Boomer was less squeamish about the stew than Starbuck, starting to eat before Jake had a chance to scan it to see how contaminated the contents may be. Jake didn't exactly give Starbuck a straight answer on how tainted the scanner determined it to be, but he did suggest that it would be best if they saved the sealed protein bars for Rene. The stew wasn't good, but Starbuck couldn't deny despite whatever toxins it might contain, it did him a world of good. The pounding in his head abated and he felt good enough to evaluate their situation. It wasn't as grim as Jake had pronounced. They still had most of their supplies, especially after Boomer raided Avery's stash, including some food that was sealed. Boomer was alive and walking, that was definitely a plus, and Jake, other than being exhausted, was feeling fine. Rene was down for the moment, but she seemed to be sleeping peacefully with her head in Starbuck's lap. She had stopped hallucinating, or at least wasn't mumbling incoherently. Jake also said her fever was dropping, not as fast as he wanted, but it was still going down. He hoped with a bit more rest and some fluids, she'd be better by morning. They had shelter and Avery was being so very thoughtful. He was even kind enough to post a guard by the door, armed with one of their blasters, to make sure they felt extra secure. They were safe for the moment, and considering there wasn't anywhere they needed to go immediately, not to mention their varying degrees of ill health, Starbuck reasoned it wasn't the time to make a fuss about being detained.

That they didn't have their weapons was certainly true, but they also weren't completely unarmed. Avery had left them with their survival knives and other tools they had brought along. The shovel in the standard pack was small, but it could suffice as an implement against another human if need be. Jake had assured Starbuck that Apollo and Max had left fully armed, so Starbuck was sure that his good buddy could sort all this out once he returned. After all, not only was he Apollo, but he was also an almighty Colonel now. They weren't completely fracked, Starbuck assessed. Oh he still sent out a plea to Lady Luck for an opportunity or two to arise in their favor, but come morning, he figured they could get it through Avery's thick skull that they weren't going to play his games. Avery wasn't in command of this situation.

Starbuck ordered Jake to get some sleep and was even able to deal with the fact that the young man curled up next to Rene, his hand tossed over her, needing to make physical contact. She had scared Jake, Starbuck reasoned, and knew he should be a bit more worried himself, but he could only deal with what was in front of him at the moment. For now, Rene was breathing fine and not fighting him. He'd count that as plus in their favor for now.

Once he heard the even breathing that indicated Jake was asleep, he decided it was time for a good old-fashioned strategy briefing with Boomer. His friend looked like he was also feeling a lot better after some food and rest.

"So, how do we get out of this mess?" Starbuck could barely see Boomer's raised eyebrow in the dim light.

"That is a good question Bucko. I believe Avery when he says that he's not going to try to trade us. I'd like to get a look at the captive situation he keeps referring to and would rather be part of the planning process than the bait in the snare. We have enough men here that if we were fully armed, taking out a Cylon base might actually be possible, but…"

Starbuck jumped in, concerned that his friend actually was thinking that here and now was a good time to start a rescue mission. "But we're lacking in weapons and I'm not sure I would call anyone in this cave fit for duty."

While Boomer's willingness to take risks and his altruism were some of the qualities that drew Starbuck to him as a friend, Starbuck suddenly understood what so many others had been trying to tell him about himself. You had to look beyond the moment to the big picture. Some risks were just too dicey.

Maybe it was the woman sleeping in his lap, young, vulnerable and carrying another life inside her, a life he helped to create, that had him realizing some risks just weren't worth it. He shook his head, "Boomer, we aren't in any position to offer our help. The only help we can give right now is to get back to the Galactica and maybe plan another mission, one that has us more prepared and better armed. And maybe not even that. It kills me to leave them behind, but we have to think about ourselves here, Boomer."

Boomer didn't seem to be listening to him. "I am hoping that Avery will see reason and let us wait for Apollo and Max to return."

Starbuck snorted. "Tell me exactly what it is about that guy which indicates to you he might be reasonable. Is it the guard he posted at the entrance or the fact that he thinks we might be up for a long hike tomorrow? I'm telling you, Boomer, Avery's going to find out in the morning just how unreasonable I can be." He fixed a glare across the cavern towards Avery, who—just as he predicted—was sitting at a fire not far away and watching Starbuck.

