Chapter 15

"Starbuck... wake up!"

Kara groaned and rolled toward wall. "Frak off," she mumbled.

"Hey come on," the annoying voice said again. "It's after reveille. Time to get up. They're paging you."

Kara refused to crack an eyelid. She'd had a late CAP the day before and then had spent over an hour talking to Lee in the briefing room. It felt like she'd only just barely fallen asleep and she wasn't ready to get up yet. Besides, she was still the acting-CAG. Lee hadn't been cleared for duty yet. So if she wanted the squadron to wait, they could just wait!

Something soft, vaguely fuzzy, and decidedly stinky fell onto her face. Kara jerked awake and yanked away the dirty sock that someone had just tossed at her head. She rolled over and cast a venomous eye on all the pilots in the room. "Whose is this?" she demanded to know, holding the smelly sock at arm's length. From the size alone, Kara knew it belonged to a man, and as her eyes scanned the laughing faces in the room, Helo appeared to be the most amused.

Knowing from the look on Kara's face that he'd been fingered, Helo laughed harder. "Hey that was a pretty good throw. Besides, it got you up!"

Kara chucked the sock back at Helo as hard as she could, not that a flying sock could really do much damage. "You dipstick," she snarled.

Helo caught the sock and grinned. "Hey, we had to get you up somehow."

"Why?" she grumbled. "What do you care if I'm late in taking attendance?"

"I don't, but I think the commander might get miffed if you keep him waiting."

Kara blinked hard to clear the gritty feeling from her eyes. "What?"

"You were paged to his quarters, Sleepyhead," Helo told her. "You and Apollo both."

"Frak," Kara muttered. She pushed herself to her feet. It suddenly dawned on her that Lee was nowhere in sight. "Where is Apollo?"

"Out of bed and gone running already," Hog Dog replied.

"Freakin' over-achiever," Kara grumbled.

As if on cue, Lee appeared at the hatch, still wearing his running clothes and perspiring. He saw Starbuck still obviously half-asleep. "You're not even dressed?" he asked.

Kara waved him off. "Go take another lap, then ask me if I care."

"We've been paged to the commander's quarters," Lee told her.

"So goes the rumor," she said in a half-yawn. She spotted her bundled clothes on the center table. All she had with her to put on was her flight suit. "I need to stop at my locker first," she told Lee. She eyed him up and down in his exercise shorts and damp tank top. "Looks like you do too."

"No can do," Lee said. "I called the Old Man from a phone down the hall to let him know I was out of uniform and needed a few minutes to clean up. He insisted we both come down to his office immediately and specifically said we were not to go back to our quarters first."

Suspicious, Kara asked, "Did he say why?"

"No," Lee said grimly. "But I have an idea, and I really hope I'm wrong."

"Great," Kara mumbled, dropping into a chair to pull her flight boots onto her bare feet.

"Need some socks Starbuck?" Hot Dog inquired, setting off a new wave of laughter in the room.

Kara frowned. "I'm still making up the flight schedules Kids," she said in a warning tone, though no one appeared to take her threats very seriously.

"So what do you think is going on Captain?" Helo asked.

"I'd rather not speculate Helo," Lee said. "Do me a favor everybody? Don't start playing guessing games or starting rumors all right? We'll know what's up soon enough." Everyone seemed agreeable.

Lee grabbed his sweatshirt from the foot of his borrowed rack and pulled it on while Kara finished securing her boots. She ran her fingers through her short blond hair to tame it down a little, then the two senior pilots headed off down the hall.

"Anybody wanna bet that Frosty is in some kind of deep doody?" Hot Dog asked his roommates.

"I wouldn't bet against that," Helo told them. Then to Hot Dog he said, "And did you actually just say 'doody'?"

"We're not going to like this are we?" Kara said under her breath as she and Lee wound their way through the labyrinthine hallways of Galactica.

"I doubt it," Lee said.

Kara glanced over her shoulder. A marine was doing a not-so-subtle job of following them around. Lee and Kara turned another corner, and Kara looked back again. The marine was still there.

"Kara what are you doing?" Lee asked.

"We're being followed Lee," she told him, on the verge of turning around and confronting the trailing marine.

Lee grinned and grabbed her arm to keep her moving forward. "No, I'm being followed. That's my shadow."

"Your what?"

"'Shadow' sounds better than 'babysitter'. Dad arranged it yesterday when I got back. Seems he didn't quite trust me on my own."

