Chapter 63
Kara's Song
During the last year of President Adar's term in office, four hundred thirty-three cadets graduated from Caprica's Academy. Ninety-three went on to attend Flight School and all received their wings. Fifty-two became Viper pilots and forty-one became Raptor pilots. Colonel Jackson Spencer, head of the pilot training facility credited the Academy's tough Basic Flight class and an enhanced simulator program with the high quality of the pilot trainees all of whom played an important part in the battle to free Caprica from Cylon control.
-Bartell, History of the Second Cylon War
.
On Monday morning Laura sat at her desk absent-mindedly toying with her nearly empty cup of tea. She was waiting for Romo Lampkin to arrive for an appointment and her thoughts had been straying for the last several minutes to early that morning when Braedon had been later than usual beginning to fret and she had snuggled against her sleeping husband, feeling him awaken against her in more ways than one.
Their lovemaking was sleepy and hot, their whispers urgent, the rising tide of feeling quick for both of them. And afterward, they had ten luxurious minutes that they were able to lay drowsily together with her head on his shoulder, enjoying the closeness of what they had just shared before Braedon began to fret.
Their relationship was better now than it had ever been and not just the physical part. They had both been trying since the night of the Academy's spring dance when John's words had jarred her into realizing how left out of her life he felt. She knew their marriage had started with a number of strikes against it and had probably survived those months before and after Braedon's birth based more on John's love for her and his desire to be a father to their son than to any real effort on her part.
She had also not realized until that night how much her relationship with Bill Adama had bothered him. During their walk with Braedon in the park the next day, they had talked for a long time about the differences in the way they viewed their relationship and also her friendship with Bill. She believed by the end of that day, they had understood each other much better. The bond of trust they had established would continue to grow.
Her phone buzzed interrupting her reverie. Tory said, "Mr. Lampkin is here."
"Send him in, please."
Laura stood and walked around her desk. Romo shifted his briefcase to his left hand and shook hers.
"Good day, Ms. Roslin," he said in the slightly lilting Gemenese accent that she found so easy to listen to.
"Please, have a seat, Mr. Lampkin." She gestured to a chair in front of her desk. "You understand why I asked you to come here, don't you? You understand why I would not want anyone to see me visiting your office."
"Of course. Your face is far more recognizable in Caprica City than mine. Could we sit at the table?" He gestured to the small round conference table on the other side of her office. He held up his briefcase a few inches. "I have something I'd like to show you."
"Certainly. Would you like a cup of coffee or perhaps tea?"
"I'll pass this morning."
When they were seated at the table, he opened the briefcase. "You might say we hit the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."
"That sounds like good news."
"Mr. Humphrey Browning, also known as Elliott True, is indeed continuing his campaign against you on his web site…the contents of which are not libelous but are defamatory and will no doubt be damaging to your campaign."
"I already know that."
Romo took off the sunglasses he had been wearing up until that point and placed them on the table.
"How far are you willing to go to damage Mr. Browning's reputation with his rabid and extremely conservative fans and supporters…supporters who will also be casting votes and influencing others?"
"Suggest something to me…short of having him harmed, of course. That is not an option."
"Mr. Browning has a rather interesting habit for one who professes to be such a staunch family man and an elder in the Order of the Temple at Delphi."
Lampkin took a series of photographs from his briefcase. They were pictures of Humphrey Browning entering a Caprican massage parlor called Hands On. Just before opening the door, he had glanced back to make sure nobody was watching him. Nearly his entire face was visible.
"These are very good," Laura said. "Very clear. There's absolutely no doubt it's him."
"I use a very good camera. Hands On is a front for prostitution despite their claims to be therapeutic massage. The arrest records of more than a few of their employees bear witness. If these pictures were to find their way to a certain tabloid, I have no doubt that Mr. Browning would find himself on the front page of next week's edition…and with some explaining to do to his followers...and his wife."
Laura smiled. "You understand that my name cannot be associated with this in any way."
Lampkin also smiled. "I'm very good at what I do."
"It would show Browning to be the hypocrite that he is. Mr. Family Values has shown us his weakness. He may continue to spew his…criticism of me on his web site, but this will go a long way toward discrediting him. Will you take care of it for me?"
He nodded. "My bill to your office will say Romo Lampkin, Attorney at Law and not Lampkin Detective Agency."
"Why do you no longer practice the law?"
"I lost my stomach for it after the attacks. I was here for a law conference. My wife and two daughters were back on Gemenon. All I was left with was the cat I was taking home as a reconciliation gift to my wife."
"I'm very sorry," Laura said. "Would you be amenable to taking another job for me?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"Dr. Gaius Baltar was recently seen at an old warehouse in the commercial district where the Cylon woman, Natasi, preaches her one-true-God sermons. I'd like to know if they're seeing each other again or if his being there was a fluke, a one-time thing."
Lampkin put the photographs of Humphrey Browning back into his briefcase. "I'll get back to you in two weeks or sooner if I have any news about Dr. Baltar."
Laura stood. "Thank you, Mr. Lampkin."
He also stood. "I saw the article in The Caprican View about you and your family. Tell Major Gallagher I send my greetings. He has a beautiful daughter. I'm glad they found one another."
"Kara is following in her father's footsteps. She's going to be a Viper pilot just like he was."
"A father's dream, a child who wants to be like him…and a father's nightmare as well if it involves that much danger."
"John is both proud of her and fearful for her."
