BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
                     TIME TROUBLE
                 BASED ON BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
                    CREATED BY GLEN LARSON
        WRITTEN BY DANIEL G. ALLAN AND STUART C. RANSOM

     There are those who believe that life here began out there, far
across the universe, with tribes of humans who may have been the
forefathers of the Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. They may
have been the architects of the great pyramids, or the lost civilizations
of Lemura, or Atlantis. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of
man who even now fight to survive, somewhere beyond the heavens...
     As consciousness returned, he could remember the deafening blast,
the flash of explosions, and the shrapnel from his cruiser. The mission
he had been assigned to was to locate, assess, and repair a solium leak.
What could have gone wrong? One second everything was fine, the next...a
terrible explosion.
     'Why wasn't I killed?'
     His eyes began to focus. A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes
looked down upon him as he lay in bed. She checked his vital signs and
recorded the data in a hand held electronic device. This was a medical
facility of some sort but was unlike anything he had seen before. He
glanced up at the woman.
     "Where am I?" he heard himself ask, but the voice sounded like that
of someone else.
     "You are in the life station on board the Battlestar Galactica," the
woman replied.
     "On board the what? Who are you? What's going on?!"
     "Don't be alarmed," the woman said soothingly. "You are safe here.
The commander will explain everything to you later. For now, you need to
rest. You've been through a traumatic experience."

     Sergeant Rigel sat at her work station on the bridge of the
Galactica observing the readouts from the scanning computer. Many sectons
had passed without anything to report. The job had become very mundane.
Many times Rigel dreamed of being the first one to detect Earth. The
excitement it would create, the celebration....could it happen?
Perhaps....
     BLIP
     The computer's alarm pulled Rigel from her thoughts. A large object
appeared on the scanner. It seemed to be a ship of some kind. Rigel began
a computer search for anything known to match it's description. The
object disappeared from the scanner as she pushed in the commands.
     "Colonel Athena!" Rigel called out.
     Athena was finishing up with the deck log when Rigel called to her.
She was expecting Commander Apollo to arrive on the bridge at any moment
to relieve her.
     "Yes, Sergeant Rigel," Athena replied hurrying over to Sergeant
Rigel's station. "What is it?"
     "Colonel, there seems to something wrong with the scanning computer.
It was picking up a large object only a moment ago and then it suddenly
disappeared."
     Athena sighed. "I remember when I used to work this station. It
seemed I always had to tinker with this old thing just to get it to work
properly. Materials to make spare parts are hard to come by. Here, let me
take a look at it."
     Rigel rose from her chair and let Athena sit at the computer. As she
punched in a few keys, Athena kept a steady gaze on the scanners screen.
A few moments passed. She pressed a few more keys.
     "Well I don't see anything," Athena said looking up at Rigel who was
beginning to feel a bit embarrassed.  "Check the maintenance schedule. I
think it's about time to overhaul this piece of...."
     BLIP
     "There it is!" Rigel yelled pointing at the scanner. Athena was
midway out of the chair when the object reappeared. She promptly sat back
down only to watch it disappear once again.
     "That's odd, "Athena said with a puzzled expression. "We did get a
good scan on it, however. I'll run a check on..."  Athena quickly
interrupted herself. As natural as it felt for her to be at that station
and take care of the details, running the bridge was now her job. She
rose from the seat.
     "Sergeant Rigel, check the ship's files and see if it matches
anything known to us."
     "Yes, Colonel."
     Moments passed as Rigel checked the files. She looked up at Athena
rather perplexed.
     "Colonel, it doesn't match anything known to our files, however the
scan log shows that it's at least as big as a battlestar."
     "Lieutenant Russell!" Athena called out.
     "Yes, ma'am!" Russell responded.
     "We've discovered a mysterious ship on our scanners. Until we know
more about it put the fleet on alert. Recall all warriors to the
Galactica and put all squadrons on ready ten."
     As Russell left to carry out the order Athena turned to Rigel.
     "Good work, Sergeant."

     It wasn't long before Apollo walked onto the bridge. He still
couldn't get used to the image of the bridge without his father, Adama,
at the command station guiding the great battlestar and it's rag tag
fleet. This ship had always been and always would be Adama's ship.
Sometimes he still wondered with awe at how his father had always been so
calm and completely in control even in the most desperate situations. He
always seemed to know the answers to the questions.
     "Commander, you need to look at this," Athena said from down at the
scanning station.
     "What is it, Colonel?" Apollo asked walking rapidly towards Athena.
     "Well, sir, we just scanned a ship a few centons ago. It keeps
disappearing and then materializing every few microns."
     "Does it match anything we know of?" Apollo asked. He felt a bit
foolish for asking that question. He knew Athena was very efficient and
thorough and would have told him the type of ship if she had known. 
Apollo, still slightly uncomfortable with having command, knew that
without Athena he probably couldn't do this job
effectively.
     "No sir, it doesn't match anything known to us," Athena responded.
"I did, however, put the fleet on alert and all squadrons are at ready
ten."
     "Good," Apollo said. "I am ready to relieve you, Colonel."
     "I'm ready to be relieved. Helm is in auto.  Speed is sub-light. 
All stations are properly manned."
     "Very well. You are relieved, Colonel." Apollo then turned towards
the bridge. "Attention on the bridge! Commander Apollo now has the deck."
     After all stations had acknowledged the change in watch, Apollo
turned to Athena.
     "So what are your plans for tonight?" he asked.
     "Oh, nothing much," Athena replied. "I did want to check in on our
guest at the life station and see how he is. Cassiopeia reported that he
is awake now."
     "I really need to get down there and introduce myself also," Apollo
said. "I've been so busy with Andar checking out our visitor's ship."
     "Has Andar learned much about the ship?" Athena asked inquisitively.
     "He told me earlier that the technology is similar to our own, only
his is more advanced. And the fact that he's human raises some important
questions."
     Athena's face brightened. "Do you suppose he could be from Earth?"
     "We'll have to leave it up to him to tell us that," Apollo replied.
     Athena paused for a moment. "Apollo, there is something about him
that seems strange. He looks so familiar, like I've met him before. But
yesterday was the first time I've seen him."
     Looking at Athena, Apollo raised an eyebrow and cocked his head
slightly. "Really...that is interesting...." he said.
     "Well anyway," Athena said, "I need to go below. Permission to leave
the bridge sir."
     "Permission granted," answered Apollo. He then turned around and
went about his tasks. Apollo thought of his need to meet this new guest.
Could the fleet really be near the end of it's journey? These thoughts
stayed with Apollo the rest of the watch.

     In the Officer's Club, at a table playing pyramid, Starbuck, as
usual, was winning and everyone else at the table was thinking about how
stupid they were for playing with him.
     "You know," said Starbuck, "on payday you should all just give me
your cubits and save me the trouble of beating you out of them."
     "One of these days you're going to lose, Starbuck," replied Jolly,
"and you can bet that I'll be right there to see it happen."
     Greenbean looked up from his cards and glanced across the table
before returning his gaze upon his hand. "It's too bad Apollo couldn't be
here to play more often," he said. "He seems to be the only one who can
keep you in check, Starbuck.  Remember, Jolly, when Starbuck talked him
into going over to the Rising Star?"
     Everyone began to laugh except for Starbuck who pretended to look
bored.
     "Yeah, Starbuck lost all of his cubits," said Jolly, still laughing.
     Boomer, grinning widely, said, "Starbuck looked like he was about
to...."
     Suddenly the claxon began sounding loudly, startling everyone at the
table.
     "Let's go!" yelled Starbuck, feeling a bit relieved the conversation
was over. Everyone at the table jumped up at once and ran for the door.
Starbuck was the last to leave the room. With his pockets full of cubits
he bolted through the open door and ran quickly down the passageway
trying to catch up with the others. As he rounded a corner, he slammed
headlong into a woman coming from the opposite direction. Both fell to
the floor, groaning with pain.
     "Why don't you watch where you're going you clumsy fool," the woman
remarked as they rose from the floor.
     "I...uh..I'm sorry..." Starbuck muttered as he strained to get his
senses together. "I didn't..." Starbuck stopped himself mid-sentence when
he saw the woman he was speaking to. She was the most beautiful woman he
had ever seen. She had long black hair which looked like the finest
linens and grey eyes which seemed to penetrate into his innermost being.
She was tall with the body of a goddess.
     "I didn't see you," he said. "Are you alright?"
     The woman flashed Starbuck an angry stare, then softened it and
replied, "I'm fine. I guess I didn't see you either, I'm sorry." The
claxon returned the woman's attention to the alert. Brushing past
Starbuck, she ran off down a corridor.
     "Well wait, what's your name?!" Starbuck called out only to see the
woman disappear around a bend.
     "You sure do know the right words to say," he said to himself as he
headed off to the launch bay.

