"You're awfully quiet." There were many things Captain Apollo had come to expect from flying with Lieutenant Starbuck as a wingman over the yahrens. One of these givens was that the man could prattle on incessantly and either amuse the Hades out of him or drive him mad. It didn't seem to matter to Starbuck the centar of the day, the length of the patrol, what he had been doing the night before, or even if he was hung over; the man just started talking once they launched and didn't stop until they were in decon. Apollo had mused many a time if somehow the solitude of space affected his friend so. The Captain was, in contrast, content to sit back and let the quiet and vast emptiness surround him. He felt it comforting somehow. Then again, he had a six- yahren-old boy.

Strangely though, since they had met in the launch bay, Starbuck had barely said a word to him other than to briefly explain his run in with two goons on the triad court the night before, but only when asked. Apollo had found the complete report forwarded to him by Colonial Security when he checked his messages first thing in the morning, along with Starbuck's clean bill of health from the Life Station. Apparently, the two men, Kaden and Borka, were somewhat recently hired civilian sanitation technicians in charge of the fitness center, as well as other areas of the same deck. Both men had a history of working for recreational facilities in various capacities, ranging from personal trainers to their present designation. They also moonlighted on the Rising Star during triad games, preparing and cleaning up the court and stands before and after games, which was unusual as far as the Captain was concerned. After all, it must be someone else's responsibility the rest of the time. Damned unions.

The Strike Captain grimaced as he mused the necessity of having civilians on a military vessel in any capacity. Unfortunately, manpower was limited, and trained military personnel were better suited to more appropriate positions than sanitation engineers or food preparation. He sighed. He couldn't help but wonder what information was missing from the personnel file. A mention of being in the Reserves on Skorpia seemed to be the deciding factor in both men obtaining positions on the Galactica post Destruction. Of course, Apollo was well aware from experience that the Destruction gave many a man with a nefarious past an opportunity to recreate himself. Charybdis, Baltar's personal pilot, came to the forefront of his mind.

To complicate matters, the woman that Starbuck and Luana claimed to be rescuing had completely disappeared. Kaden and Borka were attempting to press assault charges against Starbuck for his physical attack on them, and maintained that this woman was but a figment of Starbuck and Luana's imaginations. Reece had assured the Captain that the likelihood of the charges being filed was remote, taking into consideration the reputation of the so-called 'victims' as compared to the 'aggressor'. In any case, the Security Officer had also informed him that the report was "stored on a datapad that had erroneously been sent to Biotechnical Engineering for repair and maintenance". Apparently, even Colonial Security's finest could be absent minded when it came to retrieving important data before shipping their datapads off for repair. The 'quality assurance' report had already been filed . . . appropriately.

"Starbuck?" Apollo tried again.

"Yo." It lacked his usual verve.

"Something on your mind, buddy?"

A sigh and some static was the only reply.

"Come on, Starbuck. Spit it out."

Starbuck sighed again as he wondered what to say. Truthfully, he had mixed feelings about the whole Cassiopeia/Luana situation. He felt bad that the longest relationship he had had to date had crashed and burned the night before in the Life Station, but at the same time he was strangely relieved that the crushing oppression of commitment was suddenly gone. It was like a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Not for the first time, he wondered if maybe he just wasn't meant for a long-term relationship. The idea of sealing with a woman at times appealed to him, but in theory only. Every time he got close, he seemed to screw it up. If Cassiopeia was correct, he did it on purpose. Maybe he was a more active participant than he thought in Luana's little seduction scene. Maybe he had been leading her on the whole time without consciously thinking about it. Hades, maybe not. Can you help it if you're irresistible to women?

"Starbuck?" Apollo tried yet again. "I'm reading life signs, so I know you're still there, buddy."

"Cassie broke up with me last night." There. He had said it. Now he awaited the predictable, 'what did you do, Starbuck?'

"What did you do?" Apollo asked.

Starbuck snorted in reply.

"You didn't do anything?" Apollo asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I did." He sighed and smiled slightly as he realized that his friends likely expected this from him. Really, these days it was more his reputation and history than his raison d'etre, but still . . . "I slept with Luana." Starbuck replied.

Oddly, though that admission should have made him feel like a daggit, it didn't. It was almost a relief just getting it off his chest. Confessing to his conscience. He realized it was ironic and unusual that he kept his conscience tucked away in the form of his Captain and best friend, but at times like this, it was probably the best course of action. After all, a guy could get downright respectable carrying it around with him at all times. He couldn't allow that to happen.

"Starbuck . . . " Apollo sighed and closed his eyes briefly. He felt like berating the man like a disappointed parent, but knew his friend would be feeling terrible enough as it was. Lords, wasn't Starbuck ever going to grow up?

"I know." Starbuck replied, returning from his wandering thought line. His train of thought had shot off in several directions, generally avoiding the whole Luana/Cassie situation until just a few centons before. After all, there was enough to think about already now that he was being charged with assault. No matter the assurances from Security, he had to find that woman. Oh, then there was his card game . . . triad
. . . that slight hesitation in the response time of his ship when he hit his turbos . . . his big toe sticking through the end of his right sock . . .

"I really thought you two were really going to make a go of it this time." Apollo ventured, trying to keep the accusatory note out of his voice.

"Yeah, well, just goes to show how wrong you can be." Starbuck replied lightly, in response to the edge of disapproval he heard.

"You don't sound too broken up about it." Apollo accused him. "Or are you just trying to make me think that?" Apollo shook his head wishing he could see the man's face . . . not that it always helped. When his friend really wanted to hide his feelings, he did it effectively, hiding behind his insouciant facade. "What's going on in that head of yours, Starbuck?"

Starbuck snorted at that. He took a few centons to gather his thoughts before replying. "Apollo, I feel like I was in a Cylon pinwheel attack and I escaped by the skin of my teeth."

Apollo's eyebrows rose as he paused before replying. "Starbuck, I've never seen a pilot look as comfortable in a pinwheel attack as you did with Cassiopeia this last sectar." He had truly thought that Starbuck was happy, or at least his friend had made every effort to appear so.

"Well, I do have a bit of experience with pinwheel attacks. You might say I attract them." A low chuckle escaped him.

"No kidding," Apollo said ruefully. It was true. Whether in love or war, Starbuck was definitely in the center of the action. He took the same risks in his personal life that he did in battle. At the same time, though, he seemed to be aware of all the risk factors and was able to extricate himself unscathed from the heat . . . though sometimes he had a little help from his friends. "How's Cassiopeia?"

Starbuck blew out a slow, deep breath between his teeth. Cassie was one of Apollo's friends too. The immediate future might be a little awkward, considering how close she and Sheba had grown. "I kind of got the idea she gave up on us a while ago. I believe her words were, 'I've given it more thought than you'."

That actually surprised Apollo. He had imagined a dramatic scene where Cassiopeia had discovered the lovers in a passionate embrace. "How did she find out?"

Starbuck shook his head at the memory. "Did you know that a biomonitor can do a sperm count by just running it over you?"

"Uh . . . Starbuck, no it can't. You would have to provide a specimen for them to do an accurate sperm count."

Starbuck blinked. "She was bluffing. Holy frack, she was bluffing!" A slow smile spread across his face . . . Cassiopeia. She was one Hades of a woman.

The regret was instantaneous, but was gone just as quickly, before he resigned himself to the fact that it was for the best. Cassie deserved one hundred percent and she wasn't going to get that from him.