"A Ghost From The Past, Part Two" by Michael Passmore Chapter One As Apollo and Boxey spent much needed quality time in the navigational dome reflecting upon their memories of the Serina they knew and loved, the colonel's mind began to reflect upon the Serina impostor he had been forced to kill this morning. A sadness washed over him as he suddenly felt remorse once again for what circumstances had forced him to do. He began to find himself wanting to make some amends to the woman he had killed today. But what amends could he make, he wondered. How could he possibly make any amends to the woman whose life he had deliberately, albeit reluctantly, brought to an end? His mind flashed back to the time when Starbuck was on trial for the murder of Ortega. Apollo's investigation of the crime had led him to the sergeant's real killer--Charybdis, who incidentally was one of Baltar's many accomplices in helping the Cylons annihilate the Colonies. In an admittedly desperate ploy to prove Starbuck's innocence, Apollo had used Baltar as bait to lure Charybdis out of hiding. A confrontation aboard a shuttle led to a scuffle between Apollo and Charybdis, and the traitor ended up being accidentally shot by his own blaster. Centars later, Charybdis would die from his injury, and a conscientious Apollo had arranged for the dead man to receive a traditional burial in space despite his heinous crimes against his own people. At the time, Apollo defended his decision by pointing out that every human being deserved a proper funeral service. Perhaps, he thought, he should do the same for Serina. If he could arrange for a traitor to receive a proper funeral, then he should do the same for Serina, whom he believed to have been altered to work for the Cylons. In Apollo's mind, it was the right thing to do. Boxey noticed his father's sudden melancholy mood. "What's wrong, Dad?" the boy asked. Apollo let out a deep breath. "I need to leave the GALACTICA for a few centars, Boxey," he replied. "Leave the GALACTICA?" Boxey repeated, surprised by his father's sudden announcement. There was also apprehension in the boy's voice. "I need to go back to that planet, Son," Apollo replied. "There's something I need to take care of back there." "Like what?" Boxey asked, his curiosity piqued. "I think it's only right that I give Serina a proper burial," Apollo sighed. "Why do you have to do that?" Boxey asked, stunned. "Because she's a human being," Apollo replied. "She deserves to be properly laid to rest." "But she's a traitor, Dad," Boxey replied sharply. "She's no better than Baltar." Apollo shook his head. "Baltar willingly betrayed our people, Boxey," he said. "I think that whoever this Serina was, she was nothing more than a dupe of the Cylons. My belief is that she was mentally altered by the Cylons to work against us." "I guess you're right about that, Dad," Boxey replied. Apollo smiled. "I'm glad you understand, Son," he said. "But I still don't understand why you'd want to go back and bury her," Boxey asked. Apollo sighed. "Every human being deserves a proper burial," he finally said. "It's only right." Boxey shrugged. "I still don't understand," the boy said, "but I guess you've already made up your mind." Apollo nodded. "So," Boxey asked, changing the subject, "can I hang around with the pilots in the lounge until you get back?" Apollo shook his head. "No," he said, "I'm going to have you stay with your Aunt Athena." "But I'd rather be around the Viper pilots," Boxey protested. "No offense to Aunt Athena, but she's just a girl." Apollo laughed. "That GIRL is a Viper pilot, too," he said. "Besides, SHE won't teach you how to smoke fumarellos and gamble on pyramid. But maybe if you ask her nicely, Athena will take you down to the Viper simulators." "All right, Dad," Boxey nodded, but without much enthusiasm. Apollo shook his head in humor at Boxey's mood. The boy would obviously rather have a MALE pilot take him to the simulators. That will change soon, the colonel realized. He was tempted to tease the boy about the imminent changes in his philosophy on females, but Apollo instead reached over to tousle the boy's hair. "Come on, Son," he said. "Let's get you to Athena's." With that, Apollo led his son out of the navigational dome. After dropping a reluctant Boxey off with Athena, Apollo stopped by his quarters to shower and change into a flight uniform. As he was stowing supplies into a black backpack to take on his planned trip, the door chime sounded. "Enter," he called out. The door slid open to admit Sheba, who had also changed back into a standard flight uniform. "Hi, Sheba," Apollo smiled. "Did you and Boxey have a nice time?" Sheba asked as she walked up to Apollo and gave the man a quick kiss. "We went up to the navigational dome," Apollo replied. "We spent a lot of time talking and reminiscing about Serina." Sheba nodded, then sat down in an empty chair. "I'm glad you two got to spend some time together," the woman commented. "This whole Serina incident was really hard on the both of you." Apollo shook his head. "This whole ordeal was hard on all of us," he replied. Sheba took a deep breath, then exhaled loudly as though she were working up her courage to say something important. "Apollo," she finally said with obvious nervousness, "I'd like to talk to you about what we discussed on the way to the duel this morning." Apollo incongruously felt a wave of panic overtake him. For some reason he could not quite explain, the last thing he wanted to talk about right now was his expressions of love to Sheba this morning. He glanced nervously at his wrist chronometer as though the device would magically rescue him from having to discuss this subject. "We've got twenty-five centons before we're to meet the Commander," Sheba replied as she noticed Apollo glancing at his timepiece. Her facial expression sunk as she realized the meaning of Apollo's movements. With obvious hurt feelings, she rose to her feet. "Listen," she said sadly, "if you'd rather just forget about what was said earlier, I can under--" "No!" Apollo said desperately as he cursed himself for hurting the woman's feelings. "It's just that...that..." He could not find the words to complete his thoughts, so he fell silent. "It's just WHAT?" Sheba demanded. Apollo blew out a breath. "I don't know," he sighed. "It's just that I would really prefer to discuss this later. I haven't changed my mind about what I said to you earlier. I DO love you, Sheba. I wouldn't have told you that if I didn't mean it." Sheba's demeanor quickly softened as she walked up to Apollo. "So why don't you want to talk about it?" she asked gently as she ran a finger up and down Apollo's chest while staring intently into the man's eyes. "I don't know about you, but I'm absolutely dying to make love to you right here and now and spend the next twenty-five centons telling you how much I love you." Apollo smiled at Sheba's sudden bold proposition. "And I'd really like to make love to you, too, Sheba," he replied as he gently touched her cheek. "But I won't be able to focus on lovemaking, and that wouldn't be fair to you. I want our first time together to be special. I don't want to be distracted by anything." "You know, Apollo," Sheba smiled seductively, "I may be a virgin, but I've studied enough about sex to know how to do things that'll keep your mind focused on me." She began to stroke a finger up and down along the curvature of Apollo's jaw as she stared deeply into the man's eyes. Her other hand moved down toward Apollo's belt buckle. "Wait a micron, Sheba," he said desperately as he grabbed Sheba's hands. Sheba could not help but laugh at Apollo's discomfort. "What's so funny?" Apollo demanded, feeling suddenly self-conscious and indignant. He hated being the object of someone's amusement. "YOU are," Sheba laughed. "You looked like you were just about to panic. I guess you don't care for sexually assertive women, huh?" she said with an amused shrug. Apollo shook his head. "Sheba," he sighed, "I have no problem with women taking the lead in initiating lovemaking, but I TOLD you my mind WASN'T on sex." Sheba sighed as she stepped back to sit once again in the chair. "What IS your mind on?" she asked. Apollo let out another sigh. "I'm still thinking about Serina," he finally said. "I'm still a little shaken over what happened and what I had to do today. I'm sorry, Sheba." Sheba's face darkened as she nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry, Apollo," she sighed. "I wasn't thinking..." Apollo smiled as he walked over to Sheba and knelt before her. He took her hands into his. "I guess I should tell you what's on my mind," he said. "You don't have to, Apollo," Sheba replied. Apollo shook his head. "No," he said, "I SHOULD tell you. We shouldn't keep things from each other." "All right," Sheba nodded. "Listen," Apollo said, "I need to take care of something after we've had our meeting with the Commander. I'll be leaving the GALACTICA for a few centars." "Leaving the GALACTICA?" Sheba repeated, surprised by the statement. "I'm returning to Serina Four," Apollo nodded. "Serina Four?" a confused Sheba asked. "Boxey named that star system after his mother," Apollo explained. "And I need to go back there for a few centars." "Why?" Sheba asked. "I would have thought that you'd have had enough of that planet for a while." "I'm going back to give Serina a decent burial," Apollo replied. "You're going to do WHAT?" a stunned Sheba asked. "I'm going to bury Serina," Apollo said. "It's the least I could do." "It's too dangerous," Sheba replied as she shook her head. "There could be more Cylons there. You could fly right into an ambush." "I'll take my Viper," Apollo said. "Your last two Vipers are in the shop getting fixed up from your recent encounters with the Cylons," Sheba replied. "Then I'll take another," Apollo said with a shrug. "But I'm going back to that planet. If I see that Cylons are there, I'll leave." Sheba stared intently into Apollo's face. "You're determined to do this, aren't you?" she asked. Apollo nodded. "It's the right thing to do, Sheba," he sighed. Sheba shook her head. "I don't know what it is that makes you feel compelled to give funeral services to Cylon sympathizers," she said, "but I guess you have to do what you feel is right." "Thank you for understanding," Apollo replied. Sheba shook her head again. "No, Apollo, I don't understand," she sighed. "But I don't want to argue with you." She paused for a moment before continuing. "But I DO want to go with you, though, just to make sure you don't get into trouble." Apollo shook his head. "No," he said. "I need to do this alone." "But--" Sheba began in protest. "I need to do this alone," Apollo repeated firmly, cutting her off. Sheba was about to press her argument, but decided against it. She was quickly coming to realize that when Apollo's mind was committed to doing something, it would more than likely stay committed. "All right," she finally said, verbally conceding to Apollo's wishes. Apollo smiled. "Now then," he said. "There may not be time for lovemaking now, but there's more than enough time for us to hold each other. I don't know about you, but I could sure use a hug right now." Apollo held out his arms to Sheba. Sheba smiled as she fell into embrace. "I love you, Sheba," Apollo whispered into her ear. "I love you, too, Apollo," Sheba replied softly. As he waited in his quarters for the arrival of Apollo and Sheba, Adama took time out to update his personal journal. As he was verbally dictating his latest entry, the door chime sounded. "Enter," the commander called out as he placed his dictation microphone on his desk. The door immediately responded by sliding open to admit his visitors. Instead of seeing Apollo and Sheba entering, Adama was surprised to look up and find Starbuck and Cassiopeia stepping almost hesitantly into his quarters. "Starbuck, Cassiopeia," Adama nodded formally to his visitors. "We're not intruding, are we?" Cassiopeia asked. Adama smiled as he adopted a warmer, more cordial demeanor. "No, of course not," he said. "I was just in the middle of re-recording a journal entry. Somehow I haven't been able to find the right words to describe what's happened the past two days." "I doubt if there are any right words," Starbuck sighed. "This whole ordeal suddenly seems surreal to me. It's like we've encountered a ghost from the past or something." Adama nodded. