The raptor ride to Galactica was tense and silent; Pegasus' CO and XO sat in the back while Red Devil and Skulls piloted the ship in the front. Lee found himself sitting at the ECO's station while Colonel Tigh stared straight ahead in the jump seat with a scowl. Lee bristled at the memory of Tigh's words that morning "you need to give up this Caprica crap, sir." The comment had been made in CIC this morning, discrete enough that none of the other officers heard them but with the distinct ring of disgruntled attitude he'd found in Tigh since he'd taken command a month before.

To say Lee and Saul got along would be like saying Tigh enjoyed the occasional drink or Karl liked to play triad now and again. It was understatement to the level of idiocy, Lee felt that Tigh was some sort of leash for Lee and he suspected some of his senior officers felt it as well. On several occasions Lee had ended up in an argument with the officer over matters and he had one complaint against him from Major Shaw as she'd found the XO drunk in the officer's mess a week ago.

As for complaints, the less said about Saul's wife on his ship the better. She'd been on Pegasus less than a month and Lee was currently dealing with no less than four "incidents" involving her and some of his marines.

The woman was a menace and not a day went by when Lee didn't contemplate shoving the drunken harpy on a raptor and instructing the pilot to drop her off on the first civilian ship that would take her. For Tigh to cop an attitude with him this morning had Lee wondering if Ellen was spewing her poison in her weak-willed husband's ear.

All of it left Lee wondering how much longer the situation could last. There was a dull thud in the cabin as their raptor was towed onto Galactica's flight deck. The air pressure began to equalize with the outside and Lee rose to his feet.

Red Devil powered down the raptor while Skulls popped the hatch. Lee stepped out onto the wing of the raptor and found Karl standing on the deck in front of him. The raptor pilot called out, "Commander on Deck." All activity stopped on the flight deck as everyone snapped to attention and Karl gave him a crisp salute. "Welcome aboard, Commander."

Lee returned the salute and stepped off the wing while Karl put the deck at ease. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

The larger officer gestured to exit, and they started out of the hangar with Tigh a few paces behind them. "The War Room is all set for the proposal and Major Thrace asked me to bring you some last minute adjustments to her part of the mission proposal."

He read through the report and found three words in the margin of the second page, "Case Orange prepared." The mission proposal had been unchanged for weeks, the bugs had been worked out of the plan over time and the only real changes were in the number of jumps it would take to get there and back.

Case Orange was a contingency plan that he, Kara and Sharon had prepared along with Hoshi and Shaw not long after he took command of Pegasus in the likelihood that the Admiral refused to order the rescue mission, Lee wasn't going to leave anything to chance. If the mission was refused, Lee would order a combat drill during the flight back and Garner would fake a malfunction with the FTL, from there Case Orange would begin.

The three officers entered the War Room a few moments later and found the map table lit up and the appropriate models set out. Lee crossed the room and set his written proposal on the tabletop, planting his hands flat against the warm glass surface he closed his eyes and set about ordering his thoughts and argument while they waited for the Admiral.

He didn't have to wait long; the Admiral entered the room with Kara and Major Kelly trailing him. The Old Man took position at the head of the table while Aaron took up position next to Tigh. Kara came to stand next Lee and Karl and Lee couldn't help but note the symbolism. Those who supported him at his side while his two biggest detractor of the group stood united on the opposite side of him and at the head of the table stood his father waiting to pronounce judgment on his hopes.

Bill placed his copy of the written proposal on the table in front of him then removed his glasses from his pocket and put them on before he looked the assembled officers over. Finally his eyes landed on Lee, "At your discretion, Commander."

He nodded then cleared his throat, "Thank you sir, what I'm proposing is a quick strike mission on the surface of Caprica. The list of personnel and equipment we'll require is included in the synopsis.

"Our primary objective is to obtain tactical information of the Cylon occupation force followed by the rescue and retrieval of survivors from four key locations outside of Caprica City and Delphi." He nodded to Karl and he placed several models signifying the Fleet on the corner of the map, "The Fleet will jump to the Laura Roslin Stellar Nursery, from hereon designated 'Position Alpha.' The Pegasus will then activate the Cylon FTL and begin a series of twelve jumps to Ragnar Anchorage designated 'Position Bravo.'" Karl moved the model of Pegasus to Position Bravo.

"From there, Captain Katraine will take the Blackbird to Caprica orbit where she will acquire the location of targets as well as jump co-ordinates Constellation through Hotel. She will then transmit the jump co-ordinates back to Pegasus. From there we will launch eighteen raptors divided into five strike groups. They will then perform combat jumps into the upper atmosphere of Caprica."

Karl placed a raptor marked Strike One on the map at Position Constellation; "Strike Team One is our decoy strike, they will jump into orbit over Caprica carrying nukes as well as heavy conventional ordinance. They'll launch the nukes at the Base Ships orbiting Caprica and jump to position Hotel; this is a Cylon airfield outside of Delphi containing the bulk of the Cylon's ground based forces. Strike One will drop conventional ordinance on the air field and then rendezvous with Strike Three.