Kara jerked her thumb back over her shoulder. "He's been following you since yesterday?"

Lee grinned smugly. "They're trading off shifts. This one stepped in this morning, just in time to chase after me when I went running."

Kara giggled. "No wonder he looks a little tuckered. Hey wait... you mean to tell me there was somebody lurking around last night when we were in the briefing room?"

"He wasn't in the room with us. I made him wait outside."

"Great. He probably had his ear to the door listening for any juicy gossip."

"Not gossip. Just listening for warning signs of bloodshed."

They turned another corner, and of course the marine followed. "This is annoying," Kara commented, glancing back again.

"Just ignore him," Lee advised her.

"Tell him to get lost," Kara countered.

Over his shoulder, Lee said, "Get lost." The marine just waved and continued to follow them. "Does that help?" Lee asked Kara.

Kara frowned in irritation. "It's too bad I don't have my running shoes on. We could give him a nice little chase. I'd even lay 5-to-1 odds that you went easy on him earlier." When Lee shrugged she gloated, "Hah! I knew it."

Lee laughed. "He didn't pick this assignment. It's not his fault."

"You are such a pushover."

"It's called empathy. You should try it sometime."

When they reached the commander's quarters the marine took up a position outside the door while Lee and Kara proceeded inside. The commander stood up from his desk when he saw them and motioned for Lee to close the hatch. Then he picked up the phone receiver.

"This is the commander. Put me through to the Master-At-Arms." Adama beckoned Lee and Kara to have a seat on the couch while he was on the phone. "Sergeant, Apollo and Starbuck are accounted for and secured. Go ahead and move in. Keep me informed."

Lee and Kara exchanged wary glances. Neither of them had taken a seat. They both just stood waiting for an explanation.

Adama hung up the phone and motioned again for his guests to be seated. "Sit down kids." He gave them both a quick visual appraisal. He already knew that Lee had cut short his morning run and Kara looked like she had just rolled out of bed. "Have either of you had a chance to eat yet this morning?"

"No Sir," Lee replied. "Not yet."

"Sorry for the abrupt summons," the commander said. "But we weren't sure where the two of you were, and we needed to be sure that neither of you wandered back to quarters before the situation was under control."

"What situation Commander?"

Adama had brought a file folder over from his desk and held it up for Lee and Kara to see. "Doctor Baltar turned up a positive result on Lieutenant Mullins' blood test. He's a Cylon." Lee winced at the news. Kara's expression remained largely unchanged. "Sergeant Hadrian is moving in now with a marine squad to arrest him and take him to the brig."

Lee's troubled eyes met his father's. "May I see the report Sir?" Lee asked.

Adama handed Lee the folder. He watched his son scanning through the pages. He had known Lee would take this news hard.

Lee finally closed up the folder and handed it off to Kara. Rubbing his forehead, Lee grimaced. "Twice. That's twice. One of my own people. Someone I trusted... right under my nose."

Kara didn't bother reading through the report. She only noted the line in boldface print that said, "Positive." She set the folder on the table. "Well... at least it explains a few things," she said quietly. She rested her hand on Lee's back. "We know who attacked you now."

"And we know why," Adama added. "Although, Frosty was certainly a lot sneakier about it than Boomer was."

Lee looked at his father. "Why didn't you just tell me yesterday that you were testing his blood?"

Adama reluctantly admitted, "Because I didn't expect it to pan out. I really didn't. Doing the test at all was more of an afterthought, just to be thorough."

Kara suddenly perked up and clapped her hands together. "On the bright side... does this mean I can hand off all the paperwork back to Lee now? We know he's not suicidal and Doctor Cottle did clear him for light duty."

Lee slowly turned his head toward her with a look of amazement on his face. "Are you kidding me? That's what is going through your warped little mind right now? Handing off the paperwork?"

Kara shrugged. "I really hate paperwork."

"When did you ever try it?"

"I've been the one keeping up all the records while you've lounging on your ass!"

"Oh really? I've seen the whiteboard in the briefing room Kara. If that's any indicator of your record-keeping, I'll be spending the next 6 months trying to sort out the piles of illegible scrawl."

Without missing a beat, Kara said, "Then the sooner you get started, the better."

The commander cleared his throat loudly. "While I know you kids are having fun, the point is rather moot. Lee hasn't been cleared for duty yet by Doctor Marsh."