Boomer shook his head authoritatively. "Not sure that's the right thing to do here, Starbuck. We came here to help save people."

"Are you delirious? We're the ones in need of a rescue, Boomer! Do you really think that leg of yours is up to a ten kilometron hike? Do you think Rene is? I know you're feeling better, but you need to be realistic. Just a day ago we thought you were going to die." He lowered his voice as he realized he was drawing more attention. "Lord, and they say I'm the reckless one? No, we are going to sit tight here, wait for Apollo to get back, hope for Sagan's sake he's found some sort of space craft, and then we get the frack out of here. That's the plan and we're sticking to it!"

Boomer shook his head at him again. "I agree you and Rene should stay here and try to get airborne as soon as possible, but..."

"Boom boom, no. We stick together. Have you lost your mind?"

His buddy scowled at him in annoyance. "No. But I signed up to be a Warrior and that means saving people, all of them, not just a select few. I think I understand now why Rene has been so…so defiant and dismayed at our leadership. If this was what she was dreaming, that people are here and hurting and we just ignored her, well she's right, what kind of Warriors are we? We just flew away and left thousands of people, maybe millions who had survived the first attack. We left them to die. I'm not sure I can live with that anymore, Starbuck."

Starbuck wanted to shout at his friend, but Rene sleeping soundly in his lap and Avery gawking at them both served as reminders to keep his voice low. Instead, he reached out and grabbed his buddy's arm hard. "Maybe we were fighting in different battles the day of the so-called Armistice, Boomer, but the way I remember it is that we were losing badly and a minority of us barely made it back to the Galactica alive. Thousands of warriors died that day. The Colonial Fleet was all but destroyed. We had to save what we could and hightail it out of there or we were all going to die. Nobody told us we were leaving people behind. We thought we had saved what was left of humanity. We thought we were doing our duty, living up to our oaths to protect our people. I understand wanting to fight for a cause, but you have to be alive to fight, Boomer! And we can't win that fight if we aren't up for it. Sure we take risks, but sometimes you have to calculate those odds, do the math and realize it isn't worth losing the whole pot. You have to know when to fold, Boomer. Right now, we wouldn't be any help. We're a liability. We're not their capstone card. We're worse than the lowest base card."

He could tell just by Boomer's posture he didn't agree. Lords, he wished he'd gotten that promotion so he could pull rank on his friend. All he had was logic to pull from, and there wasn't much of that in any of this situation. They were so arrogant to think they had prepared for the worst case scenario if this mission went wrong. They had been so damn short-sighted. Now that they knew the score, they could definitely do this better the next time.

"Look, I know once we get back we can talk the Commander into letting us come again, fully armed, better prepared for what we're dealing with here. We aren't leaving them to die here. We will come back for them. With Adama's permission or without it."

"Now who's delirious?" Boomer shook his head at him. "Those are strong words, Starbuck, but we both know that you're not letting Rene come back here. Ever. Neither will the commander. Avery is right, it's now or never. Look, Starbuck, I get it. We showed up and created a disturbance, and now those being held captive might be paying the price for our interference. I'm going with Avery to help," Boomer held up his hand to forestall Starbuck's objections, "Yes, I'm going to ask that he wait, at least a few more days. You're right, I'm not quite up for that hike, but I understand why he may not be willing to wait any longer. People are suffering! We upset the order of things here and you know how the Cylons like order. But I am going to demand that you and Rene stay behind."

Starbuck turned away grumbling, "What the Cylons like is killing us. You'd be defying a Colonel's orders you know. Apollo told you to stay here."

Boomer laughed at that. "Coming from the man who only follows the orders he wants to? It wasn't a direct order and you know it."

Starbuck softly cursed, "So what the frack am I supposed to tell Apollo when you don't return, or Max, or Dietra?

"You tell them I'm a warrior and I did what I had to do."

Starbuck sighed dramatically and the two stared into the flames in silence. He knew his friend had a point, not a good one, but they had signed on yahrens ago as idealistic young men intent on saving the worlds. It was drilled into them daily at the academy the sacrifices they were making, the honor they would receive for it. They were the saviors of the colonies and all the training, classes and physical endurance tests were to make them the best of the best. The colonies had depended on them to be their first line of defense and to save them.

