Chapter 80

Bridge of the Galactica

As Apollo stepped onto the bridge of the Galactica he was welcomed with open arms by the crew. His eyes settled on Adama standing on the commander's platform overlooking the bridge. He made his way to the elevated circle to greet his father. He stepped up and was soon face-to-face with Adama.

"Father." he could not help but grin.

"You are alive." he chocked. His hand landed on his shoulder. He felt real and then pulled in closer in an embrace. He noticed a lack of scent.

"I'm on Earth, Father." he assured him. "I'm a hologram. The Peacekeeper is doing it. I can only be here a short time but I will do everything I can to help you get to Earth." He then turned, "These are my friends from Earth." He motioned towards Steve and the crew of Airwolf. "They are all pilots. They volunteered to come here and help defend the Galactica."

Adama looked at the small group. He stated overwhelmed, "I am indebted to all of you." He wanted to ask what was Earth was like but needed to remain on top of his command and responsibilities.

Colonel Tigh couldn't help but ask, "What is Earth like, Apollo?"

He laughed, "It's great! It's this beautiful little blue planet with lots of water and land. There are cities, houses, schools…just like home. They are welcoming people. They are our brothers and sisters." He then motioned towards his friends. "They are even willing to come here to the Galactica to help us."

Colonel Tigh looked upon the group and remarked, "The Thirteenth Colony was legendary for their independents. Welcome aboard the Galactica."

Sam once again spoke her mind aloud, "Just hope we don't fuck this up."

Colonel Tigh asked, "What does word mean. Fuck?" He gathered it was some kind of slang from Earth.

Apollo blushed, "We say Frack. They say…something worse."

Starbuck gasped, "Fuck is worse than frack?"

He blushed, "Yes! It is! It kind of means the same. She met to say she hopes they don't mess up. The word is a curse word that is also applied in a sexual context. It means intercourse."

Starbuck smirked, "I think I might like Earth after all."

Apollo slowly nodded as he confessed, "You would fit right in." He turned his attention to Adama, "The Peacekeepers need time to get familiar with the Vipers. They will give another squadron."

He agreed, "Very well."

Short Time Later

Stringfellow Hawke slid down in the cockpit of the Viper after a quick orientation. He felt like he was in a dream and wondered if maybe it was dream after all for he knew his body was back on Earth sleeping in a warm bed next to Caitlin. Yet, his mind was far away on a deep space vessel attempting to learn how to pilot a fighter craft designed for space.

He looked upon the helmet that he held in his hands. He pondered to himself, "Now I wonder if there were aliens in Ancient Egypt." He placed the odd shaped helmet on his head. He found the a heads up display much like what he was accustom to on Earth was before his eyes. "Targeting." he gathered. He opened a communications link to her friends. "You in Dom?"

Dominic Santini was also getting used to the new equipment. "I'm in, String. Not sure I will ever get use to this helmet though."

String agreed, "I know the feeling."

Caitlin's voice was heard next as she readied herself in yet another Viper. "The helmet reminds me of a head dress from Ancient Egypt." she spoke.

"Me too, Cait." String agreed.

Steve then spoke, "I'm in too." He then had to agree, "The helmet is weird."

Starbuck and Apollo were both listening into the conversation as they also readied for the flight. Starbuck stated, "Sam mentioned something about a place called 'Egypt' when she took her first test run."

Apollo explained, "It's the ruins of an ancient civilization on Earth. They made stone pyramids like you find back home, Starbuck. I think the 13th colony must have influenced it. It's a bit of a mystery to those descendents on Earth…And a tourist site. I actually want to go see it myself."

Starbuck stated, "When we get to Earth we can go see this Egypt place, Apollo."

"I'll hold you to it." Apollo stated.

Sam decided to stay back on the Galactica as she already had the flight training and didn't want to take away any needed instructions from her family. She looked over the operation from cat walk as the crews readied the vipers and pilots.

Lieutenant Boomer stood by and asked, "You are not going with them, Peacekeeper Sam?"

She shook her head, "Starbuck already trained me. I will only take up space and time and Starbuck really needs to show them the ropes."

Boomer leaned against the railing and watched below as spoke his thoughts. "I couldn't believe it when Apollo walked right into the bay like that with Starbuck. It was just like old times. Those two were instrumental in keeping the Cylons at bay. It's good to have Apollo back. Even if he's a hologram and can't stay."

"He's waiting for you guys on Earth." she assured.

"Question is…" he let out a sigh, "can we get there before the Cylons?"

"I hope so." she agreed concerned. "What can you tell me about the Cylons. I really should debrief our leaders so they can prepare for you guys and if the Clyons do show up we can mount a defense."

"I think Adama is the man you need to speak to." Boomer stated.

The pair then watched as the first Viper launched followed by the rest.

Sam gave a small smile to Boomer, "I guess I should go see Adama now."

He offered, "I'll walk you."

Meanwhile

Stringfellow Hawke got the hang of the viper with relative ease along with Dom. Caitlin had a bit more trouble as she never flew a fighter craft other than Airwolf before.

