I do not own any of the characters in this story, nor this world where this story resides. None of the character(s) introduced in this chapter (or thereafter) has anything to do with Halo.
Thoughts
(Authors notes)
Telepathy
Chapter 3
Lost Commodities
Every once in a while, Buck notices that Starbuck wistfully looks at him, and sometimes it is with a pained expression. Today is no exception; he has noticed her focus waver even as she goes thru her lightsaber drills on the practice mat in the Holosuite.
"You should tell Commander Adama about the circumstances of his son's death," Buck advises Starbuck…again.
"I think he already knows that his son is dead," she calmly replies as if to imply that he should drop it.
Ever since she revealed to Buck, why she feels guilty about Zak's death, he has been advising her to talk to the Commander. Whenever he brings it up, she always changes the subject.
"Do you think, now is the best time to have a party?" Starbuck asks Buck
"Concentrate," Buck reminds Starbuck, when he notices that she momentarily lost her balance during a swing.
"I know that a baby was born yesterday, but still there are more important things to do…" Kara continues as she keeps stumbling thru the movements of the form. "Hey," she yells as a small rubber ball hits her in the back of the head.
"If you're going to keep distracting yourself, you might as well stop, and clean up for the party," replies Buck as a smirking Kara rubs the back of her head, "It wasn't my idea to have this party. Jazz thought it would be a good opportunity for everyone to get to know each other."
"Speaking of which…is Lee coming?" Kara asks with a barely hidden smirk as they leave the Holosuite.
"You know that he has been invited," replies Buck as he tries to ignore Kara's wordplay.
"Great, I know that Lara's been dying to get to know him better," she chuckles as she walks towards the refresher.
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"Oh yes, don't stop," Apollo says with a moan.
"I see Lee is enjoying the attention that you are giving him," Jazz says as she enters the treatment room to grab a computer tablet, and catches Lara in the act.
"Hey, it was your idea for me to practice giving back massages on Lee," Lara says with a grunt as she tries to loosen a tight shoulder muscle.
"So you coming to this dinner party that Jazz is giving on the Coruscant," Apollo asks Lara, after Jazz leaves the room.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world…speaking of which," Lara replies as she stops giving the massage and starts wiping off her hands on a nearby towel, "I'd better go get ready."
"Hey, don't stop," says Apollo as he reaches out with his hand to try to grab her.
"Don't blame me," Lara replies over her shoulder as she leaves the room, "you're the one who reminded me that I wasn't ready yet."
"Frak," mutters Apollo as he sits up on the table, "I had to open my big mouth."
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~Port Hanger deck~
"Am I the last one to arrive?" Laura Roslin asks Starbuck as she walks up to her.
"Yes, you are, but I doubt anyone will notice," Starbuck replies as they walk up the boarding ramp.
"You're lucky to have those Dress Gray uniforms," Laura replies as she looks down at her black pants, jacket, and white blouse, "This is all I have to wear for any special occasions."
"I'm not as lucky as you think that I am," Starbuck replies as she pulls at her tight collar as they enter the Holosuite.
When they enter the Holosuite, Laura first notices that the Holosuite looks like a formal dining room with a long wooden table on the right side of the room. She notices that there is a full wet bar on the other side of the room. Scattered throughout the room are several small groups of people having conversations.
"I wonder what they are talking about," thought Laura when she notices Doctor Cottle having an animated conversation with Jazz and Commander Adama.
"So you thought you could just stroll onto my ship and treat my people without my say so," Laura overheard Cottle snap, as she approaches them.
"She didn't just come on board and start treating people," Adama defensively replies, "She had my permission to help, since you were not available."
"Commander, you know very well that I, as Chief Medical Officer," Cottle snaps, "should be the one to make such decisions. I have to check everyone's credentials, so that no idiot injures someone under my watch."
"I apologize, if I did not follow the proper protocols," Jazz says as she tries to reassure Cottle, "Please do not blame the Commander, as a Field Doctor, I should have known to seek you out, and gotten your authorization before proceeding. Unfortunately, time was of the essence, and I, in my haste to assist the injured parties, neglected my duty to you."