"Perhaps if all goes well, you might find a spot for me on your Cabinet when you're elected."
"What did you have in mind?"
"I think the office of Attorney General might suit me."
"I thought you had given up practicing law."
"I think I could be persuaded to resume it. I'm licensed to practice law here on Caprica."
Laura walked with him to the door of her office. "I'll put your name on my list of candidates…should I be elected."
Romo smiled as he put on his sunglasses and went out the door. "I don't think there's any doubt of that." He lifted his briefcase containing the photographs. "You don't back away from playing hardball. You make a decision and go with it. And you're Cavil's worst nightmare. It's too poetic not to happen."
...
Lee took his tray to the staff table in the cafeteria and made a point to sit on the opposite end of the table from Shelley even though there was a place beside her. There was no way she could miss the deliberate nature of his act.
Tucker Clellan sat down across from him. "Apollo."
"Duck."
Clellan grinned. "What? No mashed potatoes?"
Lee shook his head. "I learned my lesson the last time."
"How's Kara?"
"Fine. I saw her Saturday. I'd been rough on her earlier in the week about the boxing match. We talked about it again on Saturday. I apologized to her for what I'd said. I was wrong to tell her she should have walked away from it. The way Shelley put it to her, Kara did about the only thing she could have done."
"Shelley should never have challenged Kara. I was surprised at her. She's an officer."
"I agree. Saturday afternoon I finally got Kara to tell me the whole story. Kara had a rough time with some other girls on the playground when she was a kid. They bullied her. She got into a lot of fights. I should have known she would never back down. It's just not in her nature."
"So what is it with Sydell, anyway, other than she's still got a thing for you?"
"I'm not sure this is about me."
Clellan shrugged. "Shelley does have a chip on her shoulder about losing. I noticed that when we were cadets here. Everything is always about winning with her."
"I'm going to say something to her. I'm just not sure what, yet."
Clellan laughed. "Tell her you're going to have your old man ship her up to Sovana. She can go to work every day wearing a bullet-proof vest. Sovana is the arm-pit of assignments."
"I would never ask my father to do something like that."
"Shelley doesn't know that."
"Thanks for the advice. I'll have to handle it another way, though."
Clellan grinned. "Am I going to be refereeing for you and Shelley?"
"No, but the thought did cross my mind. I can't do that, either. It would just make a bad situation worse."
"I still like the idea of Sovana. I can see it now…Lieutenant Shelley Sydell, staff assistant to some colonel who's frakked his career by mainlining too much ambrosia or chasing too many skirts."
"I'm sure that would be a living hell for Shelley."
Clellan laughed again. "Look at the bright side. Up in Sovana she might get to use something she learned in War College."
Lee finally smiled. "Maybe all we need to do to break the back of the Resistance in Sovana is turn Shelley loose on them."
...
Lee waited in the hall for Shelley after their War College class that day. When she came out he fell into step beside her. "Have you got a minute?'
She looked skeptically at him. "You snub me in the cafeteria. You only speak to me in class about the assignment, and now you want to talk? What's your problem, Lee?"
"Right now my problem is you, Shelley."
"Well, I certainly don't want to be your problem," she said sarcastically. "So talk."
"I just want to say that I'm disappointed in what you did regarding Kara and the boxing match. In fact I'm more than disappointed. What you did was childish and wrong. There's no other way to say it."
"That's not your business."
"Yes, it is my business because if it weren't for me, you'd never have done it."
"She's had an attitude problem from the beginning of the year, a long time before I knew you were dating her. Take her fight with Cadet Edmondson. I had nothing to do with that. She's been gunning for me all year. I just gave her the opportunity she wanted. Your girlfriend is trouble any way you look at it."
"No, she's not. And I think it's the other way around. I think you've been gunning for her all year. But no matter what, the point is you're an officer and she's a seventeen-year-old cadet. You shouldn't have challenged her. What you did was the worst kind of bullying and hazing, but you got away with it by taking it to the boxing ring under supervision."
Again the sarcasm was evident in Shelley's voice. "So now she's got you fighting her battles for her."
"Kara doesn't have any idea I'm talking to you about this. In fact after we talked about it Saturday afternoon, and I apologized to her for thinking it was her fault, she told me to drop it. All she wants to do is graduate and go on to Flight School. She's already put it behind her and moved on, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I couldn't let it go. I had to say something to you."
"Now you've said it. I hope it made you happy."
"What's your problem, anyway, Shelley? When we were dating you made a big deal of telling me it was no strings attached. And then when I went out a couple of times with Blaire, you broke up with me. You're the one who ended things with us. Remember?"
"I remember."
Lee could hear the exasperation finally creep into his voice. "What do you think I did wrong?"
When she answered him, he heard anger in her voice, but he also heard something else…pain. "Men can be so damned dense. You don't get it. You never got it."
"What don't I get?"
"The way you feel about Kara…that's how I've always felt about you."
She turned and quickly walked away from him.
Lee let her go. He was too shocked to do anything else. Was Shelley trying to tell him that she was in love with him and had been since they were cadets? His ego wanted to believe her explanation, but the rational, logical part of him felt that nobody could nurture an unrequited love for that long.
As he slowly walked down the hall toward the exit, he thought of his father and Laura. Maybe he was wrong about the capacity of the human heart to sustain an impossible love for a long time. Then again Lee wasn't all that sure at least some part of his father's love wasn't returned. As much as he wanted to believe that Laura loved John exclusively, there was at least a small part of her, Lee believed, that would always belong to Bill Adama. It was just there between them when they were together. Definitely nothing overt, definitely nothing either of them would ever act on, but there nonetheless.
