Ch 10
They spent the next day, talking, laughing and making love over and over. Lee delighted her by cooking her a glorious meal that she stuffed herself on. Late in the night Lauren returned to her dorm and walked through the minefield of questions Susanna threw at her. She'd thought of a lengthy scenario to provide Susanna with on the way back to the base and she used most of it in a convincing manner. Susanna thought that Lauren had ended up spending the night with an old boyfriend of hers so she ribbed Lauren constantly about hooking up with a 'farm boy'. Lauren returned the playful kidding and teased Susanna about trying to find a local farm boy of her very own.
The next several days Lee and Lauren spent every free moment they could together and had several close calls with CO's and other VIPs passing dangerously close to them as they snuck a kiss or a cuddle. When the time came for the pilots in the class to demonstrate that they'd learned the procedures and tricks Lee had been teaching them, they headed out to the landing strip where six of the newest Mark VII Vipers waited. The fleet had been phasing in the Mark VII models for several months and trying to phase out the older models at the same time. Aerelon had just received a squadron worth of the Mark VIIs and this was part of them.
When Lauren finally had a chance to get her hands on one of them she was pleasantly surprised by the ease it maneuvered with. She'd been grounded for several months while she worked on Scorpion Ship Yards and the flight made her spirit soar. She pulled off several tricks she'd been saving up from when she was on Saggitaron with Kara. In fact Kara was the one that had taught her the moves and she'd been waiting to try them on someone who wasn't expecting them. The other pilot she was up against was good, but not as good as she was, and after a lengthy dogfight she ended up with a missile lock on him that he couldn't shake.
When they landed he congratulated her on the 'kill' and she praised his flying as well. Lee motioned her over and told her that her flying was quite unorthodox and asked her where she'd learned moves like that. Since she was in the presence of other pilots she made a point of using Kara's full name and rank. Lee looked surprised but nodded his head, knowing full well exactly what a hotshot Kara was. Lauren was put up against several other of the pilots and she was only 'shot down' twice which impressed Lee.
Susanna was full of questions for Lauren after the class about where she'd learned those maneuvers and she wondered aloud if she could find Kara to teach her some as well. The next few days they spent in the same manner and the rest of the class soon matched skills with each other so as a whole they were equal. There were a few surprises when one pilot or another would pull of a stunt that the others didn't see coming but for the most part they all blended quite well.
The three weeks of the class flew by faster than either Lauren or Lee wanted and suddenly they had no time left. Lauren was due back at Scorpion and Lee needed to return to Caprica. As usual, they promised to call each other as often as possible and they even made plans for meeting up during the coming holidays.
The day came that they needed to go their separate ways and Lauren could barely keep herself from crying when the reality hit her. She passed it off to Susanna as being sad because she was leaving her friends once more. Susanna, who had actually become really friendly with one of the locals, was just as sad to leave but she was requesting a transfer to this base and the base commander was receptive to the idea. She was hoping to be able to be back on planet within the month and Lauren wished her luck. They promised to keep in touch with each other and went their separate ways.
Lauren managed to get away for a while before her transport left to spend time with Lee. They had a nice meal together and walked along the park lined streets of the town no longer caring if they were seen. The sadness of their parting was tugging at both of them and they tried desperately to hide it from each other. They circled their way back to the transport station so Lauren could catch her transport and Lee left her with a passionate kiss and a promise to talk to her as soon as he returned to Caprica. She spent her flight back staring at the picture of him she kept with her all the time and she made up her mind to find a way to be transferred to Caprica as soon as she could.