A Different Beginning----Chapter 15
AU and it starts at the mini-series. I am writing this solo and I apologize for any mistakes.
Chapter---15
Lee made it to the brig before Kara did. He sat there watching the cylon, he did not seem to be worried. Lee was hoping to find out why this cylon believed Kara belonged to him. It had been forty years since they last saw the cylons, how could they possibly know anything about Kara. Lee knew that he would do anything to keep the cylons from taking her. He watched as Kara walked into the room.
After Kara left the meeting she stopped by her locker and took a big swallow of the chief's brew she had stashed. Then she changed out of her flight suit into tanks and a pair of work pants. After that she headed down to the brig. She stood by the door taking a good look at Leobon before she went in. Kara looked at her watch, she had six hours and thirty minutes before the bomb was supposed to go off. Although she had never interrogated anyone before she knew for the sake of the fleet she would do whatever she had to.
She walked in slowly, taking in everything in the room. Kara saw that Leobon had shackles on his feet and hands and was shackled to the table also. Leobon had put his head down on the table when she entered the room. Kara took a seat before speaking and banged her hand hard on the table causing him to look up " I'm sorry, were you trying to sleep?" she asked sarcastically.
Leobon raised his head up when she hit the table " No, I was praying "
Kara scoffed " I don't think the Gods answer cylon prayers "
" God answers every ones prayers " Leobon said staring at her
Kara changed the subject " How many cylons are there in the fleet?"
Leobon smiled " We haven't been properly introduced, I am Leobon and you are Kara Thrace "
Kara ignored him " I'll ask you again, how many cylons are there in the fleet?"
" I have no idea " he said with a sneer
" I don't believe you, how long have you been hiding in the fleet?" Kara asked calmly
Leobon did not answer her.
" Why were you hiding in the fleet?" she asked
" I had a mission to perform " Leobon said looking at her
He finally answered a question " What was your mission?"
" Sabotage " he said as he reached towards her, but his chains kept him from being able to touch her.
Kara stood up " I am not here to play games with you, either start answering all of my questions or we are done "
Leobon didn't comment.
As she was walking out Leobon called out to her " Come back and sit down Kara and I will tell you everything, eventually "
As much as she hated to, she sat back down " Start talking, tell me where the bomb is"
Leobon smiled at her again " I will, but first I want to get to know you Kara "
Kara smirked at him " I have a better idea, why don't I just put you out the airlock and tell them you never said a word "
Leobon turned serious " You won't do that Kara, your military training won't allow you to "
Kara got up and walked out. She needed to call Adama and check in. " He is not telling me anything important sir, he just wants to play mind games with me"
Adama cursed " We have not found the bomb yet, just do what you can Starbuck "
As soon as she went back in Leobon started " You believe in the gods, don't you Kara?
" Why do you want to know?" Kara asked getting sick of being in the same room with him.
" Because God said that you had a destiny and that you belonged to me." Leobon paused before going on " I know that you pray to Artemis and Aphrodite and while you have many gods we just have one " Leobon said as he leaned back in his chair
Kara was getting frustrated " I don't give a damn about your God !! "
Leobon started talking nonsense " To know the face of God is to know madness "
Kara did not respond she just leaned back in her chair, waiting for him to say something worthwhile.
Leobon continued talking nonsense " I see the patterns, I see the universe, I see the foreshadowing that precedes every moment of every day" Leobon leaned as close to Kara as he could " It's all there. I see it and you don't, that is why you need me "
Kara acted uninterested in what he had been saying " Where is the bomb located?"
Leobon ignored her question " I have something to tell you Kara, it's about the future "
" Is that so?" she asked
" It is, but we have to see this through to the end " Leobon said thinking he finally had her attention.
Before Kara could say anything a marine came in and placed a tray of food in front of her. She noticed how Leobon was looking at her food, she then smiled and started eating, making a big show of enjoying her food.
While Kara was eating he asked her " What is the most basic article of faith?" he answered his own question " This is not all that we are " she did not respond so he continued talking " The difference between me and you is, I know what that means and you don't." he paused thinking she would ask him what he meant " I know that I'm more than this body, more than this consciousness and a part of me swims in the stream and a part of me is standing on the shore, but the current never takes me downstream "
Kara finished eating and placed what was left to the side of her " Now, what was that about swimming in a stream?"