Lee looked surprised by his father's statement. "But... wait a minute... you know now that I didn't try to kill myself." When his father didn't readily agree, Lee prodded him further. "You do know that, don't you?"

"I believe that Lieutenant Mullins was probably responsible for what happened," Adama said.

"Probably?"

"But even so," the commander went on, "the terms for your return to duty were clearly set. Doctor Marsh is now a permanent member of this crew and her medical judgment is just as binding as Doctor Cottle's."

"You're the one who set the terms," Lee argued. "You can change them."

"Lee it's only a few more days," Adama responded. "Suicide or assault... the fact is that it was traumatic enough for you that you still can't even remember it. Can you?"

"No," Lee admitted reluctantly with his anger boiling visibly just beneath the surface.

Adama nodded. "Then Kara is just going to have to wait for Doctor Marsh's approval before she hands off the pile of illegible scrawl."

Kara was just about to defend her penmanship when the phone rang. The commander moved quickly to answer it. His face expressed immediate concern over what he was being told.

Kara leaned toward Lee and whispered conspiratorially, "You do realize that I won't even touch a piece of paper for the next three days, right?"

Watching his father's face, Lee muttered back to Kara, "Boy, you are definitely still in the crawling stage. Now shush up for a second. Something's up."

"Don't try to shush me," she protested.

Ignoring her, Lee stood up just as the commander hung up the phone. "What's going on? Is there a problem with the prisoner?"

"No," Adama replied. "That was Gaeta. There's been some kind of accident out in the fleet. I have to get to CIC. Starbuck, I need you to suit up and get all Raptors ready to fly in case we need to initiate an emergency evacuation."

Kara jumped to her feet. "Yes Sir. At least I do have that outfit available." She hurried off to do her job.

Lee watched her rush off then looked back at his father. He told the commander, "Sir, if this is an emergency, I can fly."

Adama shook his head, strolling for the door. "You haven't been cleared for flight," the commander said sternly.

"But if there are lives at stake..."

"No Lee," Adama interrupted his son. "A medical officer's decision can not be over-ruled. Not even by me. You'll have to sit this one out. Now please just stay here until we have confirmation that Frosty has been secured."

Lee gritted his teeth and watched his father's back until the commander was out the hatch and on his way to the CIC. Lee paced around a few times, feeling like a caged animal. "Just stay here," he mumbled moodily. He stopped pacing. "Like hell."

"What have we got?" the commander asked as he emerged onto the CIC.

Colonel Tigh reported, "The cargo freighter Dorian's Mistress reported a small electrical fire about 20 minutes ago. Apparently it was wider-spread than they originally anticipated and they temporarily lost helm control and collided with the Tantalus, a small passenger liner. Both ships are reporting casualties, and the Tantalus has lost their life support control systems. We've already directed all other fleet vessels away from the collision site."

The commander asked, "You said the Mistress temporarily lost helm control? Do either of the vessels have helm control at this time?"

"Yes," the XO confirmed. "They were able to move off from each other and stabilize their positions."

"Good," Adama said. "Bring the rest of the fleet to full stop until further notice."

Tigh shook his head. "This was bound to happen eventually. With this many ships huddled together, unaccustomed to flying in formation, a collision was inevitable."

Lee walked onto the upper level of the CIC and observed the bustle of activity going on. It was the first time since he was attacked that Lee had been back to the CIC and it felt oddly comforting. He recalled how he had so looked forward to finishing that last shift as acting-XO and leaving the watch in CIC behind, but apparently he'd become more accustomed to the surroundings than he'd thought. Several of the crew who saw him there smiled at him briefly as they went about their jobs.

Lee watched his father with a deep sense of admiration for how easily the commander directed the activities around him. William Adama was in his element here. There was no denying that. As a father, he had many shortcomings, but as a battlestar commander he was a natural. This was the purpose for which William had been born.

A panicked transmission came in over the speakers from the Tantalus. They had failed to get their backup life support controls online. The ship would need to be evacuated, but with power failing they could not launch their lifeboats. Adama ordered all Raptors to launch immediately. With soft-seal capability, the Raptors could act as lifeboats.

"That won't be enough," Colonel Tigh said quietly. "Three Raptors, each carrying ten people at a time. If we're lucky the people on the Tantalus have about an hour before their breathable oxygen runs out and the temperatures will be dropping fast."

