Starbuck let out a deep breath as he jumped down from the rock face behind the captain. He couldn't remember ever being so glad to feel the dirt beneath his feet. Apollo turned around and grinned at him as Lia gave the lieutenant a crushing hug.
"I thought you were going to fall a few times. You had me scared to death." Lia told Starbuck still holding him tightly.
"What's a rock face to an old war jock like me?" Starbuck rolled his eyes and dramatically wiped the sweat off his face. "Let's take the long way round on the way back, huh?" He gave Lia another squeeze.
Apollo clapped him on the shoulder, "You did well with your first lesson in free climbing."
"You mean my last lesson in free climbing," Starbuck told him. "I'd rather play triad with Borellian Nomen than do that again." He pulled free from Lia and took off his pack and jacket to help cool him off. Lia handed him a drink and he drained the fluid quickly.
"We better get moving," Apollo told them, noting that Lia had already retrieved the line and repacked it. He turned to head down the gentle slope.
"Apollo," Starbuck grabbed his friend's arm. "Thanks, buddy."
Apollo smiled at him and shrugged it off. "You'd do the same for me."
"Not if it involved climbing back up that face I wouldn't." Starbuck grinned at him. "I think I'd send Lia instead. It would be good experience for an ensign to lead her first rescue mission." He stepped quickly out of the way as Lia swung her pack at him. "I think there's a regulation against striking at a superior officer. Isn't that right, Captain?" he grinned as he stuffed his jacket in the pack and pulled it back on.
Apollo headed down the hill again. "Theoretically, there is. However, as the officer in charge I absolve the ensign of any wrong doing due to the extenuating circumstances. After all, she has undergone undue stress which can be directly attributed to your constant company these last sectars." Apollo smiled as he heard Lia laughing behind him.
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Sheba watched Luana as she scavenged for food. She was suddenly glad that the young woman was with her as she watched her picking berries and fungi that she would have been reluctant to eat. Her smile turned into a grimace as the ensign overturned a rock to reveal a large collection of insects.
"How do you feel about eating a few bugs?" Luana asked her.
"Please tell me you're kidding," Sheba replied.
"They're a great source of protein." Luana told her. She picked up a large beetle and expertly started to peel it.
"Aren't you even going to kill it first?" Sheba asked in disgust.
Luana grinned at her, "Will you eat it if I kill it first?"
"Uh . . . no. I don't think I could." Sheba truthfully told her. She had been feeling hungry, but that sensation was quickly being replaced by revulsion coupled with a tinge of nausea.
Luana nodded and went back to peeling her beetle. "We'll need some protein for energy, Sheba." She grabbed another insect and continued in her task. "So what is it about insects that you find revolting?"
"I don't know. Maybe that you found them under a rock." She retrieved the other food items and went back to the river to wash them as Luana chuckled at her. The lieutenant's clothes were strung out on a bush in an attempt to dry them as the women paused to get some nourishment. Sheba was dressed in her undergarments and Luana's flight jacket and was glad that it was a mild climate that they found themselves in. She moved back to see Luana carefully dicing up the beetle flesh.
"They taste better cooked," Luana told her. "Oh, well, I always did like my meat a bit on the rare side." She winked at Sheba and popped a piece into her mouth. She dramatically chewed it as Sheba looked on in disbelief. "A bit crunchy, but not a bad cut of bug at all."
Sheba closed her eyes and shuddered. She turned and looked the other way as she nibbled on the berries. They were a bit bitter, but at least they weren't squirming. She heard Luana spitting something out and turned to look at her.
"Missed a leg." Luana explained. "I hate it when they get stuck in your teeth." She burst out laughing at the expression of utter revulsion on Sheba's face.
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Apollo took a deep breath and savoured the clean, fresh air. He was reminded of hiking and climbing on Caprica. There was nothing like the scent of pine to invigorate you as you stood atop a cliff and admired the view. Of course, they weren't there to admire the view; they were there to find Sheba and Luana. Come to think of it, the last time they were on a planet like this one they were anxiously searching for the missing Lieutenant Starbuck. However, at least he was pleased with the progress they were making. They had traveled a few kilometrons before stopping at the top of a bluff to eat some survival rations. Apollo was standing at the edge of the bank and checking the route down. He munched on a protein bar as he considered the relatively short drop.
Starbuck moved beside him and peeked over the edge. It was steep and rocky, but only about five metrons down to the ground. He felt Apollo's eyes on him and turned to meet the searching gaze.
"What do you think?" Apollo asked him. They could easily go around, but after successfully climbing down the rock face this was child's play. However, he wasn't the one who had been dangling by his hand over a fifteen-metron drop to his death. He could certainly understand if Starbuck wanted to take the slightly longer path.
Starbuck shrugged and stepped back unconsciously putting the captain between him and the edge. "Fine with me," he didn't want Apollo to keep thinking he needed some kind of special treatment. He hated to be fussed over . . . well, unless it was by a beautiful woman. He smiled as his mind took him back to memories of Cassiopeia after their perfect evening on the Rising Star. They had returned to her quarters on the Galactica where they had continued their perfect night. She had changed into a translucent little number that accented every curve and soon he had pulled her into his arms and . . .
"You look like you've changed you opinion of mountaineering," Apollo stated in amusement wondering just what was going through his friend's mind with that 'feline that ate the avian' look on his face.
"Huh . . .?" Starbuck replied looking back at his friend. Suddenly, he heard a low growl and spun around to see something coming straight at his head. He dove to the ground and reached for his weapon as the creatures rushed them. From a prone position, he fired at the head of the closest creature and it dropped to the ground.
"Apollo!" Lia screamed.
Starbuck turned his head to see his friend had disappeared. He heard Lia scream again and he twisted to see two creatures rushing her. She fired her weapon at close-range as a beast careened into her, knocking her roughly to the ground and landing atop her. She wasn't moving and neither was it. The four remaining creatures turned towards Starbuck and formed a phalanx as they approached him. He fired two shots in succession before they reached him and two more adversaries dropped, but the others lunged on top of him knocking him to the edge of the cliff.
Starbuck looked up into the horrifying face of his attacker. It growled menacingly as it lowered its ferocious teeth towards him. He tightened his grip on his weapon and walloped it in the head. He could feel the skull crushing beneath his blow as it tumbled off him and over the edge. He almost laughed at the ease of it. Frack, they were lightweights! He rolled back from the precipice to see a club descending towards his skull and raised his arm in defense. It connected painfully with his left forearm, but again Starbuck was surprised by the lack of strength behind the blow. The creature hurled forward teeth first and the lieutenant again raised his left arm in protection while cramming his weapon into the face of the creature. He knew the range was too close, but fired anyway as he felt the fangs penetrate the flesh of his arm. The heat from his weapon was intense as the laser incinerated the beast's face. It shrieked in pain and then dropped dead on the spot, filling his senses with the reek of death and the pain of his own singed and lacerated flesh.
He pushed the creature away and rolled to his knees, cradling his left arm against his chest. He heard Lia quietly moaning and looked over to see her starting to push the dead beast off of herself. He put his good hand on the ground and leaned over the edge searching for Apollo. At the bottom of the cliff lay the captain crumpled in a heap, unmoving.