Lee walked over to the Math and Sciences Building and up to the second floor. He and Kara had agreed that since she was studying for two big exams on Tuesday, he wouldn't try to see her in the dorm lobby on Monday afternoon.
John was unlocking the door to his office when Lee got there.
"Hey," Lee said. "How go the sim finals?"
"I'm beginning to think Conrad and I might have made this one too hard. It looks like we'll be grading on the curve. Of course Kara hasn't taken it yet so we'll see."
"Is it harder than Burgher's special sim?"
"No. We didn't want everybody to flunk. What makes Burgher's sim so hard…besides getting away from that missile at the end…is beating the clock on that obstacle course. You've got to be damned near perfect to do those twenty-eight buoys in ten minutes, especially when you don't get the coordinates for the next one until you've correctly passed the current one, and any little mistake throws you back to the beginning with the clock still ticking. That's a sure fail."
"I made a mistake eight minutes in. It ended the sim. I never got to the missile. I was trying to be too careful."
John chuckled. "I was almost to the end of it when I saw that buoy in the distance and went for it. Wrong choice. I didn't listen to the next coordinates. Sim over. Conrad told me that's what gets ninety-five percent of those who try it. The missile gets the rest."
"I didn't react too well when Kara told me she'd done it."
John smiled. "My brain told me the odds were against her, but my heart told me she was going to do it. She's good, Lee. I've been watching her in the simulator all year. She's going to be a better Viper pilot than I was, and it takes a lot for me to say that."
"She's better than me, isn't she…or she will be?"
John didn't say anything for a moment.
"We're friends. I can take the truth from you," Lee said.
"You and Kara have totally different styles. You're careful, which is good. And you're really smart, which is also good, but you tend to over think in the cockpit which is good most of the time, but not always in a combat situation. Kara is smart, but she tends to fly by the seat of her pants a lot of the time. She doesn't think enough. She takes a lot of chances. That's why I've tried to teach her discipline to go along with that natural ability of hers. That instinct for flying is the only thing that tips the scales slightly in her favor."
"She deserves to be recognized for what she did."
"I know she does. Colonel Burgher knows it, too. But we both understand Kara's reasons for not wanting it known. I'm glad I got to teach her, though. I wouldn't trade this year with my daughter for anything. I don't think she would either."
"Has Kara talked to you about the boxing match with Shelley?"
"A little bit. Colonel Winters called me in and asked my opinion about what had happened. I didn't know what to say. I've known him long enough that I could tell he wasn't too pleased with what Lieutenant Sydell had done. She was out of line to initiate a boxing match with a cadet. Winters said that as long as Kara went willingly into the ring, he couldn't discipline Sydell for it, but I'm not sure she'll be back at the Academy next year, either. I don't think her conduct exemplifies what Winters is looking for in his staff."
"I talked to Shelley today. I know it's after the fact, but I wanted her to know how I feel about the whole thing. I came down hard on Kara for it. That was wrong of me and I told her so. I understand now why she did it."
"Kara won't back down from a fight…which is both good and bad."
"I feel like it was my fault. This afternoon Shelley admitted having feelings for me that she'd never mentioned before."
John laughed. "Damn, Lee, are you just now realizing that? I barely know the lieutenant and I figured that out after she kissed you at the dance. So what's the verdict? How did you leave things with her?"
"I don't think there's anything left to say between us."
"Good. Then put it behind you and move on."
"That's what I thought I'd done three years ago."
"You did, but apparently she didn't. Unrequited love mixed with a big dose of jealousy can make a person do stupid things."
Lee grinned. "So can almost any kind of love, unrequited or not."
John smiled. "I'll have to agree with that."
…
Kara sat in the big auditorium in the Admin Building and listened to Admiral William Adama give the commencement address to her graduating class. She wondered which were his words and which were Lee's since she knew Lee had not only given him some ideas, but had written part of the speech for his father. She listened to the admiral talk about accountability and accepting responsibility for one's actions. She listened to him allude to mankind's creation of the Cylons, referring to it only as a mistake of the past, of the way the sins of an earlier generation are being visited on our children and grandchildren. Though he never mentioned the Cylons by name, everyone in the auditorium that day knew exactly what he meant.
She wished she could see Lee right now, but he was somewhere behind her and she didn't dare turn around. Her father and Laura were in a section to her right that had been reserved for the faculty. The staff was sitting in the same section on the left.
Earlier that morning Kara had stood at attention at the front of the small auditorium in the Admin Building. With her had been the rest of those cadets who were headed for Flight School and careers as pilots. All had received their commissions as officers. In other smaller auditoriums around campus, the other cadets in her graduating class had also received their commissions.
When her turn had come, her father had stood facing her and had pinned the lieutenant's bars on the collar of her uniform. She had kept her eyes straight ahead, certain that if she had looked at him, they would probably have both gotten teary-eyed. She had stepped back and saluted him before they had resumed their seats. Only during the salute had she dared to glance at him. She had been right. They had both been on the verge of tears, but both had managed to control them.
She was now Second Lieutenant Kara Thrace, one of the youngest cadets ever to graduate from the Academy.
She fought the impulse to touch the pins on her collar and kept her eyes on the admiral. Several times she thought he looked directly at her, once when he was talking about the accomplishments of her class of cadets and another time when he was talking about the tasks that lay ahead of them.
