Carrie could barely contain her excitement by the time she got down to the deck. She saw Evan doing some last minute checks on the Raptor. There were a few crewmen around, but none were really paying any attention to them. "How's she looking?"

"Not too bad," Evan replied. "I think we're almost set. What are you doing down here?" Carrie smiled. They had a little charade all planned out.

"Just seeing if you wanted to get dinner later."

"Sure. What are you up to now?"

"Not sure. I might go read, or hit the training room, or go for a run." If anyone had overheard that, it guaranteed there was a whole list of places that had to be searched in case anyone was trying to find her later.

"All right, we'll meet in the mess after shift. Oh, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Check the rear sensor platform, just to make sure everything's on." And that got her inside the Raptor. Considering how busy the hangar deck was, it was unlikely that anyone would notice she hadn't actually left. As long as she stayed hidden during the pre-flight, their plan might actually get pulled off.

Carrie climbed up into the Raptor, and made her way to the back. She made herself as small and as invisible as possible in a back corner and got set for the wait until the test began.


"Raptor 265, you are cleared for take-off."

"Copy that, Galactica," Evan replied. "All systems look good; we're leaving the deck...Hang on back there," he told Carrie after switching the communications loop so that it only included those within the Raptor. She smiled from her spot at the rear sensor console; the co-pilot's seat would have been preferable, but the cockpit was still visible to the LSO. The Raptor lifted off from the deck, and Evan directed it out of the landing bay.

Once they were out in the open darkness of space, Carrie made her way forward, staring out the canopy in awe. "Ready?" Evan asked as she sat beside him. She nodded, and so he tried to switch main control to the co-pilot's station. However, the controls didn't respond. "We must have crossed a wire," he commented. "I guess that's one thing to add to the post-flight repair list. Come on, switch seats with me." They quickly changed positions. Carrie was a bit hesitant with the controls, but that faded after only a moment. "We've gotta do a checkout of the thrusters," Evan told her. "Start with pitch…" they moved up, then down, "Yaw…" a right turn, then a left, "And then just the reverse jets."

"No roll?" Carrie asked with a teasing smile. Evan laughed.

"Not in a Raptor. We try to avoid those…So, you're finally flying. How's it feel?"

"Kinda like I thought it would, and kinda not…Everything seems very small from out here. Even Galactica." Evan smiled.

"Raptor 265, this is Galactica." a voice came across the wireless. Evan switched his headset back on.

"265 here."

"I have a message from the deck: put on a good show."

Evan smiled. "Copy that. Thanks."

"Who did you spill the beans to?" Carrie asked after he had once again shut Galactica out of the communications loop.

"No one," Evan assured her. "I just sent one of the deckhands up to the observation deck and told him let me know if any VIPs showed up. So I guess your audience is in place; you ready for your flyby?"

Carrie nodded, turning the Raptor back to get in front of Galactica's bow. She'd watched patrols from the observation deck many-a-time as she was growing up, always swearing to herself that someday it would be her out there in a cockpit. She flew towards the ship, manipulating the controls to 'wave' the wings before raising the Raptor's nose and flying up over Galactica. Evan laughed.

"I know I didn't teach you that one," he said. Carrie just grinned.

Evan turned around as he noticed something flickering behind him. One of the screens in the sensor station was on the fritz. "Looks like we crossed more than one wire," he muttered, getting up to check it out.

"So where am I supposed to be going now?" Carrie asked as he left her alone in the cockpit.

"Um…doesn't really matter. Do another pass if you want. Just stay out of the shuttle traffic pattern. And watch out for the CAP." She turned the Raptor back out to fly amid the fleet.

A good smack on the side of the rear Dradis screen got it to stop flickering, but it was no longer registering any contacts either. "Frak. What are you showing on Dradis? I think this thing just went dead." Carrie looked at the screen beside her.

"Um…the Geminon Traveler, Astral Queen, Colonial One, the Vipers and Raptor on CAP…Evan, there's something unidentified." He looked up.

"How close?" Carrie tried to adjust the Dradis screen, but it went dead. At the same time, the rear screen came back on.

"I'm flying blind up here," she called.

"I've got your eyes. Get us back to the landing pod, and no talking." He switched the wireless back to an open loop. "Galactica, Romeo, we've found a Cylon Raider out here."

"Romeo, this is Flare," Livia Keikeya responded from her spot in one of the two Vipers that were on CAP. "We see him, and he brought a few friends along. You need assistance, or can you get back on your own?"

"W – I should be fine. He's not chasing me; I guess you guys are the more interesting targets."

"Lucky us," she shot back.

"Galactica, Romeo; it looks like these guys are just the forward scouts – I'm not picking anything up on radiological."

"Copy that, Romeo." He didn't even realize that he'd made an error with that observation until the other Raptor's ECO commented,

"Hey, how did you route your radiological sensor to the forward platform?" Carrie's eyes widened. The radiological alarm was connected to the rear platform in all Raptors, and normally would only be checked if the craft had two pilots – they'd just given themselves away. "You have an invisible ECO over there?"

"Not exactly…" he replied. They had Galactica's attention by then.

"Romeo, Galactica: are you flying solo?" He sighed. Lying was only going to get them in more trouble, and in any case, there was no longer any way that Carrie was going to be able to sneak off the deck like they'd planned.

"No, Sir," Evan answered. There was a pause.

"Copy that. Please identify your co-pilot."

