Standing in front of the Admiral's office door, Lauren straightened her jacket and ran her hand over her hair to make sure it was smoothed down. When she knocked the Admiral answered immediately and she walked in, a big grin on her face as she saw the large man behind his big oak desk. He'd aged a bit since she'd last seen him, a bit more grey at his temples but he was hale and hearty.

"Lieutenant Baker! So wonderful to have you back again. Please come in and have a seat, Can I offer you anything to drink?" He rose over his desk and shook her hand.

"No sir, thank you. I appreciate the room, I feel like visiting royalty."

The Admiral's deep rumbling laugh made her feel at home again. He was always made her feel like she was at home with her father in front of a roaring fire after a hard days work. She'd grown up on Aerelon, the daughter of a farmer and a housewife. Their farm was small but prosperous and Lauren loved her life there. Her family was close and loving and she couldn't have asked for a better one.

"Well you know I appreciate the work you do for me so it was the least I could do. Plus the strikers are in the process of being relocated so I don't really have a decent working dorm available for you. I should in the next day or two so you won't have to hike so far to get to work. So I hear from Sebastian that I rescued you from a certain suicide."

"Yes sir, I think that's about the idea." Her grin was genuine and it showed. "You know the rep that Colonel Tinasso has, well it's quite well founded. I can't tell you how thankful I am. So what's the situation here? Boithos gave me some of the details but I want to know the real dirt."

"Well I'll tell you what, I'm starving and I'm sure you're a bit late for eating as well so how about you join me for dinner and we'll catch up."

"I'd be honored sir."

The admiral chuckled and rose to hold his arm for her. When she'd settled herself on his arm he led her out of the office and down the hall to the main reception area where he advised Boithos that he would be out of the office for the rest of the night. Boithos smiled at them and nodded, wishing them both a good evening. The walked down the staircase to the lower level where there was a promenade of shops and restaurants for the personnel to use. Admiral Gataki steered her towards a finer steakhouse at the far end and seated her on a bench as he spoke with the maitre d'. When he was done he came and sat next to her and asked her how she'd been doing since he'd let her go to Caprica.

"Oh fine. I really can't thank you enough for the transfer. Lee was shocked when I showed up on his doorstep. You should have seen the look on his face! So I've been a homebody for the past year and a half and loving every second of it." She smiled at him and silently thanked him for the immense favor he'd given her with that transfer. "So did you know I was getting transferred off of Caprica or was that just an immense stroke of luck?"

The Maitre D' motioned for them that their table was ready and they walked behind him. When they were seated and the Admiral had ordered a light wine for them he addressed her question. "Actually I'd been trying to get you back to Scorpion for a while. When we started losing people to the strikes I started calling in all the help I could get. I had gotten in touch with Caprica and they told me you were already on your way to Picon so I got on the horn to Tinasso and told him that I needed you more."

Lauren smiled over the top of her glass, "I bet he didn't like that too much did he?"

"Well I'm sure that you already know the answer to that. Of course he didn't like it but you know how an old man like me delights in putting the young whippersnappers in their place."

"Oh now, you're not old Admiral."

"Tell that to my daughter who's pregnant with my first grand child."

"Really? Sarah's pregnant? That's wonderful! I bet her mother is about to burst with excitement."

Gataki laughed, "Yes, Rose is beside herself. If she spends any more time in the Promenade I'll owe them every cubit I make for the next thirty years."

They spent the rest of the meal, chatting about the time that had passed and the situation of the strike. When they'd finished, the Admiral bid her goodnight and left her to find her own way back to her room. She settled down on the bed to rest and think about the day she'd had and soon she was fast asleep.

The next day she began her cycles of work for the Admiral. She needed no reminder of exactly what she was expected to do. Soon the routine was back and Lauren felt as if she were at home, even remembering some of the faces she'd worked with before. So the days began to fly past and she hardly noticed.

Another explosion thundered through the station, more dust fell and suddenly the hall was filled with a cloud of smoke. She coughed a bit and covered her nose with her sleeve, trying to breathe shallow as she twisted her way down the hall, avoiding those that actually had places to be. Suddenly she thought about Thena, her bunk mate. She hadn't been in their quarters and Lauren wondered where she was. She racked her brain as she ran, stumbling over chunks of ceiling tile that had fallen from the vibrations of the explosions. She remembered that Thena was still on duty tonight so she'd be on the Battlestar already. Good, at lease she was safe.

Lauren made her way to the lift, which was surprisingly still working and she punched the flight deck button and held on. She felt the metal box she was in slow a few times as the power fluctuated but she made it to the deck, no worse for wear. The Pegasus had been in dock for three days now and Lauren was surprised to see some of her skeleton crew still milling around, looking confused. Realizing that no one was doing anything to get the Vipers in the air to defend the ship she started yelling orders.

"You there! Get that ladder over to that ship. Chief! Has anyone seen the deck chief?"

Chaos took a turn and people snapped out of their shock and got to work. Lauren was moving a Viper towards the mag cat when the pressure in the room changed dramatically, making several people grab their heads in pain. That meant the ship was being sealed off from the base and the pressure was stabilizing on the ship. Lauren wondered what was happening but as long as she heard the turbo lasers thrumming away over her she felt safer.

A static mauled voice came over the speakers in the deck and advised everyone that they were preparing to jump to safety. Suddenly the deck hushed as they realized the FTL drives were spinning up and exactly what that would mean to them. If they were under attack and the CO of the ship was jumping them when they were still locked in the docking clamps they could take half of the station with them. Lauren's jaw dropped and she bolted for the comm to get a hold of anyone on the bridge that would listen to reason.