Pulling the Trigger Chapter 1, a battlestar galactica: 2003 fanfic

Story Title: Pulling the Trigger

Author's Name: hprevan2
Word Count: TBD
Date: 11/16/05
Series: Prequel to Mini-Series
Rating: T
Category: Action/Relationships
Pairing or Focus: Ensemble
Warnings: Mild violence, a little saucy action, but nothing graphic
Summary: My version of the possible events leading up to the Cylon attack. The actions of Apollo, Starbuck, Jolly and others are chronicled.
Spoilers/Disclaimers: Being a prequel, I hope I don't spoil anything for anyone.

Author's Note: This story is a prequel to the Battlestar Galactica Mini-Series, as well as my AU story New Blood, Old Friends. It tells my version of possible events leading up to the Cylon attack, beginning just over 2 and half years before the opening scene of the Mini.

Battlestar Galactica, its characters and concepts are all the legal property of someone else.

Special thanks to Teri for all of her help with this story.

Chapter 1

A drunken Lieutenant Jordan 'Jolly' Nevlin carried a heavy load over his shoulder through the darkened pilots' barracks. With great flourish, he dumped his cargo, an even drunker Lieutenant Lee 'Apollo' Adama onto an empty rack. They both laughed and several people lying in their racks lifted their heads to give dirty looks and 'ssh' them, but Apollo and Jolly simply ignored them.

Apollo sat up, surveying the barracks, "Yep, I'm definitely back. There's no smell quite like this anywhere else in the Colonies."

Jolly smiled, while sitting onto the rack opposite him, "The smell was improving, but when I got word you were coming back…I had the fellas apply a fresh coat in your honor."

Apollo nodded, tipping an open bottle towards Jolly in mock salute, then took a swig. After swallowing heavily, he shoved the bottle towards Jolly, who declined the offer.

Apollo asked, "You're not giving up now? This is my homecoming party!"

Jolly shrugged, "Some party. I think we lost everybody at the third club we were thrown out of. We might have made a fleet record for getting thrown out of officers' clubs tonight. My head's starting to hurt."

Apollo shook his head, "Naw…I'm sure if I was thrown out of every bar in the city, my old man would remind me of a time he got thrown out of every bar in the city and then the surrounding areas as well …"

Jolly added, finally taking the bottle, "In less time."

Apollo agreed, "In less time. Yep, the old man always managed to do it better and faster than I can."

Jolly teased, "And with older equipment."

Apollo gave him a dirty look, "Thanks for the support, jackass." Then recovered his smile, "So how's Zak doing?"

Jolly looked confused, "Zak who?"

Apollo hit him hard with the rack's pillow, "My brother…Zak Adama…the one you promised you'd look out for?"

Jolly pretended to suddenly remember, "Oh, that Zak." Jolly took a swing before replying, "He's doing fine."

Apollo got a serious look, "Fine? What does that mean?"

Jolly replied, "It means he's doing fine. Appears to have two arms, two legs, ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes…"

Apollo cut him off, "You know what I mean. Flight training…how's his prep going?"

Jolly appeared unsure of exactly what to say, "I've asked him like a hundred times, Lee. Each time he tells me he's doing great and that he really wants to do this himself."

Apollo followed up, sensing Jolly isn't telling him something, "Have you at least taken him up?"

Jolly paused awkwardly, until he finally responded tentatively, "Once."

"And?" Apollo pressed him for more information.

Jolly shrugged, "He's shaky, but he's not even a nugget yet. He'll get better." Apollo still looked concerned, so Jolly continued, "He's an Adama. Flying's in the blood. He'll take to it." He added, "You finally did."

Apollo took the bottle from him and replied after a drink, "I can see it's a good thing I pulled every string I could to get stationed back here," he chastised, "since I obviously can't count on you to look after Zak, I'm going to have to do it myself."

Jolly defended himself, "He isn't even in basic flight yet."

After a brief pause, Apollo conceded, "Well, once you're his flight instructor…"

Jolly corrected him, "If I make flight instructor."

"You're going to get the open instructor spot. Trust me," Apollo reassured him.

Looking pained, Jolly said, "Look, if I get the instructor spot, I'll make sure he gets a fair shake."

Apollo looked ready to explode, "And?"

Jolly responded, "He's a big boy, Lee. Let him find his own way. That's why I haven't stepped in. You know how it is…when someone is struggling…it's bad enough he has to live up to his last name. Helping him will only make things worse."

Apollo asked angrily, "Struggling? You didn't say anything about him struggling. What's going on?"

Jolly explained, "I shouldn't have to explain what he's going through to you. Remember how people treated you…Husker Junior…Apollo, the son of Zeus. What else do they call you…" Jolly thinks a moment, then snaps his fingers, "Oh yeah, Tight Ass!"

Apollo actually smiled again, "You're the only one that calls me that."

Jolly smiled back, "I'm the only one that calls you tight ass to your face."

Apollo opened his mouth to argue, but alarms began going off all over the barracks. Red lights mounted on the walls began to flash. A voice on the loudspeaker began repeating, "All pilots report to the flight deck…General quarters…All pilots report to the flight deck…General quarters."

Apollo jumped to his feet and said rather loudly, after noticing that no one else seems concerned, "What the frak…why isn't anyone moving?"

Jolly replied, obviously unconcerned, "It's just a drill."

Apollo shook his head, "Bull's-eye has never sprung a surprise drill in his entire career."

Jolly explained as the pilots all began leaving their racks and rushing towards the exit, "Commander Dromidian isn't over drills anymore. Major Sertle is. And there's nothing 'The Turtle' loves more than middle of the night surprise drills."

Apollo was shocked, "They put Sertle the Turtle in charge? Things have really gone downhill since I've been gone."

Jolly laughed and puts an arm around Apollo, "I can see this is going to be fun. Welcome home, Lee. Welcome home." And they rushed towards the flight deck.

Having traded their uniforms for flight gear, Jolly pushed a slightly staggering Apollo towards his Viper and then headed towards his own ship. The pilots are urged on, and sometimes chased to their fighters, by Major Breck 'The Turtle' Sertle. The Turtle, who stood on the field in flight gear screaming into a megaphone. He left no doubt as to how he received his call sign as he is a thickly built bald man with wide massive shoulders and no sure place where his head ends and his neck begins.

He yelled, "You are the worst pilots in the fleet! Screwdriver! Get your flight suit on properly! You want your ass to burn off!" He continued to yell as Jolly began scrambling up the ladder to his waiting Viper. He heard Turtle yell, "Waiting for someone to give you a hand Jolly! Get your ass up there!"

Jolly stopped while swinging his leg into the cockpit as someone calls from below, "What the frak are you doing with my ship?"

His leg still hovering in mid air, Jolly looked down to see a blonde female pilot walking quickly towards him while smoking a cigar. He asked, "Excuse me?"

The blonde smiled through the smoke of her cigar, "This is my Viper."

Jolly smiled sarcastically, "Sure it is," and he turned back towards the cockpit. He didn't see the woman reach up and grab his other leg and pull him down off the ladder. Jolly fell on top of the woman and they both crashed to the ground.

Jolly rose furiously, "What the frak…I need to get in to the air!"

The woman smiled while standing up, "Perhaps I didn't make myself clear." She gestured to the insignia on her flight suit, "Squad leader outranks puke. So move away from my ship."

Jolly pointed to his own flight suit, "You idiot, I'm a squad leader too." She just stared at him in disbelief until Jolly looks down at the spot his squad leader pin should be. He muttered, "Where did it go?" Jolly pointed to the spot underneath the cockpit were 'Lt. Jordan 'Jolly' Nevlin' is written, "Doesn't matter. See my name there? This has been my ship for months."

She shrugged, "Well, now it's mine."

Jolly argued, "No one told me. As far as command is concerned, it's still mine."

The woman pulled out a folded piece of paper and threw it in his face, "Command says it's mine too."

Jolly smiled without humor and got into her face, "If you're right, you can have it…just as soon as this drill is over. I'm not getting written up for missing a drill because of some paperwork shuffle."

He began to turn away from her, but she grabbed his arm. Jolly pushed her away, but ended up jerking his arm back in pain. He looked down to see a small round burn on his forearm, created by her lit cigar. She merely smiled tauntingly at him.

In a combination of disbelief, reflex and rage, Jolly swung his fist and connected with her jaw. The female pilot fell backwards and Jolly quickly leapt into the cockpit. Without a glance backwards, he closed the canopy and moved the Viper into launch position.

Lieutenant Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace threw off two flight crewmembers attempting to help her up. She began massaging her jaw and cursed as her Viper took off down the airstrip.

The next morning, Apollo and Jolly sat across from each other in the officers' mess eating breakfast. Due to Turtle's late night drill, the lack of sleep only aggravated their hangovers. Looking at the assembled officers, they didn't seem to be the only ones suffering.

After watching Jolly massage his forearm for the hundredth time, Apollo snapped, "Would you stop that?"

Jolly stopped, complaining meanwhile, "It hurts."

Apollo lectured, "If you had your flight suit on correctly, you wouldn't have been burned."

Jolly corrected him, "No, if I had been wearing MY flight suit, I wouldn't have been burned. I guess I was a little more drunk than I thought. Somehow I ended up with Slush's suit."

Apollo laughed, "Which one is Slush?"

Jolly responded, "The hot redhead three tables back. You met her last night, but I doubt you'd remember."

Apollo shouted out across a couple of tables, "Slush! How did Jolly end up with your flight suit?"

Officers all around them laughed as, a few tables over, a female redhead's face turned a deeper shade of crimson than her hair. Jolly appeared ready to shout an apology to her as a young staff officer rushed up and sat beside him.

The officer asked Jolly while looking Apollo over, "You heard about the new hotshot squad leader taking over the Red?"

Jolly introduced him, "Lee, this is Lieutenant Colin. We call him Wire, because if you want info, sooner or later it comes over the Wire."

Apollo began, "Hi, I'm Lee Adama…"

Wire cut him off, "Yeah, Apollo. You're the new squad leader for the Silver." As Apollo looked at him questioningly, he explained, "I handle transfers." Then he turned back to Jolly, "You heard about the blonde?"

Jolly subconsciously rubbed his forearm, "No formal introduction, but I think we've crossed paths."

Wire filled him in, "Word on the deck is that she's angling for the flight instructor spot…Your spot."

