~ Bright, Shiny Futures - Chapter Forty-One ~

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

The Vice President looked at Lee as though he'd grown another head. The pilot's look of disbelief wasn't encouraging either.

"Keep trying to contact them - every frequency you can. I might be able to show them, show her who we are so they don't shoot us down, but I'd prefer to be able to tell them if we can."

"That's an awfully slim maybe. I'm liking the odds of retreat better."

"Please," Lee begged. "I have to get to Galactica somehow. I can fly this, I know I can."

"Have you ever flown a helicopter before?"

"No, but I can fly warships more complex than this with my eyes shut." He almost growled in frustration. "Please let me try ... before we give up and retreat."

The Vice President nodded, somewhat unwillingly and the pilot threw up his hands in frustration. Lee climbed into the front and assessed the control panel.

"Show me what to do," he ordered briskly.

The pilot snorted. "You expect to learn how to fly this thing in just a few minutes?"

"I was a fighter pilot for many years. I worked my way up flying craft similar to this so it shouldn't be that difficult to catch on."

"Fine," the pilot said brusquely. He named each piece of equipment as he pointed to it, not bothering to elaborate as Lee nodded along with him.

"Let me take the stick," Lee said when he was done. The pilot stared at him. "Time is of the essence man, they'll have discovered us by now and will send people to attack. I know how they work."

"I don't think ... "

"Just let me fly this thing dammit, and find which radio frequency they're using." Lee grabbed the stick.

"You wouldn't happen to have any idea now would you?" the pilot asked, large amounts of sarcasm in his voice.

"I never worked comms." The craft wobbled a little but straightened and began to fly fluidly as Lee got the hang of it.

"Would have been helpful if you had."

Lee blushed. When he and Dee had been married, they'd only ever talked about work. He was sure she'd mentioned the frequencies they used but he'd never really been listening to her; he'd always had his mind on other things.

"There!" he yelled as some words broke through the static. "That's it!"

"Galactica, Starbuck. We've got an unknown bogey closing in on us at six o'clock." Her voice was weak and breaking up but his heart leapt at the sound of it.

"Starbuck, Galactica. We've got it on dradis."

"Shall I go say hello?"

"Don't take it out yet Starbuck, but be prepared. Destroy it if it shows any sign of hostile behaviour."

"Galactica, this is Apollo. I'm in the unfamiliar ship. Don't shoot!" No response. "Galactica, this is Apollo, do you copy?" Nothing but static. "Galactica ... dad, it's me, Lee. Please respond."

"She's coming for us." Lee could hear fear in the Vice President's voice.

"We won't survive against a warship," the pilot said, reaching for the stick.

"Leave that to me," Lee ordered. "Keep trying to contact them."

"You are aware we aren't armed."

Lee nodded. "I guessed as much. But I know how Vipers work and I know how Kara Thrace works. She was my wingman - we flew together for several years." He turned forward, grimacing as Kara's ship came into view. He had a plan and he hoped like hell he could make the helicopter do what he needed it to do.

* * * * * * * * * *

"What do you mean he's not there?" Adama demanded.

"He never showed up sir. He called ahead to get everything set up but the Vice President and his men haven't arrived yet. Perhaps they've been delayed en route. Shall I call the President for orders?"

"Do it," Adama ordered. "But in the meanwhile, we've got an unidentified craft out there. Do you know anything about that?"

"It's not one of ours Admiral. We haven't launched anything."

"So it's an enemy ship then," Adama half-asked.

"Yes sir."

"Our plan is to take it down if it's hostile."

"Assume it's hostile. It hasn't identified itself and doesn't have permission to be in our airspace."

"Done. Adama out."

* * * * * * * * * *

"Shall I contact Central Command?" the pilot asked, suddenly remembering protocol.

"We should have done that earlier," the Vice President agreed.

"No!" Lee shouted. "Keep trying to contact Galactica. They're a bigger threat."

"But ... "

"No buts. Do you want to live? Then do what I'm telling you to." He gripped the stick tightly, hoping against hope he could pull it off.

"Come here," Kara crooned. "Make this easy for me, will you?"

The comm crackled again. "I think we've got a connection," the pilot said excitedly. "Galactica, this is Captain Jackson of the United States Air Force. We have Lee Adama aboard, please don't shoot." He repeated the message over and over.

"Come here baby. You don't look very scary," Kara murmured to herself. "Show your true colours."

"Fine," Lee said under his breath. "Hold on." He swung the copter up into a dangerous arc then around and back in flight pattern delta - one he and Kara had always executed to perfection.

Kara stopped and did a one-eighty. "You want to make things difficult, do you?"

"I am going to be such a pain in your ass Kara," Lee muttered, swinging the copter around in the other direction.