Leobon looked at the food and then her " Do you mind?"
Kara pushed the tray over to him " I'm starving, I haven't eaten in days "
Kara laughed " That's kinda bad programming, making machines feel hunger "
Leobon stopped eating to answer her " It makes me human "
" You are not a human!! " she shouted
Kara made a motion to one of the guards and he hit Leobon hard across his face while he a mouth full of food. When he straightened back up, Kara asked "Did that hurt?"
Leobon nodded " Yeah, that hurt "
" Good " she said " Machines shouldn't feel pain, shouldn't bleed, and shouldn't sweat." she leaned close to him " A smart cylon would turn off the pain about now, but I don't think your too smart "
Leobon looked at her and sneered " Maybe I'll turn it off and you won't even know it "
Kara motioned the guard to hit him again. This time it was hard enough that he was knocked out of his chair onto the floor. " Tell me what I want to know and I'll stop all of this "
Leobon became cryptic again as he lay there looking up at her " I knew this about you, you are everything I thought you would be, but I still won't tell you anything "
" Maybe not, but when I'm through with you, you will know that me, a human beat you, because you are nothing but a machine " Kara taunted him
" Let the games began " Leobon said smiling
Kara motioned for the guards again, this time she let them beat him until he fell back to the floor and pulled himself into a fetal position. She stood over him " Now, if you were human you would be ready to tell me the location of the bomb, so that must mean you are nothing but a machine "
Leobon looked up at her " I am more than you could ever imagine, I am God "
Kara busted out laughing " So now you think you are God, wow nice to meet you "
" We are all God Kara, I see the love that binds all living things together " he said as the guards placed him back in the chair
Kara sneered " You don't know what love means "
After relaxing back in the chair he spoke " I know that you are special and God loved you more than all other living creatures, and you repaid his divine love with sin, hate, corruption and evil and that was when he decided to create the cylons "
Kara leaned across the table close to him " The gods had nothing to do with it, we created you!! " she paused " It was a stupid fraked up decision, and we have paid for it "
Kara wasn't through " You slaughtered our entire civilization, that is sin, that is evil and you are evil !! "
Leobon wiped his mouth and then spread the blood across the table " I see the truths that float past you in the stream "
Kara leaned back " You have a real thing for rivers and streams, don't you, so I think we should indulge you in your obsession " she looked at the guards and nodded, letting them know she wanted a bucket of water.
Leobon watched Kara as the guards left the room " Do you realize I could kill you before they get back?" Kara quirked an eyebrow at him " I could get to my feet, rip your skull from your spinal column and crash through that door and kill the guard in less time than it has taken me to describe it to you "
Kara didn't flinch " Then why don't you?"
" It's not the right time " he said as he sat back
Kara laughed at him, and before she knew it he had broke his chains and shoved the table away, then grabbed her by the neck and held her against the wall choking her. " I have a surprise for you Kara " he whispered
The guards came rushing in and when Kara straightened back up she looked at Leobon " You just fraked up!! "
Kara sat on the edge of the table while two guards held Leobon down on his knees. As soon as she saw the bucket of water being brought in she smiled. The guards placed the bucket in front of Leobon.
Kara grinned at Leobon before motioning the guards to dunk him. She left his head in the water for a while and when the guards pulled him up she said " Now tell me where the bomb is "
When he did not answer she had him dunked again, longer this time. She motioned the guards to pull him up " Tell me where the bomb is "
Instead of telling her, he said " This is not your path Kara, you have a destiny to fulfill with me "
" You are nothing but a delusional machine, who believes in a god that doesn't exist and I have no destiny, especially with you !!" she then motioned for the guards to dunk him again.
