FIC: Schisms, Lee/Kara, M/MA, Chapter Six
Title: Schisms, 6/?
Rating: M/MA
Spoilers: Season 1, so far. Though this goes firmly AU before the mini.
Pairings: Kara/Lee, mentions of Kara/Zak
Wordcount: This chapter ballooned out to 5077!
Summary: AU fic. What if Kara never served on the Galactica before the attacks? What if Lee made a mistake he couldn't fix? Maybe some things break for a reason. WIP.
Warnings: none that I can think of... maybe angst?
Author's Note: Grateful thanks to uberscribbler, stardust_20 and cliosmuse who looked this over for me and provided tons of helpful advice. However, I can never leave things alone and have kept tweaking after they checked - so if you find any errors, they are mine! Also, many many thanks to everyone still reading and especially those commenting on chaps and the various posts I've made bewailing my writer's block - you helped a ton! Hope you enjoy. :D
Back to Chapter Five
~ * ~
Chapter Six
~ * ~
The moment she opened the door, Lee knew he was in trouble-something indefinable sparked between them from the very first. The silence hung a moment as he opened his mouth and closed it again-afraid to speak lest he trip over his own tongue.
“You must be... Lee,” she said finally. “I’m Kara.”
Lee noted the hitch in her voice and was glad he wasn’t the only one discomfited. He handed her the flowers he’d brought and her smile widened appreciatively. “Oh, you didn’t have to do that, thank you. I’ll put them in some water.” She turned and headed down the stairs calling out to Zak to let him know Lee was here.
“Nice place,” he commented.
Kara snorted. “It’s a rat trap, but the rent’s cheap,” she demurred.
He wasn’t just being polite; sure it was small and in need of renovation but it felt comfortable. Lived in. There was a mural on the living room wall that he would bet she’d painted herself. “No,” he protested. “It’s got real charm.”
“You’re a terrible liar,” she informed him. “We should play cards.”
“I hold my own,” he informed her, trying not to imagine a game of strip triad as Zak finally sauntered into the kitchen and greeted him.
“I see you’ve met my better half,” Zak commented. “And this one’s mine, keep your hands off,” he added half joking, as if he could read his brother’s thoughts.
“Oh, a girlfriend stealer for a brother!” Kara teased; and that indefinable something was there again.
“I never stole his girlfriend,” Lee protested. Well, not really. And they’d both still been in high school then anyway, surely it didn’t count? Juvenile records were sealed after all.
Kara shooed both brothers from the kitchen and Zak took the opportunity to sing her praises. Lee was surprised to learn Kara was an instructor; while personal relationships between instructors and students weren’t technically against regulations, they were definitely frowned upon. Zak’s feelings for Kara were clearly deep enough for him to risk accusations of favouritism.
Dinner was an enjoyable affair. Kara was a good cook (despite her protestations that this was a one-off occurrence) and conversation consisted of Lee and Zak attempting to one-up each other with increasingly embarrassing childhood stories or Kara and Lee swapping stories of flight school and Viper exploits.
After one evening in Kara’s company Lee felt as if he’d known her all his life. As he helped her carry Zak to bed, Lee reflected that he was going to have to be very careful of his behaviour towards her. Because Zak was wrong-he was not a girlfriend stealer.
~ * ~
When Boomer radioed that she was returning with Hotdog, Commander Adama ordered Tigh to take command of the CIC. He caught Lee’s eye and by unspoken agreement both headed down to the hangar bay to debrief the trainee pilot.
“Was she manoeuvring?” Bill asked.
Costanza thought for a moment. “I think so, sir. Yes.”
“So she survived the initial hits,” Boomer interjected. “She could still be alive.”
“She is alive, Lieutenant,” the commander insisted, “And we’re going to find her.” He gave Lee a pointed look and began walking towards the Vipers.
Lee unfastened the wings from his own jacket and pinned them to Hotdog’s collar. The kid had shown surprising courage facing up to the Cylons and the wrath of Starbuck for disobeying orders and he’d managed to down at least one raider himself. He was a warrior now, blooded by his first kill. “I think you earned those today,” he murmured.
Without waiting for a response he turned and headed for his own Viper. Less than a week ago he had thought Kara dead. Now he stood a chance of putting things right and he had no intention of letting the Cylons frak it up.
Neither did the commander it seemed; he appeared and handed Lee his helmet. “Find her,” he ordered; the pointed look he bestowed reminding Lee of their conversation and his partial confession less than an hour ago.
He swallowed nervously. “I will,” he promised, and meant it.
~ * ~
Lee became adept at hiding his infatuation with Kara. Zak never suspected a thing and if Kara did she was equally good at ignoring it. She treated him as she always had-like a close friend and almost brother.
It was both comforting and frustrating.
Just before the end of his leave, Lee and Zak took Kara to meet their grandfather.
Joseph Adama, as shrewd as ever despite (or perhaps because of) his advancing years, immediately recognised his elder grandson’s frustration. When Lee headed for the kitchen to make coffee leaving the happy couple playing footsie on the sofa, he followed. “It’s no good wishing for things you can’t have, Leland,” he advised.
Somehow he wasn’t at all surprised Grandpa Joe had seen right through him. Lee shrugged the advice away. “What’s the harm in wishing if they never even know?”
Lee had often been told he’d inherited his grandfather’s eyes. Something in those pale blue depths made him pay attention now. “Once I wished to see my daughter one more time. A wish, once granted, may not be what you wanted after all.” He would not explain further.
Less than a year later, Lee understood his full meaning.
~ * ~
Lee was fit to be tied. He’d managed to hit bingo fuel just as the tankers were refilling, meaning he’d been forced to land his Viper instead of tanking up in orbit. To make matters worse, his right roll thruster was so gunked up with dust from the moon that it didn’t fire. His whole landing was thrown off with the result that his Viper would not be heading back out any time soon, refuelled or not. Yelling at Tyrol to produce another Viper didn’t really help the situation but it made him feel better. A little.
Fifteen birds needed repairs. Dammit, Kara was out there and he needed to find her. Lee was assessing the damage on one of the other Vipers when a small voice piped up behind him.
“Captain Adama, sir?”
Lee stiffened, recognising the voice immediately. He’d forgotten all about Seb. He’d be looking for his mom of course but how had he managed to get onto the hangar deck without anyone noticing? “Sebastian,” he said. “You shouldn’t be here, civilians aren’t allowed. It’s too dangerous.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” the boy apologised. His formality made Lee wince inwardly. “Mama said she would meet me after school but I can’t find her. Do you know where she is?”