At the end of his speech, he sat down to heavy applause, and the class valedictorian, Cadet…or rather Lieutenant Dwight Saunders got up. She was glad that Saunders and not Eammon Pike had their class's highest grade point average. She knew it had been close. She liked Saunders. He was a nice guy, friendly and unassuming, very different from Pike whom Kara had always seen as smart but arrogant.
Saunders got a lot of applause, too, at the end of his speech. He had talked about commitment to a worthy cause and the strength and fortitude it often took to hold to ideals and not follow the crowd.
Colonel Winters stepped up to the podium and motioned for the graduating class to stand. As he called their names, they each filed across the stage and were presented with their graduation scroll. They were seated alphabetically and Kara was in the last group to walk across the stage. As she came down the steps on the other side, she found Lee in the crowd and smiled. Dreilide Thrace was sitting beside him.
She was back in her seat for what seemed like only a few minutes when Colonel Winters looked at them and said, "Congratulations. This has been a memorable year. Go forward and continue the careers you have begun here. Class dismissed, Lieutenants."
Thunderous applause filled the auditorium as well as whistles and shouts. Her year at the Academy was over. She let the noise and the emotions wash over her for a few moments before she joined in.
As the assembled group broke up, her father got to her first. He had always been careful not to show any open affection toward her in the presence of other cadets, but now he gathered her in his arms in a hug.
"I'm so proud of you, baby," he said.
She hugged him in return. "Be careful, you're going to make me cry."
He stepped back. She could tell he was struggling with his emotions as much as she was.
Laura also hugged her. "I'm very proud of you, too, Kara."
Kara nodded. It was getting harder to talk. She looked up and saw Lee making his way down the aisle. Dreilide was behind him.
When Lee got to her, they hugged long and tightly. When he let her go, the emotion had finally gotten to her and she had to brush tears off her cheeks.
Dreilide was standing hesitantly to one side. She had a hug for him as well. Then she turned to her father and made the introduction that neither man needed, but that she felt was her place to make.
John held out his hand. Dreilide shook it.
"I never dreamed this day would ever come," Dreilide said.
"Me either," her father echoed. "I'd like for you to meet my wife, Laura Roslin. Laura, this is Dreilide Thrace."
Laura held out her hand. "It's my pleasure, Mr. Thrace."
He took her hand. "It's an honor to meet the next President of the Colonies."
Bill joined their group and introductions were made again.
"Congratulations, Lieutenant Thrace," he said to her.
"Thank you, sir."
He smiled. "I understand this year has been quite an accomplishment for you."
Kara looked at the admiral's eyes. He knew about the sim. She could tell.
"I've done my best, sir."
"That's all we can ask of any soldier."
...
Kara rode back to the apartment with her father and Laura. Lee was coming over shortly to take her out to eat at Bonnie Patrice. She would wear the same blue-green off-the-shoulder dress she had worn the last time she had been there. It was the only short dress she owned and shopping had not been on her list of priorities during the previous weeks.
Her father and Laura had gotten dressed up and had left shortly before Lee got there. John had told her earlier that they were attending a very important function that night. Kara hadn't asked any questions. It was probably another fund-raising dinner. He and Laura had gone to a lot of those lately and politics bored Kara.
When she was dressed, she wandered into the kitchen where Maya was feeding Braedon, or trying to. Braedon was fretful and didn't want to take his bottle. He kept sticking his fist in his mouth and gnawing it.
"He's teething," Maya said as she shifted him in her arms. "I can feel the little bumps under his lower gum. Could you get his teething ring out of the refrigerator?"
Kara complied and watched her brother begin to gum the cool, gel-filled circle. It seemed to pacify him for the moment. "How do you ever learn all this stuff about babies?"
"Experience…or asking other mothers…or reading. It's not all instinct. You should see some of the mothers and other nannies in the park on nice afternoons huddled around our strollers talking about our little ones."
The doorbell rang.
"That's Lee," Kara said.
"Have a good time tonight," Maya said. Kara thought there was wistfulness in her voice.
"When Lee and I get back from the island, before I start Flight School, maybe you and I can go out for a girl's night on the town or something. Or just go out to eat and to a movie."
"That would be nice," Maya said.
Kara opened the door. Lee had changed out of his dress uniform into a dark blue pin-stripe suit with a blue shirt and dark burgundy tie. He looked so incredibly good. He was staring wordlessly at her.
"There ought to be a law," she said in a joking tone.
"A law?" He still had not taken his eyes off her.
"Against any guy looking as good as you do." When he didn't answer, she said, "What?"
"You look beautiful in jeans and you look beautiful in nothing, but that dress is just…just…"
"Just what?"
"I may have to fight some guys at Bonnie Patrice tonight."
Kara had to admit when they got there that Lee had done a great job of keeping the secret. She didn't have a clue, not a clue until they entered the private dining room and she saw her father and Laura, Admiral Adama, Dreilide, Sharon, Karl, Zak and a dozen more of her classmates. Hugh and Stacey Connelly were there as well as Colonel Burgher and his wife.
Lee nudged her and they entered the room.
"Let me guess. You were part of this," she whispered.
He grinned. "Laura planned it. Your dad is paying for it, but I had a part, the fun part. I got to invite the cadets and Dreilide. Your dad and Laura took care of inviting the rest. And then of course I had to get you here without giving anything away."