Jolly nodded, "Thanks for the intel."

Wire stood and said as he began to walk away, "Just covering your back."

Apollo dropped his fork, "Well, as much fun as this has been, I've got to go."

Jolly asked, "Where are you going?"

Apollo stood up and grabbed his tray, "I'm going to drop in and see my family."

Jolly smiled, "Can't wait to begin the drill and grill on the poor kid can you?"

Apollo looked offended, "I'm just going to visit my mother…and I might have a little talk with my brother, you mind?" Jolly raised his hands in a defensive gesture, but then Apollo added, "If Zak just happens to want to go over some basic flight stuff, far be it from me to deny him access to such a library of flight expertise."

Jolly countered, "You're taking me with you?"

Apollo turned to leave, "Uh…no."

As Apollo walked off, Jolly called, "Better be back this afternoon. CAG won't appreciate your missing the first Squad Leader's Meeting. Turtle considers tardiness an executable offense."

Apollo raised a hand to indicate he heard him and left the mess. Jolly shook his head while he watched him leave and then stood up to leave himself. He picked up his tray and began to turn, nearly colliding with another officer.

Trying not to lose control of his tray, Jolly didn't notice who the other person is. He finally looked up and said good-naturedly, "Whoa, that was a close call…"

His smile instantly faded as he found himself eye-to-eye with the female pilot from the previous night. Upon seeing his surprise, the woman broke into a grin.

The last thing Jolly saw was her right fist connecting with his eye.

Apollo walked across the front lawn of a house in the most upscale section of suburban Caprica City. As he crossed the porch to knock on the door, a voice called from the side of the house, "So if it isn't the golden boy come to see his humble subjects."

Apollo turned to see his brother, Zak, watching him while juggling a pyramid ball. As Zak threw the ball to him, Apollo matched Zak's smile. Apollo caught the ball and responded, "Just checking to see if you've burnt the place to the ground yet."

"One brush fire and I'm marked for life." Zak hopped on to the porch and embraced his brother. Zak continued to beam while he appraised Apollo in uniform, "You look like crap. Looks like you've lost weight. Don't Battlestars have mess halls?"

Apollo roughly pushed the ball into his brother's stomach, "Enjoy good food while you can get it. Two weeks of being a nugget…Instead of women, you'll be dreaming of cooking-even Mom's."

Zak shrugged, "Can't I dream of both? Right now, all I really dream about is getting my wings…" He added with a mischievous smile, "In a big ceremony surrounded by food and naked women."

Apollo laughed, but then noticed that his mother had opened the door and stood unnoticed behind Zak. Apollo decided to trap him, "So…tell me about these dreams you're having about naked women."

Zak began explaining enthusiastically, "I'm getting my wings at a huge banquet attended by throngs of hot…" He stopped, seeing Apollo's cruel smile, "Mom's right behind me, isn't she?"

Their mother responded, "I hope none of these hot naked ladies are relatives or we are definitely going to have to be more selective on invitations."

Zak turned beet red as Apollo broke into full scale laughter. Zak pretended to be enraged, "Two minutes back and I already have good reason to kill you." Apollo acted as if he was afraid and began to run away as Zak jumped on him and both fell off of the porch.

Their mother yelled, in spite of her smile, at the two of them wrestling on the ground, "Boys! That's enough! It's not like the neighbors don't think we're insane enough as it is. Lee, you need to be a better example."

The two reluctantly helped each other off the ground and Apollo immediately approached his mother and gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek. She whispered, "It's so good to have you back, Lee. I've missed you."

Apollo responded, "I've missed you too."

Zak appeared disgusted by the show of affection, "You always were a suck up."

Apollo turned on him, and this time Zak began to run off and Apollo raced after in pursuit, with their mother calling after them.

An hour later, both Apollo and Zak were sitting at the family dining table with a series of empty lunch plates in front of them. Both look as if they've eaten far too much. Their mother came in and quickly began clearing plates away.

Apollo got up to help, but she insisted he sit and relax. Zak said insincerely, "Mom, I'll get those. Let me help." He continued to insist upon helping while making no move to leave his chair. His mother playfully bumped his head with a plate as she cleared a stack away.

Apollo turned to Zak, "I talked to Jordan…"

Zak sighed, "I was wondering how long you'd soften me up before beginning the interrogation."

Apollo looks offended, "I just want to make sure you have every advantage you can. Basic flight isn't really basic. You'll need to master both air and space flight. It's the corner…"

Zak finished for him, "Cornerstone of your entire career." Zak began doing an exaggerated impression of their father, Commander William Adama. "Basic flight is the moment you know whether you're born to be not just a pilot, but a Viper pilot. It's where you'll find out if you've got the seeds of greatness." He explained, "Dad already gave me the lecture."

Apollo looked affronted, "Well, I wouldn't have put it like that. But it is important. Jordan tells me you've turned down his offers to help you."

Zak looked as if soul-searching for a moment, then replied, "This is something I need to do on my own, Lee." He continued, "Somehow both you and Dad managed to do it without anyone holding your hand. The last thing I need is everybody whispering that I got special treatment."

Apollo finally nodded, "Okay, okay, I get it. But I'm here…if you have any questions."

Zak added, "Besides, I didn't like the way Jolly kept hitting on Mom."

Apollo asked, obviously confused, as their mother re-entered the room, "Jordan hit on Mom?"

She corrected Zak, while taking a seat, "Oh, he did not! Just a little good natured flirting is all." Seeing the irritated look on Apollo's face, "Jordan's just a flirt. I'm sure he wouldn't even remember."

Zak whispered to Apollo, "Totally hit on her."

That afternoon, Commander Carthan 'Bull's-eye' Dromidian sat in silence behind the desk in his office and studied the two bruised pilots sitting across from him. Jolly's right eye had taken on a dark purplish hue, while Starbuck's nose had a small amount of blood clotting around her left nostril in addition to the large dark bruise along her jaw from the previous night. The Commander sat still and silent with a face impossible to read. Both pilots shifted uncomfortably and glanced about the office at a lifetime's worth of pictures and awards.

Most people upon first meeting the Commander would never have believed that such a kind grandfatherly old man could muster so much as a harsh word, let alone a rage famous throughout the Colonial fleet. But in the years Jolly has known and worked for Bull's-eye, he had seen him lose control of his temper four times, two of them directed at Jolly himself. And each of the four incidents had been workshops on how to dress down an officer.

Jolly attempted to casually glance sideways to see how his attacker was faring under the microscope, but she appeared to be studying a group of pictures set in a frame that took up half the wall. The pictures appeared to be taken from a ship's camera during the Cylon war, capturing the movement of a Cylon Raider streaking towards a cargo ship, only to be destroyed by fire from outside the camera range at the last possible moment.

There was a knock on the door and Major Sertle, 'The Turtle,' timidly poked his head into the office, "Excuse me, Commander. The other squad leaders are here for the meeting…"

Bull's-eye gave him a warm smile, "I'm not quite done talking to these two yet, Breck. Please ask them to wait for a few more moments?"

Turtle nodded, withdrew his head and closed the door gently. The Commander went back to looking the two over. Now Starbuck appeared to be getting restless and Jolly sensed she was about to do something stupid. He thought, 'Don't do it, don't do it. Whatever you do, don't open your big mouth.' But he had no way to stop her before she asked, "Excuse me Commander, was there something you'd like to discuss?"

Jolly inhaled as if expecting Bull's-eye's head to explode, but instead the Commander's face simply broke into a kind hearted smile. "Lieutenant Thrace, I know Caprica is not the most exciting assignment in the fleet. It's not challenging to pilots to have a landing field when you could be dashing on and off of the flight deck of a Battlestar." He took a deep breath, "However, I have invested a great deal to make this base stand out. I expect the best from my pilots, on the ground, as well as in the air. Squad Leaders more so."

Starbuck collected herself and replied, "That's why I requested to be transferred here, sir. I want to be the best."

Bull's-eye continued to smile, and then after a brief pause, "Nonsense, you're here for the exact same reason that Lieutenant Nevlin here has stuck around. You want the flight instructor spot we have coming available. Plus, I'm one of the few commanding officers in the fleet that will allow Lieutenants to lead my squads…even if they are a mess personally."

Starbuck turned and looked at Jolly as if seeing him for the first time. Bull's-eye continued, "Yes, it appears you both have at least one thing in common."

Starbuck and Jolly both shook their heads unconsciously, so the Commander explained, "You're both major screw-ups that tend to exhibit amazing lapses in judgment. Neither of you come from a family with the political connections to move you up the ladder of promotion in spite of yourselves." He breathed, "However, you both have a knack for saving your butts by proving your value as exceptional pilots. Does this sound like a fair analysis?"

Starbuck and Jolly both grudgingly nodded, so Bull's-eye finally got to his point. "Flight instructors are an anomaly in the Fleet. Instructors get respect and promotional opportunities not afforded to other pilots. Even a CAG must show a certain amount of deference to instructors, which is why people looking for a backdoor towards promotion often try becoming an instructor."

Starbuck and Jolly both looked around, avoiding eye contact with the Commander as he lectured, "The flight school is the crown jewel of this flight base and I've spent the last fifteen years of my life personally making sure that it reflects only the highest standards. When my squad leaders embarrass themselves, they embarrass me. Lieutenant Nevlin, have I ever given you the impression that I enjoy being embarrassed?"

Jolly responded like a child that has just been reprimanded, "No, sir."

The Commander nodded, "Good. I don't want to have to lose my temper like this again."

Bull's-eye crossed the room and opened the door as Starbuck and Jolly stood and moved towards the conference table on the other side of the office. Starbuck whispered in an almost laugh, "That was losing his temper?"

Jolly whispered back, "Shut up. You have no idea how close we came to being killed."

Bull's-eye ushered three officers, including Apollo, into the room and everyone took a seat at the conference table. The Commander sat at the head of the table and nodded to Major Sertle to his right.

The Turtle began, "We'd like to welcome our new Squad Leaders and have everyone introduce themselves. I'm Major Breck Sertle, call sign 'The Turtle'…not just Turtle, but The Turtle." The Commander gave him a stern look to get things moving, so he moved on. "As Squad Leaders, all four of you will report to me. As well as CAG, I'm the Administrative Lias…"

The Commander interrupted him, "He's the guy who's in charge when I'm not around. He's your boss." The Major then reluctantly nodded to the next pilot, an attractive female Captain with long dark hair.

