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Skirmish Over the Red Moon: Difference between revisions
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The '''Skirmish over the Red Moon''' | The '''Skirmish over the Red Moon''' takes place when eight [[Cylon Raider (RDM)|Cylon Raiders]] surprise a group of [[nugget]] [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] pilots, under instruction by Lt. [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]], in orbit of an unnamed russet moon (which in turn cycles a gas giant). | ||
Starbuck orders | Upon coming into contact with a Cylon patrol, Starbuck orders her squad to return to ''Galactica'' while she engages all eight enemy combatants simultaneously. Disobeying direct orders, and adhering to the general rule that a pilot must always have a wingman, Cadet [[Brendan Costanza|Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza]] pursues her into combat. His tactics disorient and scatter the enemy, opening a window for Starbuck to shoot down six Raiders. Furthermore, Hot Dog manages to destroy one Raider (his first kill in a Viper), before suffering damage from incoming fire, and pulling back from the engagement. His Viper gives out shortly after. | ||
With only one Raider remaining, Starbuck re-orients herself into a combat position. As the two combatants charge each other, Starbuck's Viper experiences sudden [[Computers#Avionics|electrical problems]] that cause her communications and transponder to go off-line. Still, she manages to exchange fire with the Raider. During this exchange, the Raider's canopy is hit, sending it spinning directly at the Viper. Damage inflicted by the Raider as it collides into the Viper, disables the vessel's flight controls. Both fighters tumble out of control and fall into the [[Red Moon|russet moon's]] gravity well. The Raider crashes intact upon the moon, but Starbuck is forced to eject from her Viper after it goes into an uncontrollable [[Wikipedia:Spin (flight)|flat spin]] towards the satellite's surface, and disintegrates. | |||
Starbuck | Starbuck lands by parachute on the moon, but severely injures her knee when a fierce wind heaves her parachute laterally, dragging her over a jagged bed of rocks. It nearly hauls her off a cliff, though she manages to cut herself loose as she approaches the edge. Meanwhile, a Raptor deployed by ''Galactica'' recovers Hot Dog and his critically damaged Viper in the moon's orbit. | ||
With a broken [[wireless]] handset, Starbuck wanders over the rocky terrain, looking for higher ground to await rescue. Eventually she comes across the downed Cylon Raider, and finds a way inside the ship. Crawling into the belly of the beast, Starbuck discovers that the Raider is bio-mechanical in nature - it is "piloted" by an organic brain that interfaces directly with the internal machinations of the craft. The rounds that she fired during their confrontation penetrated the Raider's brain, thus "killing" the vessel. | |||
Inside the Raider, Starbuck finds oxygen to replace her [[flight suit]]'s depleted reserves, and re-pressurizes the Raider's interior by using a portion of her [[flight suit]] to seal a fist-sized gash in the hull. Starbuck's [[Flight of the Phoenix|test-pilot savvy]] allows her to determine the basic mechanics of the vessel quickly, and she learns to control it by manipulating various internal organic actuators, and flies the Raider off the moon. | |||
A tense situation results when she approaches ''Galatica'', and [[Lee Adama|Apollo]] is sent out to intercept what [[CIC]] believes is an enemy fighter. Some creative thinking on Starbuck's part (i.e. printing her name on the wings of the Raider, by means of a brightly-tinted track sealant) permits Apollo to identify her. He subsequently escorts her into ''Galactica'''s landing alcove. | |||
== Impact == | == Impact == | ||
Revision as of 10:19, 7 March 2008
| Skirmish Over the Red Moon | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Starbuck's damaged Viper and the Cylon Raider are caught in the Red Moon's gravity field | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Conflict: | Second Cylon war | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | Day 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Episode(s): | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place: | An unnamed red moon | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Result: | Colonial victory, capture of Cylon Raider | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Battle Chronology | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The Skirmish over the Red Moon takes place when eight Cylon Raiders surprise a group of nugget Viper pilots, under instruction by Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, in orbit of an unnamed russet moon (which in turn cycles a gas giant).
Upon coming into contact with a Cylon patrol, Starbuck orders her squad to return to Galactica while she engages all eight enemy combatants simultaneously. Disobeying direct orders, and adhering to the general rule that a pilot must always have a wingman, Cadet Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza pursues her into combat. His tactics disorient and scatter the enemy, opening a window for Starbuck to shoot down six Raiders. Furthermore, Hot Dog manages to destroy one Raider (his first kill in a Viper), before suffering damage from incoming fire, and pulling back from the engagement. His Viper gives out shortly after.
With only one Raider remaining, Starbuck re-orients herself into a combat position. As the two combatants charge each other, Starbuck's Viper experiences sudden electrical problems that cause her communications and transponder to go off-line. Still, she manages to exchange fire with the Raider. During this exchange, the Raider's canopy is hit, sending it spinning directly at the Viper. Damage inflicted by the Raider as it collides into the Viper, disables the vessel's flight controls. Both fighters tumble out of control and fall into the russet moon's gravity well. The Raider crashes intact upon the moon, but Starbuck is forced to eject from her Viper after it goes into an uncontrollable flat spin towards the satellite's surface, and disintegrates.
Starbuck lands by parachute on the moon, but severely injures her knee when a fierce wind heaves her parachute laterally, dragging her over a jagged bed of rocks. It nearly hauls her off a cliff, though she manages to cut herself loose as she approaches the edge. Meanwhile, a Raptor deployed by Galactica recovers Hot Dog and his critically damaged Viper in the moon's orbit.
With a broken wireless handset, Starbuck wanders over the rocky terrain, looking for higher ground to await rescue. Eventually she comes across the downed Cylon Raider, and finds a way inside the ship. Crawling into the belly of the beast, Starbuck discovers that the Raider is bio-mechanical in nature - it is "piloted" by an organic brain that interfaces directly with the internal machinations of the craft. The rounds that she fired during their confrontation penetrated the Raider's brain, thus "killing" the vessel.
Inside the Raider, Starbuck finds oxygen to replace her flight suit's depleted reserves, and re-pressurizes the Raider's interior by using a portion of her flight suit to seal a fist-sized gash in the hull. Starbuck's test-pilot savvy allows her to determine the basic mechanics of the vessel quickly, and she learns to control it by manipulating various internal organic actuators, and flies the Raider off the moon.
A tense situation results when she approaches Galatica, and Apollo is sent out to intercept what CIC believes is an enemy fighter. Some creative thinking on Starbuck's part (i.e. printing her name on the wings of the Raider, by means of a brightly-tinted track sealant) permits Apollo to identify her. He subsequently escorts her into Galactica's landing alcove.
Impact
This is the first time Colonial forces are able to capture and examine the updated Cylon Raider. Chief Tyrol and his deck crew spend the next several weeks analyzing the fighter, eventually returning it to flight status with significant internal modifications for effective human control ("Act of Contrition", "You Can't Go Home Again", "Six Degrees of Separation", "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down", and "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II").
The Raider is later lost on Caprica during the events to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo, when Caprica-Valerii steals it from Starbuck at the Delphi Museum of the Colonies.