DR: Thanks for all the reviews people! Reviews are nice...
Carter: ...But more would be better?
DR: Correct Carter, as ever. Now, time to put two sets of rampant speculation to rest... Oh, and the Viper-B is one of mine XD
Chapter 5: Return From the Dark
"Transferring control to Viper fighters..." Apollo sat in the familiar confines of his viper, listening to the launch controller Rigel as she once more prepared to send them out. The young woman had been the 'Voice' of Galactica to her fighters for yahrens now. Apollo had to wonder if she ever wished to move on from her post.
"…launch when ready."
Almost as soon as she said those three words, Apollo pressed down on his turbos, and the Viper leapt forwards. As he hurtled down the tube once more, Apollo felt the same adrenaline rush pour through him. Nothing beat this feeling of power!
All too quickly his fighter blasted from the mouth of the tube, closely followed by the other fighters of Blue Squadron from their own tubes. Cutting the turbos, Apollo rolled to the right into a long sweeping arc that took him around the bulk of both the Galactica and the Matriarch which had formed up alongside the Battlestar. Already the spars of the shipyard were unfurling, expanding out to form a cage to wrap around the battered battlestar. Once in place, the two ships would be slaved together so they remained in the same position relative to each other.
Apollo hoped that the crews of the Matriarch could restore the battlestar to her former glory. Galactica had been in many fights since her last spell in dock. And while a temporary mobile yard was not a fully equipped space dock, it was better than nothing.
As he flew back along the fleet, Apollo allowed his eyes to wander across each ship. Now that the two fleets had combined, the survivors were once again on the move, pushing onwards with their voyage. The work on the Galactica would slow the speed of the convoy, but it was needed. Even Apollo knew that. It had been a long hard road from the colonies, and every ship showed the marks of that trip. While ships didn't rust in space, at least not on the outside, wear and tear from space dust, micro-asteroids and other junk that floated through the depths did slowly erode away at ships hulls. Direct sunlight burnt away paint and markings, while the changes in temperature from light-side to dark-side could cause stress fractures to form.
Skimming past one of the Guardian's that now cruised on the edges of the fleet, Apollo couldn't help comparing them to Oviners marshalling their flock. Each lean ship idled along, maintaining a watchful eye on the fleet and the surrounding space. Apollo had seen Guardian's in action before, and he knew just how deadly they could be. While they could never stand up to a Basestar, or even a warship of note alone, they were death to any raiders that came too close.
Feeling indulgent, he dipped lower into the fleet to fly past the argo-ships. It felt good to say 'ships' once more. Everyone had been forced to tighten their belts when two of their three ships were lost. But this new heavy Argo ship replaced both the lost craft.
Brushing over the engine block of said ship, Apollo came face to face with Thunderchild. Seeing her from Galactica was one thing, but to fly alongside like this was something else entirely. Her lean prow and compact design gave her a menacing look, the four bow mounted beam lasers gleaming like teeth. As he flew over the sleek 'head', Apollo witnessed the bright blue plumes that rocketed from each landing bay, three each side. Just beyond Thunderchild the 'squadron' formed up.
"Blue Leader to Flare Leader, you reading me?"
"Loud and clear Blue Leader."
Apollo's mouth dropped. "ACHILLES? What are you doing out here?"
Over the comm Colonel Achilles laughed heartily. "Apollo, I haven't had a chance to fly a viper for almost a yahren now. With your father in command of the fleet now, I decided to exercise my right as a warrior and get some fight time in once more."
"Hey, you sure you remember how to fly?" Starbuck commented, his tone jovial.
"Starbuck, I WROTE the book on how to fly a Viper-B." And with that the lead Viper-B with its distinctive blue strips and gold trimmed canopy spun around its long axis.
Apollo shook he head as he pulled up alongside Achilles. From this range the changes to a normal viper were clear. The heavy plating that covered sections of the hull including the recessed regions of the engines and underneath the cockpit bulked out the ships design, and stood out with their darker colour.
