Title- A Brave New World

Chapter- 3/?
Author- Dekardkain
Date- 10/03/06
Rating- NC-17
Category- Very AU, L/K romance, action.
Archiving- Would be an honor, just ask.
Warnings- Consensual Sex, Language
Disclaimers- I don't own this, no money, yadda yadda. Sue me
I promise you won't get much.

Summary- What if things had taken a very different turn
after they returned from Kobol? What if instead of finding
the Peg they found Earth? Or if Earth found them?

Chapter 3 "Fight or Flight"

"The first time I met a Terran, I was shocked to find more differences than similarities. While we hadn't had a full scale war among the Colonies in thousands of years, they hadn't had a year without war in just as long. Where most of our planets were verdant and green, much of their home was covered in mountains, deserts, jungles, ocean, and ice. Hard life had created hard men. Months later, as I was reading a book of their history, I asked Captain Kinkaid why the Gods would so cruely punish men with exile on such a world. He smirked knowingly, as if it had been simple: 'You train an army destined for war on a base. You train an army destined for Armageddon in hell' "

Speech in Council
17.06.55
President William Keikeya
New Caprica

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"DRADIS Contact!" Gaeta's voice startled everyone in the CIC from their work. The Commander was getting some much needed rest in his cluttered office, thus it was Tigh who responded.

"What are we looking at?"

"One craft, Colonial signature." Felix paused as he listened intently. "It's Lieutenant Thrace, and she says she has a passenger."

Tigh glowered at the board in front of him, Gaeta swore he could hear his teeth grinding all the way across CIC. "She'd also better have a damn good excuse for being twelve hours late. Get a security detachment down there, just to be safe. Signal the fleet to jump to the next coordinates as soon as she's aboard, and someone wake the Old Man."

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Kara was still having a hard time wrapping her mind around the events of the past fifteen hours as her Raptor came to rest in Galactica's hangar bay. Not only did Earth exist, but the very spot she had been 'standing' on a few weeks before on Kobol had been uncovered on Earth. They had been looking for the Colonies for more than a decade, but until recently had only managed to find one thing: Cylons.

Captain Kinkaid had been involved in the search since it's beginning. He'd been a member in one Earth's various nation-states militaries, before being absorbed under the auspices of the Terran Defense Force. A former test pilot, he had helped design the next generation of fighters necessary for long-haul interstellar travel, made possible for the first time by technical schematics located in the 'Stonehenge vault'.

Four years into the search two of their first six 'extra-solar' colonies had been wiped out by an unknown enemy in a devestating sneak attack. Apparently the only reason the others had survived was that the enemy didn't seem to know their location. It was a slaughter, millions had died.

Her briefing had been just that, brief, and she hadn't yet had all the details filled in. Starbuck knew that she had to return to the fleet before they jumped or she could risk losing them, which had necessitated their speed and snap decisions.

Helo was still shutting down his systems when Kara made her way over to their passenger. Captain Kinkaid was an enigma to her, as he seemed to be to a lot of people. Apparently he was some kind of hero. She had heard him referred to as the 'Hero of New Liberty' by an Ensign at her table durring a quick lunch break. He'd seemed reluctant to reveal anything further, but a little dash of the Starbuck charm went a long way, especially with a green Ensign of the opposite sex.

It seems that after the loss of two colonies, the Terran Confederation had sent out a massive reprisal fleet comprising nearly half it's entire military strength. It too was wiped out. In a single stroke their military was halved, and in the computers aboard a captured ship the Cylons learned the location of another colony named New Liberty.

When the Cylon fleet had arrived in system, the Terrans had a fleet of nearly equal strength lying in wait. But as had happened before, most of it was crippled in the opening minutes by computer viruses. It was a young squadron leader trapped on his ship after their landing bay was destroyed in the opening salvo who had ordered the remaining ships to shut down their networks.

With his commander dead, he was the senior bridge officer left, and had rallied the fleet. Though badly wounded himself, he'd managed to hold off the Cylons for eight hours until reinforcements arrived, all the while outnumbered ten to one. From that time six years ago they had been engaged in a constant state of war with the Cylons. The strangest part of the whole story, from Starbuck's point of view, was that the young squadron leader was still a squadron leader six years later.