     Walking into the life station, Elana, rubbing the bump on her head,
met with Cassiopeia.
     "Elana, where have you been? The alarm sounded fifteen centons ago!"
     "I'm sorry ma'am, but I got a bit delayed," Elana replied.
     "You really need to find a new excuse!" Cassiopeia said angrily.
"You should have been here in half the time!"
     Realizing that saying anything more would only make matters worse,
Elana just nodded and went about her business.

     "Commander, all stations report ready," said Lieutenant Dess from
his station aboard the bridge.
     "Excellent. How long did it take, Lieutenant?" asked Apollo.
     "Twelve centons, sir."
     "Dess, put me on the intercom ship wide," commanded Apollo.
     Turning to his console, Dess activated the intercom, then nodded to
Apollo that it was on.
     "To all stations, this is Commander Apollo. We have encountered what
appears to be the remains of a battlestar. After a thorough scan of the
debris, we are fairly certain that it was destroyed by Cylons. So, until
further notice I am upgrading our alert status to ready five. Apollo
out."  Turning to Athena, Apollo said, "Colonel, ready a survey crew and
have them shuttle over to the wreckage. We need to know if there is
anything salvageable. I want a report by tomorrow. Also, contact the
council. I want to brief them as soon as we hear from the survey crews."
     Standing somewhat at attention, Athena replied, "Yes, sir," and
turned and walked away.

     Elana, looking down at the mysterious guest on the bed, was thinking
that maybe she could one day become more professional like Cassiopeia or
Athena instead of a daydreaming fool. She had always been a dreamer and
more often than not found herself in trouble for it.
     "How are you feeling today?" Elana asked as she set the nourishment
tray down in front of him.
     Looking up at her he answered, "Pretty good. How are you?" He hadn't
said much to anyone since regaining consciousness. After all, these
strangers could be the enemy. Until he knew for sure, he wouldn't tell
them anything, not even his name.
     "I'm fine, I guess," Elana replied, letting out a sigh. "So, how
come you won't tell anyone your name?"
     The man sat up in bed and looked intently at Elana's face. Her
beauty had a radiance to it. He overheard the scolding she had received
from Cassiopeia and felt a bit sorry for her. It seems she's always in
trouble with Cassiopeia. He looked around the room.
     Why does this place seem so familiar to me? Even the people seem
familiar.
     Looking at the door he saw another face which reminded him of
someone. But who? What is this place?
     "Hello," said Apollo as he walked over to the bed nodding to people
he knew along the way. "I'm Commander Apollo, and you are...?
     "Lieutenant Allan." Giving his name out so suddenly surprised Allan.
He didn't mean to.
     Standing next to the bed Apollo looked down at Allan. Allan was a
big man, much taller than Apollo and considerably heavier but solid as a
rock.
     "Well, Lieutenant," Apollo said, "I would like to ask you a few
questions if you don't mind."
     "Ask all you like," Allan snapped back. "I'm not going to answer any
questions until I get a few answers myself, such as who are you people?
How did I get here?"
     "I'm Commander Apollo, as I've said already, and you're on board the
Battlestar Galactica. As for you, we found your ship adrift in space. You
were unconscious when we found you and brought you aboard."
     Allan excitedly asked, "My ship! How is it?!"
     "You and your ship appear to be in perfect condition, Lieutenant,"
Apollo responded.
     Bewildered, Allan replied, "That's impossible. The last thing I
remember was a large explosion. I've never seen an explosion like that
before. It's as if it was all in slow motion. I could see every element
of it."
     Apollo, trying to be tactful, decided to ask the question everyone
wanted to know.
     "Lieutenant," he began, then slowly added, "are you from a planet
called Earth?"
     Everyone in the life station stopped what they were doing and looked
in the direction of the two men.
     Allan paused for a moment, then, rubbing his forehead, answered,
"Yes, Commander......I am."

     On board the shuttle heading to the wreckage, Troy and Dalton were
going about their tasks quietly.
     "Captain, how long until we arrive?" asked Andar. Andar was a short
man, balding on top. He was slightly underweight, mostly from yahren of
diligent work with very few decent meals. Andar was the leading scientist
in the fleet, his mind yahren ahead of his contemporaries. His work had
become of primary importance in his life since his wife died long ago in
a Cylon attack.
     "Oh, we should be on station in ten centons," answered Troy. Troy
was Apollo's adopted son from a previous marriage to the beautiful
Serina, who had been killed on the planet Kobol many yahren ago. His
memory of her was vague since he was very young at the time. For as long
as Troy could remember, the human fleet had been traveling through space
looking for Earth or anyplace where he and his people could live in peace
among other humans. Humans who could save them from the Cylons. Troy had
a driving force to settle the score with the Cylons. Even if his people
found a home, the Cylons must die.
     Looking over at Dalton, Troy asked, "Can you get a decent scan on
the wreckage?"
     Dalton, without looking up from her scanner replied, "It's starting
to come through now, Troy."
     Dalton was the daughter of Starbuck and Cassiopeia, the youngest
warrior to have ever graduated from the Academy. She was a very
headstrong and determined person who had no patience for subtleties and
such.
     "According to the scanner," she said, "there isn't much left to
salvage. It appears that the largest section left intact is about the
same size as this shuttle."
     "Well, Andar," Troy said looking over his shoulder, "I guess you and
your team will have to suit up for a space walk."
     "Very well, Captain," replied Andar, "we will make the necessary
arrangements."
     Dalton turned to Troy. "Where do you suppose this ship is from?
Earth?
     "Let's not jump to conclusions, Dalton," Troy responded. "We'll wait
and see what Andar comes up with." Troy noticed Dalton's hopefulness so
he added, "If it is from Earth, then Earth has met the Cylons."
     "Captain, we are ready to disembark," Andar's voice was heard saying
over the intercom.
     Pushing the talk button, Troy replied, "Very well. We will be on
station in fifteen microns, fourteen, thirteen...."

     Leaving the life station, Elana took another look at Allan. He
appeared so handsome to her.  "Oh, don't start that again," she told
herself. "You're only going to get yourself into trouble again."
     After she had left, Allan lay back down in his bed....and thought
about Elana. Memories of his childhood were also beginning to return to
him. About being told of a great ship called "Galactica."
     'Where is the Galactica, daddy?'
     'The Galactica was destroyed before you were born, son.'
     Allan felt a jolt of adrenaline. Destroyed?! How could that be? How
could he be here?! Allan shifted his thoughts to his conversation with
Apollo. When he said he was from Earth, Apollo became withdrawn, fell
silent, and abruptly left the life station.
     Looking over at Cassiopeia, Allan asked, "Cassiopeia, when do you
think I can leave the life station?"
     Cassiopeia stood up from her disk and walked over to Allan's bed.
Leaning on the handrail, she answered, "In the morning.  The doctor says
you're fit to go."
     Allan breathed a sigh of relief.
     "I'm curious," Allan said, "how long have you been traveling in
space?"
     "About twenty-two yahren."
     "What is a yahren?"
     Cassiopeia laughed. She went on to explain at her best what a yahren
was. She and Allan talked for quite awhile. Cassiopeia told of her life
in the colonies before the destruction, about Starbuck, Dalton, and her
life in the fleet. Then the conversation shifted to the topic of Elana.
     "So what's the deal with Elana?" Allan asked. "She seems to get in
trouble quite a bit around here."
     Cassiopeia paused for a moment. "Oh, Elana is just young. She dreams
too much and sometimes has a hard time keeping her mind focused on what
she's doing. She's not....um...."
     Allan's eyes widened a bit.
     "She's not seeing anyone if that's what you want to know."
     Allan glanced away from Cassiopeia and smiled. Cassiopeia knew that
was exactly what he wanted to know. They continued to talk until her
shift ended.