But even more clearly seen were the Viper-B's weapons. The lasers had been replaced with much larger and far heavier turbolasers, originally warship grade models. They packed twice the punch of the viper's lasers, but did lose out on the rate of fire and energy use. To allow for combating raiders, a third, normal laser was built into the leading tip of the top fin, just over the canopy. Apollo couldn't see from this angle, but he knew the belly of the fighter had also been slightly altered, to increase the bomb bay that was squeezed between the two lower engines. A flight of six Viper-B's could kill a cruiser faster than a whole squadron of thirty-six normal vipers. No wonder they were also known as 'Viper bombers'.
They paid the price for all this extra armour and weapons with a lower top speed and decreased manoeuvrability. But nothing else that size could do so much damage.
"Apollo…" Achilles voice cut through his reflections. "…I'll take my flight to the back of our formation, so that your fighters screen me from view. If they are hostile, that will give us a few extra microns to get closer. You have command." And with that Achilles drew back, his six fighters forming up loosing behind Apollo's force.
Now as one, the thirty-six ships sped off towards the unknown ship that was approaching from the rear, the direction of the Colonies and Cylon space…
x x x x x x
Illa was in the Life Station, waiting for Dr Salik to return from his examination of her old wound. Her leg had been shattered on Caprica, and had needed extensive rebuilding. Over the last yahren the doctors on Thunderchild had been forced to repeatedly 'break' the bones to bring them back to their original lengths. She shivered as she recalled what the lead doctor had been forced to do and tell her when she arrived on the Thunderchild…
"Siress, I'm afraid the damage is extreme. I don't know if we can ever fully repair it. Fragments of bone have broken away and are buried within your muscles. I doubt that any more than forty-percent of the bones are still in the right place. I have to go in and clean out the wreckage, and then we can see about how to go from there…"
That had been almost a yahren ago, and still the treatments were on-going. It had been humiliating to be confined to a wheelchair, something that so rarely happened within the colonies now that it was almost unheard of. And yet… the faint hope that her family had survived, as well as Achilles treating her as he would have anyway, with respect and dignity, had helped. He had come to her for help when dealing with the people, and even though they had clashed on many topics, he had earned her respect.
Illa turned her head to look up at her daughters face. Athena had come down to the Life Station with her, eager to spend time with her mother once more. She sat on the chair besides the examination table that Illa lay on, one hand clasped in hers.
Right now the two of them had fallen silent, after spending over a centar talking about a whole range of topics, from food and warriors to home. But now Athena looked troubled. "What's the matter dear?" Illa asked gently, shaking Athena out of her funk.
"Oh, it's just… The Illuminati picked up a ship on its sensors. Father's sent Apollo out to check it out."
Illa sighed as she let her head fall back. She had known that this went on all the time while her family had been away serving the Colonial Military, but actually being here was causing her heart to race in worry. 'He's a grown man Illa. Apollo can take care of himself better than most.'
"So, let's talk about your brother. I heard what happened to his wife…"
"Serina? Yes, it was horrible. She looked so pretty when they were sealed…" Athena sighed. "I trained alongside her for the vipers when we nearly lost the whole of Blue Squadron to a virus. Only Apollo and Starbuck were unaffected." Illa nodded, motioning her to continue.
"Even then she looked like she had walked out of a fashion article. I actually… got a little jealous of her. She made that uniform look hot. Always had perfect nails and skin, even after several centares in the sims…" Illa smirked as she looked at her beautiful brunette daughter.
"Athena darling, you have no reason to feel jealous. You too look wonderful…" Athena blushed once more, her eyes sparkling.
"Oh… hi Athena." Both women turned to face the person who spoke. Illa's eye wandered over the short blond haired women who stood before her. Dressed in the standard tan uniform of a med tech complete with mid-length skirt, she saw a slim figure with a bright expression.
"Hello Cassie." Athena replied, her greeting not quite as warm as it could have been. Illa looked at her strangely.
