Summery: Injured and stranded on a barren moon, Kara Thrace flashes back to her previous knee injury, that ended her pyramid career, and put her on the road to becoming a pilot. Takes place during 'You Can't Go Home Again'.
Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica and associated characters are copyright to Vivendi Universal, Sci-Fi Channel, and Sky One. Some dialogue is taken directly from the show. This work is not for profit and is not intended to infringe upon said copyright.
Author's Note: I'm a newcomer to the world of Battlestar Galactica, so please forgive any errors or inconsistencies. Please feel free to email me with corrections. The idea for this story popped into my head and would not let go. However, I've re-read it too many times, and now I cannot decide if it is decent or awful. So please read and review.
Kara's flashbacks are based loosely on my own experiences as a Division 1 athlete, and all pilot related scenes are inspired by one of my best friends, who ruined Top Gun for me, and has recently been accepted for Primary Flight Training. All mistakes are mine.
Spoilers: Act of Contrition and You Can't Go Home Again.
Ooooooooooooooo
"All right, listen up, nuggets--stay together and keep your throttles firewalled until you hit that deck. Now go." Starbuck spun her Viper around and throttled forward to engage the Cylon raiders. She had two minutes until the Alert fighters arrived, but if she waited her nuggets could be caught up in the fight.
She knocked out the first raider at range and plunged her fighter negative-y into a vertical turn up, ending at the raiders' 6 and finishing off another two. She threw the Viper into a snap roll as Cylon weapons' fire grazed her starboard wing. Three down, five to go and a minute and a half before the Alert fighters arrive. No problem. She glances at her DRADIS, and sees one of the nuggets break formation.
Kat's voice comes in over the comm., "Hey, Hotdog, where are you going?" He fires on one of the Cylons. "Whoa, I got one!" Frakking nuggets, disobeying my frakking orders. "Hotdog, get out of here! Hotdog, I thought I told you to get your ass home." She fired, disabling the fifth raider. "You said never to leave your leader." She broke starboard to avoid an incoming missile. "And I also said never disobey an order!" Like I'm one to talk. "I'm hit!" Frak. "I got you, Hotdog. We're gonna make it through this. Break port, now, now, now!" As Hotdog broke, she sighted the raider on his tail and fired. The raider exploded, taking its wingman with it. "Ugh! I just lost all three mains."
"It's all right, Hotdog, you did good. You're gonna be okay, I promise you. At least from the Cylons. That about does it, I think there's only one left. Frak... he's right on my tail but I got it covered…" She slammed the stick hard, throwing the ship into a flat spin, and targeted the raider on instinct. Her guns nailed the final raider across the bow, but its forward momentum slammed it into her ship, throwing her into an uncontrolled spin into the gravity well of a nearby moon. The centrifugal forces slammed her into the side of the cockpit, and lights flashed behind her eyes. As she wrestled with the stick her vision grayed and tunneled.
As she entered the atmosphere, her Viper was rocked with explosions. She knew she could not recover before she slammed into the moon's surface. She reached for the ejection ring, struggling against the centrifugal forces pressing her back. The ship yawed violently, but she finally managed to yank the ring and punch out. The powerful, full force of rushing air pinned her to her seat, and she started to tumble and corkscrew towards the surface. Violent wind currents tossed her as she pulled the manual release.
She was struck with an abrupt pain, as her chute open with a vicious snap, and the straps dug into her chest. The wind whooshed through her chute, tossing her back and forth. She gripped the rigging and tried to determine the direction of the wind currents, so when she hit, she would be ready to grab the lower shroud lines of the chute and collapse it. When she judged that she was about five meters from the ground, she tucked her legs in, went limp, and prayed to the Lords that her good knee would absorb most of the impact. SLAM. She hit the ground hard and blacked out.
The wind caught in her chute, and dragged her limp body across the rocky ground. She groaned when her flight helmet bashed into an outcropping of rocks, and her eyes fluttered open. Disoriented, she struggled against the ropes, as the wind continues to drag her across the moon. She pulled her left leg into her body and reached for the knife in her boot, when a white-hot, blinding pain shot through her other leg. She screamed and desperately struggled to stay conscious. Biting her lip, she tasted blood, but managed to saw through the cords on her chute and disentangle herself. She came to a stop only meters from the edge of a cliff.
