Titania's Escape By Pete Valle October 1, 1998 It was grim. Very grim. The cries for help were heard over and over again. These were flashes of brightness everywhere that signaled the fall of yet another warrior. Gray masses outnumbered white streaks by four, even five or six. Every moment of so, a blinding light meant that another star had been lost. It was grim. It was the darkest moment for humankind. "Frack, I've got one behind me!" a lone voice shouted into his comm link. "Hold still, I'm after it." a female voice answered. "I can't lose him! His got me tight!" said the first voice with despair on his voice. "I'm coming! Hang on!" said the female voice. "He's on top of me!" "Dive to the left!" "I can't! Lateral controls are gone!" "Try a loop! Try a roll! Try something! I'm on my way!" "The stick has frozen! I can't maneuver!" "Just hold for a few microns!" "He's right behind me.... Agh!" Another flash of light. Another warrior gone. "Captain, we lost Flute!" the female voice was heard through the link. Her viper went through the debris that once was her friend. "I know, Hippolyta, I heard. Just hang in there. We'll pull through." said a confident male voice. She looked to her right and saw that his viper was paired with hers. She could see his face. His long red hair could be seen flowing on his back. His blue eyes glared with his helmet's light. His handsome face was sweaty but calm. "Whatever you say, Demetrius." "Trust me. We'll make it." he smiled at her and pulled his fighter back to battle. She followed him. The fighting was as intense as ever. Cylon raiders looked like swarms of bees attacking the giant battlestars. Other small ships were also being ravaged by the restless sting of the Cylons. Captain Demetrius and his Gray Squadron had already suffered heavy losses. Of a flight group of thirty, there were only about thirteen left. He looked at his squadron fighting out there. He could tell who was who by their flying style. He saw Ensign Hippolyta doing her trademark barrel rolls. Beyond her were Quince and Snug, always close and together. They were best friends and even in battle it showed. Also the daring Captain Hermia, his second in command. She was known because she took risks nobody else took. After her, Puck. His flying was as random as his thoughts. That made him a great fighter pilot, his unpredictability Then, also in a pair, Thysbe and Pyramus. They had just Joined and one could not leave the other, even in a fight. Also Philostrate, whose precise, well though attacks made him deadly. Then there was Starveling, called like that because of his rake thin body, and Snout. They flew everywhere helping everyone who needed help. And then there was Lysander. He knew who Lysander was from a considerable distance. He was unmistakable. He was a coward. He looked at his battle map. He saw than the last destroyer they had to protect was under fire. He signaled his squad. "Gray squadron," announced the Captain, "I want you to pull out from wherever you are and give support to the Batris. She's taking a pounding." An acknowledgment was heard from everyone and the battered squadron banded itself together and switched their turbos on. On a couple of moments they were on top of a Cylon squadron attacking the small destroyer. "Puck, Lysander and Bottom, take out the lead fighters. Hippolyta, Quince, Hermia, protect the Batris, don't let anything near it. The rest shoot down anything that's moving around here that doesn't carry the mark Made in the Colonies!" said Demetrius. "Copy that Gray lead! To work boys and girls!" replied Captain Hermia. Three vipers followed a group of five Cylons. Three more flew around the Batris in formation. The rest scattered around to engage the fighters head on. Demetrius felt tense, despite his cool appearance. He knew that the battle had been lost, even from the beginning. Only the Galactica had launched fighters, the other ships were just sitting ducks. With all those pilots drunk because of the peace celebrations, the ships would not have a chance. He made a roll to avoid a raider's fire and then made a half loop that put him on top of it and fired. One less bad guy. They were fighting on the edge of the battle. The main fighting was a bit farther from them, where the battlestars were. They were just defending four destroyers that were all alone in an obscure corner. So far they had lost three. It was nearly impossible to hold ground with so many Cylons attacking. He zigzagged a little bit to confuse another daring raider that was following him. It confused it enough to let Starveling bag the kill. It was hopeless, Demetrius thought. We are losing many young warriors out here for nothing. We are going to lose anyway. And worse of all, the Galactica had left the fight and stranded the fighters here. He checked his battle map and saw, to his despair, that only the Solaria remained. He clenched his fists in anger and damned Adama for leaving the battle. Then the Batris exploded. He just stared at the explosion numbly. He knew they had done the best they could. He knew they did what was humanly possible. But still it hurt like hell. He then thought a disturbing thought. His mind suddenly came upon a chilling word, retreating. He shook his head and took even the slightest consideration of retreat away from his mind. No, the end was here, now. Their world had been lost, there was nothing else to live for. Only vengeance remained. He stared at his battle map inhaled deeply. Cylons were