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Starbuck glanced nervously at Cassiopeia as though expecting her to say something, and Cassiopeia was glancing at Starbuck seemingly expecting the same thing from him. Adama decided to help the couple get to the point of why they had come to his quarters. "Is there something I can help the two of you with?" he asked with a cocked eyebrow. Starbuck spoke up nervously. "Uh, well..." he stammered. "I--I mean WE, Cassiopeia and me--we would like to ask a big favor of you." "You don't have to if you don't want to," Cassiopeia immediately added. Adama smiled as he began to find the situation quite humorous. He rarely observed the normally brash Starbuck appearing flustered, so he decided to milk the situation for all it was worth. He might not get the opportunity to see Starbuck squirm again for a long time. "Well, Cassiopeia...Starbuck," he said with deliberate slowness as he sat back in his chair and pyramided his fingers beneath his chin, "it is difficult to grant or deny your request until I've heard it." Starbuck let out a deep breath before responding. "Well, Commander..." he finally said. "Uh...well, yesterday I...um... I asked Cassiopeia to marry me." Adama's face brightened, but he was nevertheless incredulous at the captain's announcement. "You did what?" he asked, wanting Starbuck to repeat the announcement just in case he hadn't heard correctly. "I...uh..." Starbuck repeated hesitantly. "I...well, I...I asked Cassiopeia yesterday if she would...uh...well, you know...marry me." Adama glanced over to Cassiopeia, who nodded in affirmation of Starbuck's announcement. "AND?" Adama asked Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia could not help but smile. "I accepted," she said. "Well, I'll be damned!" Adama laughed as he slapped his thighs. He rose to his feet, then quickly rushed forward toward the couple. Starbuck started to back away apprehensively, as though he expected the commander to strike him. "That is EXCELLENT news!" he said as he grabbed Starbuck's hand and shook it vigorously. He then released a surprised Starbuck's hand, then turned to Cassiopeia and gave the stunned woman a warm embrace. "You're taking this better than I thought," Starbuck muttered. Adama let out another laugh as he released Cassiopeia and turned to face the captain. "And why would I NOT take this news well?" the commander asked, once again cocking an eyebrow. Starbuck nervously shifted his feet as he lowered his head toward the deck. "Well," the captain said, "considering how things didn't work out between me and Athena..." Adama nodded. "I see," he said in a noncommittal voice. "Do you?" Starbuck asked hopefully as he once again looked up into Adama's face. "Of course I do," Adama smiled. "But you don't have to worry about me having any harsh feelings toward you about what happened between you and my daughter. Athena told me a long time ago that she realized that there was no quote unquote 'blame' for your relationship failing. It just didn't work out, and if she can accept that, then so can I." "I'm relieved to hear that, Sir," Starbuck nodded. Adama shifted the conversation back to the true purpose of Starbuck and Cassiopeia's visit. "So," Adama asked, "what was this favor you wanted to ask of me?" "Well," Starbuck answered, "we would consider it an honor--a very GREAT honor--if you would conduct the sealing ceremony for us." Adama smiled, genuinely touched by the request. "I would be delighted," he said. "When do you want the ceremony to take place?" "We haven't set a firm date yet, Commander," Cassiopeia spoke up. "We still need to make plans for the ceremony and fill out invitations and get a sealing gown made and--" "Soon, Commander," Starbuck interrupted. "As soon as possible." Adama was about to comment, but he was interrupted by the sound of the door chime. "Enter," he called out. Apollo and Sheba stepped into the room. As greetings were exchanged among the room's occupants, Adama sat down upon his desk. "Well, Apollo, Sheba," the commander said, "I am anxious to hear what took place during the duel." Cassiopeia suddenly spoke up. "I guess I should be going," she said. "It's quite all right," Adama said. "You're more than welcome to stay." Cassiopeia shook her head. "No," she said, "I really should be getting back to the Life Center. I've got a million and one things to do down there." Adama nodded. Cassiopeia gave Starbuck a quick kiss, then left the room. As the door slid shut behind her, Adama spoke up. "Now then," he said to Apollo and Sheba. "What happened during the duel? How did you manage to beat Serina and her Marauder?" "Well," Apollo said, "I guess I should start at the beginning when Sheba and I entered the system. We found Serina's Marauder and an escorting Cylon Raider waiting for us on the other side of the system." "An escorting RAIDER?" Starbuck asked. "Yes," Apollo replied. "But why didn't she have another Marauder escorting her?" the captain asked. "Your guess is as good as mine," Apollo replied with a shrug. "I think I know why," Adama spoke up. "Why?" Sheba and Starbuck asked simultaneously. "Perhaps there AREN'T any more Marauders," the commander replied. "At least not any more on that base star out there." "How can you be so sure?" Apollo asked. "Well, I can't be totally certain," Adama shrugged, "but I'm developing a hunch that this Marauder was only a prototype the Cylons were field testing on us. If there were more Marauders in existence, then I'm certain Serina would have had a Marauder escorting her to the duel instead of a Raider." "Makes sense to me, I guess," Starbuck replied. "Anyway," Adama said, "continue with your report, Apollo." "Well," Apollo said, "after determining that the Cylons hadn't set up an ambush for us, we proceeded to a point one million maxims from the fourth planet. Then we switched communicators and had an interesting talk with Serina." "An INTERESTING talk?" Adama asked, confused. "Yes," Apollo replied. "I asked Serina why she was working with the Cylons, and the next thing I know, she and Sheba end up getting into a heated argument about my virtues. But in this argument, Serina ended up unwittingly revealing herself to be an impostor." "And just how did she do that?" Starbuck asked. "Sheba said the word 'felgercarb' in her...uh...DISCUSSION with Serina," Apollo replied. "It was more like a felis fight than a discussion," Sheba grinned. Apollo smiled as he continued. "Serina acted like she'd never heard the word 'felgercarb' before," he said, "and she stumbled over its pronunciation. The Serina I knew was quite proficient in the use of that word when she got irritated or upset about something." "So she was tripped up by felgercarb," Starbuck grinned. "Literally and figuratively," Apollo replied. "Anyway, I proceeded on to engage Serina according to the rules we had set up for the duel, and it didn't take long for me to wind up on the losing end of the fight. If Serina hadn't wanted to toy with me like a felis, I wouldn't be here now. "Anyway," Apollo continued, "Sheba finally found out what gave the Marauder its edge. The fighter was using scanners to monitor the electrical impulses of my Viper's control system and was feeding that information into a Delphian control system back on the Marauder that copied my every move." "THAT'S why Serina beat my squadron so easily!" Starbuck exclaimed. "She knew every move we were going to make!" Apollo nodded. "But how did you manage to defeat Serina?" Adama asked. "Sheba gave me the idea to jam her scanners to take away her ability to precisely match my every move. However, this left my Viper with powerless laser cannons, because the jamming equipment needed as much power as it could grab from my fighter in order to block the Marauder's scanners." "So how did you manage to shoot her down without lasers?" Adama asked. "Well," Apollo replied, "Serina couldn't match me precisely move for move, but she was nevertheless good enough to stay on my tail. Sheba came up with the idea for me to take the fight down into the atmosphere of the fourth planet. The Maruader couldn't compete with my Viper in atmospheric combat, so it didn't take me long to gain the upper hand. I just switched off my jamming equipment to free up my turbolasers, then I shot her down. Her fighter burst into flames and crashed into a forest below." "I would never have thought of taking the fight into the atmosphere," Starbuck commented. "I guess it's a good thing Sheba here talked me and Boomer into letting her go with you." "I just remembered how Silver Spar Squadron on the PEGASUS used to fight Raiders all the time in the skies above the Cylon base on Gamoray," Sheba shrugged. "We ran circles around the Raiders in atmospheric combat, and I figured the Marauder wouldn't be any different. In space they can use gravity fields to effect maneuvers just as well as what our Vipers can make, but they can't do that in the stronger gravity field of a planet, so they have to rely upon aerodynamics. A Viper is simply better suited for aerial combat." "Well," Adama said to Sheba, "you may downplay your role in this confrontation, but I for one will never forget that without your help, my son wouldn't be here with us right now. Thank you so very much, Sheba." Sheba involuntarily blushed at the commander's praise. Apollo spoke up. "We're definitely going to have to modify our remaining Vipers in order to counter the Marauder threat if Cylon does go ahead and mass produce this new fighter," he said. "The only suggestions I have are installing additional power generators in our fighters that can independently supply power to the jamming equipment so we still have functional laser cannons. Either that or we find a way to scramble our flight control system's signals so the Cylon scanners can't read them." "The latter suggestion sounds more feasible to me," Adama commented. "I'll put Doctor Wilker, our flight engineers and the CELESTRA's electronics technicians to work on the problem immediately." "Sounds good to me," Starbuck replied. "Anything else?" Adama asked. Apollo raised his hand. "Well, I do have some things I'd like to say," the colonel said. "Go ahead, Apollo," Adama nodded. "First of all," Apollo said soberly, "I really appreciate the support everyone here has given me through this crisis. I probably wasn't the warmest individual to be around lately, but I really appreciate all of you standing by me through this." "Hey," Starbuck replied with a smile, "that's what