After they pulled him up, he fell to the floor gasping for breath, but still looked at Kara. " I know you, you were born to a woman who believed that suffering was good for the soul, so you suffered " he stopped to catch his breath " Your life is a testament to pain, injuries and accidents, some inflicted upon others, others inflicted upon yourself " Leobon looked to see if she was affected by what he was saying " She wanted to hurt you, so that you would believe you were nothing but trouble, and you believed her, that's why you think you are nothing but bad luck " he paused "You are like a cancer that needs to be removed and you still hear her voice everyday "
Kara walked over to him and jerked him up off the floor, holding him tight around his neck, then raised her fist back and swung at him hard knocking him back to the floor. " You know nothing about me!! " she yelled
When Kara finished, he lay there smiling at her " You belong to me Kara and one day we will be together just as God said we would " Leobon raised up a little " I know how your mother abused you and how she broke everyone of your fingers at the same time, and how often you were in the hospital, when you are with me I will treat you as you should be treated, and together we will share your destiny "
Kara had sat transfixed listening to the things he was saying about her. How did he know so much about her? How long have the cylons known about her? His words had made her mad, so she said " Start again " to the guards.
As he was being held under the water Kara's mind drifted back to her childhood and how terrible it had been. The guards finally got her attention and she motioned to raise him up. He fell to the floor again gasping. Kara ordered the guards out and sat back down waiting for Leobon to get up.
As soon as he sat down he began talking " All of this has happened before and all of it will happen again "
Kara felt drained " Don't quote scripture to me, you don't have the right to use those words "
Leobon continued " You kneel before your idols and ask for guidance, but you can't see that your destiny has already been written " He looked her in the eye " Your job is to deliver my soul to god and remember when I told you I had surprise for you,well here it is, you will find Kobol "
Kara was getting tired of his games " I don't believe you "
" You will, Kobol is the birthplace of us all and it will lead you to Earth " he said trying to get her to believe " This is my gift to you Kara " then he leaned in close to her " When it is time I will come for you "
Roslin walked in while they were staring at each other and saw that he had been tortured " What is going on in here?" when no on answered her, she walked out waiting for Starbuck to join her in the hallway.
Roslin waited until Kara stood before her " What exactly is it that you have been doing in there? "
Kara held her ground " My job, it is a machine, there are no limits to the things I can do to it "
" Where is the bomb?" Roslin asked agitated
" I don't know " Kara answered calmly
Roslin gave her a hard look and raised her voice " You don't know, you have spent the last six hours torturing this cylon and you don't have a single piece of information to show for it "
Kara stood her ground " He thinks he can see the future, says he knows our destiny and our fate, he also said we are going to find Kobol and that it would lead us to Earth "
" Clean him up and bring him out here, now " Roslin ordered
As soon as the guards brought him out Roslin ordered his restraints be removed and apologized to him for the way he was treated. " Tell me where the bomb is and I will let you live "
Leobon looked at her " There is no bomb, I just wanted to talk to Kara, don't be too hard on her, she was just doing her job " and then he grabbed Roslin and whispered " Adama is a cylon "
Roslin jumped back " Put him out the airlock "
Kara was surprised that Roslin had lied " You can't do that, he told you what you wanted to know "
Roslin looked at Kara " I can and I will "
Kara spoke to Roslin while watching Leobon being put in the airlock " He's not afraid to die, he's just worried that his soul won't make it to God "
Kara then walked up to the glass and watched as he was blown into space, she then left heading to her bunk room. When she got there she took her idols out and prayed for Leobon, she didn't know why she did it, she just felt like she should. She was still freaked out by how much Leobon had known about her. Kara wondered if all the cylons were that interested in her and did she really have a destiny.
She needed to forget about Leobon, so she headed to Lee's office. She needed to tell him that her pilots would be ready soon. She also wanted to tell him about the test flight with the raider tomorrow.
Lee sat without moving as he watched Kara with the cylon. Instead of answering her questions he told her how special she was and that she had a destiny. His dad had been right about Kara, she seemed to become a different person while dealing with the cylon. She seemed to enjoy watching the guards beat Leobon over and over. Lee was shocked to find out that Kara prayed to idols and even more shocked that Leobon knew which ones. Lee watched the guards leave to retrieve something that Kara wanted. While they were gone he watched in horror when the cylon broke free and attacked Kara. He was getting ready to go in there, when the guards showed up.
He watched as Kara used the bucket of water to torture Leobon with. Lee was amazed to hear the cylon talk about Kara's mother and how she had abused her. Then he said that her mom had told her that her life was a testament to pain and that she was a cancer that needed to be removed. He couldn't believe that a mother could tell her child that she was nothing but trouble and that she was bad luck. Through all of the water torture he only talked about Kara and her mom. At one point when Leobon said something about her mother, Kara went over and yanked him up off the floor and then raised her arm back and hit him so hard she knocked him back down to the floor and screamed at him. He wondered how many more forms of torture Kara knew about. He was stunned that the cylons seemed to know so much about her. He also wondered if his dad knew things about Kara's past. Lee began to wonder if there really was a bomb, because it seemed Leobon's only reason for being here was to meet Kara.
