Celeste walked into Commander Adama's office. He sat at his desk, holding a picture in his hand. Celeste came to attention.
"Lt. Celeste reporting in, Commander," she said smartly.
"At ease, Lieutenant. Have a seat," Commander Adama said.
Celeste sat.
"I understand that you have an idea for getting that planet to stop following us," Commander Adama set the picture on his desk and looked at Celeste.
"Yes, sir."
"I'd like to hear it."
Celeste met the commander's gaze. "The planet Vaga is somehow attracted to the ion emissions from ships. Obviously, a fleet this size puts out quite a lot of ion emissions."
"Go on." Commander Adama urged.
Celeste took a deep breath, "Sir, to be honest, the only way to get rid of the planet is to stop the trail of ions. All of the ships must shut down at the same time, preferably near another source of ions."
"A Cylon basestar?"
"That would work."
Commander Adama sat back in his chair, looking thoughtful. Then he asked a question that threw Celeste for a double-helical Viper loop.
"What do you think of my son, Captain Apollo, Lieutenant?"
Celeste was taken aback, "Um, he's a fine man, Commander. I…uh, I like him a lot."
Adama looked at her shining eyes for a while. "Hmm," he said.
Celeste thought she saw a twinkle in the commander's eye, just for a micron.
"Do you know why I asked you to come here?" Commander Adama asked the woman.
Celeste was reminded of the time when she had to face her foster dad after she had taken the family auto for a joyride when she was fourteen. He had asked her something similar.
"Well, uh, I did several things that were against the rules, sir," Celeste said finally.
"That was one of the reasons," Commander Adama nodded, "but the main reason was that I heard my grandson was quite taken with you when you came aboard."
Celeste was unsure of how to respond.
"I am quite fond of him as well, sir."
"He was very worried a few centares ago when you left," Adama looked deep into Celeste's blue eyes.
Celeste cleared her throat. She began to wonder if they were still talking about Boxey. She looked down.
"I had to leave, sir." Celeste almost whispered. Before I got too attached.
"I see," Adama seemed to be able to read Celeste's mind, "Well, don't let it happen again. I hate to see him so upset," Adama said gravely.
Celeste looked up at Adama. Now she knew he wasn't only talking about Boxey.
"Yes, sir."
"Lieutenant, the actions you have taken were reckless and bordering on the extreme. You disobeyed Captain Apollo and Colonel Tigh to join the squadrons in combat, during which you performed extremely risky maneuvers. You managed to land your damaged Viper, then immediately launched another one without authorization. This Viper somehow got rammed into the starboard side of the Galactica," he paused.
Celeste winced. She could still see the silvery ship coming at her.
Adama continued, "Once you healed from that incident, you snuck into the ranks of the warriors, hacked into the Galactica mainframe, and commandeered the worst ship in the fleet, under a deceased lieutenant's name!"
Celeste started to speak, but Adama held up his hand.
"You flew this ship, which wasn't entirely spaceworthy, directly to a Cylon basestar. You returned from that trip with nearly fifty warrior-flown Cylon fighters, and an entire Cylon attack force at your heels.
Celeste frowned, "What are you getting at?"
"All I want to know is what your motivation is. Lieutenant, the things you do, the risks you take…they aren't normal. They remind me of someone I knew who didn't think he had a family who cared about him, just because all of his living relatives were dead. He threw his life into the cause of protecting lives from the Cylons. Sadly, he didn't realize how many people cared about him, how many people miss him."
Celeste averted her eyes to the table. How did he know? How could Adama have guessed how Celeste felt? Then she remembered some stories that Apollo had told her on the flight from Vaga.
"You're talking about Starbuck, aren't you?" Celeste inquired.
"Perhaps. But Lt. Celeste, I believe I am also talking about you."
"How…how did you know?" Celeste asked.
Adama smiled, "I have a daughter, Lieutenant." Then he looked softly at Celeste, "Family isn't only people who are related, you know."