     As Andar and his team re-boarded the shuttle, Troy stood in the back
checking some of the systems. Troy approached Andar as he was removing
his gear.
     "How did it go out there?" he asked.
     "There wasn't anything worth salvaging," Andar replied, "but we did
get some excellent samples."
     "Do you suppose we can learn anything about the ship's origin from
the samples?"
     Andar shrugged. "I don't know.....I don't know."
     At that moment Dalton call to them. "Troy, you better get up here.
The Galactica just went to full alert."
     Troy noticed a tension in Dalton's voice he never heard before. He
ran quickly to the front of the shuttle where Dalton was seated at the
scanner.
     "What is the alert?" Troy asked with great concern. "Did they say
what it is all about?"
     Troy sat down besides Dalton only to see the blood rush from her
face.
     "My God....Cylons! They have five confirmed baseships launching a
full-scale attack! Five!!"
     "How many fighters?" Troy asked trying hard to keep his voice calm.
     "Two thousand at least......Troy....the Galactica wants us to make a
run for it."

     The claxon was ringing as Allan jumped from his bed.
     "Show me where my flight suit is, Cassiopeia!" Allan commanded,
stunning Cassiopeia with the authority in his voice. She pointed to the
locker where his flight suit was kept. He ran quickly to the locker and,
without concern for modesty, tore off the gown he was wearing and dressed
in his flight suit. Then Allan ran over to the intercom.
     "How do I operate this thing? I need to contact the Commander."
     Cassiopeia, regaining her composure, pushed the buttons which
brought Apollo's picture onto the monitor. Allan stood in front of the
monitor so Apollo could see him.
     "What's going on over there?" Apollo asked rather annoyed.
     "Commander," Allan said, "I would like to help."
     "No, Lieutenant, just stay where you are," Apollo replied.
     "Commander, please, you need all the help you can get. I must get to
my ship."
     Apollo paused for a moment. "Put Cassiopeia on."
     Cassiopeia stepped up to the monitor. "Yes, Commander?"
     "Cassi, have someone show Lieutenant Allan to the Alpha landing bay.
His ship will be ready to go when he arrives. Apollo out."
     On the bridge, Apollo shut off the monitor and turned to Athena.
"Colonel, he is right about the help we need. I want you to take over on
the bridge. With what we're up against we need everyone available out
there fighting, myself included."
     Apollo then turned and ran off the bridge.

     The Cylons captured the humans flat-footed. Every viper aboard the
Galactica launched to engage the massive Cylon force as raiders swarmed
down upon the fleet. The raiders were making suicide runs on the
Galactica as well as the other fleet ships.  Explosions shook the
Galactica as Cylons slammed into her hull.
     Allan and Elana reached the landing bay after taking several detours
because of the battle damage.
     "Your ship is over there!" Elana yelled over the noise of falling
debris. Allan ran quickly to his ship. As he was jumping in to take off,
Cylon fighters converged on the Galactica's landing bays. One scored a
direct hit in the Alpha bay causing a deafening explosion of fire and
searing heat. Burning shrapnel flew in all directions. Allan fell back to
the deck and covered Elana with his body as she lay unconscious. He
looked upward for a moment only to see flames closing in on them.
     "Come on, Elana! We have to get out of here!"
     Allan picked up Elana in his arms and quickly strapped her in the
back seat of the cockpit. He put on his helmet, closed the cockpit
canopy, and ignited the engines. The ship jumped to life. Allan hit the
turbo boost thrusters and the craft rocketed out of the inferno as the
entire landing bay exploded. As he moved further away from the Galactica
he could see huge fires raging all over the great ship.
     The explosion in the Alpha landing bay caught everyone's attention,
even the Cylons, and for a full centon the battle was suspended. The
humans watched in horror as the whole port landing bay broke off the
Galactica and drifted off until it was consumed in a fireball.
     "No!!" screamed Starbuck. When the landing bay exploded he flew into
a rage jerking the control stick hard to port. He flew directly into the
advancing armada. His viper darted in-between the raiders with volleys of
laser fire destroying dozens of them. In his rage, nobody could survive
against Starbuck.  Starbuck's viper exited on the rear flank of the Cylon
task force. On his scanner he could see one of the Cylon baseships. He
angled for it, hit his thrusters, and kept his finger tightly on the fire
button.
     Apollo was slammed back against his seat as his viper launched to
engage the Cylon task force. As he emerged from the launch tube, he saw
the tremendous explosions as ships in the fleet met their deaths. The
viper pilots were putting up a valiant struggle, but there were too many
Cylons. The armada was nearly twice the size of the force which had
decimated the colonies. Apollo lined up his sights on a raider and fired.
It burst into flames. Then Apollo realized he had made a fatal error.
Four Cylons had him sighted dead cold.  Impending doom gripped his body
as he braced for death. Suddenly, all four of the raiders exploded
simultaneously.
     "What the...?!" Apollo exclaimed. A voice came over the comm link.
     "I told you you're going to need all the help you can get,
Commander." It was Lieutenant Allan. His fighter, although similar to the
viper in appearance was more than a match for the Cylons. As he raced
passed Apollo, he methodically sighted in another group of raiders and
fired. All three of them exploded at once. His fighter had the ability to
fire at five targets simultaneously with deadly accuracy. He didn't even
need to face the enemy. His ship could fire in all directions.
     The Galactica, damaged beyond repair, was a drifting hulk. The left
landing bay was completely gone along with the main engine section. The
Cylons kept up the attack until at long last the great ship Galactica
broke apart, exploding like a supernova. The blast destroyed half the
Cylon attack squadrons forcing them to withdraw.

END OF PART 1 

  We have spent the better part of a year writing this part of the
story, we hope you enjoy it.

PART 2 - January 23, 1999

     As the little Viper rocketed toward the Cylon base ship at faster
than light speed, Starbuck was thinking of only one thing.
     I'm going to take some of you with me!
     The Galactica was gone now, along with everyone he had ever cared
about. Athena, Cassiopeia, all of them dead. Dalton was probably gone as
well. He had watched in horror as all of his friends and comrades had
died in battle. Boomer, Sheba, Jolly...but not Apollo. He had a feeling
his closest friend was still alive. What was certain, however, was that
this was the end for the fleet. The blast blinded him and he screamed
from the sheer intensity of it. Starbuck let his hand fall away from the
Navi-hilt. After a few microns his vision began to return, his head
pounding with pain. The base ship was gone. 
     What happened? Looking around, all he could see was debris from the
Cylon ship. He adjusted his course to starboard so he could pass safely
around the wreckage. As he passed around the debris he saw something in
his star field dead ahead. He quickly checked his scanners for a match.
The scanner was completely destroyed, probably from the blast. All of his
tactical equipment was dead. Things were getting worse every micron.
Angling toward it, he hit his turbos.
     As he got closer to the object, he could tell it was much larger
than the Galactica. It was a sphere of sorts, but slightly pointed on one
side. It was shiny, a glowing silver like the armor of the Cylon
Centurion.
     "What the..." Starbuck jerked his Navi-hilt hard over. Adrenaline
was coursing through his body, his mind on automatic. With practiced
ease, Starbuck made a hasty retreat. After he was certain he was distant
from the strange craft, whatever it was, he eased off on the turbos. The
Viper was running low on fuel. 

     How did they find us? Apollo thought. We haven't seen that many
Cylons since the destruction of the colonies.
     Apollo couldn't believe what he was seeing, all the yahren of
running, of hardship, and now this. 
     This truly is the end of mankind, he thought. Lets see what's left
of the fleet.
     As he called out on his com-link for a roll call he silently wept.
He had been so sure that their journey to Earth was almost over. After
speaking with Lieutenant Allan, Apollo had left to go and sort out his
next move. One thing had been obvious: Earth was at war, possibly with
the Cylons. Allan had acted as if he were a prisoner rather than a guest.