Starbuck levered herself into a sitting position and the pain almost overwhelmed her. Frak! Put it in a box. She took a deep breath, and began a mental inventory of her situation. Pounding headache, nausea, and blurred vision—probably a mild concussion. Okay, I've flown with worse. I wrenched my shoulder and did something to my wrist, but it's probably not broken. Bruised ribs, but they're not grating. Now for the fun part. She exhaled and looked down at her knee, and flashed back seven years.
Ooooooooooooooo
"Welcome to the CCAA Pyramid Championships. This is Eric Frisman for Caprica 5. We have an incredible game here for you tonight. It's the University of Caprica Scimitars versus the Sagittaron Colony University Centaurs! The Scimitars are led by senior point forward, Kara Thrace, arguably the best player in the league. She's led her team to the Championships for the past three years, and is looking to make it number four. Either way, Thrace will be the number one pick at the CPL draft this year. The Centaurs are led by senior back Jason Chionis, one of the league's strongest and most physical players. The native Sagittaron will do anything to ensure victory for his team…"
Ooooooooooooooo
Anything and everything. Her knee was noticeably swollen even through the flight suit, which was remarkably intact. Other than the swelling, she could not see any visible deformations, which she hoped meant that her kneecap was still in place. If it's not, by the time I get back to Galactica…Come on Thrace--Focus! Okay, equipment. She pulled out her wireless, and tossed it over the cliff on determining that it was now useless scrap metal. Checking the monitor on her life support pack, she discovered that the atmosphere is unbreathable. "Frak!" Okay, Galactica is going to send out SAR. I have to get to higher ground so they can find me. She wrapped her knee the best she could and painfully eased herself to her feet. Put it in a box. She slowly limped off, each step an agonizing reminder.
Ooooooooooooooo
Kara Thrace called her team into a huddle. "Okay, guys. This is it. This is what we've worked all season for. We're a better team, we need to stay focused, be aggressive off the boards, quick passing, and clean shooting. We're not going to let a bunch of overgrown Sagittaron farmboys take our title. Let's show them how a real team plays!" She pulled Chrissy, a sophomore and the only other female starter to the side. "Be careful out there, those guys are a lot bigger than you, so don't let them box you in. You're faster than they are so use that to your advantage. Use the halos, relay the ball to Greg or me, then get opened to take the shot." The younger women smiled at her. "You got it Captain. You get me the ball, I'll put it in."
Both teams took the court. Kara shook Chionis' hand and left the center so that he and Greg Stuart could take the jump. Chionis won, and the Centaur wing grabbed the ball. Kara was right on him. She intercepted his pass, and tossed the ball to Chrissy…
"This is Eric Frisman for Caprica 5. The Centaurs have won the jump ball, but Thrace quickly gains possession and passes to Warren. Warren takes it up the court, pump fakes and passes to Stuart. Stuart to Thrace, Thrace back to Warren, she shoots, she scores! First point to the Scimitars. Impressive teamwork by the Scimitars."
Ooooooooooooooo
Starbuck limped on. It felt like she had been walking for days, but a quick check told her that it had been just over five hours. "It's okay... it's okay, it's okay, it's okay. Okay, okay, get to higher ground. Then they see you... then they rescue you." If they're even looking. You just told the Commander that you killed his son. Why would he waste manpower, time, and fuel looking for you? Starbuck told the insidious little voice to shut the frak up.
Ooooooooooooooo
"And that's halftime with a score of 17-10. The Scimitars are holding on to their lead, but the Centaurs are making them work hard for it. The Scimitars have taken a beating physically. Sean Kieran came out with a broken nose, and both Thrace and Warren are being knocked around the court. We'll see how this epic battle plays out after this break. And here's a word from our sponsors…"
Coach Trevian surveyed his team. "Alright everyone. Nice work. Grab some water. Kieran, keep ice on that. Baker and Gamal, let's tighten up the defense on the left side. They're playing tough, physical ball, but we're still beating them. This means that they're going to be frustrated and they're probably going to start playing dirty. Watch out for Chionis, he's big, he's aggressive, and he's not concerned about roughness." "I'll second that," Sean mumbled. "Thrace that means you. No matter what you and the press seem to think, you are not invincible. Now let's go out there and show them how we play pyramid on the first-world colonies!"
