Comfort is not an easy thing to come by.

That was the thought in Kara's head as she pushed the blankets off of her body. She had been lying in her bunk for over an hour now, but sleep wasn't a simple thing to find. At some point, she had gotten used to having that pesky son of a bitch in her bed, and now it seemed like she couldn't get a break without Lee there.

The frakker was late.

Lee was supposed to have finished whatever bitch task Cain assigned him to ages ago. Kara had checked the schedule to be sure. It wasn't that she missed him, she told herself. Things just seemed easier when he was around. Plus, he had her worried. Lee had never been late before.

Kara was just about to get out of bed to start searching for him when she heard the curtain pull back and a finger lightly traced her ankle. "About time, flyboy," she said, twisting to smile at him.

Even before her eyes met those of Hammer's, he had tightened his hold on her and wrenched her from the bunk. Her body hit the floor with an unforgiving smack, and she got the a feeling she would barely be able to move, let alone walk, in the morning.

"Looks like the Captain is a little late tonight," Hammer taunted. "Perhaps one of us could be of service until he shows up."

Kara sat up off the floor as she realized that most of her squad was present and currently watching her. "Is there a show that no one told me about?"

Another man stepped forward. "Yeah, this show's been put off for a while on account of you settling in. We're not barbarians, Thrace, but we're not saints. It's high time we figure out what Adama's been having that tastes so good."

Logan Travers. He was her wingman. Frak, she had thought he was one of the decent ones. Kara tried to push the pain away as she struggled to her feet. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, guys, but no one's tasting anything tonight."

"What are you going to do, little girl?" Hammer asked. He stepped forward so quickly she couldn't even brace herself for the impact as he backhanded her.

Kara held in her groan and glared back at him. She had taken punches that were lot worse. "You hit like a girl."

"Is that meant to piss me off?"

"No, it was a warning, but you didn't let me finish."

"I'm sorry," Hammer apologized, glancing over his shoulders to roll his eyes at his companions. "Please continue."

"You hit like a girl, Hammer, but I'm sorry to inform you I don't." She balled her fist and let loose, connecting squarely with his jaw. When Hammer looked back at her, she could see his eyes welling up with tears. "That smarts, doesn't it?"

Hammer spit out a mouthful of blood. Then a smile danced across his face. "Those fists of yours can't take on all of us."

"But won't it be fun to try?" Kara couldn't help but laugh. It was the only way to hold back the tears. She had known this day was coming, but she never thought it would be the whole squadron. A tiny voice in the back of her head whispered that she probably wouldn't make it through this one alive. A louder voice told her that she probably didn't want to.

"You misunderstand Hammer," one of the other pilots explained. "We know you're going to try, Thrace."

Hammer reached out to run a finger along her cheek. It took all of Kara's will not to shrink away from his touch. "That's the kind of girl you are, Kara."

"Do not touch me," she growled.

Hammer put his hands in the air and took a step back. "There you go again. All I was pointing out was your hands are probably going to break a lot quicker than your spirit will." He winked. "That is what's going to make this so exciting. Old wounds never really go away, do they, Starbuck?"

Kara automatically tucked her hands behind her back and gave him an inquisitive look. If he kept talking, maybe she would have time to figure out her options, and maybe if she kept goading him, he wouldn't tell her how he knew about the breaks in her hands that made her cramp up most nights.

Hammer was right on one count. She couldn't take on all of them, at least in a brawl. She was going to have to get creative. "You think I'm not excited at the prospect of being able to kick all of your fraking asses?"

Hammer didn't take the bait, choosing instead to leer at her. It was Taylor who stepped forward to continue the explanation of why she was bound to fail at protecting herself.

"I bet you didn't know you had such comprehensive med files on this ship. They go all the way back to childhood, Lieutenant. Yours was an extremely interesting read. My particular favorite was the reason for that rather nasty scar on your abdomen, but as you can tell, Hammer was rather taken with the state of your hands. Either way, Admiral Cain was wise to let the squadron know what a loose cannon we were getting on Pegasus."

His words were met by snickering from the rest of the squadron, and Kara felt her face go white. Her childhood and what she went through on that Cylon farm was no one's business but her own. Cain and her men had no right to dig into the past.

She tried to ignore what Taylor was implying. He obviously just wanted her to get emotional so they could move in for the kill, and that was just unacceptable. "Let's back up a moment and focus on the fact that I'm important enough to warrant a visit by the CAG," Kara joked. "I feel so honored."

"It's the CAG's privilege to welcome you to the squadron."

"So I hear." Kara pulled her hands out from behind her back and cracked her knuckles. "All right. I think that's enough build-up to the main event. Which one of you won first crack at me?"

The lucky pilot moved to grab at her, and Kara shoved his face into the bunk ladder. She heard something crack and probably would have celebrated her small victory if two more men weren't already trying to grab her.

Kara had fought for her life many times growing up, but it honestly had never felt like this. Her mother had aimed hateful words at her every time she made even the slightest mistake. She had had her bones broken time and time again, and the pain got to be familiar. Nothing that was happening to her right now had anything to do with her childhood. Her mother had hurt her and caused her more pain than imaginable, but Kara had never felt violated. She wasn't as scared right now as when she was little, but still she found herself fighting for her life with the same determination.