Lee pondered very carefully how much to say. He didn’t want to lie to the boy but neither did he want to scare him with the news that Kara was missing with limited oxygen and possibly injured to boot. Seb began to look uncomfortable and Lee realised he was taking too long to answer. “She’s on a mission,” Lee told him quickly. “I promised her I’d look out for you but I forgot what time the Raptor came in.”
Sebastian frowned; possibly wondering why his mother would have entrusted his safety to a man she clearly couldn’t stand the sight of. Lee tried to look unthreatening but he really had no idea how to relate to children. This was exactly what he’d always feared.
“Come along then,” Lee said nervously. “Let’s find someone to take care of you until your mom gets back,” he offered, holding out his hand.
His son looked at the proffered hand for a moment as if he were worried it might bite him and then Lee felt his son’s small fingers curl into his own. “Are you hungry?” he asked, remembering how he’d always come home from school “starving” when he was a child.
“Starving,” his son agreed and Lee had to suppress a smile.
“Then we’ll go to the mess and see if we can’t get you something to eat, okay?” And with a little luck, they might find someone who was better qualified to take care of a small child.
~ * ~
His brother was dead. It had been Lee’s reality for three days now.
Kara was inconsolable. Lee supposed she was blaming herself for not teaching him well enough but Lee well knew the real culprit here was Commander William Adama.
Lee spent the funeral and the reception making sure his mother was okay but when she retired for the evening he sought Kara out and offered to drive her home-it was either that or have it out with his father in front of everyone.
Lee had intended to see her safely inside and then return home to a bottle of ambrosia and a heated altercation with a punching bag but Kara bit her lip and pleaded, “Stay.”
So he stayed.
Thankfully, Kara also had a bottle of ambrosia waiting. She poured them each a glass and they raised a toast to Zak. They finished that bottle in a mournful sort of silence and Kara went to fetch another. Lee was starting to feel his anger dissipate as his head got lighter.
“Do you remember,” Kara asked suddenly, “That night we met, and Zak tried to drink us under the table?”
Lee smiled wistfully. “How long did he last? Half a bottle? He never could hold his drink.”
“I made him a Tauron Starburst once. He got halfway through the second layer and had to run for the bathroom to throw up.”
“A Tauron Starburst?” Lee asked. “I don’t think I’ve heard of that one before.”
“Of course not,” she smirked. “I made it up.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Why am I not surprised?”
She giggled. “Want one?”
He really should have said no. He knew even as he shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Sure.”
Several drinks later, they’d moved on to a competition of who could mix the most sexually suggestive cocktail.
“This one,” she announced, mixing small amounts of several liqueurs into a shot glass, “Is one of my favourites.” She passed him the shot glass which was now a pink tinged with a darker red colour. “Put it between your lips and suck.”
He followed her instruction and found the drink pleasantly sweet, with a bite. “What’s that called?” he asked.
“Aphrodite’s Nipple,” she told him with a smirk.
“Not bad,” he observed. “My turn.” He mixed a few drinks together and handed her the glass.
She drank the contents and licked her lips. “Mmm, sweet. What’s that called?”
“Dionysus Kiss,” he replied.
Kara leaned in close and raised an eyebrow. “Only a kiss? I thought it felt a bit more intimate than that,” she cooed.
This seemed like dangerous territory to Lee but he couldn’t seem to remember why. “A kiss is pretty intimate, Kara.”
“It depends on the kiss,” Kara argued. She smirked to herself as she mixed the next drink and handed it to him. “You could call this a kiss, I guess...” She waited until he’d drunk the glass dry before finishing, “But I call it a Blow Job.”
Lee didn’t quite manage to swallow the last drop in time. Kara chuckled as he choked and Lee decided he was through being the good boy. “My turn, is it?” he asked.
She nodded and he leaned in a little closer to her. “Tell me Kara,” he asked in a low breathy voice. “Would you prefer a Quick Frak? Or a Sloe Screw?”
She didn’t bat an eyelid, he had to give her that. Nobody could match Starbuck for bravado. “How about you give me one of each and I’ll tell you which I like better?” she suggested.
Her eyes were locked with his, daring him to take the bait. He leaned in closer still and just had time to see her smirk before their lips met.
That was all it took. He was in hook, line and sinker. Again it vaguely occurred to him that there was something wrong with this turn of events but he ignored the thought. He was not thinking about how this was something he had wanted since the moment he first saw her. He was not thinking about Zak for the first time since the news had hit him with the force of a blunt object. All he knew was that Kara wanted him.
Kara wanted him and that was all that really mattered.
When he woke the next morning sober and naked in her bed, he did the only thing he could do-got dressed and fled.
~ * ~
When they stepped into the mess hall, Seb immediately spotted a familiar face. “Hey Boomer,” he called.
Boomer looked up and smiled. “Hi short stuff!” Sebastian plopped down on the bench beside her and she ruffled the boy’s hair affectionately. Then she spotted his escort. “Is there any news, Captain?”
“Nothing new, Lieutenant.” He cleared his throat, “Actually, I was wondering if you could help me out? Kara’s not back from her mission yet,” he glanced meaningfully at Seb hoping she would take the hint, “And I said I would look after Sebastian here. It turns out I still have a few things to take care of, so perhaps you could watch him for a while? He seems comfortable with you.”
Sharon looked at him speculatively for a moment. “Sure, Apollo. Seb and I are old friends, aren’t we?” she turned to the boy for confirmation.
“All right with you then, kid?” Lee asked. Seb nodded enthusiastically. “Thanks, Boomer. I’ll let you know if we hear anything definite,” he promised.
~ * ~
Lee returned to the hangar deck, more determined than ever to get back into the search. With Tyrol’s help, he started pulling bits off some of the worst damaged Vipers when the call went out over the comms for him to report to the CIC.
When he arrived, his father and Tigh were looking at a graph depicting the search pattern. The untouched areas were far too vast.
“You can’t see very far when you’re hugging the ground,” Tigh explained.
“We can’t see anything at all from altitude,” Lee interjected. And the gunk keeps screwing up our ships. I’ve got thirteen Vipers down for repairs, including my own.”
The Commander’s mouth was set in a thin line. “We need more eyes.”
“Redeploy the CAP,” Lee suggested.
Tigh shook his head. “Bad idea. If the Cylons show up, we’re maggot meat.”