"Well, I…"Cottle starts to say before Roslin interrupts him as she approaches from behind him.
"Is my personal physician causing you any trouble?" Roslin asks Cottle as she walks over to stand beside Jazz.
"She is your personal physician, Madam President?" asks Cottle, "I hadn't realized…"
"She was vetted by the MI2 before becoming my physician," Roslin said, before motioning to Lara, "Lara come over here and explain this to Cottle."
"You were aware that the MI2 vetted this woman?" Cottle asks Commander Adama, who was silently watching the conversation between Roslin and Cottle.
"Yes, I had an opportunity to talk with the agent before authorizing Jazz to treat the wounded personnel," Adama replies as Lara approaches the group.
"Tick… is that you?" Cottle replies when he notices Lara approach, "When did you get on board?"
"Hey Doc, I came on board with Jazz a few days ago," Lara replies, "When we were at Ragnar Anchorage."
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Finally, after days of scouring the Galactica for Cylon devices, Gaius Baltar is able to sit down in the lounge of Fire Flight. Gaius took a sip of the Corellian Reserve, before placing the glass on the table in front of him, to light the cigar in his hand.
"Weren't invited to the party, huh?" asks the lady in red as she cups Baltar's hand to assist him in lighting the cigar.
"No, I was not," he replies as he takes a few tentative puffs on the cigar, "What do you want?"
"What I always wanted," she replies as she sits in his lap, "…to make you happy."
"Funny that you never get around to giving me your name," he says as he tries to enjoy his cigar.
"You've never asked."
"So, what is it?"
"You used to call me Angela…" she says with a twinkle in her eye, "Well, that and a few other names."
"Used to…you act as if we used to know each other."
"We used to know each other very well…very well indeed," she says to Gaius, who just looks even more confused.
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"So what's it like…living on this ship," Apollo asks Starbuck as he sidles up to her, while she gets a mug of beer from the bartender.
"It's not bad," Starbuck replies after taking a sip from her beer, "Even though I still sleep in a bunk, the company and food is great."
"Don't forget, you are still a pilot for Galactica," he says as he motions for a beer as well, "Just because Buck has started your training, doesn't mean you can forget your duties."
"Don't worry, I'll still fly CAP," Starbuck replies, "I haven't forgotten who's my CAG."
"Speaking of CAP, Do you ever wonder about the Olympic…?" Apollo hesitantly starts to ask before Kara interrupts him.
Kara's eyes wandering about the room spots Dee and Billy talking in the corner of the room. "So what do you make of that?" she asks as she motions to the awkward acting couple.
"I think they may have a chance, if Billy ever learns to take his foot out of his mouth," Apollo quickly replies, not wanting to try to bring up the Olympic Carrier again; "When did they start getting together?" Apollo asks as he motions with his head towards Jazz and Chief Tyrol, who are talking over drinks.
"I hear that they have been getting together ever since Boomer was killed," Starbuck says after she takes another sip of beer, "I even heard that ever since Tyrol found out that she's a fellow Gearhead that he's been letting her work on the vipers."
"Isn't she a Doc?"
"Even a Doc needs a hobby, I guess," Starbuck answers.
"What do you think of Dee and Billy?"
"Hope he doesn't blow it," Starbuck mutters over her mug before taking another sip.
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Laura and Lara quietly slip away, while Adama and Cottle start talking about the condition of the civilians of the Fleet.
"I didn't know that you knew so many people on Galactica?" Roslin asks Lara as Laura grabs two drinks off a waiter's tray as he walks by and hands one to Lara.
"Thank you. Let's just say that I have been on a few missions that required me to use the Galactica as transport," Lara replies, after taking a sip of her drink.
"MI2 stuff huh," Roslin nosily replies.
"So, Apollo tells me that the Fleet doesn't have a civilian Law Enforcement Unit yet," Lara gently responds as she changes the subject, "Don't you think the Fleet needs something to keep the civilians in line."
"I haven't had the chance to talk to Adama yet about that," Roslin replies, "I thought the military could handle it."
"It's been my experience that a civilian police force is a better choice," Lara replies as she sees Commander Adama walking toward them. "Talk to Bill about it, but if you need any help, I would be glad to help you out," she said as Adama walks up and Lara walks away.
