Is It Always Bad? by Robert Hanczyk March 10, 1998 The yellow field of healthy grass smelled as much like a new season as it was going to ever be. Flowers of every color and fragrance imaginable, and then some, added the sweet scent to the air. The bungs in the trees sang to each other hymns of life and joy. It was paradise for Starbuck. And there was only one other person to share it with - Lielly. "Oh Starbuck." "Oh Lielly." It didn't exactly have a ring to it. But then, what was a name but a mere word. The person behind the name was all that mattered. "Oh Starbuck, what I wouldn't do..." She danced in her bare feet among the brightly colored flowers stepping on not a one. The sound of the bungs was so beautiful, so cheerful, so romantic. "What would you do?" he asked with stress on "would." "What I wouldn't do to be here with none other than you," she sang as she twirled on her toes. "I had a feeling your were going to say that." He slowly stepped closer, leaving enough room for her to finish her twirl in the gentle breeze. "Take my hand and float with me in this Paradise." "Your wish is mine to fulfill." They held hands and swayed to the bung songs. Their hearts beat in time with one another. Their blood became fire to make them burn even more for each other. Her eyes sparkled like starlight in the heavens. Her sensuous lips beckoned his to touch. Banging noises filled the air. Orders were yelled as cadets scrambled to dress. Klanks, Klunks, and Thunks were added when weapons bounced off the ground. Peace was a foreign word. "Hey Starbuck. Get up before Pictar sees you." "Huh? What? Oh, not again." Starbuck squinted at the bright lights of the barracks. He grabbed his head as the pain started to register in his brain. "Why couldn't this wait until after the dream?" he asked no one in particular. He felt his bunk mate shake him as bad as a ground quake would. "I'm getting up already." "Hurry!" Moran yelled. He ran to the foot of the bunk and stood stiff at attention. Starbuck rolled out of the lower bunk already in his clothes. The hard hit on the floor snapped all traces of sleep from his body to be replaced by more pain. Starbuck was ready for these surprise wake ups by the D.I. The laser blaster, his helmet and backpack waited for him to pick up. In ten microns, he joined Moran as Pictar, the meanest person who ever lived on Caprica, inspected other cadets for flaws in their uniform or gear. It wasn't long until he reached Starbuck. "Is that a fold in your uniform, Cadet?" "No, sir. No fold on my uniform, sir." "What is this, Cadet?!?" he shouted. Starbuck looked down at the corner of his shirt bubbled above the waist of his pants. "That is an extra piece of material, Pictar, Sir." "And WHY do I see that extra piece of material?" "It's stubborn," Starbuck replied trying to hide humor behind his words. "What was that?!? I can't hear you!!" Starbuck yelled out, "Pictar, Sir, it's stubborn, Sir." "Stubborn is it?" Pictar asked in a devil of a voice. "Well so am I. Get under your bunk, Cadet, and do twenty lifts!" Starbuck could not hold back his groan of agony. Twenty lifts of the Plykylium bunks was like picking up a cage of fierce daggits. The lifts would tear his body apart. "Twenty, Sir?" "Are you deaf, Cadet?!? Did I say twenty?!!?" Pictar screamed in Starbuck's face. "Yes, you did, Pictar, Sir!" "I said forty. Now get under that bunk and start lifting before I change my mind!!!!" Starbuck placed his back pack on the floor and rolled underneath the bunk. With his back against the hard floor, he pushed up with all his might to lift the heavy bunk. Every single nerve in his body screamed out in pain as Starbuck struggled to lift the bunk a half metron off the floor. His arms and legs were shaking by the time he was on lift number four. The strength he once had was almost depleted. Finishing this lift was a probable. Surviving number five was unthinkable. Pictar walked back to the area of Starbuck's bunk. He did not inspect all the cadets. They were tense as it was. How long could they handle it? Pictar slowly stepped around in a circle keeping his face expressionless. He walked through the hole where Starbuck once stood and sat down on the bunk being lifted. It hit the ground hard with a resounding thunk. The weight of Pictar's body pushed the mattress through the supports onto Starbuck's chest. "I think these bunks are too soft," Pictar said in a lighter tone. "Only cause you're squishing me," Starbuck whispered through his gritted teeth. Pictar bobbed up and down a couple times to test his theory. "Much too soft." In his command voice, Pictar hollered, "I am ORDERING metal plates to replace these soft mattresses. The kind I slept on when I was at this Academy." He bent over as if to tie his shoe and saw Starbuck's finger. "Cadet, what are you still doing under there? I thought you were finished." Starbuck made no reply. He was unable to do it even if his life depended on it, which it would in another centon. The D.I. stood, relieving the pressure off of Starbuck's body. The cadet gasped for a much needed breath of air and prayed his head would stop spinning. "I can't hear you, boy. What are you still doing under there?" "Lifts, Sir." Starbuck's voice was lower than a whisper. "What a waste!" Annoyed, Pictar walked through the cadets to the doorway of the barracks. "Fall in behind me in formation. That cadet lying on the floor better be in place by the time we exit." Starbuck dug for any reserve of strength he had left in his body. It took sheer will power for him to roll out from under the bunk. His whole body trembled as he attempted to stand and gather his gear. Pictar was out the door and out of sight. The formation of cadets marched their way to the door and out in time with the D.I.'s step. The cadet closest to Starbuck reached out to pull Starbuck into line and give him a few microns to steady his body. Starbuck raised his hand enough to say he was okay before he hurried to his proper place in line. He would remember to thank the other cadet later. It was a long centar walk across the Academy grounds. Whatever the reason for wasting so much time marching instead of flying was stupid. If they hopped in the shuttle, they would be at their destination in a centon or two. It did not make sense to waste time walking when it could be used for more important issues. If anyone ever asked, the response was, "To build up your strength, little boy." Or, "To make you a man. Only men fly vipers." If it was to build strength, there were plenty of other ways Starbuck knew would work. And what about being a man? That would be taken care of through building strength. This special training would not be over soon enough for Starbuck. They stopped in an area next to the woods. The sounds of Survival Sectons were heard in the distance. There were strafing runs done by simulated Cylon Raiders blowing up anything in sight. Weapon fire during ground assaults mixed in with the sounds of solonite explosives came from another direction. Klaxons blared intermittently to keep all the cadets on their toes. For a cadet to pass the special training, he or she had to complete the Survival Sectons in one piece. In front of the group was a high tower built out of trees. At the top of the tower was a flat area about the size of a standard Colonial Shuttle. Near one end of the platform were two rectangle holes. Standing over top of those was a beautiful lady. She stood with a demeanor of strength and command. Starbuck wondered why he had not seen her yet on the grounds. For him to miss a woman like that was almost unpardonable. Pictar addressed the cadets. "This is where you are going to train for shuttle drops. Those two holes you see are the same size as those in the shuttle chutes. Normally, the drops would be from a shuttle in motion. We don't want to hurt you little boys too much, so we'll keep it stationary. At least for now." Pictar had a very wicked grin on his face. He guessed at least six cadets would chicken out and be forced to drop. He had to force any cowards to do the drop. It was one of the more enjoyable tasks for a D.I. "You will drop through those to the ground without losing any equipment and be prepared to strike against the Cylons within one centon. As in a real life situation, there is no cover as you are dropping. You must be prepared for whatever those machines can send your way if they spot you. The officer at the top is Captain Persephone. You will give her the same respect you do to me. She will give you instructions once you're up there. Double time it to the top. Move it!! Move it!!" The cadets remained in formation and began their ascent to the high platform with all due speed behind Pictar. The strain on their bodies showed by the time they were half way up. Pictar left them in his wake as he briskly ascended to the platform. He stood next to Persephone waiting for the cadets to form along the edge of the platform. There was nothing to stop them should they fall back. Persephone quietly said, "Picky, you sure did get the slow set this time." Pictar looked at the female captain. "Certainly not like the times when we were