“What if we move the fleet closer to the moon?” Lee suggested. “We can scramble the Vipers from the search to meet any attack. We can double the search area in the time we have left.”
“Starbuck would be the first one to tell you not to do this,” Tigh disagreed.
“You don’t even know her!” Lee argued.
“Gentlemen,” Commander Adama interrupted, reminding them both who had the final say on the idea. He looked from one to the other, his eyes finally settling on Lee. “You get as many birds in the air as you can and you find our girl,” he ordered.
Lee swallowed. “Yes, sir.” He turned to go.
“Captain.”
Lee turned back to his father. “Sir?”
“When was the last time you slept?”
Lee blinked. What did that matter? He would sleep when they found Kara. “About thirty hours ago,” he admitted.
“That’s what I thought. Get the CAP on the search, then take an off shift.”
“Sir...” he protested.
“That’s an order, Lee. I’ll have you paged if there’s any news.”
~ * ~
Before retiring, Lee returned to the deck to see what progress Tyrol and his crew had made on repairs. He was helping reconstruct a bearing assembly when one of the knuckle draggers called out to tell him he had a call. He left Tyrol to finish up, hoping it would be his father on the line letting him know they’d found Kara at last. Instead, it was the president.
“How are you holding up?” she asked. Her tone was genuine but nevertheless it put him on his guard.
“Better than my Viper,” he quipped. “We're slapping one together from pieces of the others.”
“I need your help. Did you know that your father has redeployed the combat air patrol?”
Lee gritted his teeth. “Yes, Madam President, it was my idea,” he admitted. “We need every Viper we've got.”
There was a slight pause before the next question. “Maybe I'm missing something about the tactics involved here, but isn't the fleet defenceless without the C.A.P.?”
She was playing it coy but she was right. “Only for a short time,” he stalled. And though it hurt to say it he added, “Kara only has about ten hours of oxygen left. We need to find her before then.”
“Are you very close with Lieutenant Thrace?” Roslin asked carefully.
Frak, he shouldn’t have used Kara’s first name. “I'm close with all my pilots,” he demurred.
“And I assume the same is true for your father?” He could practically hear her reassessing his allegiances.
She was going to try to call off the search on the grounds of impaired judgement. If he was completely honest with himself he would admit if it was anyone but Kara he’d be arguing to give up the search by now. But it was Kara and he’d be damned if he’d let her down again. “His pilots mean a lot to him, to all of us,” he said carefully. “We don't leave anyone behind.”
“But we have left people behind,” she argued. “You know that.”
He needed to end this conversation now. “Not this time. Your F.T.L. drive should be spun up and ready. Just make sure everyone is set to jump at the first sign of trouble.”
She didn’t take the hint. “With all due respect, Captain, there are times when it is necessary for the safety of the fleet to-“
“Not this time. Madam President,” he insisted. “We just haven't exhausted all the options and the safety of the fleet has not been compromised.”
There was a longer silence this time. “I hope you find her.”
Lee hung up, knowing the situation had just got a little more desperate.
~ * ~
On his way back to quarters, Lee ran into Boomer and Seb.
“I was looking for you, Apollo,” she admitted. “I’m rostered for CAP and Sebastian here needs a place to sleep.”
Another thing he had not thought of. Boomer naturally slept in the bunkroom with the other pilots so even if she had been off duty Seb couldn’t stay with her overnight. Lee, on the other hand, had private quarters. No spare bed but the couch would probably do.
“Oh, of course,” he replied. “Thanks Boomer, I’ll take care of it from here.”
“No problem, sir. I’m sure he’ll be much better off with you.” She looked him up and down in a strangely calculating way, saluted peremptorily and headed for the hangar deck leaving him alone with his son.
Seb was yawning, seeming hardly aware of his surroundings and Lee wondered just how far past his bedtime it was. “Come on kid,” he told the boy gruffly. “Let’s find you somewhere to bunk for the night.”
Seb nodded and followed Lee to his quarters without a word. Lee fished out a spare blanket and made up a bed for his son on the couch before Seb finally spoke up. “Captain Adama?” he asked finally.
“Yes?” Lee asked.
“Mama’s not really on a mission is she? I heard Crashdown say she was lost and might be dead.”
Frak. Lee made a mental note to assign Crashdown to dishwashing duty for the next year or so. He hunkered down to Sebastian’s level and looked him in the eyes. He decided honesty was probably the best policy. “Yes,” he admitted. “Your mom should have been back by now. She had a little Viper trouble and had to eject.” Lee watched his son swallow and struggle not to cry and it brought a lump to his throat that had nothing to do with his own worries for Kara’s safety. “We’re going to find her,” he promised. “We’re going to find her and bring her back to you, okay?”
Seb nodded, looking unconvinced.
“You can cry if you need to,” Lee advised his son. “Sometimes it helps. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
Seb nodded again but remained stoic. Lee didn’t really blame him-the boy had absolutely no reason to trust him, after all.
He drew the covers back and Seb climbed into the makeshift bed. Without planning to, Lee reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair-then drew his hand back again, embarrassed. Luckily Seb didn’t seem to notice. “If you need anything, call out. I’m just over there, see? And try not to worry.”
Sebastian obediently closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Lee paused a moment watching him, wondering what it would be like if he’d made a different choice six years ago. Would he be giving his son a hug and kiss before tucking him in tight? Reading him a story, perhaps? He sighed. It was far too late for regrets now.
He dimmed the lights and climbed into his own bed. And if he heard sniffling coming from the couch during the night, he let the boy have his privacy and pretended he didn’t.
~ * ~
“Remember what I said. We’ll find her.” Lee reminded Seb of his promise as his son climbed aboard the Raptor that would take him to school. The boy didn’t look any more convinced than he had the night before but he was clearly putting on a brave face. Lee felt a strange sort of pride even as his heart ached for his son.
The search continued past the deadline. Hours later, when the president’s shuttle showed up unannounced, the commander sent Tigh to meet her and asked Lee to accompany him. “She’s gonna press,” he warned.
Lee nodded. “I’m with you.” He readied himself for the battle, feeling strange to be on the same side as his dad on this one.
“Madam President,” Adama greeted stiffly.
Roslin looked them both up and down with a stern eye before speaking. “Skip the formalities, you both know why I'm here.”
“Termination of a pilot's rescue mission is a military decision,” the commander insisted.
“That's a bunch of crap. This isn't military, it's personal. Neither of you can let go of Kara Thrace because she's your last link to Zak.”