She introduced herself. "Captain May Thern, everyone calls me 'Jackknife', and I'm leader over Black Squad."

Apollo went next, "Lieutenant Lee Adama..." He added almost apologetically, "Apollo…Squad Leader of Silver Squad. I just transferred from the Battlestar Pacifica."

Everyone said some form of welcome, while Jolly smiled and winked. Apollo had his first chance to look over at Jolly and noticed the large bruise under his right eye. He looked questioning, but then noticed the large bruise running along the other new squad leader's jaw. Apollo smiled and shook his head. He looked up to find himself staring eye to eye with the blonde and he instantly froze as if caught. He began shifting awkwardly in his chair.

After smirking at Apollo's sudden discomfort, the blonde female pilot with the large bruise on her jaw introduced herself, "Lieutenant Kara Thrace, my call sign's Starbuck. I'm over the Reds, just transferred from the Battlestar Triton."

Jolly introduced himself, "I'm Lieutenant Jordan 'Jolly' Nevlin, and I run the Greens."

And lastly the commander, "I'm Commander Carthan Dromidian. Anything and everything that happens on this base is my responsibility. You are my oracles and I am your new God." As everyone smiled, he gave Jolly and Starbuck a reproachful look, "I know at least some of you are aware that the base is divided into two parts…your four squadrons and the flight academy. The academy is a lot more interesting, so I trust my squad leaders to take care of business and make me look good, so I can concentrate my time at the academy. I expect this to continue, is that clear?"

They all responded, "Yes sir."

Bull's-eye nodded, "Good. Now a quick point of business…Apollo."

Apollo looked up, "Yes sir?"

Bull's-Eye asked, "I understand your brother is coming to the academy this next session. Is that correct?"

Apollo appeared nervous when he responded, "Uh…yes sir."

The Commander, who suddenly looked stern, said to him, "I allowed your transfer here as a personal favor to your father, because he and I go way back. But once your brother enters this institution, he's my nugget and I will not tolerate any of my nuggets receiving special treatment…is that understood?"

Apollo turned red faced, "Yes sir. I won't get in the way."

The Commander smiled in an affectionate grandfatherly way, "Good. Now let's get down to business."

As 'The Turtle' began going down a list of issues that need to be addressed, Starbuck caught Jolly glancing her way in an appraising sort of manner. She smiled, puckered her lips, and blew a kiss in his direction.

After the squad leader's meeting, Apollo and Jolly walked across the flight base while they discussed their various duties. Apollo turned and asked, "So what happened between you and Starbuck?"

Jolly laughed, "Just getting acquainted. Apparently, we have a lot in common."

"I can see that." Suddenly, Apollo poked his finger into Jolly's chest. "And what is the deal with you hitting on my mom?"

Jolly looked confused, "What?"

Apollo poked his finger into him again, "Zak says you were putting the moves on my mother."

Jolly laughed, "Putting the moves on your mom? Come on, Lee. Zak was just trying to find something to get you off his back."

Apollo pulled back, "So you weren't flirting with her?"

Jolly shrugged, "I didn't say there was no flirting…perhaps there was some innocent banter. You know me, Lee…I'm just a nice guy. But luckily for you, I'm already happily involved." He added reluctantly, "…with someone other than your mother."

Apollo smiled, "You didn't say anything. Who?…not Slush?"

Jolly smiled like a man smitten, "We've been together for a couple of months now."

Apollo seems shocked, "Wow. I had no idea. Congratulations…better be careful, doesn't sound like Bull's-eye will be happy about a squad leader sleeping with one of his pilots."

Jolly shrugged, and they continued to walk. Seeing that Apollo was still a little uncomfortable, Jolly playfully added, "Your mother is a beautiful woman though."

Apollo whipped around, "What?"

Obviously amused, Jolly explained, "I'm just saying, your mom is very attractive…for an older woman. If she had been single when we first met back in flight school..."

Apollo shoved him with one arm, "Shut up, Jordan."

A voice from behind them asked, "If you had met her back in flight school, what?"

Surprised, Apollo turned as Jolly came to attention and saluted, "Commander Adama, sir."

Adama and Apollo took each other in as Jolly continued to stand at attention. Finally, Adama turned to Jolly, "At ease, Lieutenant. Caroline and I have been divorced a long time and she is an extremely attractive woman."

Jolly relaxed just a little, "Permission to wet myself, sir."

Adama smiled, "Permission granted. Jolly would you give Lee and me a moment. I need to talk to my son."

Jolly let out a deep breath of relief, "Thank you for not kicking my ass, sir."

Adama responded as he waved him away, "You're welcome. Now beat it."

Jolly rushed quickly off as Adama commented while smiling, "I always liked Jolly…knows when to run."

Apollo finally addressed his father while giving him a stiff hug that neither seemed too comfortable with, "I didn't know you were in the area."

Adama replied, "I wasn't. We just pulled into orbit this morning."

Apollo asked, "So what are you doing here?"

Adama thought for a moment, "We escorted a delegation from Tauron regarding an investigation…"

Apollo cut him off, "I mean, what are you doing here…on the flight base?"

Adama smiled awkwardly, "Bull's-eye is an old friend…my son is his newest squad leader. Just thought I'd pay my respects. I don't get to Caprica too often these days."

Apollo smiled shrewdly, "And I'm sure that Zak's upcoming entrance into flight training had nothing to do with it."

Adama made eye contact, "We're on the same team, son. I want the best for Zak just like you do."

Apollo nodded, "Okay, sorry. I'm just stressed. I'm not sure Zak is taking this seriously enough. I studied non-stop for weeks before entering training."

Adama chuckled until Apollo asked, "What?"

Adama replied, "As I recall, when I came to visit when you were about to enter flight training, I had to peel you off the girl that lived across the street…"

Apollo snapped his fingers, "Penny…Penny Olton. Almost forgot about her."

Adama looked his son over, "How about the sons of a travel weary Commander take the old man out for a bite to eat."

Apollo smiled, "Fine, but I don't know if Zak will like both of us teaming up on him."

Adama, putting his arm around Apollo, responded, "If I know Zak, as long as there's food, he'll weather through somehow. By the way, have you lost weight? You look like crap."

Lieutenant Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace stored the last of her gear in her locker. As she stowed a duffel bag, a small towel fell out of a side pocket with a clanging sound and several people turned to look. Starbuck stooped and quickly picked up the two small statues that had fallen out of the towel and wrapped them up.

A female voice called out, "You're a woman of faith?"

Starbuck swung angrily around to confront the person, but stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing that it was Captain 'Jackknife' Thern, leader of the Black Squad. Starbuck clearly wasn't sure what to say, but then reluctantly smiled while nervously placing the statues back into the bag, "Only when my ass needs saving, Captain."

Captain Thern smiled back, "As far as I'm concerned, being squad leaders makes us equals. Call me May."

Starbuck responded, "Okay." After a moment, "Is there something you wanted, May?"

Jackknife handed her a folder, "You left this in the Commander's office."

Starbuck took it, "Thanks. You really didn't have to track me down for this."

Jackknife smiled, "Look, I know its tough starting over. You want to go for a drink later?"

Starbuck thought about it and then nodded, "Sure, why not."

Later, seated at a small table in the officers' club, Starbuck and Jackknife were talking and laughing. Jackknife finished a story, "And then I hear Jolly screaming into his helmet…IT'S CRAWLING UP MY LEG!"

Starbuck commented, "Wish I could have been there."

Jackknife gestured to where Jolly was standing at the bar across the room, "Don't be too hard on Jolly. He's an idiot, but actually not too bad a guy."

Starbuck didn't appear swayed. "Oh, I'm sure he's just swell." She watched him for a moment, "What's he doing?"

Jackknife smiled, "He's waiting for his girlfriend. She's one of his pilots, so he hangs out here for awhile and then they sneak off…as if everyone doesn't know."

Starbuck tried to act disinterested, "What's the deal with his friend, Apollo? Sounds so dramatic…" She repeated mockingly in a booming voice, "Apollo, Son of Zeus."

Jackknife shrugged, "Don't know much about him. He just came in when you did. His father's the Commander of the Galactica."

Jackknife decided to begin probing, "So which Gods do you keep handy…for when your ass is on the line?"

Starbuck gave her a dirty look and then began looking around the bar distractedly. After a few moments, Jackknife muttered, "Gotcha…you prefer not to discuss religion."

Starbuck finally replied after taking a drink, "Looks like we have a winner."

Jackknife changed the line of questioning, "So what brings you to our little corner? When most people graduate from flight instruction they never look back. I picture you as a Battlestar flyer. Enjoying the twists and turns of a moving flight deck."

Starbuck thought another moment, then answered, "The flight instructor spot coming open. I want it." After a moment, she asked Jackknife, "So why are you here?"

Jackknife smiled, "My boyfriend is here. My family's here. But you…I would think you'd find teaching about Vipers boring compared to actually flying them."

Starbuck looked serious and then added, "Well, there is the matter of my former CAG's nose."

"What about it?" Jackknife asked as she raised an eyebrow.

Starbuck smiled and replied after taking another drink, "I broke it."

Jackknife returned her smile, "How did you do that?"

Starbuck, who had been playing with her empty glass, responded, "With my fist." Starbuck checked the clock on the wall, "Gotta go. Flight assignments need to be done by tomorrow, so I better get started…new squad and all. Thanks for the drink."

Later that night, in a dark and deserted hangar, a burst of red hair could be seen moving just over the edge of an open Viper cockpit. Around the Viper, various pieces of uniforms lay scattered about.

With a heavy intake of breath that caused her to gasp, Lieutenant Diana 'Slush' Sebastian collapsed onto Jolly, who happened to be lying beneath her, crammed into the cockpit seat. He placed a hand on her cheek and they embraced passionately.

As they broke for air, she smiled mischievously, "Still want to go out?"

He returned the smile, "No, no…I'm happy staying in."

She rested her head upon his chest, "Bet you've never done that in your Viper before." After a moment, she asked hesitantly, "…have you?"

Jolly laughed, "Uh…no, never. Although…technically this isn't my Viper anymore."

She lifted her head up, "What?"