young." He gazed over the boys as they took their places. "Stand Tall!!!" he shouted. "There's no slouching in my company. And look at me when I'm talking." Pictar started to walk around in front of the cadets. "Captain Persephone will give you instructions. Heed to her word. Do this right and you MAY survive. Make a mistake_" Pictar paused to give the group a micron to think. "Make a mistake and you may not live to tell about it. Are you ready for this, Cadet Zol?!?" "Yes, sir," Zol replied after a gulp. "You don't seem to sure of yourself." "Yes, Sir, I am ready for this!!!" "Good. I like confidence." Pictar spoke louder to address the rest of the group. "To show you snits how a man does this, I will go first. Captain Persephone, they're all yours." "Watch Drill Instructor Pictar." Her voice was as cold as ice, a definite contrast to the warmth of her beauty. "We're in a shuttle close to the ground." "If this is close, I don't want to see her idea of far away," Starbuck mumbled under his breath to the cadet on his right. "What was that, Cadet?" Persephone harshly asked. "Ah, I said I'd like to drop on a beach by the bay." Starbuck almost broke into a sweat as he responded. "If you want a beach, I think we can send you to the hot sands of Scorpia." Starbuck shuddered at the thought. That was not a beach. It was Hades. Ten centons was enough to burn anyone to a crisp. She wouldn't do that to Starbuck. Would she? Captain Persephone continued. "There are high shuttle drops you'll do with chutes. Here you only have a rope. In the shuttle, the floor hatches open and you immediately commence the drop as quickly as possible. If anything happens to the rope, you'll see how fast you can fall. A good Warrior will be on the ground within ten microns. Pictar?" The D.I. grabbed the rope and slid down to the ground. He had seen the best choice for cover on his way down. When he hit the ground, he dropped and rolled to clear the rope before crawling for cover behind a tree "Easy to do. Form two lines at the holes, NOW. When I give the word, you have four centons to clear this platform. You two." She pointed to two cadets who were at the side where the shuttle cockpit would be. "Come up to the holes. Everyone else, follow their path. NOW!!!!" Without a stumble, they lined up as instructed. Starbuck was fourth in line. He saw the person in front had a slight shake in his body. Starbuck tried to look past him at the Captain. He thought of all the places he could go with her, areas where they would not be disturbed, what he would say to her. Starbuck had a plan that was a sure bet. She'd never send him to Scorpia. His sweet words would sweep her off her feet. "GO!!!" Persephone watched the first two grab the ropes and begin to slide. They were not even a body length down the rope when she yelled for the next two to go. The cadet in front of Starbuck trembled and would not step up to the hole. "GO!!!" "I can't. I can't go," the cadet cried out. "Why not? Are you a COWARD?!?!?" "No. I just, I just, I can't slide down." Persephone gave a soothing smile. "I think I understand." She walked over and put her arm around his shoulder. "You have a better idea on how to drop to the ground." Her voice was surprisingly smooth and mellow. "I don't know any other way." The cadet's voice was still fairly tense, but he began to relax. "Maybe you should go down the way you came up. Would that be better?" Persephone said as if talking to a child. The rest of the group carefully watched what Captain Persephone was doing. They would not move until she ordered them to do so. She stepped up to the hole and pointed over to the steps distracting the frightened young man from the drop. "Yes, maybe I should go that way." "Okay." Persephone's voice was almost a purr. "You can go that way." The expression on her face did not change, but the tone of her voice did. "AFTER YOU DROP!!!!" She pushed him into the hole where the cadet had to grab on to the rope for dear life. The Captain pointed to the next people in line. "GO!!!!" Any thoughts Starbuck had of Captain Persephone and himself vanished. He grabbed the rope and slid down effortlessly. Reminded him of when he was a young boy swinging in the trees of the Thorn Forest on Caprica. It was just as fun now as it was then. The only difference was he was older. How bad could it be? Maybe the training would become better. When the blasts from the Survival Sectons sunk in, Starbuck realized there could be some problems later on. He dropped to the ground and rolled clear of the rope. He hustled into the tree area back from the others and prepared to do battle against the Cylons that were not there. "EVERYBODY UP!!! We have work to do. The Cylons don't sleep and neither do we. WAKE UP!!!!" There was nothing like hearing Pictar's yelling to wake someone up. Starbuck buried his head under the pillow, if it could be called a pillow. It was made of a thin piece of material in the standard issue Colonial color of beige wrapped around a very firm pad. A rock may have been a better pillow. That's what they had to use in the field. But it was better to have something over nothing. Good thing they still had mattresses, their only luxury. No one knew for sure if Pictar was serious or not about making the cadets sleep on metal plates. Starbuck glanced at his wrist chronometer. It was exactly three centares since they came in from a Dark Surveillance Scouting. It was bad enough they had very little light to see their way. It was even worse when their favorite D.I. and friends triggered traps to mess up a cadet and laugh at the poor kid. They made it through without any serious injuries outside of pure body exhaustion. After dragging themselves into the barracks, every single cadet wanted to crash on his bunk. That was not permitted by the D.I. They were given one centon to strip, three centons in the cold turbo wash and one centon to dry. Fortunately, the cadets were not required to go through a body check after the scouting. That would have lasted a good ten centons where they had to stand at attention sans any piece of clothing for the male officials to make sure no cadet had any injury. The wait lasted an eternity after the ice cold turbo wash. After dismissal from the inspection, the cadets had a contest to see who could dress the fastest. Since there was no body check, the contest was a race to the bunks. Starbuck spent an extra five centons to prepare himself for the next secton before he crashed in his bunk. Even with Pictar's yelling, Starbuck could probably stay in it for another centon until he had to grab his gear and stand at the foot. He cherished that last centon for all it was worth. "REMEMBER the Cylons have no mercy. They don't wait for anyone. MOVE IT before they march in here and kill you! MOVE IT!! MOVE IT!!!" So much for that final centon. Starbuck rolled out, grabbed his gear and took his position waiting for Pictar's orders. No one ever knew what exercises waited outside the doors. They had to learn to expect the unexpected and be ready to move at a micron's notice. "We've had a change of plan. Since you little croans know everything by now, we're going to see how well you act." The Drill Instructor snickered and he did not try to hide it. "We have ten centons to board a cargo shuttle at Station Four. If we run, we should make it. MOVE OUT!!!!!" Station Four? To be there in ten centons was a full run. Some of the cadets were about to groan, but stifled it. If Drill Instructor Pictar heard it, the cadets would have to carry a double load at a full run. Their standard gear was bad enough to carry while running after such a sort sleep period. A double load would kill them. A few stumbled along the run to the shuttle, but they made it with time to spare. "Forty microns to board. Move It. I said ME-UVE IT!!!" Three quarters of the group was in the shuttle. The remainder started to work their way in at a slow pace. The line didn't move as fast as it had at first. Those inside had to weave around storage areas, shelving and benches to take their places from front to rear. "What's the problem?" Pictar shouted. "Not enough room to move, Sir." "Do you want to fly on top?" "NO, SIR, PICTAR, SIR." "Then find a way to move quickly!! Ten microns. Get in or you'll have the outside view." The last cadet squeezed into the group inside the shuttle hatch. The engines fired up. Pictar closed the hatch from the outside and walked around to the cargo entry hatch. Once in with the hatch closed and sealed, he sent a signal to the pilot that it was safe to launch. The cadets who weren't seated toppled over like dominoes squishing each other in the confined space. Starbuck had to push two people off of him so he could stand up and find a seat. "Daggits would have been seated faster than you pack of losers." Starbuck swallowed a word or two he wanted to say to Pictar. How long he could do so was another question. He had been through worse when the placement workers tried, or more appropriately, did not try to find Starbuck a foster home. All he was to them was a number in a big pack. There were plenty of times when Starbuck ran away and lived on the streets trying to find something for himself. Somehow, the authorities would manage to find him and place him in a group home. About the only thing that ever went well for Starbuck was schooling, and when he was old enough, all the girls in the schools. Everyone had a breaking point. Soon, D.I. Pictar would reach Starbuck's break point. "You're really lucky today," Pictar said with a wicked grin. "You're stuck with me for two centares on this ship. If I feel like being nice, I'll tell you a few glory stories." 