He got the impression that the cylons had been watching Kara since she was a child. Why would Kara be so important to the cylons, she was just a viper pilot and she definitely believed in the gods while they believed in one god. Lee got angry when he heard the cylon tell Kara that she belonged to him. He wondered why the cylon kept insisting that Kara had a destiny and it had already been written. Lee almost got up at one point to stop the torture, he was afraid that she might actually have him killed. Kara acted like it didn't faze her, he knew that she had never interrogated anyone before, so how did she know what to do. And she remained detached during the whole thing.
Lee heard the cylon tell Kara that they would find Kobol and it would lead them to Earth. He wondered if that was true, because his dad claimed to know the way to Earth. He knew that without a doubt that this cylon was obsessed with Kara. Lee wanted Kara to talk to him about the things the cylon had said. Maybe he should tell her that his father had ordered him to monitor the interrogation.
Lee wondered what Kara thought about how much the cylons knew about her. Then Lee heard the last thing he said to her " When it is time I will come for you " he knew now that Kara would always be in danger. After Roslin showed up, he got up and left the room he had been in. Lee went to his office to wait and see if Kara would come by. He needed to talk to her before he wrote up his report.
When she arrived at Lee's office she found him just sitting there doing nothing. " Did you catch up on all your paperwork Apollo?"
Lee looked at Kara as she stood there waiting for him to answer. " No, I'm just taking a break, have a seat. "
Kara sat down across from him " I wanted to let you know that I will be graduating my class day after tomorrow "
Lee noticed how tired she was. " Do you really think they are ready?"
" Of course they are, I would never pass them and send them out there, if I didn't think they were ready " Kara wondered why he would ask her that.
He leaned forward putting his elbows on his desk and placed his hands under his chin " We will have to make up a new pilot rotation " he said without much interest.
Kara thought Lee was acting strange, and wondered what could be wrong with him " I also wanted to tell you that I will be taking the raider out for a test run tomorrow "
" You will need a viper out there with you in case something goes wrong " Lee said giving her a certain look
Kara smirked " I know that and I was hoping you would be the one to go out with me "
He finally sat up then " I'll go out with you, I'm just surprised you want it to be me "
Kara looked at him oddly, wondering what the frak was wrong with him " Why would you think that, you are the only one I trust enough to watch my back out there "
" I thought with all the stuff we have been through lately, that you would ask someone else " he said quietly
Kara reached across the desk and grabbed his hand " I thought we agreed to try and be friends "
Lee started rubbing his thumb on her wrist " Kara, I want for us to be more than just friends "
Kara kept her hand in his " I do too Lee, but we need to wait "
Lee could feel himself getting angry so he pulled his hand back " How long should we wait Kara, you and I both know that each time we go out and fight the cylons we could be killed, as a matter of fact we both came close to it happening this past week!!? "
Kara knew Lee was right, but she wanted Adama to accept them. " I just don't think your dad wants us to be together, I think he was hoping that you and Dee would become a couple "
Lee stood up and walked around his desk pulling her up to face him " I don't think he cares who it is, as long as I have someone, he thinks I need to do more than just work all the time "
Kara reached for his hand wanting to touch him " I'm tired of being mad at him all the time Lee, I miss talking to him, but I don't think he thinks I am the right person for you "
Lee hugged her and then pulled back " I think you are wrong, you know if we had just told him about us from the beginning, we would not have gone through all this misery "
Kara looked into his blue eyes " After we are sure that we can be friends, then maybe we can tell him, but since we have done nothing but kiss, how can we be sure that there is more between us "
Lee smiled " I don't know how you feel, but somehow I believe that we are meant to be together "
Kara smirked at him " When did you start believing in fate?"
Lee shrugged " I don't know about fate, but I do believe in us "
Kara smiled " I care about you Lee, I just think we should wait, just to be sure "
Lee went to sit back down " Okay, I'll wait as long as I can, but if you don't hurry up and decide, I will tell dad with or without you "
She smirked " Is that an order Captain?" she was glad he was finally out of the weird mood he had been in when she first came in.