Jolly patted the side of the ship, "This baby belongs to Lieutenant Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace now."

She began to giggle, "You mean we just…in someone else's cockpit? That's horrible."

Jolly, grinned, appeared about to respond, when a head poked up over the side, "Hey Jolly, have I got some news for you!"

Slush gasped in fear, clinging to Jolly, who although he tried, was unable to get up. Jolly yelled, "Wire! What the frak are you doing!"

Slush tried frantically to find some way to cover herself, but the cockpit had nowhere for her to go. After he took an admiring glance, Wire draped one of their uniform coats from the floor over them. Wire just beamed a smile, "Sorry…" Then looked at Slush again, "Well, sort of."

Jolly snapped, "What is it!"

Wire pulled himself together and responded, "It's an Op…A real Op."

Slush forgot her embarrassment for a moment, "What Op?"

Wire explained, "You know the trouble they've been having on Picon?"

Jolly answered, "The Picon Rebels? Big deal."

Wire rolled his eyes and continued as if explaining to a child, "Apparently the admirals are tired of looking stupid. So they've convinced Adar to allow them to form a strike force to deal with the Rebs once and for all."

Jolly didn't get it, "So…What's that to us? Picon has its own base."

Slush added, "Two actually."

Wire shook his head, "Apparently the Rebs are watching the bases. Every time they move out, the Rebs somehow manage to sneak away. This is going to be the largest military action since the war…We're going to be the spearhead with three Battlestars closing the net."

Jolly just thought for a moment, as Wire added, "If you're lucky, they'll move before they decide on an instructor. You know Bull's-eye is going to put your squad in front. You and Jackknife have seniority. This is your chance to grab some glory and make sure you get the spot."

Jolly began to smile back at him, "Thanks Wire. You're a good man. Glad you didn't wait."

Wire took a last look at Slush, "Me too, me too." With that, Wire hopped off the Viper's ladder and walked out of the hangar.

Slush watched him leave and then turned to Jolly, "He didn't seem surprised to find us together."

Jolly shrugged, "You don't seriously think people on this base don't know?" Seeing her concerned expression, he quickly added, "I'm sure there are some people that don't know…although no one comes to mind right off hand."

Slush held the coat against her as she got up and began descending from the cockpit. Jolly leaned over the side, "What's wrong? We're not technically doing anything wrong. Sure, Bull's-eye wouldn't be thrilled, but he'd get over it. Most women are upset when their boyfriend doesn't want to go public."

Slush shook her head in anger, while looking for her uniform, "Jordan, you just don't get it! I've worked hard to get what I want. I'm not going to frak it up by being called the squad leader's whore!"

Jolly protested, "No one would ever call you that! You know I'd kill them if they did."

Slush thought for a moment, "Did you tell your friend Apollo about us?"

Jolly lied, "No, of course not." After an awkward pause, "Why do you care if I tell Lee? He'd be the last person to spread gossip about us."

Slush just thought for a moment, while she reached for her pants, "I don't…I just don't need the whole of the Colonies whispering about me…Oh, you couldn't understand."

Jolly looked offended, "What kind of crap is that?"

She pulled on her uniform pants, "I just mean…You don't have a family to worry about what they think of you. My father's company is one of the largest defense contractors in the Colonies. Rumors about his daughter being the Fleet slut wouldn't go over well."

Jolly nodded sadly, "So what? Does this mean we're done?"

Slush smiled, pulled on her t-shirt, climbed back up the ladder, took his face in her hands, and kissed him deeply. As their lips parted, she responded, "Don't be stupid. I love you." Then she quickly descended the ladder, grabbed the rest of her uniform and headed out. At the door, she stopped, turned and blew him a kiss before leaving.

Jolly fell back into the cockpit. He lit a cigar and sat thinking until suddenly his lips curled into a smile and he called out, 'The Picon Rebels are my ticket!"

The next day, Lieutenant 'Apollo' Adama accompanied a patrol of Vipers and a Raptor back towards Caprica after their assigned shift. They flew in tight formation amongst the hundreds of civilian, government and military ships coming to and from Caprica.

Apollo called out, "Well, almost time to call it a day. Go-cart, you see anything noteworthy?"

The Raptor ECO, a young male Lieutenant called Go-cart, called out, "Nope. Just the usual traffic for this time of day…except..."

Apollo called out, "Except what?"

In a confused and suddenly excited voice, Go-cart yelled out, "Multiple contacts! They don't have Colonial charters or registries…They appear to be fighters…three of them…and they are coming in damn fast!"

Apollo interrupted, "Hail them."

Go-cart's voice came over the radio, "This is Lieutenant Portus of Raptor 924, out of Caprica Flight Base. Unidentified contacts, identify yourselves and hold position."

There was no response as all of the pilots strained their ears waiting for a response. Go-cart finally said, "They're still heading this way…still three of them…definitely some sort of fighter. Looks like…Viper Mark VI's. No indication from where the hell they came from though."

One of the Viper pilots, Digger called out, "Vipers? Maybe they're part of an escort?"

The Raptor pilot, Havoc answered, "Negative. There's no record of an incoming escort and they don't have transponders."

Apollo ordered, "Havoc, break out and keep a fix on them. Make sure everything is transmitted back to base. Request alert fighters. Everyone keep in defensive formation."

"Roger, Apollo." Havoc responded, as the Raptor veered away from the Vipers.

Apollo said on the radio, "This is Lieutenant Adama of the Colonial Fleet's Combat Air Patrol over the planet Caprica, calling out to the incoming unmarked Vipers. You are ordered to stop and be recognized or we will open fire."

Suddenly, Go-cart called out, "They're gone! We lost them in traffic. Where the frak…"

The Viper pilot, Hipster yelled, "What do you mean they're gone!"

There was only silence as the Raptor failed to respond. Apollo quickly shouted out orders, "Digger, Razor break right. Hipster, you and I will flush them out so they can bag them."

The two Vipers broke right dramatically, but almost immediately Razor yelled out, "Damn! I've been hi…." And then his radio went dead.

The pilot, Digger called out, "They were on us as soon as we moved. I've got two on my six."

Apollo and Hipster hit their thrusters and engaged the two older vipers from behind. Apollo called out, "We'll hold these two. Hipster, move off and find their friend!"

Hipster's Viper performed a nearly complete one hundred and eighty degree turn and began tracking targets. Apollo gritted his teeth as the Mark VI on the left finally fell into his crosshairs. As he was about to depress the trigger, he noticed as the blip on his DRADIS representing Hipster disappeared from the screen. In rage, he lined up the enemy again and pulled the trigger, and it was eliminated.

As he fired, the second Viper he was following fired and Digger disappeared from Apollo's DRADIS screen. Apollo broke straight down and managed to free himself from the melee. He was now alone against two or possibly more assailants.

Apollo scanned the system and finally found a Viper bearing down on his position. Apollo kicked in his main thrusters and decided to go head to head. He thought this was his best option as his Mark VII had a smaller forward profile than the slightly boxier Mark VI, thus giving him a slight advantage.

The older Viper didn't hesitate to engage and they both rushed at full speed on a collision course. It's then that Apollo saw the trap. The missing third Viper was laying in wait to target him. Apollo pulled up just in time to avoid flying directly into the new Mark VI's line of fire.

But now, Apollo had two Vipers hot on his tail and he began to roll through the civilian traffic. Suddenly, he found himself stuck between several ships coming and going and he ran out of room to run. He took advantage of the Mark VII's superior turning abilities and spun his ship around to confront his attackers.

Taking a deep breath, Apollo lined up one of the Vipers and fired. At the same moment, the second Viper fired at him.

Suddenly, his systems went dead and a red light began flashing in his cockpit. His computer scrolled the message, "YOU HAVE SUSTAINED A DIRECT HIT! YOU MAY NO LONGER PARTICIPATE IN THIS EXERCISE! YOU ARE DEAD! HAVE A NICE DAY!"

Apollo slammed a fist down, "FRAK! Who the hell are you!"

The surviving rogue Mark VI called out, "Sorry to bust your chops, Lieutenant. I'm Captain 'Bullet' Corvas. Your father's CAG. We were just doing some exercises and he wanted to see what the Old Man's son could do. So we turned off our transponders."

For the first time Apollo dropped his head in defeat. He asked in disbelief, "From the Galactica?"

Corvas explained, "Have to admit it was a little easier than I expected. You flew well, but you outnumbered us and we were still able to take out your entire patrol."

A new female voice called out, "Actually, he did an excellent job of keeping you busy and away from any tactical targets until reinforcements arrived."

Bullet asked angrily, "What?"

The very self-assured female voice answered him, "This is Lieutenant Starbuck, leader of Caprica's alert fighters…the fighters that Apollo called in when you showed up. We've taken care of your hidden Raptor and I've got you nicely in my sights. So you lost your entire attack force with nothing to show for it."

Corvas checked his screen and saw for the first time the two Vipers sitting directly on his tail. Suddenly his cockpit began flashing red.

Starbuck ordered him, "Now Captain, get your asses out of our airspace because the next thing we shoot won't be just laser sights."

The Battlestar Galactica's three Mark VI Vipers and its Raptor grouped into formation and headed out of the system. As Apollo reformed his own patrol, he called out to Starbuck, "Thanks for showing up. I owe you one."

Starbuck replied, "You bet your ass you do. And I intend to collect. We're not the alert fighters…Your Raptor never got the call out. We're the relief CAP. Lucky for you, I thought we'd take over a little early so I could get a feel for the new squad."

While Apollo engaged Bullet, in Commander Adama's quarters on board the Galactica, Commander Adama and Colonel Tigh greeted their guests. Adama shook each visitor's hand and made sure they have been introduced to Colonel Tigh. Adama said, "Carthan, you remember Colonel Tigh?"

Bull's-eye responded enthusiastically, shaking Tigh's hand, "Of course I remember. You're Ellen's husband. How is she?"

Tigh looked perturbed for a moment, then forced a kind reply, "She's well. Doing very well."

Bull's-eye still smiled, "We sure do miss her on Caprica. Colonial Day just isn't quite the same without Ellen Tigh."

Tigh replied bitterly, "No one livens up a party quite like Ellen."

Adama moved the guests along to introduce a distinguished looking older woman in uniform, "Colonel, this is Admiral Realen."

Tigh shook her hand, "Admiral."