But this was different. This went against everything they had been taught in the Academy about tactics and strategy. They weren't up for the task, but after a few more centons of silence, he decided his best option was to try to convince everyone of that fact in the morning, when in the clear light of day they would see how foolish this was. Just because they were warriors didn't mean they were heroes who could just walk in and save the day.

Maybe it was the battle of Scimitar that helped Starbuck to understand how wrong all that Academy warrior brainwashing had been. Actually, he'd figured it out before then as most of the duties and missions in his first yahrens of his first command were tedious and at many times pointless. But it was truly facing the death of their worlds and most of his fellow pilots that really wiped away all that "For the Glory of Caprica" felgercarb. They didn't sign on to be sacrifices, to just throw their lives away. Watching the Galactica sail away without them had blasted away the last of the honor and glory promises. Sure, he knew now why Adama had done it, but it was still a hard scene to reconcile with the academy lectures.

Added to that, he knew the odds for a warrior, especially a pilot, making it to old age. But there were some who did survive, who were the role models and the inspiration behind all that honor and glory hero worship. He'd always believed he'd be one of them too. He'd be at the old veteran's home with his buddies around him, still squabbling over cards. He knew how you got there was by taking the calculated risks, and winning each time. Yeah, he'd taken some risks that went against the odds, but he'd survived each time, even sneaking on a baseship right under the cylon's mechanical noses.

But even that was different than this. He and Apollo had been in top form, fit, young, healthy. They'd had a raider, weapons, and inside information. It was still a risk, but they'd made it due to good planning, healthy bodies and good intelligence.

Plus a lot of other things had been different for him on that mission. He sighed deeply as he realized, during that time in his life he didn't really have anyone who would miss him if he hadn't made it other than the friend who had went with him. Sure, Cassie didn't want him to go and she would have mourned him for a little while, maybe, but then she would have moved on and probably been happier than when she was with him. He'd understood that even then, and now he wondered why it took him so long to see it. He and Cassie weren't meant to be together.

No, this time it was different. He had a lot of people who would miss him if he took too many risks and he was gone. When Rene had told him after their first trip to Caprica about how the kids relied on him, he knew it was truth. It wasn't wishful thinking or wanting to believe. It was fact. Things had fallen apart when he was on report and it had taken him almost as long as the cycles he was gone to set things back in their proper order. Oh he knew the little ones would adapt to his absence because they were kids and that's the only choice kids had. But the older kids, Jason, Cain, Zane and Lara and…well all the ones over ten yahrens would not be the same if he didn't come back.

Maybe it was different too because he wanted to come back. He was beginning to understand what it was like to have something you wanted to live for, a future you wanted to meet. He wanted to see what his kid looked like. He wanted to see his child grow older, maybe even see the kid graduate the academy. Having a child on the way had changed him and he wasn't willing to just throw away that future.

His friend had a future too that he needed to meet. Starbuck knew it was selfish, but he was not going to risk his life, his wife and child's and not even his friend's life to save one more of Avery's people. He winced at the thought. He'd finally found the point where caution overrode his own honor. He'd always said that when you became too cautious, it was time to quit flying. He'd criticized other pilots who became too careful and too restrained in the cockpit. He'd told others often they should resign when that day came. Was it time for him to resign as well? It's what he wanted Rene to do. She could easily argue that to be fair, so should he.

He sighed deeply again. It was too much to consider on a bleak night when all he had to look forward to was a stone bed, a survival blanket and a rucksack for a pillow. He eased Rene from his lap, as he said to his friend, "We'll talk in the morning after you get some rest and can see things clearer. Don't think we need to keep a watch, Avery has us covered."

Boomer grunted. "By seeing things clearer you mean seeing things your way, Starbuck. That's just not going to happen this time."

Starbuck smiled. "You might still come to your senses."

"Or you to yours," Boomer replied. "Get some rest."