Lee felt his gorge rise. “You don't know anything about my brother.”
The president shook her head. “Don't even begin, Captain.” She turned to his father. “You've both lost perspective. Under normal circumstances it would just be sad that the two of you can't come to terms with Zak's death. In this situation, you're putting your pilots at risk and you're exposing the entire fleet to possible attack every moment we stay here.”
“We’re always at risk of an attack,” Bill growled. “Starbuck put her life on the line to protect this fleet and we are not leaving her behind.”
“Madam President,” Lee stepped in. “Did you know she has a little boy? He’s five years old. I’d hate to have to tell him we didn’t do everything we could to find his mother after she risked her life for us.”
Roslin looked at him speculatively. “I sympathise, Captain, I really do, but he isn’t the first child orphaned by this war and sadly he won’t be the last.”
Lee felt the gorge rise in his throat. “How can you say that?”
She turned to Tigh, who stood to attention behind her, for support. “Colonel Tigh, how much aviation fuel has been expended in this operation?”
“Forty three percent of reserves,” Tigh supplied.
“Almost half.” Roslin looked from Lee to his father and then back again. “That's unacceptable. And operations in the moon's atmosphere have put one third of your fighters out of action. That is also completely unacceptable.”
The commander bristled. “Crap unacceptable. Whatever it is you feel about this, the recovery of one pilot is a military matter,” he insisted.
Roslin closed her eyes and sighed. “All right... it's military, fine. But if the two of you can’t bring yourself to consider the 45,000 souls in this fleet whose lives you are putting at risk, how about just one? One little boy. Five years old, you said. You’re risking his life, too. Do you really think Lieutenant Thrace would want that?”
Lee opened his mouth and closed it again. She wouldn’t. He glanced over at his father and saw he had come to the same realisation.
“Clear your heads,” Roslin ordered. She left the room and Tigh followed her.
Lee met his father’s eyes again and knew they had to accept the inevitable. He thought about the little boy who didn’t know he was about to lose the only parent he’d ever known and felt sick. Would it have made a difference if he’d confessed? Would they have searched harder, or resisted the inevitable for longer?
Adama called the Vipers back and told the fleet to prepare to jump away. Lee handed him the phone and felt like a traitor. His promise to his son was broken already.
“Sir, what about…” Lee choked up. “What about Sebastian?”
Adama sighed heavily. “We owe it to Kara to make sure he is well taken care of. We’ll find a place for him in the civilian fleet. I think that’s what Kara would want.”
“Do you really think it’s a good idea to uproot him from everything he knows right now?” Lee protested.
“Honestly?” he asked. “Every instinct I have is telling me to keep him close. But we have to think of what's best for Sebastian and he’ll be safer and happier with the civilians.” Adama put a hand on his shoulder, “I’ll miss him too, but we will stay in touch. A battlestar is no place for a child.”
A bitterness Lee couldn’t explain rose in his throat. “You clearly thought it was a good place for him yesterday.”
Adama looked at him sadly, “Yesterday he had a parent living aboard.”
That’s the thing, though, Lee thought. He still does. All it would take would be a blood test to establish that Sebastian was his son and then legally he could claim custodial rights. But would it be best for the boy? Perhaps the commander was right and he’d be better off with a civilian family.
“Dad,” he asked with some difficulty. “If all this had happened twenty years ago when Zak and I were kids would you have sent us away?”
His father looked pained at the question. “How can you ask me that?” he asked. “You’re my son, and you’d be with me no matter what. Zak too.”
Lee’s throat felt thick with emotion and he didn’t know what to say. His father saved them both the embarrassment by turning away.
“You’d better report to the hangar deck and see to your birds, Captain,” he ordered without looking at him.
Lee swallowed to clear his throat a little. “Yes sir,” he acknowledged, with none of his usual resentment. He saluted, despite the fact that his father still did not turn to look at him, and left the room quietly. He had a lot to think about.
~ * ~
Lee had almost reached the hangar deck when action stations were called. He zipped up his flightsuit and ran for a Viper.
“Most of the birds are refuelling sir,” the Chief informed him, helping Lee to secure his helmet quickly. “It’s just you and Hotdog.”
“We’ll manage,” Lee assured him, securing his canopy and checking his panel as they got him into the tube.
A few seconds after Lee launched, Hotdog’s frustrated voice came over the comm. His bird was jammed in the tube and he had to abort launch.
“I guess I’m going in solo,” Lee muttered to himself. Dee had reported only one contact but that was no assurance-where there was one raider, there were plenty more to follow. Likely this was a scout; it could well herald the arrival of a Basestar or two. Lee needed to take it out quickly so the fleet could jump away to safety.
“Galactica, Apollo,” he reported. “Target in sight.” He lined up his shot and squeezed the trigger. That’s for Kara, you frakker.
Inexplicably, the raider seemed to sense its peril and danced away at the last second, avoiding his fire. It continued heading towards Galactica.
Lee kept firing but the raider was quicker than any he’d seen. “Hold still, you little bastard,” he muttered. Finally one of his shots grazed the Cylon’s wing. It dodged again then suddenly dropped back beneath his bird and disappeared.
Lee was sure he hadn’t taken it out, so where was it? “I've lost him,” he reported. “Galactica, I repeat: he is nowhere to be seen.”
He continued to manoeuvre wildly, hoping it would prevent the raider from gaining a clear shot at him. Then he looked up and felt a chill down the back of his neck. The raider was flying directly above him, matching his course and speed. “Galactica,” he reported, “The Cylon is now flying in formation with me, right above my head.”
Lee ignored the gasps of surprise from the CIC and kept his eyes on the raider. “This thing is acting weird,” he muttered to himself. Likely it was trying to take him by surprise-when it decided to make its move he would only have a second to react. As he watched, the raider drew upwards away from him and he flexed his fingers on the stick.
The raider suddenly flipped one-eighty degrees and Lee’s mouth dropped open in shock as he registered the letters taped beneath the wing.
A whoop of triumph forced its way from his throat before he could stop it. “It’s Starbuck!”
“What!?” his father’s voice was incredulous. “Come again, Apollo.”
Lee forced himself to slow down and speak clearly. “Galactica, the raider is marked Starbuck. It’s written under the frakking wing!”
The next few minutes passed in a blur of relief, despite his father’s admonition of caution. The raider continued dancing around him and the showboating more than anything else convinced him it was her. She dipped her wings and he returned the salute, following her into the landing bay.