And lastly, an older bald man who wore expensive civilian clothes and a lapel pin of the Colony of Picon's flag, "This is Hector Agenor. He's Defense Consultant to the Picon Counselor of the Council of Twelve."

Tigh shook his hand as well and they all took seats around the room as Tigh began pouring drinks. As Adama sat, he said to the crowd, "I'm not really sure why all of you are here. We could just as easily have met on Caprica. I can assure you the food would have been better."

As Tigh handed her a drink, Admiral Realen responded, "We felt this would be a more secure location."

Bull's-eye chimed in, "Can't go to the can on Caprica anymore without knocking over some damn politician." He turned, "No offence, Hector."

Hector smiled, "None taken, Cart."

Admiral Realen said to Adama, "We wouldn't want to keep Colonel Tigh from his responsibilities…"

Adama said to the group, "Saul is here at my request. Assuming you aren't here simply so we can share the same stories we've told thousands of times. He has my complete trust."

The group nodded, accepting his statement. Then, everyone but Tigh held their drink up and toasted in unison, "To the Third finally coming in First! Loyalty! Duty! Honor!" and they all drank up. Tigh decided to drain his glass as well.

Realen looked around, "Glad to see the old bird can still fly, Bill."

Bull's-eye added, "Surprised the politicians and brass would keep an artifact like this on active duty. Nowadays they don't like anything that doesn't shine and look good in parade formation. You should see the crap they're trying to push out now…Shinier than the toasters ever were."

Adama nodded at Admiral Realen, "I stay out of the brass' way, they stay out of mine."

Realen nodded back, but then began, "Bill, we're here to discuss our concerns regarding the Fleet."

Adama looked confused, "Concerns?"

Bull's-eye answered, "Everyone has forgotten the war…or at least the lessons we should have learned from the war."

Adama replied skeptically, "And what lessons were those?"

Realen blurted out, "The toasters! Every year the politicians and defense contractors try to push the limits just a little further. The more technology they can employ the more they can overcharge. Do you know that bastard President of ours is trying to push testing a pilot-less fighter program."

Hector crossed his arms, "Really, Sarah. I can't take part in a discussion that slanders our elected leaders."

Bull's-eye joked, "Then you better plug your ears." He said to the room, "Every year they cut the budget for real defense to fund a bunch of flashy toy projects. In the last two years, they've cut the number of nuggets I can take in half. Leave it to the government to put us exactly where we were forty years ago. We should have driven the Cylons into the River Styx when we had the chance. Peace treaty, what a joke."

Hector replied to him, "What would you have done? Fought until absolutely nothing remained? Peace should always be the ultimate goal."

Bull's-eye countered, "The Cylons are machines. The only reason they would have agreed to retreat is if they knew we had them by the software. Machines only do what they're programmed to do. Cylons are programmed to kill people. Do you think they went off to start families? Perhaps take up a hobby? They'll be back and what have we done in the mean time? Improved our market economy? Learned to brew the perfect cup of coffee?"

Hector scoffed, "I think you've topped out the drama meter, Cart."

Realen challenged Hector, "I'm not sure he has Hector." She looked around the room, made eye contact with each person in turn, then said, "If we, the people that were there and fought the war, compromise and back down, how can we expect anyone else to care? The Cylons nearly exterminated all humans…and now…they're considered a punch line."

Finally Adama entered the conversation, "So what are you proposing?"

Hector echoed Adama's concerns, "Yes, exactly what are we talking about here?"

Realen nodded to Bull's-eye, took a drink, and responded, "Have you received your orders regarding the upcoming strike on the Picon Rebels?"

Adama looked over at a folder on his desk and nodded.

Realen said, "It's time to remind people that there are still very real threats out there. It's time to wake people up."

The next day in the early evening, wearing a flight suit and carrying a duffel bag with her flight gear, Starbuck came running towards Bull's-eye's office. Jackknife, Apollo and Jolly were already there, similarly dressed and carrying their gear. She asked, "What's going on? I was told there was an urgent mission…"

Jackknife held up a hand to silence her, so they could better hear a booming voice inside the office. The voice screamed and yelled so loudly and with such violence that it's nearly impossible to distinguish what was being said. They could only discern snippets, "NOT ON MY WATCH!" A few moments later the same voice screamed, "NO PILOT! NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Then, after a minute or so, "OF ALL THE FRAKING STUPID IDEAS PULLED FROM AN ORANGE FURRED ROBOT DOG'S ASS!" and so on.

Jolly and Jackknife stood by the door straining to hear, until the voices suddenly became louder as they moved closer to the door. The pilots both moved back quickly, attempting to appear to be waiting casually.

The door flew open and two men in civilian business suits quickly marched out of the office while they avoided eye contact. Both appeared red faced and sweating and one appeared to be crying. Admiral Realen left the office after them. As the pilots came to attention, she turned back to the office, "Cart, a pleasure as always. We'll talk more about this later." Without giving the pilots so much as a sideways glance, she left.

Major Sertle walked forward from the office's conference table towards the pilots and led them into the room. Bull's-eye stood red faced and out of breath behind his desk. He looked like a man that just attempted his first marathon. As the four pilots came to attention in front of the desk, Bull's-eye came around to face them.

Bull's-eye looked them over for a moment, then adopted a calm rational voice and said, "You are needed on an urgent mission. I'm sending you four because I expect my squad leaders to not only be the best leaders, but the best pilots." He continued by addressing Apollo, "Lieutenant Adama, would you tell me what is written on the wall over there."

Apollo turned towards the conference table area and saw a large triangular squadron insignia hanging on the wall. On the insignia, three Vipers streaked upwards from a number three. Around the picture, on each side of the triangle, a word was written. Apollo read each word in turn, "Loyalty. Duty. Honor, sir."

Bull's-eye smiled slightly, calling to Major Sertle who stood beside the pilots, "Breck, we were discussing how something was recently stolen from the base?"

Major Sertle 'The Turtle' replied, "Yes sir. It appears our honor was stolen, sir."

Bull's-eye nodded, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I am not about to let a bunch of puffed up Battlestar jockeys come into our system and push us around."

Apollo became red faced, as Starbuck chimed in, "We beat them, sir."

Bull's-eye glared at her, "Trading ship for ship is not beating them. They stole our honor and now I'm charging you to get it back."

Apollo spoke up, "Excuse me, sir. The raid was merely my father testing me. I don't think there's any reason to…"

Bull's-eye stepped right in front of him, cutting him off, "When you fly, you are not Bill Adama's son. You're my squad leader. Any attack on my pilots is an attack on me and this base. Your father has been around long enough to know that. Bill knows damn well that I don't want his kids playing in my yard."

He gestured to Turtle, who began explaining. "The Galactica is currently cruising just outside of orbit close the Caprica's smaller moon. She normally runs with three Viper squadrons. But due to cut backs, the Galactica is running a squadron light and one of her remaining Viper squadrons is currently in training on Tauron working on converting to Mark VII's. That leaves her one squadron and open to being taught a lesson." He smiled, "Four Vipers taking down a Battlestar should be just humiliation enough."

Bull's-eye corrected him, "Training exercise, Breck. It's a training exercise. The humiliation is merely a pleasant byproduct."

Turtle smiled, "Of course, sir. A training exercise, that's what I meant." He continued, "A friend of mine will place a conveniently timed distress call to distract their CAP away when you are in position. Play it right and they will never know what hit them."

Bull's-eye turned to Captain 'Jackknife' Thern, "Jackknife, this is your party. Make it a real hum dinger. Bring me back our honor…and the Galactica on a stick."

Jackknife responded, "Yes sir!"

Bull's-eye barked, "What are you waiting for? Get out of here." As they turned to leave he added, "And good hunting."

The pilots hurried towards the exit, but Apollo turned back in spite of a warning look from Jolly. He asked, "Permission to speak, sir?"

The Turtle admonished him, "You have your orders, Lieutenant."

Bull's-eye put up a hand, "It's ok. What's on your mind, Apollo?"

Apollo responded, "Sir, I'm not sure I understand how this exercise will make up for the mistakes I made the other day. Won't giving them a black eye only escalate the problem."

Bull's-eye made eye contact, "It's not them I care about. I'm trying to teach you something."

Apollo matched his stare, "Me? What would that be, sir?"

Bull's-eye responded matter-of-factly, "It's ok to be angry in the cockpit. The other day, you just let their fighters come at you and only engaged once cornered and the fight was already lost. You need to learn to engage and pull the trigger. So, I'm giving you a chance to go and slay your dragon. Go shoot at the Old Man and put your daddy issues to rest. I won't have you carrying around baggage that might risk your pilots' lives."

Having been rebuked, Apollo turned and began walking away. As he made it to the doorway, Bull's-eye called out, "Lee." Apollo stopped and turned as Bull's-eye added, "When you land, just remember to leave the anger in the cockpit. That's always the hardest part."

Moments later, four Vipers with disconnected transponders streaked away from Caprica towards their stolen honor.

On board the Galactica, the newest CIC officer, Lieutenant Gaeta hesitated, but then knocked nervously upon Commander Adama's door. The Commander called out, "Enter."

Gaeta took a deep breath and then entered the room as if diving into freezing water. He found the Commander stripped down to his t-shirt and reading a book at his desk. Gaeta walked quickly into the room and came to attention.

Adama looked him over and smiled, "At ease, Mister Gaeta. What can I do for you?"

Gaeta appeared hesitant, but then blurted out while he handed the Commander a print out, "We're receiving a distress call from a freighter just off Caprica's smaller moon. They've lost all engine capabilities and are beginning to drift towards the moon."

Adama asked sternly, "Where's Colonel Tigh? He has the watch."

Gaeta looked nervous and replied hesitantly, "He's attending to ship business, sir."

Adama huffed, "Of course he is." And grabbed his uniform coat on the way out the door. They hurried into CIC where the ship's crew bustled about their duties. Adama ordered, "Bring the CAP around to the freighter's position to check things out."

Gaeta responded, "Already done, sir." As Adama gave him a questioning look, he replied, "Standard protocol, sir."

Adama nodded, "Good job. Let's get the necessary techs and equipment together into Raptors and send them out. Move us close enough that we can evacuate the freighter if things go sour."

Gaeta nodded to a female petty officer, who called out on her radio, "Raptors, you are cleared for launch."