The man who had apparently filled in around half of their tactics manuals refused any promotion that would take him out of a fighter. There were rumors he had even threatened to resign when they offered him command of a carrier. Kara could empathize with that, but he sure didn't seem the type. He was like Lee, destined for greater things.

Lee! She had forgotten all about Lee! Well it's not like he wouldn't forgive her once he heard the news, but she still needed to set things straight.

Starbuck had been profoundly changed by the events of the last few hours. Hope for a real future was no longer out of reach, and suddenly any future she wanted to imagine contained a certain thick skulled CAG. Kinkaid had already told her that they were setting up a habitable planet in their space for the Colonial refugees they had picked up over the past months. The idea of settling down, at least for a while, did hold a certain appeal to her.

Kara had never considered herself the settling down type, but being on the run for your life as long as she had could change anyone. It amazed her how fast the decision was made once she had taken the time to think about it. After the debriefing she would find Lee, and they would talk about their future. 'Their' future. She was smiling all the way to the Commander's office.

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Lee had been keeping busy since coming off CAP, trying to force himself to think about topics he would rather avoid. Under the auspices of getting his pilots some much-needed rest, he'd managed to pick up an extra maintenance shift. He was on his third viper now, but still no closer to resolving the problem. And to top it all off... "FRAK!" That bolt was NOT coming loose, the blood now seeping from his knuckles could vouch for that.

Kicking his crawler from under the Viper with the force of his frustration, he made his way over to grab an air wrench so he might have some prayer of dislodging that frakking bolt. Lately he'd begun to wonder if the Cylons were somehow subverting their own technology, soliciting it's help in wearing the Colonials down. Parts were failing at an ever-increasing rate, as if they seemed just as fed up with the situation as the pilots using them.

He was digging through the cart of tools in front of him and half listening to Specialist Cally lecture Kat about how hard it was to fix the landing gear she kept managing to bend, when he noticed the Raptor setting down across the bay from him. Moments later, Kara practically skipped out of the bird with Helo and an unidentified man in tow, and he couldn't help but stare at her. She was beautiful when she smiled, and he hadn't seen it be so genuine in a long time.

"Wow, don't see that every day. I was starting to wonder if that scowl had been branded in place." Kat said to Cally, motioning across the bay to Starbuck. The pilot was conversing excitedly with unidentified soldier matching her stride for stride.

Glancing up from her work to catch sight of what Kat was pointing to, Cally couldn't help but agree. "I wonder if it has anything to do with that guy she's with? He's not bad looking."

Kat's face erupted in a lurid grin and she leaned a little closer to the Specialist next to her. "You don't think that's the guy Helo was talking about, do you? The one she hooked up with on Caprica? His name was Anderson or something like that."

"I wouldn't know, but he looks like her type."

Lee didn't hear anything after that. To think he had been about to confess his feelings, for the second time. "Frak!!" His hand made a rather unsatisfying sound when it impacted the bulkhead, but at least the pain helped focus his mind.

It was then that Kat rounded the viper and looked to her CAG, tracing a path from his eyes up to the blood smear on the wall that had obviously been left by his knuckles.

"You alright sir?"

Lee was in front of her in a blur, murder in his eyes. "I want to know everything Helo told you Lieutenant, and I mean everything."

---------------------------------- Two hours later -----------------------------------------

Kara's debriefing seemed to go on forever, and she suspected it had only ended because the Old Man had taken pity on her and put the leash back on Tigh. They had let her go with strict orders not to discuss the situation with anyone until they had decided on the proper course of action. The only discussion she wanted to have was not about Earth though, and she was determined to find Lee as soon as she changed her clothes.

Entering the pilot's quarters, she checked Lee's bunk to find it empty, which was odd considering he wasn't scheduled for CAP. The President had probably wanted his input considering the Earth situation. Her luck when it came to Lee seemed to be continuing it's steady downward spiral.