     "Lieutenant Allan, are you still with us? Please respond.  This is
Commander Apollo."
     After what seemed like an eternity, but was only a few microns,
Allan responded. 
    "This is Lieutenant Allan, go ahead Commander."
     Breathing a sigh of relief, Apollo said, "The Rising Star appears to
be the only ship left of the fleet. When you land I'd like to have a word
with you, in private."
     "Sure thing," came the reply. "I'm just about to land so I'll see
you there," came the reply.
      As Allan landed on the Rising Star, he was deep in thought. 
      I need to tell them something, but how much? If I tell Apollo
everything, will it change what must be?
      He also had other thoughts as well. Elana... she seemed to be right
there in his mind.  She hadn't regained full consciousness yet. Hopefully
there would be someone to look after her on board the Rising Star. He
decided that would be his first task. 
     Apollo was certain of one thing, if his people were to survive,
Lieutenant Allan was the key.
After landing aboard the Rising Star, Apollo quickly secured his Viper.
It was amazing how much preparation went into readying a Viper. These
were things that most pilots took for granted. The landing crews always
re-prepped the Vipers immediately after landing, so the pilots could get
into decon and then debriefing. As Apollo was putting the finishing
touches on his ship, Allan walked onto the cramped little flight deck of
the Rising Star. It had never been intended for this type of use. It was
only able to handle a few shuttles and now it was the primary deck, the
only deck to land on, actually. The two men didn't speak while on the
flight deck which made them both feel uneasy.
      After reaching the quarters that had been assigned to Apollo on the
Rising Star, Apollo said,
"Lieutenant Allan, I need to ask you some more questions. Earlier this
cycle, when the alarm sounded, you seemed to know who was attacking. How
did you know?"
     Allan just looked at Apollo for a moment, then shaking his head as
if in resignation, he decided that he couldn't keep his secrets anymore. 

     As Troy maneuvered the shuttle away from the battle, he was furious.

     I can't believe this! What happened! Why did I have to be here
instead of there in the battle?
     Dalton was devastated.  She was openly weeping. With tears streaming
down her face she looked over at Troy and spoke with a trembling voice.
"Troy, the Galactica is gone! The scanner just flashed, and when it
cleared, the Galactica wasn't there."
     Troy looked over at Dalton and with rage in his voice he replied,
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S GONE?! " Then with tears forming in his eyes, Troy
looked out at the star field. He knew it was no use to speak.  It
wouldn't change their situation.
     "Troy, where do we go from here?" asked Dalton.
     Still looking ahead, Troy answered, "I don't have any idea. One
thing's for sure, though, we can't go back to where the fleet is... or
was."
     The battle was no longer on the scanner now. Troy and Dalton sat in
silence for a long time. Finally, after going through everything in his
mind, he reached over and turned on the intercom.
    "Andar, this is Troy. Could you come up here for a moment?"
     After a few microns, Andar came forward to the pilot station.
Standing right behind Dalton, he leaned against the back of her chair and
asked, "What is it, Captain?"
     Looking back over his shoulder at Andar, Troy said, "Since we seem
to be on our own, we need to decide where we go from here. Do you have
any suggestions?"
     Looking at the two men, Dalton exclaimed, "What do you mean?! Our
duty is to the Galactica and the fleet. We have to go back.  They need
us!"
     Troy and Andar stared at Dalton incredulously. It was obvious she
was losing control. The fleet was gone! Deep down Dalton knew this also,
but a strong feeling of guilt had washed over her. When they had needed
her, she hadn't  been there. Reason told her that there was nothing she
could have done. The fleet's destruction had been overwhelming and one
more pilot wouldn't have made much difference.
     Troy reached over and put his hand on her shoulder and forcing
himself to control his own rage, spoke soothingly to Dalton. "Dalton,
there isn't anything we can do to help them. We have to go on. You know
that."
     Wiping away the tears, Dalton nodded her head in agreement. 
     Andar, who had been watching Troy and Dalton said, "Captain? The way
I see it our choices appear to be very limited. My staff and I have been
sifting through the samples acquired at the wreckage.  We have gleaned a
little bit of information from it. The wreckage is a battlestar, the
Galactica to be exact."
     Troy  looked at Andar in astonishment. "That's impossible! We found
the wreckage before the attack." 
     "We checked the samples three times, Captain. It is the Galactica,
there is no doubt. " 
     Troy looked over at Dalton. She was busy checking the scanner. After
a few microns she looked up from her computer with astonishment and
muttered, "What is that?"

     "Captain, we have found some more refugees. It appears to be a
shuttle," reported the young crewman.
     "Plot a course to intercept, Ensign," replied Commander Ransom.
     Commander Ransom was a tall man, who wore old-fashioned wire rimmed
glasses. He had rejected eye surgery years ago. He always felt that the
glasses made him appear more distinguished.
     After the shuttle was safely on board the Antarctica, he turned and
left the bridge. As he walked out he could hear the customary "CAPTAIN IS
OFF THE BRIDGE" statement. Even though everyone always knew when the
Captain was departing, it was the Junior Officer of the Deck's duty to
yell it out for all to hear. It was an old tradition dating back to the
days of sailing ships, however nobody knew why.
     Walking into the sick bay, Commander Ransom surveyed the scene
before him. Most of the people appeared to be Colonial Warriors. He knew 
most of them would die. Their injuries were beyond medical help. But they
could be kept comfortable. As he continued to look around, he saw a
middle-aged Warrior sitting up in bed. He had a deck of cards in hand,
just shuffling them. Walking over to the man, he looked down at him.
     "How ya doing, son?" asked Ransom.
     Looking up at the older man, Starbuck replied, "Where am I? What is
this place?"
     "You are on board the Battle Cruiser Antarctica." 
     "The WH . . .  Where are you from?" asked Starbuck.
     "We are from the Earth Alliance. When we found you, you were headed
into enemy territory. We got to you just in time. The Cylons were about
to intercept you." 

      If only Andar were here, he would be able to make sense of this,
thought Apollo. This is all my fault. Someone else should have been
leading. I have brought the human race to ruin. Oh father, how did you do
it? To have held the fleet together for so long. I was a fool to have
ever thought I could take your place.    
      Allan looked up at Apollo and sighed. Then, standing up, he began
to tell Apollo everything. 
     "Apollo, what I am about to tell you is going to be very hard for
you to believe."
     Looking up at Allan, Apollo said, "Try me. Some how I think you know
alot more than you've been telling."
     Allan started pacing. After deciding what to say he started in.
"First let me tell you...I am from your future. Ninety-five years ago,
Earth was on the brink of self-annihilation. We had come so far, yet we
couldn't seem to break past our own differences. We had several factions
that believed their way was the only way. We fought amongst ourselves
constantly. Then one night the Cylons came. When they attacked Earth,
they hadn't planned on us being ready for war. Although we were about to
destroy ourselves, we turned our war machines on the Cylons. We were
putting up a valiant fight, losses on both sides being heavy.  But it was
obvious we were going to lose. The Cylons were just too advanced
technologically."
     As Allan told the story of Earth, and her war with the Cylons,
Apollo just looked at him in awe.
     Allan told of the Galactica, and how they had turned the tide of
battle, the Galactica being the key element in Earth winning the battle.
"After the that, we  had someone to hate more than ourselves," Allan
added. 
     Then Allan talked about the war. "The Cylons hadn't counted on us
being so war-like.  And steadily, as time went on, we began to win the
war with Cylon. Retaking the colonies, we made alliances with other
races. Races that had also been under Cylon tyranny. Finally it had come
down to the battle for the planet Cylon itself. 
    "The Cylons were beaten. In a final effort to turn the tide, the
Cylons sent a base ship back in time to put an end to the one thing that
had changed their destiny. They would destroy the Galactica before she
could fulfill her mission."
      Apollo was speechless. He almost couldn't believe what he was
hearing. Andar had tried once to explain time travel but he hadn't
thought much about the conversation. It had sounded like some kind of
fantasy to him.
     As he listened to Allan, Apollo began to tremble. Then regaining his
composure, Apollo said, "What you're telling me then, is that what
happened during the last cycle wasn't supposed to happen. The Cylons
changed time?"
     Allan just nodded his head. He wanted to leave. He wanted to check
on Elana. He had grown fond of her since their short time together. 
     Sensing Allan's desire to leave, Apollo said, "We'll finish our talk
later. I need to go up to the bridge anyway. Thank you for being honest
with me."
     Before leaving, Allan said, "Apollo, there is one other thing I want
to tell you. When we re-took the colonies we found survivors. The Cylons
hunted them for practice. They were treated like animals. Only a few were
aloud to live in order to keep the sport alive. Other races hunted them
also."
     Apollo was silent, looking off into space when Allan left.