Caitlin stated, "This is a little different than Airwolf."

Dom assured, "Just like a modern fighter jet, Cait. You'll get the hang of it."

String had to agree, "This is a lot like our fighter jets."

Apollo felt as if he was back in his old Viper once more. He stated, "Just don't over react, Cait. The controls are sensitive."

"I think I got it." she stated. She found she seemed to be getting better at piloting as she continued.

String stated, "Let the nanites assist you, Cait. Remember, we're holograms. It's all computer controlled. We are in a virtual reality…except we are the computer simulation and not the other way around. Let the nanites help." he advised.

Dom cheered, "This is a video game only in reverse. Instead of everything around us being a computer simulation and we having a controller, we are the controllers and the computer…kind of." He then reached for a better comparison, "We are like those drone pilots in Sam's time. They can fly a drone across the planet right there from an office."

String agreed, "Kind of like that, Dom."

Caitlin understood and stated, "But we are the remote control."

"Exactly!" Dom cheered. "And best of all…I'm still home on Earth and can get up in the morning and run my business."

"But my father owns half the business now, Dom." he remarked.

Dom agreed, "It's nice having John back, String. Just sometimes…we don't always agree on what jobs to take and Airwolf."

String asked alarmed, "What about Airwolf?"

"You dad thinks Caitlin should stay behind he should be flying with us." he explained.

Caitlin gasped, "What!?"

"John thinks you should not be flying Airwolf." Dom confessed. "He and Maggie expect you and String to get married and have kids and so, he doesn't think you should be flying missions if you are going to get pregnant."

"Son of…" she miffed upset.

"I'll have a talk with my parents." String soothed.

She huffed, "They already got me pregnant."

Dom mentioned, "They even got a list of baby names started too."

Caitlin huffed, "String!"

"I will take care of it." he promised.

"Un real…" she complained.

Starbuck mentioned amused. "Sounds like your in laws are already in that grand child phase."

Caitlin huffed, "We're not married yet!"

He found the situation amusing. "You know what they say. Marriage is between a man, a woman and the in-laws."

Caitlin huffed, "Not for Sam's generation."

Apollo stated, "Let's focus on the training run. We need to get the Vipers back before we wake up or the Galactica will have four Viper free floating around her."

"Right," String agreed. "Let's start the training exercise."

Earth - Morning

The alarm clock rang one more and once again Sam threw it against the wall. She forced herself up and wondered if it was just a dream. The only way she could verify that they had remotely gone to the Galactica was to see if anyone else recalled the events. She wandered out of the bedroom and found Dom emerging as well.

He rubbed his face, "Boy! I don't how you do that, Sam. All night on the Galactica and then all day here. I feel whopped."

She grinned, "You remember too!"

"Oh yeah!" he grinned. "I remember flying that Viper and meeting Starbuck and Boomer and the Commander. It was just like you said." He then led her to the break area to make some coffee and breakfast.

"Nice to have the confirmation." she told him. "I always wake up wondering if it was just a dream."

"I know the feeling." he agreed. "I wondered that myself."

Sam sat down on a chair and pondered, "What do you think will happen once the Galactica and the fleet arrives here?"

"I have no idea." he confessed. "The survivors will have to blend in with the population I suppose. I don't see the government letting everyone know we made contact."

"Why?" she asked.

He figured, "A deep space battle vessel and a race of machine that want to kill off any humans. That's black budget level stuff. I imagine they will want to take control of the Galactica and start our own secret space program."

"And circumvent us." she figured.

"Probably." he had to agreed. "Pancakes, Sam?" he asked holding up a box of mix.

"Sure." she nodded as the thought of the implications. "We need to bring in Archangel, Knight Industries, Winchesters and let them know what is coming. In about 5 days the Galactica and the fleet will reach Earth. We need to be ready for that."

"Should bring in Ralph too since he had the red suit the other aliens gave him." he suggested.

"You're right." she agreed. She then gave a grin, "So my grandparents are pushing for grandkids from Aunt Cait and Uncle String."

He laughed "And how. Maggie's got that grandbaby bug bad."

She giggled, "Babies are fun when they don't belong to you."

Dom suggested, "Maybe someday you will find Mr. Right and get married and have kids."

She shook her head, "I doubt it."

He asked, "Why do you say that, kid?" He mixed the batter and started the hot griddle. "Hey, get the syrup out and some bacon."

She rose to her feet and went to the fridge to retrieve the items. She explained, "I just don't see me married with kids. I mean, can you really see me married and having kids? Especially after this Pandora's box I opened up with that engine." She placed the syrup on the table and handed him the bacon.

As Dom cooked he stated, "Sure I can see you getting married and having your own family, kid. Question is…where will he be from? The future? The past? Outer space?"

"Maybe my soul mate is an alien from Mars." she kidded.

Long as he's not a lizard." Dom suggested.

"Willie seemed nice though." she countered.

"Still…no lizard people." he shivered.