"You don't have to do this, you know."
"Yes I do."
Helo sighed as he watched Starbuck stretching her arms, getting ready to go. They had overheard the marines talking to Captain Taylor on the comm. as he was checking on the status of the other crew. Sharon had gone around with Anders to create some kind of distraction in order to get them away from the Raptor – just long enough so they could get onboard and get the frak out of there.
"You know as well as I do that the moment I see them, Lee is going to try to keep me and this baby at all costs. And they'll probably throw you, Anders and Sharon in the brig for good measure!"
"You don't know that Kara, any more than I do. For all we know, they've thrown Lee out an airlock and it's just the Old Man looking for you, okay?"
Kara tried not to flinch as Sharon and Anders came walking up, grins on their silly little faces.
"I don't think so Helo. How would he have known to look here, huh? Am I right Sharon?"
She turned and looked at the Cylon, who was more and more human every day. The grin faded from Sharon's olive-colored features, and she became markedly more serious.
"Yeah. You're most likely correct. We've been here for months. The only way they would have come looking here is if someone pointed them in this direction. For all they knew, this place would be crawling with Cylons. I don't think that Adama would risk coming back unless he knew it wasn't."
Turning back around to look at the marines through the binoculars, Kara saw that nothing had happened yet. Nor did she see anything out of the ordinary.
"What did you guys do...anything?"
Anders put his hands on her thick waist and turned her back around, his mouth breaking out into a wide grin.
"You're watching in the wrong place. Just look over that way, and watch. It'll go off with a bang. Are you two ready?"
Over his shoulder, Helo and Sharon had picked up the other supplies, and their chubby little girl. Helo nodded without verbalizing that they were go for launch, in a matter of speaking. Anders returned it with a thumbs up sign, before turning back to Kara again.
On the far side of the forest, there was suddenly a large explosion. It worked perfectly. Corporal Venner and the other marine hightailed it to the site, where the surrounding trees were now going up in flames.
"Let's go!"
The hatch to the Raptor had been left open, allowing them easy access without attracting too much attention. They would be getting plenty of that as soon as they took off. Sharon passed Tanah off to Kara again, jumping into the pilot's seat and fastening her harness; while Helo took the ECO's seat.
"Now I can show you how a real pilot flies one of these things."
Sharon had the biggest grin on her face.
"Yes dear."
Helo had one on his, too. Sharon watched the ground slowly disappear from their sight as the screen in front of her blipped.
"Hon, don't forget about that other Raptor out there. Tell me where I need not to go."
Looking quickly at his screen, Lieutenant Agathon pinpointed the exact orbit that Captain Taylor had made with the other Raptor. Frakking idiot didn't even notice the explosion.
Sure enough, Taylor and his ECO were completely oblivious to the activity going on at the surface of the planet below. So much so that Sharon passed without notice, within five hundred meters of the sister ship. The former CAG of the Pegasus only took heed when he saw the flash of light as they jumped away.
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"Holy frak."
Racetrack looked at the smoke coming from the woods they had just exited from. The sweep of the cabin was complete. Someone had definitely been there, and it looked like they had just left. So much for stealth.
Chief Tyrol was listening to the radio, nodding as he heard the message from Galactica's marines that had stayed at the landing site.
"Copy that. Tyrol out. Admiral Adama, sir?"
Bill Adama raised his head, looking first at his son, then at the Chief. He had been lost in thought, wondering where he had gone so wrong that Kara would want to flee from him. I love her like my own child.
"Yes, Chief. Sitrep?"
"Sir, yes sir. That was Corporal Venner, sir. There was an explosion in the woods and…and when they went to check it out, sir, someone boarded the Raptor and it took off, sir. Our transport is gone sir. The Corporal said that Captain Taylor is landing now, sir."
Lee was incensed. They had been so close, and Kara had just slipped through their fingers. He was going to have to kill someone now…he could feel it in his blood as he spat out the words.
"And did the good Captain tell you if he even noticed them going past him? Did he?"
Tyrol looked disdainfully down his nose at the younger Adama. He may be half Cylon, but Galen knew from experience that he still had to treat him with some semblance of respect. The Old Man wouldn't allow otherwise. It still didn't stop the sarcasm in his voice.
"No, sir, he did not. As I said, Corporal Venner reported that Captain Taylor was just landing. He had yet to get a report from the Captain…sir."
Letting a small sigh escape from his lips, Bill placed on finger on his chin and thought about what they should do next.
"Thank you, Chief. That will be all. Well son, I guess we're back to square one, then."
Lee looked up at the sky, feeling the Cylon side of him trying to take over his all too human emotions.
"Yes, dad. I guess we are."
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