friends are for." "And family," Adama added. Apollo nodded in gratitude, then began speaking again. "Secondly, I have an announcement to make," he said. "I need to take a few centars off and return alone to the planet where Serina's Marauder crashed." "Out of the question," Adama replied firmly as he shook his head vigorously. Starbuck's response was less professional. "Are you crazy?" the captain asked, incredulous. "Why in Kobol would you want to go back there?" Adama asked. Apollo lowered his head as he took a deep breath before responding. "First of all," he finally said, "I cannot even begin to describe how horrible I feel inside for having to kill this Serina impostor. I can't bring her back, and I certainly don't wish that she had killed me instead, but I still feel incredibly guilty about having to take her life, and the only way I can make up for that is to give her a proper burial." "No," Adama said firmly. "It's too dangerous." "Besides," Starbuck added, "there's still at least one base ship out there somewhere. If the Cylons launch an attack against us, we'll need every pilot we can get to defend the Fleet." "If the Cylons were going to attack," Apollo replied, "I think they would already have done so by now." He shrugged, then added, "Besides, I'll only be gone for a few centars, and I'll keep a communicator with me so I can receive any emergency recall orders in case the Cylons DO attack." "No," Adama shook his head. "It's still too dangerous. You could run into a superior Cylon force there." "If there are Cylons there," Apollo replied, "then I'll get out of there as fast as I can." "No," Adama repeated, shaking his head adamantly. "Besides," Apollo added, "I'll get a chance to pore over the wreckage of the Marauder. Maybe I can salvage that Delphian control system so we can have a working model to test our own countermeasures against." Adama sighed. "You are obviously determined to go through with this, aren't you?" he said with a frown. "I feel obligated to, Father," Apollo replied firmly. "I think you should take me or Sheba with you," Starbuck spoke up. "Or even both of us. That way, if you run into trouble, you'll have better odds of getting out in one piece if we're there to help you out." "I appreciate the offer," Apollo replied, "but I'd feel more comfortable if I went alone." Sheba spoke up. "I've already tried to get him to take someone with him," she shrugged to Adama and Starbuck. Adama let out another sigh. "Well," he said, "if you are so determined to go, then I won't stand in your way. But I want you to stay alert at all times, and make sure you are well armed just in case you run into trouble on the surface." "I'll requisition an additional pistol and some solenite grenades from the armory," Apollo replied. "Very well," Adama nodded. "I'll see everyone when I get back," Apollo replied. With that, the colonel left the room. "I really wish he'd take someone with him," Adama sighed as the door closed behind his departing son. "I really wish he'd take someone with him." Chapter Two After reporting his failure to Imperious Leader, Lucifer could only consider himself fortunate that he was still allowed to remain functional. Ever since the Gamoray debacle, Imperious Leader had publicly expressed growing weary of the constant failures in destroying the fugitive Colonial Fleet, and for a few microns, Lucifer thought he might meet the fate of Beelzebul, the Gamoray base commander who had been melted into slag for his role in that disaster. All things considered, Imperious Leader had been uncharacteristically understanding over the setback. His only concern was that of the Marauder falling into Colonial hands. Lucifer was given orders to prevent that from happening. The IL-series Cylon walked into the Command Center and immediately addressed the centurion monitoring the base star's internal operations. "Imperious Leader has ordered the immediate dispatch of a squad of centurions in a transport to the fourth planet of the S-K Nine-five-seven Star System," he said. "Their orders are to recover the Marauder's flight data recorders, then completely destroy the craft with explosives." "Shall I dispatch fighter escort to accompany the expedition?" the centurion asked. "No," Lucifer replied. "I do not believe that will be necessary." The operations centurion immediately set to work carrying out Lucifer's commands. Apollo felt a sudden surge of paranoid apprehension as his Viper entered the Serina System. His last two visits to the system had been less than enjoyable, and part of his mind could not help but wonder if he was about to fly into a third encounter with danger. The colonel held his breath as he activated his Viper's short-range scanners. Apollo relaxed as his scanner detected no signs of spacecraft in the system. "Thank you, Lord," he sighed aloud. As Apollo steered his Viper toward Serina IV, he found his mind replaying his previous encounters with Serina at that planet. He shivered at the mental image of Giles' Viper exploding into a fireball as Serina effortlessly blasted the sergeant's fighter. He shivered again as he remembered how close he had come to losing the duel with Serina. Apollo shook his head to clear his mind of the disturbing images. "Let it go, Colonel," he said to himself. "Let it go." The remainder of the flight to Serina IV turned out to be thankfully uneventful, and Apollo guided his Viper into a close orbit as he directed his scanners to survey the planet's surface for the wreckage of Serina's crashed Marauder. "There you are," he said to himself as the scanner displayed a blip on the smallest of the planet's three southern continents. A more detailed scan of the crash site showed numerous life signs in the surrounding area, but his scanner was unable to determine if any of the life forms were human. At least one thing was certain: his scanner was not detecting any traces of Cylon activity on the planet. Apollo steered the Viper down into the atmosphere. As he broke through the thick cloud layer covering his destination, he began to visually survey the area for a place to land his fighter. The forest in which Serina's fighter crashed covered a vast area, and the only place Apollo could find to land his Viper was a small clearing almost six maxims northeast of the downed Marauder. "Hmmmm," Apollo hummed thoughtfully to himself as his scanner surveyed the dimensions of the clearing. "Not as close to the crash site as I'd like, but I suppose it'll have to do." Apollo lowered his landing gear as he directed his fighter toward the clearing. Serina was once again checking her injured and bleeding left leg when she heard the roar of spacecraft thrusters in the distance. She immediately glanced up toward the sky, but the canopy of overhead tree branches blocked her vision. She raised a hand to her ear as she tried to ascertain the type of craft by the sound of its propulsion system. There were six possibilities, but only one seemed realistic on this planet. "A Colonial Viper," she said to herself. Serina quickly drew her holstered Cylon-manufactured laser pistol and checked its settings. Maximum beam intensity, minimum beam diameter. The weapon's power cell was at full charge. As she painfully rose to her feet, Serina holstered the pistol then limped off into the forest toward the sounds of the landing Viper. Apollo set his Viper down into the clearing then shut down the fighter's flight systems. As the spacecraft's systems powered down, Apollo opened his canopy and took his first breath of the air on Serina IV. A mixture of pleasant fragrances and pungent odors wafted into his nostrils. A typical forest similar in smell to hundreds of others the man had encountered in the past on more planets than he could even begin to remember. Apollo removed his flight helmet, then stepped out of the cockpit and reached behind the seat to retrieve the backpack he had stowed there. The colonel then closed the canopy and slid off the Viper down to the ground below. As he visually surveyed the area, he came to realize that he was looking at a forest similar to the ones scientists believed to have existed in Caprica's prehistoric times. "I feel like I've time-warped back into the dawn of history," he said to himself. He immediately frowned, then quickly drew the scanner he had strapped to his right leg. The colonel let out a relieved sigh as his scanner detected no large animals similar to the immense beasts that roamed Caprica millions of yahrens ago. Knowing now that he didn't have to worry about dangerous animals devouring him whole, Apollo slung his backpack over his right shoulder, then set out into the forest for the spot where Serina's Marauder had crashed. Serina had planned to walk to the Viper's landing site, kill its pilot, then fly the Colonial fighter back to Lucifer's base star. Her injured leg would not allow that plan to be put into effect. Before she could even walk fifty metrons, the damaged limb gave out and she fell painfully into a dense patch of bushes laden with sharp thorns. Screaming in pain and frustration, she scrambled out of the thorn patch, ripping her uniform in several places as she did so. She also aggravated the bleeding in her leg. "Apollo," she growled to herself as she inspected her injured leg, "I swear I'll kill you slowly and painfully for all of this if I ever get my hands on you." Serina struggled to her feet, but her leg would not support any weight. A blinding flash of pain tore through her nervous system as she fell back to the ground. Her leg throbbed with agony, overloading the woman's brain. Consciousness fled her body in a rush, and the world around her faded to black. The heat and humidity was beginning to take its toll on Apollo as he continued walking through the dense forest toward the crash site. Large blood-sucking insects buzzed around his head, and the colonel's attempts to wave the winged pests away were met with repeated failure. "And I was worried about being eaten by a megasauros," he sighed as he swatted an insect that landed upon his exposed neck. He peeled the dead insect off his neck and inspected it. "I thought Cylon fighters were big..." He laughed humorlessly. "Just my luck and one of these things'll infect me with something that'll lay me out for sectons." As he continued to trudge through the dense vegetation, a large serpent slithered down from an overhead tree branch and hissed in the colonel's face. With a startled shout, Apollo jumped back, drew his blaster in reflex and fired, burning a hole through the creature's head. As he watched the dead serpent fall to the ground and writhe about in its death throes, the colonel shook his head. "I'm beginning to think coming here was a really BAD idea," he sighed. He glanced back toward the direction of the clearing and his parked Viper. He almost started walking back to the fighter, but stopped himself. He had to complete his task. He had to bury Serina. He took a deep breath to steady his agitated nerves, then stepped over the dead serpent and continued on his journey to the Marauder crash site. Lucifer came to realize that it would be much simpler for him if Imperious Leader had ordered the total obliteration of the crashed Marauder instead of demanding that an attempt be made at trying to recover the fighter's flight data recorders for analysis of the craft's combat performance. All the IL-series Cylon would have had to do was simply dispatch a few Raiders to bomb the crashed