Starbuck just shook his head sighing at his friend, but decided to take his advice hoping that tomorrow his buddy would take his. He stretched out and lay down beside his new wife and pulled her onto his chest. She didn't make a sound when he shifted her. She was cooler and he hoped by morning she'd be better. He held her there, looking up to the cavern ceiling and trying not to think of the weight of all that stone that seemed to be sitting on his chest. He'd always wanted more in his life, and now he understood what a weight all that "more" could be. How were the kids doing now that they were long overdue? They'd be worried. Could Crius and Nik handle it all? Were they helping Lizbet with all the babies? Were the boys behaving? Had the fleet moved on? Would the Galactica follow the same course as before, or another heading that they wouldn't know? Even if they got in the air right now, would they find the fleet? Had they essentially abandoned their family? Had he done it again, dove in deep without really thinking about it all?

He stared at the rock above him and tried to clear his mind and focus on the now. He was safe, Rene was safe, the kids were safe. He knew it was a huge pile of felgercarb, so he tried to focus on what he could do for now, hold Rene in his arms and try to get some rest. He stared at the shadows from the flames on that rock feeling his eyelids getting heavy. When sleep found him, he dreamed of the family back on the Galactica, but in his dreams they were not safe. Cylon raiders were strafing the sides of the battlestar, aiming right for the portal to the Council Chambers. He was in his viper, too far away to offer any help as wave after wave of salvos pierced the hull. The children were flying out into space like leaves in the wind. He woke to the sound of screaming which didn't make sense in the fragment of his dream that remained. You couldn't scream in space. It took him a few moments before he realized it was Rene.

The drone filled her ears, coming from every direction with nowhere to turn. Rene did the only thing she could do; she screamed in fear and frustration, yelling at the Lords to do something. Someone had to come and save them! This could not be how it all ended? She struggled against the steely grip the centurion had on her arm. She tried to pull away, but the arms held her and the centurion did something so strange. As the red eye swept across her face, she felt a warm breath that blew gently into her ear as he brushed her ear with his lips. The impossibility of it woke her as a shiver travelled from the base of her skull down her spine.

His voice brought her to reality, his soft shushing as he whispered her name, and told her it's just a dream. Was it? Was it just a dream? It had happened, and could happen again. She struggled against his tight hold on her and she fought harder before she finally found her voice. She pushed down the need to resist him and met his eyes, hoping if she was calm and reasonable he would understand.

"We have to go. We can't stay here. We need to go!"

"It's okay, Rene, go back to sleep. We're safe here." He patted her back like she was a child. The sympathy in his eyes made her want to lash out at him. She wasn't crazy; it wasn't just a bad dream.

"NO! No we're not. We have to go!" She pushed more forcefully away, scrambling to get to her feet. Jake had woken at her movement, calling to her to calm down. She knew he would understand, and maybe he could get Starbuck up and moving. "Jake, we have to go. They're coming. Now!"

Jake also looked to her with that same sad look, the same soft pleading in his voice as he called her name.

She made it to her feet and was about to curse out the two of them, when one of Avery's people near the entrance whistled loudly, cutting through the silence of the cavern as effectively as the red alert klaxon on the Galactica.

"They're coming! We need to go!"

Both Starbuck and Jake looked to Rene in shock and she wanted to slap them both. Jake at least should know by now that her dreams weren't just some ramblings of her subconscious. Lords, she missed those days where her dreams were nonsensical fragments of the days she'd lived. Ever since the sewers, her dreams foretold. She knew them for what they were, her own red alert warnings and mission briefings from the Lords. Maybe they had been just as important before the destruction and she didn't understand the signs, but there was no confusion now. The dream was more than an echo of her days on Caprica when she was younger. It felt like a portent of what could come. She reached for a pack, but Starbuck was up and moving now. He took the pack from her and shoved their blankets into it before tossing the pack over his shoulder.

"AVERY!" he shouted loudly. "I want my weapons!" He reached for Rene. "You with us?" He scanned her face, looked deep into her eyes, his hand reaching out to brush her cheek.

She shook her head, not quite understanding what he was asking. "There's another option?"

Starbuck started to chuckle, and quickly cut it off. "Yeah, lots of options, sweet lady, none of them good. Jake, you got her? Boomer, take point, while I get our blasters from Avery. We are out of here now!"