" If it helps, then yes it's an order " Lee said winking at her
Kara sat back down " Leobon freaked me out today "
Lee knew he had to tell her before she said anything else " Kara, I was there, the commander ordered me to monitor the interrogation "
Lee saw her tense up " I did not know anybody would be watching, least of all you "
Lee reached and grabbed her hand making her look at him " Kara, you know that I would never repeat anything before checking with you first "
" Thank you for that " Kara paused thinking about what to say next " I never wanted anyone to know about my childhood, especially you "
Lee squeezed her hand " Now that I know, if you ever want to talk about it I will listen, but why didn't you want me to know?"
Kara pulled her hand away from him " I didn't want you to know how damaged I am "
Lee made her look at him " Kara, you are not damaged, you are the strongest woman I have ever known, and I hate that you had a frakked up childhood "
Kara sat up straight " I don't want to talk about it or Leobon anymore tonight "
Lee thought about what Leobon had said " We will stop talking about it, but I need to say one thing first " at Kara's nod he continued " I heard Leobon tell you that when the time was right that he would come for you, and I need you to know that I will do whatever it takes to keep that from happening "
Kara could only nod because she was afraid she would start crying if she said anything. Somehow she knew Lee meant what he had said.
Lee gave her time to accept what he had said and changed the subject to take her mind off Leobon.
" Okay, how about we get your pilots worked into the rotation starting at the end of the week, since you think they are ready " Lee said giving her something else to think about.
Kara yawned " Let's do it tomorrow, I'm worn out and need some rack time "
Lee stood up " I'll walk with you back to your bunk room "
Kara glared at him " I don't need a babysitter Lee "
" I know that, I just wanted to spend some more time with you " he admitted
Kara smiled " Okay, since you put it that way "
Lee walked her to her room and really wanted to kiss her goodnight, but thought it might be to soon, so he settled for kissing her forehead "Goodnight Kara, do you want to run with me in the morning?"
" Sure, I haven't ran in a while " then she walked in and closed the hatch.
Lee went back to his office and Kara changed her clothes before falling into bed. It had turned out to be a long day.
When Kara woke up she hopped out of bed, and dressed in her running clothes. Lee was waiting for her when she stepped through the hatch. They both took the time to stretch before running. They ran side by side having to separate to let people through. After two laps they stopped a moment to drink water. " Why are you so quiet Lee?" he didn't want to tell her how worried he was about her.
" I am just enjoying being able to run with you again" then he took off getting the jump on her. " No fair Lee " she yelled as she got closer to him. When she finally caught up to him she ran by his side for a moment, waiting on an opportunity to pull ahead of him. They turned a corner and Lee ran into someone knocking them down. Lee got up and reached to pick up who he knocked down and saw that it was Dee, frak. Kara started laughing and took off running, leaving Lee alone with Dee.
" I'm sorry Dee, we weren't watching where we where going, plus there isn't usually anybody around this early " Dee straightened up her uniform " Looks like you and Starbuck are back together " Lee wanted to lie and say they were, but knew he couldn't " We are just friends, for now "
Dee smiled " Since we are friends maybe we can run together sometime " Lee absolutely didn't want to do that " Kara and I have a certain routine when we run, I gotta go, once again I'm sorry" and he took off, hoping to catch Kara.
Kara only went around the corner and stopped. She knew she could hear them from where she was. It sounded like Lee was having a hard time getting away from Dee. Kara couldn't believe that Dee had asked Lee to run with her and Lee could only come up with a lame ass excuse. Their routine consisted of them trying to out do each other and sometimes running close together so they could touch each other discreetly. Kara knew Lee was coming so she waited on him. When he turned the corner she grabbed him and kissed him, freaking him out a little bit. Then she pushed him away and took off running again.
By the time he caught up with her she was sitting on a box in the walkway. " I take it you enjoyed my unfortunate incident " he said as he sat down next to her. That made Kara start laughing, so she mocked him " Kara and I have a certain routine when we run, gods Lee couldn't you come up with something better than that? " Lee turned and looked at her " It worked didn't it, and by the way, what was that kiss all about?" Kara didn't know herself why she had done that. " I was making up for running off and leaving you stuck with Dee, it was the least I could do " Lee didn't believe her " So I guess it meant nothing, huh?" Kara got up " That's right " and off she went. Lee didn't bother with trying to catch her again. He knew that the kiss meant more, but Kara would never admit it.