"So… you must be Illa, Adama's wife."
"Yes, and you are?"
"Oh, mother, this is Cassiopeia."
"Cassiopeia… that's a lovely name. 'Fairy Queen' right?"
"I've always thought so." Cassie's smile lit up her face.
"So what's my daughter's problem with you?" Illa asked, cutting through the feldercarb as ever. Athena looked mortified, while Cassie blushed.
"Just a man…"
"Ah… young Starbuck."
"Yes, him." Cassie sighed. "I have to admit at times I have wondered if it was just my past that intrigued him."
"Oh?" Illa raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Mother, I'm not sure…"
"It's alright Athena. Its not like no-one else knows." Cassie turned back to Illa. "Up till the holocaust, I was… a Socialator."
Illa felt her eye's widen. "Oh…" While she had a broad approach to life and people, the issue of Socialators was one that she still had a little trouble with.
"I guess you preferred it when I was just a humble Med-tech."
"You'd lose." Illa recovered, smiling. "And I doubt you could be humble even you tried." This time Cassie blushed.
"So…" Illa sat up once more. "Tell me, how did you meet our brash Lieutenant?"
"He, Apollo and Boomer were making survey of the ships in the fleet." Cassie told her, taking a seat across from Athena. "Assessing things, finding out who needed medical treatment, that sort of thing. Well, I had a broken arm…"
Illa grimaced as she unconsciously rubbed her leg once more.
"So they pluck me out of there and onto the shuttle. I was glad to get away from there. There were a lot of the Otoris sect Gemonese on that ship."
"Oh lords I remember that group." Illa shook her head wearily. "I do understand them, but they took things just a bit too far…"
"Yes… after that I decided to help out anyway I could, so that's how I ended up here." Cassie waved her arm about to encompass the whole Life Station. "Say…" she leaned forward conspiratorially, a smirk on her face. "Did you know Starbuck before…?"
When Dr Salik returned, he found all three women laughing together. A sad smile crossed his face as he stood back for a moment as he witnessed them bonding together. It always amazed him that no matter their age, rank, job or social class, women could get along and find common ground with ease.
He focused on Illa for a long micron, taking in her face. Somehow he always had trouble picturing Commander Adama sealed, nor could he conjure the face of someone willing to marry such a driven man. Talk had suggested that Athena took after her mother a lot, but now he saw just how much she did.
'Yes, the commanders a very lucky man…' He sighed as he stepped over, tuning out their words until their focus came to him. Illa schooled her face into a semblance of calm.
"Well doctor?"
"Siress, from what I've seen, I can't imagine what you've gone through. But those Thunderchild doctors do appear to know their work." As Illa's face fell, he couldn't help but smile. "That doesn't mean that I can't do better. With the larger facilities here, I'm pretty sure I can repair nearly all the damage."
Hope blossomed in Illa's heart. "How much better are we talking here?"
"I won't kid you, you'll never fully recover." Illa nodded, having already expected that. Athena gripped her hand tightly in remorse. "But at the very least I can remove the pain. With a little luck, you'll soon be striding around this fleet with barely a limp. I'll need a couple of cycles to set things up, but I should be able to operate only the once, and then we'll see."
Illa felt tears in her eyes as she reached out and gripped the doctor's shoulder. "Thank you." She whispered, real feeling in her words.
"Well, just don't take up Triad." Salik warned her. "And don't expect to be wining any races."
"At my age?" Illa quipped, and once more all three women laughed together. Salik smiled before turning to Cassie.
"Cassie, I'm afraid I need you to tend to your duties now."
"Yes doctor." Cassie smiled sadly before facing Illa. "It was nice meeting you Siress."
"And you too." Gingerly Illa stood up, allowing Athena to support her. Despite her injury, Illa's pride refused to accept help from anyone but her family.
As they stepped out of the Life Station, she heard a mechanical barking. Turning her head, Illa spied a young boy trotting towards them, a bulky robot daggit at his heals.
"Athena!" He called excitedly.