"We have three luxury liners in the fleet that have lifeboats with soft-seal capability," Lee announced when he stepped out onto the center deck of the CIC. The commander and the XO both turned around in surprise when they heard his voice. "Cloud Nine, Rising Star, and the Intersun Liner. The Tantalus is much smaller than the other three. Any one of those big ships would have more than enough capacity in their lifeboats for everyone on the Tantalus."

The commander turned to face Petty Officer Dualla at her station. "Which of those three ships is the closest?"

Dualla checked her console. "The Rising Star Commander," she replied.

"Contact the pilot on the Rising Star," Adama instructed. "Tell him we need lifeboats launched immediately with sufficient capacity for the population of the Tantalus."

"That would be 385 souls Sir," Dualla informed.

Adama nodded. "Tell him if they don't have room to accommodate those people on the Rising Star they can be shuttled here to Galactica."

"Yes Sir." Dualla turned her focus upon contacting the crew of the luxury liner Rising Star.

"Colonel," the commander said, "send a call for off-duty volunteers to assist with the boarding of 385 passengers."

"Yes Sir," Tigh replied, reaching for the broadcast mike.

As the call went out the crew, the commander turned to face Lee. With a mild smile on his face he said, "You're not cleared for duty Captain. You shouldn't be here."

Lee just matched his father's partial smile with one of his own. "Before I go find a corner to twiddle my thumbs in, might I make another suggestion Sir?"

The commander inclined his head. "Go ahead."

"The museum deck on the starboard flight pod could be used as a gathering area for the passengers. It's not very luxurious, but there's ample room to keep everyone accounted for in one place until other arrangements can be made throughout the fleet or until the Tantalus can be repaired. And we should double the CAP. This would be a hell of a time for a Cylon scout party to spot us before we spot them."

Adama nodded. They definitely couldn't allow nearly 400 uncleared civilians to freely roam the ship. One Cylon agent had already succeeded in killing several crewmembers after boarding Galactica with a group of civilians and slipping off on his own. "That was two suggestions Captain," Adama pointed out. Then he turned again to his XO. "Colonel, contact Starbuck and tell her to double the CAP. We don't want any surprises right now." Looking again at Lee, he said, "And unless your heart is set on twiddling your thumbs, you can take charge of the passenger embarkation. Make sure everyone remains contained and accounted for."

Lee was surprised. "Am I cleared for that Sir?" he asked sarcastically.

"I won't tell if you won't, but I still expect you to show up for your appointment with Doctor Marsh."

Lee gave a mild laugh. "Yes Sir. Commander... may I make a request as well?"

"What is it Captain?"

"Can you tell my shadow to get lost Sir?"

Adama grinned. He looked over Lee's shoulder at the marine who was standing attentively nearby. "Sergeant, you are reassigned to the embarkation detail under Captain Adama's command."

"Yes Sir," the marine acknowledged smartly.

"Thank you Sir," Lee said and saluted.

"And Captain?"

"Yes Commander?"

"That was good thinking on the lifeboats."

"We'll see Sir," Lee said. "The passengers aren't safe yet."

William Adama watched Lee walking away with a surge of pride. Lee probably didn't realize it, Adama thought, but the kid was a natural for command. He still had a lot to learn, but his instincts were good. Moreover, Lee had already mastered one subject that William still struggled with. William tended to focus his thoughts and energies on commanding the Galactica alone, but Lee's concerns and attention to detail extended out beyond Galactica's hull to include the entire fleet. His knowledge of the lifeboats' capabilities was something that William had not possessed, yet in such an emergency as this, that bit of information would probably save lives. Tigh had been right earlier when he'd said that an intra-fleet collision was bound to happen one day, yet contingencies for handling such an event had not been thought through... except apparently by Lee. No doubt about it. Lee would make a damn fine commander one day.

"I'm telling you, that bastard is lying," Lieutenant Shawn Mullins insisted again. "I am not a Cylon!"

Sergeant Hadrian shook her head derisively. "You know, you Cylon agents really need to come up with a new song. That particular one is getting very old."

"Frak you," Mullins swore bitterly.

She laughed. "Not even if you were human. Now, I will ask you again. Tell me about the assault on Captain Adama. If you cooperate, you may just end up on the Astral Queen instead of being blown out of an airlock."

At the mention of the Astral Queen, Frosty flinched, but he maintained his silence. He deliberately turned his head away from his interrogator.

