"Lost in a Lost World"
(by Kerry P. Ganza)

    The battle in space had raged for days. The Aesir
positions fell back
from the home world to Midgard. Supreme Commander Woten was
fresh out of
options and ideas.
        But then, why would there be options and ideas?
After all, this was
Ragnarok, the final battle in which the dark forces of evil
would defeat the
forces of good. The dark forces massed in the star system of
nine planets,
ready to engulf and destroy the forces of good. The Aesir-
Vanir Alliance--
the forces of good-- positioned themselves above Midgard,
the planet of Men,
also known as Earth ... in a short time, both the Aesir and
the inhabitants
of Midgard would be no more.
    The Alliance fighters were being destroyed rapidly and
without mercy.
Annihilation was total. One Vaniran pilot maneuvered his
craft and escaped
the maw of a deadly crossfire.
    "Erryk!" the female co-pilot screamed.
 &n
    In another time, elsewhere in the universe, another
battle raged in
space, another battle in a war of seemingly endless battles.
Six sleek
Delta-wing fighters-- Colonial Vipers-- led a phalanx of
squat almost
crescent shaped Cylon fighters away from the enormous city-
sized fighting
ship known as the Battlestar Galactica. The sleek Vipers
sliced through
space, looping, rolling, avoiding certain destruction by
execution of skill,
experience, and superior technology. The battle led them to
the edge of a
solar system.
    "Apollo!"
    "I see him, Boomer."
    "Colonel--" Boomer's words died as he watched the blue
laser strike
Apollo's ship before he was able to roll away from the
slicing, searing
blast. Boomer fired red destruction of his own as the raider
exploded into
flame and space debris. He pulled up beside Apollo's Viper.
    "Apollo?"
    "I'm all
    Above Midgard, the battle raged as Loki's forces pushed
the alliance
further back toward the beautiful blue planet. The Vaniran
pilot Erryk spun
his craft above the surface of Midgard's moon as three enemy
fighters bore
down on him and his mate.
    "There're too many of these Cyclopes!" Erryk shouted his
denunciation.
"I'm going to-- What's that sound? I can't...
    " .... I don't know," Vril exhaled heavily. I ...
Valkyries..." They were
inundated in a brilliant blue light as a sharp, high-
pitched, ethereal tone
deafened and paralyzed them, draining them of energy and
consciousness. A
monstrous, luminous object overtook them above the moon.
Erryk fought against
the power which rapidly drained him. Consciousness collapsed
into a tight
focus around him.
    "Damn, damn that Loki..." Erryk heard his own voice
seemingly separated
from his body. The fighter spun wildly toward the lunar
surfa
    Suddenly, the ship lurched into stygian blackness. Erryk
fought for
control of the ship, which continued to spin and tumble
violently. He felt
his arms were being jerked from their sockets. His chest
burned. He couldn't
breathe. The ship buffeted, threatening to break apart.
    The ship emerged from the blackness over a barren and
rocky brown planet
that bore no resemblance to the satellite of Midgard. Erryk
stared through
the fighter's viewport as he finally brought the craft out
of its deathspin.
    "This is not..." He choked on his own words.
    "Not what Erryk?"
    "The moon of Midgard."
    "How can that be?" Vril's shrill response, laced with
panic, pierced his
ears, the calm fatalism of the former priestess shattered.
    "I don't know, Vril..."
    The fighter raced toward the planet's surface as Erryk
pulled back on t
    Apollo didn't remember bringing his Viper down. He lay
in a
boulder-strewn field next to rocky spines and spires that
reached toward the
sky. He must have crawled there. He touched his left leg,
feeling a warm and
wet gelatinous substance.
    Blood. Clotted blood. Minel His mind raced in panic. He
took a deep
breath in an attempt to collect himself. Frak! Take it easy.
Think this
through... Shelter. I must find shelter.
    He crawled toward the spires which would keep him out of
sight while he
formulated his survival plan.
    Erryk crawled from the wrecked fighter and began pulling
at the debris
that had Vril pinned in her seat.
    "Vril!" he screamed as his bare hands tore metal from
around her- as if
it were merely foil.
    "Erryk..." Vril whispered hoarsely. Blood oozed freely
from her nose and
mouth, Her chalky pallor panicked him, She weakly touched
his face and
attempted a smile. "I am fey. Get me out of this metal
funerary box. I wish
to die on the ground. In your arms, dear."
    "No! I--"
    Her fingertips touched his lip to silence his protest.
"Say no more. My
time for leaving. Quickly, please ... don't worry. You won't
hurt me. I can't
feel anything but the warmth..."
    Erryk lifted her all-but-lifeless form from the wreck.
He placed her
gently on the ground. Her long blonde hair spilled out of
her helmet as he
carefully slipped it off her head. She sighed in s
    Boomer had arrived back aboard the Galactica and
sprinted to the bridge
where Adama paced intently.
    "Commander! I can have a recovery team ready in a few
centons!"
    "We're not going back." Adama crossed his arms.
    "Commander!" Boomer countered, refusing to give up.
"Sir, I know where
his ship crashed-- exactly. Apollo's activated his short
range distress
signal. I can be there and back with him in two centars.
Please, sir, he's
your son--"
    Adarna rose to full height. "Boomer, there's a Cylon
base on that planet.
A rescue team is likely to be on a one-way mission. We can't
risk it. Soon
the fleet will be turning away from this quadrant. If Apollo
can somehow make
it back..."