Athena smiled at the lad. "Hello Boxey." The lad came to a stop just before them, the robo-daggit sitting by his feet.
"Where's dad gone? He said that he won't be going off so much anymore, since we crossed the gulf…"
"He's had to go and investigate something Boxey. You know as a Warrior he has to do these things."
"Yea, I guess…" Boxey replied sulkily.
"Hey, there's someone I want you to meet. Someone very dear to me." Athena patted Boxey's shoulder. "Boxey, this is my mother, Illa."
The effect on the boy was instantaneous. His head snapped up so fast Illa wondered if there was a highly compressed spring in his neck. Eyes wider than dishes looked up at her in awe. "Really?"
"Really." Athena answered him, her face spilt by a wide smile.
"Wow! Hey Muffy, dad's got his mum back!" This was addressed to the daggit droid besides him. It looked up with two round glassy eyes and yapped once. Boxey just grinned as he turned back to Illa. "So I guess I should start calling you grandma huh?"
"I err…" Illa looked across at Athena, confusion in her eyes. Seeing that her daughter was not going to help, Illa turned back to the young boy. "Sure… Boxey, right?"
"Yea. And this is Muffet." He rubbed the head of the droid which made a happy growl-crooning sound. "Why were you in the Life Station?" He asked suddenly.
"Now, now Boxey, there'll be plenty of time for such question in the future. Right now you have to run along to school young man."
"Arrghh…" Boxey moaned before turning on his heal. "Come on Muffy…" The droid followed the sulky lad, bouncing along with a sound of springs and servos. As they turned the corner Illa heard it yap once more.
"That's a… interesting young boy there." Illa stated, her eyes on the corner the two had disappeared around. "And since when did Apollo get a son?"
Athena's smile faded slightly. "He's not actually his son. Boxey was Serina's son, and when she and Apollo sealed, he became part of the family." She sighed. "I think caring for him allowed Apollo to get over Zac's…" There were tears in the corner of Athena's eyes now.
Illa looped an arm round her daughter as they carried on towards the bridge where Athena was due to begin her shift. For several centons the pair of them walked in silence, mourning the dead together. At last though Illa felt that she had to say something to brighten the mood.
"So tell me, has Apollo taken to anyone else since…?"
Athena shrugged. "Not really. He kind of shut down emotionally after she… died. Didn't really get involved in things as much as he did before the Holocaust. For a while he seemed like he had a death wish… he was always going on the risky missions."
"So what changed?" Illa prompted.
"Well, it was a couple of sectars after we met the Pegasus. Cain transferred the bulk of his crew and all his vipers to us, including his daughter Sheba. Well, she, Apollo and Starbuck found a crashed ship on a planet… along with someone we all thought was a survivor. He didn't act like one though, more like a king or ruler. He offered salvation, claimed he could save us all, if only we followed him and showed him allegiance."
Illa nodded slowly, her eyes narrowed. "How did Adama react to this?" If she knew her husband, he would not have taken it well. Illa herself did not like the sound of this man already.
"Father really didn't trust him. He kept asking just who this man was, but the answer was always the same… Count Iblis. But he had the people and the Council wrapped round his finger, and I'm afraid to say that included Sheba. She was enamoured by him. I don't think she wore a uniform the whole time he was here.
"I don't think it helped that we were constantly being buzzed by these strange lights, and our pilots were disappearing. I'm… I have to say even I was starting to believe him. He could do things, move things… without touching them! In the end Apollo and Starbuck went back to the planet that they found him on, and Sheba followed.
"What happened down there… we don't really know. I don't think even those three know for sure. We know that Apollo challenged Iblis, and that his hold on Sheba was broken and he disappeared straight afterwards… but not much else." A strange look crossed Athena's face.
"When they got back, just after all our missing pilots returned, the three of them started talking about a 'war' between Good and Evil, which father lapped up." Illa smiled. Adama had always been the sort who defined live into either of those two camps.
