Chapter 3: Ascension
Bill found himself in Admiral Cain's cabin three days later looking over her rather impressive collection of antique weapons. The Admiral had taken military command of the Fleet and had asked for his logs and crew rosters for review. Most of the crew, including himself, regarded the arrival of the other battlestar as a gift from the gods. Tyrol and his deck crew were ecstatic at the re-supplies they received from the newer ship and Gaeta had informed him this morning that they had given Galactica complete navigational charts and upgrades.
That was not to say that everyone was happy with their arrival. Tigh seemed to have some serious misgivings about the Admiral after her XO, Colonel Fisk, had told him a story about Pegasus' previous XO. Starbuck was apparently locked in her own power struggle with the Pegasus CAG and the President had told him that morning that Cain was not only failing to provide aide to the other ships, but hadn't even returned her calls.
Adama had his own concerns about the Admiral, the story she told them about how Pegasus survived the attacks worried him greatly. Not the facts, so much as the look in her eyes, he could see she'd taken what had happened badly. He'd told the President that he knew Helena Cain by reputation only, however he had known her father rather well.
William Cain the Third had been his CAG and friend on his first tour on the Galactica during the Cylon war. He'd followed Will when he took on XO of Atlantia in the first days after the Armistice and the two could often be found in the rec room recounting stories of their exploits to each other over a bottle of Tauron Whiskey until the day Bill was asked to go into inactive reserve.
Years later, when Anne's father got him back onto active duty, it was Will who brought him aboard the Atlantia as CAG and took Bill with him when Cain took Command of Columbia as his Executive Officer. When Will took a promotion to Admiral and a job presiding over the War College that would eventually bear his name, Will did him one last favor by getting Bill command of the Valkyrie.
He met up with his old friend many times in the years that followed but he'd never got a chance to meet his family.
When he saw that haunted look in Helena's eyes, it looked enough like her father's face that Bill recognized the scar of loosing so many of her people was a painful one.
He was inspecting an antique flintlock pistol when the hatch opened and brought his musing to a close. He came to attention when Cain entered the room, two lieutenants at her side. She signed off on a report from the first one then sent him on his way then gathered several reports and handed them to the young woman before sending her to CIC.
She turned to Bill with a smile, "Sorry to keep you waiting Commander, and forgive me if I don't have a seat to offer. I prefer to work while standing, it's easier on the back and I've come to believe that not allowing my officers to sit helps keep meetings moving along."
He nodded, the sentiment sounded very familiar, "I'll have to keep that in mind." She picked up a report binder and opened it as Bill took another glance at the weapons displayed around the room, "Your collection is certainly impressive. That flintlock must be very old."
She nodded, "A gift from my father when I first took command of the Pegasus. It's several centuries old, in fact he claimed it had been traced all the way back to Kobol." She gave him a very familiar smirk, "But I think you know as well as I do that Dad was occasionally full of shit."
He smirked in return, "Only occasionally? He must have improved his average."
She chuckled, "Did you have a chance to look around?"
He took another look around, "It's been a long time since I've been on a Mercury Class. It's a big ship."
She closed one binder and opened another, "Twice the size and needs half the crew."
He took a step towards the table across from her, "Makes me feel a little like I'm commanding a relic."
She shook her head, "Galactica's not a relic, she's a classic and, like my father, I happen to have an appreciation for the classics." She looked over the binder again and spoke, "I've reviewed your logs and it looks like you've been through quite an ordeal. You've done yourselves proud."
He nodded at that, "Thank you, Admiral. I imagine both our crews have been through the wringer."
She pulled out some charts and enlarged recon photos, "As I told you, we were tracking a Cylon fleet and after reviewing your logs I've come to the conclusion this fleet was following you." She picked up one of the recon photos and placed it in front of him, "The fleet's composed of two base ships, about a dozen supports ships and this-" She pointed to a particularly large, but blurry image in the background of the photo. "It's larger than anything we've seen and from the placement of the other ships, the Cylons seem to be protecting it."
He inspected the image closer before saying, "It's a tempting target."
She grinned and gave him an appreciative expression, "And here I was preparing a whole song and dance about combining our forces for a joint strike op."
He stood up and looked at the Admiral, "Any chance to hit them where it hurts, my pleasure." He rolled up the photos, "I'll have Starbuck co-ordinate with your CAG to plan a recon."
"I have a list of pilots on your wing I think would be suited for the recon, have them temporarily transferred over. On to another matter…" Cain frowned and closed her binder before sliding it over to him. "I think it might be best if I began integrating our crews, a few people here and there. Most notably, I'm sending Chief Laird to take command of your flight deck and Ensign Thornton over to take over at Tactical. I think it would be in both of our best interests to have Apollo in my fighter wing." She slid the papers over to him and Adama read the orders of transfer, "The last thing you need Bill, is to have whispers of nepotism following you around."
She gathered up some of her papers and spoke, "If that'll be all Commander, I'm needed in CIC."
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Kara looked over the list in her hand, "This is pretty straight forward; Flat Top, Racetrack, and Sweetness are good Pilots. I'll have Crashdown, Fuzzy and Skulls ride backseat with them." When the Old Man returned from Pegasus, he'd spoke to the Chief for a few minutes before having Lee and Kara join him in his quarters. He then briefed them on the recon mission and Cain's requests for a temporary transfer of Galactica personnel.
Adama nodded from his seat behind his desk, "The Admiral will likely have you and Stinger riding together."