"Talk about what?" asks Adama as he notices Lara walk over to Starbuck and Apollo.
"A civilian police force," Roslin replies.
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"At least nobody is freaking out," thought Buck; after everyone sits at the table and he watches as the virtual wait staff attends to them.
"Ahem," Buck clears his throat as he tries to gain the room's attention, "Now that I have everyone's attention…Thank you for coming, I know my Holosuite can be disturbing for some, but as I mentioned when I personally greeted each of you earlier, you have nothing to fear in this room."
"The room creates solid interactive holograms…" Apollo said, "Is that correct?"
"Yes, that is correct," Buck replies as he notices the staff getting the meal request from each person, "I think that it's good for a group of people to get together from time to time…to remind them of what they are fighting for and for whom."
"I heard that you and Jazz are siblings… twins," Elosha asks Buck, "Is that true?"
"Jazz, let's do that bit that we used to do as kids," Buck said with a chuckle as he walks over to Jazz, "You know the one we used to mess with Alfirk's mind."
"If you insist…all right Jacen, but remember it has been a while since I said that with you," Jazz replies as she stands at his side.
"I am lightning…" Buck began.
"And I am thunder," Jazz finishes.
"To mock us, would…"
"Be a blunder."
"We shall never…"
"Be torn asunder."
"For we are…"
"The twins of wonder," they finish together as they go back to back.
"Cute, very cute," Commander Adama said as the group politely applauded, while Buck and Jazz bowed before retaking their seats because the first course is being served, "So when did you start doing that routine?"
"When Jazz and I were growing up in the Academy," Buck answers, "This routine helped warn off any bullies."
"That scared away a bully?" Apollo asks in disbelief.
"It does if we say it as one of us is holding his arms while the other punches him in the face," Buck answered.
"We only had to do it once or twice, if I remember correctly," Jazz adds, "Nobody else troubled us after that."
"You didn't get in trouble for that," asks Roslin.
"You might not realize this," Buck explains to Roslin as both Adamas nodded in agreement, "But snitching is usually frowned upon in most academies. Nobody wants to be known as a snitch."
"So who gave you that nickname?" Apollo snickers.
"Master Yoda, he's a council member in the Temple," Buck answers as he starts eating his salad, "He's the one who first called us the wonder twins."
"Did you know that there is a reference to the twins of wonder in our sacred scrolls?" Elosha asks Buck.
"Uhm, no," Buck uncomfortably replies.
"Tread carefully Buck," Jazz telepathically warns Buck.
"I'm sorry, but we are not acquainted with your sacred text," Jazz quickly adds.
"I've heard others mention that you may know the Earth's location," Elosha asks Buck, "Is that true?"
"Yes and no, I do know where Earth is…I have the coordinates in my ship's data banks, but…" Buck said to the hope-filled group, "As I told Starbuck earlier, I don't have any of these constellations in my NAV charts. I'm not sure if my information is accurate or even close to being correct for this dimension."
"If you had to SWAG (Scientific Wild-Ass Guess) it," asks Adama, "What would it be?"
"The Federation that I used to be affiliated with, divided the universe into four quadrants for charting purposes," Buck said after he thought a moment, "I would say that we are in the unknown section of Delta Quadrant. I could give you a better answer, but I would need more information."
"This Academy you mentioned," Chief Tyrol asks Buck, "Was it a military school, and what does it have to do with this Council and temple that you have mentioned?"
"It wasn't a military organization," Jazz answers.
"Well, Jazz and I are in an order of guardians," Buck began.
"We are the guardians of peace and order in our galaxy," Jazz replies, "Buck's last rank that he held in the order was Knight, and my rank is Master."
"They promoted you?" a bewildered Buck asks Jazz.
"Um, yes…they did," Jazz answers with a slight blush.
"What do you mean the last rank Buck held?" asks Adama.
"Before a space anomaly pulled me from my home dimension…" Buck starts to explain.
"Are you telling me that this happened to you before…?" Apollo asks in an incredulous tone.
"Yes, in fact this is my third dimension that I have had the pleasure to live in," Buck answers.