'No doubt placing yourself up high above us. The perfect man who every Academy person should mold himself after. Not this one.' Starbuck thought of a few things Pictar never saw or did to turn the tides into his favor. It was Starbuck's talent for finding odds to put him ahead. "But before the wonderful stories, here's what will happen. You'll be divided into teams of five to search and destroy a Cylon Garrison. There will be no radio communication. There will be no other ground or air support. It will be every team for themselves. Whoever destroys the metal garbage and brings back proof will have an entire extra ration in your next meal compliments of me." No one dared to groan. The food rations were worse than eating garbage. An extra one would be a killer. What made it worse was the No Waste Rule at the Academy. In a prolonged battle, a chance to eat was whenever it could be fit in. When you ate, you did not waste. If you were ever caught wasting food_ Well they heard horror stories about cadets who did not eat every crumb of food. What was really funny about the whole thing was taste became an irrelevant issue when one was hungry. So the extra ration would be quickly consumed without a second thought. "Pictar, Sir?" "Yes, Cadet Hopon?" "Sir, what do you consider proof?" Pictar let out a laugh. It made Hopon think he asked a stupid question. "What I consider believable proof is nothing other than a disabled Cylon brought back to the pick- up point. Do you UNDERSTAND that?!?!?" "Yes, Sir, Pictar, Sir. I understand that, Sir." "Good." Pictar spent the next twenty centons speaking with the shuttle pilots. The cadets had to look straight ahead and not move a muscle until permission was granted to do so. This was to optimize their thinking on how they would execute their mission. Teams were not picked so each person had to think of a plan which would be agreeable to all other team members and be as flawless as possible. When Pictar finished his conversation, he turned to face the cadets who looked like statues save for their breathing. Slowly, casually, nonchalantly, he walked around in the small confines. He found a place beside two cadets near the chute doors to sit down. "You can relax now." The response was instantaneous. Some stretched, others took deep breaths. Quite a few were happy just to turn their head. Starbuck rubbed the stiffness out of his muscles. His thighs had gone numb from the hard bench he sat on. He worked his messaging from his neck down to his legs. In his mind, Starbuck tried to convince his blood in as nice a way as possible to start flowing again. It was also important to build up his energy reserves after such a short sleep period. It was going to be a long secton for all of them. "I have a great story to tell you from when I was part of Special Squad Sigma. It was a nasty time during the war. One Cylon Baseship made it through our defenses and headed directly for Virgon. The planetary squadrons were sent to intercept the numerous waves of Raiders which were sent out ahead of the baseship. Sigma Squad was sent it to attack the baseship. There were only ten of us going after that spinner. "You're probably asking yourself what can ten vipers do against a huge Baseship. I'll tell you. We were specially trained to know where to strike. And we had the power to strike hard with specially equipped solonite missiles in place of the typical Viper laser fire. Four regular vipers flew cover knocking out the Baseship turrets. They also kept lookout for any stray Raiders heading our way. The other six of us with the solonite missiles headed straight for the midsection. Destroy that and the two halves will split and explode. "Each viper only had two missiles. We had to make the hits count to knock out the Baseship before they recalled their Raiders. While the four vipers knocked out the ship's weapons, we set ourselves up outside of the Baseship's firing range. When it was clear enough, we went at them with full turboes from six different directions and fired our missiles simultaneously. The solonite explosions sent the Baseship halves spinning away from each other. Chains of explosions destroyed them ten microns later. Those stupid tin heads probably never knew what hit them." "Pictar, Sir?" "What is it, Cadet Starbuck?" "How come we didn't know of this before?" "Ah, I was waiting for a disbeliever to ask that question. Special Squads are kept secrets for just this reason. We have to have some tactical advantage against the number of forces the Cylons can send at us. The battlestars get all the glory for baseship destruction. If the Cylons don't know about us, they can't defend against us. Any one of you may become a member of a Special Squadron. And I'll tell you right now, if you think this training is hard, you'll dream you were back here during Special Squad Training. Your whole life will be nothing but Special Squad. No family. No outside friends. No sports. No nothing. Training, training, training all your waking hours. You'll know all the missions that ever happened in the war inside and out. You'll learn tactics you never thought imaginable. Only the strongest become members of Special Squads. Think you'll be able to do that, Cadet Starbuck?" "Yes, Sir, Pictar, Sir." Starbuck put all formalities aside for a micron to finish his response. "You better believe it. I'm going to be the best viper pilot this Academy ever seen." He nodded and said in a normal voice, "Sir." Pictar had a chuckle. "You got a pretty big ego on you boy. Takes more than being the best viper pilot. And when you think you're the best, you come see me. I'll take you on one-on-one in viper combat and we'll see just how good you are." Starbuck nodded again, but this time with a big smile to accept that challenge. "Sir." For the remainder of the trip, Pictar told two more unbelievable stories and picked out the groups of five randomly. When they were fifteen centons from drop point, all the cadets prepared for the drop. Gear was double and triple checked to be secure. They placed the goggles over their eyes, secured their helmets to stay on their heads, and tightened their boot straps. The last thing each and every cadet donned were their special rope gloves. They stood in place and sweated out the centons waiting for word to exit. The only windows in the cargo shuttle were for the pilots. Only those in the cockpit area could see out the windows. Not a single cadet knew what awaited them. The shuttle flew over a snowy landscape. There were patches of forests laid out among the hills of all sizes. Other areas were nothing but massive collections of snow covered rocks, including rocks dwarfing any human. One flat, white area was a frozen lake blanketed by the snow. There was no evidence of animal life: No tracks in the snow, no dug up areas from food searching, no animal carcasses. It was amazing some of the trees had any color to them. If it weren't for the deep network of roots pulling all the necessary elements for living from underground resources, the trees would be nothing but frozen reminders of the despondent conditions for sustaining life. An area clear of trees and flat enough to support a drop came into view. The pilot reduced the shuttle speed and began descent to the drop altitude. The cadets would have only five centons to depart the shuttle before the ropes were cut loose and the shuttle ascended at maximum power into space. "Somewhere down below is a Cylon Garrison. Remember your orders are to search, destroy and bring back proof to the pick-up point which you will have to find. That point is about six thousand metrons from your drop area. It's up to you to figure out which direction to go. You have twenty centares to complete your mission. Have fun." The hatches in the bottom of the chutes opened. The windows in the chute doors began to fog as the cold air from the outside met the warmth of the shuttle. Shuttle Co-pilot Riff began countdown to door opening. "Five - four - three - two - one." He flicked the switch to unlock the doors. Pictar opened the doors. Cold air gusted in through the shuttle, bit right through the uniforms. The sound was deafening. Pictar motioned for the cadets to begin the drop. He moved his arms and hands in quick, repeated motions to keep the cadets hustling through the drop chutes. Starbuck blocked any thoughts from his mind except for the rope. His life depended on the rope. For ten microns, the rope would be the love of his life. His blaster rested in its holster ready for a quick draw should that be needed. He was next to go down. Cadet Starbuck grabbed the rope and quickly slid down. He glanced