The mission was on despite the many questions and concerns. Starbuck and Apollo were uneasy about the idea, but they couldn't deny that the people needed saving and that Rene appeared to be capable of doing just that. Rene and Boomer's assertion was that it should be a simple "get in and get them out mission", but Starbuck still had one major concern and that was if things went wrong, at four sectars pregnant could Rene handle the mission physically. He wanted to keep her in the air for the whole mission, but that opened up the issue of who would stay up there with her, and finally it was decided by everyone else that would draw too much attention. She'd be landing with the rest of them. Starbuck didn't like it. He didn't want her breathing that air. He wanted her to never step on Caprica again. She had suffered too much during the destruction. She didn't need to go back and relive that.
But mentally she seemed healthier than she had ever been. He didn't know if it was knowing the mission was happening or if being Sealed had settled something in her mind. Their sealing night had been a memorable one, Rene letting him take the lead and slowing her pace to match his own as he whispered to her that they had their whole lives, no need to rush. In the days since, he'd had to distract himself not to think back on that night, how she had looked at him like he truly was her hero. In the dim light of their quarters, her body had responded to his touch, shivering and moaning softly as he took her slowly and gently. He'd held her gaze as he did what he knew he was good at, and their bodies fell in sync with each other. She had reciprocated, and with his encouragement she had been soft and slow. He had whispered to her often, "we have forever." For some reason it had been all the more pleasurable to be able to use the word wife. The permanence of the word added something he couldn't quite explain, and he found the experience was one of the most satisfying of his life.
Rene had slept better that night and the ones that followed. The nightmares diminished, and she woke with more hope for their future in the fleet than she had before. Her mood was infectious and he couldn't stop smiling at her and imagining the happy future they had before them. They had chosen not to tell anyone about their sealing, but he was pretty sure those around him had figured it out from the rings they were wearing. Starbuck loved the look of the ring, but found he knocked the thing on almost everything so it was hard to hide. There was no hiding how happy he was after their sealing night.
The memory of the night helped to reassure him about the mission ahead, although it also distracted him and made him eager for the mission to be done so he and Rene could enjoy a proper honeymoon. Starbuck had insisted they bring along standard packs for a planetside mission, just in case they ended up away for more than a day or two. He made sure there was one in each viper and several in the shuttle. If they didn't need them, well then he would truly count himself lucky. But he'd already learned from Dilmun that things often did not go as planned, especially with Zakar warriors in the mix. If nothing else they could leave them behind, just in case there were more survivors they didn't know about. It was a gesture at least at helping them. Apollo distributed anti-radium medication and they had all began taking them just in case the levels were higher than they had scanned. Starbuck threw some extra breathers and tarps into the packs as he didn't want any of them breathing that toxic air for long, and the mention of acidic rain wasn't very appealing. He hoped they wouldn't be hanging around long enough to use any of the supplies, but always better to hedge your bets just in case.
The hardest part was keeping everyone else in the dark about what they were planning. Since Apollo was commanding the Zakar, he could get most of the supplies and hide them away without too much notice, but the rest had encountered a few questions as to what they were up to, why they were having so many meetings with the Commander and why the need for the extra supplies. Jolly had been easy to convince to come on board, but he hadn't understood where they were really planning on going. He actually thought they were using the word Caprica as a code for some planet close by. Starbuck knew he was in for a big surprise, and felt a little bad that the big guy wouldn't be mentally prepared.
What had prompted the most questions was Starbuck and Rene's time in the gym. Despite the reports from the doctors that everything looked good for her medically, Starbuck insisted that Rene join him as he ran her through the paces of the Academy's physical training. He figured if she could even come close to meeting the requirements for female recruits, she could handle the mission. Out of fairness, he joined her and she out ran him. He took that as a good sign and another reason to cut back on his fumarellos. He didn't insist on the sit ups, as the growing belly that she had been able to hide in the uniform, was pretty obvious in the workout clothes. She could still do the required push ups, and he hoped she wouldn't have to carry a standard pack. She seemed completely fit to do that though if she had to.