Jake reached for her hand, as they all heard the distinctive sizzle and thump of a Cylon pulsar rifle. Starbuck's head spun around, searching the cavern for Avery, but he was nowhere to be found. The guard who had been posted to keep an eye on them came up to point them in the right direction.

"We have a back door. Let's go." He pushed Starbuck towards the back of the cave where various tunnels branched off.

Starbuck eyed the man suspiciously, noting the Colonial laser in his hand. "You mind giving that back to me?"

The man looked at Starbuck, the guilt clear on his face as his only answer before he turned away and began to sprint for one of the tunnels.

"Frack!" Starbuck cursed loudly. "I guess we follow for now."

Boomer headed off for the tunnel the men were pouring into, but Jake and Rene had stayed with Starbuck. In his frustration, Starbuck wanted to chew out Jake for having been stupid enough to let Avery and his men disarm all of them. He should have used the weapon he had to keep all of them armed, but the fact that the tunnel looked crowded with people, he had to remember that Jake had been outnumbered and no one was able to back him up. Starbuck shoved down his anxiety about being defenseless, and reached for Rene's other hand. "Come one, let's get out of here. We can outrun them." They crossed the cavern and caught up to Boomer who was waiting for them at the tunnel entrance. Once in the tunnel they almost ran right over Avery who appeared to be waiting on them, another Colonial blaster in his hand that he used to wave them down the tunnel as it branched off into two more passageways.

"We have several ways out. This one is the hardest for the Cylons to follow. It becomes narrow in a few more metrons."

Starbuck lashed out at the man, dropping Rene's hand as he tried to reach for the weapon while simultaneously reaching to slam Avery against the wall. Whatever he had picked up in the lake water had slowed his reactions. He felt the fabric of Avery's sweater slip through his fingers as the man dodged aside.

Starbuck snarled in frustration. "Avery, we need our weapons!"

"We don't have time. Just keep up and we'll watch your backs. Go!"

Starbuck reached out again for the laser, but Avery was quicker, backing away and levelling the weapon at Starbuck. His reactions might be slow, but his mind was faster as he thought about the guard at the door, the fact that Avery and most of his men had been awake and tense that evening, and then there was the stew and how tired they all were after eating it. The pieces slid together and he cursed the fact that he hadn't insisted on getting their weapons back the moment he realized they were gone.

"You're turning us over to the Cylons? You fracking traitor! They won't deal with you. You got the wrong end of that bet, you idiot!"

Avery lowered the weapon, as he took a step backwards, appeared to be about to deny the claim, but the sound of rifle fire and the thump of centurion steps forestalled whatever argument he was about to give. "Go! Keep to the tunnels headed straight, not up, not down. Run!"

Rene reached for Starbuck, taking a firm hold of the sleeve of the hunting sweater he wore, pulling him down the tunnel as Jake called out to Rene, "Leave him!"

Starbuck pulled his arm away from her shouting to Jake, "Go, get her out of here." But he didn't move to follow turning back to Avery. He wasn't going one more step without a weapon in his hand. Rene reached out for him again, both hands gripping his arm as she shouted over her shoulder at Jake who was trying to pull her away.

"NO! Not without him!" She yanked his arm hard, dragging him a step in her determination. "Forget it! Weapons won't matter here soon. They have us outgunned. Come on!"

Starbuck almost let her distract him from his need to confront Avery and get at least one weapon in their possession, that is until Avery said low under his breath, but Starbuck still caught it, "Run, it's what you warriors do best."

Anger fuelled him as he wrenched his arm from Rene's grasp and launched at Avery. He was able this time to shove the man against the rock wall, twisting the blaster from the surprised man's hands. Once he felt the familiar grip of his weapon ins his hand, Starbuck whirled away to grasp Rene's jacket and begin to propel her and Jake down the dark tunnel to the sounds of Avery's curses and the tramping of centurion metal on stone.

The tunnel twisted into darkness, and their guard had been right, it became narrow, not much more than the width of a man, and then in the near pitch black, it was even smaller. He heard Jake and then Rene groan as they hit rock, and then tried to squeeze through the passage. Starbuck balked at the constriction of stone at his back and chest. He couldn't fit, he was too big, but Avery was soon right behind him, nearly hissing in his ear, "Suck it in. It's only a few steps then it opens back up."