prototype. A simple demolition mission would have long since been accomplished by now. But no. Imperious Leader wanted the flight data recorders recovered, and so Lucifer could do nothing but pace about the base star's Command Center while he waited and waited for the slow-moving expedition team centurions to finish loading their salvage and demolition equipment onto a transport. Lucifer began to sympathize with Baltar's frequently expressed desire to take a boswhip to centurions in order to speed them up a little. The IL-series Cylon could even develop a mental image of himself standing in the Flight Bay snapping a boswhip at centurions, and found the image to be quite humorous. The only problem with using a boswhip, however, was the fact that centurions did not feel pain, so no amount of whipping would provide any motivation for the centurions to move faster. Perhaps, Lucifer thought, Cylon should be striving to create faster centurions in addition to faster combat spacecraft. The IL-series Cylon made a mental note to make the creation of better centurions his first official act if he was ever nominated to become Imperious Leader. The centurion monitoring internal operations looked up at Lucifer and spoke. "Expedition team leader reports that his squad has finished preparing the transport for launch," the centurion reported. "It is about time," Lucifer replied sharply. "Order the expedition to depart immediately." "By your command," the centurion responded. As Serina slowly regained consciousness, the sound of nearby footsteps trudging through the thick forest undergrowth registered in her ears. At first her groggy mind dismissed the sounds, but as those sounds came closer, the woman quickly regained her senses. It had to be the pilot of the Colonial Viper she had heard landing earlier. The warrior obviously had to be en route to the crashed Marauder. Slowly and painfully, Serina forced herself to crawl behind a nearby bush in order to conceal her presence from the advancing Colonial. The woman found herself having to bite her lip in order to keep from crying out in pain as her injured leg throbbed with her every move. Long microns passed before she reached her objective. Serina quietly drew her pistol as she carefully peered around the edge of the bush for a look at the approaching warrior. Her breath caught in her throat as, with a start, she instantly recognized the warrior. The startled feeling quickly gave way to elation. "Apollo," she smiled to herself. Serina could not believe her sudden good fortune. Fate was once again giving her the opportunity to obtain her vengeance against the man who had tormented and abused her for so long. This time, she would not ruin her chance for revenge by playing games with Apollo. As she raised her pistol and took careful aim at the Apollo's chest, Serina decided that she would waste no more time in killing the man. Toying with Apollo in the duel had gotten her in this current predicament. She would not make the same mistake twice. She began to squeeze the pistol's trigger, but stopped herself. No, she thought to herself. Killing him this way was not right. Sniping him was cowardly, she felt, and to do so would only lower herself to Apollo's level. She would not do that. She would still kill Apollo, but she would do it in a way that did not affront her sense of dignity and honor. She would confront Apollo again, THEN she would kill him. Serina slid back behind the concealing bush as she allowed Apollo to continue on toward the crashed Marauder unmolested. Once Apollo had passed, Serina silently, albeit painfully rose to her feet. She quickly and quietly began limping off toward the crash site, where she would finally confront Apollo face-to-face and then mercilessly gun him down. "There you are," a relieved Apollo said to himself as he finally spotted the crashed Marauder through the thick forest vegetation. A sudden eerie feeling washed over him as he stared at the downed Cylon fighter. It was the same eerie feeling he had experienced when entering one of the pyramid tombs on Kobol. Apollo hesitated before advancing upon the Marauder wreckage. He tried to steel his mind for the sight he would encounter when he entered the fighter looking for Serina's remains. The colonel was not sure he could emotionally handle the sight of Serina's charred body. Although he had encountered many humans burned beyond recognition during his career as a warrior, it was still a sight which he had never become accustomed to seeing. Apollo took a deep breath to steady himself for what he was about to encounter. "Let's get this over with," he sighed to himself. He walked slowly toward the Marauder. As Serina tried to step over the trunk of an old fallen tree, she slipped on its rotted surface and fell, landing painfully on her injured leg. The agony was unbearable, but the woman possessed enough presence of mind not to cry out. Instead, she bit her lip and repeatedly pounded her fist into the ground until the pain subsided to more tolerable levels. She considered herself fortunate that she had not lost consciousness as she did centons earlier. She told herself that she could pass out after she killed Apollo and used his Viper to return to the base star. Until then, she had to stay alert so that she could accomplish her goals. Serina glanced around the area, and her eyes fell upon a thick, metron-long fragment of a tree branch lying nearby. As she crawled over to the stick, she hoped that it would be strong enough to support her weight so that she could alleviate the burden on her injured leg when she walked. Fortunately, the stick appeared to be strong enough, so Serina used it as a brace to help herself get back on her feet. Once back on her feet, Serina took several deep breaths as she rode out the residual pain in her leg, then forced herself onward to confront Apollo. As he reached the crashed Marauder, Apollo could not help but stop and stare at the wrecked and burned out machine. From somewhere in the back of his mind came a fragment of an old story or poem about vaunted greatness and might that failed to endure as intended. Apollo could imagine that the Cylon Empire had placed great expectations on this Maruader, and they probably assumed that their new fighter would lead them to conquer all who opposed the Empire. Now their Marauder lay twisted and burned on the surface of this young planet. The sight of the wrecked spacecraft gave the colonel renewed faith that humanity would indeed endure despite the best efforts of the Cylons to exterminate every last man, woman and child in the galaxy. Apollo placed his backpack on the ground and opened it. He removed a large, thick white blanket, then closed the pack. Carrying the folded blanket in his left hand, he then proceeded to climb up onto the Marauder's crumpled port side. He carefully walked over toward the spot where his Viper's lasers had blasted out a large hole in the top of the craft. As he peered inside the hole, he could see a short passageway that led to the dark cockpit. From his position, he could see the charred back of the pilot's seat, but he could not determine if Serina's body was still in the seat. Apollo took a deep breath to steady himself enough to cope with the sight he was about to find inside the Marauder, then started to step into the opening. The sound of a twig breaking from behind startled Apollo. Before he could even react, he heard a familiar feminine voice call out from behind. "DON'T move," Serina commanded. Apollo cursed himself as he froze. He had foolishly allowed himself to be caught off guard by assuming that the woman had been killed during the crash. He took a deep breath, then slowly started to turn around to face Serina. "Don't move or I'll kill you where you stand!" Serina shouted urgently as she aimed her pistol at Apollo's chest. Apollo ignored her command, saying "You're going to do that anyway, aren't you?" As he turned around to face Serina, he was startled by his first glimpse of the woman who had caused him and the GALACTICA crew so much grief over the past two days. His mouth opened in awe. Except for her disheveled appearance, the woman appeared to be an exact duplicate of the Serina he had known four yahrens ago. "Holy FRACK," he gasped. "I don't believe it..." "What?" Serina asked, confused. She kept the pistol pointed at Apollo. "I JUST don't believe it," Apollo said, absolutely dumbstruck. He shook his head in astonishment. "Believe WHAT?" Serina demanded. "That it's really me?" "Well..." Apollo replied with a shrug. "More like who you--" "Well, believe it," Serina snarled, cutting him off. "It really IS me, and I'm REALLY going to kill you now." She stepped forward as she dropped her walking stick to assume a two-handed grip on her pistol. "Goodbye, Apollo," she said with a malevolent smile. Apollo regained his senses and dove to his left just a split-micron before Serina fired a laser burst from her pistol that narrowly missed the man. As he scrambled behind the protection of the Marauder's port thruster cowling, Apollo tossed the blanket aside to free his left hand, then drew his blaster. Apollo fired three wild shots. Serina tried to dive for cover, but slipped and fell. She screamed in pain as she hit the ground, and her pistol was knocked out of her hand by the force of her impact. As Serina crawled toward her dropped weapon, Apollo took careful aim and fired into the ground between the woman and her fallen weapon. Serina instinctively recoiled from the beam impacting into the soil before her. As she tried to reach for the weapon again, Apollo fired again, this time just narrowly missing the woman's pistol. "Don't do it, Serina!" Apollo shouted in warning. "Don't make me have to hurt you." Serina turned toward Apollo with a look of unmistakable hatred on her face. "You never needed an excuse before!" she hissed. Apollo kept his blaster trained on Serina as he climbed down from the wrecked Marauder. Serina remained motionless as she glared at the colonel. Apollo walked over to Serina's weapon and picked it up. He examined it for a few microns, then tossed the pistol over to his backpack. As he kept his own weapon aimed at Serina, he looked the woman over. He quickly noticed her injured leg. "You're hurt," he said to her. "My, but you're very perceptive," Serina hissed. Apollo sighed as he returned his blaster to its holster. "Let me take a look at your leg," he said gently as he reached out to her. Serina recoiled. "DON'T touch me!" she screamed defiantly. Apollo blew out a frustrated breath. "You've obviously lost a lot of blood, Serina," he said as he pointed toward her leg. "If I don't stop the bleeding soon, you could die." "Like that would REALLY matter to you," Serina growled with teeth clenched in hatred. Apollo blew out another breath, then sat down upon a fallen tree trunk as he stared in dismay at Serina. "Look," he finally said in a weary voice, "I'm going to help you whether you like it or not." He slowly drew his blaster, then set the weapon to its lowest intensity. "You can either WILLINGLY let me help you, or I'll stun you right now and THEN I'll work on your leg." He aimed the blaster at Serina. "Now what's it going to be?" he asked soberly as his finger tensed on the trigger. As the Cylon transport entered the outer boundary of the S-K 957 Star System, the expedition team's command centurion was summoned into the spacecraft's cockpit. "We have now entered the S-K 957 Star