Today she would be putting her pilots through their last flight maneuvers. If they all passed they would be ready to graduate and become pilots. Kara was not worried, she knew they were ready. For two hours she ran them through every drill that she could think of. Now that they were through she was going to have them make combat landings. This was the one thing that she was worried about. She knew the chief had cleared the landing strip.
Kara sent Kat in first and watched as she landed with a little difficulty. Chuckles went next and almost missed the trap,but at least he landed without damaging his viper. Kara sent Hotdog in next, he landed almost perfectly. Then JoJo, Crashdown and Pike landed with no problems. She was amazed at how easily those three had switched from raptors to vipers. Kara landed after that and got out, hearing them all talking excitedly. She walked over to them and they lined up in front of her, ready to listen to what she had to say.
Kara stood there a minute making them wait. " I am proud to announce that you all passed and tomorrow you will officially be put into the pilot rotation. " she paused letting that sink in with them " Take the rest of the day off, but be ready bright and early in the morning, also from now on you will be reporting to the CAG." They started talking again as she left, excited about being viper pilots.
Kara turned back around to tell them one last thing " Before you leave you need to go over your flight list with a crew member " she paused " and make sure you show up for your graduation ceremony in the morning "
As Kara walked away she could hear the excitement in their voices. Kara was proud of herself for turning them into pilots, she might have enjoyed teaching at the academy.
*********************************************************************************************************************Now Now that her instructor job was over, she headed to where the raider was kept. She had one hour before she was going to fly the raider, she wondered if the chief had told the commander. As she waited she went over the raider one more time, making sure that there would be no problems.
The chief showed up and told her that a lot of people would be watching from the observation room. " Where is Apollo?" Kara asked
" He is in his viper, he will be launching before you " chief said as he ran his hands along the outside of the raider " You know if this works out we will have a small advantage over the cylons "
Kara grinned at the chief " Don't worry, everything will work out "
" Then let's get you loaded in, it's almost time " he reminded her
Kara got excited as she crawled inside the raider. The chief had shut the bottom hatch, and she listened as Apollo was shot out of the tube. Kara didn't need a tube, because the raider hovered. " Apollo get ready, I am about to fly this thing out "
Lee was nervous, he hoped nothing went wrong " I'm ready Starbuck " he had shut most of his systems down while waiting on her to come out.
Kara managed to hover the raider and then she took off out of the Galactica. " Here I come Apollo "
Lee watched as she came out of the Galactica. He turned all of his systems back on ready to follow her. " After you get used to it we need to fly by the observation room "
It took Kara a couple of minutes to get used to it " I'm ready Apollo, let's see what this thing can do "
Kara took off flying fast and flew away from the Galactica. " See if you can keep up Apollo " she said laughing
Lee took off after her and when he caught up with her they flew side by side back to the Galactica. Kara had gotten used to it, so she decided to try a few tricks to see what it could do. She had only seen them in combat, but she knew they were capable of making sharp turns. She flipped end over end to see if she could do it in the raider like she did in her viper. They were approaching the observation room, so she pulled in close to Apollo.
She looked over at Lee " Do you think it can do barrel rolls?"
Lee looked at her like she was crazy " I don't remember ever seeing them do that "
Kara winked at him " Maybe they never thought about it " Since Kara was flying on Lee's left side she started rolling out away from him and managed three rolls before she had to level it off.
"Starbuck , be careful, until you are sure you can handle it " Lee yelled at her
" Hey, I wonder what would happen if I pushed this jump button " she was not really going to do it, she was just playing around with Lee.
"Don't Starbuck, you could end up anywhere and never be able to get back home and that's an order " Lee wanted her to land before she came up with some crazy ass stunt.
" Fine, I won't jump away, but let's fly for a while " Kara hoped he would agree.
Lee sighed " Fine, but let's make a couple of passes by the observation room, first "
" Okay, I will race you there " Kara said laughing and she took off.
