In the corridor he took Kalea back from his friend, but the child sensed his anger and fidgeted wanting down. He set her down and she was off running down the corridor before he remembered that probably wasn't a good idea, not with the people Rene thought might want to do them harm to be found around every corner.
"Kalea! Wait!" he shouted as she ran out of sight. "Frak, Rene is going to kill me!"
He chased after the girl, coming around the corner to find someone else had already scooped her up. Starbuck growled as he realized it was none other than Deke from downtown Dilmun, one of the borays who had stunned he and Rene when she had landed on Dilmun looking for her children. It was Deke that had delivered them to Dante with the intent of seeing them in pain.
"Let her go!" he shouted as the man looked at him in shock.
Apollo had caught up to him, asking, "What's going on?" as Starbuck reached for Kalea, ripping her out of the man's arms.
"Hey! I was just catching her for you," Deke said as Kalea began to cry.
Starbuck tried to soothe her for a moment, while at the same time hissing, "Don't fraking touch her or any of the kids, you got that!"
"I was just trying to help, geez, calm down." Deke put his hands up in surrender, but Starbuck balled up a fist, cocking it back.
It was caught by his friend before he could deliver the blow.
"Starbuck! He was just trying to help," Apollo said pulling him back a step.
"He's one of them!" He spun on his friend, trying to explain.
"One of who? What is going on with you? You're scaring her," Apollo said as Deke turned to flee down the corridor.
"He's getting away!" Starbuck shouted, but Apollo didn't give chase, instead reaching out to rub Kalea's back to soothe her.
"He didn't do anything wrong. Calm down already. Here give her to me." Apollo took Kalea from his arms and Starbuck took the steps down the corridor to catch Deke, but his friend reached out holding him back. "You're jumping at shadows. He was helping."
"You don't know what he did! He stunned me then took Rene and me to Dante. It's because of him she was shot and I was flogged!" He tried to shake his arm away, but Apollo held on fast.
"That's not important right now."
"Not important?!" Starbuck sputtered trying again to move down the corridor, but his friend jerked him back hard.
"They've found us," Apollo whispered.
"What? Who?" Starbuck asked trying again to pull away before he froze at the look on his friend's face. "Oh frak!"
"Starbuck, not in front of the children." Apollo tried to cover Kalea's ears.
"Pretty sure she's heard worse, and will hear even more if what you're saying is true. Where? When? Why aren't we launching? Why are you whispering?" None of it made sense at the moment, but Kalea was reaching for him so he took her back into his arms and held on tight as now he was the one afraid.
"Because my father doesn't want a panic and we're not sure. I need your eyes on this. Come on, let's get her home so I can show you."
Silently he followed Apollo to the council chambers where he left Kalea in the care of Lizbet, sending Crius off to the Life Center, and tricking Kiff into letting him out the door with a game of hide and seek. He felt awful doing it, but the kid hadn't seen him since the sealing, and he wasn't letting go. Who knew four yahren olds could be so strong? Boomer was there, and Apollo insisted he needed to come as well.
It had been a long time since the three of them had been alone together. Things had changed drastically in his life since Dilmun disrupting the normal dynamics of his life. There was a time when he had counted as family just Apollo and Boomer, true blue friends since the Academy. They had done nearly everything together and he knew more about Boomer's daily routine than he thought he might ever know about the woman he was calling his wife. He, Boomer, and Apollo had bunked together for yahrens and there was a time when he couldn't be sure if he was wearing all his own clothes, or if some of them might be his buddies', they lived in such a small space. Nothing was private. They shared everything, even their thoughts and dreams.
Serina had been the start of the three drifting apart. Apollo hadn't seen that then, thinking Starbuck was being silly as he began to mourn the change of the way they were. Boomer had stayed silent on the matter at the time, but Starbuck didn't miss the wistful looks he'd cast at his friends, or the way he scheduled time for the three of them to be alone together, be it Triad or drinks.
But then it had happened to him too, a woman consuming all his time and attention. He hadn't noticed until now just how much Rene had pulled him apart from his old life. Boomer had followed him, but he didn't bunk with him anymore and he rarely saw Apollo. It did give him the space and opportunity to become someone different, without anyone calling him out on the changes in behaviour. But it also meant he had to be more intentional in his thoughts and feelings. Apollo and especially Boomer had been able to read him like a viper schematic and he didn't have to explain himself to them.