System," the astrogation centurion announced. "Scanners indicate no other spacecraft presently in the system," the scanning centurion added. "Decelerate to standard intrasystem velocity," the commander said to the astrogation centurion. "Proceed toward the fourth planet." "By your command," the astrogation centurion responded as he slowed the transport, then steered the craft toward the system's fourth planet. The commander turned toward the centurion monitoring the transport's communications system. "Notify Lucifer that we have entered the system and are proceeding to our destination," he ordered. "By your command," the communications centurion replied. The commander turned and left the cockpit. Apollo returned his blaster to its holster and shook his head sadly as he stared at Serina lying unconscious on the ground. "You are one STUBBORN woman," he sighed. He plucked his communicator from his pistol belt and spoke into the device. "GALACTICA, this is Colonel Apollo," he said. "Request a shuttle and a med-tech. I've found Serina alive, but she's injured." As Apollo's requests were sent to his Viper's communicator to be relayed to the GALACTICA, the colonel climbed back up onto the Marauder to retrieve his blanket, then returned to kneel beside Serina. He gently rolled the unconscious woman onto her back, then began treating her injured leg. As Adama walked onto the GALACTICA's Bridge, he was greeted by an agitated Colonel Tigh. "I was just getting ready to call you," the colonel said. "Why?" Adama asked. "Is something wrong?' "We've just received a message from Colonel Apollo," Tigh replied. "He's found Serina alive, but injured." "Serina's ALIVE?" Adama gasped, stunned by the news. "She survived the crash?" "Yes, Sir," Tigh nodded. "Apollo's requested we send a shuttle and a med tech down to the planet." Adama blew out a breath. "Sir," Tigh spoke up quietly so as not to be overheard by the rest of the crew, "I REALLY don't think it's a good idea for us to bring Serina back to the GALACTICA. She's killed sixteen of our pilots, and I don't think the crew'll give her a very warm reception." "It's not like bringing Baltar back aboard," Adama replied. "But it's the next best thing," Tigh commented. "You know and I know that this woman is an impostor the Cylons more than likely altered to work against us, but try telling that to the friends and families of the sixteen pilots that were killed yesterday." "So what do you suggest, Colonel?" Adama asked. "Leave her marooned on that planet so the Cylons can find her again and put her back to work attacking our ships? Or lock her up in the GALACTICA's Brig or over on the Prison Barge?" Tigh inhaled thoughtfully, then blew out the breath. "It wouldn't be right to imprison her since I don't think she's totally responsible for her actions," the colonel sighed. "But we can't just let her roam around free, either, if her loyalty's still to Cylon." Adama nodded. "You've got a point, Colonel," the commander said. "Besides, I can just imagine how hard it'll be on the people who were close to the real Serina to see this impostor. Even if she didn't look like the real Serina, it would still be uncomfortable." "So what do we do, then?" Tigh asked. Adama took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as he thought about his options. "We'll go ahead and bring her aboard," the commander finally said. "We'll treat her injuries, interrogate her about her knowledge of the Cylon forces pursuing us, and then we'll confine her to quarters for her safety as well as our own. I want two of the best men in our security division to start guarding her the MICRON she sets foot on the GALACTICA." "And after that?" Tigh asked. Adama shrugged. "After that," he said, "we'll just take things as they come up. Go ahead and dispatch the shuttle and the med tech." "Yes, Sir," Tigh nodded as he set about carrying out Adama's orders. Chapter Three As Cassiopeia's scheduled break period neared, she summoned Sheba to meet with her in the Life Center's staff lounge. Centons later, Sheba entered the Life Center lounge and found Cassiopeia sitting alone at a table sipping from a mug. "What's that you're drinking?" Sheba asked, nodding toward the mug as she sat down at the table across from Cassiopeia. "Johala tea," Cassiopeia replied. Sheba smiled wistfully. "I remember how my mother and I used to sit out on the patio occasionally and drink that while watching the suns set," she said softly. "I haven't had johala tea since the PEGASUS set out for Molecay." "Would you like a mug?" Cassiopeia asked. "Doctor Shelmar brought some seeds aboard the GALACTICA after the Holocaust, and she grows the plants in her quarters. She manages to get enough leaves from the plants to make a pot of tea about every two sectons." "Is there enough?" Sheba asked hopefully. "Of course," Cassiopeia smiled. "I'll be right back with some for you." "Thank you," Sheba nodded as she watched Cassiopeia rise from the table and walk over to a small storage closet. She stepped inside the compartment, then returned microns later with a cup of tea for Sheba. "Here you are, Sheba," Cassiopeia smiled as she handed a white mug to the woman. "One hot mug of johala tea. Do you need any sweetener for it?" "Do you have any here?" Sheba asked hopefully. Cassiopeia smiled again and nodded as she pulled a small pouch of necta and a stirring rod from a pocket on her uniform. Sheba's face brightened as she took the necta pouch, opened it and squeezed the sweet, viscous amber fluid into her tea. After stirring the tea, she took a tentative sip of the hot liquid. "Oh, my LORDS," she sighed happily. "This REALLY brings back memories." Cassiopeia smiled as she returned to her seat. "I can't thank you enough for this, Cassiopeia," Sheba smiled after taking another sip of tea. "I'm so glad you invited me down here. And give my compliments to Doctor Shelmar on her tea when you see her." "I will," Cassiopeia nodded. "So," Sheba said, changing the subject, "why did you invite me down here? Nothing's wrong, is it?" "Oh, no," Cassiopeia replied with a smile as she shook her head. "It's just that I...well, I need a favor from you. I'd like for you to do something special for me." "Something special?" Sheba asked, perplexed. "What I'm about to tell you is a top, top secret for right now," Cassiopeia said softly, almost conspiratorially. Sheba's eyes widened as she stared at Cassiopeia. "You and Starbuck?" she asked excitedly. Cassiopiea smiled and nodded her head. "We're getting sealed," she said. "Starbuck asked me to marry him yesterday after he came back from his squadron's confrontation with Serina." "SEALED?" Sheba asked as she shook her head incredulously. "I THOUGHT you were going to tell me that you and Starbuck were having a baby." She laughed. "He ASKED you to marry him?" Cassiopeia nodded. "I would NEVER have expected this," Sheba smiled, then took a sip of tea. "That battle yesterday really scared the pogees out of him," Cassiopeia replied soberly. "He's determined to make some changes in his life, starting with his relationship with me." "How many people know about your engagement?" Sheba asked. "Right now," Cassiopeia replied, "we've told you, Apollo, Adama, Boomer and Doctor Salik and Shelmar. We'll make a general announcement after we've made all the arrangements for the ceremony. "Which brings me to you," Cassiopeia continued. "Sheba, we've become quite close over the past few yahrens, and I would really feel honored if you would be my maid of honor at the ceremony." Sheba's eyes widened in shock. "You want ME to be your maid of honor?" she asked, stunned by the offer. Cassiopeia nodded as she took another sip of tea. "It would mean a great deal to me," she said earnestly. Sheba took a sip of tea before replying. "I'll be your maid of honor on two conditions," she said. "Which are?" Cassiopiea asked with an arched eyebrow. "First of all," Sheba smiled, "you have to invite me down here for more of this delicious tea whenever Doctor Shelmar makes a pot, and secondly, you'll have to be my matron of honor whenever Apollo and I get sealed." Cassiopeia nodded and smiled in return. "It's a deal then," she said. As the two women shook hands, an agitated Starbuck and Boomer rushed into the lounge. "Cass," Starbuck said urgently, "we need you to grab a med kit and come with us." "What's wrong?" Cassiopeia and Sheba asked simultaneously. "The GALACTICA just received a message from Apollo," Starbuck replied. Sheba immediately rose to her feet. "He's not hurt is he?" she asked apprehensively. "No..." Starbuck replied hesitantly. "Then what is it?" Sheba demanded. Starbuck glanced toward Boomer. "Apollo found Serina alive," Boomer said. "Alive but in need of medical attention." Cassiopeia rose to her feet, saying "I'll get my equipment," as she hastily left the lounge. Sheba shook her head incredulously. "How could she have survived?" she demanded. "Apollo told me her ship crashed into a forest and burst into flames." "Your guess is as good as mine," Starbuck shrugged. "All I know is that Colonel Tigh told me and Boomer to grab a med tech and take a shuttle to meet Apollo. Then we're supposed to bring Serina back to the GALACTICA." "'Bring Serina back to the GALACTICA?'" Sheba repeated incredulously. "That's what we were told," Boomer nodded. "I'm coming with you guys," Sheba said. "But Tigh just told me and Boomer to--" Starbuck began. "And I'm officially on twenty-four centar furlon," Sheba cut him off. "So I can do pretty much as I please for the next two days." She smiled mischievously before continuing. "And it would PLEASE me to come with you on this rescue mission." She grabbed her mug, quickly drank the rest of her tea, then set the empty mug back down on the table. "Let's get going," she said as she walked out of the lounge. Boomer turned to Starbuck. "Sheba and Serina in the same shuttle together," he laughed humorlessly as he shook his head. "We'd better take some parkas with us. I've got a feeling it's going to get PRETTY cold in that shuttle." "Either that or we'll see the felis fight of the millenium," Starbuck said with a shrug. "I don't know about YOU, Boomer, but MY cubits are DEFINITELY on Sheba." The two warriors laughed as they left the lounge. Serina slowly regained consciousness only to find herself sitting with her back against a tree and her wrists bound securely behind her back. Through her blurred vision, she could see that her left calf was snugly wrapped in some kind of white cloth. Her ankles and knees were also tightly bound together by strips of white cloth. A white blanket covered her torso. For several long microns, Serina's groggy mind was incapable of understanding how she could have ended up in this position. She tried to replay her last conscious thoughts, but she could not make out any details clearly. She could only make out the ghostly image of a man standing over her and firing a pistol at her, but everything before and after that moment was a blur of confusing imagery. "I see you're awake," a masculine voice said to her. Serina was not certain, but the voice seemed vaguely familiar, and seemed to be coming from her right. She slowly turned her head toward the right and could make out the blurred image of what appeared to be a man dressed in brown and tan garments kneeling beside her. "Wha..." she tried to speak, but her ability to form words seemed to be hampered. "Are you thirsty?" the man asked with concern evident in his voice. "I have some water in a canteen." Serina shook her head in an unsuccessful attempt to clear the fog that seemed to be choking her brain. "What..." she tried to speak again. "Here's some water," the man said gently as he slid his arm around her shoulders. She could feel a plastic tube being placed against her lips. Something cool and wet splashed against her lips, and as she tried to speak, a small amount of liquid came rushing into her mouth. Not expecting the liquid intrusion, Serina involuntarily gagged. Her chest spasmed painfully as her lungs coughed uncontrollably to expel the liquid from her trachea. "Easy, Serina, easy," the man said gently as he stroked her back. Serina's coughing eventually subsided, and as her tortured lungs gasped for air, she looked up into the man's face. In a flash, she completely regained her senses as her brain finally recognized the man. Fear and anger exploded throughout her body. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed as she desperately tried to scramble away from Apollo, but with her bound limbs, she could not move. "SERINA," Apollo said urgently as he placed his canteen to the ground. "I SAID GET AWAY FROM ME!" Serina screamed again. Apollo grabbed her firmly by her shoulders. "Stop it, Serina," he snapped. "I'm NOT going to hurt you." Serina tried once again to move away from Apollo, but did not succeed in moving her bound body very far. Her tied wrists scraped roughly against a sharp rock partially submerged into the ground. Apollo grabbed Serina's shoulders again in a firm grip. "Stop this, Serina," he said in a gentler tone. "Your leg can't take this kind of movement just yet. You'll hurt yourself." "Like you'd REALLY care," Serina growled. Unmistakable anger and frustration flashed across Apollo's face. "I DO care, damn it!" he snapped. "I don't know WHAT the Cylons did to you to make you--" "The Cylons were NOTHING but kind to me!" Serina replied indignantly, cutting him off. "Which is MORE than I can EVER say about YOU!" "KIND?" Apollo asked with a humorless laugh. "The Cylons were just using you!" "No!" Serina replied with firm conviction. "THEY saved my life!" "Saved your life, my astrum!" Apollo replied sharply. "You're either a clone or you're a human prisoner who's been physically and mentally altered to impersonate the Serina I knew." "What are you talking about?" Serina demanded, confused. "I'm talking about how your whole damned life is nothing but a Cylon charade!" Apollo snapped. "MY Serina was shot in the back by a Cylon on Kobol and died centars later on the GALACTICA." "You're lying!" Serina replied angrily as she shook her head. "YOU'RE the one who shot me and left me for dead on Kobol! The Cylons found me and saved my life!" Her mind began to replay the horrible image of Apollo shooting her on Kobol. She shook her head violently in a vain attempt to stop the image. "Is THAT the felgercarb they fed you?" Apollo demanded. "Just go away and leave me alone," Serina snapped as she lowered her head. "Serina--" Apollo began. "Go AWAY!" Serina cut him off as she glared at the man. "Just go away and LEAVE ME ALONE!" Apollo blew out an exasperated breath as he rose to his feet. "All right," he said with an angry sigh of resignation. "All right. Whatever you say, Serina. I've got work to do. Maybe when we get you back to the GALACTICA, the doctors can overcome your mental programming." Before Serina could reply, Apollo quickly rose to his feet and walked away. Serina watched Apollo climb up onto the Marauder and disappear into the fighter through the hole in the top of the craft. Once Apollo was out of sight, Serina shook off the disturbing images of the man's past abuse that flashed through her mind, then quickly set to work trying to cut the binds on her wrists with the sharp rock she had discovered. "We have achieved orbit around the fourth planet," the transport's astrogation centurion reported to the command centurion. "Scanners have located the wreckage of the Marauder," the scanning centurion reported. "We have also detected one Colonial Viper parked in a clearing located five point seven-six maxims from the crash site." "A Colonial Viper?" the command centurion asked. "Affirmative," the scanning centurion replied. "Scan the area for humanoids," the command centurion ordered. "By your command," the scanning centurion replied as he reconfigured the scanner. Microns later, the scanner completed its survey. "Scanners indicate two humanoids at the Maruader crash site," the scanning centurion reported. "One is a male, the other a female, presumably Serina. The Viper appears to be abandoned." "Land the transport in the clearing," the commander ordered the astrogation centurion. "By your command," the astrogation centurion replied as he steered the transport toward the planet's surface. The command centurion turned toward the communications centurion. "Notify Lucifer that we have detected one Colonial Viper on the planet," he said. "Inform him that we will attempt to capture its pilot and bring him back for interrogation. In addition, inform him that Serina has apparently survived the Marauder's crash, and I request instructions on how to deal with her." Apollo could not keep his mind focused on his work. As he tried to search through the burned out wreckage of the Marauder for the components to the Delphian control system, he found his attention straying toward thoughts of Serina. While he pitied the misguided woman, he was nevertheless angry with her for her stubborn loyalty to the Cylons. How could the Cylons have so thoroughly programmed the woman to hate him so much, he wondered. Perhaps, he thought, the way to overcome her misplaced loyalty was by proving to the woman that she was an impostor. The distant sound of spacecraft thrusters registered in his ears. With a frown, he realized that the noise did not match that of any Colonial spacecraft. "Cylons," he sighed to himself. As Apollo quickly left the Marauder, he plucked his communicator from his belt. "GALACTICA," he said urgently into the device, "have the shuttle abort. Cylons are coming. Abort shuttle mission! I repeat, ABORT!" After using the sharp stone to cut through the binds on her wrist, Serina immediately set to work trying to dig the object out of the ground. She had just about succeeded when she heard the sound of a Cylon transport approaching. Elated at the thought of her friends coming to rescue her, Serina quickened her effort to dislodge the stone. Her efforts were quickly rewarded. As she watched a worried Apollo scramble out of the crashed Marauder, Serina gripped the loose stone tightly in her right hand. "Your friends are coming," Apollo growled as he stepped down from the Marauder. "So I can hear," Serina smiled. "Must be a rescue party." Serina forced herself to maintain an air of nonchalance as Apollo rushed over to her and began untying the cloth binds on her ankles. "We've got to get out of here," he said urgently as he finished untying the cloth strips binding her ankles. Serina took a deep breath, leaned forward, then swung the rock at Apollo's head with all the strength she could muster. Before a surprised Apollo could even react, Serina slammed the rock into the left side of the man's head. She laughed as Apollo gave her an astonished look just before his eyes rolled back and he fell sideways to the ground. Serina threw the blanket aside, then scrambled over to the unconscious Apollo's left side and quickly withdrew his holstered blaster. She struggled to her feet, then aimed the blaster at the center of Apollo's chest. "Goodbye, Apollo," she smiled grimly, then fired the weapon. Apollo's body stiffened momentarily as the beam struck his chest. "I originally wanted to give you a slower and more theatrical death, but I just don't have time to fool around with you any more." Serina turned away and began limping quickly through the forest toward the sound of the Cylon transport. After slowly circling the clearing four times while meticulously scanning the area for traces of a Colonial trap, the transport's flight crew finally set the spacecraft down into the clearing with flawless precision. As the transport's flight systems were shut down, a massive ramp at the back of the spacecraft slowly yawned open with a shrill whine of hydraulics. Once the ramp had finally settled to the ground below, the command centurion marched down the ramp followed by fifty centurions in five columns. The command centurion stopped at the edge of the ramp, turned around and gestured toward the two columns of centurions on the left side of the ramp. "Guard the Colonial Viper," he ordered the twenty centurions. "Should the pilot return, capture him for interrogation." As the twenty centurions marched off to assume guard positions around the Viper, the command centurion turned to the other thirty centurions on the ramp. "Follow me," he said, then turned and led the thirty centurions off into the forest toward the Marauder crash site. As Starbuck and Boomer taxied the shuttle to its launch point at the aft section of Flight Bay Alpha, Colonel Tigh's voice sounded over the craft's communicator. "Shuttle Lambda," the executive officer said, "you are to abort your mission. Repeat, you are to abort your mission." "Why?" Starbuck, Boomer and Sheba asked simultaneously. "We've just received a message from Apollo," came the colonel's reply. "A Cylon force of unknown strength is landing on the planet." "So, assign us a Viper escort," Boomer said. "We'll rescue Apollo AND take out the Cylons." "That's right," Sheba said. "The commander doesn't want to risk any warriors on a rescue mission for one man," the colonel sighed. "Oh, for Sagan's sake, Colonel," Starbuck growled. "Commander's orders," Tigh replied. "I'm sorry, but Apollo's on his own." "And if I, um, just ACCIDENTALLY hit the launch button and, uh, you know, ACCIDENTALLY fly over to that planet and decide that while we're there, we may as well help Apollo out?" Starbuck asked with a forced air of innocence. Instead of a response from Tigh, Starbuck received one from Adama. "Then you'll spend the next yahren scrubbing turboflushes in between flying EXTREMELY long range patrols," the commander said menacingly. "But we just can't leave Apollo down there to fend for himself," Sheba complained. "Until we know exactly how large this Cylon force is," Adama explained, "Apollo is on his own. If the Cylons are mounting a major invasion of that star system, we don't have the firepower to stop them AND protect a fleet of civilians." "But--" Boomer began to protest. "No," Adama replied firmly, cutting the captain off. "Now park that shuttle. That's an order." As soon as Adama left the line, a frustrated and angry Starbuck pounded his fist against the wall of the cockpit. "FRACK!" the captain spat. Sheba blew out an angry breath as she turned and headed for the shuttle exit. "Where are you going?" Boomer asked. "To go jump Adama's astrum," Sheba said coldly without turning around. "If it worked for Tigh back at the Hatari System, maybe it'll work for me now." The woman stormed out of the shuttle, leaving Starbuck and Boomer to return the craft to its place in the flight line. Serina's leg throbbed painfully as she limped through the forest. The injured limb threatened to give out on her, but she forced herself to continue onward despite the agony. She had to get back to her Cylon friends, she told herself. Then she could collapse. Until then, she would