Apollo stared out into the vastness of space, admiring the stars that shone through the consuming blackness. A small body pressed against his chest, warm and so incredibly fragile. Boxy leaned his head back on Apollo's shoulder, staring out into space with his father.
This was what Apollo loved best about his day, sitting in a chair in the lounge, Boxy on his lap. The lights turned off, and them together, looking through the porthole in silence. Often Boxy would fall asleep like that, sometimes Apollo would too.
Today was no different. Boxy's chest rose and fell under his hand. The even rhythm put Apollo at peace. If he could help it he would stay in this moment for the rest of eternity. There were no cylons, no danger, no death. Not in that moment. Just the peaceful silence of a father and his son, staring into the stars.
Boxy sat on the floor of his apartment playing pyramid with Starbuck and Boomer. The two were charged with watching the boy while Apollo was out. Of course they never told Apollo, fearing his wrath, so it became their little secret. Not to mention that Boxy often won and the two pilots held that to their honor. And their manhood.
Muffit laid next to the young boy, his head resting on mechanical paws. A shout of elation caused him to lift his head and turn his ears around.
"I win again!" Boxy threw his hands in the air. Starbuck looked as if he was going to be sick. His reputation as the unbeatable pyramid player was being swiftly destroyed by a boy just barely 10 yarhens old.
Boxy smirked slyly at the two men, "Hand 'em over." He held out his hand and mushies were begrudgingly handed over.
"Now don't go eating all those at once." Starbuck warned, trying to maintain some sort of pride. Boomer gave him a slightly sympathetic look, but he admitted to himself that the situation was actually quite funny.
Boxy smiled brightly and put the candy next to Muffit for protection. "Want to play again?" He asked enthusiastically.
"Oh, well. Uh..." Starbuck hesitated, glancing frantically at Boomer for help.
"Well, you see here Boxy," Boomer chimed in, equally unsure. "Starbuck and I will have to be on patrol later and uh..."
"We don't want to have to leave in the middle of a game."
"Right. Right." Boomer agreed quickly.
Boxy seemed a bit disappointed, but was satisfied with their excuse. "Maybe later then." He said cheerily.
Both men breathed a sigh of relief, they weren't sure if they could survive another round.
Just then the door to the apartment slid open with a hiss to allow a tired Apollo into the room. The boys made a mad scramble to hide the evidence of their game before he noticed.
He paused at the door and shrugged his pilot's jacket off his shoulders. When he looked up to continue into the living room he stopped, confused. Boxy, Boomer, and Starbuck all stood in a line, shoulder to shoulder, with hands in their pockets.
"Welcome back Captain!" Starbuck greeted him. Boxy ran forwards and wrapped his skinny arms around Apollo's waist.
"Welcome back Dad!"
Apollo lifted Boxy up, grunting painfully. "Hey Boxy. You're getting heavy."
Boomer, sensing now was a great time make his escape, dragged Starbuck past Apollo to the door. "See you later Captain."
"Uh, yeah. See ya." Starbuck added.
Apollo watched then sceptically as they slipped through the doorway and into the hall where they walked briskly towards the officers quarters.
"That was a close one." Boomer sighed.
"Yeah," Starbuck agreed, "a little too close."
Boxy stared out into the nothingness, tired and bored. Muffit sat at his feet, his constant companion and friend. Boxy slouched at his desk, head in his hands. He strained his eyes for a glimpse of his father's Viper, just to get a chance to have an excuse not to do the work he had been assigned in class that day. But to his disappointment, there was no Viper. Not even a single twinkling star that he could pretend was a Viper.
He grumbled in defeat as he stared down at the endless lines of black words. It was a passage from some ancient piece of literature and it could hardly hold Boxy's attention for more than a centon. He looked at the calendar that sat by his desk instead. It was almost his birthday. He wondered what Apollo had planned for it, or if he had anything planned at all. Maybe he had forgotten. He hadn't mentioned anything or even hinted that it was Boxy's birthday and that made Boxy wonder if he really hadn't forgotten. He supposed he could forgive his father if he did, Apollo was always busy; being the Captain and all. Still, he hoped he would remember.
Several days later Boxy awoke to Muffit barking hysterically by his bed. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was incredibly too early for him to be getting up. "Shut up, you stupid dagget!"