Starbuck had missed that, but he would love to miss it some more if it could mean what Apollo showed him in the briefing room would all just go away. He read the starfield that was before him on the briefing room wall, noting their course and finding himself counting for the first time just how many ships there really were in their new fleet.
"What am I looking at?" Starbuck asked as Apollo brought the scans up on the large briefing table, zooming in on an area in the rear of the fleet. It was a long-range scan, and at this magnification was blurry, but there was no denying that there were two round objects in the distance. "Could just be asteroids," he said as he reached to zoom in closer, but it didn't enhance the image any better.
Another scan flashed on the screen, the objects gone, then Apollo brought up another and the objects were back.
"Or comets," Boomer said with a tinge of hope in his voice.
"Or Father Yule," Apollo replied sarcastically.
Another scan came into view and one of the round objects had a bright flash beside it, possibly a raider launching or a weapons test. Whatever it was, it indicated this was mechanical and not just a floating piece of rock. Starbuck put a finger on the flash, quickly calculating the area of space it was located in and mentally plotting the course it would have taken or could possibly have come from.
"We need to change course," he stated. "We might still be able to out run them, or lose them if they haven't spotted us. The least we could do is pick a better position for the fight, maybe get the civilian ships in more defensive position. The mines Dante gave us might buys us some time."
"My father won't change course," Apollo answered.
"What? Why? Has he seen these?" Starbuck asked, reaching to bring up another scan.
"If it is base ships, they are pretty far behind us. We could easily lose them if they haven't scanned us," Boomer added.
"If we've scanned them, they've probably scanned us already. The fleet has grown in size. We are more obvious now. Stealth isn't going to help us, or at least that's what my father thinks. He may be right but he has other reasons as well," Apollo said as he brought up another scan, this one from directly in front of the fleet on its current trajectory. Again, another object was seen far in the distance. This time Boomer reached to zoom in, trying to make the image clearer. It was definitely a ship, but not the usual round of the base ships, this one more rectangular.
"That's not Cylon," Starbuck said.
"Actually, it might be." Apollo pressed a few keys on the panel and a schematic came up for a Cylon ship, an older model from before their time.
"Yeah, it could be," Starbuck mused, examining the schematics, noting they were somewhat similar to a Colonial destroyer. "But it could be one of ours. It has the same lines to it."
"You think it might be the destroyer from Dilmun?" Boomer asked.
Starbuck shrugged. "Doubtful. We all saw the Sabre go down. But the Erebus was never accounted for. We think the Typhoon was lost at Molecay but if Cain made it in the Pegasus, then…a destroyer is better built for that kind of battle. It's a possibility." He looked up from the scans to Boomer. "If Dante could find that many ships, there might be more of us out there, or he might have had more ships he hid away somewhere. The Galactica has run into more settlements. Maybe Dante did too? Or maybe he created more settlements of his own, like an escape route or a back-up plan? We know he left others behind. Not everyone knew what he was up to."
"But we can't assume it's ours, or that it's friendly even if it is," Apollo stated.
"Probably not," Starbuck answered reflecting back on the harsh lessons Dante had taught them about the fragility of loyalties in an apocalypse. "We need to take a recon patrol to find out. Is that why your father won't change course? He thinks it's ours?"
"I wish that was it. He doesn't want to veer from our path to Earth in any way."
"We're a long way from Earth, if it even exists." Boomer said.
Starbuck looked at his friend a little shocked before remembering that it was he, Apollo and Sheba that had their mysterious encounter with the beings of light. The other pilots had no memory of the Ship of Lights, just the deafening sound, being blinded, and then they awoke in a viper that had landed on the planet. Most of the fleet was following Adama on blind faith, and Boomer had never been blind, or very religious. He was a man of science that believed in facts. Sure, he didn't doubt that there might be a thirteenth tribe, and that the Book of the Word was a historical document, but he hadn't been an ardent follower. Starbuck realized he must have his doubts, he just hadn't voiced them as of yet, willing to believe the things his friends had been through were based in fact. He had even attributed Count Iblis's sway over the fleet to mass hypnosis, finding the texts and experts to back up his claim. He was the one who had brought out the astrophysics texts to try to explain to Starbuck that what Rene did wasn't just magic and fairy dust. Her abilities were grounded in physics and various theories and Peryton claimed he could replicate her rift if not her accuracy in navigating it.