everywhere. They were going to take as much of them down as they possibly could. He ordered his fighters to kill everything, leave no prisoners. They were going down, but they were going down with a fight. As he shot Cylons with fury he saw that his battle map had one less blip. The Solaria was gone. It was the end. "Squad, it seems that this is it. Keep cool and get every Cylon you can before they get you." The group spread out and destroyed as many raiders as they could. Demetrius was shooting with a grudge and his heart pounded faster and faster with each Cylon down. As he poured out his anger on the Cylons, he got a signal from Captain Apollo. The vipers were pulling out. He couldn't acknowledge the signal because his long range comm was down. He hailed his fighters. "Squad, we're getting out of here." "What!" said Hermia, "I thought we were going down with grace!" "Nope. Apollo's orders. We're going out. Everybody, turbo now!" The remaining ships of Gray Squadron left the battle with a trail of gas. The Cylons didn't pursue. The battle was theirs. Demetrius looked back at the debris field left. He thought about all those lost lives and dreams. He damned Adama again for leaving them behind. He was a coward. He was not worthy of the rank of commander. Adama was a weak, stupid man. He came to the realization that he hated him. As his thoughts drifted, he heard a weak transmission. "This is the Titania. We are here all alone, our fighters are all gone and we have lost our drive. Request help immediately." "What do we do, boss?" asked Lieutenant Puck. Demetrius frowned and looked to the stars. "We go back." and he turned his viper around. In an instant, Gray Squadron was turning back. When they got there, the situation seemed out of control. A lone LAV, light attack vessel, was under heavy Cylon fire. He contacted the Titania. "Titania, this is Gray Squadron. The calvary has arrived." He announced. "Gray Squadron, this is Commander Helena. Glad you could make it. And thank you very much." "You're welcome. We'll keep these fighters off your back." "Just stall them until we get out engines online." "Copy that Titania. Out." He then switched to his own fighters, "You heard the commander boys and girls. Defend that ship at all costs." He switched of his comm and concentrated on the fight. He could not let the Titania be destroyed also. He had lost four ships and seventeen pilots today. He didn't want more death. No more. A fierce battle ensued for the fate of the Titania. "I have three Cylons on my tail!" shouted Ensign Thysbe. "They're going down the turboflush, Thys!" replied a feisty Puck. He challenged the three raiders head on and with quick bursts of laser, took care of them all. "Thanks Puck!" "Don't mention it beautiful." "Oh, Puck. You're making me blush!" Demetrius smiled. That's what he liked about his squadron. No matter how desperate and hopeless the situation, they always had their sense of humor. And the situation was at its very worst right now. "Quince, Snug! Get those two bandits that are making a run on the left side of the Titania." Demetrius ordered his wingmen. "Copy that Gray lead. On our way." The two fighters dropped down to the Titania and shot past her from below very fast. The two raiders were coming in for the kill, but the two daring pilots wouldn't let them. Snug did a fake to the left and then upwards but shot straight instead taking one of the two raiders by surprise. "Yes! That got him!" "Don't get reckless Snug," said Quince, "we have trouble from behind." Snug looked behind him and saw three more raiders coming in from behind him. He was trapped. He tried to make a loop to loose them, but the fighters clenched up to him like if they were stuck to his ion trail. "Quince, I need some help here!" he said with a tone of fear. "Hold on, " answered Quince right after blowing the other raider up. " I'm on their tail." Quince's viper got behind the three raiders with a quick burst of turbo. His laser flashed a couple of times and one of the raiders became just a pile of smoke. "Good job old man. Only two more." said Snug. "Copy that. You'll be safe in a couple of microns." Quince slowly put the raider on his lock. He then pressed the fire button very calmly. The raider was no more. "Ok, get this last one off me and I'll buy you a bottle of ambrosa when we get home." Quince answered only by firing his lasers again. So did the Cylon. In just an eternal instant Cylon raider exploded. So did the Colonial viper. Quince just stared at the explosion. His throat was dry and his muscles ached. No, this cannot be, he thought. Not Snug, please not Snug. He produced only word out of his dry lips. "Frack!" "Quince?" asked Demetrius. Quince got back his voice. "Frack! Captain, I lost Snug!" "Yes Quince, I saw it. You did you best." "By Sagan's sake, it was not good enough. Frack! Frack! Frack!" "Calm down Quince, we need you up here." Quince pushed his turbo on and joined the fight just beyond the Titania. He decided to put his feelings aside and just fight. He could mourn his friend later. The battle had turned even worse because of Cylon reinforcements. Cylon raiders, bored and without anything else to shoot at, aimed at the Titania to make it blow. Then Commander Helena contacted Captain Demetrius. "Our engines have been repaired. Let's go." "Copy that. You head the lady, people. Let's get the Hades out of here." And the twelve fighters left pulled out of a scene of destruction along with a battered cruiser. The End