FLIGHT OF BELLEROPHON Ch.2

Noticing for the first time that Lee's body was rigid and unresponsive in her arms, Cain finally released him. He quickly took a step back from her.

She gave him an exaggerated pout. "Didn't you miss me?"

"Sorry, been too busy trying to forget you," he responded coolly.

"Oh, so then I have been on your mind?"

Damn, I walked right into that one, he thought.

"You're not even a little happy to see me?" she pushed.

"I'm glad you're not dead," he conceded. "And I'm very glad to see your ship. We need all the firepower we can get."

"Mmhmm, tell me about your friend," she said, ignoring his attempt to steer the conversation away from personal topics.

"My friend?"

"The little blonde. What's her name...Starbuck? She's certainly a protective one, isn't she?"

"She's a good friend."

"Mmm, is that all she is?"

"That's not really any of your business, is it?"

"It used to be my business."

"That's debatable."

Moving closer, she put her hands on his hips and pulled him to her again.

"Where is all this anger coming from?" she asked.

Her voice was soft and quite low, and it seemed to vibrate strangely in her throat, like the purr of a cat. Standing with their hips pressed together as they were, those vibrations seemed to travel straight to his groin. Lee knew that he should pull away from this embrace, but somehow, he seemed rooted to the spot.

"I know we didn't part on the best of terms," she continued. "But considering that it was you who went over my head to get your transfer, shouldn't I be the one who's angry?"

"You wouldn't give me the transfer."

"I didn't want you to leave," she whispered, leaning in to kiss him again.

At that, he did manage to step away. And he continued to move away until he had backed out of her considerable arm's reach. When she tried to close the distance, he backed away again. She stopped. She wasn't going to chase him around the room. She had more pride than that.

"Why do you keep doing this?" she asked.

"I'm just trying to establish some boundaries. This relationship is over and has been for three years. You need to accept that."

"Why should I accept something that I never agreed to?"

"No one asked if you agreed."

"Yes, I noticed. Why did you leave the Pegasus? Who did you talk to?"

"Ronin."

"Of course, I should've known."

"He told me about all your lovers. All those other cadets you offered commissions to, simply because you liked the way they looked in their flight suits."

"That is a gross exaggeration. There were only a couple and I can't believe you would listen to anything that Ronin said."

"He was a good CAG. He was looking out for me."

"Is that what he told you? Please! Lee, he was threatened by you. He would have told you anything to get you off the Pegasus."

"Tell me the truth, did you offer me that commission just because you wanted to sleep with me?"

She moved to stand in front of him and, perhaps because of the intensity of the conversation, he forgot to move away. Before he could remember to, Cain reached out and cupped his face in both her hands. Like a drug addict faced with the temptation of a fix, Lee felt his body react automatically to her touch. He was only just able to stifle the moan at the back of his throat.

"You and Ronin both underestimate my standards, Lee," Cain said in that incredible purring voice. "Yes, it is true that I demand my lovers be very good-looking, but I also demand that they be very good pilots. And let's face it, you fulfill both of those requirements quite nicely."

"So, you are admitting that you did have every intention of sleeping with me at the time you offered me that commission?"

"Oh, absolutely."

The second kiss was much less desperate and frenzied than the earlier one. This was soft and tender, yet still confident and knowing, and to Lee, far more devastating. With the first kiss, it had simply been a matter of withstanding the onslaught of teeth and tongue, but this took significantly more willpower to pull away from.

"Uh, di-didn't...um, my father say something about...um, a meeting or something?" Lee stammered, trying to get his brain to function properly and desperate to change the subject.

"Yes, he's called for a formal debriefing in your wardroom at about 16:00. That way all the parties from both ships can get all their questions answered at once. You and I have both been requested to attend, but, don't worry, there's still plenty of time."

"I don't think so. I need to shower and change into a proper uniform," he said pointedly, beginning to recover his balance.

"I'll wait. I don't mind," she purred.

"I mind. You need to leave."

"But how will I find the wardroom?"

"The Galactica has the same basic layout as the Pegasus, I'm sure you'll manage. And if you can't, I'm willing to bet that any one of those pilots out there would be more than happy to show you the way," he said, gesturing towards the door and the general quarters beyond.

Even from across the room, he could feel the heat of her gaze, like a physical thing. It felt almost like being violated as her eyes slowly slid down his body to rest at his groin.

"You might want to make sure that shower you take is a cold one," she said with a smug smile, as she turned and left the room.

Lee glanced down and, to his horror, saw the all-too-obvious bulge in his pants. Damn her! How does she do this to me? Every damn time I'm alone with her, she manages to play me like a virgin schoolboy.

Looking down, in disgust, at his crotch again, he said, "Oh, knock it off, she's gone!"

