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launchingbay later, neither Starbuck or the woman was in evidence. Inher mind she made promises
which, even though she mightnever keep them, were delightful to contemplate.
When Marron had developed her interstellar drivecenturies ago, replacing the earlier more cumbersome
systems, there had been more than enough Tylium availableon the discovered planets to keep all of the
human spacecraftgoing, and the expense of extracting the fuel from itsgeological sources to convert it into
its volatile liquid formseemed quite economical. However, human colony expan-sion followed by the
thousand-year war had depleted thesupply of the only fuel source that could power the highlycomplicated
Marron drive. In the time preceding the Cylon ambush, the price of Tylium had skyrocketed to new
levels due to the controls exerted by war profiteers like CountBaltar (who, Adama had perceived,
always seemed to havesufficient amounts of the fuel to fulfill any request). Therehad been a question
whether the Fleet might have to cutdown severely on its Tylium use. In fact, Adama felt, theTylium crisis
had been at least partially responsible for thefussy politicians, anxious to cut a budget wherever even a
small rip could be detected along a margin, rushing so eagerlyinto the Cylon peace trap.
Now that they, theGalactica and the few other ships ableto make the jump through hyperspace, had
arrived in thesector containing the planet Carillon, Adama devoutlyhoped that the old rumors of this place
as a prime black-market source of the elusive fuel base were true. If not, he hadleft behind thousands of
people in thousands of ships whowould futilely watch for their return.
Almost as soon as they had materialized in Carillon'ssolar system, the bridge scanner announced an
obstacle forwhich they had not planned. Immediately the commandercalled in his three best fighter
pilots-Boomer, Starbuck, andApollo-to brief them on their unexpected mission.
"It appears," he told them, "that the skies around Carillon are heavily mined. They-"
"Mined?" Apollo said. "But who would set up such a-"
"For the moment, Captain, that's an irrelevant considera-tion. The point is that we cannot pass in order
to get intoposition to accept supplies. Certainly theGalactica and ourother larger ships can't make it
through as things stand now.It's possible that a path through the mines can be found-Idon't think the
planet has been sealed off. The mines areclearly protective. We need to discover that path. And thatwill
be the job of you three."
He paused to let the impact of the order sink in.
"All right, we don't have time for elaborate searches.You'll have to navigate by scanner and sweep
everything outof your path with turbolasers. Any questions?"
"It's my bio-pulse line, Sir," Starbuck said. "Bud time forme to be cooped up in a cockpit. Would this be
anappropriate time for me to take my sick leave?"
Adama smiled. The three pilots laughed nervously.
"It would," Adama said, "but request denied. I didn'tarrive at you three to lead us through without a great
deal ofanguish." Apollo's eyes narrowed at his father's words. "You three control our fate. The rest of us
will sit in anticipation ofyour skill."
"Or lack thereof," Starbuck said, and Adama nodded.
Apollo stayed behind after dismissal. Touching hisfather's arm, he said:
"Thanks."
"For what? For selecting you for a dangerous mission?Apollo, if I could've excused you, I would-"
"No, it's not that at all."
"What is it then?"
Apollo lowered his gaze to the bridge floor, a bitembarrassed.
"Well, father, it's just-well, lately I've been getting a lotof flak. That old clown Uri insulting me during
council,accusing me of being in league with you to deceiveeverybody. I mean, I think I've proven myself,
but there're still people around here who attribute my rise through theranks as well executed nepotism.
When I arrested Uri, heaccused me of a political ploy, threatening to appropriate theRising Starsimply to
collect fuel for theGalactica. And thenthere're the dissidents-"
"Stop it there. I shouldn't let you go on about it. There are' many things we can't talk about, not in this [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]