A Different Beginning-Chapter 24

This is an AU fic and it starts at the beginning of the cylon attack.

Also I am writing this solo so all mistakes are mine.

Kara and Lee met the day the cylons attacked.

I know my chapters tend to cover just a day, I am going to try and change that.

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CHAPTER 24

Lee woke up with a pounding headache, apparently he had managed to drink enough to pass out without thinking of Kara. Frak he supposed it was too much to ask for him not to think about her while he was awake. As he got up he looked around and realised he had slept in Kara's bunk and not in his. Since he still had on the same clothes from yesterday he went to his office to shower and put clean clothes on.

Lee called the CIC looking for the commander and was told he was in his office. Lee headed there hoping they had figured out which ships to take to Kobol. After knocking he went in and saw that the president and Eloshi were there also. He took a seat waiting for hid dad to finish reading a memo.

Adama put the memo down and looked at Lee " Captain I think we have decided on which ships to take " he paused " We will be taking the Astral Queen and the Aurora, with a couple of raptors "

Lee was shocked " May I ask why we are taking the Aurora?"

Eloshi answered " They have found out that we will be going to the Tomb of Athena based on the scrolls of Pythia and they feel that Aurora's followers should also be going, so we agreed instead of possibly starting a religious riot "

That made Lee recall the conservation he had with Adam and Mark " Eloshi can I ask you, if most of the people believe in the Gods then why does there seem to be different ideas on certain things?"

Eloshi was trying to find the right words to answer " It has always been that way, while we all believe in all the gods, most choose to worship one more than the others "

Lee nodded " I see that you seem to believe in Pythia, so how do you feel about Aurora?"

Roslin entered the conservation " Captain since you don't believe in the gods, why do you have so many questions ?"

Lee sat up straight " Since this mission to Kobol involves the gods so much, I figured I needed to know as much as possible before we go looking for this tomb Madame President "

Adam coughed " I agree with the Captain, so Eloshi how do you feel about Aurora?"

Eloshi took a sip of her tea " There are several beliefs about Aurora, but only two which has the most focus on it, one is that she will appear and show the people to their new home, but they don't believe that one as much as the one about Aurora choosing a newborn child in each new cycle of time, in the event her people ever needed her help " she paused " As with Pythia this doesn't happen often and since Pythia helped thousands of years ago more and more people believe it is Aurora who will help this time, and I admit I am one of those people "

Roslin gasped " Then why are we using Pythias scrolls ?"

Lee was finding all of this interesting " Yeah, why are we?"

Eloshi cleared her throat and spoke " Even though I believe it is Aurora this time, it can't hurt to check out Athena's Tomb"

Lee laughed and spoke before he thought about it " That is just what one of Aurora's followers said "

Adama swung his head around to face Lee " What the frak have you been doing Captain, have you suddenly become religious?"

Lee answered almost like Mark did " If you had asked me a week ago I would have said no " he shrugged his shoulders " Now I am starting to especially since the Aurora keeps getting brought up "

He saw Eloshi watching him closely now, she knew that he knew more than he was saying " Eloshi am I allowed to go on the Aurora?"

Adama sputtered " We are the military Captain we can board any ship we want to "

Lee nodded never taking his eyes away from Eloshi " I know that sir, but I would rather be allowed to board her than just use my military status "

Eloshi stood up to go " I will ask Apollo and let you know "

After Eloshi left Roslin looked at Lee " So now that you believe, do you think I was right to send Captain Thrace for the arrow?"

Lee stood up " No I don't, I believe we could have handled this without putting Starbuck in so much danger, especially since Leobon insists she will be with him "

Lee looked at both of them " Believe me when I say that if Kara doesn't make it home we may never find Earth "

Roslin thought Lee was talking about the arrow, but Adama knew that was not what Lee meant. " Madame President I think this meeting is over I need to speak with my son about some personal issues "

Roslin nodded and got up " Very well let me know of any updates "

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Adama filled two glasses " Let's sit down Lee, I think there are some things you need to tell me "

Lee took the drink before sitting down " There is dad and it involves some very personal stuff about Kara, things she doesn't even know and that I have just found out since she left "

Adama simply nodded " You know other things also don't you?"