     Walking into the cramped little medical office on the Rising Star,
Allan saw Elana immediately. She was completely awake now. As he walked
over to her she looked up at him and smiled.
     Elana was happy to see Allan. She had taken an interest in him the
first time she had seen him. It seemed like that was a lifetime ago
though, now. She tried in vain to straighten her tangled hair but it was
no use. She looked awful and she knew it.
     "How are you feeling?" asked Allan. 
     "Well the doctor says I'll be fine in a few cycles," she replied.
     "Good, I can't fly without my co-pilot you know." He had always been
awkward around women. He knew he sounded foolish saying that. She is a
woman, not a child, he thought.
     With sincerity in her eyes, Elana said, "Listen, I want to thank you
for saving my life."
     Beginning to blush, Allan could only nod. 
     They continued their talk for the rest of the cycle. Both knew that
this was the beginning of something wonderful.

     "THE CAPTAIN IS ON THE BRIDGE!" yelled the Junior Officer of the
Deck.
     Walking toward the Captains chair, Commander Ransom was deeply
disturbed by the turn of events. He knew that he had arrived too late to
save the Galactica, but he wasn't sure what to do about it.
     "Captain! We have a contact on the outer marker approaching at
sub-light speed," reported Ensign Woods.
     Looking down in the direction of the young Ensign, Commander Ransom
asked, "Can you identify, Mr. Woods?"
     "It's coming through now, sir," came the reply.
     This was Ensign Woods's first mission. He had only graduated from
Annapolis 6 months ago. He looked so young. It was hard to believe he was
23 years old. His hair was red, and cut short. He wasn't very tall but
was built solid. Being the youngest member of the crew, the other
officers teased him incessantly. It wasn't uncommon for him to find a
baby's bottle or a children's blanket in his quarters. As a result, he
always felt a need to act professional at all times. Sometimes he would
be so homesick he would weep. The other officers knew how he felt. They
also knew that in time he would overcome these things. Everyone had felt
that way in the beginning.
     "The computer says its a star liner, sir," reported the young
Ensign.
     Sighing, Commander Ransom ordered the communications station to hail
the star liner. After trying to establish communications on several
frequencies, their hail was returned.

     "Commander, we are being hailed by the alien ship," reported a
crewman aboard the Rising Star.
     Walking over to where the communication station was, Apollo picked
up the microphone and said, "This is the Rising Star." 
     Who is this? he wondered. Every Cylon in the Galaxy is trying to
kill us. . . who could this be?
     Apollo was excited, his mind racing. His body was filled with
anxiety. After a very brief   pause, the reply came.
     "This is the Battle Cruiser Antarctica from the Earth Alliance
forces. Please identify your- selves."
     Just then, Allan walked onto the bridge of the Rising Star. As the
message was being received, he broke into a smile.
     "YEAH!!"
     Everyone on the bridge stopped what they were doing and looked at
Allan. Apollo was the first to speak.
     "What are you so excited about?" excitement showing in Apollo's
voice.
     "Commander! Were saved. That is the Antarctica. She's  a heavy
cruiser. The Cylons are in for a big surprise now. That type of vessel
only has one mission and that's destroying Cylon base ships."
     Everyone on the bridge joined in Allan's euphoria, except Apollo.
After the past few cycles he appeared to be completely destroyed and his
confidence was seriously shaken. The fact still remained, the Galactica
was gone and the fleet destroyed. Everyone he loved and cared about was
dead. Apollo wasn't sure he could rebuild his life again.

     After the excitement began to wear off on the bridge of the Rising
Star, Apollo looked out at the star field. As he watched, the Antarctica
began to appear. It was as big as a Battlestar. It had what appeared to
be a standard tylium drive engine. It was long and all the edges were
slightly rounded. On the upper side of the great ship was what looked
like a pyramid just in front of the main engine section. This section
appeared to be leaning toward the back and was dozens of decks high. On
the sides were huge wings with a total span of what appeared to be as
long as a Battlestar with huge bay doors, several on each side. On the
tops of the wing section were medium sized pulsar cannons, four on each
side, along with four more on the bottom of each wing. On the bow of the
vessel were two turrets. Both had the largest pulsars Apollo had ever
seen. There were three of these pulsars on each turret. This ship
definitely looked formidable.  Apollo was awestruck.

     On board the shuttle heading for the Antarctica, everyone was
silent, deep in their own thoughts about this turn of events.
     Allan was elated. He was looking forward to the reunion with old
comrades.
     Apollo was skeptical. It appeared there were many different forces
controlling the destiny of his people. He wasn't so certain of their
intentions. He felt like a pawn.
     Elana, somewhat recovered from her injuries, was thrilled. She was
certain as long as she was with Allan, she would be safe. Her lot in life
was improving. A few cycles ago, the thought of riding with Commander
Apollo on a shuttle to a meeting with unknown people would have been pure
fantasy. Lieutenant Allan had refused to leave her behind. Her injuries
still needed better treatment than was available on the Rising Star.

     The shuttle hatch began to open. Commander Ransom could see movement
inside. This was a big moment for him. He admired Commander Apollo. The
feat of moving an entire population through occupied space in a hostile
environment was amazing. He recognized Apollo immediately. He looked just
like the photographs in all the history books. Commander Ransom grew up
on the stories of Apollo and Starbuck. They were true heroes.
    " ATTENTION ON DECK!!" yelled the Boatswain.
     The entire company snapped to attention.
     Apollo appeared at the shuttle hatch and proceeded down the steps.
Ransom stepped forward to greet Apollo.
     "Welcome aboard the Antarctica," Ransom said with a slight smile.
     "Thank you," Apollo replied while trying his best to appear in
control.
     "I am Commander Ransom, captain of the Antarctica. I presume you
are..."
     "Commander Apollo of what was the Battlestar Galactica."
     "Yes....yes...I know.  I'm sorry, I know what happened.  Why don't
we go to my quarters where we can talk."
     As Apollo was walking with Ransom across the hangar deck he saw
Allan standing in the distance speaking with several others.  He could
also see Elana being carried on a stretcher away from the hangar deck. 
Apollo looked around.  There were hundreds of fighters on the other end. 
Flight deck personnel were busy readying the fighters. Apollo had to
pause to take in the full effect of the sheer immensity of this area of
the ship.
     Ransom was quite proud of his ship and remarked, "She's really
something, isn't she?"
     "It's incredible," Apollo said under his breath, then turned to
enter a passageway. The passageways on the way to Ransom's quarters were
full of people hurrying in each direction.
Entering into the quarters, Apollo could see that the room was remarkably
similar to the one he had on the Galactica. 
     "Have a seat," Ransom said as he approached his desk.
     "Commander Ransom, I..."
     "Please, call me Steven.  I haven't heard anyone use my first name
in months.  I do grow weary of hearing 'Commander Ransom' constantly."
     "First name? How many names have you got?" Apollo replied, growing
more confused at each passing moment.
     "We generally have three, a first name, middle, and last.  How many
names have you got?"
     Apollo smiled and said sheepishly, "We have one.  It's simpler that
way."  Apollo could sense the easing of tension which had plagued him for
what seemed an eternity.
     "Would you like a drink?" Ransom asked.
     "Yes, a good glass of Ambrosia would be great right now."
     "I don't know about Ambrosia but I have some good Tennessee
whiskey."
     "I can see we have a lot to learn about each other. I'll have a
drink of that Tenne....well, whatever you called it."
     Ransom pulled out two glasses and began to pour the drinks. "We
picked up quite a few survivors from your fleet, mostly warriors, and one
shuttle."
     "Steven, with everything that has happened, you can guess that the
survivors we have are completely bewildered as to what is going on,
myself included." Apollo's thoughts turned to Allan. "We had intercepted
Lieutenant Allan's ship several cycles ago. Is he one of your crew?"
     "No, Allan is not a member of my crew.  He must have been from
another ship in our fleet."
     "Who are you?" Apollo said, feeling the tension he previously had
coming back.
     "We're from your future.  We're here to destroy a Cylon baseship
which came back in time to destroy the Galactica. Unfortunately, we
arrived too late."
     "Then they've succeeded," Apollo said with a clear look of
frustration. "Is there any hope?"
      "Maybe there is," Ransom replied, handing Apollo his drink.
 
