Starbuck could feel the warmth of Luana on his right side as they sat side by side on the shuttle. At first, it was like any other time they had been together on duty, but then Lu's leg had pressed ever so slightly against his, as though to remind him of her presence. He returned the same pressure, feeling a bit like a kid in school as the captain's gaze settled on them in apparent consternation.
Starbuck met Apollo's eyes with an easy grin. Fraternization. Once upon a time, it had been dissuaded, and even punished, but that was a lifetime ago. Before all of their worlds had been turned upside down or blown to Hades Hole.
Really, Apollo had taken fraternizing to a whole new level in his relationship with Sheba. Then again, he had also insisted on them remaining in separate squadrons for the very same reasons that were likely zipping through the captain's mind right now. In a perilous situation, would they perform effectively if they were too worried about their lover to pay adequate attention to the situation at hand?
Starbuck could just about hear the wheels turning in Apollo's head as he rubbed his jaw, while watching the pair. Yeah, Starbuck had pulled a few strings to maneuver Luana and Lia into Blue Squadron, where they could benefit from the watchful eyes and tutelage of the hottest pilots in the fleet. At the time though, his motives had been irreproachable. It had nothing whatsoever to do with a budding romance.
Though most people wouldn't believe it, Starbuck had never abused his friendship with the captain for his own selfish purposes. He knew there was a line he couldn't cross, and while he was perfectly willing to stand on his tiptoes in a stiff breeze upon that line, he wouldn't step over it. He had too much respect for Apollo.
That was why he was restraining himself now.
As much as he'd like to do something about the slender fingers that were tucked into his pants, surreptitiously tugging at his tunic and lightly stroking the flesh at his waist, he kept his hands to himself. No one else could see what Luana was up to beneath the cover of his open flight jacket, especially considering her proximity. Besides, he was kind of enjoying the attention. Despite what it was doing to his concentration.
Yeah, when he had hit the launch bay, he was totally focused on the mission. Even seeing Luana hadn't broken through his demeanour. But then their eyes had met and he had seen her gradually crumble before him. No one else would have detected it, because she held herself erect and proud, as always. It had been revealed in her eyes as they slowly dropped from his own. He'd immediately known he'd been the cause.
It was a gut reaction, to connect with her. It had little to do with them suddenly becoming lovers, and everything to do with his wanting to comfort someone he cared about. Just a few simple words was all it took to clear the air between them. At least that was how it first seemed. Then he had started thinking.
Ama's words came back to him. You know how the girl cares for you.
He was willing to bet that the little something he kept detecting behind her guise of 'no promises, no expectations, no kiss and tell', was infatuation. Of course, it could also be that other emotion. That one that generally scared the Hades out of him and made him want to find a vacuous black hole in space in which to disappear into.
Yeah, it was nothing but trouble. It was akin to the most intoxicating of drinks. The moments before you actually experienced it were often the most tantalizing. The build up was phenomenal. Then, when you actually tasted it, embraced it with your entire being, the feeling was incomparable to just about anything else in life. For a little while.
It never seemed to last though.
It really should be redefined in the dictionary as 'a temporary, though intense emotion involving infatuation and lust'. Then at least no one would be disappointed when sometime later you found yourself staring at your irate lover, and wondering just why the position of the turbo flush seat was suddenly and irrationally important at 0300 centars.
A sharp poke in his side made him jerk and he turned to Luana, her dark brown eyes full of devilry. They had just landed on the Rising Star. Any centon the Empyrean Quorum, or half of it, would be boarding.
"Watcha thinking about?" she asked. "You're a million parsecs away."
He smiled at her and shrugged. "Turbo flushes."
"Didn't anyone teach you that you should go before you started a mission?" She teased him, her fine brows arched at his response.
"I probably dozed off during that part." He paused as he watched the hatch open.
Ama was the first aboard. Her intense gaze seemed to find him in a micron, and she smiled, making a beeline in their direction. Aurelia and Siress Ama followed on her heels.
"Lord suffering, sweet Sagan, I can see that we need to talk about this if you're going to be any use to me on the Malocchio." Ama shook her head at them as they regarded her coolly.
Starbuck's eyes narrowed at her words. "Ama . . . " he growled.
"Stop right there, Starbuck. You need to listen." She told him sharply. "This has ceased to be about just you and Luana. Now it's about the Empyrean people. There's a crisis on our home ship and we need to resolve that before you and I get into any paltry discussions about how I seemed to mislead you."
"Seemed to?" he asked sarcastically.
"You had no right to make that announcement, Ama." Luana added angrily.
"I did what I had to do. Leaders often must. Lia understands that, don't you, girl?" Ama nodded at Luana's sister, sitting on the young woman's other side. "There's more to this than you think. Much more. Something had to be done to stop Regus from gaining momentum. I know it was drastic, but so be it. I'd do it again for my people."
"Why do you always insist on being so Goddamned cryptic?" Starbuck shook his head in exasperation. She had a way of making his arguments pale in the wake of her declarations. "Just tell us what's happening!"
"All will be revealed in time, Starbuck. Just be patient. Trust your instincts." Ama told him, patting his knee maternally as she took the seat next to him.
"Don't feed me that felgercarb, Ama."
"My dear boy, you're getting positively antagonistic towards me." Ama shook her head in dismay.
"Yeah, I wonder why." He retorted.
"Lieutenant. " A sharp, brief warning.
Starbuck sighed at the disapproving tone of his captain. Somewhere along the way he had completely lost the professional demeanour he had carefully erected after his meeting with Apollo. He clenched his jaw, reining in his anger once again.