Lee drained his drink sitting it down and standing up pacing " I don't know what to do, I need to talk about it to someone, but there is no one to talk to and when Kara's gets back her whole life is going to be flipped upside down "

Adama wanted to ask him what he meant instead he asked " What about your friend on Cloud Nine can you talk to him?"

Lee laughed " He found out about everything when I did from Adam " he paused " I feel so lost, I need Kara to come home dad "

Adama knew Lee was close to breaking down " Who is Adam ?"

Lee wanted to tell him, but he couldn't " I can't tell you about Adam, but I can tell you some of what I think, but only if you promise not to repeat it because I can't prove it " and silently he thought, he might be going crazy.

Adama could keep one secret if it helped Lee " Okay I promise "

Lee took a couple of breathes " I think Kara was the child chosen by Aurora and you can't say anything to anybody until I have proof, frak I don't think Kara even knows "

Adama sat forward " My gods Lee that is one hell of an assumption what would make you think that ?"

Lee sighed " Those are the things I can't tell you about until Kara returns "

Adama sighed also " So even though you basically threatened Roslin you believe Kara is coming back "

Lee smiled " I know she is coming home, but what I said to Roslin about Kara and Earth I meant it "

Adama grunted " Because of the gods "

Lee chuckled " No, because she promised she would do anything to come back to me "

Adama sighed loudly " Lee you know that I am not a believer, so I need for you to tell me how much of an impact religion will be for us finding Earth"

Lee poured himself another drink " So far it seems to be a lot, but we will know more once Kara returns and what we find in the Tomb of Athena "

Adama got another drink himself " Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Lee looked at his dad then away " Boomer said she was going to stay on Caprica, but if for some reason she comes back with Kara I think we need to talk to her, I believe she can be a valuable asset"

Adama chuckled " Then I suggest we keep her away from Roslin "

Lee stood up to go " I have a couple of hours before I go on duty and I need to go talk to Mark and Adam, if that's alright sir "

Adama got up and walked over to Lee " Can you give me your word that they can be trusted ?"

Lee smiled " That's easy, they only care about Kara's safety, so yes I give you my word "

Adama really wanted to know more, but he knew Lee would not tell him before telling Kara " Then that's good enough for me "

After Lee left Adama sat down trying to make sense out of the things that were said about Pythia, the Tomb of Athena and especially about Aurora and Kara. He also was worried about what could upset Kara's life so much besides what Lee had already told him.

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Lee went down to the flight deck and after spotting the Chief walked over to him, Lee could tell he was still upset about Boomer " Hey Chief is there a raptor free I need to make a run over to Cloud Nine ?"

The Chief turned to him " I am not on duty, but if you let me ride along I can get us one, I really need to get off of the Galactica for a while "

Lee looked at him and knew he needed it " That's okay with me, but I have to be back on duty in two hours "

Chief nodded " I'll take what time I can get, wait here while I get us a ride "

As Lee waited he hoped the Chief would not ask him specifically what happened on the base star. Lee wondered when they would go to Kobol because Kara hadn't actually been gone that long.

Lee saw a raptor being brought up and felt the Chief standing next to him waiting so they could board. Lee had a thought " How long has it been since you got off of the Galactica?"

The Chief looked at him with a strange look " I just got back from Kobol "

Lee chuckled " That's not what I meant, I was wondering how long since you left for some R&R ?"

The Chief had to think about that " About six months before the cylons invaded us "

The raptor was ready for them and as they boarded Lee turned to the Chief " That's a long time, try and enjoy yourself for a couple of hours"

Ten minutes later and they were docking, Lee shut all systems down before they exited " If you need me I will be in the restaurant if not I'll see you back here in a hour and a half "

Chief nodded " I think I am going to the bar and have a drink that I haven't had to make myself "

Lee laughed " Kara likes the fruity ones " he said as he walked away.

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Lee walked up to the small bar that was set up in the restaurant and sat down looking around for Mark or Adam. Not seeing them right away he ordered a scotch and sipped on it.