While the time had eased Starbuck's mind that Rene was physically ready for what they had planned, he discovered that many others on the Galactica had some antiquated ideas about female warriors and had really been misinformed in their basic health classes as to what pregnancy entailed. Greenbean had been in the gym for their first session and was convinced that Rene was going to go into labor if Starbuck made her run. The next day, having Rene perform push ups and pull ups had nearly cleared the gym of any Colonials with several threatening to report Starbuck for abuse. He hadn't even started on the insults to inspire her, and he had several good ones he was just waiting to use. Just the idea that he wanted her to do push ups had the Colonials outraged, even though she had no problem completing the minimum required. Those that were in the gym from Dilmun just shook their heads and even laughed. One guy, someone Rene said was a decent warrior with a few kids of his own, made a point of telling Starbuck he'd vouch for him, as he also muttered, "No wonder you wimps haven't found a world of your own."
Starbuck wondered about the comment, and his friends. Was it these antiquated ideas that had kept their population from growing, or was it life inside a tin can that had them holding off on increasing their population? He remembered back to when they'd had to use female recruits to fill in all the squadrons. He hadn't found flying with them that much different than any other cadet, other than you couldn't yell at them like you did the guys. Then again, he'd never been fond of that kind of motivation. Even in the academy he'd found it to be counterproductive. He didn't perform better for the instructors who shouted. He actually did his best for the instructors that either dared him, or fixed on him that disappointed look. Adama's calmly uttered criticisms followed up by the look that let Starbuck know he'd not measured up to expectations had always been more than enough to make him try harder. But he'd found the women just as competent as the men in his squadron.
It led him back to Rene's initial comments to Sheba when she had first been on the Galactica, that women were needed for breeding stock. Is that how his own fellow crew mates felt about the women of the fleet? If that was true, why hadn't more of them found a woman and settled down? He was concerned that his friends didn't realize that they needed women for more than just making children or companionship.
Starbuck had his own concerns, but they were more about when the child came, specifically about the whole birthing process. Crius had assured him there wasn't much he needed to do. "You just hold their hand feeling useless while they scream in pain. You feel pretty awful for your part in the whole thing, and then well, a baby comes out and she pretty much forgets she was ever in pain. It's not that bad." Of course Crius had three of his own already, and the whole farm experience to draw from. Starbuck hadn't even had a daggit that had pups. He had done some research, and quickly stopped as the pictures were gory as hades. That was encouragement enough not to have a child.
Rene hadn't been much help either, flat out laughing at him when he mentioned he was nervous about it. "You've already done your part," she had told him before following up with, "Might actually go better if you weren't there." He didn't know what that was supposed to mean, of course he'd be there. It wasn't every day you had a baby.
The Zakar pilots seemed to sense his concerns about Rene and the baby. They kept reminding him that she had flown often before, far more pregnant than she was now. It was Jake that took Starbuck aside the night before the mission to help ease his mind.
"She knows her limits, Starbuck. She's sectars away from it being a problem, I mean sure, she pushes herself, but she also knows when she shouldn't. She flew a few days before she had Kalea. Plus, we've been to Caprica over a dozen times just in the last few sectons. The anomaly itself is worse than the launching. I wouldn't let anything happen to her."
Starbuck wanted to believe those words, but he also knew it was Jake that still snuck drinks to Rene, and the young man had willingly gone with Rene to Caprica for what he now realized was many more trips than what they had admitted to. Jake's attempt at reassurance instead had Starbuck headed to his own quarters to search for how many black market goods were stashed about the room. What he found was more than enough to put him and Rene on report for a yahren and left him wondering how much Jake was stashing and where. The quantity of alcohol alone was impressive, and not the cheap stuff either. He'd have enough fumarellos to hand out to half the fleet when the baby came. Rene had more dresses than she could ever wear, and the jewelry would make them independently wealthy. They would need to get rid of it all, but it was a fight Starbuck chose to save for another evening. They were all too keyed up that night to bring it up. The kids were cranky, as if knowing something was up, and, Crius was more than a little cranky at being left out of the fun. He had mumbled at least hundred times, "I'm your wing mate. I should be going." Starbuck did what he could to dispel the man's apparent jealousy reminding him that they had the triad tourney coming up and he expected them to win.