She saw the buffet table against the wall, the bartender behind the bar ready to serve drinks. She walked across the floor to her father and Laura.
"Thank you," she said.
"Now we can start the party," her father said. "The guest of honor is here."
Laura had hired a DJ and the music he started spinning was popular with a few oldies mixed in. There were a number of parties going on that night, and Kara was touched that Karl and Sharon weren't the only graduates who had come to hers.
Karl was the first one of her friends to come up and hug her. He literally picked her up and swung her off her feet.
"Who would have though a year ago that we would be here today? The Academy is behind us…Flight School ahead of us."
"And a party tonight," Kara said and grinned.
Later Kara asked Lee if he had invited Maggie.
"I invited her. She declined."
"Her loss," Kara said.
"I told Zak she had turned down the invitation. He came solo anyway."
"I'm surprised he didn't bring the twins. I guess I'd better keep going and speak to everybody."
When she and Lee got to Admiral Adama, she said, "That was a good speech today, sir."
He smiled. "I'm sure Lee told you I didn't write all of it."
"You still had to get up in front of everybody and make it. I get nervous in front of a crowd."
"Apparently you don't get nervous in a simulator. John says you have a real gift."
The admiral definitely knew. She grinned. "My father just likes to brag on me."
"He has every reason to be proud. The same way I'm proud of Lee."
"Thanks, Dad," Lee said quietly.
"Lee tells me you want to serve aboard the Galactica."
"Yes, sir."
"She's not the newest ship in the fleet."
"That doesn't matter to me, sir."
Bill smiled. "All you need to do is graduate from Flight School in one of the top three spots in your class. Then you get to pick your battlestar."
"I don't think that will be a problem," Lee said.
Kara and Lee walked over to Dreilide who was talking to Colonel Burgher and his wife. "I'm glad you could come."
He smiled. "John and Laura were kind enough to include me in this special celebration for you."
Colonel Burgher said, "I'm a very big fan of Mr. Thrace's. I had no idea there was a relationship."
Kara smiled. "I got to harass him for a couple of years when I was a kid."
"I explained to the colonel that I was married to your mother a long time ago," Dreilide said tactfully.
An hour into the party, the DJ announced he was taking a short break. Dreilide looked at Kara and then motioned toward the piano that sat in the corner of the room. "Come sit beside me for a minute."
Kara walked over and they both sat on the bench. "I remember doing this when I was a little girl, sitting beside you while you played. My feet didn't reach the floor."
Dreilide's fingers began to move across the keyboard, the melody he had played some of once before for her.
"I wrote this for you."
"For me?" Kara asked in surprise.
"You brought my Muse back."
They sat at the piano together while he played and she struggled with her emotions as she had done all day. She wanted to enjoy this time with her friends and family while she could.
She glanced at Admiral Adama who was talking to John and Laura. Before the end of the year he would put his plan into effect. In less time than that he would choose a pilot to jump the Raider to Nereid. Somehow she knew as she listened to the song that she would be in the Raider when it jumped. The Oracle had as much as said it. She would journey to another world.
She glanced at Lee also standing with John and Laura. What would he say when it happened? What would her father say?
But now was not the time to think about Cylons and the future. Everyone in the room was watching them. She smiled at Dreilide as he played.
"What did you name the song?"
He smiled back at her. "I'm calling it Kara's Song in honor of my Muse."
...
"He's talented," Lee said to John and Laura.
"Indeed he is," Laura said. "He asked me earlier if it would be all right if he played something tonight. I told him we'd be honored. It's a song he wrote for Kara."
Lee saw John's eyes on his daughter and Dreilide. He watched John take a drink from the glass in his hand. "What?" Lee asked John. "You've switched from ambrosia to straight vodka?"
John finally looked at him. "I never started on the ambrosia tonight. This is water."
"Water?" Lee said in a shocked tone. "You're drinking water to celebrate Kara's graduation?"
"Not because I want to. I'm flying you both down to the island tomorrow. I want to be in the air by eight o'clock."
Laura said, "John is going to fly you down there, drop you off and fly back here so we can leave for Delphi and campaigning on Monday. He'll be back to pick you up next Sunday."
Lee smiled. "That's fine with me."
Bill asked, "When does Kara start Flight School?"
"Two weeks from Monday," John said.
"Is she looking forward to it?"
"A lot more than she did going to the Academy. I think part of that is because she wants to show everyone that I didn't just give her good sim scores."
"She's going to show them," Lee said.
Dreilide came to the end of his song. Everyone in the room began clapping. He stood up and took a little bow. Kara stood too and he put his arm around her.
Lee looked at John. He was still watching them. He finally seemed to feel Lee's gaze and turned.
"It's okay. I know she loves him. He was the only father she knew growing up."
Laura touched the side of John's face so that he turned to her. "Kara loves you and you know it."
He nodded.
Bill said to Lee. "I'm going over to speak to Colonel Burgher and his wife."
The DJ had returned and now spun another tune. The beat was slow. Couples began to dance. Dwight Saunders walked over to Kara and Dreilide. Kara introduced them. The two men shook hands. It was obvious a moment later that he had also asked Kara to dance because they stepped out onto the small dance floor with the other couples. Lee knew that Kara liked Saunders. They had been in math class together and Kara had said on more than one occasion how smart Saunders was.
Lee felt a twinge of jealousy as he saw Kara and Saunders begin to dance. He knew there was nothing to worry about and yet it still got to him to see Kara smiling up at this year's handsome valedictorian as they chatted and danced.