~*~*~*~

A half hour, and one very cold shower, later, Lee entered the Galactica's wardroom, which had been converted into the president's office. He found President Roslin deep in conversation with Commander Cain. There were two other officers standing nearby that he didn't recognize and assumed they were also from the Pegasus. After a few minutes, Lee was aware of Cain's gaze falling on him and he turned in her direction. He saw her nod and say something to the president, then turn and begin walking towards him. But before she could reach him, Commander Adama and Col. Tigh entered and Lee quickly moved to stand beside his father.

"Did you and Commander Cain have a nice chat?" the elder Adama asked as his son approached.

"Oh, uh, yeah, it was fine."

"Good, that's good," the commander said absently, his mind already moving on to the matter of the upcoming meeting.

He looked around, checking to see if everyone whose presence he had requested had arrived. There were only two missing. Lt. Gaeta, he knew, was on his way from CIC. Adama had no idea where Dr. Baltar was. The man had agreed to attend the meeting, but he had been so oddly distracted at the time, that perhaps he had forgotten.

"Commander Cain?" Adama called to her. "I have two people who aren't here yet, but are your people all here?"

"We're ready when you are."

Adama gestured for everyone to be seated at the long, narrow conference table and he began the introductions. The only people Cain had brought were her XO, Col. Tolan, and her navigations officer, Lt. Atlan. She explained that her CAG had been killed during the Cylon ambush and since she had not been using her Vipers for the last month, she had not brought any other pilot. As the last of the introductions had been made, Lt. Gaeta slipped into the room, apologizing profusely for his tardiness.

"It's all right, Lieutenant, we understand," Adama said. "Say, you didn't happen to see Dr. Baltar wandering around, did you?"

"Uh, no sir."

Adama nodded. It was amazing to him that a man, who was supposed to be a genius, like Dr. Baltar, still managed to get himself lost on the Galactica, despite having lived on the ship for over two months now. Even the president's young aide was now able to navigate the corridors with ease. With a sigh, Adama was about to start the meeting, when Dr. Baltar finally arrived. The man looked somewhat out of sorts. He mumbled something about getting lost and quickly sat down.

"Well, now that we're all here, let's begin," Adama said. "You will all, please, note that there is no person or device recording this meeting. That is because there may very well be some things said here that must not be repeated outside this room. Your utmost discretion is hereby ordered... For now, Commander Cain, if you would please tell us how you and your ship managed to survive."

Cain described the Cylon ambush at the Armistice Station and the Pegasus' subsequent flight. "We haven't seen that basestar for almost a month now, but I don't think we've lost it. I don't know how it keeps finding us, but I think it'll be back. In fact, we've probably led it right to you."

"That may have been the intent all along," Adama mused.

"You make it sound as though the Cylons have been deliberately manipulating us."

"It's possible they have been... I believe there may be Cylon spies on board either, or both, ships."

A general outburst of consternation followed these words. As Lee looked around the table, he noted that only Col. Tigh and Dr. Baltar did not seem particularly shocked. Even Pres. Roslin appeared taken by surprise. Lee found it interesting that his father had evidently trusted Baltar with this sensitive information, but not Roslin. After a moment, Adama raised his hands for silence.

He proceeded to relate the Galactica's story to Commander Cain. He also relayed everything that they had been able to learn about the Cylons, the corrupted navigation systems, the planted Cylon device, and the very frightening reality that the Cylons could now pass as human.

"Lords," Cain breathed, "for some reason that navigation system never worked properly for us. We had nothing but problems with it from the day it was installed. It sounds like that's the only thing that saved our lives. Never thought I'd be happy that a vital piece of equipment on my ship didn't work. But I gather from what you've said that we can get it off our Mark 7s and be able to use them again?"

"Yes sir," Lt. Gaeta spoke up. "We've had complete success with refitting our Mark 7s."

"Well, that's something, at least. Well, Husher, what now? If I've got Cylons on board my ship, how do I find them?" Cain asked.

"First thing we need to do is have your ship searched for any Cylon devices. Lt. Gaeta and Dr. Baltar can take the lead there. They have a pretty good idea of what to look for. Has your ship undergone any repairs recently?"

"There had been someone over from the Fleet every few months for the past year, trying to get that navigational system to work."

"I would start my search there," Adama said. "That could be how they're tracking you."

"I'll contact my chief science officer, Lt. Athens. You and Dr. Baltar can coordinate with her," Cain said to Lt. Gaeta. "She's good. I trust her completely."

"Yes sir," Gaeta responded.

"Now, what about these possible spies?"

"That will also be Dr. Baltar's territory," Col. Tigh said, gesturing to the man. "The good doctor has developed a program for detecting Cylons."