He resisted the urge to want to strike out at Avery as he followed the man's suggestion, sucked in his gut, made a mental note to work out more. He was able to shuffle down the tunnel, the rock sliding across his back and brushing his nose. Then the tunnel did indeed open up a little more, still narrow, but not a tight fit. Rene was reaching for him again and Starbuck was torn between telling her to go faster, to leave him behind, or telling her to stay close. At least now he was armed and able to protect her, but she was right. The sounds behind him indicated there were more than just a couple of centurions at their back.

A laser bolt blasted at the rock behind them solving Starbuck's dilemma. "Go! You run faster than me. I'm armed. Just go!"

But she didn't let go as she began to run, pulling at his hand as he tried to look behind them. Avery's man had been right, the narrow tunnel blocked the centurions. The Cylons blasted away at the rock, laser blasts occasionally ricocheting through, but the stone was not yielding, at least not enough for the Cylons to catch up before the tunnel twisted away to the right. In the dim light of the illuminator in Jake's hand Starbuck saw the passageway branch off into two more tunnels.

"To the right!" Avery shouted behind them. Starbuck decided not to shoot him, not yet, since he knew the way, but once they were out in the open, he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't follow up on the impulse.

They must have run almost a kilometron down the dark twisting mine shaft before they could see sky through the breach in the stone at the tunnel's entrance. Starbuck pulled at Rene's hand to slow her up, afraid they would simply burst out of the mine to an ambush of Cylons waiting to take them captive. Avery surpassed them, but that didn't reassure Starbuck. This had all been a set up by Avery and while he wanted to speed up to catch the man, to throttle him and ask what the frack he was up to, Starbuck held back. His warrior's training kicked in, calling for caution. He flattened himself against the wall of the shaft, pulling Rene and Jake back as well with a hand to Rene's chest. He could feel her breathing hard, laboring to catch her breath. He could hear the air wheezing out of her. They couldn't run much longer before she'd go down on them. Could he carry her? He wasn't sure as his head felt light and his vision wavered as he too tried to fill his lungs with enough air.

Boomer's silhouette in the mine's opening eased some of his worry as his friend approached them.

"We've eluded them for now. Avery's people, I think it's Caleb, said they have another safe place about ten kilometrons from here."

Starbuck kept his hand pushing Rene and Jake back as he stepped towards his buddy. "And how is Apollo supposed to find us? No, Avery's men set this up. I am not going anywhere he says is safe. Did Apollo tell you where he went?"

Boomer didn't get a chance to answer as four of Avery's men lined up in the entrance to the shaft, Cylon pulsar rifles in their hands. Avery's voice behind him called out, "Drop the blaster. You're coming with us. It's for your own good."

"So are Brusselon Sprouts, but I don't eat them."

The point of the cylon pulse rifle in his back was the necessary deterrent for Starbuck not to spin and shoot the man in his lying face. Rene was right, they were outgunned.

"I'll shoot Rene if you don't drop it now," Avery said. "Do it!"

Starbuck cursed and dropped the weapon.

"Avery, I don't know what you are trying to achieve here, but we are not up for your plans."

"Kick it away."

The man was a bit smarter than he thought. Avery knew better not to approach a pissed off warrior. Starbuck did as he was told, but only because he knew those rifles silhouetted at the opening of the mine shaft weren't trained on him. They were aimed at Rene and Jake.

"Avery, you just need to let us go. We are not going to help you, and we aren't up for a hike. Just let us find our friend, find a vessel and get us all out of here, alright? We'll come back when you're more agreeable to being rescued."

Avery picked up the weapon and pushed at Starbuck with the pulse rifle. "Nope. We did things your way, now you are going to do things our way. Don't worry, where we're going we might find you a raider and then you can get us all out of here, no one left behind. You get to be the hero just like you astrums like."

"Never seen a Raider big enough to fit your ego, never mind all your people too . . ."

Pain lanced through his skull as the butt of a pulsar rifle hit him in the back of the head. He stumbled forward, considering it a personal victory when he regained his footing instead of falling to his knees.