When the dance was over, they walked over to John and Laura. Saunders politely thanked them for inviting him and said he had several more parties to attend that evening. Polite and popular, too.
When he was gone, Kara said, "I'm glad he was our valedictorian instead of Pike. I like Flat Top."
"I can tell," Lee said.
Kara gave him an eye roll. "Don't start that. Would you get me a glass of ambrosia? I'm thirsty."
"Say please."
She looked at him, remembering a time in the not-too-distant past that she had said the same thing to him. She smiled. "Please."
He went to the bar and got two glasses of ambrosia. When he got back to her, Dreilide was also saying goodnight. Lee held the two glasses while Dreilide hugged Kara.
"I'm so glad you could come to my party," Kara said to him.
"I'm glad, too. Goodnight, Lee. I hope I see you again soon."
"I hope so, too," Lee said. He handed Kara her drink and watched as Dreilide walked over and said his goodbyes to John and Laura. This time Dreilide extended his hand and John shook it.
"He's going to pick up a few hours playing at one of the clubs tonight," Kara said. "He doesn't get paid if he doesn't work."
Kara downed the rest of her ambrosia. "Dad will probably let me do most of the flying tomorrow, so this is my last drink tonight. Come on. Let's dance."
They carried their glasses back to the bar. Bill stood there alone. He turned as they walked up. "I'm going to leave soon. I wonder if I might have a dance with the guest of honor."
Kara smiled at Lee as she followed the admiral to the dance floor.
"Lee told me about the sim," he said as they began to dance. "Congratulations."
"Thank you, sir." Kara took a deep breath. "I'd like for you to consider me when you make a choice of which pilot flies…of who flies Sadie."
He smiled in a bemused way. "You think that pilot should be you?"
"Yes, sir. I can do it. I know I can."
"I think I'd better wait to put you on the list until you've finished Flight School."
"Fine," Kara said confidently. "You wait until I've got my wings. You'll find out I'm just as good in a real Viper as I am in the simulator."
"I have no doubt," Bill said. "You know John doesn't want your name on that list of pilots."
Kara nodded. "I'll be eighteen by then. He won't be able to stop me if I'm chosen."
"That may put me in something of a predicament. I consider your father a friend. I think he considers me one."
"Are you going to let him influence your decision?"
Bill said very seriously. "I'm going to pick the pilot I consider best suited for the mission."
"Is Lee on your list?"
"He's asked to be put on it."
"Doesn't that put you in a predicament, too?"
The admiral finally smiled. "Maybe I'll just put all the qualified names in a hat and pick one. That way I can say Fate made the choice."
"You wouldn't really do that, would you, sir?" Kara asked skeptically.
Bill was still smiling. "We'll find out late in the autumn, won't we?" They danced in silence for a few moments until he said, "By then I hope you'll have decided to talk to me about your Cylon friends."
Kara looked him directly in the eyes. "I'm going to graduate in one of the top three places from Flight School. I'm going to get my choice of battlestars and I'm going to request the Galactica. If I give you a list of pilots, some Raptor, some Viper, would you make sure all of them get sent to the G?"
The smile was gone from Bill's face. "Does this involve the Cylons?"
"One of my Cylon friends will be on that list…one who has agreed to feed Cavil false information about the readiness and morale of the fleet. I'd like to monitor how things are going."
"In other words, you don't trust this Cylon?"
Kara thought of Pike and Shelley Sydell. "There's some humans I trust a lot less."
"When am I going to get the names of these Cylon friends of yours?"
"When I get a promise, sir, and the time is right."
"What kind of promise?"
"That you won't do anything to them…no arrests…no making them disappear….that you'll give them the chance to prove that they have loyalties to us."
"That's what I can't understand. Why do you think these Cylons would have any loyalty to humans? They're always just a hair-trigger away from destroying us. That's why Cavil keeps that base star in such a low orbit over Caprica City. Why do you think any of them would go against their kind and help us?"
"Because one of them thinks what Cavil did is wrong and the other one is in love with a human."
Bill laughed, short and mirthless. "In love? You aren't serious."
"I am, sir. Your promise. Your word of honor you won't do anything to them."
She watched the internal struggle in his eyes. Finally he said, "My word of honor…unless they betray us. Then all bets are off."
"I understand. And the list of pilots that get sent to the Galactica?"
"I can manage that, too."
"I'll give you one name when I give you the list."
"You do realize how much trust I'm placing in you, don't you?"
Kara smiled. "Yes, sir. But your gut tells you I'm right, doesn't it? That's really the only reason you're going along with me on this."
Bill slowly nodded. "Right now my gut tells me it can't hurt to let this play out a little longer. I just hope the day comes that I get to see the look on Cavil's face when he finds out he was betrayed by his own kind."
The song ended.
"Are you going to tell Lee about our conversation?" Kara asked as they began walking toward the bar where Lee stood waiting.
"I'll let you do that."
"He's not going to be happy when he finds out I've asked to jump Sadie to Nereid."
"He might not be happy," Bill said, "but I don't think he'll be surprised."
Before they got to Lee, Zak stopped them.
"Next dance," he said as he took Kara's arm and steered her back onto the floor.
"Smooth move," Kara said.
"I have to dance with the guest of honor," Zak said. "Then I'm out of here. The twins are waiting for me at Crocodiles."
"I should have guessed that's why you're here alone. Two girls waiting for you. Do the three of you…" Kara didn't finish the sentence.