Gaeta shrugged under Adama's questioning glance, "We just thought we'd get the ball rolling, sir."

Just then, Tigh came rushing in while quickly buttoning his jacket. He appeared to be a little wobbly on his feet. He demanded from Gaeta, "What's going on? Why wasn't I alerted?"

Gaeta responded quickly, "I alerted Commander Adama, as you were attending to urgent business."

Tigh just stared blankly, so Gaeta continued, "The shipment of Mark VII Vipers coming in. I told the Commander how you wanted to ensure that the Chief had the correct updates to his parts orders to accommodate them."

Tigh nodded and then turned to Adama, "Yes…I…uh, was worried that we'd have all these new fighters and none of the damned parts fit."

Adama just watched Tigh critically and then turned to study the DRADIS monitor that covered the crippled freighter. Finally, Tigh asked, "What's the name of the freighter?"

A petty officer called out, "It's the Atlas of Geminon."

Tigh followed up, "Who's her skipper?"

The petty officer answered, "Rita Calderas."

Adama asked Tigh, "Mean something to you?"

Tigh continued to think deeply, until he finally responded, "Sounds familiar…but I can't place it. But I just got that sinking feeling, like something isn't right."

Adama barked out, "Launch the alert fighters, and bring us to General Quarters."

Tigh sighed, "It was just a hunch. If this is all for nothing, I'm going to feel mighty dumb."

A female petty officer called out confused, "We've lost contact with the CAP! And the freighter somehow spooled her FTL drive…it's gone."

Starbuck couldn't resist flying close enough to one of the CAP's Vipers she'd just help take out. If she couldn't hear him curse over the radio, she at least wanted to see the pilot's anger being taken out on his cockpit. Maneuvering close to the CAP's lead Viper, she wasn't disappointed as he banged up and down on his displays with his fists.

Jackknife scolded her, "Starbuck, get back in formation and stop screwing around. Get ready, they won't be able to help but know we're coming now."

Jolly called out, "Multiple contacts! Galactica's launched her alert fighters." Jolly added, "Five Vipers headed directly for us." He smiled, "Any chance you think that's just a coincidence?"

Jackknife responded, "That was damned fast, they must have smelled the trap." She ordered, "Okay, time to implement phase two. Jolly hit the deck. Starbuck, you're with me."

Jolly joked, "See ya on the dark side." With that, Jolly's Viper peeled off towards the surface of Caprica's smaller moon while Starbuck and Jackknife headed straight for the oncoming Vipers.

Lieutenant Gaeta reported to Adama, "We had three inbound Mark VII Vipers. No transponders. One of them if off the DRADIS, I think he must be using the moon's surface as cover. The other two are moving to engage our alert fighters."

Tigh looked at Adama, "Bull's-eye?"

Adama smiled slightly, "Yeah. No doubt about it."

Tigh asked, "Three Vipers and a Raptor hiding somewhere…why use a standard patrol formation? Seems a little optimistic going against a Battlestar."

Adama responded, "He'll want to send a message. If he sends a minimal force, and wins then he gets bragging rights. If he loses, then it was never really a fair fight was it? Plus, that's what we sent out, so to take a Battlestar will really rub it in."

The female petty officer called out, "The two Raptors with repair crews are asking for orders, sir."

Adama ordered, "Have them head towards the moon. Let's see if they can smoke out the hidden Viper and Raptor."

Tigh muttered, "And I thought this was going to be a boring day." He looked at Adama, "Should we launch reserves? You know Bullet will be chomping at the bit."

Adama shook his head, "No. Let's see what they've got."

Starbuck watched as the five contacts on her DRADIS screen moved closer and closer, until they appeared as tiny specks in the distance. She smiled, because she was aware of something only a handful of pilots in the Fleet knew. There was a slight differential in the range of the laser sighting used in combat exercises versus live rounds of ammunition. The computer will indicate that the ships were out of range, but you can still fire and have a chance of taking them out. It was a shot that had to be made completely visually and one of the toughest shots a pilot could be expected to make, but Starbuck had been practicing for just such an occasion.

Jackknife and Starbuck went head-to-head with Galactica's Vipers and Starbuck fired, in spite of her heads up display indicating that the shot was out of range. As one of the incoming Vipers disappeared from her DRADIS, Jackknife called out, "Nice shot! How the frak did you do that?"

Starbuck smiled, "Just comes naturally."

The four Vipers broke up into two groups of two and attempted to circle around Jackknife and Starbuck. Jackknife, with Starbuck on her wing, engaged the two on their right. They were able to take advantage of the Mark VII's superior turning abilities and banked dramatically to end up directly behind the two Mark VI Vipers.

Jackknife lined the wingman up and fired. The Viper disappeared from her DRADIS and practically stopped dead in space. Starbuck lined the lead Viper up and was about to fire, but was forced to veer dramatically as the other two Mark VI Vipers engaged them from behind. Jackknife and Starbuck broke away from each other and Galactica's Vipers followed Starbuck's trail.

Starbuck began rolling and turning dramatically in an attempt to escape her two attackers. With no apparent concern regarding wasted computerized ammo, both took shot after shot at her, which severely limited her maneuvering ability.

Jackknife managed to come around and fired at one of the Vipers on Starbuck's tail. The Viper went dead. One of the alert fighters manages to get behind Jackknife and attempted to target her. As Jackknife banked away, suddenly her control screens went blank and she was unable to control her Viper. Her fighter rolls out of control, as she fights with the joystick. But the ship wouldn't respond. Her systems were dead. The Mark VI lined her up and fired. She yelled, "FRAK! FRAK! FRAK!" As her cockpit controls came back to life, red lights blinked and she was eliminated.

Starbuck took advantage of the moment to break out from the fight. She surveyed her screen and saw that there were two of Galactica's Vipers remaining. As they streaked towards her, she grinned, "Hardly seems fair."

Tigh remarked in CIC, "What the frak are they doing? I've seen nuggets fly better than that."

Adama asked the female petty officer, "Any word from our Raptors on the missing bandits?"

She shook her head, "No sir."

Tigh asked, "So do we hold tight here or stick our neck out and help with the fight?"

Adama answered, "I'm not hiding." He ordered, "Bring us closer to the moon. See if we can't get their Viper in our firing pattern.

The female petty officer called out, while holding a phone receiver, "Commander, Bullet is demanding to be allowed to engage, sir."

Tigh asked angrily, "He's demanding?"

Adama nodded, "Launch reserve Vipers."

The petty officer said into her headset, "Reserve Vipers are authorized for launch. Good hunting, Captain."

In the Galactica's launch tube, Bullet remarked, "Bout damn time." With that, four more Mark VI Vipers launched from the Galactica.

Galactica's CAG, Captain 'Bullet' Corvas warned his pilots, "I want these guys in the bag. Do you understand me? I want them out of my space."

The three other pilots all replied, "Yes sir!"

As he scanned Caprica's moon, one of Galactica's Raptor pilots yelled back at his passengers, "Would you shut up!"

One of the engineers on board, sent to originally help out with the wounded freighter shouted back, "Frak you! I don't care if this is just an exercise, it's giving me the creeps."

The ECO turned to him, "What do you think this is? The reserves? We're the front lines, buddy."

Suddenly, the lights flashed red and their systems went dead. The pilot screamed, "Damn it, Rascal! Why weren't you checking the scanners?"

The ECO called back, "Don't blame me! Blame the conscientious objectors back here that kept distracting me."

On their radio, a laughing voice called, "This is Lieutenant Jolly, just letting you know that as if it wasn't bad enough that I'm better looking and smarter than you…I'm alive and you're not."

In the Galactica's CIC, the female petty officer called out, "We've lost Raptor 132. But Raptor 367 caught the action and is tracking the third rogue Viper flying tight along the moon's surface.

Tigh remarked, "That just leaves their Raptor hanging out somewhere."

Adama asked, "How are our two alert fighters doing?"

Tigh looked over the scanner, "It's a close call. They're engaged with their one fighter, but it's moving like I've never seen a Viper move. But they have it effectively tied up until we're in firing position."

"It's just a distraction." Adama ordered, "Instruct Bullet to go after the third Viper on the moon. Have our Raptor concentrate on finding theirs. Let's quit the guessing game and get everything on the table."

Jolly hugged the rocky terrain of the moon in a manner probably too dangerous for an exercise flight, but he couldn't remember feeling better. Why bother flying Vipers if you weren't pushing them to their limits. His DRADIS blinked as the four blips of Galactica's fighters bore down on his position.

Jolly zig zagged through the canyons of the moon at a completely unsafe speed as two Mark VI Vipers fell in behind him. He smiled as he wondered at what risks these newcomers would take to get him. But he quickly realized that they are simply keeping him occupied while the two other Vipers targeted him from above. His DRADIS screen blinked each time the Vipers aimed and fired at him.

He moved even deeper into the ravine to gain cover from their sniping. In a split second decision, Jolly decided to test the famed turning and banking abilities of the Mark VII. The canyon took a sudden dip and Jolly disappeared to his chasers.

As they reached the dip, they found themselves staring straight into Jolly's Viper as he had reversed and was heading directly for them. One of the pilots screamed, thinking Jolly was going to hit him head on, but only found his cockpit flashing red as an indicator announced that he had been hit.

As Jolly and the other oncoming Mark VI Viper were about to cross trajectories and hit each other head on, Jolly dived underneath her causing one of his wings to graze the moon's surface.

Bullet yelling in frustration, held down his firing mechanism too long, and only managed to hit his own pilot Viper as Jolly slipped free. Bullet screamed, "FRAK!"

Bullet and his wingman fell in behind Jolly and pursued matching his breakneck pace.

Apollo sat in his cockpit hugging the moon's surface and cursed that he ever agreed to play this part of the attack plan. He listened to the radio traffic anxiously and played with his controls for the thousandth time. He was the reason they were here in the first place.

But Apollo was confident he could pull off the next phase. Most Viper pilots viewed Raptor pilots as lesser beings who didn't deserve the same respect and status as Viper pilots. But Apollo had been in War College with some of the most talented pilots in the Fleet, many of whom were Raptor pilots. He had listened to what they had to say, so he knew where a Raptor's most obvious weaknesses were and how to exploit them.