"What the hell are you doing?" the pilot yelled at him.

"Identify yourself unidentified aircraft," Adama demanded. "You're breaking up."

"We have Lee Adama on board," the pilot said, emphasizing the name in the hopes the Admiral would hear it and seize upon it.

"Lee? Are you there Lee?"

Lee's heart did a flip flop as he heard the worry in his father's voice. "I'm here dad!" he said excitedly. "Call Kara off - I'm in the helicopter."

"Lee? Is that you? This is Galactica actual. You're breaking up - we can't understand you."

"Come here my pretty, let me catch you," Kara said, smile evident in her voice.

"For frak's sake Kara, it's me!" Lee yelled, pulling up, doing a roll and praying the craft's engine didn't stall. It sputtered once then grew strong again. He flew them directly atop her Viper, holding her flight pattern exactly.

"Lee? Galactica I think I'm hearing things," Kara said. "I could swear I just heard Lee's voice."

"Yes! I'm here!"

Kara looked around and felt a momentary panic when she couldn't find the enemy ship. A movement caught her her attention and she looked up, gasping as she saw the helicopter above her. She maneuvered her ship evasively but it stuck with her, the skis almost touching her canopy as they flew together.

"It's me Kara. Lee. I'm here. I know you're having trouble believing it but trust your instincts." Let her believe me, he prayed desperately.

"Galactica, Starbuck. I know it's crazy ... but I think Lee is in that ship."

There was absolute silence, save for static. "Bring her in Starbuck. Nice and slow."

"Aye sir."

Lee let out a long breath.

"Oh my God," the Vice President said, face white as a sheet. "I think I just about wet myself."

* * * * * * * * * *

"A Team, prepare to land." Hotdog's voice came clear through the comms.

"Aye sir," the team chorused. "What do we do once we're there?"

"Bluebird, Snowstorm - you'll be piloting Colonial One and Caprican Dreams. The rest of us will be stowing our Vipers in Colonial One's hold."

"Holy frak, what's going on?"

"I'm just following orders. I suggest you do the same."

"Yes sir."

They did as bidden swiftly and gracefully, and ten minutes saw them nearly ready to take off.

"Heading?" Bluebird asked.

"Karem four seven nine."

"You're joking."

"I'm serious."

"What's going on?" Bluebird demanded. "And why are we going against the Admiral's orders? Being singled out to be ready in case things go wrong is one thing, but it seems as if we're going against direct orders."

"Starbuck knows what she's doing," Hotdog said firmly. "I trust her."

Bluebird stared at him for a moment, as if assessing his words. Then she turned back to the controls. "Okay Snowstorm, let's do this. Follow my lead."

* * * * * * * * * *

The copter stayed with her, merely inches above, as she turned them around and led them back towards Galactica. If Lee was in there ... it was as if he was trying to get close enough to touch her, as if he wasn't willing to let go.

Moments later, it drifted down till they were flying side by side. She turned her head slowly, almost afraid to look.

The sight of his face took her breath away. "Lee" she whispered almost silently, feeling tears burning her eyes. She saw him mouthing words as well but though she couldn't hear them she had a pretty good idea of what he was saying. The look on his face translated for her.

"Galactica, Starbuck. Bogey's identify confirmed. It's a friendly and Apollo's flying it."

"Good work Starbuck. Come on home." She could hear the thanks in his voice. And the self-recrmination - if she'd gone ahead and assumed the craft was an enemy ship she'd have killed him. And they'd both have lost one of the most important people in their lives.

They flew in silence and landed in synchronicity, both scrambling out of their respective cockpits before their engines had even died. Lee hit the deck before she did and he ran to the bottom of the stairs, grabbing her and sweeping her off her feet and around in a circle as he buried his face in her hair.

He arms squeezed his neck tightly and she closed her eyes. "Lee. Thank the Gods," she breathed.

They broke apart to the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Mr Vice President," Kara acknowledged. "Thank you for getting Lee here safely."

"Trust me, we had nothing to do with that part of it," the pilot said, still looking shaken. The Vice President looked positively green.

"I'm sorry." Lee blushed. "I didn't mean to ... "

"Nice Starbuck you pulled there." HIs blush deepened at Kara's words.

"I learned from the best."

"It's okay," the Vice President said, accepting his apology. "You did what you had to do, and I'm just glad we're all okay."

"Starbuck and Apollo report to CIC immediately. Pass the word to Starbuck and Apollo. Report to CIC immediately."

They glanced at one another quickly. "I guess that's our cue to go."

Lee nodded towards the doorway. "Come with us. My father is going to want to see you too."

"I'll stay here," Jackson offered. "Keep an eye on the old girl." He patted the helicopter lovingly.