~ * ~
Forward to Chapter Seven
Feedback is loved, speculations are fodder for the muse, and con-crit is gratefully accepted!
Rating: M/MA
Spoilers: Season 1, so far. Though this goes firmly AU before the mini.
Pairings: Kara/Lee, mentions of Kara/Zak
Wordcount: This chapter ballooned out to 5077!
Summary: AU fic. What if Kara never served on the Galactica before the attacks? What if Lee made a mistake he couldn't fix? Maybe some things break for a reason. WIP.
Warnings: none that I can think of... maybe angst?
Author's Note: Grateful thanks to uberscribbler, stardust_20 and cliosmuse who looked this over for me and provided tons of helpful advice. However, I can never leave things alone and have kept tweaking after they checked - so if you find any errors, they are mine! Also, many many thanks to everyone still reading and especially those commenting on chaps and the various posts I've made bewailing my writer's block - you helped a ton! Hope you enjoy. :D
Back to Chapter Five
~ * ~
Chapter Six
~ * ~
The moment she opened the door, Lee knew he was in trouble-something indefinable sparked between them from the very first. The silence hung a moment as he opened his mouth and closed it again-afraid to speak lest he trip over his own tongue.
“You must be... Lee,” she said finally. “I’m Kara.”
Lee noted the hitch in her voice and was glad he wasn’t the only one discomfited. He handed her the flowers he’d brought and her smile widened appreciatively. “Oh, you didn’t have to do that, thank you. I’ll put them in some water.” She turned and headed down the stairs calling out to Zak to let him know Lee was here.
“Nice place,” he commented.
Kara snorted. “It’s a rat trap, but the rent’s cheap,” she demurred.
He wasn’t just being polite; sure it was small and in need of renovation but it felt comfortable. Lived in. There was a mural on the living room wall that he would bet she’d painted herself. “No,” he protested. “It’s got real charm.”
“You’re a terrible liar,” she informed him. “We should play cards.”
“I hold my own,” he informed her, trying not to imagine a game of strip triad as Zak finally sauntered into the kitchen and greeted him.
“I see you’ve met my better half,” Zak commented. “And this one’s mine, keep your hands off,” he added half joking, as if he could read his brother’s thoughts.
“Oh, a girlfriend stealer for a brother!” Kara teased; and that indefinable something was there again.
“I never stole his girlfriend,” Lee protested. Well, not really. And they’d both still been in high school then anyway, surely it didn’t count? Juvenile records were sealed after all.
Kara shooed both brothers from the kitchen and Zak took the opportunity to sing her praises. Lee was surprised to learn Kara was an instructor; while personal relationships between instructors and students weren’t technically against regulations, they were definitely frowned upon. Zak’s feelings for Kara were clearly deep enough for him to risk accusations of favouritism.
Dinner was an enjoyable affair. Kara was a good cook (despite her protestations that this was a one-off occurrence) and conversation consisted of Lee and Zak attempting to one-up each other with increasingly embarrassing childhood stories or Kara and Lee swapping stories of flight school and Viper exploits.
After one evening in Kara’s company Lee felt as if he’d known her all his life. As he helped her carry Zak to bed, Lee reflected that he was going to have to be very careful of his behaviour towards her. Because Zak was wrong-he was not a girlfriend stealer.
~ * ~
When Boomer radioed that she was returning with Hotdog, Commander Adama ordered Tigh to take command of the CIC. He caught Lee’s eye and by unspoken agreement both headed down to the hangar bay to debrief the trainee pilot.
“Was she manoeuvring?” Bill asked.
Costanza thought for a moment. “I think so, sir. Yes.”
“So she survived the initial hits,” Boomer interjected. “She could still be alive.”
“She is alive, Lieutenant,” the commander insisted, “And we’re going to find her.” He gave Lee a pointed look and began walking towards the Vipers.
Lee unfastened the wings from his own jacket and pinned them to Hotdog’s collar. The kid had shown surprising courage facing up to the Cylons and the wrath of Starbuck for disobeying orders and he’d managed to down at least one raider himself. He was a warrior now, blooded by his first kill. “I think you earned those today,” he murmured.
Without waiting for a response he turned and headed for his own Viper. Less than a week ago he had thought Kara dead. Now he stood a chance of putting things right and he had no intention of letting the Cylons frak it up.
Neither did the commander it seemed; he appeared and handed Lee his helmet. “Find her,” he ordered; the pointed look he bestowed reminding Lee of their conversation and his partial confession less than an hour ago.
He swallowed nervously. “I will,” he promised, and meant it.
~ * ~
Lee became adept at hiding his infatuation with Kara. Zak never suspected a thing and if Kara did she was equally good at ignoring it. She treated him as she always had-like a close friend and almost brother.
It was both comforting and frustrating.
Just before the end of his leave, Lee and Zak took Kara to meet their grandfather.
Joseph Adama, as shrewd as ever despite (or perhaps because of) his advancing years, immediately recognised his elder grandson’s frustration. When Lee headed for the kitchen to make coffee leaving the happy couple playing footsie on the sofa, he followed. “It’s no good wishing for things you can’t have, Leland,” he advised.
Somehow he wasn’t at all surprised Grandpa Joe had seen right through him. Lee shrugged the advice away. “What’s the harm in wishing if they never even know?”
Lee had often been told he’d inherited his grandfather’s eyes. Something in those pale blue depths made him pay attention now. “Once I wished to see my daughter one more time. A wish, once granted, may not be what you wanted after all.” He would not explain further.
Less than a year later, Lee understood his full meaning.
~ * ~
Lee was fit to be tied. He’d managed to hit bingo fuel just as the tankers were refilling, meaning he’d been forced to land his Viper instead of tanking up in orbit. To make matters worse, his right roll thruster was so gunked up with dust from the moon that it didn’t fire. His whole landing was thrown off with the result that his Viper would not be heading back out any time soon, refuelled or not. Yelling at Tyrol to produce another Viper didn’t really help the situation but it made him feel better. A little.
Fifteen birds needed repairs. Dammit, Kara was out there and he needed to find her. Lee was assessing the damage on one of the other Vipers when a small voice piped up behind him.
“Captain Adama, sir?”
Lee stiffened, recognising the voice immediately. He’d forgotten all about Seb. He’d be looking for his mom of course but how had he managed to get onto the hangar deck without anyone noticing? “Sebastian,” he said. “You shouldn’t be here, civilians aren’t allowed. It’s too dangerous.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” the boy apologised. His formality made Lee wince inwardly. “Mama said she would meet me after school but I can’t find her. Do you know where she is?”