Lee felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to find Mark standing there " I think we should talk in my office besides Adam is probably already there going over inventory "

Lee picked up his drink and went with Mark to his office, sure enough Adam was there. " Hello Adam I came as soon as I could "

Adam waved his hand " That's alright I figured you would be pretty busy, so sit down and tell us what you know "

Mark sat behind his desk while Adam and Lee sat in the two chairs across from him " As I told Mark I sent someone to Caprica to find Kara and help her get back to the fleet "

Adam was skeptical " There is no way your father would have allowed that "

Lee took a sip of his drink " Your right he wouldn't have, but I found a way around that, but you might not like how I did it "

Mark spoke up " I don't know what you did Lee, but I know you wouldn't have done it unless you believed it would work "

Adam knew there was more " Tell us what you did Lee "

Lee sighed " We had a sleeper cylon and she was a raptor pilot " Lee paused " She tried to kill herself, but she failed by only shooting off a small side of her face " Lee stopped to take a sip of his drink " She was very mad when she realised that the cylons had given her false memories and that she never really had a family "

Adam interrupted Lee " When did she tell you that she was a cylon?"

Lee rubbed his hands across his face " The commander had a mission for her to fly a nuke into the base star, when I went to tell her she got dressed and asked me how much was I willing to do to get Starbuck back " Lee paused and took a breathe " I told her I would do anything, she then asked me to board the raptor with her and she would explain it all to me and that's when she told me she was a cylon and how angry she was with them "

Mark needed to ask " How could she know for sure?"

Lee shrugged " After we landed on the base star she told me to look around, so I did and that is when I saw copies of her, after turning on the nuke she asked me where she should look for Kara, I told her " Lee shivered " Then she told me that they wanted her to kill the commander and she could not do it, then she told me to hit her hard enough to knock her away from the raptor so the cylons would believe she tried and then she told me to leave " Lee took a deep breath " Just as I jumped away I saw the base star explode " Lee did not know how they just believed everything he said because he knew he would not if it was the other way around.

Mark didn't understand " If she died how is she supposed to help Kara?"

Frak Lee remembered they had not said anything about what happened when a cylon died " You didn't hear it from me, but the cylons conscience downloads into a new body " The more questions he answered the crazier he sounded at least to himself.

Mark was stunned " She thinks she will download on Caprica?"

Lee shook his head " No they download on a certain base star, Boomer believes that it will still be in space above Caprica "

Adam stated " You sound like you trust her, how come?"

Lee reached for his drink " For one thing she was pissed off at the cylons for what they did to her and secondly Kara and Boomer have been friends for a while now, so yeah I trust her "

Lee needed to ask some things himself " Adam did you know that Aurora is one of the ships that will be jumping to Kobol?"

Adam looked surprised " No I didn't know, but now that I do I plan on being on it "

Lee looked closely at Adam " Do you believe the prophecy about Aurora choosing a newborn child for each new cycle?"

Adam knew Lee was smart and would put two and two together " Yes I believe the prophecy "

Lee decided to try and get more from Adam " Does Kara have any idea what she is?"

Adam knew it was useless to try and deny what Lee had already figured out " No, not that I know of, and now that you seem to know that means only you, the oracle and myself know for sure, that is why I left her all those years ago so no one could connect Kara to me "

Mark who had been listening remembered talking to Kara about Aurora so he asked with a raised voice " Are you two going to let me know what you are talking about?"

After looking at Lee first Adam turned to Mark " Kara has the mark of Aurora and the more people that know about it the more danger she will be in and not just from the cylons "

That worried Lee " What do you mean, who else will she be in danger from?"

Adam looked at both of them for a second " From the non believers and ironically from some of the most devote believers of the other gods "

Mark was confused " That makes no sense "

Adam did not have the time to try and explain religion to them " Religion causes a lot more problems than it should and that is why no one else needs to know about Kara and what she is "

Lee agreed and knew he needed to make certain his dad never talked about it " It sounds a lot like politics " he stood up " I have to go I am scheduled for CAP "

Adam walked out with him " Let me know before the jump so I can be on board the Aurora "

Lee nodded " I will and I will talk to you later Mark "

Mark who was still at his desk just waved wondering when his life had became so upside down then he remembered it was when he met Kara which still didn't really explain it. He decided to just roll with whatever happened from here on out because it was useless to try and stop something this large from rolling downhill.

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As Lee waited on the chief he was amazed that in the span of twenty-four hours how much his views on religion had changed. Although there was no tangible proof yet he found that he felt different now, and Kara's dad said she had the mark of Aurora and Lee had no doubt that it was the truth. Lee was worried what that would mean for Kara personally in regards to her and Aurora. He also knew that if she didn't return soon he would find a way back to Caprica.

