Admiral Bill Adama sat behind his desk and watched Kara Thrace walk out of the room. The captain's report about the events on the Pegasus had been her usual animated tale of idiots in authority and her own superiority in planning, with a healthy dose of cockpit exploits thrown in. Adama smiled to himself with exasperated affection. Instead of giving a report, Starbuck told a story weighted heavily with expletives and personal opinion, leaving the listener to make their own interpretation. He had gleaned a couple of key points from her latest report: the pilots on Pegasus were competent, Commander Garner had been a frakking idiot, and Apollo had taken command of the Pegasus, successfully attacked a base ship, and saved their collective lives.
He sighed. Apollo and Starbuck had a friendly rivalry, each trying to best the other. Kara was, expectedly, the more vocal about it. The fact that she had talked at length, with obvious admiration, about his son's actions spoke volumes. Maybe the decision he was toying with wasn't as crazy as he'd thought.
Sighing again, he settled back in his chair and stared at the desk, tossing scenarios around in his head. The Pegasus had had three commanding officers in the past few months – four, if he included Lee – and their first three had all died violently as a result of startling character flaws. True, Garner had died heroically, saving his ship, but it was his idiocy that had put the battlestar in danger to begin with.
He needed a commander that he could trust to make good decisions, manage people, and not bring overwhelming personal baggage to the position, and there was one name that he kept coming back to: Lee Adama. Granted, Lee was not likely to agree with all of his decisions without debate, but he had proven to be a strong leader as CAG, and had already proven himself as a strong tactician to the bridge crew of Pegasus. The fact that he had already won their respect should soften the cries of nepotism that would undoubtedly arise and pave the way for his success.
He smiled wryly. There was the added bonus that this course of action would kill two birds with one stone. It had become increasingly difficult to watch his son fly out on missions, not knowing each time if this would be the one he didn't come back from. The added danger of bearing the Admiral's name had also resulted in injuries, and he knew that this promotion would afford his son the increased protection that wasn't available at his current rank. The responsibilities would also keep him safely grounded on the battlestar instead of hopping around the fleet finding trouble. A brief image of the Pegasus exploding while he looked on helplessly from Galactica passed through his head, but he pushed it away impatiently.
He had fleetingly considered sending Tigh over to command the Pegasus and bringing Lee back to serve as Galactica's XO. The idea of having his son by his side every day was almost dizzying with its promise of closeness and safety. However, the pragmatist in him pointed out that, for the good of the fleet, Colonel Tigh was weaker of the two men and the right choice to have under his direct supervision. Saul was a good friend, but his stubbornness and love of alcohol had stalled his career. He wouldn't have survived under a different commander. Much as he sometimes hated it, the good of the fleet had to come before his personal feelings. He also considered sending his seasoned XO to Pegasus to serve under Lee, but discarded the idea quickly. He didn't want the XO's flaws and prejudices to interfere with Lee's fledgling command.
Starbuck was considered and rejected as a possible XO for similar reasons. Her open distain for authority – while it didn't often extend to Lee – could be disruptive, plus there was a strange distance between the two of them since the incident on Cloud Nine. He weighed the possible disruptions against the obvious fact that Lee and Kara complimented each other professionally, but all of these considerations were outweighed by the fact that Galactica would need a CAG, and he couldn't give up two of the best pilots in the fleet just because his emotions screamed for him to protect them. One, maybe, but not two. He laughed without humor. It grated on his nerves to see that when the line was drawn between his desires and the good of the fleet, only one of the people he considered family fell on the right side of it. He shook his head, sobering quickly. That wasn't fair to Lee. Granted, this promotion would come quickly on the heels of his son's promotion to Major, but there really wasn't a more qualified candidate for the position. This wasn't the sentimental choice of a father, Lee had earned it.
He considered other members of the Galactica's bridge crew for promotion or even lateral transfer to the Pegasus to provide support for the new commander. Gaeta and Dualla were the obvious standouts, but Gaeta was sorely needed by Galactica. His technical savvy and his occasional work with Dr. Baltar made it foolish to transfer him. As for Dee, if scuttlebutt could be believed, she was currently involved in a growing relationship with his son. He frowned and rubbed a hand across his brow. That was a relationship that he didn't want to know about. Regulations forbade it, yet Lee had seemed so much more relaxed over the last month that the Admiral found himself pretending not to hear the gossip. Now, if they were serving on two different ships, there would certainly be less of a conflict of interest or case for favoritism.
The Admiral sighed one final time as he was unable to pluck a viable candidate for transfer from his thoughts. Finally, he dismissed the issue. He had confidence in his son. Lee would just have to evaluate his crew and make his own decisions and recommendations.
There was a knock at the door, and he forced himself to remain behind the desk, fighting the impulse to meet his son at the door and pull him into a tight embrace. Their relationship had improved, but their family had never been an overtly affectionate one. He schooled his expression into neutrality, but couldn't quite extinguish the pride and love in his eyes.
Keeping his voice even, he called out, "Come in, Major."