The day of the mission was the trickiest part, getting all of them into the air with a shuttle without the bridges of the various vessels being aware of the coordination. Jake had snuck Rene's viper over to the Zakar the night before, launching for his patrol, landing on the Zakar and nabbing a viper from there to bring back to the Galactica. Starbuck made sure Jenny was off duty to get the viper on the flight line as she had followed his orders and locked Rene's viper down. The flight deck crew wondered why he was releasing it, but he just pretended he was a typical Strike Wing Captain and above the scrutiny of those lowlier than him on the flight deck. He hated doing it and knew he owed a lot of the flight deck crew drinks after this was all over.
Rene was the first to leave, heading to the Zakar on the shuttle Jolly was piloting under the pretense of fleet business. Boomer and Jake launched next as if on a regular patrol. Starbuck and Max went next, claiming they were headed over to the foundry ship to check on the processing of ores. Apollo was the hardest to conceal as his trips about the fleet now usually were in a shuttle, but he pulled his command privilege, claimed he missed a viper, and that Rene who was joining him was an entirely different pilot. Rene would be Apollo's wing mate and guide him down to the landing site.
It was the one part of the mission Starbuck wasn't happy with, but he couldn't find a way around it. Due to the lack of trust amongst the Caprica survivors, Boomer said he and Jake would need to land. That left Max, Apollo and Starbuck. Starbuck didn't trust Max's flying abilities. He wasn't a bad pilot, but the young man was slow to react. He was along mostly because he had no fear of the anomaly and he had no children to worry about, but it was not the cover Starbuck wanted for Rene in the air. That left him or Apollo and he knew his friend was not going to miss the opportunity to land on Caprica. It was finally decided, despite Starbuck's objections, that Rene should land with the rest of them as the vipers in the sky might draw more attention than they would on the ground. It was that or Starbuck staying in the air with her and everyone else had voted that down as a bad idea. They'd even discussed leaving him behind, Adama stating firmly that now that the sealing was official, the two of them should never be on a mission or duty together ever.
"Too many emotions, son, you know that as well as I do. It's why we kept women out of the service for so long and out of vipers until fairly recently."
Starbuck tried to argue that he'd always been emotional in the cockpit and it hadn't hurt him yet. Hades, he and Jolly were like kin, and he and Apollo were best friends and flew together for yahrens. He kept Serina out of it, feeling the blow was too low in front of Adama and the others, but he knew from the look on Apollo's face and his sudden silence that his old buddy was thinking the same thing. Not one on the mission was swayed by his arguments. The decision stood, Apollo was her wing mate and she'd be landing right beside him.
Starbuck tried to argue the point again when they all had made it to the rendezvous point, but he got a curt, "Clear the comlines" from Apollo. He hoped that Boomer had been right, that the meeting was set up and the survivors would be ready. If things went smoothly and the anomaly cooperated, this should be one of the shortest missions of his life.
"How are we doing on time?" Jake asked Boomer, to receive the affirmative that they would be early to the meeting with the survivors.
"Gives us time to do some recon?" Apollo had asked, but it was Jake that answered him.
"Not sure that's a good idea. A viper or two goes unnoticed. Six and a shuttle? I know we have Starbuck along, but I don't feel that lucky."