Karl picked up a model raptor designated "Strike Two" and placed it at Position Delta. "Strike Team Two will jump to Position Delta; the High School outside of Delphi which was the last known location of the resistance group on Caprica. Sergeant Mathias will lead the strike team and will consist of six raptors and their primary objective is the extraction of the surviving members of the resistance."

Kara handed over a raptor designated "Strike Three" to Lee and he placed it on Position Echo; "Strike Three will jump to Position Delta, this is a Cylon prison installation outside Delphi as well. Miss Valerii provided intelligence about this prison and we have reason to believe the Cylons are performing experiments upon women there as part of their Hybrid program. They will strike the facility and attempt to extract survivors then destroy the facility. Strike Three will be under the command of Major Thrace.

"Strike Four will jump in outside of Caprica City and attack a monitoring installation there. Strike Four will be under the command of Lieutenant Agathon, Miss Valerii will join Strike Four and attempt to hack into the computers there and attempt to further disrupt the Cylon's response.

"Finally, Strike Five will jump to Position Gamma. Gamma is another Cylon prison installation; Captain Case will lead Strike Five."

Lee looked away from the map to the Admiral, "Should the Strike Teams become bogged down or require cover, Pegasus will jump in and lay down an orbital bombardment as well as launch alert vipers. Each Strike team will be held to ninety minutes windows, once their objectives are met, the Strike Teams will return to Pegasus where we will jump away and reunite with the Fleet at Position Alpha."

"You mentioned Miss Valerii, where is she now?"

Lee took a drink of water to sooth his now parched throat, "She's currently aboard Pegasus troubleshooting the software connecting our FTL to the Cylon FTL."

Adama looked the table over then asked, "I have questions concerning the strike locations. Did you consult with Miss Valerii on these locations?"

"Yes sir. We've chosen these locations for several reasons; primarily they are all strategically important and tactically vulnerable to surgical assault."

Bill locked eyes on him and gave him that stone crushing glare of his until Lee had to resist the urge to squirm. When Bill's eyes narrowed at him, Lee knew that he knew why Lee had chosen the installations he had chosen, just as Kara had figured it out immediately. "Projected losses?"

Lee scowled, "Heavy, we project twenty-seven percent losses."

Bill scanned his proposal for a moment then said, "At best."

A muscle in Lee's jaw twitched, "Yes sir."

"How many survivors do you expect to extract?"

The muscle in his jaw twitched again, "As you know sir, we expect to extract three to five hundred civilians."

"Again, at best. Colonel Tigh's projections are closer to one hundred and seventy." The two officers locked into a stare down again, "You expect me to authorize a strike where we'd lose at best one hundred officers for so few survivors."

Lee felt his right hand curl into a fist at his side, "I expect you to recognize both the legal and moral obligations we have to the people we left on the Colonies."

Bill removed his glasses, "What I recognize are the legal and moral obligations we hold to the people here. That's something you have failed to recognize because of your personal feelings, this operation would be irresponsible and ill-advised. The answer is no."

"Admiral, I must protest-"

Bill scowled, "Dismissed Commander!" The Admiral then turned on his heel and left the room. Kelly followed him and a moment later, Tigh left with a barely noticeable smirk on his face.

Kara turned to Lee, "Commander-"

Lee had scowled at the hatch his father left through, mentally willing him to return so they could have it out in person. Finally, he managed to swallow the bitter taste from his tongue and he ground out, "Go to Case Orange."

Lee spun and stormed from the room bound for the Flight Deck. When he arrived he boarded the raptor and barely ignored Tigh as he stepped inside, "Skulls, go aft."

The ECO nodded while Lee took the co-pilot seat, moments later the raptor was clear of Galactica bound for home. He tried to calm himself by looking at the stars, a sight that always soothed him since the Academy, it took almost five minutes before the muscles of his jaw unclenched and the red haze receded from the edges of his vision.

He picked up the ear piece and triggered the com system, "Pegasus this is Actual."

A few seconds passed before Major Shaw's voice found his ear, "Go ahead Actual."

Faced with his point of no return, Lee felt oddly freed. He was doing what needed to be done, he was following his conscience. "I'd like to take the opportunity to drill before the Fleet's next jump; I'm ordering a surprise Battle Drill. Make preparations with the department heads for my return to Pegasus."

"Understood Actual."

Lee cut the transmission and pulled off the ear piece, the anger slipped away from leaving behind the anticipation he always had before an operation.

&&&&&&&&&

Bill entered CIC with a scowl; he'd been in his office scanning a security report when he was paged to the command deck to deal with a situation. He took his usual place at the Tac Table and looked up at the DRADIS display, "SitRep."

Kelly stepped away from the communications table, "Pegasus just reported in, it seems that their FTL is malfunctioning. They need time to affect repairs. I've put the ship on Condition Two."