"Now let's go. March like they taught you at that fancy academy."

Starbuck tried again to reason with the man. "Rene's not going to make it. I'm not leaving her behind!"

Her voice called to him, but he held up a hand to silence her. For once she followed a command.

Avery began to speak, but Starbuck spun around, grabbing at the pulse rifle, and just barely missing the blast from Avery firing in shock. His momentum pushed the two of them to the ground as he wrestled with the man for the weapon. Avery brought up the blaster, bashing Starbuck in the head with it as he shouted at his people, "Shoot him! Stun him, dammit!"

Starbuck fully expected to feel the blast and then the following darkness of a good stunning, but instead he felt several hands on him pulling him off of Avery. As he was pushed back he was more than a little displeased to find that some of those hands were Boomer and Jake's.

"What the frack? I had him. We are NOT going with them, we are…"

Boomer cut him off. "Starbuck, we don't have time for this! We are going with them now. We will catch up to Apollo later. Come on!"

Starbuck growled at his friend, and then stifled the rage. Boomer's face was etched in determination. Starbuck knew that look meant he would solve this, maybe not at the moment, but later. Boomer wouldn't lead them into danger. His friend was steady and smart.

"Save your energy for the hike, Starbuck. Rene needs you, come on." Boomer turned and headed for the opening of the tunnel, marching out into the soft light of a cloudy dawn. Starbuck turned back to glare at Avery.

"When I get my chance…" he left the words unfinished as he reached for Rene's hand.

Avery followed them closely, growling at Starbuck's back, "I'm not giving you to the cylons, I just want your help and then we can all part company. I've got people who can carry her if need be."

"You're not fracking touching her," he barked pulling Rene closer as he walked out of the tunnel.

The line of men led off up a hill and they followed into the dawn. As they crested the hill, Starbuck began his plotting. They were truly outgunned, and most of Avery's men were watching them. There was no sympathy to be had with these men, but they hadn't shot him when Avery ordered it, so there was some hope that if they made a break for it, they could get away unharmed. They headed down the hill towards a valley that in the past may have been a peaceful meadow they would simply cross. Now it was a bare stretch of ruined ground, far too exposed. The line of men began to snake around the open space, keeping to the small amount of cover to be found in the dying trees and brush.

Starbuck tapped Jake on the shoulder and put Rene's hand in his. "I need to solve this with Boomer. Let me know when she's had too much. You hear that, pretty lady? We are not their heroes. You tell us when you've hit your limit, understood?" By the slight nod and the dull look in her eyes, he knew it wouldn't be long before someone would need to carry her. He was about to suggest that maybe now was that time, when a raider dove down into the valley. Everyone dove for cover, then began to scramble heading for the next hill before them. Starbuck wrapped his arm around his wife, helping her up to her feet as he called out for Boomer. His friend turned back to him, but Avery was there in a flash, stepping between the two of them as he called out to a man named Liam.

"You take that one," he pointed to Boomer. "He may need some help soon. Don't let them talk. They can scheme all they want when we get there. Come on, they are hunting for us." Avery whistled, and a large man came slinking up from behind them. "Valyn, we are going to need you to carry her."

Starbuck and Rene both spoke out a no, but Avery and Valyn ignored them. The larger man made a move to throw Rene over his shoulder, but she hastily pulled back as Jake moved between the man and Rene.

Avery shook his head. "Fine, we can wait until you fall down. Your choice." He grabbed Starbuck's arm to push him on, but Starbuck wrenched it from his grasp and stepped toward Rene, taking her hand as he began to get moving again.

They made it over the next rise and were traversing a gulley between the following hill when he felt Rene's hand slip from his grasp. She fell to her hands and knees trying to suck in ragged breaths. Jake was reaching for the biomonitor when the large man came up and easily picked up Rene, tossing her over his shoulder and heading off. Starbuck began to protest, following quickly, but the point of the cylon pulsar rifle in his back had him halting.

"I am going to make you eat that rifle when we are done here!"

Avery snorted. "If this goes right, I will gladly do anything you tell me to do. I'll even let you shoot me, but after this is done. Now march." Starbuck shoved down the choice words he had for the man, following after his wife's limp form heading off in the distance.