Lee pondered very carefully how much to say. He didn’t want to lie to the boy but neither did he want to scare him with the news that Kara was missing with limited oxygen and possibly injured to boot. Seb began to look uncomfortable and Lee realised he was taking too long to answer. “She’s on a mission,” Lee told him quickly. “I promised her I’d look out for you but I forgot what time the Raptor came in.”
Sebastian frowned; possibly wondering why his mother would have entrusted his safety to a man she clearly couldn’t stand the sight of. Lee tried to look unthreatening but he really had no idea how to relate to children. This was exactly what he’d always feared.
“Come along then,” Lee said nervously. “Let’s find someone to take care of you until your mom gets back,” he offered, holding out his hand.
His son looked at the proffered hand for a moment as if he were worried it might bite him and then Lee felt his son’s small fingers curl into his own. “Are you hungry?” he asked, remembering how he’d always come home from school “starving” when he was a child.
“Starving,” his son agreed and Lee had to suppress a smile.
“Then we’ll go to the mess and see if we can’t get you something to eat, okay?” And with a little luck, they might find someone who was better qualified to take care of a small child.
~ * ~
His brother was dead. It had been Lee’s reality for three days now.
Kara was inconsolable. Lee supposed she was blaming herself for not teaching him well enough but Lee well knew the real culprit here was Commander William Adama.
Lee spent the funeral and the reception making sure his mother was okay but when she retired for the evening he sought Kara out and offered to drive her home-it was either that or have it out with his father in front of everyone.
Lee had intended to see her safely inside and then return home to a bottle of ambrosia and a heated altercation with a punching bag but Kara bit her lip and pleaded, “Stay.”
So he stayed.
Thankfully, Kara also had a bottle of ambrosia waiting. She poured them each a glass and they raised a toast to Zak. They finished that bottle in a mournful sort of silence and Kara went to fetch another. Lee was starting to feel his anger dissipate as his head got lighter.
“Do you remember,” Kara asked suddenly, “That night we met, and Zak tried to drink us under the table?”
Lee smiled wistfully. “How long did he last? Half a bottle? He never could hold his drink.”
“I made him a Tauron Starburst once. He got halfway through the second layer and had to run for the bathroom to throw up.”
“A Tauron Starburst?” Lee asked. “I don’t think I’ve heard of that one before.”
“Of course not,” she smirked. “I made it up.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Why am I not surprised?”
She giggled. “Want one?”
He really should have said no. He knew even as he shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Sure.”
Several drinks later, they’d moved on to a competition of who could mix the most sexually suggestive cocktail.
“This one,” she announced, mixing small amounts of several liqueurs into a shot glass, “Is one of my favourites.” She passed him the shot glass which was now a pink tinged with a darker red colour. “Put it between your lips and suck.”
He followed her instruction and found the drink pleasantly sweet, with a bite. “What’s that called?” he asked.
“Aphrodite’s Nipple,” she told him with a smirk.
“Not bad,” he observed. “My turn.” He mixed a few drinks together and handed her the glass.
She drank the contents and licked her lips. “Mmm, sweet. What’s that called?”
“Dionysus Kiss,” he replied.
Kara leaned in close and raised an eyebrow. “Only a kiss? I thought it felt a bit more intimate than that,” she cooed.
This seemed like dangerous territory to Lee but he couldn’t seem to remember why. “A kiss is pretty intimate, Kara.”
“It depends on the kiss,” Kara argued. She smirked to herself as she mixed the next drink and handed it to him. “You could call this a kiss, I guess...” She waited until he’d drunk the glass dry before finishing, “But I call it a Blow Job.”
Lee didn’t quite manage to swallow the last drop in time. Kara chuckled as he choked and Lee decided he was through being the good boy. “My turn, is it?” he asked.
She nodded and he leaned in a little closer to her. “Tell me Kara,” he asked in a low breathy voice. “Would you prefer a Quick Frak? Or a Sloe Screw?”
She didn’t bat an eyelid, he had to give her that. Nobody could match Starbuck for bravado. “How about you give me one of each and I’ll tell you which I like better?” she suggested.
Her eyes were locked with his, daring him to take the bait. He leaned in closer still and just had time to see her smirk before their lips met.
That was all it took. He was in hook, line and sinker. Again it vaguely occurred to him that there was something wrong with this turn of events but he ignored the thought. He was not thinking about how this was something he had wanted since the moment he first saw her. He was not thinking about Zak for the first time since the news had hit him with the force of a blunt object. All he knew was that Kara wanted him.
Kara wanted him and that was all that really mattered.
When he woke the next morning sober and naked in her bed, he did the only thing he could do-got dressed and fled.
~ * ~
When they stepped into the mess hall, Seb immediately spotted a familiar face. “Hey Boomer,” he called.
Boomer looked up and smiled. “Hi short stuff!” Sebastian plopped down on the bench beside her and she ruffled the boy’s hair affectionately. Then she spotted his escort. “Is there any news, Captain?”
“Nothing new, Lieutenant.” He cleared his throat, “Actually, I was wondering if you could help me out? Kara’s not back from her mission yet,” he glanced meaningfully at Seb hoping she would take the hint, “And I said I would look after Sebastian here. It turns out I still have a few things to take care of, so perhaps you could watch him for a while? He seems comfortable with you.”
Sharon looked at him speculatively for a moment. “Sure, Apollo. Seb and I are old friends, aren’t we?” she turned to the boy for confirmation.
“All right with you then, kid?” Lee asked. Seb nodded enthusiastically. “Thanks, Boomer. I’ll let you know if we hear anything definite,” he promised.
~ * ~
Lee returned to the hangar deck, more determined than ever to get back into the search. With Tyrol’s help, he started pulling bits off some of the worst damaged Vipers when the call went out over the comms for him to report to the CIC.
When he arrived, his father and Tigh were looking at a graph depicting the search pattern. The untouched areas were far too vast.
“You can’t see very far when you’re hugging the ground,” Tigh explained.
“We can’t see anything at all from altitude,” Lee interjected. And the gunk keeps screwing up our ships. I’ve got thirteen Vipers down for repairs, including my own.”
The Commander’s mouth was set in a thin line. “We need more eyes.”
“Redeploy the CAP,” Lee suggested.
Tigh shook his head. “Bad idea. If the Cylons show up, we’re maggot meat.”