As always Muffit ignored him and continued to bark at nothing. Angrily, Boxy rolled himself out of bed and went to find out what exactly had Muffit so riled up. A quick scan of the room revealed nothing. All seemed to be in order. Still, he barked.
"Muffit, hush!", Boxy commanded sternly. He continued out into the living room, stumbling around groggily. Still, nothing seemed out of place. He decided to go to his father's room, he thought that perhaps Apollo had gotten up and that had disturbed the dagget.
He stuck his head around the door to Apollo's room and glanced around. He wasn't there. Odd, Boxy thought. He looked around the rest of the apartment, but Apollo wasn't there. He thought perhaps Apollo had an early shift, but normally he would tell Boxy.
Boxy decided not to worry about it, he was certain that whatever had called Apollo away was important and that he could handle it. So, with that, he headed back to bed. However, he laid awake for several more centons; his thoughts running all the scenarios that could have called his dad away, until he finally fell asleep.
That morning when he awoke he went about his business, going through his morning routine just like every morning before. The artificial lights on the ship glowed a soft orange, mimicking the mornings on Caprica. Very few remembered those mornings, least of all Boxy, so he paid no attention to them. After he was all washed he headed out to the officers mess, hoping to find out some news about Apollo and why he had been called out so early, and maybe even get a bite to eat.
When he arrived he was a bit perplexed to find that the mess was nearly empty. A few officers and engineers sat scattered at the tables with their food. They didn't say much when Boxy approached them and none of them could offer an explanation for the many oddities that had occurred that day. Boxy's mind swam with questions while he ate. Even Muffit seemed to be thinking; his ears swiveling silently from side to side. But, determined to get his answers, Boxy headed for the control room to find Commander Adama. If anybody knew anything it would be him.
However, seemed that even the Commander was missing. According to everyone on deck nobody had seen him that morning. What was even stranger was that no one seemed concerned or worried. Irritated and utterly determined, Boxy searched everywhere he could think of, even checking into the officer's quarters to try and find anyone. He had managed to find Starbuck, to his relief, but even he didn't seem to know what was going on. Together they searched the ship for what could have been yarhens, even calling the ships in the fleet, but still no answers.
Exhausted, Starbuck sighed and put his hand on Boxy's shoulder. "Well, we might as well take a break for now. Come on, I'll get you a drink in the lounge."
Disappointed and worried, Boxy followed him. His shoulders hunched forwards and his boots dragging across the metal floors. It seemed to take an eternity to get to the lounge, but when they did he was almost relieved.
The door slid open to reveal a dark room. Nobody seemed to be there. Everything's so odd today, he thought. That was, until the light was turned on. Light and sound flooded the tiny room and cheers and shouts burst through the door. "Happy 16th birthday, Boxy!" Everyone was here, in this tiny room. Food, drinks, and decorations filled every corner and smiles were on every face.
Boxy was taken aback, confused and thoroughly surprised. Apollo stood front and center, a smile spread wide across his face as he laughed. At first, Boxy was almost mad at him. He had him running around the ship, worried that something terrible had happened. The only person who enjoyed this moment more that Apollo was Starbuck himself who was keeling over with laughter. Boxy joined him, laughing all of his worry away. Apollo stepped forwards and hugged him, his shoulders still shaking from the laughter.
"Happy birthday!", He said again. Boxy returned the hug, wrapping his arms around his Apollo's shoulders.
"You should have seen your face!" Starbuck exclaimed, interrupting the intimate moment. Boxy glared at him playfully.
"You try saying that after a game of pyramids." He jeered. Starbuck stopped laughing almost immediately, but his silence was taken up by the hysterical bellows of his fellow officers.
The rest of the day was spent in festivity. Everyone enjoyed this little moment of celebration, and everyone was more than happy to have an excuse to take the day off. By the end everyone went back to their quarters with tired smiles and full bellies, but Boxy and Apollo remained. Without a word Boxy hit the lights off and Apollo pulled up two chairs from a table. The two sat down next to each other and leaned their heads back to stare out into the stars. Apollo placed his hand on his son's shoulder, and they watched the stars pass by in the vast darkness of space. Soon, both had fallen asleep and their tranquil minds floated out to join the cold silence that enveloped them.