A Book By Its Cover

This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a court of law.

To borrow a phrase: Battlestar Galactica no mine...no money, no sue, please?

The landing coordinates were pretty far from the actual settlement. The ground was packed dirt, better for landing than grass or marsh, though. Vipers weren't really meant for landing planet side. Lee popped his hatch and climbed out of the ship, seeing that Starbuck was doing the same.

"Fresh air" he sniffed. The smell was sweet. Starbuck sneezed.

"Fresh air all right" she replied. Lee let his lip curl just a bit. The bit of packed dirt was big enough maybe for a couple of vipers and a raptor to land. It was a bit sunk below the rest of the land, which was covered in a tall grass that waved in the slight breeze. There was what looked like an abandoned path leading west, towards where the settlement was.

"We supposed to find our own way?" Starbuck questioned, surveying the area and seeing no signs of a welcoming party.

"They're a good five kilometers away, probably take them a while to get here, walking" Lee responded, keeping his eye in the direction of the path. There was a line of trees obscuring his vision of the settlement, though the rest of the area was wide open. An ambush wasn't likely. And even if these people were unfriendly, what he'd seen of the settlement from the air looked primitive enough.

"Right" Starbuck sighed, tossing her helmet in onto her seat. She wasn't the most patient person, Lee knew. He wouldn't mind the wait, personally. It had been a long time since he'd been on a planet, out in the country where he could hear birds chirping. It was early evening, he estimated, the heat of the day starting to melt away under the gentle coax of a breeze baring the faint sent of saltwater. They weren't too far from the coast of that sea.

He'd been enjoying the atmosphere for about ten minutes when Starbuck snapped into a straight line.

"Apollo" she nodded down the path toward the tree line. A figure had just appeared, running pell mell towards them. Lee's hand fell down to his gun strapped to his thigh. The figure was coming quickly, almost too quickly Lee thought. He could make out long red hair and a curvaceous form. A woman, likely the same woman he'd spoken to. Suddenly, she stopped running and started walking a stately pace. Lee relaxed a little, though he could feel Starbuck still tense beside him. As the woman got closer, he could make out more of her. She was fairly young, probably about Kara's age. She was short, he didn't figure much over five feet. Her chest was heaving from her running, and Lee couldn't help but notice that she was well endowed. Proportionate, though.

When she was only a few meters away she stopped and smiled. Lee trusted her intrinsically. He pushed that away and tried to bring forth his suspicions. It was hard. He and Starbuck pushed their way down the overgrown path and stopped a few feet in front of her.

"Welcome" she said, and it was that same strong voice, edged softly.

"Thank you" Lee replied. She didn't look like a Cylon.

"My name is Ariel, I am the leader of the Village. You said you were from the 12 Colonies"

"The Fleet of the 12 Colonies" Lee corrected.

"We have had no contact with the Colonies in a very long time" Ariel said.

"Really?" Starbuck quipped again. Ariel's smile changed. It didn't become malicious, or scornful. Amused, it became an amused smile.

"Well, as you may have guessed we got ourselves a bit lost out here" she replied.

"Lost. How long have you been here?" Lee asked.

"I was born here. There are only a few left who remember arriving, and they were children at the time" Ariel answered. She was being very open. "Have you come far, are you in need of rest?"

"Uh, no, we're good" Lee answered, "I'm sorry we didn't introduce ourselves. I'm Apollo, this is Starbuck" he continued, suddenly remembering his manners. Ariel inclined her head.

"We should start back to the Village. Others will meet us on the way, they don't run quite as quickly as I do" she said and turned to lead them down the overgrown path towards the tree line. Lee gave Starbuck a look that meant keep an eye out. Those woods would be a perfect place to lay an ambush. Ariel led the way silently, and kept a brisk pace. The woods weren't dense and they passed through them in a matter of short minutes. On the other side, they saw a small group of people heading their way.

"You'll have to excuse them for staring or other odd behavior" Ariel said before they were within earshot, "None of them have ever met a stranger" Starbuck and Lee exchanged another look.

"Hello, Hello!" a robust man of some years greeted them loudly, waving his chunky arm in the air. The group was 4 people, two women and two men of varying ages. They wore simple clothing out of what looked like home spun material, and sandals on their feet.