Ooooooooooooooo
The pain was getting worse. Her leg gave out under her, and she unceremoniously hit the dirt. "Frak!" Come on, Starbuck. You have to keep going. You need to get to higher ground so they can find you. For some reason, her inner voice was sounding a lot like Lee. She pushed herself into sitting position, then struggled up on one leg. She gingerly put her other foot down, but as she transferred more weight the pain increased. Her vision tunneled and she forced herself to stay conscious. Put it in a box. She checked life support gauges. Thirty-two hours of air left.
Ooooooooooooooo
"We're nearing the end of the third quarter in the CCAA Championships and what an exciting game it is. The Scimitars are playing great ball, but they are struggling to hold onto their 24-19 lead. The Centaurs are physically dominating this game, but despite their size, they have been unable to stop the dynamic Thrace-Stuart-Warren offence, and the game is only getting more vicious. Chrissy Warren takes a hard hit and she is down!"
Kara saw Chionis slam into Chrissy, throwing her against the wall. Chrissy collapsed as the official blew his whistle. "Unnecessary roughness, 5 minute penalty!" Kara knelt down next to her teammate. Chrissy was gasping for air, a growing panic evident in her eyes. "It's okay, Chrissy, you got the wind knocked out of you. Try to breathe. Deep breaths." After about twenty second's Chrissy's breathing normalized, but she still was clutching her side. Kara called the trainer over. He dropped his bag, and knelt down besides her. The trainer probed her ribs lightly with two fingers and Chrissy let out a strangled cry. "Probably cracked. She's out." Frak! Kara and the trainer gently helped Chrissy to her feet and led her off the court.
"And it looks like junior Ryan Cutler will be coming in for Warren. The Centaurs will be a man down for the rest of the quarter, but let's see if the Scimitars can take advantage of it. Nessun has the ball, he passes—intercepted by Thrace. Thrace to Baker, back to Thrace, handoff to Cutler, he passes to Stuart, Stuart looks towards the goal, blocked by Nessun, Baker crosses to Thrace, she shoots, she scores, but she takes an elbow to the face from Rorcus."
"Frak! Frakking mo--" Greg grabbed her arm, ending her tirade before she got a technical. "I'm fine," she snapped, her rapidly bruising cheek belying her words. "Baker, play further up the court, let's capitalize on are man-advantage."
Ooooooooooooooo
The winds on this barren moon never seemed to die down. Starbuck was buffeted by gusts and scoured with dust particles. She sucked on the straw inside her helmet, finishing off the last of her water. "Frak it!" The pain was not as bad now. She was not sure if she had just become inured to it, or if the swelling had cut off sensation. Either way, it meant she could limp along a little more quickly. Still, at the rate she was moving, it would be another eight hours before she reached the top of the ridge. By that point, she would only have twelve hours of oxygen left. Please be looking for me. I'm so sorry about Zak. I thought I was helping him. It was so important to him to be a Viper pilot. I never thought that he would die because of me. She began her slow ascent to the top of the ridge.
Ooooooooooooooo
"With two of their starters out of the game, the Scimitars have been struggling to hold onto their lead. Thrace has been playing an incredible game, covering the whole court, but it hasn't been enough to stop the Centaurs from bring the score to 32-31. The question on everyone's mind is will the Centaurs be able to break the Scimitars' reign or will Thrace manage to lead her team to their fourth Colonial Championship?"
Kara was exhausted. The game had become intensely physical, and they were barely managing to hold on to their lead. Strands of blond hair had come loose from her bun, and sweat glued them to her face. Her cheek was throbbing, and she had rolled her ankle at some point. Put it in a box. It doesn't matter right now. Focus, Thrace. The next 6 minutes for the rest of your life.
Ooooooooooooooo
Starbuck staggered up the last section of the ridge. She paused to catch her breath and take the weight off her injured leg. "Lords, it's Kara Thrace. I'm running a little low on O2 and I could use a lucky break…No? Okay, just thought I'd mention it." As she reached the top of the rise, she saw the Cylon raider she had shot down in a valley. "Oh, frak." From where she stood, the Cylon ship looked disabled, some sort of thick red fluid had oozed out and driedfrom the 'wound' on the raider's bow. Starbuck knew that the Cylon ship could be her only chance off this moon. Unfortunately, that meant she had to go down the precipice. She knew from painful past experience that going downhill was going to be significantly more arduous than going up.