His brow became more furrowed at the emphasis he placed on the word "seems." "Something wrong, XO?"

The former LSO looked up to the DRADIS display with a frown, "I can't help but wonder at the timing, sir."

"Me neither. Get me a line to Pegasus." Kelly turned to Dee and nodded. "Where's the CAG?"

Kelly frowned, "She's on CAP."

He shook his head; too many pieces were falling into place, "Doubtful. Get the alert fighters in the tube."

The Petty Officer attempted to open a channel to the other Battlestar but paused, "Admiral? Colonial One is on Priority Channel One; the President needs to speak with you."

Bill picked up his receiver and gestured to Kelly to do the same, "This is Galactica Actual."

Cain's voice found his ear, "Our pilot just informed me that Pegasus issued a recall order to their CAP, what's happening?"

Bill's eyes snapped to his XO's, "We were unaware of this." 'Lee, what the Hell are you doing?'

Dee's voice caught Bill's attention, "Sir, I have Pegasus on the line."

Bill turned to the young woman, "Patch them through to the President and myself."

&&&&&&&&&

Lee picked up his receiver and noticed Tigh putting on an ear piece next to him; they'd just given clearance to Kara's raptor and were waiting for word from Garner about the Cylon FTL so he'd been expecting this call. "Pegasus actual, go ahead Galactica."

"Lee, what the hell are you doing?"

He felt a smirk come to his lips then nodded to Shaw, the Major pressed a button and the klaxon began, "Action stations, set Condition One throughout the ship."

Lee then spoke calmly, "You wouldn't be asking if you didn't know."

The President's voice came next, "Commander, we can't allow you to return to Caprica. You must understand that the risks outweigh any possible rewards."

Lee nodded silently, "I disagree respectfully, Madam President. You were in favor of rescue operations yourself at one time."

The President's voice was straining with her growing fury he could hear it even over the static. "Lee, stand down, now."

Kendra spoke up from Flight Ops, "Word from engineering, FTL is online and spun up. First jump is plotted, awaiting your orders sir."

"I'm afraid I can't do that sir."

Bill's tone was clipped, "Colonel Tigh, relieve the Commander of duty and have him escorted to quarters to await formal charges."

Lee turned to Tigh, "You have a choice Colonel, you can follow orders and damn hundreds of people to death and enslavement and experimentation, or you can help us do the right thing."

The older officer seemed to debate it silently before he spoke, "Commander Adama, you are hereby relieved of command, please stand down-"

Lee sighed and turned to the marine at the door, "Corporal, I am relieving Colonel Tigh of duty and placing him into custody-"

Enraged now, the XO began shouting over him. "According to Federal Regulations-"

"Colonel Tigh you are following immoral orders and-"

Both men completed their words simultaneously, "I am placing you under arrest!"

All activity in CIC came to a halt and both men stared each other down angrily. A full minute passed before he spoke again, "Colonel Tigh, you stand relieved."

As Lee started to turn back to the Tac Table, Tigh pulled his side arm and put it to Lee's temple. Lee turned his head enough to stare at his XO down the barrel of his gun, "What the Hell are you doing?"

Tigh's thumb flicked the safety off and his eyes narrowed, "I can't let you do this, son. I won't let you get these people killed in an act of mutiny. They deserve better than that."

Lee scowled, "You're right about that Saul, they deserve better but so do the people still on Caprica. They deserve better than a life of slavery to the Cylons. They deserve more than to live strapped to breeding machines or in forced labor camps while they waste away from radiation poisoning. We owe them more than to leave them all behind simply because it might cost lives or because we can't save everyone. Leaving them all behind because we might die is a sin I cannot endure and I won't let anyone stop me.

"So, if you want to stop me, if you want to keep us from going back we both know that you'll have to pull the trigger, Saul."

Tense moments passed before Saul lowered his weapon and placed it on the table. Lee turned back to the marine at the door and nodded. The young man stepped forward and spoke, "Colonel, if you'll come with me."

As the pair exited CIC, Lee turned to Kendra and gestured to the Tac Table, "Major? Take your post please. Flight Ops, start the clock for jump one."

&&&&&&&&&

Several tense minutes passed in CIC as Bill watched the DRADIS display waiting. He hadn't heard anything after Bill and Lee had place each other under arrest and he was prepared to send marines to Pegasus to settle this when he heard Lee's voice, "I regret to inform you that Colonel Tigh stepped down from his post. We're beginning rescue operations according to the proposed Mission plan. Pegasus will rendezvous with the Fleet in ten days at Position Alpha. Pegasus out."

Bill scowled at the table and let his receiver fall from his ear, Gaeta's voice was dead as he said, "Sir, Pegasus has jumped away."

His eyes returned to the DRADIS display and the vacant spot where Pegasus once was, they couldn't follow without a Cylon FTL without making multiple jumps and by then…

He finally replaced the receiver and ordered them to stand down from Condition One and whispered, "Gods' speed, Lee." He then left CIC.