As all eyes turned toward the man sitting at the end of the long table, he looked up nervously. It almost appeared as if he had been interrupted in the middle of a private conversation, but there was no one sitting near him.

"Oh, uh, yes," he stammered, "I have developed a, uh, clinical computer subroutine which can screen hair samples for syn-synthetic chemical combinations. Y-you see, it works by-."

"Yes, yes, that's very nice," Cain said, interrupting. "I'll ask Lt. Athens to assist you with your tests as well."

"Oh, t-that's not necessary," Baltar said quickly. "I'm sure, I can manage on my own."

"It's quite all right, Doctor. I insist. If you're going to be testing my crew for a traitor, I want someone I trust standing nearby to verify your findings."

"Y-yes, of course," he said meekly.

"Good, now that that's taken care of, what are we going to do about that basestar?" Cain said, turning her attention back to Adama.

"Do? We're going to run. It's all we can do," Pres. Roslin spoke up for the first time.

"With all do respect, Madam President, we have two battlestars, and between our two ships, a nearly full complement of Vipers. One Cylon basestar should be no match for two battlestars," Cain said.

"And what about the civilian ships? How do we protect ourselves?" Roslin asked.

"The civilian ships could jump to a specified spot away from the combat zone and wait for us there."

"And while you are fighting the Cylons, and possibly getting destroyed, we're sitting ducks. If there is a spy on board one, or both ships, the Cylons may know that we're sitting unprotected."

"We could give you a small contingent of Vipers to provide protection."

"Sir, even a full squadron of Vipers can't adequately protect 50-some ships," Lee pointed out. "Besides, the two battlestars would need all the Viper support they could get."

"What about that planet that Lt. Valerii found?" Gaeta spoke up.

"Yes, that's right," Col. Tigh agreed. Turning back to the others, he explained, "On one of her recent scouting missions, Lt. Valerii discovered a planet. We had her fly in closer to take a look for possible habitation. She discovered that the planet had incredibly high levels of radiation in the exosphere and powerful electrical storms in the ionosphere. The planet was completely uninhabitable, but it could offer temporary shelter for the civilian ships. The radiation levels on the planet are even higher than at the Ragnar Anchorage and we already know that the Cylons were very reluctant to follow us in there."

"There, problem solved," Cain said, smiling. "We move the civilian ships to the planet. The Pegasus and the Galactica engage the Cylons. Once the basestar is destroyed, we all jump to a new location."

"You make it all sound so easy," Roslin said. "But, I'm sorry, I'm not comfortable with this."

"Neither am I," Adama agreed.

"All right, the Pegasus could take the lead position in the engagement, along with all the Vipers," Cain said. "The Galactica could take up a defensive position in front of the fleet and provide back up and suppression fire for the Pegasus."

Adama said nothing for several minutes, obviously weighing his options. Turning to address his son, he said, "Captain, what is the status of the repairs on the Vipers?"

"As of yesterday, Chief Tyrol reported that all Vipers were operational and combat ready. I imagine it would only take a matter of hours for the Pegasus' Vipers to be retrofitted and made ready as well."

The elder Adama nodded his head, still musing on his decision. He glanced up at Pres. Roslin. She held his gaze steadily. Watching them, Lee had the impression that there was a great deal of silent communication going on between the two leaders. Perhaps sensing this as well, Cain leaned forward to press her position with the commander.

Even though Cain and Adama were of the same rank, Adama had held his rank longer and was therefore the senior commander. And while it stung her considerable pride, Cain was military to the core and would not do anything to upset the chain of command. She would abide by whatever decision Adama made, but she would be damned if she was going to give up her cause without a fight.

"Husher, if we don't deal with that basestar, we're going to be constantly looking over our shoulders, wondering where it is and when it's going to drop in on us," she said intently. "I don't know about you, but I'm tired of running scared. It's time we struck back, got, at least, a little revenge for what they did to the Colonies. We need to let them know that we aren't completely defeated, that there's still some fight left in us. Remind them that they need to treat us with a little caution. We need to make a stand, for our own self-respect, as well as our safety.

"Now, I don't know how far out that basestar is. It could be hours away or it could be days before we see them again, I don't know. Hell, maybe we even lost them, but somehow, I don't think so. We need to be ready and waiting for them. It's about time, we gave them a little taste of their own medicine."

Lee had almost forgotten how charismatic Bridget Cain could be and he knew from first-hand experience that when she wanted something, she could be very persuasive. He glanced over at his father, to see how the older man was dealing with a full dose of the Cain charm. Somewhat to Lee's surprise, Adama seemed to have been moved by the impassioned speech. Or perhaps, like Cain, Adama also yearned for a little revenge.

"Let's do it," he said softly.

To be continued...