Nearly all of Pegasus' viper pilots poured over the transcripts and flight logs for several hours but one thing about the disappearance of Shark and Buster could not be denied. They were now the bait for a trap. Sharon had no doubt that if they went after the missing raptor that the Cylons would strike. Her announcement deflated the pilots but Lee merely looked at the information before him with a frown before he spoke words that rallied the officers. "Prep the SAR, we're getting our men."

He glanced at Kara and she gave him a small nod of acknowledgment, which he returned, Starbuck had Apollo's back. As he left the Ready Room he heard Kat say, "You heard the XO, get moving."

He was in corridor before he realized Karl and Sharon were following him, Sharon spoke quietly. "Are you sure about this Lee? Your father isn't likely to approve a rescue mission even if Cain does."

He looked at her, "She will. She's protective of her people, we lost eighteen pilots to Scar, that struck this crew to the core, Sharon." He stopped and turned to them both, "As for the Admiral… A few months ago he lost two pilots and broke the chain of command to save them, even going as far to order me to my death to do it.

"We've lost too many in too short a time, I can't allow two more to be lost without even a rescue attempt. I owe my pilots as much as my father gave Karl and the Chief." He looked up the corridor and scowled, he knew he was about to have to possibly tangle with his CO and de-facto mentor and almost certainly tangle with the highest ranking officer left in the Colonial Fleet who just happened to be his father.

He didn't want to say it out loud but on a personal level he needed to do this. His father had stone-walled on rescue plans every step of the way; everything the Old Man had done since Lee had set foot on Galactica again had been for the sole purpose of distracting or discouraging Lee from going back to Caprica; the extended medical restrictions, assigning him to Tactical on Galactica, the Blackbird, taking him back out of the cockpit and putting him in CIC on Pegasus, even Baltar's trial.

Lee had fought like Hell not to give up but soon they'd be too far from the Colonies to get there and back. A part of him wanted to finally prove that he could outfight his father when it mattered because then he could win when time came to go back to Caprica.

Sharon's voice shook him from his thoughts, "Are you all right?"

He nodded then came up with an idea, a plan to be more precise. It fell together in his mind almost instantly, specifically the roles he needed Karl and Sharon to play. He checked to see they were alone then said, "Do you two trust me?"

Sharon and Helo exchanged a glance then Karl said, "You know we do."

"I need your help. I need you two to get back to Galactica and hook up with the Chief, then wait for a courier package from me, you'll know what to do with it." He gave Sharon a very pointed look, "We've talked about it before."

Sharon's eyes lit almost instantly but Karl was confused, "What's with the Cloak and Dagger routine, Lee?"

He felt a smirk that would do Kara proud as he only said, "You got Cloak and Dagger right Karl. Get back to Galactica and be ready for me." He left them without another word and made his way to CIC.

&&&&&&&&&

When he arrived in CIC he could hear Red Devil reporting on the speakers, they'd received a distress call from Buster and Shark, it all but confirmed in Lee's mind that this was a trap designed to draw Pegasus and/or Galactica away from the Fleet and attack them.

Cain scowled from her position next to Hoshi's station, "Do we have a bearing?"

The pilot's voice crackled through the speaker, "Long distance, Actual. Maybe forty Solar Units."

He crossed CIC to stand next to her and was close enough to hear her mutter, "Frak." She frowned again and said, "Come on home."

"Copy that Pegasus, coming back to the barn."

She turned to Lee and spoke in a harsh whisper, "What did you determine?"

"It's a trap, the civilian advisor agreed." He took a deep breath, "I recommend we jump in and reel them in then jump out."

The Commander's eyes roamed the CIC while she considered all the information, finally her eyes came back to his and she nodded slightly before she said to Hoshi, "Get Admiral Adama on the line, we're getting our men back."

The pair took their posts at the Tactical Table and they waited for the connection to Galactica. After a moment Hoshi gave them the go ahead, "Commander Cain, what's the situation?"

Cain paused before she spoke, "Sir, I just received a report from our raptor patrol. They received a distress call from our missing crew and with it a bearing on them. I request clearance to jump Pegasus to their position and proceed with retrieval."

There was a long pause on the Admiral's end before he spoke gruffly, "I need not remind you that the Cylons have used this tactic before, right down to the second distress call."

"We are aware of this, Sir. Regardless of that, we still believe that the Pegasus can weather the storm long enough to bring them home."

"Commander-"

She gripped the receiver hard and turned away from the eyes of the officers of the deck, "I can't leave my men behind, I've lost too many already. Bill, please don't make this an act of mutiny. Give me your blessing."

Another long pause and Lee scowled at Galactica's blip on DRADIS, "We'll send a force recon, five raptors, two rescue, three support. You have your orders, Commander."

Lee slowly replaced his receiver while Cain stood frozen, silently working through her fury. "Force recon" was not a rescue operation it was a glorified scouting run that would jump away at the first sign of Cylons and knowing it was trap meant that the Old Man had all but told them they were leaving the raptor crew behind.

Moments later, Cain replaced the receiver with a touch more force than necessary. She scowled at the table top for a long moment before her newly-emptied hand crashed onto it in a fist.

Minutes seemed to pass before she looked up and trapped Lee's eyes with her hardest look.

She reminded him of a jungle cat, one that had been cornered. Back arched, hair standing on edge, hissing at the world and ready to strike out at the first thing to approach her. He felt every officer's gaze fall on them, each of them wondering what the Commander would do or if she might be relieved by the Major.

Again her fist struck the table in frustration and everyone in CIC jumped, Lee wondered when the last time these officers had seen this side of Cain. Had it been in the first days after the Attacks? Had it been when she'd executed her first XO? Had it been when the Old Man mutinied? He found he didn't really want to know the answer, he'd much rather just go get their people and he found himself not caring if it would be violating orders, as his father always said; "Sometimes you gotta roll the hard six."

Lee's voice cracked the silence like the report of heavy artillery, "Mr. Hoshi, Action Stations. Get the Alert Vipers in the tube, I want them ready to launch the second we complete our jump. Navigations, spin up the FTL and prepare to jump Pegasus to the co-ordinates of the missing Raptor."

Hoshi turned from Lee to the Commander and she swallowed the lump in her throat, "You heard the XO." With four words the CIC sprang into action as the klaxon sounded throughout the ship. Cain then spoke in a lower voice, "You understand that this is mutiny and treason, correct?"

Lee looked up to the DRADIS display, his eyes drawn to the three stars next to the Galactica's position signifying his father's flag, he tore his eyes away with a frown. "What does it say about us if we abandon everyone who falls behind? Who do we become as a people? I don't care to find out."

She seemed to digest his words for a moment, before she said, "No hesitation."

Lee thought back to that conversation months ago and realized how far they had come. Cain had been seeking her death and Lee had been backed into a corner but that conversation had cemented them as teacher and student. Lee now wondered if that relationship had run its course and she was viewing him as her equal. He straightened a bit and said, "None sir."

Hoshi broke the moment between them, "All stations reporting in, we're ready for the jump."

Cain nodded, "Start the clock."