Zak laughed. "Do the three of us what?"
Kara felt her cheeks grow warm. "Do I have to spell it out?"
"They don't mind sharing. If I can't have Maggie, I'll just have to settle for Brigitta and Annabeth."
"I feel so sorry for you."
Suddenly the smile was gone. "Maggie won't return my phone calls. Karl told me tonight that she was moving back into the apartment with her cousin while she goes to Flight School."
"Karl and I don't talk about Maggs much anymore."
"Lee told me about you getting into a fight with her."
"It got us both restricted to campus for a month. It was a stupid thing to do."
"Just like when Lee and I got into it that time. It was stupid. It didn't solve anything."
"You really like Maggie, don't you?"
Zak shrugged. "I keep telling myself I don't, but I probably do. I was really hoping she'd show up tonight. I've…missed her."
"After she finishes Flight School, she'll be posted to a battlestar for at least a year."
"I know," Zak said glumly. "It takes a strong relationship to stand being separated for a year. Do you think you and Lee are going to make it?"
Kara looked at Lee who was standing at the bar talking to his father. He glanced her way and smiled at her. She smiled back.
"Lee and I are going to make it."
He met them halfway when the song ended.
"I'm finally going to get a dance," Lee said.
Before he dropped her hand, Zak squeezed it. "Good luck in Flight School."
"Thanks, Zak. Good luck with whatever you want out of life, too."
Lee took Kara in his arms. They smiled at each other as they began to dance. She saw the love in his eyes. They were going to make it. She had no doubt of that.
...
The runway stretched ahead of her. Kara glanced at her father sitting in the copilot seat. He smiled and nodded as they were cleared for takeoff. In less than half a minute they were off the ground and climbing steeply.
She glanced at him for his appraisal of her takeoff. He grinned and raised his thumb. Only when they had reached their cruising altitude and their course was set did they engage in conversation.
She got his standard response, "Good takeoff, baby."
Kara grinned. "When I start flying Vipers, it's going to seem weird not to hear someone tell me good takeoff, baby or good landing, baby."
Her father grinned, "Does that mean you're actually going to miss me?"
"You know I'm going to miss you. I wish you could teach me to fly a Viper."
"I wish I could too. You just remember what you learned in that simulator. Remember what I tried to teach you about watching your instruments."
"Who's going on the campaign trail to Delphi tomorrow?"
"Laura's staff, Tory, Billy, six volunteers, me, Braedon and Maya. That's it."
"Maya's going? I thought Laura had given her the week off."
"I've arranged to copilot the ship. Russ Russo is going to be our pilot. Laura will be working while we're there so it made sense for her to take Maya. Maya is going to take the next week off since I'll be home from the Academy and can keep Braedon. He's been fussy this last week."
"Maya told me he's teething."
"I know. At first we thought it was just the bottom, but I'm pretty sure I felt two little teeth under his upper gum as well. Poor kid."
"Why can't you watch him in Delphi while Laura campaigns?"
"Apparently I'm expected to be by Laura's side most of the time."
"Are you making any speeches?"
Her father looked out the window and didn't answer her.
"You are. Tell the truth. Who are you speaking to?"
"A group of retired military, a lot of them former pilots. Most of these guys are old enough to be my father. They may be a tough audience. A lot of them were flying in the time when there were a lot fewer women pilots so some of them may have a problem with a woman leading the Colony. I'm not sure what I can say that will change any of their minds, but I guess I'll give it a shot."
"Why don't you start by telling them what Laura did for the refugee camps? If you could get a copy of the Hope picture it will be even better. You know the one with the pilot taking off with supplies for the camps."
"That's a good idea, baby. I'm sure Billy can help with the picture."
"Now all you need to do is get Lee to write the speech."
Her father grinned. "Are you volunteering to let Lee go on the campaign trail with us writing speeches instead of spending the week at the beach with you?"
Kara gave him a look. "You're funny, Dad."
...
An hour and a half later she landed the ship at the small airstrip on the northeast part of the island. Her father stayed with them until Lee had rented the jeep and their luggage was in the back. Even then it seemed like he didn't want to leave.
"We'll be back here at the airport next Sunday at noon," Kara said.
"I'll be waiting for you." John took the keys to the cottage out of his pocket and handed them to her. "Be careful, baby. You, too, Lee. Don't get out too far if you go swimming. The current is strong near the mouth of the bay."
Lee said, "I'll take care of her."
Kara gave her father a smug smile. "I'll take care of him, too." She stepped over to her father and hugged him. "We'll be fine. I'm not going to do something like Boomer did and get carried out to sea."
He kissed her forehead. "I love you, baby."
"I love you, too. This is so great of you. Everything you did, the party, this trip. I couldn't have a better Dad."
Reluctantly he let her go and turned to walk back to the ship. Kara and Lee waited until he took off. Lee cranked the jeep and drove out onto the main road. They were silent for a long time.
Finally Lee said, "He wishes he and Laura and Braedon could be with us."
"I know," Kara said. "I wish they could, too. But this week…I'm glad it's just us."
"Me, too. Let's stop at that restaurant where we stopped over spring break and eat lunch. Then we'll get some groceries."
"Sounds like a plan," Kara said.
An hour and a half later they pulled up outside the cottage. Everything looked just like Kara remembered it, the light gray limestone, the blue-gray shutters and slate roof. The cottage sat on a slight rise overlooking the little bay.