around to memorize the terrain. Three other members of his team were on the ground running towards each other, looking for any sign of nearby attack. Starbuck dropped into the snow and slid to a stop. The speed of the shuttle was slightly faster than he calculated on his slide down the rope. He looked up to see the last of his team hit the snow. Starbuck darted over to Thoth. "Team is there," Starbuck pointed out. "Cover on the right." "Got it." They ran over to meet the other team members. The depth of the snow made their strides all the more difficult. Wind whipped them in the face numbing their cheeks. Starbuck hit an ice patch hidden under the snow and fell to the ground. Thoth helped him up and they met up with the rest of the team. "Take cover in the rock alcove about two hundred metrons that way," Zol shouted over the howl of the wind. Hopon, Thoth, Starbuck and Apsu all nodded and began their jog behind Zol. Hopon ended up covering their back sides. Apsu covered Zol while Starbuck and Thoth kept watch to the sides of the team. It took them two centons to reach their cover. The alcove was barely large enough to accommodate the team in a huddled position. A combination of rocks to the left of the alcove helped break some of the gusting wind. That and the massive boulders forming the alcove assisted in deadening the wind's howl so they could hear each other. Zol looked past his team members before bringing his attention back to the group. "Anyone see any signs for a starting place?" "I did on the other side of the hill in the direction the shuttle was heading. It was a big enough field," Starbuck replied. "I saw it too. But that hill's a nasty one." Thoth shook his head at the thought of climbing the hill in the current weather conditions. Hopon jumped in. "That's more than I saw." He was the first one in his team to do the drop. The shuttle was far enough away at his time for the hill to block anything on the other side. "From the direction of the shuttle, I saw a valley that we flew over before the drop," Zol said. "I didn't see anything." Apsu felt bad. He had a hard time seeing through his goggles. Zol looked over at Thoth since he saw more than Starbuck. "Did you see any signs of Raiders? Anything at all of the Cylons?" "Nah. Everything's so white." "I think we should head to the valley," Zol suggested. "Not too many were before us. I think others will head to that field you and Starbuck saw." Starbuck asked, "Why do you think the valley is it?" "Just an educated guess." "What about the pick-up? How far could the Cylons be from it?" Hopon asked. Apsu had the answer. "Far enough away to make it tough on those carrying a Centurian." "It would be more like a drag," Thoth added. The whole group laughed. Zol spoke up, "Let's vote. Who wants to go to the valley?" No one answered. "The field on the other side of the hill?" Everyone looked like they were thinking but had no idea what way was the right way. "Anywhere else?" When no one said a word, Zol became a little irritated. "Come on, guys. We can't sit here until this is over. Let's go through the woods to the valley edge and see what we can see. Sound good?" "Fine with me." Starbuck reached behind to feel his back pack. The nocs where right where he packed them and didn't seem to be broken. "Set up our nocs to highlight metal traces from the Raiders." "Yeah." "Good." "I'm with you." "Let's go then. We don't have any time to waste." Zol took the lead again as the others fell into place. They set up as they did to go to the alcove. The trek to reach the boundary of the woods was a task and a half in itself. Apsu almost twisted his ankle from a misplaced step on the rock placement hidden beneath the snow. Once Hopon pulled out his face protection to avoid frostbite, the others did the same. Somehow, the wind and cold found a way to bite through their clothing and sink into their skin, chilling all the cadets to the bone. It was also a force to walk against. Once in the woods, the trees broke the impact of the wind. The wind whipped the snow around the outer trees and never let it accumulate in any measurable quantities. The thinner tree tops swayed in whatever direction the gusts dictated. Continuous banging of branches between trees forced the weaker ones to break off and fall through the tree. Only a few reached the ground. Most became tangled in other branches. Many of the inner trees where the bite of the wind was minimal were covered with snow. Some of them where the purple or pink leaves still gripped to branches somehow kept the accumulation of snow off their limbs. With other trees, it was a wonder the branches did not break under the weight of the snow. The team had to keep as quiet as possible while moving through the woods. Hand motions were used instead of words to help avoid detection by Cylon sensors. Zol led the group through the thicker areas of trees where they would have more cover. They placed some distance between each other. In the event one was fired on, the others would have a chance to strike back before it was too late. The amount of snow varied depending on how much fell from the trees or the density of that area of woods. Eighty-two centons of stealth movement brought them out of the tree cover at the last open stretch to the top of the valley. "See anything?" Starbuck pulled his nocs out of his back pack. Adjusted to show metal, he scanned the valley below. "Nothing yet. Hopon, would you set your nocs for thermal?" "Sure thing." "Everybody spread out. Let's cover as many angles as possible," Zol said. "Hopon, follow me. Thoth, there's that sharp bend over there. Check it out, would you? Starbuck, Apsu, fan out between the rest of us. Any problems?" When they all shook their heads, Zol finished saying, "Let's do it then." Apsu pulled out his nocs and asked, "Starbuck, what should I set these at?" "Do thermal. I'll stick with metal." Starbuck walked down towards the sharp bend. The valley was quite wide with a ridge hiding another valley. There was no easy way to get over to the ridge. With any luck, the two valleys would meet up somewhere. The wind had died down enough to a tolerable level, but that didn't help reveal any traces of movement in the valley. "Hey guys," Thoth yelled out. "I think I have something. Get over here." Apsu was closest and started jogging down to Thoth. Out of the trees, two hand sized charges shot through the air and hit the ground short of Apsu. The explosion knocked him to the downward slope of the valley side. He slid down in the snow and couldn't find anything to grab to stop the descent. Starbuck pulled out his blaster and laid as flat on the ground as possible. He clipped the nocs strap onto his backpack. Thoth hid behind a rock near the bend in the valley. Zol and Hopon worked their way towards Starbuck with very little cover. Another charge was sent in Thoth's direction. "Thoth, get out of there!!!!" Starbuck began firing into the tree area where he saw the charge come out. Zol and Hopon joined in the firing and continued their run to Starbuck. Thoth hustled out to take cover on the slope of the valley. "See who fired?" Zol asked him. "No. We need to get into the trees. Someone has to cover us." Starbuck stopped firing for a centon to check the charge level on his weapon. He had over eighty-five percent left. "I'll go to Thoth and help him," Hopon said. "We'll fire cover for you." Two more charges were volleyed from the trees towards the three of them. "SCATTER!!!" Hopon ran toward Thoth who fired at the charges in the air. He hit one. It exploded in mid-air, but had no affect on the other which hit right where Starbuck was laying a few microns before. Hopon joined Thoth. "Cover them." They began shooting covering a wide range of tree area. Zol and Starbuck headed for the trees firing in front of them on the run. They still could not see the source of the charges. The attackers must have been deep enough in to have cover, but not close enough to see their targets. Unless the hits were lucky shots. Starbuck doubted that. When Zol and he ran into the tree area, they relied on hand signals. Zol went further in to locate the source from a different angle. Starbuck charged between trees searching for the enemy. He heard the muffled sound of another charge being fired. The tree tops blocked his view of the charge in the air, but Starbuck saw when it hit. The firing from Thoth and Hopon moved in different directions over the edge of the valley top. No sign of Apsu. Starbuck noticed footprints in the snow. Unless the Cylons changed their foot traction, the prints were from humans. He unclipped his nocs, changed the settings to thermal and look around for any traces of heat. They would surely stand out against the cold. Another volley of charges flew in the direction of Hopon and Thoth. Starbuck worked his way in between trees scanning a ninety degree arc in front of him He caught Zol in the corner of his eyesight and kept that position in mind. The blast of the charges thundered in the distance. There was some sort of faint laughing. Starbuck let his ears be the guide until he found a trace of heat of the ground. The