Sergeant Hadrian persisted in spite of Mullins' silence. "What about Ensign Karo?"

With the mention of his partner's name, Frosty looked back at the master-at-arms. "Stinger didn't do anything," he said intently.

"Really?" Sergeant Hadrian inquired. "He wasn't your accomplice?"

"He's just a kid!"

"That's not what I asked."

"He didn't do anything! It's just like we told you last week! We were asleep! We were both asleep and we didn't see or hear anything! Captain Adama did it to himself."

With a laser-intense look Hadrian told the prisoner, "But it's not just like last week. We now know you're a frakking, lying Cylon agent. We know that you attacked Captain Adama. You lied about all that. Why should we believe what you said before about Stinger? Was he your accomplice or has he just been covering for your crime?"

Frosty adamantly stuck to his story. "He's just a heavy sleeper, that's all. And Doctor Baltar is lying! I am not a Cylon!"

In all of the hustle of the rescue efforts for the Tantalus and Dorian's Mistress, Lee ended up almost losing track of time and was five minutes late for his appointment with Doctor Marsh. When he stepped into her office she wagged a finger at him and pointed to her watch.

"I know, I'm sorry," he said. "It's been a busy day."

"Oh really?" she asked suspiciously. "Now why would that be? I know it couldn't have anything to do with the collision or all of the passengers that had to be evacuated and brought here, because you haven't been cleared for duty yet." She gave him a knowing look.

He sat down with a secretive grin. "Nope, I sure haven't."

"Mm hmm." She shook her head and readied the voice recorder for another session.

"Have you heard the news yet about Frosty?" Lee asked.

Doctor Marsh nodded. "Oh yes. It was quite the subject of discussion around the mess this morning. Any thoughts on the subject you'd like to share? You were rather upset yesterday about the idea that something like this could happen."

"I know," Lee said. "But, even when my father told me that Frosty was under some kind of suspicion, I never... I never even considered that he might be a Cylon. I'm really not sure if this is better or worse than what I was afraid of. It answers a lot of questions and at least I don't have to wonder why he would betray me... but it still makes me wonder who the hell I can trust. I've flown with him. I've trusted him to watch my back. I've slept in the same room with him for months. And all along he was one of the enemy."

"Do you feel unsafe then in some way now?"

Lee considered the question. "Now? No, not really," he replied. "I mean, I've known for several days that somebody walking around this ship wanted me dead. Now I know who and he's locked up. But it does make me question my judgment about people. I used to think I was a pretty good judge of character. Apparently I'm not."

"Well, from what I've learned about the previous Cylon agent, Sharon Valerii, it appears that these agents may not even be aware themselves that they are Cylons. In a way, it's not unlike Multiple Personality Disorder. The person... the human personality that you knew... really was separate and distinct from the Cylon personality. The same may be true for Frosty. His human persona may indeed have been everything that you judged him to be."

Lee thought about what she said, but frowned dispiritedly. "Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better."

"I'm just trying to help you understand that you don't need to beat yourself up over this."

The corner of Lee's mouth twitched upward slightly. "My over-developed sense of responsibility at work again?"

"Bingo." In a very calculated tone she told him, "There is no cause to blame the victim."

Lee cringed. "I hate the word 'victim.'"

"There's no shame in what happened to you either," she said very pointedly.

"I'm not ashamed."

"Are you sure? Not even just a little embarrassed? Come on Lee. Be honest. You're accustomed to kicking ass, not to having your ass kicked."

"It pisses me off," Lee admitted.

"As well it should. But who are you really angry at? Frosty? Or yourself?"

Lee pondered the question silently for a long time. Doctor Marsh finally gave him an assist.

"Does it bother you to think of yourself being overpowered?" When his eyes flashed directly toward hers, she knew she was on the right track. "Do you wonder whether or not you were able to fight back? Do you ask yourself if you should have fought harder?"

Lee's eyes almost looked haunted for a few seconds before he admitted in a whisper, "Yes." Lee's hands actually began trembling and he clasped them together to keep them still. "Frak," he muttered.

The doctor got up from her chair and sat down next to Lee, taking his hands in hers. She didn't say anything. They just waited silently for the trembling to pass.

Lee took a few deep breaths and gradually he felt calmer again. He finally asked quietly, "This is why I can't remember, isn't it? This is what I don't want to remember."