keep moving forward even if she had to crawl to her destination. At least she had finally managed to kill Apollo, she told herself. That had more than compensated for all the agony she had suffered over the past several centars. How ironic it was, she felt, that Apollo had been killed by his own blaster--probably the very same one he had used when he tried to murder her four yahrens ago. Serina glanced down at Apollo's blaster she held tightly in her right hand. She smiled as she thought about framing the pistol and mounting it upon the wall in her quarters as a trophy of her final vengeance against the man who had so maliciously persecuted her for so long. If she would have had time, and if she would have possessed an edged weapon, she would have severed his head and brought it with her to mount as a trophy as well. Centurions carried swords, she remembered. Maybe when she met up with the Cylon landing party, she'd send a centurion back to Apollo's body and bring back the dead man's head. Another painful throb pulsed outward from Serina's injured leg. As she stopped to rub the wound, she heard a very familiar and most welcome noise cutting through the ceaseless chorus of animal calls and cries in the forest. The sound was emanating from centurion power generators. Serina stopped rubbing her injured leg and brought her hand up to her ear in an effort to determine the direction from which the sound of the centurions was coming. The sound appeared to be coming from somewhere ahead and to her right. After taking a deep breath to steady herself, Serina forced herself to begin limping toward the sound of the centurions. After a centon of trudging painfully through the dense vegetation, Serina came upon the centurions. There were three columns of silver-armored centurions led by a gold-armored command centurion. As Serina's leg threatened to finally give out from her exertions, she leaned against a massive tree and called out to the centurions marching through the woods. "Over here!" she called out as she waved her hands in an effort to make herself appear more visible. "I'm over here, centurions!" In unison, the centurions turned toward Serina. Serina could not help but smile. "I am SO glad to see you!" she laughed. As the centurions began marching toward Serina, they levelled their laser rifles at her. Serina's smile rapidly dissolved as she immediately understood why the centurions had pointed their rifles at her. "No..." she gasped in shock. "Fire," she heard the command centurion order. Serina wasted no time sliding back behind the protection of the tree. A volley of laser fire burned through the air around her. Several of the beams slammed into the tree she hid behind and exploded with a cloud of smoke, fire and splinters. STOP!" she cried out to the centurions. "It's me, Serina!" Her words were rewarded with another volley of laser fire. "Centurions, stop!" She yelled desperately. "I'm on your side!" Another laser volley tore into the tree. "Why are you firing at me?" she demanded. "We have orders to terminate you," the command centurion replied. "You have WHAT?" she asked, astonished. "We have orders to terminate you," the commander repeated. "No!" Serina cried out desperately. "That can't be!" Another volley of laser fire blasted into the tree. "Who ordered you to do this?" Serina demanded. She received no response other than another laser volley from the centurions. "WHO ORDERED YOU TO KILL ME?" she screamed desperately. "We have orders from Lucifer to terminate you," came the commander's response. Serina felt a chill overtake her body as the command centurion's words registered in her brain. She could feel the blood rushing from her face in shock. She had been betrayed, she realized numbly. She had been betrayed once again by someone she loved. "No..." she whispered to herself. "No..." Serina's brain felt overloaded by this realization, and she could feel her body beginning to shut down from the shock. Another laser volley tore into the tree, forcing Serina back into reality. She had to defend herself, she realized. As another laser volley impacted, Serina took a deep breath to steady her nerves, then brought Apollo's blaster up to combat her attackers. As another volley sliced through the air around her, Serina took careful aim at the command centurion's chest and fired. The beam impacted in the center of the commander's chest, but nothing happened. As the commander looked down at the spot where the beam had harmlessly struck, Serina fired again. Once more, the beam impacted without causing any damage to the command centurion. Serina slid back behind the protection of the tree, and as several volleys streaked through the air around her, she inspected Apollo's weapon. "WHAT?" she gasped as she studied the weapon's settings. Apollo had the blaster set to stun mode. Serina's mind flashed back to her encounter with Apollo back at the Marauder crash site, and remembered seeing the man fumbling with the pistol just before she lost consciousness. In a flash of anger, she realized that she had not lost consciousness earlier on her own accord. Apollo had stunned her with his pistol. But that anger gave way to relief as she realized that when she had shot Apollo during her escape, she had shot him with a weapon set on stun. "I've got to get to Apollo!" she said to herself. Serina readjusted the weapon's settings to maximum intensity, and with a grim smile, she brought the pistol up, took aim once again at the command centurion and fired. This time when the beam impacted, sparks and metal fragments exploded from the commander's chest. Serina laughed to herself as she watched the commander fall gracelessly to the ground. The surviving centurions opened fire again, their beams slamming into the tree and ripping more gaping holes in its surface. This time the tree groaned as it threatened to collapse under the bombardment. Serina realized that the tree was about to fall, so she fired three wild but ineffective shots at the thirty advancing centurions, then began limping off through the forest back toward the one person on this planet who could help her fight off her pursuers. Chapter Four Sheba stormed onto the GALACTICA's Bridge and walked angrily over to Adama on the command platform. "May I speak with you, Commander?" she asked with all the calm she could force into her voice, but her sentence came out as more of a demand than a request. "What about?" Adama replied as he turned to face the distraught woman. "About your decision not to send help to Apollo," she said coldly. Adama nodded. "That's what I thought," he said tonelessly. "My decision stands, so if you came all the way up here to argue with me about it, you are wasting your time, Captain." "Commander," Sheba said quietly so as not to let her conversation be overheard by eavesdroppers, "I heard that four yahrens ago, Apollo was marooned in the Hatari System. And I heard you didn't want to send anyone back to help him out then, either, because you were afraid of showing favoritism toward your own son." "And you believe that I'm doing the same thing now?" Adama asked. "You tell me, Commander," Sheba said coldly. "You are getting perilously close to being out of line, Captain," Adama warned. Sheba nodded apologetically. "Commander," she said in a more gentle tone, "there isn't a pilot on the GALACTICA who wouldn't willingly risk his or her life for Apollo. I'd gladly lead a strike team to take out the Cylon force on that planet." "Sheba," Adama sighed, "I don't doubt your sincerity for a micron. And I believe what you say about the esteem my son holds with the flight crews." "So let us go rescue him," Sheba said firmly. "I can't," Adama sighed again. "Right now we have at least one base star out there. Maybe more. If the Cylons decide to mount a major attack, I'll need every pilot I can muster to protect the Fleet. I just cannot afford to lose any Vipers right now on a rescue mission. Sixteen Vipers have been destroyed and three more have been damaged in encounters with Serina. Those losses have seriously undermined our defensive ability. I can't afford to undermine it any further by risky offensive maneuvers." "We have more pilots than we do Vipers, Commander," Sheba replied, "so send in shuttles instead. That way you won't decrease the GALACTICA's defensive capabilities." "And if the shuttles run into Cylon fighters?" Adama asked. "They'll be annihilated." "We'll take our chances," Sheba shrugged. Adama blew out a breath. "No," he finally said. "There'll be no rescue mission until we know exactly how strong the Cylon force on that planet is. And don't ask me to send a patrol in to investigate, either. We're staying clear of that planet unless I know that a minimum of force can be used to safely rescue Apollo without further loss of life. Until then, he's on his own." "But--" Sheba started to protest. "No buts," Adama cut her off. "My decision is final. Now if you'll excuse me..." Sheba knew that the commander's last sentence was a polite way of dismissing her. Sheba started to renew her protests, but as Adama turned away from her, she decided against it. With a sigh of resignation, she reluctantly turned and left the Bridge. As he slowly regained consciousness, Apollo could not honestly remember the last time his head had ached as much as it did now. Not even the worst hangover could match the ferocity of the throbbing agony that ricocheted through his brain at this moment. He felt as though someone had shoved a long, sharp knife blade deep into his ear canal. Apollo tried to open his eyes, but found that his eyelids would not budge. With a groan, he tried once again to open his eyes, but once again, the eyelids refused to yield. It was almost as though his eyes had been glued shut. As another pulse of agony exploded in his brain, Apollo brought his hand up to rub at the source of the pain on the side of his head. He could feel a wet, sticky substance on his hands, and knew immediately that this liquid had to be blood. He touched his eyelids, and could feel a crusted substance matting his eyelashes together. He slowly and delicately began to scratch away the clumps of dried blood that had cemented his eyes shut. After a centon of clearing away the dried blood, Apollo was finally able to open both of his eyes. He slowly looked around the crash site. Serina was gone. Not that this came as any surprise to Apollo. What did surprise him was the fact that Serina didn't kill him after clobbering him with the stone. Perhaps, he thought, she believed she had inflicted a lethal blow to his head and had merely left him to die or to be eaten by predators. Apollo's mind began to replay the events just prior to Serina's escape. The last thing he remembered was trying to free Serina's binds after hearing a Cylon spacecraft approaching the area. He could also remember being surprised to find that the woman had already freed her bound wrists, and had picked up a large stone which she promptly slammed into his head. If anything happened after that, he could not recall. As he tried to sit up, another explosion of intense pain ripped through his head. Crying out in agony as he clutched his throbbing head, Apollo fell backwards. As his head hit the ground, another pulse of agony stabbed through his brain, and the words he used in response to the pain would have made Iblis himself blush. He tried to lie still in hopes that the pain would subside, but he could find no relief from his