“What if we move the fleet closer to the moon?” Lee suggested. “We can scramble the Vipers from the search to meet any attack. We can double the search area in the time we have left.”
“Starbuck would be the first one to tell you not to do this,” Tigh disagreed.
“You don’t even know her!” Lee argued.
“Gentlemen,” Commander Adama interrupted, reminding them both who had the final say on the idea. He looked from one to the other, his eyes finally settling on Lee. “You get as many birds in the air as you can and you find our girl,” he ordered.
Lee swallowed. “Yes, sir.” He turned to go.
“Captain.”
Lee turned back to his father. “Sir?”
“When was the last time you slept?”
Lee blinked. What did that matter? He would sleep when they found Kara. “About thirty hours ago,” he admitted.
“That’s what I thought. Get the CAP on the search, then take an off shift.”
“Sir...” he protested.
“That’s an order, Lee. I’ll have you paged if there’s any news.”
~ * ~
Before retiring, Lee returned to the deck to see what progress Tyrol and his crew had made on repairs. He was helping reconstruct a bearing assembly when one of the knuckle draggers called out to tell him he had a call. He left Tyrol to finish up, hoping it would be his father on the line letting him know they’d found Kara at last. Instead, it was the president.
“How are you holding up?” she asked. Her tone was genuine but nevertheless it put him on his guard.
“Better than my Viper,” he quipped. “We're slapping one together from pieces of the others.”
“I need your help. Did you know that your father has redeployed the combat air patrol?”
Lee gritted his teeth. “Yes, Madam President, it was my idea,” he admitted. “We need every Viper we've got.”
There was a slight pause before the next question. “Maybe I'm missing something about the tactics involved here, but isn't the fleet defenceless without the C.A.P.?”
She was playing it coy but she was right. “Only for a short time,” he stalled. And though it hurt to say it he added, “Kara only has about ten hours of oxygen left. We need to find her before then.”
“Are you very close with Lieutenant Thrace?” Roslin asked carefully.
Frak, he shouldn’t have used Kara’s first name. “I'm close with all my pilots,” he demurred.
“And I assume the same is true for your father?” He could practically hear her reassessing his allegiances.
She was going to try to call off the search on the grounds of impaired judgement. If he was completely honest with himself he would admit if it was anyone but Kara he’d be arguing to give up the search by now. But it was Kara and he’d be damned if he’d let her down again. “His pilots mean a lot to him, to all of us,” he said carefully. “We don't leave anyone behind.”
“But we have left people behind,” she argued. “You know that.”
He needed to end this conversation now. “Not this time. Your F.T.L. drive should be spun up and ready. Just make sure everyone is set to jump at the first sign of trouble.”
She didn’t take the hint. “With all due respect, Captain, there are times when it is necessary for the safety of the fleet to-“
“Not this time. Madam President,” he insisted. “We just haven't exhausted all the options and the safety of the fleet has not been compromised.”
There was a longer silence this time. “I hope you find her.”
Lee hung up, knowing the situation had just got a little more desperate.
~ * ~
On his way back to quarters, Lee ran into Boomer and Seb.
“I was looking for you, Apollo,” she admitted. “I’m rostered for CAP and Sebastian here needs a place to sleep.”
Another thing he had not thought of. Boomer naturally slept in the bunkroom with the other pilots so even if she had been off duty Seb couldn’t stay with her overnight. Lee, on the other hand, had private quarters. No spare bed but the couch would probably do.
“Oh, of course,” he replied. “Thanks Boomer, I’ll take care of it from here.”
“No problem, sir. I’m sure he’ll be much better off with you.” She looked him up and down in a strangely calculating way, saluted peremptorily and headed for the hangar deck leaving him alone with his son.
Seb was yawning, seeming hardly aware of his surroundings and Lee wondered just how far past his bedtime it was. “Come on kid,” he told the boy gruffly. “Let’s find you somewhere to bunk for the night.”
Seb nodded and followed Lee to his quarters without a word. Lee fished out a spare blanket and made up a bed for his son on the couch before Seb finally spoke up. “Captain Adama?” he asked finally.
“Yes?” Lee asked.
“Mama’s not really on a mission is she? I heard Crashdown say she was lost and might be dead.”
Frak. Lee made a mental note to assign Crashdown to dishwashing duty for the next year or so. He hunkered down to Sebastian’s level and looked him in the eyes. He decided honesty was probably the best policy. “Yes,” he admitted. “Your mom should have been back by now. She had a little Viper trouble and had to eject.” Lee watched his son swallow and struggle not to cry and it brought a lump to his throat that had nothing to do with his own worries for Kara’s safety. “We’re going to find her,” he promised. “We’re going to find her and bring her back to you, okay?”
Seb nodded, looking unconvinced.
“You can cry if you need to,” Lee advised his son. “Sometimes it helps. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
Seb nodded again but remained stoic. Lee didn’t really blame him-the boy had absolutely no reason to trust him, after all.
He drew the covers back and Seb climbed into the makeshift bed. Without planning to, Lee reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair-then drew his hand back again, embarrassed. Luckily Seb didn’t seem to notice. “If you need anything, call out. I’m just over there, see? And try not to worry.”
Sebastian obediently closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Lee paused a moment watching him, wondering what it would be like if he’d made a different choice six years ago. Would he be giving his son a hug and kiss before tucking him in tight? Reading him a story, perhaps? He sighed. It was far too late for regrets now.
He dimmed the lights and climbed into his own bed. And if he heard sniffling coming from the couch during the night, he let the boy have his privacy and pretended he didn’t.
~ * ~
“Remember what I said. We’ll find her.” Lee reminded Seb of his promise as his son climbed aboard the Raptor that would take him to school. The boy didn’t look any more convinced than he had the night before but he was clearly putting on a brave face. Lee felt a strange sort of pride even as his heart ached for his son.
The search continued past the deadline. Hours later, when the president’s shuttle showed up unannounced, the commander sent Tigh to meet her and asked Lee to accompany him. “She’s gonna press,” he warned.
Lee nodded. “I’m with you.” He readied himself for the battle, feeling strange to be on the same side as his dad on this one.
“Madam President,” Adama greeted stiffly.
Roslin looked them both up and down with a stern eye before speaking. “Skip the formalities, you both know why I'm here.”
“Termination of a pilot's rescue mission is a military decision,” the commander insisted.
“That's a bunch of crap. This isn't military, it's personal. Neither of you can let go of Kara Thrace because she's your last link to Zak.”
