"General, there's something here you might be interested in."
Soon, the two of them joined Irenz at her communications station.
"This distress signal is coming from a distant sector."
"How distant?" asked Watt.
"At top speed, it would take our fastest ship nearly a week to get there!"
"Go further," said Bel Iblis.
"From what I can tell, an Imperial Star Destroyer has attacked two fighters."
"Rebel Alliance fighters?" asked Bel Iblis.
"No. I don't know who they belong to. All I can tell is that the pilots have been taken prisoner."
"We've got to help them, whoever they are," said Watt.
"Didn't you hear me?" said Irenz. "By the time we could get to them, they'd probably be dead!"
"There may be a way," said Bel Iblis. "The Peregrine."
"The what?" asked Watt.
"An old Dreadnought-class ship we've been working on."
"But the Peregrine's engines haven't been fully tested."
"Maybe now is the chance," said Bel Iblis. "Irenz, have the ship prepared with a full crew and fighter complement."
"May I remind you that a Dreadnought is no match for an Imperial Star Destroyer," said Irenz.
"Point taken," said Bel Iblis. "We'll discuss it on the way."
As Voyager and the Lord of the Isles emerged from the jump-point, Kim began to scan the area.
"I'm picking up the warp signature," he soon reported.
"As am I," added Drathro.
"It's leading right back to the position of the Galactica fleet," Kim continued. "And Captain, from these readings, it's definitely a Super Star Destroyer class vessel!"
"Set a course direct for the Galactica fleet," ordered Janeway. "Maximum speed!"
As Commander Adama and Colonel Tigh entered the bridge of the Galactica, they were greeted by a welcome sight.
"Look, Commander!" said Tigh. "A jump-point is forming! It must be Voyager!"
"It looks as if the test was successful," said Adama.
Then, the red alert sounded as the huge Imperial Destroyer appeared from the jump-point.
"All hands, battle stations!" Adama ordered.
Tigh soon took his station.
"Commander, I'm picking up a Viper distress signal... from within that Super Star Destroyer ship!"
"It must be our patrol!" said Adama. "Apollo and Starbuck!"
Soon, entire squadrons of TIE fighters appeared around the Executor, going to an attack vector.
"Scramble our fighters!" Adama ordered. "And try to pinpoint Apollo and Starbuck! We might be able to get them out with that transporter Captain Janeway gave us!"
Then, to Adama's shock and horror, the TIE fighters flew right past the Galactica. They continued on their course, towards the civilian ships.
"About turn!" Adama ordered. "We've got to stop them!"
But it was too late. The TIE fighters began their attack on the unarmed vessels.
As they were being taken to their cell, Apollo and Starbuck saw the battle readiness of the Imperials. They had obviously put the information Apollo had reluctantly given to them to good use. Apollo felt very guilty. He had betrayed his people, and now it seemed that the Imperials would finish the job the Cylons had started. He thought there was nothing he could do about it.
"We've got to do something," said Starbuck, still sounding a little rough after Vader's attack on him.
Without reply, Apollo abruptly stopped and put his elbow into the guard's mid-section, knocking the wind out of him. Another blow connected with the guard's jaw. Starbuck took his cue and did the same to his guard. They soon managed to release the bonds on their wrists.
"Now, which way to the hangar deck?" asked Starbuck.
"This way," said Apollo. "I think!"
Then, two more guards appeared in the corridor, having been alerted to this escape attempt. Before they could do anything, Apollo flew down to the ground, grabbed one of the fallen guard's blasters, and took care of the approaching guards. Soon on his feet, they continued on their way.
It didn't take them long to find the hangar deck and their Viper fighters. The Imperial engineers obviously hadn't had enough time to begin their examination of this new technology. This was to their advantage as they climbed through.
The ship was now on full alert, and a party of Stormtroopers appeared in the hangar just as they got into their ships.
"What do we do?" asked Starbuck. "Surrender? We can't fire our weapons at them inside the hangar!"
"Who said anything about firing them at the Stormtroopers?"
Apollo quickly powered up his weapons and aimed his blasters at the hangar doors. Three blasts later, they were open. The vacuum of space soon sucked the Stormtroopers out into space. Apollo and Starbuck soon followed, protected by their Vipers, moving out of the Executor's shield range to join the battle.
As the Executor moved to join its fighters in attacking the civilian ships, Vader saw that he had not counted on one thing. He was surprised when from behind the ships another battlestar emerged: the Pegasus.
On the bridge, Commander Cain watched the screen as the far larger Star Destroyer stared his ship down.
"Let's see what these things are made of."
Kane then showed why he was considered to be one of the greatest Colonial warriors of all time. He matched Vader move for tactical move. He marshalled his Vipers like no man Vader had ever seen before. This battle also showed why the Silver Spar Viper squadron was considered the best in the fleet. It seemed they were more than a match for the Imperial pilots.
Vader soon knew this as well and gave the order for the fighters to concentrate their attack on the civilian vessels. This they did to devastating effect.
But the Vipers fought back. Even though the Imperials had managed to destroy several of the ships, the Vipers bested them, taking out almost the entire squadron. Vader's plan had been drastically altered by the addition of the Pegasus. He had not counted on this in his original plan, and it had cost him dearly. Perhaps now was the time to pull the ace from his sleeve.
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