"Alright, we ready?" Rene asked, and Starbuck couldn't help chuckling when Jolly asked what they needed to be ready for. Rene explained for him, but by now Starbuck knew the anomaly wasn't something you could really explain, not with any accuracy anyway. "So Jolly, you're just going to follow Boomer and Jake. Don't question it, heck, don't even look at it, just follow Boomer. Pull up when you feel like you want to go down, and no, your head is not exploding."
"What?" Jolly replied quickly followed by a "Holy mother of the lords!" as Rene activated the device in her viper, and the energy beam from her craft expanded into a swirling mass of rainbow colors.
"Like we discussed, you first, Jake, me last. Boomer and Jake, go high just in case Jolly drops low. I'll put us high enough in orbit to leave him some room. See you on the other side." Rene held position, the energy from her guns holding open the anomaly. It wasn't until then that Starbuck realized she'd be landing in Cylon controlled planet with her weapons at less than full capacity, a fact he should have understood before, but had somehow missed.
Starbuck fell in line behind Apollo and in front of Rene. His eardrums nearly shattered from Jolly's yelp into the comm line as he followed him into the rift in space. He popped out in a low orbit above Caprica, right above the shopping complex Rene had flown him over. He didn't take a breath until he visually saw that Rene was right beside him and the anomaly closed behind her.
He didn't take another breath until he'd checked the scanners. In their immediate area, the skies were clear, the scanner free of contact, just a few blips far off over the horizon. A simple blast of a scrambler should hide their intrusion on Cylon scanners until they could land. By the time the Cylons realigned their scanners, the vipers and shuttle should be on the ground and harder to detect.
Boomer had already glided in for a landing, the shuttle was not far behind, wobbling a little as Jolly tried to overcome the effects of the slide and squeezing. The others glided in to land, filling the parking lot, and Starbuck thanked the lords that things seemed to be going as smoothly as Rene had predicted. They'd been in the air over Caprica for less than five centons and the scanners had remained clear of enemy contact the entire time.
He made sure that Rene landed first before he settled his viper in beside hers on the ground. He'd wanted to demand that Rene wear a breather while on the planet. Who knew what toxic chemicals were in the air, which seemed even denser and more fouled than the few cycles before when they had landed? Rene had packed one to humor him, but she jumped down from her viper with no breather in sight. He reached for his, but realized it was bulky and wouldn't fit in a pocket. He didn't want it to obscure his vision, plus he wanted both hands free for his blasters, so he left the breather behind as he jumped down to meet her.
"So far, so good," he said to her scanning the murky skies, both lasers in his hands. She had drawn one of hers, but held it loosely, as if drawing it had just been for his sake and not her own.
"Like I said. Quiet. So, you know, since we're early, think we can check out a store or two?" She winked at him as he shook his head.
"No. In and out, like a school boy with his first socialator, got it?"
"Not even if it's a fumarello store?"
He considered for a moment, watching as Jake and Boomer sauntered to the entrance of the shopping complex as if on a Sabbath day shopping errand. "Maybe."
They gathered near the entrance to the complex. "Now what?" Apollo asked, acting far more composed than Starbuck had on his last trip to Caprica. Jolly looked stunned and hadn't uttered a word since his yelp into the com line.
Starbuck clapped Jolly on the back. "Unbelievable, I know. I'd tell you to take a deep breath, but it'd probably kill you. Just know that you're going to be okay." Jolly just slowly nodded as if numb while he took in the sights.
Boomer's voice was eerie in the silence. "We're early. We agreed to meet inside and they said they'd be ready to go. I don't see any activity out here, so maybe they're already waiting on us."
"I would assume they are good at remaining unseen to have survived this many yahrens. You caught the activity in the industrial area, correct?" Apollo pulled out his recorder and checked the readings. "You're right, the radium is lower than expected, but I'm picking up all kinds of toxicity in the air." He cast his eyes up to the sky. "The cloud cover will hide us, but it hides the Cylons as well."
"Good thing we're not going to the industrial area then, huh?" Rene quipped sauntering past him towards the door of the complex. "Let's do this."