She smirked, "Good plan, I was hoping for a chance to put his head through a bulkhead." She threw the Commander a wink then said, "We'll pack our things and head over there." She started to rise from her seat when Adama shook his head, "Sir?"
Adama picked up a sheet of paper and handed it across the desk to Lee, "It seems that with the arrival of Pegasus, Lee serving under my command is inappropriate. Admiral Cain has requested his immediate transfer."
Lee took the sheet and said, "Transfer to Pegasus?"
Meanwhile Kara scowled and barked out, "Why the frak should he do that?"
"Because those are his orders."
Kara jumped out of her seat, "This is bullshit! Stinger has a problem with me so he runs to Cain and complains and now I'm loosing my best pilot on the eve of an Operation? I don't frakking think so!"
Adama was just about to raise his voice when Lee spoke calmly from his seat, "Kara." Surprisingly, it stopped Kara mid-rant and Bill watched Lee give her a grin. "It's okay. I'll go."
Her face was incredulous, "What the frak do you mean?"
"The Admiral's right, and if we fight this we'll be proving it. I'll go fly on Pegasus, show them all how it's done." He gave her a grin, "Besides, this just means I'm not going to have to embarrass you when I finally get medical clearance again." She rolled her eyes in response.
Kara turned back to the Old Man, "Will that be all, sir?" Adama nodded and she turned to leave.
When the hatch closed, Bill turned to his son. "Be careful over there."
Lee nodded, "Yes, sir."
"Dismissed."
Lee stood up and left his father's cabin, to be immediately confronted by Kara. "What the frak do you mean, you'll go over there?"
Lee made sure that the corridor was clear before he took her hand in his tightly, "Kara, I don't want you to think that-"
She scowled, "What am I supposed to think?"
He frowned, "I'm trying to keep Cain from dragging all three of us before her in a court martial. Chances are she's trying to prove a point to the Old Man. But if we push her, she might want to turn it into an example." He squeezed her fingers in his then whispered, "Trust me, I am not happy about this. After all, Stinger's not my type." He gave her a wink and she shook her head at him. "We better get over to Pegasus before Stinger has an aneurysm."
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One thing Kara noticed about Pegasus' ready room was that it was brightly lit, too brightly lit in her opinion. Everything about this place was sterile and pristine, none of Galactica's charm. She hated it here. She sat with her pilots on one side of the room while Pegasus' pilots filed in and took seats. She looked up to find Lee taking a seat next to her in his blues, his Pegasus patch seemed to mock her.
Narcho entered the room and called out, "Attention on Deck!"
As the assembled pilots snapped to their feet, Stinger walked in and stepped behind the podium. He slapped his right hand on the side and said, "As you were." He pressed a control on his podium then spoke again. "This is a photo recon mission." The screen paused on a blurry image that Kara recognized from the intel the Old Man showed her before she came over, "The objective is this vessel which is larger than anything we've encounter before. They've jumped into a nearby system with several large planetary bodies." The screen changed to show a large gas giant, "The fourth moon of this planet has an unusually large magnetic field which we can use to hide." Kara scowled and leaned over to Lee to let him know what she thought of Stinger's 'plan,' "We'll power down and wait for them to pass us." Pegasus' CAG scowled at his counterpart and spoke, "Starbuck, you got something to add?"
Kara noticed Lee shake his head to warn her, but she just couldn't help herself. "Yeah, your plan sucks and the Cylons aren't stupid. The moon's a blind spot and the Cylons won't go anywhere near it." The Galactica pilots tried to stifle their laughter at their CAG's attitude, but Crashdown and Flat Top seemed to be having trouble judging by their snorts.
Stinger's jaw was clenched when he cocked his head and bit out angrily, "Really? Well that's-"
Kara cut him off, "You want to get close? You'll need to use the stealth fighter we built on Galactica." She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Lee's expression went from annoyed to thoughtful.
Meanwhile, several of the Pegasus pilots sniggered and Narcho said, "That homemade tin can probably can't even get off the ground."
"That's enough." He looked Kara dead in the eye, "Admiral Cain placed me in command of this mission Thrace, you just worry about piloting our raptor." He then turned to Lee, "Adama, you'll check with our CMO in the morning for flight clearance. From there you'll be assigned to Red Flight under Showboat." He shut down the display screen, "Dismissed."
As the pilots broke up, Kara followed Lee out of the ready room, when he turned towards the flight deck and not the bunks she reached out and stopped him. "Hey, where are you going?"
Lee grabbed her surveillance gear and said, "It's best if you don't know." While she tried to decipher his cryptic words, Lee disappeared into the crowd. Before she could call after him she heard Stinger clear his throat and call her over.
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Laird was still settling in on Galactica's flight deck, Tyrol had shown him his new office and then Jammer had graciously offered to show him around while the former Deck Chief began gathering his personal item from his desk.
Jammer was showing him how to operate the older diagnostic equipment when he felt a tap on his shoulder, "Chief?"
Laird turned to find a pilot with captain's pins. It took him a moment to remember protocol and he said, "Can I help you, Captain?"
"Captain Adama, Admiral Cain sent me over to bring the blackbird over for some computer simulations, could you get her prepped ASAP?"
He nodded, and after a moment he remembered to give the pilot a salute and turned to Jammer to help him get the experimental fighter in the air.
But Adama stopped the knuckle-dragger and handed him a bag, "Outfit the ship with this Jammer."
The younger man nodded, "Sure thing Apollo."
End Part