Ray Butts

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A bogey is spotted aproaching the Saratoga . It isn't one of their birds, as all are accounted for, so is it a Chig or an AI suicide bomber? A warning shot is fired, but the ship over-rides the HBDC and docks. Security and McQueen go down and surround the Hammerhead.

Butts' ship Is he alive, looks dead

"He's dead."


	"He's dead."

Butts explodes from the Hammerhead, and takes everyone on, getting most of them. McQueen comments: "Bit of a bummer getting your butt kicked by a dead guy."

McQueen first questions, then interogates Butts when he is unco-operative. McQueen thinks Butts is hiding something.

Vansen, West and Hawks are checking out Butts' Hammerhead when he attacks them.

That night, the 58th are in their bunks, talking about Butts. Wang thinks that the others are overdoing it a bit, especially West calling Butts, "One Colonel Semper Psycho". Shane says that no one is born that mean. They either put it on for effect, or something happens to turn them that mean and they can never go back. The worst part is, they know it.The camera pulls back, and shows Butts, awake in his bunk, with his back to them, listening.

Wang and Hawks are watching MacBeth, which is then censored. Coop removes the censoring chip so they can continue watching. Butts comes in and sees this, so turns it off, calling Wang and Hawks maggots and Shakespeare crap. Wang challenges Butts, and Butts takes on all of the 58th. On their loosing the fight, Wang agrees with West, "He's worse than you said."

McQueen confronts Butts, who is drinking on the flight deck, and tells him that he wants Butts gone, away from his people.

Butts informs McQueen, "I'm in this so deep, so dark, the old man approves anything, including this. They're mine now." Johnny Cash's Walk the Line is playing in the background.

Ray Butts putts the 58th through a training exercise, and takes them all out very easily. When the 58th discuss the exercise later, most aren't happy with the cheap kills. McQueen steps in, and tells them to follow orders, but to watch their six and each other's six, real close.

Shane goes and finds Butts smoking and drinking. Did he still want the 58th? Yes, they had lasted longer than most of the units he had trained. She started to leave, then asked, "What do you think about in the dark?"

"I think about the first man I ever killed." Shane then asks whether Butts would die for them, to which Butts answers, "I'm already dead."

The 58th load the gear into the ISSCV. Shane thinks Butts isn't planning on coming back and Wang discovers parachutes. All climb into the ISSCV, but just before Butts enters, McQueen stops him, and threatens him, "If any of my people don't come back because of you, I'll find you." The 58th watch on.

The ISSCV approaches the planet, and Butts gives the 58th a brief about the mission, Get Rhythm, to retrieve 6 SA43 attack jets. Damphousse interupts with a question as to how they got there. Butts continues, ignoring the question, "And return them safely to the Saratoga". They would be doing a HALO jump.

Butts claimed the HALO jump was as easy as eating pancakes, and "offered" to hold Wang's hand on the way down, when he seemed scared to jump.

The 58th rendevous and wait for Butts, who sneaks up behind them. Butts informs them that the mission has been changed, and when Damphousse demands to know the mission, he delays, telling them to stash the equipment, and saying he would tell them after that... but no Butts, he had left them there.

The 58th track Butts, when Damphousse and West come across a Chig footprint. They find Butts digging, and Cooper finds a body.

Butts tries to get them away from the body.	"Did you kill him?"
	"They're all dead because of me." And Hawks disarms him.

"The first life you take is hard. The second one is harder, but then, after that, you forget whatever made it tough in the first place. But, then one day, you come face to face with the other side, and it bites back."

"They got scared, wanted to wait for reinforcements. So I left them, and went and did it myself."

The mad minute - desperately firing at anything, hoping you can kill enough of them. Butts had never until then realised how sacred the moment was, when you realise you only have only horrified heartbeat left to live.

Vansen: "You shouldn't have left them."

Butts: "They should have gone with me."

They bury Butts' squadron. Butts, struggling for control, tells them about the last marine they buried, Bob, and how he wished to die, going down a black hole listening to Johnny Cash.

He tells Shane that some people, like him, are born mean, but there are things that happen that make them meaner.

Funeral

Butts briefs the 58th about the trip back home, especially the skirting of the Serberus black hole. The Hammerheads don't have the thrust to withstand the gravity up to 0.5 million miles, and the Chigs have red fighters which can withstand the gravitational pull up to 0.25 million miles, and so can skip across the wash.

The 58th say goodbye to each other on Butts recomendation. West says goodbye to Butts from all of the 58th, and hoping to see him on the other side, even though it hadn't been great serving with him. Butts reaction was: "I ain't gonna die."

Butts takes Bob's Hammerhead and they all take off.

Chigs are spotted coming up from behind, and more from in front, boxing them in. The 58th take them on, but then two more are spotted, in the wash, coralling them. The 58th don't want to be target practice, but don't have enough fuel to manoeuvre in the upcoming fight.


"What do you advise, Deuce?"	"Fly tight, your Hammerheads can outrun their fighters, and you won't have to worry about the Red Bandits."
	Butts looks at the picture of Bob's family, and enters the wash to take on the Red Bandits.

"Its almost pancake time."

Butts takes on, and destroys the two Red Bandits, but when he attempts to pull out of the wash, he can't and is out of fuel. Realising his fate, he puts Johnny Cash's I'll Walk the Line on.


"Well, I guess Ray Butts just ate his last pancake." "See you soon Bob. Yooyah!

Shane requests permission to dock, minus one. McQueen gives them the permission, then meets them on the flight deck, and waits as first Shane, Hawks, West, Wang and then Damphousse assemble before him. He welcomes them back, then tells them he's had the galley make up something special for them.

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