"They also gave us the direction towards Earth, but they don't know how they know. I think it scared even them." Illa felt Athena shiver under her arm before she got herself back under control.
"Afterwards, Apollo was opening up more, laughing freer. And I'm sure that that episode was the point where… Sheba started having feelings for him." Athena suddenly grinned conspiratorially.
"I've heard rumours that just before he launched for his part in our engagement of that Basestar, the two of them had a talk. Or rather, she 'talked' with him…" Illa smiled widely with her daughter.
"So you think there is something between them?" She asked.
"I don't know right now. Apollo's been a little closed off since then, just like every other time he's had something on his mind. Only I'm sure I know what 'it' is."
Illa chuckled. "Well, at least he maintains his taste. First a beautiful reporter, then the daughter of the legendary Commander Cain…" Both women laughed this time.
x x x x x x
At that moment Apollo was thinking about very similar thoughts to his sister and mother. At the centre of his mind was Sheba, the highly skilled and attractive pilot off the Pegasus. Apollo felt torn in two and out here in the black was the one place he could truly sit and think.
Truth be told, he had been fighting his attraction for her for a long time now. At least since shortly before the 'Count Iblis' episode. Those few cycles were almost taboo between them both. No one liked to bring it up.
But he could still remember how he felt. Frustration at how easily Iblis had swayed the people, garnering support so quickly that Apolllo had wondered at one point if Iblis had some kind of spell going on. It certainly seemed that way with Sheba.
At that party after the Triad game, the first he had lost for a long time, she had had accused him of jealousy. Looking back, he deeply regretted the way he reacted to that. While he had been truthful - he had had the safety of the fleet at heart - he had not told the whole truth. He hadn't realised it up till then, but he was jealousy.
Together they had decided to put the whole episode out of mind. But it still nibbled at his dreams. And after that the pair of them had gotten on better, despite the regular snapping at each other. Yet neither of them really meant what they said. Sheba had slowly become as close to him as Starbuck and Boomer were.
It had been Sheba who had laid out the next step. She had practically laid out her whole heart before him in that raider, and yet he had been able to fully respond. He had wanted to, to show her how much he cared, but something held him back.
Apollo firmly believed in the binding oaths of marriage. Yes Serina had been dead for a long time now, getting on for almost a yahren, but it still held problems for him. How could he move on with another woman after her?
And what about Boxey, the only living reminder of her life? He had been forced to go through so much change in his short life that Apollo had to wonder if he could take any more. Would it be really fair to make him have to adapt to a new person in his life? Could he honestly expect the lad to treat someone else like he treated his own mother? Apollo knew that he would not have been able to stay with his father had he sealed with someone else after the Holocaust, but then again the person who might of was Siress Bellobe, a frightening women by any regards.
No this was something that he needed to think about…
"Hey Apollo, you planning on doing a deep space probe, or are you asleep?"
Achilles's voice snapped him back to the present. Looking around, he noted that only Achilles's fighter was nearby. The others were slowly drifting off.
"You even listening to me? You know I could bring you up on charges for that…"
"I'm here Colonel." Apollo snapped.
"Good. So why are you following the last vector?"
Apollo sighed. "Just, thinking…" he told him as he turned on to the correct vector, hoping that would satisfy the Colonel.
"Man, must be pretty serious if you missed the turn. Care to talk about it?"
So much for that hope. Apollo really didn't want to at all, but he knew Achilles. Once he wanted something nothing could stop him. Apollo decided to try and answer him, without answering him.
"Women trouble Achilles."
"Ah, women... Can't live without them, but sometime you can't live with them either. Sometimes you can't help but wonder if they are a completely different species." Apollo couldn't help but be cheered by Achilles words. "They can burn you up hotter than a star, and next micron freeze you to death. One look makes you want to die for them, while another makes you want to kill them." He fell silent for a centon, clearly thinking himself. Apollo hoped Achilles would stay that way, but once again his hopes were dashed.
"So, what's your trouble with the fairer gender my friend?"