It ended up being a close race, but Kara won. They flew a few maneuvers for the people watching them from the observation room, then took off heading far away from the fleet. For the next forty minutes they flew free and tried out several several different moves. They were having fun and then the commander ordered them to come back in.
When they landed they saw a lot of people waiting on them. When they got out of the viper and the raider several people started clapping and tried to talk to them. Everyone was excited about having an enemy ship that they could fly. Kara looked over at Lee and motioned that she was going to leave and he followed her out shortly.
They met up in his office and Lee pulled out a couple of glasses and poured them a drink. " This calls for a toast "
" You do it, I'm not used to making toasts " Kara said waiting to take a swallow of her drink.
Lee raised his glass " Here's to us, may we always be there for each other "
Kara looked at him oddly trying to figure out what exactly he meant by that, then raised her glass and clinked it against his.
Just as they finished there drink Kara got a call over the intercom " Lt. Thrace you have a ship to ship call, I think it is important "
Lee looked at Kara strangely " Who do you know that would call you ship to ship?"
" I don't know Lee " she put her glass down and used the phone in Lee's office " This is Lt. Thrace, who is calling?"
" It's me Mark, you haven't forgotten me already have you?" he asked her
" I have been pretty busy, is something wrong?" she asked him
" No, I realize that you were just over here, but as a friend there is something I need to talk to you about, and I promise to feed you if you can come over " Kara did not know what to do, she knew Lee could hear her.
" When do you need me to come over?" Kara asked glancing at Lee
" Tonight if it is possible, I have the night off " Mark told her
Kara knew she couldn't not go see him. " I'll be there, just tell me what time and where "
" How about seven at my restaurant " Mark said
Kara knew Lee was listening " I'll be there, unless something important comes up "
Kara hung up and turned around to face Lee. How could she explain this to him. She knew Lee would be jealous and feel betrayed. Maybe now he would understand how she had felt about him and Dee.
Lee knew he needed to tread carefully, but he couldn't help but feel worried about the call " Who was that and what did they want?"
Kara thought about what to say " That was Mark, I met him when I went to Cloud Nine, he needs to talk to me about something "
Lee didn't say anything for a moment " Is he the reason you just want to be friends with me?"
Kara walked over to stand in front of him and made him look at her " No Lee, Mark and I are just friends, nothing else "
" Are you sure about that Kara?" he asked, silently hoping that she was telling the truth
Kara reached up and held his face in both her hands and looked into his eyes " I'm sure Lee, you are going to have to trust me about this " then she kissed him hoping that he would believe her.
Lee took advantage of the situation and kissed her long and thoroughly, knowing that he had just crossed the friendship line " When do I get to meet your new friend?"
" Soon, but first I need to find out what he wants " she said as she stepped back from him " I think the two of you will like each other, he seems to be a nice guy "
Lee felt a little better about it " What does Mark do?"
" He owns one of the restaurants on Cloud Nine " Kara said, pleased that Lee seemed to believe her
" Where did you meet him?" Lee needed to know
Kara decided to go with the truth " In a bar, but nothing happened, thanks to Mark, you see I was upset over seeing you with Dee, so I went looking for someone to frak to help me forget about you and Dee "
Lee could understand that " What did Mark have to do with it?"
Kara smiled " I made a play for him and I thought we were going to his room, instead he took me to his restaurant and fed me, so I would sober up"
Lee seemed interested, so she continued her story " After we ate and I sobered up, we decided to just be friends, he said he knew that I was drinking to forget about someone and it would have been a mistake if we had fraked, because I would regret it the next morning and he was right. After that I knew for sure that we would be friends "
Lee nodded and relaxed " He sounds like a good guy, will you stop by when you get back?"
Kara thought about it, she realized they were moving past just friends, maybe too fast " If it's not to late "
" I don't care how late it is, wake me up " he said, she left saying that she might stop by.
Kara left Lee's office to go take a shower and get dressed in civilian clothes. Kara pulled out her only pair of black jeans and a silky green top that was cut low, but not to low. After all she was just having dinner with a friend. After she finished getting ready she realized that she was still wound up from flying the raider. Kara still had plenty of time before she needed to leave for Cloud Nine, so she decided to go check on the raider.
When she made it to where the raider was being kept she noticed several people around the raider. She saw Adama, President Roslin and Gaeta talking to Chief Tyrol. They noticed her, so she knew she couldn't just walk away. She slowly walked over and joined them.
