Alliances: Civil War Chapter Fifty-Six

With the officers of Voyager and the Galactica now working very closely, Galactica pilot Lieutenant Starbuck took the opportunity to do a bit of showing off to Voyager's best pilot, Tom Paris.

As Starbuck showed Paris around the main hangar bay, he began telling Paris of his adventures as a colonial warrior, of his daring and cunning as one of the fleet's best pilots. But Paris had heard this all before, from himself, soon after he graduated from the Academy.

"So you're the best Starfleet has to offer, eh?", said Starbuck. "So why aren't you in one of their fighter corps?"

"To me, flying a starship is more of a challenge than flying a pea-hopper like your Viper over there!"

"Pea-hopper! Why you..."

Starbuck's expected outburst was cut off when the red alert signal was sounded. Within seconds the bay was filled with fighter pilots. Paris, meanwhile, activated his communicator.

"Paris to Voyager. What's going on, Captain?"

"We're about to be attacked."

Moments later Paris beamed back to Voyager, and took up his pilot's station on the bridge. Everyone was at full battle alert.

"On screen, Mister Kim," Janeway ordered.

For the first time, Paris saw what all the fuss was about. It seemed that there was no point in their new combined force trying to stop the Wayland conference. From the looks of things, it had finished, and a new pact had already formed. Wherever Paris looked, he saw Kazon ships, Imperial TIE fighters, and Cylon fighters.

"The first wave is coming in now," said Tuvok.

"Arm all weapons systems," said Janeway. "Prepare to open fire."

There was no need for Tuvok to open fire. Just as he was, a Galactica Viper squadron swooped on down from above, and engaged the first wave of Imperial fighters. The battle had begun.

While he executed many daring maneuvers, Paris could not help but admire the daring of his Galactica counterparts. If this was the best the old colonies had to offer, he thought, then they would be in good hands.

But all he could do was watch as a small group of Kazon fighters broke off from the main attack force, and headed towards the Galactica's civilian ships. Voyager could not arrive in time to stop them from destroying one of the cargo carriers. They soon had their revenge, however.

From the bridge of the Galactica Adama and Tigh observed the battle, directing their many pilots and the stations aboard the mighty Battlestar. Both sides suffered losses, and Adama could only watch as the space battle seemed to reach a stalemate. Then, something happened, something Adama, Tigh, and even Janeway hoped would not happen. Imperial reinforcements arrived.

The Voyager suffered damages, as their shields took a hammering from the Kazon command ship. As the ship was buffeted, Kim kept a look on his sensors, both long and short range. He watched as another ship entered the fray.

"Another ship has just dropped out of warp, Captain!", he reported.

"Imperial?", asked Chakotay.

Turning to face Kim, he was surprised to see him smiling.

"It's another Battlestar!", he smiled. "Called the Pegasus!"

Suddenly, many more Vipers appeared around Voyager, and joined the fray. It seemed that the colonies had more to offer than just the Galactica pilots. They were matching the Imperial, Kazon, and Cylon pilots move for move. Both Janeway and Adama looked on in admiration for the tactics of the Pegasus commander, the legendary Commander Cain.

From his seat on the Kazon command ship, Culluh could do nothing but watch as his forces were wiped out by the superior skills of this new, combined force. As a good military commander, Culluh knew he could not win this battle, and even though he knew there would be hell to pay for these actions, he ordered what was left of his forces to retreat. There was nothing more they could do.

The roar of victory was heard throughout the three allied ships.