Boomer led the way into the shopping complex as the rest followed. It wasn't as dark inside as Starbuck would have thought. In its heyday, this complex had skylights and atriums filled with fountains and plants. The skylights had fallen in, and the plants had died leaving a rotting smell behind. There were signs of destruction near the doors to the complex, windows broken, debris littering the floor, but it wasn't as bad as Starbuck had expected. As they stepped farther in, the destruction was a lot less, store fronts intact with their wares still on display. It wasn't any worse than maybe if there had been a bad storm, or a small riot, but for the most part the mall was as he remembered it yahrens ago when he was a teen and this was one of his favorite places to pick up girls. He half expected to hear the banal music start up and the lights to come on. He was curious if the food court was the same as he remembered. Would it still smell of the pastries that permeated the air, a smell so synonymous with his early sexual experiences, he had a hard time sometimes separating the two.
The echoing of their boots on crunching glass dispelled his reverie. Each bootstep tamping on the tile floors had Starbuck flinching. Boomer, Jake and Rene made no effort to keep their steps silent. They had deemed this area safe, but Apollo, and Jolly each held blasters and scanned the area, alert and ready for an imminent attack. Apollo stayed near the door to the complex, hesitant to leave the shuttle and vipers expose. Jolly moved farther in with the rest, but he avoided the open hole in the ceiling. Boomer and Jake moved farther into the complex, headed near the stairs that led to the upper level. Rene started to head off down the concourse, taking a side route away from the group and Starbuck took a few quick steps to catch up to her and pull her back.
"Where are you going? I was joking about the shopping," he whispered. She rolled his eyes at him.
"If we encounter the enemy I really doubt it will be here. Last time I checked, Cylons don't wear clothes." She indicated the nearest store fronts with female mannequins.
"It's almost as we left it," Apollo said, finally deciding that the area was secure, and choosing to give in to his curiosity. His words had Starbuck jumping not realizing how close his friend was. "Not much destruction here. You would think more had survived then?"
Rene shook her head, and Jake answered coming up to them, "Nerve gas. Leaves you trying to breathe, only you can't get your lungs to work. Worse ways to go I suppose."
"Yeah, old and in my bed, surrounded by at least ten beautiful women, no offense Rene," Starbuck tossed out.
"You make it to old you can have twenty," she quipped back, but something about the joke wasn't so funny. He was reminded again what his old flight instructor had said often, there were no old viper jocks.
He was about to comment back about beating the odds when he nearly jumped out of his skin as Boomer's voice echoed in the empty building, "Hello? Avery, we're here."
"Geez, Boomer, are you trying to kill us?" Starbuck spun around, expecting a centurion any moment. Instead, he saw a man dressed in outdoor military camouflage step from the shadows from one of the store fronts they had just passed. He held a Cylon pulse rifle in his hands, levelled at the group. Starbuck raised his blaster.
"Put your weapons down," the man ordered. His haggard face lined with scars was something out of one of Rene's nightmares.
Boomer stepped towards the man holstering his weapon. "Good, you made it, Avery. I'm here with the shuttle just like we talked about to get your people out of here to the Galactica. These are my people."
"Halt!" The man turned his rifle to Boomer and whistled. Two more men stepped out of the shadows of the store fronts, Cylon pulsar rifles at the ready.
"Avery?" Boomer asked, halting in his steps.
"Put your weapons down. Do as I say, now." The man spoke low and in control. His hard eyes left no room for debate.
"What's wrong, Avery?" Boomer waved at the others to lower their weapons.
Apollo stepped forward to the sound of the rifles powering up echoing in the large atrium. By the sound, it was more than the two trained on them. Apollo raised his hands to show he meant no harm. "I'm Colonel Apollo of the Colonial Fleet. We've come here to help rescue you."