"She doesn't have a call-sign." They were fast approaching Galactica's landing pod at this point, and since they were already busted, Carrie had no issue with breaking wireless silence. Everyone in the CIC could identify her by voice, so it would take care of the next question that was about to be asked.

"Feel free to come take my seat," she told Evan.

"Don't take your hands off the controls," he replied. "Not this close to the ship."

"You're kidding, right?" But he wasn't.

"You've landed a shuttle; you can land this. Galactica, Raptor 265, on approach," he reported in.

"265, you are cleared for approach. Port bay, checkers green. Call the ball." Evan looked to Carrie.

"Do it," he told her. Trying to push her fear aside, she got lined up for landing, going over everything she'd read and been told in her head.

"I have the ball," she told the LSO. Evan turned off the open loop for the wireless; they didn't need to hear his chatter up in CIC.

"Ease up some more on the throttle," he warned Carrie as they flew inside. "That's it…Use the thrusters to correct. When you're ready, set her down." She made sure everything was where it should be, and then descended to the deck. It was a bit rougher of a landing than normal, but not bad for a first-timer. Evan smiled. "Good job."

"Thanks."

"Now get up."

Carrie laughed. "Gladly." They traded seats, and he maneuvered the Raptor over to the lift. "I wonder how deep we're in it," she thought aloud as they were taken down to the hangar deck.

Evan didn't look up from the controls. "Pretty deep."


In the hangar, they went through all the shut-down procedures together, but once they were finished, it was time to face the music. Evan opened the hatch, and they both stopped short when they jumped down and realized that along with the CPO, CAG, and a couple marines, Commander Lee Adama was there waiting for them.

"Somebody start talking, and do it quick," Lee demanded. Evan was standing rigidly at attention.

"It's my fault, Sir," he said automatically. "I wanted to show the Cadet some of the new capabilities we'd added, since she'd finished training."

"Basic training," Lee shot. "How in the hell does that make her qualified to fly a Raptor?"

"No, it was my idea, Dad – Sir," Carrie said, stepping forward. "I…I wanted to do it for Grandpa. I had to talk Evan into helping me; it's not his fault." Lee studied them both for a moment.

"Report to the brig," he finally said. "Both of you."

"Yes, Sir."


At least he hadn't told the marines to immediately take them into custody. Carrie could count that as a small favor. She and Evan both got out of their flight suits, and then made their way down to the brig. Not a word had been uttered between them since they'd been ordered there, and by the time they were both locked into their cells, Carrie felt like she had to say something.

"Evan? I'm sorry." There was a long pause, and a sigh.

"I knew what I was doing," he finally said. "I knew what would happen if we got caught."

"But– "

"No buts, Carrie. I knew what the consequences were, and I did it anyway…your grandfather's a good man, and I was just as glad to be able to do this for him as you were. Let's just leave it at that."

There was silence in the room for a good few minutes, but then, "Evan?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Carrie."


Lee had some hard decisions to make when it came to what to do with the two of them. Going by the old code of fleet law, Evan's career would be over. However, the old code had been scrapped in the early days after the Holocaust in favor of a far more subjective set of rules and punishments, and that made life a lot more complicated for their commander. Pilots were not a cubit a dozen in the fleet, and good ones like Evan could not be dismissed. He would leave the young man in the brig for a few days, and make sure the CAG keep him real busy around the deck once he'd been released, but Lee would have to return him to a cockpit in the end.

"So where does that leave Carrie?" Kara asked him as they discussed the situation in Lee's office.

"I've got half a mind to leave her down there, too."

"Have you seen your father since Carrie got back on deck?"

"What?"

"Have you seen him, Lee?"

"No. Why?"

"I…He hasn't looked this much like his old self in a long time."

"Kara – "

"Step back and think about it. Think about all that she did, all she went through in order to orchestrate this. She knew what she was doing, Lee. I only wish that I'd thought things through this well when I was her age." That brought a small smile.

"So do I," he retorted.

"This wasn't just some last minute, hair-brained scheme. She taught herself how to fly a Raptor, and she did it with a lot of planning and forethought."

"So what? I'm supposed to reward her for very thoughtfully planning how to break half the rules in the book? I can't be her father right now, Kara; I've got to be the commanding officer of this ship."

"Fine, then as commanding officer of a Battlestar in a constant combat environment, can you really afford not to take advantage of having a pilot as good and as resourceful as she is in your fleet?"

Lee didn't respond for a long while. "I'm leaving her down there," he finally said. "For now…She's gotta learn to toe the line at some point."

Kara smiled. "Yeah. Or else she might grow up into me."


Carrie knew her father was angry with her, but she hadn't expected him to lock her up and throw away the key, which is what it had felt like he'd done after three days in the brig. No one had come to visit her – not her parents or brother or friends. Evan was in the same boat. Carrie had been sure that her grandfather would come see her, at least to tell her that he'd seen the flight, but he hadn't. She'd at first thought that Lee was trying to prove a point, but now she as wondering exactly how long he could keep her there.

Halfway through her third day of captivity, the sound of footsteps approaching got Carrie to look up from the floor. The sight of her father surprised her; she couldn't remember him ever walking around ship in something other than a flight suit or a dress uniform, but here he was in off-duty clothes, and he looked like hell.

"What's going on?" she asked him, and the surprises kept coming when the marine that had accompanied Lee began to unlock the door to Carrie's cell. "You're letting us out?" she inquired. However, the marine didn't move towards Evan's door.

"Come with me," was all Lee finally said.

"Where?"

"The Life Station…Come on."


TBC...