     Looking down at Elana, Allan smiled. She is so beautiful, he
thought. The doctor treating her told him she would make a complete
recovery.
     "You need sleep," said Elana. It was obvious Allan hadn't slept in a
few cycles.
     "I'm OK, you're the one I worry about," replied Allan.
     "The doctor says I'll be fine, now go get some sleep." said Elana
insistently.
     "OK... OK, I'll try," said Allan with genuine concern.

     Walking out of the sick bay, Allan saw Sergeant Mullins. Running to
catch up to Mullins, Allan yelled, "Hey Mule! Wait up!"
     Sergeant Mullins had been one of the instructors at the Academy. He
had taught Prisoner of War classes. All pilots were required to attend
Prisoner of War class. The class lasted for six weeks. It was a very
difficult class. Most pilots had washed out in P.O.W.C. 
     Sergeant Mullins, or Mule as his friends called him, was a quiet
man. He had a medium build and blonde hair, cut short. His blue eyes were
cold, and a lot of his contemporaries swore he could stare down a Cylon
Centurion. It wasn't true though, but looking at his eyes made a person
think so. Mule could be very intimidating.
     The old friends embraced, then shook hands. Both were elated and
surprised of this reunion.
     "How did you get here?" asked Allan.
     "The military called all special forces for the invasion of Cylon,"
replied Mullins. "I figured you were dead by now. After the crazy stunts
you pulled back at the school, it amazes me you aren't."
     "Lets go get a drink," said Allan, "Where's the Officer's Club on
this old tub anyway?"
     "Follow me ole buddy," replied Mullins.

     Twenty-four hours later, in the briefing room, Captain Ransom sat
with Commander Apollo. The two commanders had been discussing the current
situation along with Andar, Sergeant Mullins, and Lieutenant Allan, along
with several other key tactical officers.
     "Commander," said Mullins looking at Apollo. "We can't change the
past. The Galactica is gone! The best we can do now is work on the here
and now."
     Andar looked around the table. "We CAN change the past. Don't you
see, if these people came from the future then they can certainly try
again. What we need is.."
     Colonel Sykes speaking for the first time interrupted. "We have
already tried to change the past. We only have enough energy to send
ourselves home, to our own time! What you're suggesting Mr. Andar, is
that we condemn ourselves to the past. I for one don't think that is a
good option."
     Ransom stood up and looked hard at Sykes, quietly reprimanding him.
"What do you think Commander?" looking now at Apollo.
     Apollo was quiet for some time, appearing to weigh his words
carefully. "As I see it, we don't have many options. The choice must be
yours, Commander, and your crew. If we don't try, we will all die, and
the Cylons will have won. If we do try, they might still win. At this
point you don't have a home to go to anyway. I guess my people are at
your mercy."
     "There is of course one problem with trying to change the past. We
don't know where or when the Cylon Sphere first materialized," explained
Andar.
     "That does present a problem," replied Ransom, shaking his head in
acknowledgment.
     "There is a way to find out." replied Mullins.
     Everyone looked at Sergeant Mullins, bewildered.
     Standing up, Mullins began to pace slowly around the table. "If we
were to send a small team aboard that Sphere, we could get the
information from their navigational computer Database. It would be a slim
chance, but when I was in the training teams, part of our job was to
learn the Cylon ships thoroughly. With a little luck, my team could be in
and out before they realized we were there."
     Sykes shook his head in disbelief. "Are you mad?! You're talking
about suicide. Even if we could figure out how to get you aboard there
are over thirty thousand Cylons on the damn thing." 
     Standing up together, Apollo and Ransom indicated that the
conference was over. Everyone knew they would have an answer in the
morning.

      Released from sickbay, Elana and Allan were sitting together in the
Officer's Lounge.
     "The doctor says you're going to make a complete recovery," said
Allan looking into her eyes.
     "For whatever good it will do, I have no place to go," replied Elana
sullenly. "And to tell you the truth I have no desire to spend the rest
of my life waiting for the end." 
     "What do you mean? You have me!" Allan paused, then added, "I'm
sorry, I'm out of line."
    Smiling at him, Elana was elated. "You're not out of line. I feel
closer to you now than I have ever felt to anyone." She reached out for
his hand, which he grasped tenderly and squeezed.
     "I know it's too soon, but I must tell you, you are very special to
me Elana. I love you."
     Elana didn't answer with words. She pulled him to her in an intimate
embrace.

     "Have a seat, Sergeant Mullins," said Ransom from behind his desk.
     Mullins sat down. Looking at the Captain, he waited for him to
continue.
     "After talking with Commander Apollo," Ransom said, " I spent the
better part of the night trying to decide whether to risk sending your
team in or not. I believe this is our only chance. I want a battle plan
on my desk by tomorrow."
     Standing up, Sergeant Mullins saluted smartly, then withdrew a
folder from his tunic and set it on the desk. "Aye sir, that's what I had
figured also, so my team and I stayed up late preparing this." Turning
around, Mullins walked out of Ransom's office without another word.
     Picking up the folder, Ransom smiled.

     After consulting Commander Apollo, they agreed on the battle plan
and called a briefing. 
     Once everyone was seated, Ransom cleared his throat. "Lying in front
of you is a folder containing your specific orders pertaining to the
battle plan. Please read them carefully."
     Ransom and Apollo sat in silence while all of the officers read the
folder placed in front of them. 
     Apollo felt comfortable with the plan, although he wasn't sure why.
He knew with Starbuck leading the Colonial Warriors, Mullins and his team
would make it safely to the drop point.
     After everyone had finished reading their respective folders, Ransom
and Apollo stood.
     "Commander Apollo and I believe this is our best chance to restore
the time line," said Ransom. "It has a slim chance for success but God
willing, we will triumph." Ransom, then indicated to Commander Apollo to
finish.
     "Many times, over the past many yahren we have faced insurmountable
odds," Apollo said, "and so far we have managed to beat them. Now, in our
most dire hour we have one more task to complete. When the fleet first
set out all those yahren ago, we have dreamed of the time when we would
be able to fight the Cylons alongside our human brothers from Earth. Now
that time is at hand."
     After the applause had quieted down, Colonel Sykes stood and walked
over to a holographic board. With the pointer in hand, he indicated to
the board. "Here is our position. Our scouts have found the position of
the Sphere here." Pointing to the coordinates of the sphere, a
holographic image appeared. "The plan calls for our forces to engage the
Cylons directly. While the battle is waged, Captain Starbuck and his
warriors will slip in behind the enemy carrying Sergeant Mullins and his
team to this point." The holographic Sphere enlarged showing an opening
on the lower section. "Sergeant Mullins and his team will disembark the
Vipers and enter the Sphere, working their way up the waste chute
entering somewhere below decks. Then they will work their way to the
navigational Database which is here. Since we cannot determine where the
enemy will be at any given moment, how they get to their destination is
up to the discretion of the team. Once there,  they will access the
Database and transmit the information we need. Then they return to the
drop off point to be picked up by Captain Starbuck and his team. Once
they are out of danger, we will retreat from the battle and prepare to
make the time jump." Colonel Sykes then indicated that he would answer
any questions.
     After the briefing, Allan went looking for Elana. He found her in
the refugee quarters, talking to a young woman. Walking up to the pair,
he looked at Elana. "I thought I might find you here."
     Elana reached up and put her arms around Allan's neck and kissed him
on the cheek. "How did the briefing go?" Then remembering Dalton was
present, she introduced them.
     Looking at Dalton, Allan said, "You must be Starbuck's daughter. He
speaks highly of you."
     Smiling at Allan, Dalton thought to herself, why does he look so
familiar? 
     Dalton excused herself from the couple, and left.
     Putting her arm around Allan, Elana said, "Dalton tells me you seem
so familiar to her. She's not the only one who's said that. So what's the
deal?"
     Half smiling, Allan chuckled, "At first I didn't know myself. As my
memory returned, I realized the reason for their confusion is simple. My
great grandfather was Commander Apollo."

