“Sir we have recovered 45 percent of the lifeboats.” Captain Kelly decided to press his advantage though he’d received no recognition from the Old Man. “Sir, we’ve got a backlog of craft on both pods;” Kelly was forced to take immediate purchase on the surround of the table top as the CIC was rocked by the report of another missile impact on Galactica’s hull. When the lighting normalised again he saw Adama still gripping the clipboard listing all the crew from Pegasus so far recovered and not having found that one name in particular that same granite façade was starting to shpw cracks as the Admiral’s attention was locked on the Dradis column. “Admiral Sir,” Kelly tried again, drawing himself up to his full height. “We must withdraw, the settlement has been evacuated and we’ve sustained a lower rate of attrition that originally projected. I urge you Sir, order the jump.”

He would have preferred it if the Old Man exploded, turned on him bellowing words like cowardice, duty or dereliction. Instead, without letting his eyes descend from the overhead displays the CO simply rasped “Return to your post. Get every bird capable of flying CSAR in the sky immediately.” Kelly nodded stiffly and retreated to the LSO position.

Adama recalled the brief moment of relief that had showered him like cooling water babbling over stones in a clear pool. Cylon military doctrine had thus proven sound, inflict greater than fifty percent losses and they withdrew. Why? He didn’t know. If he had an inexhaustible supply of troops and weapons he was certain he would throw wave after wave at his enemy. But more specifically at this moment he didn’t care. For that brief moment it looked like they had been successful, granted he hadn’t been able to thus far ascertain who had come back and who had been left behind, how many of his crew had given their lives to get the civilians off that rock? Had Saul made it? Tyrol, Cally and her baby? Starbuck? He didn’t even know if She was safe but for that moment, that fleeting instant they had done it. Colonial One, and all surviving rescue craft had left the kill zone and the enemy was in retreat. The meagre pair battlestars he’d brought to the table had killed more than twice their number of cylon capital ships.

But then almost as fast as the colonials had gained the initiative the enemy had consolidated and counterattacked. Pegasus relayed the new contacts even as Galactica’s dradis suite painted each one in turn. Before Adama had time to issue new orders that same inexhaustible supply of troops and weapons had been brought to play against them again. Another unscarred baseship presented itself to the muzzles of his overwrought guns and as he steeled his crew to re-enter the fray his ears were assailed by his sons voice interspersed by static:

”This is Pegasus Actual…We have taken heavy fire…systems damaged…Cylon Basestar…Repeat…CBDR…Cylon Basestar…ship."

Initial signals to the Pegasus went unanswered Bill surmised that system damage was not helped by atmospheric conditions, what he didn’t understand until it was too late was why Pegasus was increasing speed as he was attempting to manoeuvre the Galactica into formation with her to augment the Battlestar’s offensive capability. When the realisation hit him it was like a lead lined boxing glove.

“Pegasus you are ordered to disengage!” The inverted ‘V’ and bar marked Pegasus continued to move on his screen toward the cylon marker. “Pegasus, disengage. Acknowledge! Pegas- Lee! Lee get out of there!”

“All batteries, suppression fire. Helm evasive manoeuvres.” Bill never let his gaze drift from the dradis column but he was only affording the cylons a cursory glance. His tactician’s mind was now secondary to that of a father’s concern as he searched the dradis horizon for another lifeboat distress beacon.

Another missile made its way through the Galactica’s point defence fire as the DC computer showed another bank of red lights.

The tactician might be secondary to the concern of the father but it was not silenced. Bill Adama knew that his time was limited, soon Galactica would be overrun and his responsibility was to get this crew who had followed him loyally into hades itself back to the Fleet. “Get someone from the Pegasus up here who can give me a report.”

”Aye Aye Sir.”

His lips twisted into a deep crescent as his eyes returned to the dradis screen. ‘Come on Lee. Come on.” He murmured.