He's sure going to fit in with the rest of us if he ends up stuck here, Kara thought.

Tyrol met Kara's eyes as he came to take care of her Viper, and a look of understanding passed between them. "You'd best hurry," he said. "I don't think he's in a very good mood."

* * * * * * * * * *

"Okay, holding pattern gamma until you get further orders from me," Hotdog said, zipping his flightsuit back up to the top.

"Who died and put you in charge?" Snowstorm said, half-jokingly.

"Athena and Starbuck. You don't want them dead though, trust me. Helo and Apollo are the kind that could hold a grudge forever and you know what they say, 'revenge is a dish best served cold'."

"Are you saying they'd airlock us?" she joked.

"It's a very likely possibility." He exhaled. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

"Flight pattern gamma initiated."

Hotdog turned off the comm and faced Bluebird.

"Flight pattern initiated," she said. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm taking my Viper down there to get the rest of us."

"How the ... there are ... but you ... "

He touched her shoulder. "That's where you come in. I'll contact you as soon as it's safe to land."

"That's no small task," she said, clearly aghast.

He shrugged good-naturedly. "Easy as pie."

* * * * * * * * * *

The first thing Adama did when they walked into CIC was pull Lee and Kara into a huge hug, squishing them against both himself and each other. The second thing he did was say thank you to Kara for bringing Lee in safely. The third ...

He pulled them and the Vice President aside. "I want to know what the hell is going on out there Kara. You've no authority to be giving orders and changing the plan on a whim."

She gulped, then drew herself up unashamedly. "It wasn't a whim. It was a carefully thought out plan, to be executed along with the original one."

The three men looked at her in surprise. "Why did you feel it was necessary to keep that information from me, and what exactly is this plan about?" Adama demanded.

She deferred to his anger. "I'm sending them back to get the rest of the fleet."

"Why?" all three voices exploded at her.

Kara bit her lip. "Because I believe this is going to cause an already fragile situation to escalate into a world war. We don't belong her and we need to leave."

The Vice President's face was red with anger. "How dare you assume that!"

She gave him a withering look. "You're a politician. Haven't you been paying attention to what's going on?"

"Of course I have." His face was red.

"Then you know as well as I do that sending up a show of force is going to draw Iraq into attacking."

"Well, I suspect it won't be ... "

"And what is the USA going to do if it does?"

The Vice President's eyes shifted from one of them to the other, as if seeking approval.

"You know as well as I do that if Iraq attacks, the USA will attack back. And once they do, North Korea and Pakistan will fear they're next so they'll join in. Before we know it, we'll have nuked ourselves and there will be nothing left of this planet. Just like Caprica." She looked pointedly at Adama. "Just like the rest of the colonies."

She watched as understanding dawned in his eyes. Evidently Lee picked up on it as well. "The children," he whispered.

She turned to him, tears in her eyes, and nodded. "We have to save them. They're our future."

The Vice President cleared his throat. "Okay, maybe your assessment of the situation is correct, but how does that give you the power to decide who lives and who dies? Can't we do a mass evacuation of the planet ... "

Kara shook her head vehemently. "Not enough space. Not enough time either. We'd need days for that. We'll be lucky if we have hours."

For a moment the man looked as if he was ready to explode, then the facade cracked and his shoulders slumped. "My family," he croaked. "Can we save my family?"

Kara's heart ached for him. "I wish we could," she whispered, tears in her voice as well as her eyes. "we don't have the time or resources to ... "

"Dradis contact!" Gaeta shouted. "Unknown craft headed our way."

"Heading?" Adama snapped to attention as he returned to the centre of the room.

"Karem nine six four three."

"Hmm?"

"From the east," Kara translated in response to the Vice President's grunt.

"Broadcast all channels," Adama barked at his comms officer. "This is the battlestar Galactica. We are not a threat, nor will we attack. We're here for peaceful means ... "

"Missiles fired," Gaeta interrupted.

"Prepare to intercept. Continue broadcasting on all frequencies."

"Sir ... they're not targeting us."

"Whom are they targeting?"

Gaeta looked up, met Adama's eyes, then turned to the Vice President. "Washington DC."

"Gods frakking dammit!" Kara spat out, voice shaky. "I hoped we'd have more time ... "

Everyone's eyes were on her. "The rogue pilots have gone back to get Colonial One and Caprican Dreams and evacuate our people."

~ TBC ~

A/N: Thank you to everyone's who's reading this story. It's turning out to be much longer than I'd anticipated when I started it, but I'm hopeful I can have it finished before season 4.5 of BSG airs. By then we'll have been making this journey together for a year! It's been lots of fun for me and I hope you've all enjoyed it as much as I have. I try to answer your comments personally as often as I can, but if I don't manage to, I do appreciate them very much!