The man nodded to Apollo. "That's what they said. Said they were from the Galactica. Said they'd bring someone and, by the Lords, they did. A Colonel?" Avery took a step towards Boomer and motioned with the rifle for Boomer to move towards Starbuck and Apollo. "Keep your hands up and the rest of you drop your weapons."
Jake took a step towards the man, and a rifle shot from the shopping level above hit the ground in front of him. Jake backed up crouching and cursing. "Frack! Hey Avery, what's up, man? Thought we were friends here?"
Starbuck looked to Rene, reached out and grabbed her arm, protectively pulling her behind him as he whispered, "I thought you had this worked out?"
Rene shook her head at him as she looked to the second floor of the shopping center, trying to locate the weapons. "We did!" She flicked her head to the left, letting Starbuck know where she had found one of the rifles.
"Avery, we're here to help you," Boomer said, his hands in the air complying with the man's demands. "We have a shuttle and we're ready to get you out of here and take you to the fleet."
Avery disregarded Boomer as he shifted his attention to Rene. With the muzzle of the rifle he motioned for Rene to come join Boomer. She flashed Starbuck a hand sign one that meant to hold. Keeping her hands visible at her sides, but the blaster still in her hand, she stepped around him.
"What's wrong, Avery? I brought help just like I said I would. Not a Cylon in sight. How about we get out of here before they show up, okay?" Rene walked slowly towards the man.
"You can stop there," Avery said before Rene was more than five paces before him. "And for your information, you're going to bring me a lot more help than this. See, I figure if your fleet is so close you can come here for raiding missions, well, they can lend a lot more support, don't you think? We could wipe the Cylons out here and take back our planet. So why don't you call for more help. I'll walk out with you to your vipers, and you put in that distress call, what do you say?"
Starbuck watched Rene wince. He knew her shopping trips would eventually bite her in the astrum, but he had thought it would be from Adama and being on report for black market dealings. No one expected this.
"Avery, that's not how it works. I told you. The fleet is pretty far away. I create a rift in space and can travel through many quadrants, but just me. Not the fleet. I can't bring the Galactica here. Where's Gia? I thought we were getting all of you out of here? At least the women and kids." She craned her head up to the gallery, trying to get a glimpse of the rest of the group.
Avery gave her a hard look, then scanned the unfamiliar faces of the warriors she had brought with her. Starbuck didn't like the look, and took a step towards Rene, but it earned him a rifle shot to the ground in front of him. He tried not to flinch. "Boomer? Thought you had this worked out?"
At the words, Boomer took a step towards Avery, and the man shifted his rifle to aim back at Boomer.
"I'm thinking," the man started, "If you can bring me a Colonel and some Lieutenants, you can bring at least a combat squadron. So why don't you go back to your viper, make that distress call because no one is leaving here today. We're taking back Caprica."
Rene said calmly, "Avery, I can't do that. I would if I could. I'm not lying to you."
"Really?" Avery kept his rifle trained on Boomer as he shifted his attention to Rene. "You weren't coming here for needed supplies. No, you came for luxury goods. You carted out of here a whole lot of things not necessary for survival. You showed up pretty often too, so I'm thinking you're lying."
Jake cursed, and Starbuck wanted to utter one of his own. Rene was left speechless as the weight of her actions fell upon her. It was Boomer that tried to rectify the confusion.
"She's young. She has an ability we don't understand and she used it for selfish reasons. I assure you, Avery, if we could bring a battleship here or a squadron, we would. The fleet is far from here, in an area of space free from the Cylons and we want to keep it that way. We don't know what bringing a larger vessel here will do, even if we could."
Avery looked suspiciously at Boomer then over to Apollo. "Let's say we find out. If you can send me a Colonel, you can send me a lot more. Let's go make that distress call."
Rene took a step towards Avery, earning her a harsh glare. She tried to lend some authority to her voice. "All that's going to do is bring the Cylons down on us. You can come to my viper with me if you don't believe me. I can show you the scanner. The fleet is nowhere near here, Avery. I brought all that I could with me. There are limitations to how this works!"