dark marks in the lightly snow covered ground seemed to be some sort of mortar firing. Whomever did this, must have moved at least once if not more. He glanced at Zol's last position and saw his teammate had moved forward. Starbuck motioned for Zol to look in the area of the marks he found. Zol shrugged; he was too far to see. Thinking of the next hand signal, Starbuck pointed to his ears and silently mimicked a laugh. He pointed in the direction where he thought the laugh originated. Zol nodded and began to move to that area. It was not long until Starbuck heard it again. He waited for Zol to see him before he pointed in the direction of the laugh and gave a thumb's up. A final check with his nocs confirmed the source. He could see the heat outline behind a tree in a dense section. Starbuck and Zol moved in on the attackers and closer to each other. Zol held his hand up with three fingers. He did a 3-2-1 finger show before dropping his hand to go. "Hold it! We got you covered," Zol shouted. There were four men dressed in white uniforms draped with explosive charges. They held up their hands in surrender. "Looks like you caught us COLD," one said. "What in Hades are you doing firing on us?" Starbuck asked in a very perturbed way. "Why......we're the Cylons you're looking for," another of the four replied mockingly. He laughed at what he said joined by two others. "I doubt that," Zol replied. He side stepped over to Starbuck. The first one who spoke clicked his tongue. "Looks like you're going to have to take us in. We committed an offense firing on our own people." "You names will be fine enough. We'll also take your weapons and let you find your own way back to base." "I don't think that will be necessary." From up in the trees, two men dropped down holding a net. They landed on either side of Starbuck and Zol trapping them. The main man from the group of four knocked the blasters out of Starbuck's and Zol's hands. The others quickly and efficiently knocked Starbuck and Zol over and fastened the ends of the net to trap the two. The leader of the group spoke. "It looks like you have some problems to take care of before reporting us. It's been nice meeting you wimps. We'll have to play again sometime." "You just wait until I get out of here. Then I'll show you what playing against me is really like." Starbuck was enraged. His face burned red with fury. "Ooouuuuuuuu. I'm really scared. String'em up." Three of the men tied a rope around Starbuck's legs while the other three took care of Zol. They tossed the ropes over tree branches, hoisted the prisoners up and fastened the ropes to tree trunks. Starbuck and Zol were left dangling upside down. "Until we meet again." The leader spit into the ground and left. The other five followed in his wake laughing. "Oh Frack." "Starbuck?" "Yeah?" "Remind me to look up next time," Zol said. "Yeah. Right. Do you have your field knife handy?" Zol wiggled his hand up to his boot. "I got it." "Can you use it? Mine's in my pack." "Give me a centon." Zol struggled to pull up his uniform leg to extract his knife from inside his boot. "Better make that two centons." "Do you hear it?" Starbuck turned his head to get the piece of net out of his ear. "Hear what?" Zol kept fidgeting to pull the knife free and start cutting the net. "That's just it. They stopped firing." "Who did?" "Our team." "Of course. Those guys left." Zol slowly sawed away at the net. "Our team doesn't know it." Starbuck put his mind into quick think mode. "THOTH!!! HOPON!!!!! HELP US!!!!!" "Do you think they can hear you through the trees?" "I hope so." Starbuck yelled as loud as he could, "THOTH!!!!!!!!!" "Was that Starbuck?" Hopon looked over at Thoth. "Sure did sound like him. Let's go." Thoth climbed over the edge and started to jog to the trees. "Hey. Hold up." Hopon ran after Thoth. "How do we know it's not a trap?" "Starbuck knows not to yell and lure us to the enemy. Did you forget that rule already?" Thoth increased his jog with his blaster still in his hand. Hopon ran to keep up with Thoth. "What about Apsu?" "We'll get him. STARBUCK?!?!!?" "THOTH, we're stuck. Come get us." Starbuck tried to right himself in the net. His anger was gone, but his blood ran so red to his face in the confines. "Hurry!" "Where are you?" "About fifteen to twenty metrons in. Look for a thick pack of trees. FOLLOW my voice." Starbuck put himself in the fetal position. He took a breather before trying to push up anymore. At least his temples stopped throbbing from the blood rush. "Starbuck, I broke a binding." "Great, Zol. Keep working at it. THOTH. HOPON. WHERE ARE YOU?" "We're in the trees," Thoth answered. "Which way?" "This Way!" Starbuck shouted. "There. Look over there." Hopon pointed to a dense area of trees. "Starbuck, say some more." "What more do you want? Get in here!" Starbuck started to work his way into a more comfortable position. "Got another binding. A few more and I'll be free." Zol kept sawing away at the net but with more speed. Thoth and Hopon walked into the area where Starbuck and Zol were trapped. "Why didn't you say you were hanging in there?" Thoth asked. "Yeah. You could have told us you were a little tied UP," Hopon added with a smile. "Enough funny stuff. Would you let us down? And where's Apsu?" Thoth and Hopon walked to the trees where the ropes were anchored. Thoth took care of Starbuck while Hopon tended to Zol's predicament. "He's still down in the valley." Thoth unknotted the rope and slowly let it lower using the tree as a pulley. He had to keep his feet planted at the tree base to avoid slipping. Zol had his head and arms outside of the net. His pack acted as a counterforce to keep him from pulling himself out. Zol was stuck in that position until Hopon lowered him onto the ground. It was four centons until Starbuck and him were free from the net. They patted each other on the shoulders and backs. "Thanks, guys. Let's go get Apsu." Zol took lead position to run out of the forest. Starbuck, Hopon and Thoth followed him out. Once they were on the open, snow-covered field, they ran side by side with Zol to reach the area where Apsu was before he slid down into the valley. They looked down in search of their missing team member. Apsu paced back and forth along base of the valley hillside looking for a way out. Zol shouted, "What're you still doing down there?" Apsu looked up and shook his head. "I can't climb out. It's too slippery." "Will you go get the ropes and nets? We can probably use those," Starbuck asked Hopon and Thoth. They turned and ran back to retrieve the items. "Think we can reach him with the ropes?" "No. He's too far down. But look over there. Those couple trees may help." Starbuck saw the trees. He also saw the steep piece of hill between the trees and the top of the valley side. It was free of snow, but too smooth to climb. There was no place to anchor ropes at top. That eliminated the idea of jumping down. The only option left was to find a place to carefully descend the slope and walk over to the two trees. The odds were not promising. "Are you going to get me out of here?" "We're working on it," Zol replied. "Hang on for a micron." Starbuck snapped his fingers. "I got it." "What?" Thoth and Hopon returned with the ropes and nets, out of breath. "Look....." Starbuck started. "Look.........Where?" Hopon asked gasping for air. "Starbuck has a plan," Zol told them. "I hope," he said under his breath. "Listen guys. Instead of going straight down, let's do it at an angle. If we start over there..." Starbuck pointed to an area on a side of them opposite the two trees. "...And work our way to the trees_if we fall, we'll have sideways momentum instead of downwards. We won't slide far, can stand up and keep on going." Zol nodded, looked back and forth along the probable path. "Looks good. Who's going to go first?" They glanced among each other expectantly, waiting for a volunteer. Hopon, Thoth and Zol looked at Starbuck. He coughed to clear his throat. "Well, I guess I'll go first." The other three nodded very fast in agreement. "Thanks for the support," Starbuck said sarcastically with a false smile. He secured his nocs in his backpack and began walking to where he would start. "We'll wait right here and keep an eye on you." Starbuck looked for the least threatening area. He measured out the possible paths he saw as he walked along. Some areas stuck out as ones to avoid. It was not going to be as easy as it sounded. Starbuck began his cautious journey along the side of the valley hill. Recovery from a few stumbles was not too hard - yet. He felt more sure of himself as he moved along, but did not let his guard down. Ahead laid a vertical drop almost two metrons high. A steep section of hillside had to be crossed before going over the top of the drop or below it. The latter seemed better. Starbuck started walking more downwards than sideways watching his every step. The snow covered hill was unforgiving. Even so, to stop now was not an option. Starbuck glanced at the drop, over at the two trees and back to the drop. A few more steps placed him close to the steep slope. He had to cross it. The young cadet stared