Chapter 6
Whilst they waited for the FTL to be repaired, Kara and Sam caught up on all that had happened to them in the intervening time between Kara's two trips to Caprica. He told her of their successes and failures in their quest to destroy as many of the Cylon farms as possible. She told him about finding the tomb of Athena on Kobol, but also of the petty issues that had plagued the fleet in the past year: the insurrectionists, the black market, the exposure of Gaius Baltar as a Cylon collaborator and the hard fought presidential election which Laura Roslin had narrowly won over Tom Zarek. It all seemed so pathetic and sordid in comparison with the purity of the resistance's noble quest. But what was past was past and, as Sam pointed out to her, what they needed to focus on now was getting back to the fleet.
Kara took Sam to the hanger deck to show him her viper. She was surprised to see Joe the deckhand working diligently at the back of the plane, sorting out the charred remains of the starboard engine. He looked so young and innocent that she wondered what he could have possibly done to get himself banged up with some of the miscreants that were on the Astral Queen. She called to him and he immediately jumped up like a frightened rabbit when he heard her voice.
"Starbuck…I...I...er... hope you don't mind me trying some repairs."
"Only if you know something about the mechanics of a viper."
"I've never worked on a viper before, but it's just an engine, right? That's what I did in prison: worked in the mechanics shop. Gaffer said I had a natural talent."
"Well if you have a natural talent for mechanics you'd know that this is not just an engine: the viper mark VII is a thing of beauty." She ran an admiring hand over the sleek wing of the fighter. "Isn't she beautiful, Sam?"
"It's Apollo's plane," he pointed out, gesturing to the lettering below the cockpit.
"Yup, and I love them both, but of course he is a very close second!" she said with an evil smile. Sam just grinned back at her.
"I sure wish I could fly one like you, Starbuck," said Joe in a voice filled with awe. He gazed at her with what she realised was a severe case of hero worship. She looked at what he had done with the engine. Frankly, anything would be an improvement on how she had left the viper after that Cylon attack, but she didn't really trust anyone with her birds other than Tyrol and his crew. Still, needs must: if they could get the viper going then at least it was another defensive option if they ran into any toasters.
"Shall I try it?" she asked.
"Would you?" Joe replied, his voice filled with enthusiasm.
She climbed into the cockpit, winked at Sam and started the engines. After a few experimental coughs they roared into life. She checked all the settings: everything registered normal, which was definitely not how it had been when she landed.
"Frak me, Joe, you're a genius. Do you want a new job when we get back to the fleet? The chief on Galactica would love to have someone with your skills."
"Do you really think so, Starbuck?"
"Of course. Let me know and I'll put in a good word for you with chief Tyrol, but a word of advice: never say to him that it's 'just an engine' OK!"
Realising that her viper was in good hands, she and Sam went to join up with the rest of his guys in the Astral Queen's exercise area. Joe may have had a case of hero worship for Kara in the hanger bay, but here the three remaining members of the Caprican Buccaneers who had been amongst those rescued were regarded as kings. Their biggest fan, Stan Smith, had organised a few of the men to help build a pyramid court in the hope of seeing his heroes in action once again. They were just putting the finishing touches to it when Sam and Kara arrived.
Kara grabbed a ball and put it in the centre circle with intent. She stripped off her sweatshirt and sent a challenging look to Anders.
"Let's see whether you've still got it, tough guy." Sam looked at her, a frown of worry creasing his face.
"You know how rough this game can be. Do you think you should, Kara? In your condition and all." She raised her eyebrows at him.
"What are you, my mother? I'm fine," she said, frustration creeping into her voice.
"OK, but take it easy."
"I'm playing against you. What could be easier?" A grin started to spread across her face. "Not afraid that you'll get beaten by a girl again are you?"
"Why you little…."
He lunged towards the ball and they started to play. If either of them was remembering what had happened between them after the last time that they had played pyramid then it wasn't obvious to the others in the way they played. If Sam's hand occasionally lingered longer than necessary on Starbuck's body they just put it down to a desire to prevent her from getting hurt. Eventually the others joined in the game, with many of the inhabitants of the Astral Queen gathering to cheer from the sidelines.
Tom Zarek had wandered in early on in the game and was watching the interaction between Starbuck and Anders with interest. He remembered her comment about the dog tag and was intrigued by their relationship. He noticed that she now had both dog tags back on her chain. It was obvious that they had had some sort of relationship before. He also thought that there was still the desire there for more, on one side at least. As the game became more rowdy Kara sensibly stepped out and came to stand by Zarek.
"This is really good for the men, lieutenant. I'm glad that you persuaded me to go ahead with the rescue. It will also be good if we can get something more formal going when we get back to the fleet. A good colonial sport; a sign of normality."
"Except there's only half a team, Zarek. Hardly the basis for an exciting championship." He ignored her sarcasm.
"Your friend seems very pleased to see you." She pretended not to notice his pointed reference to one particular person.
"Course they would be: we've rescued them from almost certain death at the hands of the Cylons." He regarded her solemnly.
"He's in love with you, Kara." She flushed.
"You don't know what you're talking about, Zarek. And don't call me Kara. It's Starbuck or lieutenant to you."
"I'm just saying that you ought to make a choice and let him know." She held up her ring finger.