Starbuck could tell by the look on the man's face he wasn't buying Rene's story. Starbuck leapt into the negotiations. He had to get Rene clear of this, and clear of here at least. If he could get the women and kids from Caprica, all the better, and he'd worry about saving the rest of them later.
"Look, Avery, is it?" Starbuck carefully put his weapons in their holsters as he stepped slowly forward, his hands in the air. "We can't just call them and get them here. Rene has to go there and bring them back. So why don't you let here do that, and while she's at it she can take your women and children to a safer place. Then she can bring back more help, what do you say? We'll stay behind just like you want, and she'll bring more help. That work for you?"
Rene flashed Starbuck a panicked look, but he nodded at her confidently hoping she would see the wisdom of his offer. She turned back to Avery. "He's right. I can't call them, I have to go, so at least let me take your women and children. I will get them to safety. Don't you want them out of this cess pool?"
The man considered the words, but it didn't look like he was going to budge as he held his ground. A woman's voice calling out from the level above made the decision for him. "Avery, think about the kids."
The man lowered his weapon a fraction. "Alright, the women and kids, and then you bring back a whole lot of help. I want Vipers and warriors, understood?"
Starbuck breathed a sigh of relief, motioning with his head for Rene to keep going with the plan.
"Oh yeah, understood," Rene nodded hastily. She'd be happy to bring lots of both. It wasn't going to happen, but she would love to do that.
"She's going to need some backup in the sky," Starbuck pushed. If he could get one more of them out of here, it would be less that needed to be rescued later. "The shuttle will need some cover. How about you let us accompany her, see your kids to safety, and then we'll be back with a lot more help."
Avery nodded along to the words, and then shifted his gaze, taking in the insignias of the uniforms. He made a quick decision, pointing his rifle at Boomer. "You. Just you. I know you can come back. The rest stay."
Apollo spoke. "It's me you want. Warriors will come on my command. Let the rest go as air support, to keep your kids safe."
"No," Avery said simply, then addressed Starbuck. "No, you look like you're the brains here, so you stay. They can go. Just the two."
"I need my shuttle pilot," Rene reminded him.
"Alright, three. The rest stay. Gia?" he shouted to the upper level. "You ready?"
"We're ready." A woman dressed in the same military camouflage stepped toward the railing looking down upon the others.
Avery motioned at Jake and Max to come over to join Apollo. Starbuck took the opportunity of the distraction to take the steps towards Rene, grabbing her into an embrace, whispering hastily into her ear, "You go back and you stay there until the baby is born. Don't come back." He reached for her hand and squeezed it twice.
"I'm bringing help!" Rene said emphatically out loud.
Starbuck gritted his teeth and shook his head slightly, hoping to convey to her with a look what she should do. "That's an order!" he said aloud while flashing as fast as he could, "too dangerous. Wait until baby is born." She shook her head and ducked away, turning her gaze elsewhere. He yanked at her hand shouting, "Look at me! I'm serious."
"Dammit! I'll be back."
Avery stepped forward, grabbing at Starbuck's arm to pull him away. "Get over there!"
Starbuck let the man lead him off, but he kept his eyes locked on Rene, nodding to her. She turned away from him, and started walking for the door of the shopping complex, not turning as he yelled after her. "That's an order, Rene!" Starbuck shouted to Boomer, "Make her follow my orders!"
Boomer nodded, said he would do his best, but Starbuck knew by the look on his face he was humoring him. "I'll be back with more help," Boomer said, but they both knew there was no more help to be found. Adama wouldn't risk the fleet for a rescue mission. Avery motioned for another man to cover the group of Colonials as he joined Rene and Boomer. Starbuck tried to hold his position as he watched them walk out the door, maybe forever. He knew they were on their own.
"Well, Brains," Apollo said to Starbuck, "what now?"
"Looks like we fight Cylons."