Ooooooooooooooo
Kara hit the ground hard as Nessun barreled through her to make the outside shot. Frak it! That just tied up the frakking score. She ignored Greg when he extended his hand, and levered herself back to her feet. Just under two minutes left. It's now or never, Thrace. You need to make this happen. "Okay, Gamal, stick tight to Nessun. Do NOT let him shoot. Baker, you take Rorcus. Don't be afraid to get in his face. The refs aren't frakking calling anything, so take advantage of that. Ryan and Greg, you need to stay wide, and move the ball quickly. Now let's go out there and win!"
"It's a tie score with one minute and fifty six seconds left in the CCAA Pyramid Championships. Is been an exciting game, with the University of Caprica Scimitars taking an early lead over the Sagittaron Colony Centaurs. However, the Centaurs fought back hard, taking out two of the Scimitars' starting players. Led by league MVP, Kara Thrace, the Scimitars managed to hold onto their lead until the final quarter, when Centaur point forward Brad Nessun made an outside shot to even up the score. Now the Colonies are watching Kara Thrace, to see if she can win a fourth consecutive title for the Scimitars…"
Ooooooooooooooo
Six hours of air left. Her leg felt like it was on fire, but the rest of her body was wracked with chills. She limped to the Cylon ship and half-collapsed next to it, send a new wave of pain through her body. Don't throw up. Don't throw up. Put it in a box. You have to get this raider functional to get off this frakking pile of rocks. She crawled to the underside of the ship and started prying at a seal with her knife. Suddenly she hit a layer of biological tissue. "Frak me. Are you... alive?" Hopefully not anymore. She kept going at it with the knife. Finally she managed to pop the hatch open. Here it goes. She pulled herself out from under the raider, and slowly boarded the enemy ship.
"Oh... my... gods... you bite me and I'll bite you back. So, I guess the only thing flying you, is you. This must be your brain." Gross. It's a good thing I'm not squeamish. She tears the pulsing organic matter off its stem and tosses it out of the ship. "I don't think you'll need it. It's a good thing that I brought one of my own." Checking her air supply, she realizes the gauges read almost empty. "Frak... even cockroaches have to breathe. How the hell do you?" She probes the ship further. "Come on... you're part biological, right? Which means that you need oxygen, right? So, it's gotta be here... somewhere." Finally she discovers an ooze coated air tube. Okay, so maybe I am squeamish, but goo is better than asphyxiation, right? She gaged as she put the tube in her mouth, but managed not to vomit.
She sealedthe bullet hole by stuffing her pack into it and managed to re-pressurize the cabin. Now that I can breathe without the tube, I need to figure out what controls what. "Every flying machine has four basic controls: power, pitch, yaw and roll. Where are yours?" She experimentally tries a control switch and the raider fires. "Safety tip number one: don't touch that." After another three hours of conducting tests, Starbuck was able to get basic flight systems working. "Okay, okay... that's power, roll, pitch and yaw. We have control. Take me home!"
The raider left the moon's atmosphere in time to see the civilian ships make the jump to FTL. Starbuck guided the unfamiliar ship towards Galactica on a direct vector. "Okay... now, look before you shoot, please." Starbuck gritted her teeth against the pain. Now would be a very bad time to blackout.
A single Alert Viper launched from the tubes. She breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized Apollo's ship. He fired. She broke starboard. "You idiot! Didn't anybody teach you intercept protocol? Okay, we're gonna have to do this the hard way then." She threw the unfamiliar ship into a dizzying series of maneuvers, expertly avoiding Lee's guns. She inverted and looped the Cylon ship under the Viper, then quickly pulled a split-S, positioning her ship directly above Apollo's. Please read it, Lee. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. Apollo sidesliped his fighter and waggled his wings at her. Thank the Lords. She waggled back. She approached the landing bay on Apollo's wing, praying she could hold it together until she landed.
The instant her landing gear hit the flight deck, Starbuck released the pressure seal and slumped over in her seat. She dimly heard the thudding of flight boots, and then, "Kara? Kara! Are you alright?" Lee Adama ignored the masses of pulsating organic slime, as he knelt down next to Starbuck. At her shaky assent, he helped her to her feet, only to have her cry out in pain and collapse. He swept her up in his arms, carried her out of the raider, and gently deposited her on the stretcher with the waiting medics. They quickly administered morpha and rushed off to sickbay. Lee was half a step behind them.