"As you were saying about your rank," Adama reminds Buck.
"I've always have been a bit of a maverick," Buck explains.
"That's an understatement. You were always trying to find ways to get around the rules, you mean," Jazz replies with a chuckle, "It's amazing that you never got caught."
"They kept trying…Well, eventually the council noticed my talent at getting things done…even if it was in an unorthodox manner," Buck continues, "They wanted someone to go deep undercover for them so they picked me."
"They gave Buck a cover story of a rogue Knight," Jazz adds.
"After they officially kicked me out of the organization for behavior unbecoming of a member of the order," Buck explains, "I became a smuggler, but I was actually a field agent for the Council."
"Field agent huh?" Lara said as his comment caught her attention.
"Yeah, we should swap war stories sometime," Buck offers.
"What about the other dimension?" Roslin asks.
"Oh, after a stint in Starfleet, I became a smuggler/spy again," answers Buck.
"What about you?" Elosha asks Jazz.
"I became a healer. I specialized in dealing with traumatic injuries," Jazz explains, "After spending some time in a war zone; I became an expert in limb and organ replacement. I first used mechanical means, but after spending some time on Kamino…"
"Kamino…?" Buck interrupts.
"I'll explain later," Jazz quickly replies. "After spending some time on Kamino, I became an expert in using flash cloning technology to replace lost or damaged limbs and organs," Jazz continues.
"I'd like to consult with you sometime in the future," Cottle suggests.
"We should schedule a time," Jazz replies.
After a moment of silence, conversations resume about the table.
"Do you often eat in this manner?" Roslin asks Buck, who is sitting to her right.
"No, usually Starbuck and I eat in the crew lounge in the back," Buck answers, "How did you get onboard?"
"Colonial One berths in the Port landing bay," Laura replies while she eats her soup, "Even though it is rather inconvenient, it is the only way that I can get onboard."
"Really, may I offer an alternative?" asks Buck.
"Do you have an easier way to board the ship?"
"Yes, I do. If you would permit me," Buck replies, "I think I can set something up, so you can come and go as you please, without having to park your vessel inside of Galactica."
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It's very late and Buck is trying not to disturb Starbuck as she sleeps.
"I can set something up," thought Buck as he sits on the floor between the berths to meditate, and realizes how much sleep he has missed by having to work late setting up a signal booster so the President can use a communicator in her quarters, "That's what I get for volunteering. That's one thing that is consistent in every universe…don't volunteer for anything."
"Don't go," Starbuck cries out as she sits up in her bunk.
"Is there something that you want to tell me?" Buck asks Starbuck, as he sits with his eyes closed.
"I'm sorry Buck," Starbuck said as she tries to shake the cobwebs out of her head, "I didn't mean to disturb you."
"You can never disturb me, my friend," Buck said, "Tell me what is bothering you."
"I dreamt that I was home again," Starbuck explains, "I was sitting in my crib…crying for something."
"It must be a memory from when you were a baby," replies Buck, who immediately felt embarrassed from Starbuck's 'No duh' expression that she was giving him, "Please continue."
"As I was saying…oh wise one," Starbuck sarcastically replies, "I could see my outstretched little hands…reaching for something across the room on a shelf. It was a brand new toy bear, a present from my father. I could feel myself aching for my bear as I reached for it. Suddenly, it floats off the shelf to my waiting hands."
"So you were displaying gifts of the force even in your childhood?"
"But not all of my childhood memories are happy ones," Starbuck recalls.
~Flashback~
A small blond haired six-year-old girl is staring at her favorite birthday present from her now absent father, a well-loved old stuffed bear sitting on a shelf out of her reach.
"Maybe she won't catch me…this time," she thought as she walks to her bedroom doorway and looks around the hallway for her mother. "She's not here," thinks young Kara, as she reaches for her present and wills it to come to her.
First, the bear gently wobbles on the shelf, before it slowly rises up, and begins floating down to her.
"Almost …almost got it," thought Kara as she watches it come closer.
The sound of glass breaking at her bedroom door breaks Kara's concentration, and the bear falls to the floor.