"Probably," she agreed. "And the fact that it was at the hands of someone you trusted makes it more difficult. Lee, this reaction is perfectly normal, but you need to keep perspective and put the blame where it belongs."

Lee nodded solemnly. "Frosty."

"Yes," Doctor Marsh said firmly. She gave his hands another squeeze.

Lee's expression changed then to one of curiosity. "So... you really do believe that I did not try to kill myself?"

She smiled at him. "I don't think we're dealing with higher math here Lee. The addition is pretty simple." She patted him on the shoulder and returned to her chair.

"Then... is there any reason why your recommendation to my father has to wait another few days?"

"Getting impatient are we?"

"Well... what is the point in delaying if you already know I'm not suicidal? And if you have other doubts about my mental state, then I'd like to know what they are."

"All right, you asked for it," she said, sitting forward in her chair. "When I make my report to your father, it isn't just about whether or not I believe that you attempted suicide on that particular night. I don't believe that you did. In fact, I was inclined by the end of our very first session to believe that you were not suicidal. But my recommendation also concerns whether or not I believe that you could be at risk if you are returned to active duty, and whether or not that risk is sufficient to withhold you from active duty.

"The fact is Lee... you have issues, and I'm not just referring to the recent attack, although that is one of them. You are still dealing with a number of very traumatic events and some very painful losses, dating back not just to the Holocaust but all the way back to the death of your brother. You have exhibited signs of Acute Stress Disorder on multiple occasions, such as your current memory loss, as well as the flashbacks that you admitted to having after blowing up the Olympic Carrier.

"And let's face it; your support system is pretty paltry. You have a lot of difficulties relating to your father, to the extent that I believe you would not be inclined to go to him for help if you needed it, and your best friend has proven quite unreliable and unsympathetic."

Lee interjected at that point to say, "Kara and I talked last night. We're uh... I think we're headed in a better direction now."

"I don't doubt that she cares about you Lee, and everybody can use a friend to laugh with. But do you really think things will be different when the going gets rough again? Will she support you now, even though she didn't before? Do you truly trust her to be reliable from now on?"

Lee was hesitant. "I think... she'll try."

"In other words, you have still have doubts. And let's face facts. Life isn't going to be getting easier. I think we both know that it's going to be rough waters for the foreseeable future. Tough times are still ahead. There will be times when you need help. So be honest. Will you ask for help from your father? Will you get it from Kara? Or are you just going to try to tough it out on your own again?"

Lee thought about the question for a while. He had to finally admit, "I don't know."

Doctor Marsh nodded and gave him a sympathetic smile. "On the flip side, you have a very resilient spirit, and a good positive self-image. And considering all that's happened you're doing pretty well."

Lee seemed surprised to hear that. "I am? I was just about convinced you were planning to ground me for life."

"Well, not yet," she told him. "I don't think you are currently suicidal, but I think that you are at risk Lee. Now if I thought there was a decent chance that the Cylons had given up and would just let us go on our merry way, I wouldn't worry about you much. You'd cope with what's already happened, and you'd be fine. But that's a fool's dream, and we both know it. So you are only going to have to deal with more and more as time goes on. That is why I think you could be at risk.

"You need to take more time to grieve than you've allowed yourself. And you really need to expand your support system and find somebody reliable that you can really lean on when you need to... because you will need to. You are in a very high-stress, high-risk job, and over time that will take a toll on you. So while I don't currently believe that you are a danger to yourself or to others... except to Cylons of course... if you don't find a way to stop trying to carry the weight of the world by yourself while the lugging the past along with you... one of these days it will break you."

Lee nodded very thoughtfully. "Okay. I have issues. I can accept that. But are they serious enough now to prevent me from returning to duty in two more days?"

Doctor Marsh sat back and laughed. "Right back to the point huh? All right, the answer is no. I will be recommending that you are fit for duty."

A smile broke across Lee's face. "And these issues of mine... are they really likely to change significantly for the better within the next two days?"

"Doubt it," she said bluntly.

"Then, is there really a point in waiting?"

Doctor Marsh shook her head in amusement. "Why are you so anxious Lee?"

"We had an emergency in the fleet today," Lee explained. "Hundreds of lives were at risk and I was told I would have to just sit it out instead of getting out there to help. The CAP has been doubled because the fleet is at added risk so long as we have to sit dead in space while two ships are under repair. We have a critical shortage of pilots who are now all working overtime on the extended CAP... and this morning we just lost another one. Frosty. My team needs me... and your report is the only thing holding me back."