     Apollo was impressed. He hadn't seen this many human fighter craft
since before the destruction of Caprica. There were over two thousand
fighters leaving to do battle. Ten of the craft were Colonial Vipers,
assigned to insert the assault team. May the Lords of Kobol go with you
old friend, he thought. His friend Starbuck probably wouldn't come back,
but if they succeeded, all would be OK.
     "THE CAPTAIN IS ON THE BRIDGE!" yelled the Junior Officer of the
Deck.
     "As you were." replied Ransom. Walking over to Apollo and Andar, the
three men stood quietly looking out at the stars.
     "All fighters are in position, awaiting your order, Captain,"
reported the Communications Officer.
     Looking at Apollo, Ransom sighed. "Commander Apollo, would you like
to give the word?" 
     Apollo looked at Ransom and smiled. "Thank you Commander, I would
have never thought I would live to see this day. Officer of the Deck!
Commence the attack."

     As the two great ships approached each other the Antarctica fired
first. The great pulsars belched out green bolts of energy and with that,
the battle was begun.

     Allan raced head long into the Cylon defenders, his little ship
firing in all directions. Three Cylon fighters disintegrated. "First
blood!" he yelled, then coming around for another run, explosions rocked
his ship violently. That was close, he thought, then fired again.
     As the Cylon and human combatants engaged each other, it was
impossible to tell who the victor might be. So far it was evenly matched.

     "I'm hit! Please someone.." the flash was bright as a Viper
exploded.
     "What the.. frack!" yelled Starbuck then added, "they know we're
here. Take evasive maneuvers now!" 
     The Colonial Vipers tried to evade the Cylons but to no avail. Only
Starbuck managed to escape. They had been easy prey for the futuristic
Raiders. 
     Flying like a madman, Starbuck jerked the Navi-hilt from side to
side, up and down, firing blindly at Raiders as they passed in front of
him.
     "Were in big trouble here!" came the voice of Starbuck over the
com-link. "Somebody.. Acknowledge."  Allan wasted no time. He turned down
underneath of the Sphere and hit his turbos. As he approached Starbuck's
position, he sighted in five Raiders and fired. All five disintegrated in
huge balls of fire, extinguishing immediately because of the vacuum of
space. 
     "I've got your six, Starbuck," said Allan.
     Looking around, Starbuck could see Allan had the Raiders on the run,
but it was too late. All that was left of the assault team was Sergeant
Mullins and himself. 
     "Sergeant, we have to withdraw." said Starbuck over his shoulder.
     "Keep going Captain!" replied Mullins. " We can still do this, you
and me!"
     Starbuck angled the Viper towards the opening and coasted in close.
"Are you crazy!" exclaimed Starbuck. "We can't do this by ourselves." He
unbuckled himself and turned on his personal environment suit.
     "We've got to try, Captain," said Mullins. He liked this warrior,
always talking like a coward yet continuing on like a hero. 
     As the canopy opened up, the two men moved out of the cockpit. The
protection suits they wore were very confining, but without them they
wouldn't stand a chance. They tethered the Viper to the hull and
scrambled into the Cylon Sphere.

    Badly damaged, Allan maneuvered his fighter into the hangar. The
first assault had inflicted heavy losses on both sides, but the Cylons
received the worst of the exchange. Losing a third of their Raiders, they
had tried to retreat, but that had proved to be their undoing. The humans
had destroyed half of the Cylon complement before disengaging the
Raiders. They continued to stay close, alternating fighters back to the
Antarctica for refueling and repairs before continuing the battle.

     Mullins and Starbuck continued to climb up the garbage chute. The
gasses being released created the effect of gravity. They had already
covered about 500 metrons when they came to a hatch.
      "Is this the one we want?" asked Starbuck hopefully.
     "No this is.." 
      The garbage was moving so fast it knocked the two men back down the
chute 20 metrons before they barely managed to find something to hang on
to.
     "As I was trying to say that was the radioactive discharge chute,"
said Mullins. "You don't want to go in there. He started to climb again.
     "I wish I could learn to follow my own advice," muttered Starbuck as
he began his ascent again.
     After climbing 100 metrons, they came to another hatch.
     "This is it, Captain!" yelled Mullins over the rumbling of the main
engines.
     Pulling out a small laser cutter, Mullins cut into the locking
mechanism. 
Sliding the small hatch open, air began to rush out. Mullins and Starbuck
climbed through the hole entering the air lock.
     Closing the hatch behind him, Starbuck looked at Mullins. "What
now?" he yelled.
     Mullins just smiled, and started cutting through the next lock.
     A Centurion walked over to the garbage chute and opened the hatch.
Dropping the waste he reached for his saber. As he started to pull it out
of the sheath, a hand came up and the laser cutter bore into his head. He
was dead before he hit the deck.

     "LIEUTENANT ALLAN, REPORT TO THE BRIDGE," was heard over the P.A. in
the hangar deck. Allan turned and headed for the bridge. 
     The hangar was busy with flight crews refueling and repairing the
fighters. Only by yelling could a person be heard over the noise.
     Walking onto the bridge, Allan went over to the Officer of the Deck,
who motioned him over to the Commander.
     "Lieutenant Allan reporting as ordered, sir!"  he said.
     "At ease," said Ransom calmly. "What happened to the assault team?
Did they make it?" 
     Looking first at Apollo, then at the Captain, he said, "Well sir,
sort of. Most of the team was ambushed before getting to the Sphere."
     "How many?" asked Apollo anxiously.
     "One Viper made it. Captain Starbuck and Sergeant Mullins."
     "We have to withdraw," said Ransom, looking devastated.
     "Commander, we have to give them a chance, even if it's only two
men," replied Allan excitedly. "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather
have in there." 
     "I agree with Allan," said Apollo. "We have to give them time."

     Climbing out of the garbage chute, Mullins kneeled down by the Cylon
and cut another hole where the aliens groin should have been, then
laughed when Starbuck shook his head in disbelief.
     "There is something wrong with you, Mullins," said Starbuck
jokingly.
     Holding his finger to his lips, Mullins pointed to the hatch. After
removing the cumbersome suits the two men made their way over to the
hatch. After taking a couple of deep breaths, Mullins opened it.
     Both men leaped into the passageway rolling opposite of each other
with laser pistols drawn. Both came up in crouching positions. Four
Centurions drew their weapons but the humans were too quick. The
Centurions were dead.
     Starbuck and Mullins began their trek through the great Sphere. Both
expected to die, but were resolved to the idea that the mission must
succeed. 

     "Commander!, I've made an error in my calculations," said Andar
urgently.
     "What error?" asked Apollo, irritation beginning to show in his
face. "I don't want to hear that!" 
     "In order for this to work," replied Andar, "we have to destroy the
Sphere also, or they could conceivably go back in time and start this
nightmare all over again."
     "WHAT?! Is it really possible?"  
     "I believe so. For all we know that could have been the case
already."
     "Oh lovely," Ransom interjected. "So if we don't destroy them here,
the fleet may still be destroyed. I'm not so certain I like you Mr.
Andar. Is there anything else you haven't thought of?"
     "Well, now that you mention it," Andar replied nervously, "all the
people of the fleet have to leave here, or they will be caught in your
time, Commander...at least I think so." Andar then felt a strong
compulsion to exit the bridge quickly.

Mullins, was an efficient soldier. Starbuck could almost admire the
younger man. He was alot like himself in his younger days. Peering around
the corner Starbuck saw a squad of Centurions moving in their direction.
Quickly retreating, he motioned to Mullins to follow him.
     Mullins, as calm in his tasks as Starbuck was at his own, silently
opened a small ventilator and crawled in with Starbuck behind him. The
Centurions rounded the corner just as Starbuck managed to fit the screen
back into place. Both men froze. Not moving a muscle and hardly
breathing, they waited.
     The Centurions were marching by in formation made up of two rows
with about twenty in each line. These were the semi mindless drones
created for battle. They stood at least a head taller than the average
human and were twice as wide. The design hadn't changed in a thousand
yahren.
     After the last one had passed, the two men crawled out of the
ventilator. Standing up, they came face to face with an I-L series Cylon.