at the ground. The untouched snow made it hard to determine the best route. Patiently, Starbuck looked up and down until he found a slight depression. And another one. There was a third. His eyes adjusted to the brightness of the snow and more possibilities appeared. It was not so hard after all. Starbuck took a deep breath and started to cross the slope. He had to lean his body more to the right to keep from falling. The steps he took did not seem quite right. As he lifted his left foot, Starbuck's right foot slid out from underneath him and sent him down the steep slope. He quickly picked up speed even when the slope slide wasn't so steep. The bumps and rocks underneath the snow made their presence known. Starbuck tried turning his body. He even let his backpack drag along the ground praying it would slow him down. No go. The ground was too slippery. Another hillside drop was on Starbuck's downward slide. He never saw it coming and went airborne for six microns. He landed hard on his behind. Pain shot up through his spine. Instead of fighting to stop, Stabuck began to flow with it. It made the slide less painful. Before he knew it, Starbuck slid to a stop on the valley floor. Apsu walked over to help him up. "Have fun slip sliding away?" "I'd rather not do it again." Starbuck accepted the helping hand, stood up, and shook the snow off of himself. "Now what? We're both stuck down here." "Yeah. I figured that out. I'll think of something in a centon." Starbuck look up at his team. They were in hysterics which did not make Starbuck feel any better. "Hey Guys!!!!" They sopped laughing and tried to look serious. "I think we have a change of plans," Starbuck yelled. "Nooooooooo. You don't say. I thought everything was going to plan," Thoth remarked. He started laughing again joined by Zol and Hopon. "Hey look. This is no laughing matter. We're stuck down here." Again the three on top tried to straighten their faces. Zol gave a downward hand motion to quiet the other two. "I go another plan," Starbuck said. "And that is?" Zol asked. "Let's walk down around the bend. You scan the top. We do the bottom. We'll cover more area that way." Hopon turned and walked away. He could not stifle his laughing. The Starbuck Slide replayed in his mind. It really looked exciting and fun. Zol considered Starbuck's suggestion. His eyes light up like wildfire. "I got a better idea." "What is it?" Apsu asked. "You'll see." Zol pulled Hopon and Thoth together with himself and whispered his plan as if Apsu and Starbuck would really hear him. "Know how to Belly Whop?" "Know it? I used to be the best when I was a kid." Memories of his childhood flashed through Hopon's mind. "Yeah. I remember." "Good." Zol patted their shoulders. "Time to do it again." Thoth's eyes opened wide. "Are you serious?" "Very serious. We'll go and join'em. You in?" Hopon was jubilant. "Let's do it!" He darted to a starting place far enough back to give him a good running start in the snow. "Hey. What about the nets and ropes?" "Leave the nets. Put the ropes on your packs," Zol answered as he joined Hopon. He waited for them to wind the ropes around each others' backpacks. "Ready? Goggles in place. On three. One. Two..." There was no three. Zol charged at the valley. Hopon and Thoth ran after him. They dove onto the valley hillside and rode all the way down on their bellies. Starbuck and Apsu walked over to meet them. "That was your plan?" Apsu asked. "It was fun!! Never thought I'd shave snow off my face." Zol rapidly shook his head back and forth. "YES!! YES!! YES!! Just like old times," Hopon shouted. He jumped up and down in pure joy. Thoth wiped the snow from his face and goggles. "What a rush!" "Ah, excuse me fellas. I hate to ruin your good time." Starbuck paused. "Now we're all trapped down here. How are we going to get out?" He stared right at Zol. "Um, I uh, oh, we'll find a way. Let's go thataway." Zol pointed down towards the bend. They all started walking. Starbuck shook his head. They still had Cylons to find. Hopon started telling stories of his yahrens as Belly Whop Champ. Soon, they would have to get back to business. A Cylon Garrison had to be found. Apsu put his hand on his stomach. It had grumbled to the point of becoming rebellious if it was not given food real soon. "I think we should eat. Besides, my legs need a break." Zol shook his head. He wasn't really ready to stop. "Just a little bit longer." "You said that ten centons ago. I'm stopping." Apsu did as he said. "I'm not looking forward to eating a ration, but the rest will help." Starbuck looked around for someplace better to sit than on the snowy ground. "Okay. We'll rest, but only for a few centons." "There are some rocks over there. Let's use them." Starbuck pointed to the area he was referring to. It was not exactly hospitable. However, the place would serve its purpose. They marched over and dropped their packs. It was not until Zol sat down when he began to feel how much his legs needed a break. He was the first to pull out a ration; each cadet only had two rations on this exercise. Zol was also the first to finish eating. The others were only a few bites into theirs when Zol guzzled his drink. "If we find the Cylons..." "WHEN we find the Cylons," Zol stated matter-of-factly. Hopon corrected himself. "When we find the Cylons, how are we going to take on a whole garrison?" Hopon took another bite of his food. "The way I look at it, we have three advantages over the Cylons. We know how to strike. They don't. They're too stupid. We take cover. They don't. We're swift. They're not." "That doesn't answer my question." Hopon ripped the liquid pack open and tried to drink some. More tasteless liquid went on his chin than in his mouth. He wiped his chin with the arm of his uniform jacket and tried again with success. "Having a drinking problem?" Thoth asked. Hopon only glared in response. "We'll know more once we find them," Zol replied. "Ah, don't you think we should at least have a strategy?" Starbuck was half way finished consuming his ration. His stomach accepted it without protest. His taste buds had other opinions which Starbuck ignored. "I think we'll hit them from at least two sides." Thoth took a drink. "Maybe we can set up a diversion to catch them off guard." "They're never ON guard," Apsu mentioned. "Right." Zol rested his chin on the open palm of his right hand, elbow on his knee. "If we keep in motion, they'll have a harder time targeting us." In Starbuck's typical tendency to increase the odds to his favor, he added his piece to the group plan. "It'd be better if we can ambush some and take their weapons. They're bound to have one or two on guard duty." "Maybe we can do more hit and hides." The light burned bright in Thoth's mind. He saw himself jumping out of a tree, landing on a Cylon, and blasting its red eye to the other side of the planet. Apsu volunteered his view. "I'll hit them low." "How?" Starbuck asked. "Crawl through the snow. Make a tunnel and strike them." "Hold up. Let's not get too far into this until we see what we're up against." Zol looked around at who had to finish eating those yummy rations. "We don't know what the area will be like. That's why we have to wait until we're there to make out plan. We know our advantages. We'll get them. Now, let's get moving again." They finished their food and drink, not quite filling the empty void in their stomachs. There was plenty of light left to find the tin cans. No evidence had been found, but the five cadets continued their search. They filled their time with talk and out-of-tune songs while walking. This was not the land for sight-seeing. For the hundred millionth time, Starbuck unhooked his nocs and examined the land all around them. He lost count after the sixth or seventh time. He did a panoramic scan of the terrain. The group had come to a hilly area. It started as small mounds moving in to larger mounds. That lead to small hills, and eventually on to bigger hills. Whatever was on the other side of the numerous large hills was and would remain unknown to the five cadets for some time. They had quite a portion of ground to cover to reach the big ones. One of the larger mounds appeared odd to Starbuck. He increased the intensity settings on his nocs and zoomed in on that mound. Something metallic laid underneath the snow. Comparing it to nearby ones, this particular area had an odd shape. That was not exactly a clear way to think about it, but he knew what he saw. The natural constructs of any planet did not have a rule to conform to a specific shape. It had to be the way the metal radiated through the snow. This was not a natural mound at all. "I think we've found something. Follow me." Starbuck did not waste time clipping his nocs to his backpack. He broke into a full run to reach the mound. The hopes of finally finding something, anything, after their long centares of walking, made Starbuck run faster. He couldn't reach it fast enough. "Hey! Wait! What is it?" Thoth cried out. "He can't hear us. Just try and keep up with him," Zol said, breaking a sweat. Starbuck dropped his nocs in the snow, fell to his knees and furiously