"What about your hand?" Doctor Marsh observed.

"I think I can persuade Doctor Cottle, given the emergency," Lee said. "And even if he doesn't budge and won't clear me for flight, I can at least help out with shipboard duties. I can do something to help."

"Officially, you mean." It was clear from the doctor's grin that she knew darn well Lee had been working the crisis that morning even without proper medical approval. She reached over and switched off the voice recorder. "You know, when I interviewed for this position with your father, one of the questions he asked me was why I would want to come back out of retirement. I did my time. 20 years to the military. 25 more years as a civilian. I earned my time off. Why come back? It was because it killed me to have a war raging all around me, while I could do nothing but sit idle and watch."

Lee caught the meaning of what she was telling him, and looked at her hopefully. "Then... you understand?"

She nodded. "Yes I do."

"And?"

"And... I will submit my recommendation to your father by COB today."

Lee's face broke into a broad smile. "Thank you."

She wagged a finger at him. "You still have issues though, Junior. My work with you is far from over."

"Good evening Doctor," Commander Adama said he stepped into Gaius Baltar's lab on C deck. As usual, the tables were covered end to end with trays of blood samples while the doctor's computer cranked away on the latest test subject. The doctor himself was sitting on his rotating stool with a daydreaming expression on his face that looked somewhat perverse. He jumped a bit at the commander's gruff voice.

"Ah, good evening Commander. I assume you came for this." He jumped up from his stool and grabbed a file folder from the counter behind him.

"Ensign Karo's test result?" the commander asked.

"Yes," Baltar confirmed. "But as I already told you over the phone, the result is negative. Ensign Louis Karo is not a Cylon."

"That's good to hear," Adama said. "But I'll still need to hang on to this while the investigation is under way."

"Yes of course," Baltar said. "Has the uh... Cylon... told you anything of value yet?"

Adama looked at the doctor sternly. "You know that details of the investigation have to remain sealed," he said.

Baltar appeared slightly miffed. "I am not only the President's advisor on the Cylons and their technologies, but also the Vice President. Any information provided by a Cylon therefore does fall under my realm of authority."

Adama looked at Baltar's defiant face with a tinge of uneasiness. Colonel Tigh had been right. The ship's resident mad scientist was indeed growing increasingly uppity since being elected to the Vice Presidency. "Very well," he said. "The answer is no, he hasn't told us anything of any value. He continues to stick to his original story about sleeping right through Captain Adama's attack. And he insists that your test results are faked."

"He says he's not a Cylon?" Baltar asked derisively.

"He does."

"Well isn't that a surprise?" Baltar said sarcastically. "Where have we heard that before, hmm? Let's see. Oh yes, the first time was from Aaron Doral. You remember him? He was the Cylon we left behind at Ragnar Anchorage whose twin brother showed up here on C deck a few weeks later and tried to blow us all to hell. Then, of course, was Sharon Valerii. I'm sure you remember her and there's no need for reminiscing on that one. And now we hear it from Lieutenant Mullins, the only person on this ship who had a clear opportunity that night to murder your son. Isn't that a shock?"

Adama showed no amusement whatsoever for the Doctor's ramblings. "Frosty did make one odd comment about you."

"Only one?"

"He said something to the effect that you deceived him."

"I deceived him? What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know Doctor. Any guesses?"

Baltar made an exaggerated show of pondering the question. "Let's see. I deceived him..." He snapped his fingers. "Of course. I remember now. I beat him in a card game a little over a week ago with nothing more than a pair of deuces. The man really is a lousy card player. He falls for a bluff every time. I'm sure Lieutenant Thrace can vouch for that."

Baltar impatiently shook his head. "Commander really, you didn't expect that the man was going to thank me for uncovering him, did you? Naturally he is going to say things in order to discredit both me and the test results. But you're not going to buy into any of that nonsense are you? Surely you wouldn't give any credence to the enemy agent who attempted to assassinate your son?"

"Mullins will get what's coming to him," Adama said darkly. "I can assure you of that."

"I have no doubt," Baltar said. He held up both hands as if in prayer. "Let justice be done."

"Good night Doctor," the commander said. He turned and left the lab.

Baltar grinned smugly and returned to his chair. A half-dreaming, half-leering expression came over his face again. "Now then," he said, "where were we?"