Making her way to her locker on autopilot, she got a good look at herself in the mirror for the first time in more than a day. Quirking an eyebrow at her dishevled and unkempt appearance, Kara slipped her uniform jacket onto a metallic hook and came to a decision. "Alright, maybe a shower first." It was between shifts due to the odd hour of her return, and she would be able to squeeze one in quickly. Besides, if things went the way she hoped they would tonight she may not want to smell like the inside of a Raider. They had a lot of catching up to do.

Grabbing a towel and a bar of soap before closing her locker with a swift kick, she made her way into the showers, a bit surprised to hear the water running a few stalls down. She had thought everyone was asleep. Pealing off clothes that seemed glued to her skin by countless layers of sweat and grime, Starbuck tossed the offensive garments into a nearby laundry bag. Letting her hair down and gathering up her shower supplies, Kara backed into the stall.

A hushed moan made her hand stop in it's tracks a few inches from the shower knob. Another moan quickly followed by a rhythmic banging had her trying to stifle a giggle. She made her way out of the stall and was trying to get to the door unnoticed when she saw a hand grab the top of the stall door and a voice filtered out.

"Oh gods! Right there... harder... harder!"

The banging on the other side of the thin wall intensified, as did Racetrack's moans. Kara would have to congratulate Costanza later, he'd been after her for weeks and apparently she'd finally faced the inevitable. She had almost made it to the hatch when she heard it.

"Lee! Oh gods, i'm coming! Look at me Lee, look at me!"

For a few moments she refused to believe it, he would never do something like this to her. Lee had said he loved her, had wanted her to love him back. But an unfortunate shift in position by the lovers in the stall had the door tilting open.

Apollo had racetrack bent forward now, the water cascading down her back as he entered her roughly from behind. His hand was wound into her hair, pulling it painfully tight, and his face had a vicious gleam to it. Deep down, something broke inside of Kara at the sight. The Lee she knew would have waited for her, with a sickening lurch of realization, she knew. She didn't know the man in that stall at all.

Only after she had stormed out of the showers did she feel the waves of nausea hit her. She made her way quickly to the head and emptied out the last few meals she'd eaten. It was then that Kara Thrace did something she hadn't done since Zak's death: she fell into bed and wept.

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Lee wasn't angry. He wasn't pissed. He wasn't even livid. It suprised him that when Kat had finished telling him all she knew about that frakking pyramid-playing, wannabe soldier, he couldn't seem to feel anything at all. Not the rage he had been experiencing moments before, or the soul tearing pain that usually accompanied Kara's latest exploits. Lee could feel his feet carrying him through the crowded halls, but it was like sleepwalking. The world was blurred and unfocused at the edges, and his mind was stuck in an infuriating loop.

Kara was the only person who could make Lee Adama feel worthless. Well that wasn't really true, Kara made him feel strong and reliable. Starbuck made him feel worthless. He had really convinced himself that she was feeling at least some of what he was. But she had just rolled out of another man's bed and back into his life again, it was the same old story. Strong Lee, dependable Lee, forgiving Lee, he would always be there to come back to when she tired of her latest conquest.

Every time he thought he was getting through, every time he thought he was making progress, she found a new and more humiliating way to show him just how mistaken he was. He was good enough to fight with her, he was good enough to command her, he just wasn't good enough to share a bed with her. Which seemed pretty frakking ironic considering who else she had invited into it. Baltar! That man was so slimy he was surprised whatever foul creature had spawned him didn't eat it it's own young. Well Starbuck wasn't the only one who could live in the moment.

Lee had been through too much in the past few months, the tight control he had cultivated his entire life was collapsing and threatening to bury the man he was.

Walking past the rec. room he caught sight of a large group of pilots drinking heavily and playing cards out of the corner of his eye. They had all been notified that they would be staying in this sector for a few days at least, and for the first time in months, they were running a reduced patrol. Lee had been on his way to catch up on the sleep he'd been doing without recently. It was something people expected the revered Lee Adama to do, but right now he didn't feel like being Lee Adama.

