The colonial mining ship Majahual has been working around the clock for a month extracting essential metals from an asteroid. The fleet has moved on, leaving Galactica behind to guard the miners from persistent Cylon raids.
The viper pilots' deadliest foe is an enemy Raider that they've nicknamed "Scar" — the combat-savvy reincarnation of countless Cylon warriors that boasts a growing list of human kills. Hiding out in the asteroid belt, Scar is a master of hit-and-run attacks that are decimating the war-weary Viper squadrons and forcing them to throw inexperienced replacement pilots into the fray.
The shaken pilots, led by Capt. Lee "Apollo" Adama, cover their distress at the mounting casualties by adopting a hardboiled demeanor. But neither booze nor a lustful encounter with Lee can vanquish the battle-fatigue or the demons that haunt Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace.
Tempers explode between Kara and Lt. Louanne "Kat" Katraine, who insists that Starbuck is dangerously off her game. A fierce competition ensues as to which of them will obliterate Scar.
But when Scar traps both Starbuck and Kat in an ambush, Kara must swallow her pride and support her brash young rival in a climactic dogfight against the Cylons' top gun.