     The creature let out a gasp and tried to scream ,but Starbuck
slammed the ventilator cover down on the creatures head, shattering it.
The Cylon collapsed onto the deck with a loud crash. Glass was
everywhere.
     "Do you have to be so loud?" asked Mullins. Then he indicated they
should keep moving.
     Reaching the Database, Mullins hooked up his miniature transceiver
to the machine and turned it on. 
     "I've got it... wait... wait a minute, how is this possible?" said
Mullins incredulously.
     "What's the problem?" asked Starbuck.
     "According to this readout, the Sphere arrived in the past twice!"
     "What do we do now?" said Starbuck, more to himself than to Mullins.
     "First, we send this information to the Antarctica. Also, we tell
them were going to blow this bucket." 
     "How are we going to blow this thing up, anyway?"asked Starbuck.
     "Well, we have to go to the main Engineering space, release solium
into the space, then ignite it."
     "But that means we die!" exclaimed Starbuck.
     "Look at the bright side, Starbuck. If we succeed, you get to live."

     "You seem to be fine with this," said Starbuck.
     "I always knew I could die in this occupation," replied Mullins
seriously.
     

     "Captain, we have the coordinates," reported the young Ensign. "Also
Sergeant Mullins and Captain Starbuck say they are going to blow up the
Sphere."
       "Can they do that?" asked Apollo.
      "Oh yeah, but it's suicide." replied Ransom. "They have to vent the
solium into the engineering sections and ignite it."
     "There has to be another way," Apollo said, adrenaline rising within
him. "We have to stop them!"
     "It's too late for that." replied Ransom, then added, "You better
get going, Commander, you don't have much time."
     "Good luck, Commander Ransom," responded Apollo while saluting him.
"May the Lords of Kobol go with you." 
     "And you, Commander,"said Ransom, returning Apollo's salute.
     Taking a last look around the Bridge of this great vessel, Apollo
turned and left.

     Running down the corridor, Starbuck and Mullins were out of breath.
The Cylons were right behind them. Half turning, Starbuck felt a laser
bolt rip into his arm. Returning fire, another Cylon fell. Opening the
hatch to the main engineering section, Mullins took another shot at the
advancing Centurions. His shot went right through the first two in line,
killing both. Another Cylon fired and the blast hit Mullins right in the
chest knocking him back through the hatch. Starbuck closed the hatch and
fired a shot at the control pad.
     "That should buy a few microns," Starbuck remarked.
     Looking down at Mullins, Starbuck could see pieces of the man's
chest protector sticking out. The protector wasn't going to save him. It
was only meant to protect a person from glancing shots, not direct hits. 
     "I don't think I'm going to be able to help you, Starbuck," said
Mullins faintly. Starbuck knelt down beside the dying man. "What do I do
now?" he asked.
     "Find the red section...." Mullins was fading a bit.
     Starbuck, believing Mullins to be dead, began to get up.
     "Help me up...Starbuck, help me up," Mullins said, struggling to
raise himself up. It was only the man's determination that was keeping
him alive now. Holding each other up, they set off to find Red Section.
They could hear the Cylons still pounding on the hatch. Hobbling along,
the two men started down some stairs. Tripping, they tumbled to the
bottom. Getting up and looking around, they noticed they had found it.
Mullins pulled out his laser pistol and took aim at a pipe. 
     The Cylons were charging down the steps as Mullins fired.
     The great Sphere trembled, beginning to disintegrate. Starbuck and
Mullins clasped their hands in a triumphant gesture just as a fireball
tore through Red Section consuming and killing them both.

     "Ensign Woods, engage the time drive!" ordered Captain Ransom.
     "Aye sir." came the reply. Then he punched the commands into the
computer.
     The Antarctica began to glow a bright red and slowly faded out of
existence...

     Sergeant Rigel sat at her work station on the bridge of the
Galactica observing the readouts from the scanning computer. Many sectons
had passed without anything to report. The job had become very mundane.
Many times Rigel thought of being the first one to detect Earth. The
excitement it would create, the celebration....could it happen?
Perhaps....
Blip
     The computers alarm pulled Rigel from her thoughts. A large amount
of debris had come into range.
     "Colonel Athena!" Rigel called out.
     Athena was finishing up with the deck log when Rigel called to her.
She was expecting Commander Apollo to arrive on the bridge at any moment
to relieve her.
     "Yes Sargent Rigel," Athena replied hurrying over to Rigel's
station. "What is it?"
     "I'm picking up a large amount of debris in sector two." 
     "Send a Viper probe to investigate. Have them report to the bridge
when they're done."
     It wasn't long before Apollo walked onto the bridge. He still
couldn't get used to the image of the bridge without his father, Adama,
at the command station guiding the great battlestar and it's rag tag
fleet. This ship had always been and always would be Adama's ship.
Sometimes he still wondered with awe at how his father had always been so
calm and completely in control even in the most desperate situations.

      In the Officer's Club, at a table playing pyramid, Starbuck, as
usual, was winning and everyone else at the table was thinking about how
stupid they were for playing with him.
     "You know," said Starbuck, "on payday you should all just give me
your cubits and save me the trouble of beating you out of them."
     "One of these days you're going to lose, Starbuck," replied Jolly,
"and you can bet that I'll be right there to see it happen."
     Greenbean looked up from his cards and glanced across the table
before returning his gaze upon his hand. "It's too bad Apollo couldn't be
here to play more often," he said. "He seems to be the only one who can
keep you in check, Starbuck. Remember, Jolly, when Starbuck talked him
into going over to the Rising Star?"
     Everyone began to laugh except for Starbuck who pretended to look
bored.
     "Yeah, Starbuck lost all of his cubits," said Jolly, still laughing.
     Boomer, grinning widely, said, "Starbuck looked like he was about to
cry."
     "I thought Apollo was going to kill him," added Sheba.

Troy and Dalton maneuvered their Vipers up close to the debris.
     "What do you read Troy?" asked Dalton.
     "Nothing much. Whatever it was, it was huge."
     "Well, according to my readout, it was Cylon, and had features of
our own technology." 
     "I'm sending the information back to the Galactica now," said Troy.
"My guess is, we will never know what happened here."

     Elana, looking down at the mysterious guest on the bed sighed. He is
so handsome she thought.  
     "How are you feeling today?" Elana asked as she set the nourishment
tray down in front of him.
     Looking up at her he answered, "Pretty good. How are you?" He hadn't
said much to anyone since regaining consciousness. After all, these
strangers could be the enemy. Until he knew for sure, he wouldn't tell
them anything, not even his name.
     "I'm fine, I guess," Elana replied, letting out a sigh. "So, how
come you won't tell anyone your name?"
     The man sat up in bed and looked intently at Elana's face. Her
beauty had a radiance to it. He overheard the scolding she had received
from Cassiopeia and felt a bit sorry for her. It seems she's always in
trouble with Cassiopeia. He looked around the room.
     Why does this place seem so familiar to me? Even the people seem
familiar.
     Looking at the door he saw another face which reminded him of
someone. But who? What is this place?
     "Hello," said Apollo as he walked over to the bed nodding to people
he knew along the way. "I'm Commander Apollo, and you are...?
     "Lieutenant Allan." Giving his name out so suddenly surprised Allan.
He didn't mean to.
     Standing next to the bed, Apollo looked down at Allan. 
     "Well, Lieutenant," Apollo said, "I would like to ask you a few
questions if you don't mind."
     "Ask all you like," Allan snapped back. "I'm not going to answer any
questions until I get a few answers myself, such as who are you people?
How did I get here?"
     "I'm Commander Apollo, as I've said already, and you're on board the
Battlestar Galactica. As for you, we found your ship adrift in space. You
were unconscious when we found you and brought you aboard."
     Allan excitedly asked, "My ship! How is it?!"
     "You and your ship appear to be in perfect condition, Lieutenant,"
Apollo responded.
     Bewildered, Allan replied, "That's impossible. The last thing I
remember was a large explosion. I've never seen an explosion like that
before. It's as if it was all in slow motion. I could see every element
of it."
     Apollo, trying to be tactful, decided to ask the question everyone
wanted to know.
     "Lieutenant," he began, then slowly added, "are you from a planet
called Earth?"
     Everyone in the life station stopped what they were doing and looked
in the direction of the two men.
Allan paused for a moment, then, rubbing his forehead, answered, "Yes,
Commander......I am."

     Fleeing the Cylon tyranny the last Battlestar....Galactica, leads a
rag tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest. A shining planet known....as
Earth.

                            The End
Please return feedback to Dallan@netcnct.net