dug a hole. He pushed the snow off to either side of him. Hopon thought his partner had gone crazy. Maybe Starbuck had a hallucination. Delirium was a possibility being out in the cold for so long. The others wondered what in Hades Starbuck was doing. They ran up to the one side of him. "Starbuck, what are you doing?" Zol demanded. "Hurry. Help me dig. I think I found a clue." Starbuck moved his hands even faster. It was a wonder he found the energy to do it. "Don't stand there. Help." Zol shrugged, then nodded. "Spread out and start digging." He knelt down opposite of Starbuck and helped clear out where he was digging. "Look! Look! We got something." Starbuck stopped and straightened out his back. Hopon, Thoth and Apsu had just knelt down when Starbuck cried out. They stood back up and joined him. "What do we got?" Apsu asked. "A Cylon Raider!" "Be serious," Thoth said. Zol took a closer look. Sure enough, there was a Raider buried under the snow. "He's serious all right." "What does it mean?" Apsu asked. Starbuck answered, "Hopefully, there're Cylons close to here." "What should we do?" "Let's uncover the cockpit window and see if anything is in there." Starbuck cleared off some more snow to orientate himself to the setting of the Raider. Zol motioned his hand around the area pointing to different spots. "Let's do it. We have some machines to blast." They started to clear different areas in search of the cockpit. The one thing not a single cadet did was to keep on guard for anything in the area. The only noise was that of their breathing and removal of snow off the Raider. They were fortunate nothing happened from unfriendly forces. Hopon cleared an area off the cockpit. "I got it. Help me finish." And so they did. Starbuck peered in. The snow helped reflect some light into the cockpit. However, the area remained dark. No flashing lights, no moving red eyes. "It's empty. In fact, it's dead. It is a small cockpit with three seats. But I can't see anything of value." Apsu suggested, "Maybe we should go in." "No. We'd waste too much time," Zol said. "Not if we flew it." Hopon's eyes lit up like a nova. "Does anyone here know how to fly a Raider?" They all shook their heads. "Drop the flying idea." Starbuck mumbled to himself, "I wonder why the cockpit is so small." "Must be an earlier version," Zol said. Hopon stuck his finger in the air as if he really knew why. "It's the Econ Version." "Be serious. Cylons don't deal with cubits." Zol knelt down to peer inside and see for himself just how small the cockpit was. "Why would they need a bigger cockpit like they have now?" Thoth started pacing in the snow. One reason was to keep warm, not let his body relax. The other was annoyance at another dead end. Starbuck stated matter-of-factly, "Prisoners." "Good point," Zol said as he stood up and brushed the snow off legs. "They don't take prisoners. The tin heads shoot'em." Starbuck disagreed. "Not if they need information on enemy locations and so on." Thoth's frustration showed. He kicked some snow around in his pacing, not that it really did much besides let some anger loose. "So now what? We have a Raider with no Cylons. Have no idea in Hades where we're at. Five centares of light left, if that. We're no fracking closer now than we were when we dropped." "No. We are further." Starbuck stood and turned to look at his teammates. "This Raider shows us the Cylons are somewhere. They can't be too much further." Thoth asked with a bite in his words, "Which way do we go?" Zol replied for Starbuck. "The way we've been going. We know they're not behind us. Time to conquer those mini mounts." "How do we know this Raider is part of the Garrison?" Thoth spit out. "How do we know it isn't?" Starbuck gently asked. There were some grumbles, but no one had a better idea. Zol took the lead again and the others followed without a word. Somewhere in the hills, they'd have to find a place to consume their final ration. If they did not stop, the cadets would have to eat on the move which was more likely the case. Every centon that passed made the next centon more valuable. The five young cadets trudged their way winding through the mounds and hills. Any hope of being on the right track almost disappeared. They had been moving through the snow forsaken wasteland. And for what? To receive a lousy extra ration? It was not worth it. Anything would have been better than this, even cleaning a billet torn apart by the drunken C.O.'s. Since they found the Raider, Thoth had not spoken a word nor looked at any of his team mates. That really was not fair. Why should he blame them for going nowhere? It was actually better for him to vent off his rage than let it loose on his friends. Were they really friends? That was a very debatable question for another time, another place, a warm place. Starbuck had not given up hope. He looked for the light at the end of the tunnel. It was not part of him to think negatively. Somehow, Starbuck would succeed. He was determined to make something of himself and uphold a reputation he expected to have once this was all over. It would be better than the one he had as a runaway, misplaced orphan. "I found a cave. Time to eat." Apsu did not wait for the others to respond. The cave's darkness was very inviting to him. His eyes were so accustomed to the brightness of the snow, Apsu was blind in the cave until they slowly adjusted to the diminishing light. Starbuck's stomach grumbled so loud, the others heard it. "I say we join him." "Really?" Hopon asked in a sarcastic manner. "Five centons to eat. Then we have to keep searching." "Excuse me, Sire Zol." Thoth finally spoke. "We CHEW our rations before swallowing. Besides, we're almost out of time. Why rush? We lost." "We didn't lose, yet," Starbuck countered as he entered the cave. "This is not over until we are picked up." Zol stopped when he had trouble seeing further into the cave. "Wow. Hey Apsu! Where are you?" "In here_ere_..ere" "What do you know? An echo." Hopon's attempt to liven the situation was met with rolled eyes. Zol said, "We need our portable lights." "You don't say." "Grrrrrrrr." Hopon pulled his from his back pack as the others did the same. "Portable light on." He switched it on. "And there is light." Starbuck allowed himself to laugh. He was glad not everyone lost their fighting spirit. He hadn't. "Yes, light there is." "Apsu? How deep did you go?" Zol pointed his light all around the tunnel and connecting passages. He didn't see any trace of Apsu. "Not deep enough." "Let us catch up to you. Better yet, back track and meet us." "Oh, all right." They did meet and followed Apsu to where he was in the cave. They ended up in a large cavern. That was the only good thing about it. There were a few exists, and the ceiling was high above their heads, but that was it. Rocks everywhere. Everything the lights shone on was a deep, dark gray. Apsu sat on the cold stone floor and pulled out his rations. "It sure is creepy in here," Hopon remarked. "This is nothing. You should have seen the caves I explored when I was young." Apsu munched away at his ration. "They make this look like a hole in the ground." "What're you talking about? This IS a hole in the ground." Thoth started to relax. He accepted the situation for what it was. The cave had a big bearing on his feelings. Although cold, it seemed secure enough. At least there was not any snow to look at except the few flakes clinging to their clothes. "Aw, you don't know what fun is." Thoth finally sat down. "I don't know what your fun is. I do know what my fun is. And she's not here." "I hear ya," Hopon replied. He took a drink. The feeling of it running down to his stomach was there, but nothing for his taste buds to savor. Zol was the last to sit down and start eating. He was not sure which was better: the cold of outside or the darkness of the cavern. How did one pick the better of two evils? A weird feeling passed through him when he realized no one knew they were there. They did not know where others from Pictar's company were, but it did not matter. No one knew where they where. How odd. They were all alone. Down one of the connecting passageways, metal banging against the stone echoed through the opening and bounced off the cavern walls. "Hear that?" Starbuck dropped his ration and pulled out his blaster. The others listened while Starbuck quickly packed away his food and drink. "I hear it." Zol inhaled the last of his ration. "We got company." "It's about time!!" Thoth yelled out in cheer. "Shhhhh. Where are they coming from?" Zol asked. "I can't tell. Go back out the way we came in." Starbuck led the way. "Then what?" Hopon asked. "We only have one angle of attack." "This is why I said we had to wait on our plans," Zol said. "Try the other tunnels?" Thoth wanted to race and blast those merciless machines, but he fought to hold back the impulse and keep his voice low. Apsu was the last out of the cavern. He joined the gathering in the tunnel they first walked through. "Hey guys. I'm a cave expert. I'll find a way. If you give me five centons, I'll find a different way into the cavern." Zol shook his head. "This will be over