Lee felt his gorge rise. “You don't know anything about my brother.”
The president shook her head. “Don't even begin, Captain.” She turned to his father. “You've both lost perspective. Under normal circumstances it would just be sad that the two of you can't come to terms with Zak's death. In this situation, you're putting your pilots at risk and you're exposing the entire fleet to possible attack every moment we stay here.”
“We’re always at risk of an attack,” Bill growled. “Starbuck put her life on the line to protect this fleet and we are not leaving her behind.”
“Madam President,” Lee stepped in. “Did you know she has a little boy? He’s five years old. I’d hate to have to tell him we didn’t do everything we could to find his mother after she risked her life for us.”
Roslin looked at him speculatively. “I sympathise, Captain, I really do, but he isn’t the first child orphaned by this war and sadly he won’t be the last.”
Lee felt the gorge rise in his throat. “How can you say that?”
She turned to Tigh, who stood to attention behind her, for support. “Colonel Tigh, how much aviation fuel has been expended in this operation?”
“Forty three percent of reserves,” Tigh supplied.
“Almost half.” Roslin looked from Lee to his father and then back again. “That's unacceptable. And operations in the moon's atmosphere have put one third of your fighters out of action. That is also completely unacceptable.”
The commander bristled. “Crap unacceptable. Whatever it is you feel about this, the recovery of one pilot is a military matter,” he insisted.
Roslin closed her eyes and sighed. “All right... it's military, fine. But if the two of you can’t bring yourself to consider the 45,000 souls in this fleet whose lives you are putting at risk, how about just one? One little boy. Five years old, you said. You’re risking his life, too. Do you really think Lieutenant Thrace would want that?”
Lee opened his mouth and closed it again. She wouldn’t. He glanced over at his father and saw he had come to the same realisation.
“Clear your heads,” Roslin ordered. She left the room and Tigh followed her.
Lee met his father’s eyes again and knew they had to accept the inevitable. He thought about the little boy who didn’t know he was about to lose the only parent he’d ever known and felt sick. Would it have made a difference if he’d confessed? Would they have searched harder, or resisted the inevitable for longer?
Adama called the Vipers back and told the fleet to prepare to jump away. Lee handed him the phone and felt like a traitor. His promise to his son was broken already.
“Sir, what about…” Lee choked up. “What about Sebastian?”
Adama sighed heavily. “We owe it to Kara to make sure he is well taken care of. We’ll find a place for him in the civilian fleet. I think that’s what Kara would want.”
“Do you really think it’s a good idea to uproot him from everything he knows right now?” Lee protested.
“Honestly?” he asked. “Every instinct I have is telling me to keep him close. But we have to think of what's best for Sebastian and he’ll be safer and happier with the civilians.” Adama put a hand on his shoulder, “I’ll miss him too, but we will stay in touch. A battlestar is no place for a child.”
A bitterness Lee couldn’t explain rose in his throat. “You clearly thought it was a good place for him yesterday.”
Adama looked at him sadly, “Yesterday he had a parent living aboard.”
That’s the thing, though, Lee thought. He still does. All it would take would be a blood test to establish that Sebastian was his son and then legally he could claim custodial rights. But would it be best for the boy? Perhaps the commander was right and he’d be better off with a civilian family.
“Dad,” he asked with some difficulty. “If all this had happened twenty years ago when Zak and I were kids would you have sent us away?”
His father looked pained at the question. “How can you ask me that?” he asked. “You’re my son, and you’d be with me no matter what. Zak too.”
Lee’s throat felt thick with emotion and he didn’t know what to say. His father saved them both the embarrassment by turning away.
“You’d better report to the hangar deck and see to your birds, Captain,” he ordered without looking at him.
Lee swallowed to clear his throat a little. “Yes sir,” he acknowledged, with none of his usual resentment. He saluted, despite the fact that his father still did not turn to look at him, and left the room quietly. He had a lot to think about.
~ * ~
Lee had almost reached the hangar deck when action stations were called. He zipped up his flightsuit and ran for a Viper.
“Most of the birds are refuelling sir,” the Chief informed him, helping Lee to secure his helmet quickly. “It’s just you and Hotdog.”
“We’ll manage,” Lee assured him, securing his canopy and checking his panel as they got him into the tube.
A few seconds after Lee launched, Hotdog’s frustrated voice came over the comm. His bird was jammed in the tube and he had to abort launch.
“I guess I’m going in solo,” Lee muttered to himself. Dee had reported only one contact but that was no assurance-where there was one raider, there were plenty more to follow. Likely this was a scout; it could well herald the arrival of a Basestar or two. Lee needed to take it out quickly so the fleet could jump away to safety.
“Galactica, Apollo,” he reported. “Target in sight.” He lined up his shot and squeezed the trigger. That’s for Kara, you frakker.
Inexplicably, the raider seemed to sense its peril and danced away at the last second, avoiding his fire. It continued heading towards Galactica.
Lee kept firing but the raider was quicker than any he’d seen. “Hold still, you little bastard,” he muttered. Finally one of his shots grazed the Cylon’s wing. It dodged again then suddenly dropped back beneath his bird and disappeared.
Lee was sure he hadn’t taken it out, so where was it? “I've lost him,” he reported. “Galactica, I repeat: he is nowhere to be seen.”
He continued to manoeuvre wildly, hoping it would prevent the raider from gaining a clear shot at him. Then he looked up and felt a chill down the back of his neck. The raider was flying directly above him, matching his course and speed. “Galactica,” he reported, “The Cylon is now flying in formation with me, right above my head.”
Lee ignored the gasps of surprise from the CIC and kept his eyes on the raider. “This thing is acting weird,” he muttered to himself. Likely it was trying to take him by surprise-when it decided to make its move he would only have a second to react. As he watched, the raider drew upwards away from him and he flexed his fingers on the stick.
The raider suddenly flipped one-eighty degrees and Lee’s mouth dropped open in shock as he registered the letters taped beneath the wing.
A whoop of triumph forced its way from his throat before he could stop it. “It’s Starbuck!”
“What!?” his father’s voice was incredulous. “Come again, Apollo.”
Lee forced himself to slow down and speak clearly. “Galactica, the raider is marked Starbuck. It’s written under the frakking wing!”
The next few minutes passed in a blur of relief, despite his father’s admonition of caution. The raider continued dancing around him and the showboating more than anything else convinced him it was her. She dipped her wings and he returned the salute, following her into the landing bay.
~ * ~
Forward to Chapter Seven
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