"What do you think you're doing?" Kara's mother, Socrata Thrace, shrieks as she stands over a broken bottle of cheap booze. "What if someone saw you?" Socrata hisses as she rushes to the bedroom window and shuts the curtains. "What if one of the Purifiers saw you?" she said as she walks over to the dropped bear, "What would they do to me, if they found out that I gave birth to a freak?"
"Nobody saw me mama," pleads Kara. "Please, can I have Mr. Jumbles," Kara asks when Socrata picks up the toy bear.
"No, I warned you about using your freaky ways," Socrata said with a strange glint in her eyes as she marches out of the room carrying Mr. Jumbles by his foot.
~end Flashback~
"Who are the Purifiers?" asks Buck.
"Just some old myth that moms used to scare their children into behaving," Starbuck offhandedly replies.
"Mm, hm…What did she do with Mr. Jumbles? Burn him or what?" asks Buck.
"I don't know, I never saw him again," Starbuck replies.
"Huh, your mom was weird…at least that's all she did to you," Buck says with a sigh.
"Yeah, good thing…I didn't mention that she repeatedly broke my fingers in a sick attempt to discourage me from using my abilities…" thought Starbuck as she answers with a grimace.
"Seriously, your fingers…?" Buck said as he walks over, grabs one of Starbuck's hands, and examines it, "How do they still function?"
"How is it that you know what I am thinking?" Starbuck blurts.
"A Force bond often occurs between a Master and a Padawan, but don't blame me…you tend to project your thoughts. We need to do something about that," Buck casually replies, "Was there anything else about your dream?"
"Well, after a few flashbacks of my youth, the dream turned really strange," says Starbuck in a tone of bewilderment.
"Strange in what way…?" He asks as he gets up and walks over to Kara.
"As in I saw my mom morph into a spiky blond-haired man. Then I saw Mr. Jumbles floating in space. Suddenly, there was an explosion on his right side and water spewed forth from his injury," a befuddled Kara answers.
"You're right that was a strange dream," Buck replies as he rubs, and pats her shoulder, "Let me know if you have any other disturbing dreams."
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~Later that day~
"When are you going to get here?" Lara telepathically asks Jazz, "Hurry before he asks me about…oops…too late."
"Did you tell him about Starbuck's dream?" Jazz asks Lara as she walks down the stairs, "It might have something to do with Galactica."
"He said that he can't do anything about that without something more concrete to work with."
~Fire Flight Lounge~
Commander Adama and Lara are sitting on the couch, talking, when Jazz walks in.
"Captain Jason Priam said that he would help you recruit and organize a police force," replies Adama.
"So retired officer, Capt. Priam is it…is going to be under my command?" asks Lara.
"Yes, he is under your command. He isn't going to be alone by the way. He has four retired sergeants with him on the Argo Navis," Adama continues, "It seems that the five of them were on their way to a security consulting job in Delphi, when the Cylons attacked Caprica."
"How did I get suckered into this assignment anyway?" Lara grumbles.
"That's what you get for putting the idea of a civilian police force into Roslin's head," Adama sarcastically replies.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," Jazz replies as she sits down in a chair across from them.
"Apologies aren't necessary," Adama replies with a wave of his hand, "Lara mentioned to me that you were in the middle of an experiment and would be down shortly."
"So how did President Roslin's first treatment go," Lara telepathically asks Jazz.
"It went well considering," Jazz telepathically answers, "I told her that this cancer is very invasive and due to the metastasis, many treatments are needed. It's a good thing that Buck is able to teleport her to the treatment room, then return her to her personal quarters on Colonial One."
"So is the Tricorder that Buck provided going to help in any way?" Lara asks Jazz.
"Tricorder, what are you talking about?" asks Adama.
"Buck had an Medical Tricorder on his ship," Jazz explains, "However, he couldn't use it because when his vessel went thru the anomaly, a energy flux struck the Coruscant on the Starboard side, and the charge cascaded thru his systems."
"What is the extent of the damage?" Adama asks.
"It fried his Science station, and damaged part of the Ops station functions," explains Jazz, "Fortunately, he was able to shut down most of the systems before it could get any worse."
"So what does this have to do with the Tricorder?"