in five centons." "Apsu, get out of here. Find another way." Starbuck jerked his head in the last known area of a connecting tunnel. Apsu said not a word, but dropped his pack. With a blaster in one hand, light in the other, he darted down the tunnel to a connecting one. His light was quickly swallowed in the darkness. "What's our plan?" Hopon started to become impatient. The metal walking noises of the Cylons grew louder. Any micron they could enter the cavern. There was no way to tell how many there were. Zol whispered, "I haven't thought of that yet." "I have." Thoth contained himself. The excitement running through his body made him ready to take on the Garrison by himself. "We hit those in front, block the others inside. They'll have to make their way out. We keep knocking'em down. If it becomes too much... HA! We bring down the ceiling on them." "And us." Starbuck thought about it. "That sounds good..." "What?!? Bring the ceiling down on us?" "No. We keep this tunnel clear and we'll make it out if need be." "Let's start shooting." Hopon ran up and stopped short of the entrance to the cavern. He laid on the cold stone, switched off his light and propped his blaster into position for rapid fire. Thoth joined him. Starbuck and Zol removed their back packs and joined the other two. "Looks like we get the high side," Starbuck whispered to Zol. "But not high enough to fly." "Amazing. You still have some humor." Starbuck patted his partner on the shoulder and was ready to fight. There were footsteps quickly approaching from the rear. Starbuck and Zol turned, ready to fire until they saw the light. Apsu ran up to them, a little short of breath. "I found another way in. Told you I would." Starbuck was ready to shout a Yee-Ha, but knew better. He looked at Zol. "Leave those two here?" Zol nodded. "Can you handle yourselves down there?" he asked Thoth and Hopon. "They'll never hit us," Thoth responded. "Let's go," Apsu urged. He took off with Starbuck and Zol in tow. Hopon looked at Thoth. "They're almost here. Let's back up some. Give them a harder angle to see us." Thoth nodded. They wiggled their way backwards along the tunnel floor keeping their eyes focused in the cavern, waiting to see where the Cylons would emerge. Apsu led Zol and Starbuck down a very windy passage. There was a small inclination that they did not really notice until they could see the cavern. This entryway was a bit wider than the one Hopon and Thoth were in, but it was a little over a metron higher and about forty degrees to the right. There was some rock sticking out form the one wall, set back from the entryway. It was not much, but it provided some initial coverage They were no sooner in place when the red eyes were seen in a passageway about 110 degrees to their left. It was not the best of firing angles, but it had its advantages of entryway cover. Thoth fired the first shot. Hopon followed with a rapid succession of shots. The first simulated Cylon to come out into the cavern sparkled and fell to the ground with a loud clank before it had a chance to fire. The next ones followed when Starbuck, Zol and Apsu opened fire. After a half dozen went down, smoke began to fill the area where they were shot. That was an irrelevant fact to the Cylons. Their vision was not retarded by the smoke. A multitude of weapon fire came from their side and hit the walls directly opposite of them. The cadets continued to fire. Rock pieces burst out of wall areas where the weapon shots hit. Sparks danced among the poorly programmed Cylons as they were destroyed by the cadets. The smoke quickly spread through the whole cavern. The five cadets relied on their memory and continued to fire. The pile of dead Cylons became a hindrance. One Cylon actually had enough programming to destroy that which blocked the way. Others pushed through the remains of downed Cylons to enter the cavern. Had these been real Cylons, they might have had enough circuits to enter the cavern from other directions. No one in the colonies understood the true Cylon programming, so they did the best they could to simulate the enemy for the training excercises like this one. The cadets did not know that. As far as they knew, this was the real thing. One shot from the Cylons hit above the entryway where Hopon and Thoth were. Rocks rained down on those two. They stopped firing long enough to protect their heads and back up some. The smoke began to extend into the passageways making breathing on the humans a little labored. "How many are there?" Starbuck yelled over the weapon fire. "I can't tell." Zol wiped his eyes and returned to firing. "Apsu, can you find another entrance?" "I'll try." "Get going." Starbuck moved so Apsu could leave. He let out a round of fire to cover Apsu's standing. As soon as Apsu was behind them, Starbuck hit the ground. Another Cylon shot hit the inside ceiling of the tunnel where Thoth and Hopon were. They had to scramble to get out of there before the ceiling collapsed on top of them. Starbuck and Zol heard what happened but could not tell where it came from until they heard Thoth's yelling echoing down the tunnels. Weapon fire came from high and to the right of Zol's and Starbuck's position. Apsu found another entrance. That was going to be the advantage they needed. Even though Thoth and Hopon were searching for the other entryway using the weapons sound as a guide, there were still three Colonial Cadets to finish off the Cylons. "Starbuck, concentrate fire in the exact same place I do." "I'll try. The smoke's not helping." "Yeah. And they can see right through it. I want to shoot above their entrance and force a cave in. There are enough out in the open for us to claim afterwards." "I hear you." "APSU!!!" Zol yelled out. "YEAH?" "CAN YOU SEE OUR FIRE?" "NO. ONLY BRIGHT SMOKE." "CONCENTRATE FIRE AT THE WALL ABOVE THEIR ENTRANCE. CAVE-IN!" "UNDERSTOOD." Apsu directed his shots into one place. He held his blaster steady to keep his fire on the mark. "Let's do it," Zol exclaimed feeling victory. The three of them all hit in the area above the Cylons entrance, but in three different spots. One Cylon shot hit to the left of the entrance where Starbuck was. He rolled close to Zol and began to direct his shots back and forth over a small area. The sound of another Cylon malfunctioning was heard. Another down. Who knew how many to go? There was a slight rumble. Over the noise of Cylon destruction and laser fire from both sides, the rumble was barely heard by the cadets. A Cylon shot went stray and hit the inside wall right beside Zol. A rock from the impact hit his temple and sent pain through his head. He dropped his weapon and grabbed his head with his hands. Starbuck couldn't help him. He had to finish firing. "Zol? Starbuck? Apsu?" Thoth shouted. "Get in here. Zol is hit." Hopon and Thoth finally found two of their partners. Hopon volunteered. "I'll get him back." "Thoth, fire where I am. We have to cause a cave in on them." "I can't see where you hitting?" "WHERE THEY CAME IN!" Thoth complied. Two centons later, it was finally over. At least there were no more shots coming from the Cylons. The smoke was too dense to see anything. A few electrical fizzles could be heard from the destroyed Cylons, but nothing else. "APSU, CEASE FIRE," Starbuck yelled. Apsu did so. Starbuck waited for another Cylon to fire. Nothing. The battle was over. "Apsu, get down here and guide us out. Zol's been hit." "On my way!" "We did it, Starbuck. We did it!!!" "Yes we did." Starbuck let all his muscles sag. It was unbelievable what occurred and it happened so fast. He was exhausted. Apsu's arrival took longer than expected thanks to the smoke. He had to feel along the walls and walk slowly to find his way to the others. Light was almost useless as it bounced off the smoke. Once he arrived, they all worked their way back towards the tunnel entrance leading to the outside world. Three backpacks still sat in the tunnel, but they could reclaim them later. Blood continued to run down Zol's face from where the rock hit his head. Hopon opened up his backpack and pulled out the wound wrap. He pressed it against Zol's head and held it firmly in place even with Zol's resistance. They had no painkillers. Those only existed at the medical building. They had to work to calm Zol down and help ease the pain any way they could think of. It took a while for the smoke to dissipate. Apsu went back in to make sure they battle was over. When satisfied, he came out to lead his comrades and claim their prize. "Think we can pull one of these heaps out?" Hopon asked. "Find one missing a limb or two," Starbuck suggested. "Lighten the load." "What a drag!" They all looked at Zol, then tackled him for the bad joke. His head still hurt, but the pain was forgotten for the micron. It was all in celebration. Pulling a smashed Cylon to the pick up point, wherever that was, would be nothing compared to what they went through. They won. Other Academy personnel would learn about these five cadets. Their names would be known. The feeling they had and would have was phenomenal. The five young men were proud of themselves. --- The end --- for now