Apollo realised he was not getting away from this. Sighing he resigned himself to his fate. "I suppose you heard about me and Serina?"
"Yes, I heard. I'm sorry for your loss. She was a lovely lady."
"I know."
"If there was a person who exemplified what we've been fighting for, it would have been her. Beauty and brains combined. I once had to do an interview with her, about the battle where Thunderchild was nearly lost. She was good, but knew when to be discrete." Achilles paused for a second. "How'd you catch her?"
Apollo chuckled. "It was her son. She asked for my help in getting him over the Holocaust and the loss of his daggit, and things… progressed from there."
"Well, I'll give you points for originality on that one." They had rejoined the squadron now, but Achilles maintained the private channel between them. "And now I think I know your problem. You're feeling something for another woman, but you're afraid of betraying Serina's memory…"
Apollo's heart caught in his throat. Trust a Scorpio to hit the nail on the head so squarely. Achilles may have been ruled by his instincts but he wasn't stupid… far from it.
"So, who's the lucky lady?"
Apollo didn't want to say, but he had no choice. He opened his mouth…
"Sirs, I've got a contact, dead ahead. Target matches the data from Illuminati. Warbook does not, repeat does not recognise." One of Blue Squadrons pilots yelled into the open channel.
"Yoh, I've got it too." Boomer added.
Apollo quickly shifted mental gears. "Any sign of fighter launches?"
"Nothing. Not a fraking thing. I'm getting no comms traffic at all. Hell, I'm not even getting an ID signal."
"Okay, here's how we play this. Flare Squadron, split up and do a full surface sweep. Blue Squadron, cover them."
"Understood, we'll soon know who we're dealing with." Achilles answered on the open channel, but before Apollo could breathe easy he switched back to the private one. "This conversation isn't over Apollo."
Quickly the six Viper-B's pealed off, five vipers of Blue squadron escorting them each. As they approached the ship Apollo strained to make it out. But even his sharp eyes couldn't find it. It was only when he saw a star disappear that he found it. "Watch out people. Target has a black finish. Watch for the silhouette."
Slowly the fighters spread out, forming a ring around the mystery craft. As they got closer Apollo began to make out details in the little light that reached out here. The black hull made it hard to see, but she was clearly somewhere in the region of a Battlestar in size, and it appeared to have similar lines…
"Flares, switch to active laser scanners. Let's lift the curtain." With their role as strike craft, the Viper-B carried a more advanced sensor package, with a few more tricks up its sleeves.
As he watched, fine laser beams leapt out from just under the cockpits of the six fighters, the faint ribbons playing back and forth as each ship slowed down. It was a tactical risk, but required if they were to get a good scan. Cruising down the length of the ship, Apollo looked hard at where the thin line that traced the hull was. But from that tiny sliver, it was impossible to tell exactly what it was. But one thing suddenly leapt out at him.
"Oh man. It's not a black hull. It's BLACKENED." Clearly Starbuck had realised the same thing himself. This ship had not started out with a black hull… it had been scorched black.
As Flare Squadron finished their sweep, Achilles came back on line. "Okay, let's see what we ha…"
"Colonel?" For a centon Achilles didn't answer. When he did, it was in a whisper.
"Apollo… that ship… it's a battlestar. Or at least, it was…"
Almost in a daze, Apollo looped around and headed back towards the bow, Achilles right besides him. From behind, it was clear now what it was, as the engines were still engaged. As they reached where the front of Alpha Landing Bay should be, they both slowed to match the mystery ship. Peering at it, Apollo tried to make out the name, but there was too much carbon scorching to do so.
"Hang on, let me try something…"
Apollo watched as Achilles engaged his laser scanners again. But this time he focused them on the region where the battlestars name should be. The lasers reflection lit up the area, and Apollo gasped in shock when he saw the name…
PEGASUS
DR: Duh, duh, duh! I guess half of you expected that, but I hope I still surprised you. Next time, the mystery deepens, and Sheba needs a... moment. Till then!
