly accented voice.

Adama fought back his hatred and fear, stepping up to the screen with his hands clasped behind his back.

"This is Commander Adama," he replied evenly.

"Ah, Commander," the Cylon said, his upturned lip lights flashing as he spoke. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Shadow, commander of the forces that you are currently facing. I am request a few centons of your time, so that we may begin discussing terms."

"What terms are you referring to?" Adama asked.

"Why, your surrender of course," Shadow replied. The IL Cylon actually sounded surprised.

Adama raised his eyebrows.

"What gives you the impression that we would even consider surrendering to you?" He asked.

"Oh please, commander," Shadow said. "How long do you honestly expect to be able to continue this little journey? It is simply a matter of time before your food and resources dwindle to nothing. What I am offering is an opportunity for you to save the lives of your people."

"Indeed?" Adama said, his gaze growing dark. "Well, I thank you for your concerns. However, I think we'll simply press on at this time. Good day."

He cut the channel.

"Arrogant little snitrad," Jodas growled with barely contained rage.

"At least we'll know his position," Tigh said. He turned to Omega, but the Flight Officer merely shook his head.

"The message came from the site of the Gray Talons ambush. Possibly through a relay pod." He said.

"The same pod that blinded the Gray Talons scanners," Tigh finished. He turned to Adama. "This makes no sense Adama. Obviously it is a Cylon Base ship we're dealing with, but the Commander of the forces is behaving more like one of us than one of them?"

Shadow stepped away from the monitor, mildly perturbed at the Colonial Commanders insolence. He gave a sigh and turned to face Kadal.

"Get a fix on the Colonial fleet," he ordered.

"By your command," Kadal intoned, and he gave the necessary instructions to the flight centurions.

"Also," Shadow continued. "Shut down all beacons and secondary power systems, sensors, running lights, anything the Colonials could home in on.

I want to run dark until we are right on top of them."

"By your command," Kadal affirmed.

"All Pilots to launch positions." Shadow finished. "Stand by for my launch order." He turned and left the room as the lights in the ship began to dim.

Shadow strolled through the darkening corridors of his ship, his neural net working furiously on a plan of attack. He began ticking off the weaknesses in human physiognomy and psychology, searching for any point to exploit, and had it before he reached his cavernous command room.

"Of course," he said to himself. "It's so simple."

The tension in the Colonial fleet had jumped several notches as word of Shadow's message began to spread.

Aboard the Galactica, Adama ordered all pilots to maintain stand-by readiness.

Four six days, the tension mounted as nothing happened. Even the patrols stopped coming under attack. By the end of the seventh day, no one in the fleet could even speculate as to where Shadow and his Base Ship had gone.

However, everyone agreed that the Cylon Commander had not gone very far.

"This waiting game is really starting to get under my skin," said Starbuck as he paced around the Blue Squadron Ready Room. "I'd almost wish the tin heads would do something, anything!"

As he continued pacing, Boomer watched him with a mildly amused look on his dark skinned face.

"Better be careful," he cautioned. "You might get what you ask for."

Starbuck gave him a sardonic look and continued pacing. Then he reached into his pocket and tossed a deck of pyramid cards on the table.

"I'm not playing against you," said Boomer, holding his hands up. I've lost enough cubits so far this secton. No more."

In the Black Raptor Ready Room, Athena and Backis watched as Brie also paced angrily about, like a caged animal. It was a side of the blonde warrior that Athena had never seen before. True, Brie had always been nervous, but not to the extreme she was now.

"Hey," Athena asked in the brief microns of motionlessness before the next wave of pacing. "You okay?"

Brie looked down at Athena, her blue eyes rimmed in red. She shook her head nervously. "I'm fine," she lied.

"You sure?" Backis asked from his place on the bunk.

Brie's lip trembled slightly as she fought her grief back. "No," she finally whispered. She sank down onto the bunk and let her sobs burst out.

Athena went over and put her arm around Brie's shoulder, as the blonde woman sagged against Athena, letting her emotions run their course.

Dietra had been Brie's closest friend. Indeed the two of them had often been a perfect counter for one another. Dietra had been the driving force whenever Brie had been too nervous or self conscious to try certain things, and Brie had been the one to keep Dietra from running off half cocked, as she had been wont to do on many occasions.

Athena looked up at Backis, who only shook his head in sympathy. They stayed with her, long into the night, while she wept.

Shadow's Base Ship hung in the void, thousands of metrons away, following the movement of the Colonial fleet from a point directly above the central mass of ships.

In the darkened and somewhat silent corridors, Shadow strolled into his command chamber, stepping up to his row of control monitors.

Using passive scanners, he locked onto the Colonial fleet for less than a micron. Long enough to give him an image. Then, through computer enhancement, he began to see the specs that indicated each individual ship.

A little further, and he could make out the shapes of those vessels, and further...and further... Until he found the one thing he desired. He sent a silent call signal to Kadal, via the Cylon neural net, and then studied the various angles of his next move, his neural circuits blinking furiously as

he planned for any possible contingencies the humans might have in place.

A few short centons later, Kadal entered the room.

"By your command," her droned.

"Kadal," Shadow said in fatherly fashion. "I would like your help in a little experiment I have in mind."

Fifteen centons later, twelve explosive laden Cylon Raiders drifted quietly away from the Base Ship, falling towards the Colonial Fleet.

End Part 2
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