As it turned out, there were certain functions that a Raptor pilot and his ECO were likely to assume the other was doing, like short range scans. A Raptor's pilot was supposed to monitor the more accurate short range DRADIS, while the ECO concentrated on long range scans. Most pilots out of laziness assumed that the long range scans were sufficient. The ECO's assumed that the pilot was doing their job and don't pay much attention to the short range scanner. That's why Apollo waited parked with no power signature on the moon's surface for the Galactica's Raptor to move into just the right spot where he would show up on the short range scan and the Raptor wouldn't have time to react.

As both the Raptor and Galactica slipped into just the right spot, he powered up and streaked forward. He didn't know if they even saw him coming as he fired and their ship disappeared from his DRADIS screen. Apollo scanned the action and found Starbuck still holding off the alert fighters and Jolly running for his life with two fighters on his heels.

Apollo hit his main engines and made a straight course towards the Galactica's position. He quickly glanced at his weapons menu to assure himself that missiles have been selected.

Gaeta shouted out a little too excitedly, "We've lost our second Raptor…there's a fourth Viper Mark VII breaking from the moon on an intercept course!"

Tigh ordered, "Bring us around! Get a firing solution."

Gaeta responded, "Not enough time. He's coming at us head on."

Adama barked, "Disengage the fighters. Launch every Viper we have. Get that Viper. I don't care what it takes."

Jolly and Starbuck both laughed simultaneously as their pursuers suddenly broke off and headed back towards Galactica's position. Now it was their turn to run down their targets and Starbuck shot and took out one of the alert fighters. Jolly also fired and removed Bullet's wingman from the fight.

Apollo breathed deeply when the two enemy Vipers appeared behind him. In front of him, the Galactica had launched over a dozen Vipers, that turned towards his position quickly. Having to maneuver defensively wouldn't help his aim.

Apollo watched his screen nervously for the exact moment he could get a missile shot off, the moment the Galactica appeared in his crosshairs, he muttered, "Gotcha."

He fired a missile and then another in rapid succession.

Gaeta announced, "Missile launch. Two of them. Vector 239-169."

Tigh snapped, "Launch counter-measures!"

Adama called out, "Veer to minimize impact."

The ship moved abruptly forcing Adama and Tigh to grip the command table. Gaeta called out, "We got one, the other will make it through."

Several monitors in the CIC became blank screens flashing red.

Tigh turned, "What's the bill?"

A male petty officer called out, "Missile impacted starboard side. We've lost forty-two percent of weapon capacity on starboard guns as well as most of the flight pod."

Tigh looked at Adama, "Lucky shot. They won't get another one."

Adama ordered, "Concentrate on the pilot that fired the missile." He turned to Tigh, "That'll be Lee."

Tigh scoffs, "How can you tell?"

Adama answered, "If someone had given you the chance to shoot a missile at your father, wouldn't you have taken it?"

Tigh thought and then smiled slightly, "Good point."

Apollo spun and then plunged his ship downwards in an attempt to escape Bullet and the last alert fighter, but he couldn't shake them. Suddenly, the alert Viper was out of it, as Starbuck came up and shot it.

Apollo called out, as the newly launched Mark VI Vipers from the Galactica engaged him and Starbuck, "We're wrapped up. Jolly take the shot."

Jolly gritted his teeth as he turned dramatically to escape the engagement. He gripped his stick and pulled as hard as he could in a maneuver to free himself from the group. He touched his weapons display and selected missiles.

Jolly struggled to get a lock on the Galactica, as two of the new fighters chased after him, Jolly muttered, "How could something so big, be this hard to hit?" Then he called out, "The Galactica's come around. She's got a firing pattern down…" And his Viper was hit by fire from the Galactica and he was out of the exercise.

Starbuck attempted to lead as many of the Mark VI's away from Apollo as she could, but there were too many of them. As she dodged in and out of approximately a dozen fighters, she yelled, "Apollo, take the shot!"

Apollo hit his main thrusters and broke a straight line towards the Galactica, in the hope of getting his missiles fired before being hit himself, as Starbuck took a non-lethal hit and lost fifty percent of her power. She managed to take out another Mark VI in her path, and held the firing button down to take out another fighter as well. But her luck didn't last and her Viper went dead. She screamed in rage.

Apollo lined the Galactica into his sights, making sure this time that he hit her vital systems, but just as his finger depressed the firing button, his Viper begins flashing a red light and he was hit from behind by Bullet. His computer flashed, 'YOU HAVE SUSTAINED A DIRECT HIT! THIS EXERCISE IS OVER!"

As Jackknife caught up to her pilots, a voice called out on the radio, "This is Commander Adama to the Caprican strike force. Well done. That was quite a show."

Jackknife responded, "This is Captain Thern. Thank you Commander, but with all due respect, we'll see you in a rematch."

Adama replied, "Looking forward to it, Captain. Four Vipers without Raptor support was a gutsy move. And to the pilot that got the missile through…nice shooting."

Apollo punched the side of his cockpit and flew in silence the rest of the way back to Caprica.

As the four Vipers landed, they are greeted by the pilots and crew from all four squadrons of the base. Upon seeing Jolly's damaged wing, the flight crews' female chief exclaimed, "What the frak did you do to my plane, Lieutenant?"

Jolly shrugged, "It seemed a little longer on that side, so I just shaved a couple of inches off to even it out."

But then he was swept away as the pilots of the Green Squad pulled Jolly away towards the officers' club. He looked over to see the other squad leaders being dragged along by their squads as well. Apollo, Starbuck and Jackknife didn't appear as enthusiastic as their squads, but they relented and went along. Jolly allowed the Greens to prop him up on their shoulders.

Later, inside the officers' club, various groups of pilots moved from one squad leader to another to get their version of events. Jolly walked over to Apollo, who hadn't left his chair the entire evening. He pushed Apollo's shoulder, "What's you're problem?"

Apollo looked at him, "What are you so excited about? We lost."

Jolly laughed at him, while he straddled a chair, "Are you kidding? Four Vipers went up against the Galactica and a full squadron, and somehow managed to take out over half the squadron and damage a Battlestar. I'd say that's a pretty frakn' decent day's work, my friend. Look around you, today you truly are Apollo, son of Zeus."

Apollo shrugged, "Could I just settle for Lieutenant Adama."

Jolly, at a loss muttered, "I guess." Then he added, "You know, we are living proof that the Gods have a sense of humor."

Apollo smiled, "How do you figure?"

Jolly explained, "I should have had your dad. You wouldn't see me moping and griping because he wants me to be the best Viper pilot in the fleet. And you would have been perfectly happy at my Grandfather's house by the lake, where you both could discuss the latest papers printed underground by the Colonial traitor of the week."

Jolly saw Slush gesturing to him, so Jolly got up to leave. As he was leaving, Starbuck walked up to them. Jolly said to Apollo, "What you need is a woman, like right now." Then he turned to Starbuck, "You're kind of like a woman…not really my type…you being a monster bitch and all, but Lee here could really use some company…if you know what I mean."

Starbuck smirked, "Frak off, Jolly."

Jolly smiled, while he stared at the back entrance that Slush just retreated through, "Now, finally, some good advice." And he rushed off towards the back of the club.

Starbuck said to Apollo, "Sucks, huh?"

Apollo looked at her, then gestured for her to sit, "What?"

Starbuck smiled, taking the seat next to him as if they shared an inside joke, "Knowing that every time you score, you're just doing what is expected. And every time you fail..."

Apollo finished for her, "I'm not the guy my Old Man was."

Starbuck looked ready to say something, but stopped herself as Jackknife sat at their table. Jackknife said to them, "This looks like the losers table. Can you imagine what this place would be like if we'd actually won?" She added, "I wouldn't blame you guys if you were ticked at me for blowing the mission. It was my plan, and my ship just stalled or something. It was my fault…"

Both Apollo and Starbuck shook their heads. Starbuck reassured her, "We were all there and the plan was a good one. Personally, I blame Jolly."

They all smiled at her and Starbuck raised her glass for a toast, "It was all Jolly's fault."

Apollo and Jackknife both raised their glasses and repeated, "It was all Jolly's fault."

Inside the hangar of Green Squadron, Jolly rushed in and kissed Slush enthusiastically. She returned his kiss at first, but then broke away, attempting to talk to him. "Jolly, I have to tell you something."

Jolly continued attempting to kiss her, but then it registered, "Something to tell me? That doesn't sound good."

Slush explained as he finally pulled away, "Today, I requested a transfer. I asked to move over to Silver Squadron."

Jolly looked hurt, but then thinking about it for a moment, responded, "That's great."

Now Slush looked confused, "It is? You're ok with it."

Jolly smiled, "Yeah, I mean I'm not crazy about you moving to a different barracks, but now we won't have to sneak around anymore."

Slush smiled slightly as Jolly wasn't getting her point, "No, this means we need some space. We need to cool off a little bit."

Jolly appeared blindsided by the announcement, "Cool off? You're breaking up with me? Why?"

Slush answered, "I didn't say we should break up. Just cool off a little."

Jolly just stared, dumbstruck, until finally he asked, "I thought you loved me…you said you loved me."

She smiled placing her hands on his chest, "I do love you. A part of me does, anyway. Listen Jordan, people have expectations of me. I have my life mapped out."

Jolly replied, "And your map doesn't happen to have me on it."

She continued to play with his flight suit, "Of course it does. I wouldn't have invested so much into us, if I didn't think we had some sort of future."

Jolly raised an eyebrow, "What kind of future?"

She replied hesitantly, "Look, you and I could never be together. I mean…like married and kids and stuff. It just wouldn't work. When I leave the service after my tour, I'm going to work for my father's company. I'll need a husband who's well placed. Someone with clout, maybe even political aspirations. And let's face it, that's not exactly you."

Jolly wasn't sure whether to be upset or angry, so he managed some combination of both as he responded, "So you don't think I'm marriage material?"

She looked confused by his question as she took his hands in hers, "Of course you are…for someone else. For just about any woman, you'd be a great catch."

He growled and pulled his hands away, "But not you?"

She stifled a laugh, "No, not with me. Jordan, you would hate life with me." She added, "What if we did get married. Are you willing to give up flying? Quit the service and work in an office. Get dressed up for boring parties every night. Spend time with the most stuck up, uptight people in the Colonies because you have to keep me happy? Face it, you'd only end up resenting everything. My family, the company…me. It would be a nightmare for you."