"This place is beautiful," she said.
Lee smiled as he got bags of groceries from the jeep. "Who gets the master bedroom?"
"Who do you think?"
"Did you mention that to your dad?"
"I didn't have to. He isn't dumb."
"I just meant did you talk about the sleeping arrangements?"
"No. My dad knows. End of story. We don't have to talk about it."
Together they carried the groceries into the cottage and then their suitcases. The air inside was stuffy and hot. While Kara put up the groceries, Lee went around and opened the windows. The breeze from the ocean filled the rooms.
"Let's go to the beach," Lee said when he walked back to the kitchen door. "It'll take a while for the cottage to cool off."
"Fine with me." Kara found her red bikini in her bag. "If we change in front of each other, we'll never make it to the beach. We'll end up all hot and sweaty here on the bed."
"Agreed." Lee took his swim trunks into the bathroom and shut the door.
Beach towels draped over their shoulders and holding hands, they walked down to the little cove. They spread their towels and lay down, Kara on her back, Lee on his stomach.
"This place is as close to perfect as it gets," Lee said.
"Dad said the weather was supposed to be good all week. He said the worst weather here is in the late fall and early winter. Storms come from the northeast. Maybe we can come back in the early fall…after I finish Flight School, before I go to the Galactica."
"Do you think Laura and your dad could come then, too?"
"I don't know. The election is early November. She'll probably be doing some heavy campaigning then. Maybe Dad could get away for a few days with Braedon."
"The Raider mission to Nereid will be late October or early November."
"Your dad told you that?" Kara asked.
"The last time we talked about it, yeah."
"I asked to be considered to fly Sadie."
"I knew you would."
Kara was surprised by Lee's mild reaction. "What? No telling me how impossible it will be?"
"My dad will consider every single pilot he thinks can do it, and then he'll make his choice," Lee said tactfully.
He didn't think Kara stood a chance because of being such a new pilot at the time, but he didn't want to start an argument, either.
"You told him I flew Burgher's sim?"
"I told him. He was impressed."
"More than you were," Kara said sarcastically.
"No. I wasn't impressed. I was more like blown away. John told me you were going to be a better Viper pilot than me."
"My dad told you that? Really?"
"I asked him if you were going to be a better pilot than me. He said yes. He said your natural ability tipped the scales."
Kara grinned. "I guess he knows what he's talking about."
"I'm sure he does."
"And that bothers you?"
"Probably," Lee said, admitting it out loud for the first time.
"Because I can do one thing better than you?"
"Kara, I…okay. It did get to me. All my life I've tried to do my best. I've tried to be the best at everything and now…"
"Now some girl has come along who is better than you at something. Is this going to come between us?"
"No. I'll deal with it."
Kara stood up. She sensed they were on the verge of something that might lead to an argument and she didn't want that to happen. There would be plenty of time later to talk.
"Let's go swimming. No, let's go skinny dipping."
"No way. It's the middle of the afternoon. Anybody could…"
"Could what?" Kara laughed. "Fly over in a helicopter? We were here for nearly a week in the spring. We didn't see a single person."
"You're crazy," Lee said.
"That's me. Crazy Kara. I dare you. I double dare you." She quickly pulled off her bikini bottom and then untied the top. Naked and laughing she ran the twenty feet to the waterline and out into the surf.
A wave rose up and he watched her dive cleanly under it.
The image came to him, strong and sensual. Posiden's Daughter. The sea nymph. He remembered how he had resisted her when she had wanted to make love to him on her motorcycle. He remembered how hot that had turned out. He stood up and pulled off his swim trunks.
She was already out beyond the breaking waves. He dove and came up beside her. Her body was silver-white in the water. Her hair floated around her. She really did look like the sea nymph in the painting. He knew he would never be able to look at it exactly the same way again. He knew he would always see Kara like this, unashamed of her nakedness and unaware of her beauty.
Their kiss was salty and hard to maintain because of the buffeting of the waves. He took her arm and pulled her to shallower water where they could stand before he kissed her again. His arms tightened around her. She licked the salt water from his mouth and he closed his eyes, the desire for her as strong as he had ever felt it. She put her arms around his neck and locked her legs around him.
"Kara," he groaned just as a wave knocked them over. When they regained their footing, he took her hand and began pulling her toward the shore.
He made it to the beach towel and pulled her on top of him. They kissed again, her wet hair falling around his face. Then she managed to move just right and he was almost inside her. She moved again and he heard the soft moan as she took him all the way in.
The afternoon sun, golden around them, highlighted her body. He barely heard the crashing of the surf over the blood pounding in his ears. He heard her voice, a mermaid's song, telling him she loved him, and then her mouth on his in a siren's kiss. The world condensed for him into those tight moments of pleasure, feeling her abandon herself the way she did without shame or conscious thought and then feeling himself being taken by the sensation a few moments later.
Perfect. He was right. Everything about this place was perfect.
Eventually they went back into the water, still naked but playful this time, swimming and chasing each other, diving through the waves, the sea nymph and her lover, the daughter of Posiden, who had blessed their union by giving them this week alone together.
He and Kara had each other. They would always have each other. Lee reached out, caught her and pulled her to him.
She smiled at him, her hair floating around her shoulders, the sun a golden shimmer on the water.
Posiden's green-eyed daughter, as at home in the ocean as she would one day be in the air.
He committed this moment to memory. Like a painting in a museum. Perfect and beautiful.