" What's going on Chief?" Kara asked one of the only people she wished to speak with.
Gaeta spoke up " I was wondering if we could program it to make jumps the same way we do with the fleet ships "
Kara liked that idea " Do you think you can do it?"
Gaeta smiled " I don't see why I couldn't "
" How long would it take you to get it ready?" Adama asked
" It should take no longer than a day or two " Gaeta answered as he continued to check out the raider.
Adama looked at Kara " Do you think you could teach someone else how to fly it?"
" I'm not sure, I have only flown it once myself " she answered without looking at him
Gaeta spoke up again " We need to put a colonial transponder in it "
" That's a good idea, I want the three of you to work on it, and try to have it ready in two days " Adama ordered them to more or less
The chief finally looked at Kara " Why are you so dressed up Starbuck, do you have a date?"
Kara ignored the looks she was getting from Roslin and Adama " No, I have plans to meet a friend for dinner "
Adama smiled at her " I'm glad you are doing something besides just working, I wish Lee would follow your example "
Kara changed the subject before it could go any further " Commander, I will be graduating my class in the morning, in the pilots briefing room, you should drop by and say something to them "
" I will " Adama looked at Kara's clothes once more " Starbuck have you been cleared to go off ship?"
Kara stood straight and held her head up " Yes Sir, Apollo knows that I am leaving "
Adama still felt that something was wrong between him and Kara, she acted like she had to force herself to speak to him " Good, I hope you enjoy yourself "
Roslin who had been silent the whole time spoke " I would like to congratulate Lt. Thrace and Chief Tyrol on a job well done " even though she was still upset with Kara.
Chief Tyrol was beaming with pride " Thank you Madame President "
They all turned around when they heard someone approaching. It was Lee, but he was only looking at Kara. He stopped when he reached them "You look beautiful Kara "
Kara looked away pretending to look at the raider, so they would not see her blushing " Thank you Apollo "
Then he addressed the rest of them " What's going on?"
Gaeta explained everything to him.
Lee noticed that Kara had turned back toward them " I want first chance at learning to fly the raider, Starbuck "
She smirked " Like you did not already know that I would choose you "
" I just had to make sure " Lee said chuckling " Isn't it time for you to leave?"
Kara grabbed his arm and looked at his watch " Yes, and I still need to find someone to give me a lift "
Lee smiled " I'm off, so I can take you, and I can pick you up when you are ready to come back "
Kara looked at him " When did you become so gallant?"
" I couldn't leave a beautiful woman having to fend for herself, now could I " he said chuckling
" With an offer like that how can I refuse, let's go or I will be late" Kara said looking at just him, so she could ignore Adama and Roslin
Lee offered her his arm and was shocked when she took it, they started walking away when Lee remembered there were other people standing there and turned back to glance at them " Good night everyone " Kara didn't say anything, she was still reeling from Lee calling her beautiful and offering her a ride to Cloud Nine.
After they walked away Adama said " That was strange, I have never seen Kara or Lee act like that, you think she was telling the truth when she said she was meeting a friend "
Roslin snorted " Yes, otherwise Apollo would have never offered her a ride "
" What do you mean, they are friends, that's why he offered to give her a lift " Adama said confused
The chief agreed with Roslin, but kept his mouth shut.
On the ride over to Cloud Nine Lee kept looking at Kara, he couldn't help it.
" See something you like Apollo?" she teased him
" I do and the longer I look at you, all I want to do is kidnap you, instead of dropping you off " Lee said looking at her again
Kara played along with him " Where could you take me, there's no where to go? "
" I could tie you up and keep you in a part of the Galactica where no one ever goes " he said in a serious voice.
Kara looked over at him " Gods, you sound almost serious about it, is it something you have thought of before?"
Lee winked at her " I'll never tell "
Before Kara could come up with a response they were docking on Cloud Nine.
Lee watched her get out " I'm serious about picking you up, so call me "
Kara looked at him thinking about staying with him instead of meeting Mark. " You don't have to do that Lee "
Lee gave her a stern look " I mean it Kara and besides we don't know what the cylons might have planned "
Kara silently agreed with him and was glad he would be picking her up " Fine Lee, I will call you, now go "
Lee waited until she got inside before leaving.
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