Chapter 5

On Brian's Earth

Kara had found Maren's house with little trouble. She was not sure if she should knock or not, but as she was thinking about it, the door opened to reveal Maren. She was surprised to see Lt. Col. Thrace at her doorstep.

"Col., I wasn't expecting you here. I hope there is some word about Brian." She said to Kara.

"No, I'm afraid not. I just wanted to make sure that you are doing alright here. And please call me Kara." Kara said with a smile.

"Okay Kara. Please come in and have a seat." She told her while letting Kara into her place.

Kara saw that it was decorated with Brian in mind. She remembered that the two of them did live together, and loved each other very much. She saw several pictures of the two of them doing various things while they were either out somewhere, or at home with friends and family. She saw the smiles on their faces, and the love that they shared.

"Maren, Are you alright with what may have happened with Brian? After all…"

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY IS AM I ALRIGHT?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW?! I JUST LOST THE ONE PERSON THAT I LOVE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT FEELS LIKE?! I JUST LOST…" Maren stopped speaking as she started to cry.

Kara went over to her to comfort her, and Maren didn't object to that. Maren just started crying even more for her loss. Kara just held her some more, and Maren then stepped away and wiped her eyes.

"Kara, Thanks for letting me let go like that. I haven't thought of anything else but him. I tried calling his family, but for some reason they won't answer their phone. I was wondering…"

"If the two of us could see what the problem is. Sure why not. After all, we both cared a lot for him. Me for his piloting skills, and you because you love him." Kara said with a concern look on her face.

"Thanks Kara, I really appreciate this very much. I'll drive us there." Maren said while getting her car keys.

Kara followed her out the door, and to Maren's car. Maren got in and opened the passenger door for Kara from the driver's side. They then drove off, not knowing what would be waiting for them when they reached Brian's parent's place.

Space Above Earth Where Brian Was At Now

Apollo, Brian, Starbuck, and some of the other pilots from Blue Squadron were on practice drills. Apollo had allowed Brian to take out his Viper so he could show them some of the things that his Viper could do.

"Alright now. I'm going to split the squadron into two groups. One group will be of Vipers, while the other group will be of Cylons. Remember that your weapons are on a low setting, so don't shoot each other by mistake." Apollo told the pilots.

"So who is going to be what then Apollo?" Starbuck asked.

"You're going to be the leader of the Cylon group Starbuck. I'm going to be the leader of the Viper group."

"Great, I get to be shot down again by everyone that owes me money." Starbuck said.

"Except that I have won most of your money at the Pyramid table the other day." Brian reminded him.

"Well, Maybe I get to shoot you down and have some fun at it then." Starbuck retorted back.

Some of the other pilots started to laugh at the fact that Starbuck had lost the other day to the new pilot in their ranks.

"Alright, Enough of that. I'm going to tell each person which group that they are in. Now listen up for your name." Apollo said and then called their names for the groups that they would be in.

Brian had found himself in Apollo's group so he could show the other's what his ship could do. Both groups then spilt up and headed in different directions. They then started their attack runs against each other. Apollo's group then 'spotted' the Cylons as they came into range of each other. Apollo ordered the pilots to split up and attack.

"Brian, I what you to stay near me in case there's problems for either of us while we are under attack."

"Sure thing Apollo." Brian said to Apollo.

They both managed to shoot down a couple of 'Cylons' before Apollo was shoot down himself. He saw that Brian was holding his own against the 'enemy'. He then saw what Brian was talking about what his Viper could do. He saw Brian's Viper turn around and fly right at his 'enemy' and shoot him out of the sky. Apollo now wished that the Vipers that they flew could do something like that. He then saw Brian pull the maneuver that he had done in the Simulator, by doing a loop behind the next target, and taking him out as well. As he was watching the drills, his scanner alerted him of real Cylons coming near them.

"Alright Blue Squadron, I just picked up some Cylons coming out way. Take your weapons off low setting, and set for maximum firing power." Apollo told them.

Brian then saw what Apollo was talking about. The Raiders did look like Bats with their wings spread open. This was going to be different than what he was ready for. He changed the setting of his weapons, and prepared for battle. He followed Apollo into battle against the Cylons.

"Blue Squadron, Split up and take them out now." Apollo ordered.

The squadron split then with Brian with both Apollo and Starbuck beside him. He followed them and started to fire his weapons at the Cylon fighter craft. He saw that it took a little more fire power from his Viper to take out the ship. He then spotted Boomer having a little trouble himself, and went to help him out. Brian managed to take out the Cylon Raider before it fired on Boomer.

"Thanks for that Brian. I appreciate it." Boomer told him.

"No problem Boomer." Brian said.

Brian then saw that there was a Raider on his tail and turned his Viper around fast and fired at it. The Raider exploded as another one came up behind him. Starbuck took out the Raider for him.

"That's one that you owe me now."

"Any time Starbuck."

The Squadron took out the remaining Raiders, and headed back to the Galactica. They landed their Vipers, and headed for Decontamination. Afterwards, Apollo gathered the pilots to tell them that they did a good job out there against the Cylons.

Brian then headed for the Officers Club to get a drink. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder, and turned around to see it was Athena.

"Hey, I didn't expect to see you until we got some time off." He said with a smile on his face.

"I just talked to my Father about that. It seems that the two of us can take tomorrow off and have a good time in New York like you said." She said with a smile on her face.

"Alright then, What time do you want to go down there then?" He asked her.

"How about 1000 centars then." She said to him.

"That's 1000 hours in Earth time right."

"Yes, I'm sorry about that. I keep forgetting that your measurement of time is somewhat different from ours. I'm still trying to get use to that." She said with a smile on her face.

"It's alright Athena. I have to get use to this myself. Okay then, I hope that there are things on this Earth that I may know here. And it's a date then for tomorrow." He said with a smile on his face as well.

He was thinking about giving her a kiss, but stopped himself. He didn't want to overstep the line with anything like that yet. He was going to take it one step at a time. Athena felt the same way, and left him with a kiss on the cheek. When she left, he still felt her lips on his cheek and smiled.