Celeste looked at the pictures on Adama's desk. One showed Adama, Apollo, Zac, and a pretty young lady standing together. Another was a picture of Apollo and Starbuck smiling in their warrior uniforms. Then there was a much younger Adama and Tigh standing beside a Viper in a landing bay. Two more pictures showed Adama and a woman, presumably his wife; and Apollo and a smiling lady (Boxey's mom?) at their wedding, with Boxey in front and Adama standing nearby.
"Yeah," Celeste breathed.
The door swung open and Colonel Tigh burst into the room. Breathlessly, he tried to explain.
"Landing bay…Cylon fighter…Lt. Celeste…I saw him, Sir!"
Adama stood and walked to his friend, "Saw who?"
Tigh looked as though he had seen a ghost.
"Z…Z…he's in the life center! They all are! I can't believe it myself, sir." Tigh stammered.
Then Apollo walked in through the still-open door, "What's going on?" he asked.
"I don't know," answered Adama, still looking at Tigh, "but perhaps we should go down to the life center and find out."
On the way to the life center, Apollo excused himself.
"I'll join you guys soon, but I have to say 'hi' to Boxey first." Apollo explained. Commander Adama nodded in understanding. Apollo turned down a corridor; Celeste followed him.
"Apollo?" Celeste said when they reached his door, "I uh, I just wanted to apologize…and say, thank you."
"For what?" Apollo looked at Celeste carefully.
Celeste smiled at Apollo, "For being my family." She said simply.
Apollo grinned knowingly, "You've been talking to my dad."
"Yeah," Celeste looked down sheepishly. Then she looked up, "He's right, though."
Apollo and Celeste kept looking at each other's eyes, wondering at their thoughts.
Bark, bark! Snuffle whuffle, bark!" Sounds broke the silence.
"What is it, Muffit? Who's out there?" said Apollo's quarters.
Apollo smiled, "Speaking of family!" He opened the door.
Celeste giggled in an un-Celeste-like way as she followed him inside.
"Hi Boxey!" Apollo greeted his son.
"Dad! You're back!" Boxey ran into his father's arms, "Muffit and I are very glad to see you. We missed you!"
Muffit wagged his tail and cocked his head.
"And I missed you guys, too." Apollo ruffled Boxey's hair, and then released him. Boxey turned around and grinned at Celeste.
"Hi, Miss Celeste!" Boxey patted Muffit, "Say 'hi', Muffit"
"Bark!" said Muffit. Boxey beamed proudly, "I taught him that."
"Wow!" said Celeste, "That's amazing! He's a very smart daggit."
"Yeah," said Boxey, "He is. Do you have a nickname, Miss Celeste?"
"Um, well, I did when I was in the Academy," Celeste replied, "Why do you ask?"
Boxey looked down at Muffit, "My friends don't call me Boxey. They call me Ace because I want to be a fighter pilot."
Celeste nodded, "That's a good nickname. It means you are a top pilot."
"Really?" Boxey looked up at her, "What is your nickname?"
Celeste thought for a moment, "Everyone called me Isis."
Boxey made a face, "What does that mean?"
Celeste raised her eyebrows and shrugged, "I don't know, that's just what they called me!"
"I like 'Miss Celeste' better." Boxey decided.
"Wanna hear a secret?" Celeste asked. Boxey nodded, so she leaned over and whispered, "So do I!"
"Oh, ok, I won't tell anyone!" Boxey said seriously.
"Well, Boxey, we've gotta go now," Apollo said apologetically, "We promised your grandpa that we'd be there."
"Okay, Dad. " Boxey seemed sad, "By, Miss Celeste. Come see me again!"
"I will," Celeste promised. She and Apollo left.
"She's nice, huh Muffit? I wish she could live here and we could see her every day!" Boxey stroked his metallic daggit, who whined and wagged his springy tail.