Ooooooooooooooo
Kara intercepted the ball, passed it to Ryan, and made a fast break towards the goal. Ryan took three steps, but as he threw the ball to her, a Centaur defender slammed into him altering the ball's trajectory. Kara lunged to grab the ball and pivoted towards the goal, placing all her weight on her right leg. Still off balance, she was about to release the ball when she felt a searing pain and found herself on the floor.
She felt vaguely disconnected, as if she was experiencing everything under water. Voices were speaking, but she couldn't comprehend what they were saying. Someone was holding down her shoulders. "Kara, don't try move." What happened? Why am I on the floor? "The ambulance is on its way." She was still floating as they loaded her into the ambulance and screeched away.
The first thing she was aware of was the beeping. Steady and insistent. Gradually, she became aware of the cold and the bright lights burning through her eyelids. Her mouth was dry, and her throat and her chest felt painfully constricted. She slowly opened her eyes and she felt a wave of nausea roll over her. Someone helped her sit up and held a basin for her as she vomited. A beige cup filled with water was pressed into her hand. "Here, just rinse out your mouth. I'll get the doctor."
A tall middle-aged man in a white lab coat entered the roomed, trailed by Coach Trevian. "How are you feeling?" her coach asked. "Coach, the game, did we…" Trevian took her hand. "Don't worry about that right now." The doctor cleared his throat. "Ms. Thrace, you sustained serious injuries to your right knee. We surgically repaired the worst of the damage, but we will need to go back in once the swelling goes down, and make further repairs." She took in the grim expressions of the doctor and her coach. "How long?" she asked, fighting back panic. "Well, there will be a lengthy recovery, followed by physical therapy…" She had little tolerance for the doctor's prevarication. She looked at her Coach, the man who had been a replacement parental figure for the past four years. "How long until I can play again?"
"Kara," Trevian said gently, "You ruptured three ligaments, two tendons, and tore your meniscus. That would all be bad enough, but you completely dislocated your knee. When it popped out of place, it damaged the artery. There was a lot of internal bleeding. Kara, you'll never regain full strength or range of motion. You won't be able to play again, not at this level. I'm so sorry." And with those words her world ended.
Ooooooooooooooo
Commander Adama strode into sickbay at a decorous pace. He had wanted to sprint down there from CIC, but the dignity of his role as Galactica's commander prevented it. Dr. Cottle had called him when Starbuck had come out of surgery. "How's she doing Doc?" Cottle held up a neural MRI. "She's got a knee like a smashed melon. I'm surprised she could fly, let alone walk. Not to mention the rest of her injuries."
"Painful?" Adama asked. "Damn right. She isn't going to be walking, much less flying anytime soon." Adama shook his head. "Don't let her know that yet." Cottle smirked. "Good luck keeping that from her. She in there," he indicated with a tilt of his head. "Thank you, Doc." Adama strode past the doctor into Starbuck's cubicle.
Starbuck was pale and her short blonde hair was tousled. She looked at Adama with apprehension, remembering both their parting conversation and a similar scene seven years earlier. Please Lords, don't take flying away too. "How are you feeling?" Come on, Starbuck, don't cry. She slipped into her 'Starbuck persona'."Been a hell of a lot worse. Don't have any ambrosia but the doc can fix you up with some really nice stuff. It's not bad, is it? The knee?" She hated that little quiver in her voice. "Doc says it's too early to tell, but knowing you, you'll be fine. Kara... You did good... you did real good. Need anything?" He doesn't hate me. I told him I killed his son and he forgave me. "A stogie would be nice." Adama smiled, knowing what she really meant. "I had a feeling.It's my last one, so enjoy." He handed it to her. "Thank you." He could tell that she was fading. "Get some rest." He squeezed her hand and turned away. When he glanced back over his shoulder, Starbuck had tears running down her cheeks.
Afterword: I realize that Starbuck's original injury sound highly improbable and melodramatic. However, even with current medical technology, fewer injuries are career ending (i.e. Carson Palmer). Therefore, I assumed that with more advanced medicine, an injury would have to be incredibly severe to be career ending, so I combined every knee injury I could think of.