The thought struck him like a triad ball in the chest, almost knocking the wind out of him. "Or we could make the trip shorter," Starbuck suggested, looking away from the scans to his old wing mate. "With what Rene could do, can do. That's what you're thinking, aren't you?"
Apollo nodded, before holding up his hand, stopping him from stating the obvious, that there was no way he was letting her back in a viper until the baby was born.
"I know what you're thinking, but that's not what I have in mind. I agree, she can't fly, not right now. But she's safe on the Zakar."
Starbuck rolled his eyes, as the implications were so out there it was almost ludicrous. "Did you not see that big bang in space she created with Peryton? You want to put the Zakar through that and find ourselves in a bazillion pieces? No way. Count me out on that one."
"The drone made it through just fine," Apollo reminded him.
"It was a drone. No living beings on it, remember. You're talking a whole battlecruiser full of people, full of MY people!" Starbuck raised his voice, but Apollo motioned for him to calm down.
"Hear me out, I think if we…"
Starbuck cut him off. "No, absolutely not. You want to test out theories of astrophysics, find Wilker or ..or…"
Apollo glared at him as he stammered.
"What? You think I'm being unreasonable? You willing to put your family through what she does?"
"I have. You came out just fine." Apollo gave him a smart astrum grin, before composing his features and looking more serious. "C'mon, Starbuck, this is me. Would I needlessly put lives at risk?"
"He's got a point," Boomer added, looking away from the scans.
"That's different," Starbuck grumbled.
"Yes, it was. Are you willing to listen? Because I have a plan that just might work and is safer than sneaking aboard a Base ship, which we survived by the way." Apollo didn't wait for his answer as he turned to the briefing table bringing up star charts and the various ships of the fleet, separating the ships out as if into squadrons. "The Shiva," he pointed to one set, "The Galactica," he pointed to a larger group, moving a ship that was the Sphinx to join them. "The Zakar," he moved the battle cruiser to in front of the group.
"Our strength is in our numbers," Starbuck said hesitantly as he began to see the plan form of dividing the fleet into multiple fighting groups. It made sense as while the Galactica had difficulties avoiding detection, especially with over 200 civilian ships trailing her, the Light Cruisers and Battle Cruisers were not only faster, but harder to detect. It was the civilian ships that were really the dead giveaway, but if they broke up those ships, it scattered and narrowed the targets, but it also divided their resources. "Staying together has been our key to survival." He echoed the Commander's words on numerous occasions.
"Is it? I'm not so sure. The Cylons outnumber us, always have, always will. Where have we succeeded?"
"By keeping it individualized and more creative," Boomer said building on Apollo's idea.
Apollo reached out again, pulling the Sphinx and few other ships away. "That's hard to do in a large fleet. We're really too big now, just a large target, but if we scatter, we become easier to manoeuvre…"
"It gives us more of a chance," Starbuck finished his friend's sentence. "They can't track us all down. We can send some of the fleet ahead, and behind. Hades, we could even pull a Commander Cain and swoop in unannounced. Rene could jump ships around and…" he paused thinking of the tactical advantages of being able to pop in and out at whim.
"We don't need Rene for that part of the plan, not yet," Apollo continued. "We don't have to try what Peryton thinks will work. We can wait until she can fly, and we do it the way she's been doing it."
"But they may not give us that time," Starbuck said. "Yeah, I see where you're going with this, but…" he shook his head.
"But it could work." Apollo looked up at him, the hope gleaming in his eyes. He looked like a kid plotting out the best routes to get candy in the neighborhood on Ghoul's Night.
He wanted to say no, but the two round objects in the scan at their backs helped to push him to agree.
"Okay. So we need to speed up our move to the Zakar. I can make that happen."
"Good. And I need you there to help me convince my father. The Council is pressuring him to retire now that we have more ships and some new blood," Apollo said.
"Great! A fleet with Dante's men in charge? They have really lost their minds now. Do they not remember Dante basically insulting them to their face about being old and useless?" Starbuck cringed remembering back to the bastard who sneered while making him do push ups.
"They do, and it had more of an impact than you know. Several of the Members of the Council have stated they are retiring, giving way to a new generation, and the talks for settling on a planet have grown more serious."
"But where?" Boomer asked before asking, "Dilmun? They want to go back?"