"I made my choice a long time ago, Zarek, and Sam knows that. " She relented slightly, not really wanting to acknowledge the fact that Zarek had read the situation so clearly, but wanting to stop any further speculation on his part. "He's just taking some time to adjust to it."
"You're not exactly helping." He nodded towards the pyramid court. She huffed.
"Look, you have no right to judge me. He's a friend and I…I just really need a friend right now."
Their discussion was halted by a call from the command centre that the repairs to the FTL were finished. Kara and Zarek left the pyramid players to it and headed for command. When they reached it they found the crew preparing to jump to the original co-ordinates where they hoped to find the fleet. With the jump preparations completed everyone braced themselves. There was a perceptible tension in the room as everyone wondered whether the FTL would be working correctly and whether the fleet would still be there at the end of the jump.
As soon as the jump was completed Zarek ordered a scan of the system.
"Nothing, Tom," replied his chief pilot. "The co-ordinates are correct this time but the fleet's not there."
"Damn it!"
"Scan the area for anything: wreckage, bits of waste, anything that might give us a clue to where they've gone. Get anything you find on board." Kara ordered. The pilot looked to Zarek for confirmation and he nodded.
−
Kara was pacing the hanger deck waiting for the shuttle to return. She couldn't believe that the fleet would have left without leaving them some sort of clue as to where they had gone: no, scratch that, she couldn't believe Lee would have left without leaving behind some message for her. Unless he was still mad at her. She didn't want to think too hard about that possibility.
"Kara would you slow down and quit pacing. You're driving me nuts." Sam complained.
"There has to be something, Sam. There just has to be. He….he wouldn't just leave me."
She practically dived through the hatch of the shuttle before it had properly docked. They had picked up half a dozen bits of space debris. She scanned the junk quickly then bent to pick up a familiar looking piece of metal. She turned it over and a smile spread across her face: she knew Lee wouldn't let her down. She stood smiling goofily as she clutched a piece of a mark II viper with "Lt Kara Thrace: Starbuck" painted on the side. It was plain as day that this was her husband's message to her.
−
Two hours later Kara was ready to throw the stupid piece of metal out of the airlock. She and Sam had been over every single inch of it. There was no hidden message, no map scratched into the metal, nothing except one tiny mark in the middle of her name, and that could easily have been previous damage. She knew that Lee would have had to be careful in case the debris fell into Cylon hands but did he have to be this subtle?
"Gods, I didn't think my husband had it in him to be this obscure. Textbook obvious is more his style."
"Give the guy a break, Kara. He couldn't just leave you a map with an X marking the spot could he?" replied Sam.
She grinned at him, but then her eyes went wide as an idea struck her. "Frak me, Sam; you're a genius!" She picked up the piece of viper and sprinted towards command with Sam struggling to keep up with her. As soon as she got there she accosted the man in charge of navigation.
"Briggs, can you make a scan of the outline of this and then run it against the nav files?"
"Sure Starbuck."
She stood bouncing up and down and chewing her thumb for a few anxious minutes.
"Well I'll be…..the shape corresponds exactly with the deltaron nebula."
"Ha! I knew it! Gods I love you Lee Adama. Plot a jump as close to where that mark is as you can get."
Zarek had come up to see what all the commotion was.
"Are you sure about this Starbuck?"
"As sure as I can be. And what's there to loose?"
"Alright. Let's do the jump."
−
The jump completed, again they all waited nervously for the report.
"No fleet, Tom but there is a large ship."
"Frak! A basestar?" asked Kara.
"I'm not sure."
"Well make sure and someone get plotting an emergency jump to get us out of here," she demanded.
"The large ship is hailing us, Tom. They're asking for id." Zarek's eyebrow rose at this request and he shared a look with Kara.
"Send them our colonial id codes and put them on speaker."
"Colonial vessel, colonial vessel. This is the battlestar Pegasus. We have authenticated your recognition codes. Confirm your id." There was a collective gasp around the command centre. Only Zarek seemed unperturbed.
"This is the Astral Queen, Pegasus, and you need to confirm your id to us."
"Their codes are genuine, Tom," someone confirmed for him
"We have confirmation Pegasus." Then a different voice came over the speaker: a female voice.
"Astral Queen. This is Pegasus actual. It's good to meet up with a friendly ship for once." Zarek nodded at Kara,
"Ah, Pegasus actual, this is Lieutenant Kara Thrace, call sign Starbuck, of the battlestar Galactica, but currently with the Astral Queen. You can't know how glad we are to find you."
"I'm sure you are lieutenant. Please report to me on Pegasus ASAP for a de-briefing. Pegasus out."
"Frak me, the Pegasus. I thought all the battlestars were gone. I wonder how they come to be here exactly where we thought the fleet would be." She turned to Zarek. "I'll take the viper over." He looked unhappy and was about to say something when she forestalled him. "No, Zarek, let me go first and see how the land lies. It's a military vessel and I'm military."
"It could still be a trap, Starbuck."
"Relax! Not even the Cylons can conjure up an entire battlestar."
"Just be careful."
"Hey, it's me!" she replied with a trademark smirk and skipped out of the command centre.
"That's what's making me nervous," he muttered under his breath.
−