agony. He clutched the sides of his head even tighter as though to keep his head from literally exploding into a million unrecoverable pieces. "This is just GREAT," he sighed to himself. "She probably gave me a concussion..." As the pain momentarily abated, Apollo slowly forced himself to sit up once again. As he rose from the ground, he glanced around the area again for anything he could use to treat his injured head. He saw his backpack lying several metrons away, but he knew that there was nothing in there that could help him. He cursed himself for not bringing a medical kit with him on this trip. The faint, distant sounds of something rustling through the forest began to register in Apollo's ears. Fearing an approaching predator, the Colonel quickly reached for his blaster, but found that the weapon was missing from its holster. He immediately realized that Serina must have confiscated his weapon after knocking him out. He glanced over toward his backpack again, and hoped that Serina had not rummaged through the pack and found his spare blaster. After taking a deep breath to steady himself, Apollo crawled over to the backpack. Judging from its appearance, Serina had not bothered the backpack. He quickly rummaged through the pack until he found the spare blaster. With a sigh of relief, Apollo pulled the weapon out of the pack. The distant rustling sounds he had heard suddenly ceased. Taking the place of the rustling noises were the sounds of laser blasts. Apollo's mind quickly analyzed the sounds. Most of the blasts sounded like they were coming from Cylon laser rifles. But a few of the blasts were definitely coming from a Colonial pistol. "A rescue party?" he asked himself. As more laser blasts were exchanged in the distance, Apollo slowly and cautiously rose to his feet. A wave of dizziness threatened to overcome him, but he fought the sensation. "I've...got to...help," he said wearily, and began to hurry off toward the sounds of the battle raging in the distance. Apollo did not get very far. After covering less than ten metrons, another powerful wave of dizziness overcame him. He shook his head to ward off the sensation, but moving his head abruptly only served to aggravate his injury. An intense, blinding pulse of agony ripped through his head. "Oh, frack..." he gasped as he clutched the sides of his head to stop the pain. "No..." But the pain would not stop. Instead, the agony intensified, as did the sensations of dizziness. He felt his grip on consciousness slipping away rapidly. A comfortable sense of black numbness began to embrace Apollo, and the man was simply too weak and too exhausted to fight the feeling any longer. He surrendered to the blackness, and immediately started to fall backwards. He lost consciousness before he even hit the ground. Laser volleys burned through the air around Serina as she quickly limped back toward her crashed Marauder. Despite the fact that the pain in her leg had long since passed the point of being bearable, she had no choice but to keep running from her pursuers. If she stopped, the centurions would kill her. A laser beam slammed into a small tree close by and sprayed Serina with a shower of smoldering wood chips. As she hurriedly brushed the embers off her clothing and out of her hair, she lost her already precarious sense of balance and fell to the ground. The impact jarred her injured leg, which promptly responded with an intense pulse of agony that forced Serina to scream from the pain. She almost surrendered to the unconsciousness threatening to envelop her, but another volley of laser beams buzzing overhead reinforced her desire to stay awake. Serina quickly glanced around the area for something sturdy to hide behind, and spotted a massive tree about twenty metrons away. As more laser blasts burned through the air around her, she quickly crawled over to the tree and took cover behind its massive trunk. She cringed in reflex as centurion laser blasts began chewing up the tree and spraying the area with sparks and smoldering chunks of wood. "I can't outrun them," she said desperately to herself. She looked at her injured leg and growled in frustration. If it wasn't for her injury, she thought, she would have been able to outrun these naturally slow centurions without trouble. She glanced at Apollo's confiscated blaster and smiled grimly. "If I can't outrun them," she said to herself, "then I'll just have to take a few of them out with me." Serina mentally counted to three, then brought her blaster to bear on the advancing centurions. Without taking time to properly aim, she fired several rapid, wild shots at her relentless pursuers. Most of her shots were well off target, but three chance shots managed to find targets among the centurions. As the stricken centurions fell, the surviving Cylons stepped over their downed comrades and continued to advance upon Serina's position. Serina tried to fire again, but the weapon whined in protest instead of emitting laser blasts. Serina quickly realized that she must have exhausted the blaster's power cell. She tried to fire again, but the weapon refused to fire. "Just great," she spat. "No good piece of Colonial junk!" More Cylon blasts slammed into the tree, causing it to creak loudly and teeter slightly. Serina quickly realized that it would only be a matter of time before the centurions' volleys brought down this tree as well. It was time to start moving again. Serina took a deep breath to steady herself, then painfully forced herself to rise to her feet. Once again she had to fight a wave of unconsciousness that threatened to overpower her. She shook off the sensation, then quickly began limping off once again toward the Marauder crash site and Apollo. Apollo awoke to the sensation of something long, wet and rough moving across the wound on his head. He opened his eyes to find himself staring up at a large, furry animal that was lapping away at the blood still oozing from his head wound. Instead of reacting with alarm, the groggy colonel could only stare in bemusement at the creature as it continued to lick the blood from his head. After a centon of staring, Apollo finally reacted. "Hey," he complained weakly to the animal. "Quit that. That tickles and it kind of hurts." The animal stared into Apollo's eyes for a micron, then went back to lapping away at the man's blood. "Hey," Apollo repeated, this time with a slightly firmer tone in his voice. Once again, the animal failed to cease lapping up the man's blood. "If you won't listen..." Apollo said as he brought his blaster up to the animal's abdomen, then squeezed the trigger. The animal squealed in surprised pain for a micron as the laser blast burned a hole through its body, then abruptly fell silent as it died from the wound and collapsed beside Apollo. The colonel shook his head sadly as he stared at the dead animal. "I tried to get you to stop," he sighed, "but you wouldn't listen, would you?" The colonel sighed again as he slipped once more into blissful unconsciousness. "Can't be much farther now..." Serina said to herself as she desperately forced herself to continue onward despite the throbbing agony pulsing outward from her injured leg. She was slowly losing her lead on her pursuers, and she was terrified that her leg would finally and completely give out, allowing herself to be captured by the centurions and killed. Cylon laser blasts continued to burn through the air around her, but fortunately for her she had enough presence of mind to keep moving in a serpentine evasive pattern which kept her pursuers from being able to take proper aim at her. But unfortunately, her evasive moves allowed the centurions to gain on her. As a laser blast passed close enough to singe her long brown hair, Serina turned in desperation and aimed Apollo's blaster at her pursuers. She squeezed the trigger, and to her relief, the weapon discharged a laser pulse that burned into the right side of one centurion's groin. As she watched the wounded Cylon fall clumsily to the ground, she realized that the Colonial pistol contained a self-charging power cell whose energy she must be used conservatively. As she made her way toward the cover of a nearby tree, Serina fired four carefully aimed shots at her robotic adversaries. Three centurions fell before her laser blasts, and another was damaged by a hit to the left arm. She hid behind the tree to allow her weapon to recharge itself, and to avoid the return fire of her remaining opponents who continued to relentlessly advance upon her position. "There's got to be a way to slow them down," she said to herself, and desperately cast her gaze about the area to search for anything that she could use to her advantage. Her eyes fell upon a dense patch of dry vegetation directly in the path of the approaching centurions. With a nod to herself, she aimed her blaster at the weed patch and fired four shots which immediately set the dry plants ablaze. Without bothering to wait around to ensure that the fierce blaze had hampered the progress of the centurions, Serina began limping off once again toward the Marauder crash site and Apollo. A simple fire would not stop the centurions from carrying out their orders. They had been given a command to carry out, and there would be no abandoning that mission unless the goal was no longer achievable. After determining that the fire would not pose a mortal danger, they collectively agreed to march straight through the blaze and continue with their pursuit of Serina. While the fire did not inflict anything greater than cosmetic damage to the centurions, the blaze did interfere with their scanners' ability to sense their surroundings. Although momentarily blinded by the heat and smoke and flames, they nevertheless continued to march through the inferno until they reached the other side. Once free of the flames, the centurions paused to survey the area. They quickly picked up the visible traces of Serina's path through the forest, and renewed their pursuit. As Serina finally reached the site of her crashed Marauder, she wasted no time in rushing to kneel beside the unconscious Apollo and tried to revive him. "Apollo!" she yelled as she shook the man. "Apollo, wake up!" The man did not respond. "Come on," she screamed desperately as she slapped Apollo's cheeks, "wake UP!" Apollo groaned and shifted slightly. "Cylons are coming, Apollo!" she said urgently as she returned to shaking the man. "You've got to wake up or they'll kill you!" Serina doubled her efforts to rouse Apollo as the whirring sounds of approaching centurions began to register in her ears. She shook him even harder. "Apollo!" she yelled again. Apollo slowly opened his eyes. "Let me sleep, Serina," he sighed with mild irritation. "I'm on furlon." Serina shook her head in exasperation as she realized that Apollo was not fully coherent. "Listen to me," she said urgently as she shook him again. "You HAVE to get up! There's about twenty Cylons coming our way!" "Oh?" Apollo sighed as he closed his eyes again. "Wake up or they'll kill us both!" Serina implored. Apollo's eyes snapped open as he obviously began to comprehend what Serina was saying. "Cylons?" he asked wearily. "Yes," Serina nodded. "They're trying to kill me!" Apollo nodded slowly as he tried to raise himself off the ground. "Help me up," he said. As the sounds of the approaching centurions grew louder, Serina slid her arm around Apollo's shoulders and helped her new ally slowly rise to his feet.