"Andrew!" Ariel's smile changed again, as if she were talking to a child. The two groups met and Ariel made introductions. The four villagers did stare at them, and Andrew especially was very friendly. Starbuck and Apollo were led back to the village along the path that became more worn as they went and branched off several times. About a kilometer outside the village they passed through a field that was obviously a large garden. Lee recognized some plants. These people must've come from the Colonies then. Andrew babbled on about what a great treat it was to meet strangers, the others piping up with information about how their settlement operated in between.

A huge crowd was waiting for them in the village center, which was an open circle of grass, when they finally got there. Lee had been right, many of the homes seemed to have been made of local materials. The buildings around the circle, however, were prefab. Old prefab. They were taken into one of these, a big open room with a lot of tables. It was their meeting house. Starbuck and Apollo were forced to listen to all the mechanics of the small town while dinner was prepared.

The food was pretty good. Better than what they were getting on Galactica now a days, anyway. Starbuck and Apollo were seated at the front table with Ariel and Andrew. They were stared at the whole time. When dinner had finally ended, Lee was sure they would be subjected to more of the excited villagers, but Ariel stood.

"Will the members of the Council please accompany us?" she said loudly. Andrew and the other three members of the group that had originally met them stood.

"Please come" Ariel said and led the two strangers to a set of stairs. The upper room of the building held a long table and chairs. A conference room. The members of the council joined them and all were seated.

"Well now, Apollo, Starbuck. I hope you've enjoyed our hospitality" Ariel started. She was seated at the head of the table. Her smile had faded to a mere glimmer on her lips. Her eyes had changed. The same change Lee often saw in his father's eyes. She was a leader now.

"Yes, we have. Thank you" he answered, his chest tensing up.

"I wonder why you've come" Ariel went on, "It's not likely that you're a search party after all these years"

"Uh, no" Lee replied, "Actually we kind of stumbled onto your planet. We're…"

"Explorers" Starbuck piped up. Lee gave her a look.

"We were searching for resources for our Fleet" Lee explained.

"And you hope to find these resources here?" Andrew questioned.

"Maybe" Lee answered, "We would offer compensation, of course" He was fairly sure his father and President Roslin would be willing to offer something to these people.

"We would welcome trade" one of the women, Leslie, replied eagerly.

"I'm sure you would" Starbuck smiled rakishly.

"We're really just a reconnaissance team" Lee admitted, "We aren't exactly prepared to negotiate a trade agreement"

"Of course" Ariel nodded, "I can take you back to your vessels now, if you wish"

"Thank you" Lee nodded back. He had a funny feeling about this girl. Woman. The other members of the council wished them well. Ariel led them through the town, quiet now that it was getting dark and the denizens had retreated indoors. Ariel was quiet until they reached the woods, then she turned around and stood in their way.

"What are you not telling me?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry?" Lee almost stuttered. Starbuck's hand had dropped to her gun.

"You're not really from the 12 colonies, are you?" Ariel demanded again. The sun was too low for Lee to see well, but Lee thought he saw her eyes narrow.

"Not exactly" he replied. They would find out eventually anyway, he might as well tell them now. At least they hadn't lost anyone in the disaster.

"The 12 colonies have been destroyed by the Cylons. We're from the fleet of survivors" Starbuck said before he could.

"The Cylons? I was under the impression that there was a truce of some sort between the humans and the Cylons" Ariel responded.

"There was" Lee explained, "It was a sneak attack"

"I see. How many of you are left?" she asked. Lee hesitated. He mistrusted his trust in her. It had come so easily to him. Then again, how could she possible harm them?

"Less than 50,000" he finally answered. Even in the dark he could see her pale.

"That is not a large number" she said.

"No, it's not" Starbuck replied. She had let Lee take the lead in most of the speaking while they were here.

"Well, if you're looking for somewhere to settle, I'm sure the council would welcome you. The planet is certainly large enough" Ariel told them.

"I don't think…"

"We just want supplies" Starbuck interrupted him. Ariel was quiet for a moment. Then, she relaxed.

"I'll lead you back to your ship" she said, and so she did.

"Do you have any idea when you will return?" she asked as they climbed in.

"Soon" Lee promised. She nodded and retreated from the vipers as they lifted. Lee looked down at her, her long hair blowing in the wind, and knew he would be back for her.