The second man who tried to touch her ended up with a broken hand and leg before Kara threw him to the side. She took out a third pilot before the others could even react. It seemed like they weren't used to having their targets fight back.

The pilots' anger rose as they realized this wasn't going to be as easy as they thought. She could feel it in each blow they threw.

Kara heard something crack as another punch connected with the side of her head. Her vision went blurry, and Kara could feel someone's hands on her. She lashed out blindly and ended up pushed against the ladder behind her. Even as her body refused to quit, her mind wondered why she was fighting back at all. She had known from the second she started fighting them that she would lose. She couldn't hold off eleven men in peak military shape. She knew how this was going to end, and as much as it scared here, she just wanted it to be over. She had gone through a lot of pain. Dealing with the fallout was easier each time she had to do it. She just needed it to be over.

A pilot took a lucky shot at her weak knee, and Kara felt it give way. Her body hit the ground like a brick. For a second, she wondered if she would ever get up again. Then, someone's hands were hauling her to her feet.

Everything around her seemed hazy. She could feel the fists hitting her body, but she just couldn't focus. This all seemed too familiar. Her mother had always picked her up after their fights. She would stand her up and say 'You know you deserved that, Kara'. Then she would look at her mother and nod every time. Of course I deserved it.

"I deserve this," she whispered, finally giving up the fight. She just wanted this to end before it was too late and Lee…

"Oh gods," she moaned as Siren took the opportunity to punch her hard in the gut. She doubled over in what she guessed was pain. She wasn't really sure. Everything was blending together, and all she could do was scold herself for being so stupid. She hadn't thought about Lee. The pain of what was about to happen wouldn't disappear if Lee knew. He would blame himself for whatever they did, and she couldn't forget causing someone that much agony.

Someone grabbed Kara from behind and held her tight. She twisted her body so she could look into the eyes of the man holding her, and a strange sense of relief washed over her. "I don't want Lee to see this."

Logan looked down into the pleading eyes of his wingman, and Kara could tell she hadn't been totally wrong about him. He was lost just like the rest of them. After a moment, he gave her a small nod, "I promise. He won't even know."

Kara gave him a small smile before Hammer broke up their interlude by grabbing her wrists and twisting to slam her body down onto the table in the middle of the bunkroom.

She still struggled. It was in her blood to fight. However, there was a noticeable change. Her blows went wide, hitting dead air as the pilots easily evaded. Her heart wasn't in the fight anymore. She felt someone's hand creep up underneath her tank. Her mother's voice echoed through her head again. You know you deserved that, Kara.

She couldn't tear her eyes from the hatchway. All that matter to her was the promise Logan had made. Her eyes welled up with tears as she saw him step away from the crowd of pilots. He was going to lock the hatch so Lee wouldn't see what was happening. He hadn't lied.

"I wouldn't do that, Travers," Taylor hissed, noticing where Kara's attention was directed. He stalked over to the hatch and pulled it back open. "We do not hide our disciplinary procedures. The point is for others to see so that we don't have to do this again."

"Unless we want to," Hammer added. Kara tried to hold back the disgust as he slid up onto the table. His legs straddled her waist, and he began unbuttoning his pants. "I'm afraid this is going to hurt, Lieutenant."

Kara shut her eyes as she felt Hammer's filthy hands untying her sweats. She tried to detach from the situation like she had been trained to do in Academy, and she was actually starting to feel hopeful that she could live through this when his scream cut through her peace.

"Get the frak off her before I kill you!" Lee tore into the room, not even hesitating a second. Rather than see it, Kara could feel his anger rip the man off of her. She pulled herself to her feet in time to see Taylor and another man dragging Lee off of Hammer. The fallen Viper pilot looked like he had been run over by a truck. She had never realized Lee was capable of destroying a man so quickly.

Kara was about to scream at Lee to calm down before he got hurt when someone barked out an order to move her to the brig until the situation was under control. Arms came around her body and picked her up from the table. Slimy hands held her from behind. Without thinking, she threw her head back and connected with her captor's face. Siren groaned but didn't loosen his grip on her.

"Get the frak off me," she hissed, flailing her whole body. Now that Lee had shown up, her mother's words had faded away. A second wind had given her a purpose again. She couldn't let them hurt Lee. He was just trying to protect her.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant," Siren whispered. She felt him lean in to sniff her hair, and a shiver ran up her spine. "You might outrank me in most matter, but I still have the authority to take you to hack when the CAG gives me an order."

"And shut the door," Taylor added, turning his attention away from Kara for the first time.

Kara kicked and scratched at Siren as he dragged her out the hatch. She could feel her nails cutting into his hands, and yet his grip did not loosen. "Lee! Let me go, you stupid mother frakker! Lee!"

Lee looked up for a moment when he heard her cries, and Kara immediately regretted screaming. Taylor took the opportunity given to him by her distraction to forcefully kick Lee in the side before punching him across the face. She saw Lee go down hard before the hatch slammed shut.

Not one person in the corridors questioned the sight of Siren dragging Kara, kicking and screaming, down three levels to the brig. They didn't even seem put off at the sight of her ripped tanks and untied sweats. This kind of thing was a common occurrence on Pegasus. Kara had to keep herself from throwing up.

The cold metal corridors burned her bare feet.