    "But, sirl"
    "Dismissed, Captain." The formal finality of Adama's
tone chilled
Boomer's blood.
    Erryk gathered whatever wood he could find for Vril's
funeral pyre. There
was enough. This planet was forsaken by the gods and turned
over to Loki's
minions, the robotic Cyclopes. Where did they come from? How
would their
presence affect Ragnarok? What did it matter? He was far
from Midgard, he was
sure. He would probably see Valhalla before he saw Midgard
again. He lit a
torch and set Vril's pyre ablaze.
    "May the Valkyries come swiftly for you, my lover, my
wife, my teacher. I
love you. The Cyclopes will pay for this, I assure you.
Until we are together
againl Swift passage. Feast for eternity."
    Erryk watched the flames lick the sky and smoke billow
upward. He doubted
he would leave this planet, let alone fly through space
again. He stopped
himself from projecting into the future-- if there was one
for him. He set
his mind on the present, and went back to his wrecked ship
to pull out what
supplies and weapons hadn't been damaged in the crash.
    He found a medical kit, two more laser pistols, and a
broad sword in a
scabbard affixed to a wide belt with a large red stone set
in a gold buckle.
Small hieroglyphic markings were etched in the buckle. He
strapped the belt
on and slipped the pistols behind it. He pulled a helmet
from his seat and
put it over his head. He no longer appeared to be a man, but
rath
    Apollo lay with his back propped against a large
boulder. Somehow he had
crawled to this temporary area of refuge and respite. He
looked at his left
leg. Blood had saturated and coagulated in the makeshift
dressing he had
placed over the deep, jagged laceration he had sustained in
the crash. He
felt fine now, but he knew that once he started moving, the
wound was sure to
open and bleed again. He was in trouble.
        The sun started its descent and was in his face. The
world took on a
glared perspective. So much for strategic advantage. He
smelled smoke.
Someone had built a fire. Cylons didn't light fires...
    The figure was almost upon him, emerging suddenly from
the glare. Its
metallic form loomed above him. Metal wings wrapped around
the contour of the
head or helmet. Was this some new and more sinister Cylon
design? No time to
ask questions. Apollo raised his weapon and pointed it
    With morning, the sun warmed them and they woke. Erryk
stood and
stretched before lighting another fire to prepare a
breakfast from their
remaining meager rations.
Apollo sat up, stretched, and yawned.
    "Good morning, Colonel!" he greeted his companion.
    "Good morning, Colonel." They'd learned they were of
like rank. "I'll fix
a bite before we head out. I heard some craft fly overhead
during the night.
They headed north. Assuming they are Cylon fighters, the
base must lie in
that direction."
    "I agree." Apollo stood, tentatively testing his left
leg. "It's a bit
stiff."
    "That's to be expected. But it's almost entirely healed
now. We can
safely journey to the base and pick any ship we want to
liberate us from this
rock."
    "Yeah, I've been thinking about that, Erryk. There's
bound to be scores,
maybe hundreds, of Cylons between us and tha
    A day later, after traversing some ten kilometrons over
a series of
foothills and scaling a wooded mountain ridge, Apollo and
Erryk emerged from
a thick forest which ended at the edge of a green meadow.
Cylon fighters were
parked at intervals at the far end of the meadow, and
several buildings stood
at the edge of a treeline.
    "It looks clear," Erryk murmured. "But where Loki and
those damned Cylons
are concerned, nothing is as it appears."
    "My thoughts exactly," Apollo answered. "You anticipate
the Cylons' moves
as my people do. They'll be in for quite a match when out
people join
forces."
    "Then let it begin here, Apollo. The Cylons are coming."
Erryk smiled as
a squad of Cylons exited one of the buildings and filed
toward them. They
slipped down in the meadow to plan.
    Why don't I draw their fire while you get to one of to
one ships?" Erryk
asked in their informal war council. "Then I'll work my way
back to the
fighter so you can blast them into dust. We incapacitate the
rest of the
ships so we won't be pursued and we're home free."
    "You remind me of an old friend of mine. He'd suggest
the same tactic. I
should be the one to draw their fire."
    "Your leg is still hurting, Apollo. Don't think I
haven't noticed. That
trek of ours made it stiff and sore. We can't afford a
handicap when dealing
with these metalheads. You know how to fly those things. You
rev one up and
I'll lead the Cylons on a merry chase."
    "You've got me there."
    "Let's do it then. If I'm hit, don't come for me. Just
get yourself out
of here."
    "Sorry, Erryk. I literally can't leave you behind."
    "Oh?"
  &nbs
    Lasers blazed through the morning. The two humans easily
killed dozens of
the mechanical evil. Apollo thought it was too easy, but he
wasn't going to
begrudge apparent victory. He was impressed with the skill
and bravery
displayed by his companion. Erryk advanced toward the
buildings as another
Cylon squadron poured from one of the buildings. A bronze-
colored Cylon took
up the rear.
    "Apollo this is it! Get to a ship. I'll close this out."
He advanced on
the Cylons. Apollo watched as a bright bluish-white light
engulfed Erryk.
Cylon laser fire bounced harmlessly off him.
    "By the Lords of Kobol..."
    Erryk approached the nearest Cylons and smiled as they
short circuited
and collapsed in the dust around him. Apollo watched him
from the foot of a
Cylon fighter access. He drew bead on the Cylons Erryk
hadn't engaged. Soon
only the Cylon commander stood at a safe distance from the
Vani.