"It was useless since the device used the Science station to access the ship's main computer," replies Jazz, "Buck let me have it to see if I can use it as a Cylon detector."
"So is it helping?" asks Lara.
"It will, once I figure out how to get it to work with my medical scanning systems and main computer," Jazz explains, "It's difficult since they not only use different Operating Systems, but also different programming languages as well."
"Why don't you get Baltar to help out?" asks Lara.
"Buck thought I should do it myself; since Buck doesn't trust him," explains Jazz, "and I don't entirely trust him either."
"I'll ask Lieutenant Gaeta if he could assist you during his off duty hours," offers Adama.
"I would appreciate the help, thank you," Jazz replies.
"Well, I see that you have your work cut out for you," Adama retorts.
"I do indeed," replies Jazz, "Now, what is this about Lara being in charge of a Police force?"
"I was about to tell her that I arranged for her to meet Captain Priam in the Pilot briefing room tomorrow to discuss how they are going to form one for the President," Adama said as Lara grumbles under her breath
"Thanks…thanks a lot," Lara grumbles as Adama chuckles at her predicament.
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The next morning, Lara finds herself walking down the hallway towards the Pilot briefing room.
"Come on how bad could it get?" thought Lara as she stood outside the door. She heard the noise of a group of people coming down the hallway, and she turns to see who is making the ruckus.
"It's only Aunt Laura…uh, President Roslin, Billy, and Apollo." Lara and Laura Roslin exchange nods as the group passes Lara on their way to the CIC.
"Well any day now," thought Lara as she continued to stand before the door.
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~Earlier that morning~
"Starbuck, are you alright?" Elosha asks her while she waves her hand in front of Starbuck's face. "What's with the vacant stare? It's really creeping me out," thought Elosha as she continues trying to gain Starbuck's attention, "First, she interrupts me as I am talking to Cally about her problems. Than after Cally said that we could talk later and I do start talking to Starbuck, she suddenly turns into a statue."
Suddenly, Starbuck snaps out of it and grabs Elosha's shoulder to regain her balance.
"I know where they are…" Starbuck blurts out.
"Where what are?" a bewildered Elosha asks.
"The bombs…" Starbuck answers as she turns and yells over her shoulder, while running to where a group of knuckle draggers are standing, "Can't talk now; I have to find Chief Tyrol!"
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Lara musters her resolve and enters the Pilot briefing room. The first thing she notices as she walks up to the front of the room is a graying-haired man sitting ramrod straight in a chair in the front row.
Captain Priam stands up when she reaches him.
"Spartan," Lara replies with a nod as they size each other up.
"Wraith," Captain Priam responds.
"I see that we know each other's former jobs," Lara said with a smirk as she sits in the chair next to his, "Now I see why Commander Adama thought you would be able to assist me. Are the others Spartans as well?"
"They are my former team," Captain Priam answers as he sits down, "They decided to continue following me after retirement."
"So, where are they?" Lara asks as she looks around the room.
"I got them rousting…I mean, seeking volunteers for the police force," Priam replies, "former law enforcement personnel are hard to find and trying to get retired personnel to go back on duty can get a mite difficult."
"It helps that they are probably bored to death at this moment," Lara replies, "They would likely jump for the opportunity to do something. It's gotten boring around here since we lost the Cylons."
Just then, several strong tremors shook the Galactica.
"Oh, frak me," Lara exclaims as Captain Priam just gave her a "You should have known better" kind of look, "I had to go and open my big mouth."
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~A moment earlier in the CIC~
"So how many do you think there are?" Commander Adama asks Chief Tyrol as he looks at one of the disarmed bombs in his hand.
"So far the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) found three," Chief Tyrol explains as he points at various places on Galactica's blueprints, "The teams found them in tanks 3, and 5. They haven't reported yet on the other tanks."
"Is it usually like this, Captain Apollo?" Roslin whispers to Apollo as they observe the action from the side of the room.
"No, something very strange is going on here," answers Apollo.
"What made you think to send EOD to check out the water tanks?" Tigh asks Tyrol.