He walked resolutely into the room, ignoring the questioning looks thrown his way, and snatched a bottle of ambrosia from Gaeta's hand. There was an uneasy silence around the table as Lee raised the bottle to his lips and started downing it's contents. The silent audience became a cheering section when Lee didn't stop after draining more then half the bottle. By the end Hotdog was on his feet next to Lee, leading the chant.

"Chug! Chug! Chug! And a new Galactica record!! Gods I never thought i'd see Starbuck's time taken off the wall, especially by Lee frakking Adama!" The table burst into laughter.

Lee took the cigar Tyrol was offering him, sparking it up and leaning back into a chair. He was starting into his second bottle when he noticed the hand sliding up his thigh. Following said hand up, he locked eyes with Racetrack.

"Are you alright Lee? I don't ever think I've seen you drink like that. Frak, I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen you drink."

Lee smiled back and leaned closer. "I've never been better Maggie. And hey..." He ran his fingers slowly up her back, and she had to control a shiver at the touch. "Call me Apollo."

--------------------------------------1 hour later --------------------------------------

They had made it to the crew quarters in record time, considering they couldn't keep their hands off each other for more than a few seconds at a time. The bunk room was nearly full this late at night though, so it was out of the question. Pieces of clothing were discarded randomly from there to the showers, and Lee was astounded they weren't waking up the entire deck. He almost pitched over onto his face trying to remove his pants outside the stall, but helpful hands stopped his rapid descent and steadied him against the cool tile of the wall.

She was kissing her way down his chest, slowly covering every inch of flesh. Gods, he had waited for this for so long. When she took him into her mouth he thought it would end right then, his hands grabbing frantically into her hair to slow the fevered pace before things came to an abrupt, and embarrassing, end. Her hair seemed longer then he remembered it, but it didn't matter, she was finally his. He was going to drive every lover from her memory until she screamed his name, until she knew she was his. Something didn't feel right though, so he decided to take over. Lifting her to her feet, Lee wrapped her into his arms and led them into the stall without hesitation.

"Oh Lee..." Her legs were around his hips now and she was trying to kiss him gently, but his head turned to the side as he entered her without warning. This wasn't about gentle.

"Gods Lee! Frak me now!" He started pounding into her with relentless force, his teeth clamping down on her shoulder so hard he thought he could taste blood. She tried to take his face in her hands and turn it towards her, but he grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the wall over her head.

"Lee! Oh gods, i'm coming! Look at me Lee, look at me!"

Apollo could feel her tighten around him as she came, shuddering and gasping his name. Lee knew something was wrong now, but he could hear someone moving around outside and decided it was time to end this. He lowered her onto shaky legs and then bent her at the waist, putting his hands over hers against the wall. His voice came out a gruff whisper.

"Keep these here."

Her only response was a small nod as she chewed on her lip. As Apollo entered her from behind, his fingers digging into her hips, it suddenly felt right. His eyes fell closed and one hand curled into her hair as his thrusts intensified. When he could feel her tightening around him again it was too much, pulling her head back sharply he claimed her mouth for the first time as the waves of orgasm overtook them both. His mind blanked with pleasure as the world exploded around him in a blast of white hot light. His voice cracking with the intensity, he called her name as he claimed her. "Kara!"

That was when the fist connected with his nose, which in turn was kind enough to introduce the back of his head to the tile wall. Before he could react, he was staring up from the shower room floor, looking at Racetrack's tear-filled eyes. She looked at him like he had just torn out her heart. "You sick bastard! You're just as frakked up as she is! Do you even see how completely out of your mind you are!? You frakking deserve each other!" Hastily gathering up her scattered uniform, she left him to bleed in peace.

Lee managed to pull himself up and make his way to a sink. Splashing the water onto his face to clear the blood away, he finally caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. He didn't like what he saw, because he saw nothing. He was no knight in shining armor, he was no one's savior. Now he was just another frack-up pilot who couldn't keep his pants on. Lee Adama wasn't in the mirror anymore, all he could see was Apollo.

T.B.C.