Apollo nodded. "We have already gone backwards on our course thanks to Rene. It was needed at the time, saved our civilians, but she did set us back to where we know the path ahead. Dilmun is our current heading even though it is not on a direct trajectory to earth, it's not too far off course. It will be almost a yahren to get there at our current speed, but with the added ships, more resources are available for overhauling or cannibalizing some of the slower civilian ships. It is a very plausible option."
"Except for the fact the Cylons destroyed it just like they did the Colonies," Starbuck said, but Apollo shook his head.
"We don't know that. We weren't losing."
"We weren't winning either," Starbuck scoffed.
Apollo conceded the point with a nod before adding, "Rene jumped us away before the battle was over. We know she missed one of our civilian ships when she took us through her rift. Are we sure she got all of Dante's? We never ascertained how many ships were in Dante's fleet and we know he left others behind. We could go searching for them, or go back to Dilmun."
"It's not a good option, but I see your point. So, when do we talk to Adama?"
"First I want to follow up on your suggestion of a long range patrol to see what's out there."
"Great. I just need to my viper fuelled up and wake up Cora, and then I can," but he stopped speaking as Apollo shook his head.
"I've seen your medical records. It won't be you." Apollo clapped a hand on Boomer's back. "Or you either. I'm thinking Bojay and Sheba."
"I can fly," Starbuck groused, but Apollo shook his head no again.
"You are still on your honeymoon. Remember?" He smiled for a moment before he turned serious. "And you still have Cylon technology floating through your bloodstream."
"What? No, I don't. They got it out." But Apollo shook his head no again.
"They didn't want you to know, something about you freaking out I think, so don't freak out. They thought you'd expel them eventually," his friend clarified.
"Expel? Eventually? What the flying flaming frak!" He cursed looking down at his own arms, remembering the scar for the port that was still fresh and the burn of the wires as they had been shoved into him. Worse, he shuddered as he remembered the IL and his switch where he could make his nerve endings catch on fire or cut his strings like a puppet.
Apollo read his thoughts, putting a hand on his shoulder while pushing down on one of Starbuck's arms. "Easy there. They wouldn't have left it in if they thought it was life threatening. But we can't deny that maybe, just maybe, the Cylons could activate it again."
"Or track me! Oh frak, Rene too? The baby?!" He twitched in alarm.
Boomer reached out a hand to his other shoulder. "Just you. You've always been the lucky one."
"And you knew and didn't tell me?"
Both Apollo and Boomer chuckled.
"This isn't funny!" He wanted to smack both of them but wondered if it would be him delivering the blow or the Cylons.
Apollo slowed his laughter and squeezed his shoulder. "No, I suppose it's not. They think it was actually Delphi technology and it will eventually pass through your system, but until then, we are keeping you out of a viper. Easy to do once you become a Captain."
"So that's why I'm getting a promotion, I'm full of Cylon tech. And I thought it was because I deserved it," he grumbled, feeling his skin itch.
"You do," Apollo stated, "and you'll make a fine Strike Wing Captain on the Zakar. Let's get you moved over and then we'll talk to my father."
Starbuck nodded and wondered just how exactly they expected him to expel the technology. "Yeah, I think we should talk to him sooner."
"Let's see what the long range patrols bring back, then we can make some more informed decisions," Apollo said. "You can talk it over with Rene in the meantime, see what she thinks."
He nodded knowing that if given the chance, Rene would jump right back into a viper so she could jump around the universe.
"She'll be on board with this," he stated.
"Good. I'm going to get Bojay and Sheba briefed and I have a lot of transfer requests to put in. A Colonel's job is never done. We'll talk tomorrow about a time frame for the move."
"You'll need to speed up Cain's training. Rene won't go until then."
Apollo grinned at him. "Done. I'm a Colonel and someone I know has encouraged me to use my rank more often."
"It's not what I meant," Starbuck shot back. "I was thinking furlons and better details, maybe a pay raise and better duties, one's that involve me doing nothing."
Boomer offered to help Apollo with the transfers so he could focus on the long range patrols, while Starbuck stayed behind and spent more time going over the scans and trying to ignore the itch under his skin. Try as hard as he could, there was no denying that the blurry objects were a threat of some kind as their path followed the fleet. "I would have liked to have finished my honeymoon," he thought to himself as he zoomed in on the two base ships and calculated their speed.