"Starbuck went looking for me to warn me about bombs in the water tanks," answers Tyrol, "She said she had a gut feeling that I would find some if I sent EOD in to check it out. Her gut has never let me down before…so I thought I would send in the teams, just in case."
"It's a good thing that you listened to her, because…"Tigh starts to say when several strong tremors shook Galactica.
"Decompression alarm," Gaeta exclaims.
"Damage report," Adama barks.
"Ruptures in tanks 7, and 9," reports Gaeta.
"Two tanks o n the port side have ruptured. We're venting a lot of our water directly into space," Tigh replies and then mutters, "Good thing that we delayed the unrep (Underway Replenishment) with the Virgon Express."
"Chief, get down there and find out what in Hades happened," orders Adama.
"On my way Commander," Chief Tyrol says before he leaves the CIC.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~(.}*{.)~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
"Boy is that a nasty hole," Buck thought after he flies the Raptor to the Port side of Galactica and starts surveying the damages from the recent explosions. "They look so small in there," he thought when he notices Tyrol, and Cally walking around in EVA (Extra-vehicular Activity) suits as they are investigating the water tanks.
"So how's she looking?" Chief Tyrol asks Buck, while standing on the catwalk in the damaged water storage tank.
"Like someone drove a suicide-bombing Bantha thru the side of the ship," Buck exclaims with a whistle.
"A what…?" asks Tyrol.
"Imagine if you cross-bred a small elephant with a ram and a wooly mammoth," Buck tries to explain.
"Forget I asked," Tyrol mutters, "So it looks bad?"
"Oh, yeah it does," replies Buck as he stares at the twisted metal of the Galactica's hull.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~(.}*{.)~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
~Caprica~
"Are we getting closer to where you left the Raptor?" Helo asks Caprica Boomer as they run thru the woods in the rain.
"Yeah, we're almost there," she answers. "Is what I'm getting from Boomer's download true? Is there a healer on Galactica who understands and is friendly to Cylons?" a confused Sharon thought as she ran, "…and what's with all of these memories that I am recalling since she downloaded…can they possibly be true? Did a One betray us all?
They both stop for a moment to get their bearings and to verify that they are not being followed, or drawing undue attention to themselves.
"Would she really help me be able to get pregnant," Sharon thought, while she rubs her abdomen and reviews Boomer's last memories on Galactica, and questions whether Jazz's offer of helping Boomer was credible. "I can't get distracted right now. She's on Galactica, and I'm stuck here on Caprica," she thought as she came to a decision, "It'd be better to just stick to the plan."
After a moment's rest, they take off running again.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~(.}*{.)~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
"Boy, am I tired… after flying that Raptor all around creation, looking for water," Buck thought as he shuffles back to the crew quarters. "How was CAP today?" Buck asks Starbuck, as she exits the refresher.
"It looks to have been as fruitful as your search for water," Starbuck replies as she walks past him to the bunk area. "Speaking of water…If someone told me that I could feel this good by cleaning my body with sound waves, I would have told them that they're crazy," she said with a smile on her face.
"Do you think we'll ever find any water?"
"Oh, we'll find water," she said with a strange expression on her face.
"Is this a guess, or a…feeling?"
"Let's just say that when we fetch those chucks of ice from the salt water, that that will be the easiest part," she said as she finishes dressing.
Suddenly, he grabs an iron bar from the table and throws it at her.
And just as quickly, she unclips a lightsaber from her belt, activates it, and slices the iron bar into five pieces.
"You have been practicing…good," he replies as she deactivates her saber, and returns it to her belt, "Have you been practicing your other lessons as well?"
"Every day…you already know that," she says in a huff.
"Go have fun at the Triad game," he says as he sits down to meditate as she starts to leave with, if it is possible, an even bigger smile. "Try not to humiliate them too much," he calls out to her back.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~(.}*{.)~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
All is quiet in the empty Pilot quarters, as Apollo enters with a towel wrapped around his waist. He walks over and opens his locker. Slowly, he gets dressed in his green off-duty fatigues. The last thing he does, is to reach up, grab a small slip of paper sitting on the top locker shelf, and look at it.
Written on the slip of paper is, "Olympic Carrier". He slips it into his pocket and leaves the room.