"Ama, Starbuck's right. You need to let us know what's happening. All of it." Apollo told her, taking a seat opposite her.
"Oh, the bureaucratic intricacies are too boring to spend the next few centars labouring over them, Captain Apollo. Suffice it to say, that Regus and Albus are making a bid for control of the Quorum. Ultimately, when the Council of Twelve denies them "a distinct society" status, they will then try and convince our people that the time has once again come to abandon the path for Earth and settle on a cozy little planet."
"Once again?" Boomer asked, caught up in the conversation. "Did I miss something?"
"Remember, Lieutenant, our branch of Empyreans have abandoned the quest for Earth twice already after leaving with the thirteenth tribe from Kobol. First we settled on the planet Empyrean, then many of those who had chosen to continue to Earth eventually settled on Alrin." Lia explained, making room for Aurelia to sit beside her.
"Our people despise being immured by four walls, Lieutenant Boomer." Aurelia inserted. "I suspect it's even worse for those who have recently come from their planetary home. Much like the Borellian Nomen, it is very much in our nature to want to have the kiss of the sun's rays upon our faces, not the cold barrier of safety glass pressed against our cheeks, as we gaze out on the vastness of space wondering if we'll escape our temporary prison within this lifetime."
"Everybody feels that to a certain extent." Boomer returned to the young woman.
"It doesn't make the feeling any less powerful for it to be shared with others, Lieutenant." Aurelia replied with a shrug. "Then there's the ale . . ."
"The ale?" Starbuck asked. Ale seemed like one Hades of a good idea just about now.
Siress Ama, Aurelia's grandmother, cleared her throat, getting their attention. She sat at the edge of the group, dressed neatly, her hair perfectly coifed. "Our people have brewed ale for centi-yahrens. It was never a problem. However, the tendency to overindulge has increased significantly since our brethren have transformed our ship into an oversized brew house." She looked pointedly at the Imperial Necromancer.
"Well, if I'd known you couldn't hold your ale . . ." Ama shrugged.
"That has little to do with it!" The Siress returned sharply. "You handed a beverage to a drowning man, Ama!"
"Well, at least he'll die with a smile on his face." Ama returned indifferently.
"Can you not accept the blame for anything?" The Siress snapped.
"No." Starbuck and Luana answered for her.
"This isn't helping." Lia interrupted, not seeing the satisfied, though fleeting smirk skip across her godmother's features. "We need a plan. What are we going to do when we arrive on the Malocchio?"
"Go for a drink?" Ama asked acerbically. She elbowed Starbuck at the sound of his snort of appreciation. "You coming with me then, Starbuck? I know a great little alehouse . . ."
"Stop it." Lia ordered her.
"Are you taking your rightful position up again?" Ama asked.
"Ama . . . I can't. I'm a warrior now!" Lia seethed. "I'll make my contribution defending the fleet!"
"The Empyreans don't need warriors, they need their Emperor." Ama returned. "Now, more than ever."
"That's not what you said when we decided to abdicate." Luana reminded her. She sensed, more than heard, the sharp intake of breath from her lover. "What?" she asked him.
"You never really expected them to graduate, did you Ama?" Starbuck muttered accusingly.
"Well . . ." Ama shrugged. "I was prouder than ever before when they did. But no, I didn't see it coming."
"Parlour trickster." Starbuck ribbed her, realizing she had never intended for her goddaughters to leave her realm of influence. It was gratifying to know he had a major role in upsetting her machinations.
"I can still turn you into a putrid, Starbuck. Watch yourself." Ama threatened him.
"Can you turn Luana into one too? It'll put an interesting twist on the wedding, don't you think?" Starbuck returned with a grin, thinking about the foul smelling mammal he had encountered on Empyrean.
"Don't push me." Her eyes flashed in warning.
"Maybe it's time somebody did." He met her gaze steadily.
"Enough!" Lia shouted. Her eyes swung to the Strike Captain, silently beseeching him for assistance.
Apollo nodded. "Lia's right. This isn't the time to air your differences. I assume you have something of a plan, Ama? Would you care to share it with us?" He had had a plan as well, but somehow he didn't think he would be using it now.
"Always the voice of reason, Captain. That's one of the things I admire about you." Ama commented, collecting her thoughts. "Very well. This shuttle will be the only one permitted to land. We'll be a peace envoy, so to speak. I believe that we'll be able to sort out our problems without violence. Once our people see that their Quorum is safe, not to mention that their princesses and savior are present, we will be able to proceed."
"With what?" Starbuck asked, getting a bad feeling that this whole scene had already been written and they were simply playing out the parts.
"I suspect that they'll want a test of your fortitude, Starbuck, before we can proceed with any negotiations." She returned evasively.
"What the fra . . . what are you talking about?" Starbuck growled.
"The Fires of Truth." She answered with a smile.
"Skipper!" Jolly called from the flight deck. "Message from the Malocchio. They're only giving permission for our shuttle to land. Apparently, the insurgents have taken the bridge, Sir. They want to meet with the peace envoy and guarantee safe passage if we honour their request."
"Any word on Captain Valeray or the crew?" Apollo asked in concern.
"It's the Captain that I'm speaking to. He says that the crew are unharmed and will remain that way if we cooperate, Skipper."
"They sound very organized for a group of rebels." Boomer noted.
"Exactly." Starbuck agreed as he glared suspiciously at Ama.
"Hmm." Ama responded, a slight smile tugging at her lips and her eyes narrowing just a fraction.
"All right, Jolly. Proceed as directed and notify the Galactica of the change of plans. Direct the other three shuttles to stand by." Apollo ordered, wondering whether it was Ama's powers of necromancy or talents of bureaucratic prowess at work here.