Jolly commented, "So you're future for us is that we get married to other people?"

She thought for a moment, "Well yes. But that doesn't mean that we can't see each other."

Jolly burst out, "What?"

Slush placed a hand tenderly on his cheek, "I've hurt your feelings. I'm sorry Jordan, but I'm just being honest. Just because I'm a pure breed and you're a mutt doesn't mean we can't play in the park every once in awhile." She smiled, "I figure we get together every month or so. I can plan trips around my husband's schedule…"

He backed away from her, "You're insane. You're positively insane."

Slush shook a finger at him, "Look! This is how it's going to be and you just need to get used to it. Don't go messing up things with Apollo for me."

Jolly couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean 'things with Apollo' for you?"

She folded her arms together, "He's attractive. His father was a war hero. His last name still has a lot of clout. The name Adama tied to a defense contractor would make a lot of money." She added as she shook a finger at him, "I'm serious, Jordan. Don't screw this up for me, or I will make things very difficult for you."

Looking at the ceiling, Jolly actually laughed, "Is this your idea of making it easy for me?"

She smiled as she walked towards the exit, "Your choice, Jordan. You can either take what I have to offer or go without."

Jordan gritted his teeth, "Don't ever call me Jordan again. I'm Lieutenant Nevlin or even Jolly, but you don't get to use my first name."

Slush merely shrugged, "Suit yourself. Just remember this was your decision." With that, she walked out of the hangar.

Back inside the officers' club, Bull's-eye and The Turtle had come to offer their congratulations. Everyone came to attention as they entered, but Bull's-eye quickly indicated for them to go about their business. Bull's-eye found Apollo sitting alone again at a table and he took a seat. "Lieutenant, looks like the only one not enjoying the party is the guest of honor. I must say, for someone that managed to wound a Battlestar and take out half her fighters in the process, you certainly look down."

Apollo looked at him, "Why celebrate, sir? We screwed up. We failed our mission."

Bull's-eye responded, "Perhaps, but did you learn anything?"

Apollo shrugged, "That my father always manages to win…That I let the base's honor be taken again?"

Bull's-eye laughed out loud, "I hope you didn't really take all that rubbish about honor too seriously. I used it as a little rah-rah speech to get your nerves up. I'd never send four pilots out against nearly impossible odds without a little something to get their blood running." Bull's-eye got serious, "Lee, honor isn't something anyone can steal from you. It's something you have to give away to lose it."

Apollo nodded, "So you sent us out knowing we couldn't win?"

Bull's-eye answered him, "I didn't know you couldn't win…there was always the possibility you would pull it off. And you almost did. But that's part of command. Sometimes you need to send your troops out even though you doubt they'll come back. It's the true test of leadership…never been good at it myself."

Apollo smiled slightly, "You seemed to do ok with us."

Bull's-eye shrugged, "It was an exercise. Theory is always easier than real life."

At that same moment, Jackknife stood outside the club making a phone call. A male voice picked up, "Hello?"

Jackknife said into the phone, "Hey honey, I hope I didn't wake you."

The voice replied, "No, no. I'm just here at the house. What's going on?"

She began, "I…I had an exercise today and things didn't go well…"

He interrupted, "Are you okay? Do you need me to come get you?"

She replied, "No, I'm fine…but my Viper. It just froze in the middle of a dogfight. I don't think I should frak with the programs anymore. Someone could have gotten killed."

He stopped her, "Can anyone hear you?"

She looked around, "No, I made sure I waited until everyone was inside or gone. I'm alone."

The male voice attempted to calm her, "Listen babe, I'm sure it wasn't that bad. I'll look at the programming again and make sure that everything's okay, but you know how important your testing is to my job. Our whole future rests upon the success of this new navigation program. Your installing it on your Viper is the only way to make sure we can deliver it ready for Fleet use."

Jackknife nodded and managed to get a hold of herself, "I know, I know. I'm just feeling guilty. Sometimes I'm not sure we're doing the right thing."

He soothed her, "What we're doing will affect the lives of everyone in the Colonies. Everything is going to be fine. Why don't you come home and we'll talk about it. Ok? I love you."

She smiled, "I love you too, Doral."

Late in the evening, the club was cleared of customers and only two stragglers remained. Starbuck sat talking to Apollo at the same table he has been at the whole evening. Even the bartender and servers had all gone.

Apollo looked Starbuck over and asked, "So what's your deal anyway?"

Starbuck smirked, "My deal?"

Apollo smiled, "Why the attitude? Life not hard enough without ticking off everyone you meet?"

Starbuck matched his smile, "Have I ticked you off?"

Apollo took a drink, "The night isn't over yet."

Suddenly the door flew open and five pilots, still wearing their flight suits, entered the club. The arm patches identified them as assigned to the Battlestar Triton. The lead pilot had a small bandage over his bruised nose.

As the newcomers walked towards the bar area, a tall female pilot nudged the pilot with the bandage on his nose, and began pointing towards their table. The group laughed and quickly surrounded Starbuck and Apollo.

The lead pilot, a tall imposing figure with the bandage on his nose addressed them, "Imagine the chances of running into my favorite pilot in the whole Colonies." He placed a hand on Starbuck's shoulder, "How's it going Starbuck?"

As Starbuck shrugged his arm off, Apollo began to stand up to challenge the pilot, but two male pilots standing behind him roughly shoved him back down into his seat.

Apollo said angrily, "The club is closed for the night. Why don't you come back tomorrow."

The lead pilot sneered back, "Don't worry. We're just here for a quickie." Then he leaned down to Starbuck and added, "Isn't that right, honey?"

Starbuck quickly spun out of the chair and swung a fist at him, but was immediately caught by two pilots, the woman that pointed her out and another male. They held her in front of the lead pilot. He leered, "Whoa, if I didn't know better, I'd think you weren't happy to see your old shipmates. Why, you haven't even introduced us to your friend yet."

One of the pilots standing behind Apollo called out to the lead pilot, "Hey Zombie, that's Commander Adama's kid. They call him Apollo."

The lead pilot, Zombie faked being impressed, "Well, well, well, looks like we have a daddy's boy here, ladies and gentlemen."

Apollo warned him, "If you don't get out of here, I'll..."

"What? Call daddy and tell on us?" Zombie pointed to his uniform pin, "I'm a Captain and you're nothing, daddy's boy. So shut up."

Apollo elbowed the pilot on his right, spun the other way and punched the pilot on his left. Zombie stepped up and managed to land a punch on Apollo's lip. The two pilots Apollo hit managed to recover and grab a hold of him as he staggered backwards, as Starbuck struggled against her two assailants.

One pilot grabbed Apollo by the throat from behind, while the other punched him hard in the stomach. Apollo would have doubled over if the one behind him hadn't been holding him upright.

Seeing Apollo subdued, the lead pilot got right into Starbuck's face, "Now I believe you have some apologizing to do. And if I were you, I'd make it a really nice one."

Starbuck smiled, "You're right, Zombie. I do owe you an apology. I'm sorry I didn't castrate you." Then she spat into his face. Zombie pulled back a fist to punch her but stopped as a loud crash from the bar area caught everyone's attention.

Jolly came stumbling through the back entrance apparently drunk. He drained the last of a bottle of ambrosia and then let it drop to the ground and shatter. He staggered towards the group, "Whaz, goin on ear?" When he reached Apollo, ignoring the other pilots, he got in his face, pointed at Starbuck and asked, "Why you drinkn' wit her? I thought you were my friend?"

Zombie looked Jolly over, "Who the frak are you?"

The male pilot holding Starbuck said, "Jolly? Is that you?"

Jolly saluted, "The one and only, at your service." Jolly turned back to Apollo sticking a finger into his chest, "Anzer me…why you drinkn' wiff Startruck? She's the enema." At that, he begins laughing at himself.

Apollo said as he struggled against the pilots holding him, "Jolly, we could use some help."

Jolly smiled, "You wan my help? Me? Help Startruck?" He shook his head, "I don think so."

Jolly continued to ramble, "She's tryn' to take my job. Yer gonna take my girl. I'm tired of people taking stuff from me."

Zombie smiled as Jolly continued to go on and on. He turned back to Starbuck, "As I was saying…"

He stopped suddenly as a gun barrel was pressed against his temple. He looked sideways to see Jolly had drawn his sidearm. Jolly smiled, "Iz really funny, no madder how drunk I am there are two tings that never change. The first iz tat I don like bullies. Juz don like em."

Jolly appeared lost in thought for a moment, so Zombie, now visibly nervous, asked, "And the other?"

Jolly answered, suddenly looking very serious, "Oh yeah. I can alwayz somehow manage to shoot straight."

Zombie's pilots all appeared ready to go for their sidearms, but hesitated as that would mean letting go of their captives. The lead pilot, Zombie, cleared his throat, "Perhaps this has gotten a little out of hand."

Jolly yelled, "Youz damn right this has frakn' gotten out of hand. I juz got dumped an she's tryin to steal my job, and then you….you…" Jolly stopped and without moving the gun from Zombie's head turned to Apollo, "What did he do?"

Apollo replied, "He's attacking us."

Jolly thought, "No, thatz not it." Suddenly Jolly remembered, "Oh yeah, yer a bully. And I don' like bullies. Cuz you know why?"

Zombie shook his head, but appeared to be trying to decide if Jolly was distracted enough to get his gun away from him.

Finally, Jolly answered his own question as if they were stupid, "Cuz they're bullies…and not nice…and bullies."

Zombie replied, "We're not bullies. We just made a mistake." Zombie began slowly backing away and gestured for his pilots to let Apollo and Starbuck go. They reluctantly released them and backed away with Zombie towards the door.

Jolly followed them, waving the pistol while he yelled, "Get the frak out! I'm tired and I need a nap. So don eben tink about stealn' my rack."

After they had retreated, Starbuck moved to Apollo and inspected his bloody lip. "Are you, ok?"

Apollo replied smiling nervously at her touch, "Yeah, I was just feeling left out, as I was the only one that hasn't been punched lately. Those friends of yours?"

She frowned, "Something like that. Apparently, on the Triton not liking your CAG's tongue in your ear is considered mutiny."

They both turned as Jolly walked towards them. He slurred, "I've got a bone to pick wit za both of yeh," and he fell down, passed out.

End Chapter 1