Author's note:
This story started forming in my head before I saw the last episode of season 3 and after watching that episode the desire to write this story became even stronger. Now don't get me wrong - I love the idea of Kara coming back and I would be very angry if they wouldn't have brought her back from the dead - but I'm really not satisfied with the idea of the 4 new cylons that they revealed in the last episode.
My problem - and I am fully aware that I'm overthinking this and obsessing on this subject - is that for me it doesn't make any sense. I could have handled Tigh being a cylon, even Anders and Tory I can buy although I'm kind of pissed that they gave such a minor character that we knw nothing about such as Tory such an important role - but my problem is with the Chief - because if he is a cylon then his child with Cally is also half cylon - just like Hera - and since all this time we have only heard talk of one half human half cylon child - I'm having a hard time buying it. Or maybe it's just the fact that I love the characters of Anders, Tigh and Tyrol so much (I'm kind of indifferent towards Tory) that I just can't accept them as cylons.
Anyway - this story starts right after crossroads part 1 and will have spoilers for several scenes from crossroads part 2 but it will me my take on the episode and will go complete AU from there.
Enjoy
Oh and as you probably guessed - I don't own them, don't know the ones who do and have no money anyway - so please don't sue.
Sam lay in his bunk and tried to get to sleep. He just finished 6 hours of nugget training and her was dead on his feet. Kara used to tell him how hard it was - the training all viper and raptor pilots had to go through - but he never figured it would be that taxing. Thinking of Kara made his heart clench and he knew that if he kept up with that line of thought - he could forget about sleeping at all. He turned in his bunk again and cleared his head - trying to conjure up basic flight manuals thinking that would surely put him to sleep in a matter of minutes.
That's when he heard it again - that tune. It was faint, like it came from somewhere far away.
He pulled open the curtain to his bunk and stuck out his head - ready to give a tongue lashing to who ever was playing it while others tried to sleep. Only the room was completely empty. He debated trying to sleep in spite of it - but for some reason he had a feeling it was important that he found out where it came from.
He got to his feet and started heading towards the sound.
Colonel Tigh pressed his ear against the bulkhead. He was drunk - but then, he was always drunk these days. At first he tried ignoring the music, thinking it was just another one of his drunken hallucinations. But no hallucination was that persistent. He kept hearing the music everywhere. It was faint, and no one around him seemed to pick up on it - but he knew it was there. Even through his drunken stupor he could somehow sense that it was real.
With his ear still pressed against the bulkhead, he started making his way through the corridors - following the tune.
Tory walked through the corridors of galactica slowly. She didn't know the ship well - most times when she came on board with the president her activities were contained mainly around CIC, the briefing room and the Admiral's quarters. She had never even seen more that half the decks and corridors on this ship. But for some reason, she knew exactly where she was going. It was like her legs had a mind of their own. People walked by her but she didn't really notice them. She kept walking, walking and humming. The simple melody simply refused to leave her mind. It was playing in her head over and over again, and the sound of it seemed to get louder the closer she got to her destination.
He knew he should be somewhere else. He had work to do - hell, even when it wasn't his shift he had work to do - there was always work to do. He was the chief after all. And when he had some time off he usually spent that time with Nicholas. With his and Cally both working so hard and such long hours - he made it a point to spend as much time as he can with his son. Never the less, here he was, standing idly in an empty storage room just off the lower deck - pacing the length of the room and humming to himself that frakking tune that sounded so familiar and yet completely foreign at the same time. He knew he should get going, people will start missing him soon, he was probably needed somewhere else - but for some reason he felt like he had to wait. Something was coming and he needed to be there for it.
Helo made his way to CIC with a cup of what passed as coffee in mess hall these days in one of his hands and a stack of reports in the other. He was so engrossed in the report he was currently going over that he barely managed to avoid running straight into petty officer Duella as she made her way out, having just completed her own shift. He started to apologize but she just gave him a nasty glare and roughly brushed past him, making his polite apology catch in his throat.
He sighed as he looked after her retreating form. Things have been tense around Galactica in the past few weeks. News of Major Adama, the former CAG, leaving the fleet and joining Baltar's defense team of all things, had hit everyone hard. The rift between the Apollo and his father, Galactica's beloved commander, was making everyone feel twitchy and on edge.
The scuttlebutt on the ship was working overtime and one of the most agreed upon theories seemed to be that the sudden death of Starbuck had finally sent Apollo over the edge. Needless to say this particular theory didn't sit well with Apollo's newly estranged wife. Dee had grown quiet and resentful as time went by and being one of Starbuck's closest friends seemed to make Helo one of her least favorite people these days.
"How very like you Starbuck" Helo thought to himself sadly "Causing trouble even after you're gone"
For a moment he allowed the grief over his friend to wash over him. Even after 2 months the pain was still so fresh. But the moment passed quickly. He had no time to dwell on his pain right now - maybe later tonight, when he's back in his quarters with Athena's arms wrapped around him he would be able to let the pain take over him - but right now he had a job to do.
With a deep breath to clear his head he passed the threshold to CIC and took over the com. The first few hours of the shift went by smoothly and quietly. He even managed to catch up on some paperwork.
Suddenly, everything changed.
"DRADIS contact" Lt. Gaeta's voice came out loud and clear over the quietness of the CIC "Single contact. Looks like a heavy raider bearing 1-2-0"
"Sound the alarm!" Helo jumped to his feet "Put the fleet on alert condition 1. Prepare to launch the alert fighters and radio the civilian fleet to start prepping for emergency FTL jump"
"What's going on?" Admiral Adama stepped into CIC, his gruff voice was like music to Helo's ears.
"We have single DRADIS contact, looks like a heavy raider on a lone reconnaissance mission" Helo informed him
"Hold on a moment Sir" Lt Gaeta's voice sounded confused "I'm suddenly getting a colonial signal"
"Verify that" The Admiral frowned. The last time they located a colonial signal it had been the Pegasus, and that turned out to be a complete disaster. He wondered what new problems they would encounter this time around.
A tense moment passed. When Gaeta spoke again, his voice sounded even more confused "Colonial identification code confirmed Sir"
"And!?" Adama gave Lt. Gaeta a pointed look, sensing there was more.
Gaeta swallowed hard and turned in his chair to face the Admiral, feeling unsure of himself even as the words came out of his mouth "The identification code belongs to Captain Kara Thrace Sir. It's Starbuck!"