When the Chief showed up they headed back to the Galactia in silence as they were caught up in their own thoughts. Lee had just enough time to shut the raptor down before changing into his flight suit for CAP.

Even though the Chief was still off shift he found a viper to work on trying to forget about Boomer , which he knew was not likely.

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When Kara woke up for a moment she forgot where she was until she looked around and saw Boomer looking out of the window. After stretching she sat up " Have you decided what you are going to do Boomer?"

Boomer turned from the window and leaned against the wall next to it " No, I thought if I stayed here I might be more useful, but Athena is right now that I know about you and Aurora it makes my staying here more dangerous for you, what do you think Starbuck?"

Starbuck looked at her and chuckled " I don't think I am the best person to ask right now, I mean I just found out I have the mark of Aurora and I don't have a fraking clue what to do about anything plus I am on the run with not one but two Sharon cylons, it makes me wonder if the gods got bored and decided to play around with us "

Boomer had to laugh at that especially if it was true about Aurora and Starbuck " I guess we could ask Athena she seems to know more than we do or she is just bluffing her way through it better than we are "

Kara got up to dress " Your right, but first I want to make sure every member of this resistance group is accounted for, we don't need any more surprises especially now that I have told the leader about you and Athena " Kara turned around and grinned at Boomer " I was going to go with you being twins, but I know that would have jinxed it and a third one would pop up "

Boomer had to ask " Starbuck I know how much you believe in the gods, so do you believe this thing about you and Aurora and destiny?"

Kara knew she wanted a serious answer " I believe the myth, but I am having a hard time believing that she would choose someone as fraked up as me " Kara paused before asking " What about the God cylons believe in, do you believe that way to?"

Boomer chuckled " Talk about being fraked up, until I was activated or whatever, I thought I had a family and grew up believing in the same gods you do and I don't have a fraking clue as to what a cylon god means, so until we figure something out we are all fraked up, including the cylons "

Kara smiled then her face changed " Yeah it would seem fraking hilarious if billions of people had not been killed a few months ago "

That sobered Boomer so she turned to look out of the window once more " I think I need to go back with you, with this Aurora thing I think you are going to need as much back up as you can get even if the only way I can help is from the brig "

As they walked out the door Starbuck commented " Well that is one thing decided, now we need to figure out the rest because I am ready to get back to Lee "

They walked right into Helo as him and Athena were coming out of their room and Kara couldn't help but pick on Helo " Did you have as much fun with your cylon last night as I did with mine Helo?" then she winked at Boomer

Helo stepped back from her " Frak Starbuck it is to early in the morning for your bullshit "

Kara new he was serious and it just made her want to pick with him some more, she winked at Athena who was trying not to laugh " Sorry Helo, I will trade with you tonight if you want " she said with a straight face

Helo looked at all three of them trying not to laugh at him " You know what, frak all three of you " and he walked off leaving them standing there.

Before they took a step Helo came back around the corner he had just turned at motioning for them to move back " Starbuck go now "

They all three snapped into military defense and went back the way they came with Starbuck in the lead as Helo took up the rear without missing a beat.

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Leobon was furious he had been searching for Kara all night after he got back and found her gone. He knew he could not go to Cavil or any of the others for help he knew that six would have told them what happened at the museum. He would not be surprised if six was the one that had found Kara. Leobon knew he had no choice but to join the others and try to explain and he needed to see the hybrid.

After looking around the house and the cellar one more time for clues he locked up and left and flew his raider back up to the base star. The minute he walked into the central area he knew that six had told everyone.

Cavil took two long steps toward him " Since you took it upon yourself to make a decision regarding Kara Thrace where in the frak is she?"

Leobon glanced over and saw Caprica the six that was with him in the museum smirking " I don't know, why don't you ask Caprica she was the only one who knew I had Kara? "

Caprica saw everyone look her way " I don't know where she is, if I did she would be dead " she hoped she had said that with enough conviction because her mission could not be compromised it was to important, that was why she had tried to get her away from Leobon at the museum.

Finally Cavil spoke up " We now have two problems to take care of first I want half of you looking for Thrace and the other half looking for our rouge eight and her pilot friend " Cavil paused " Leobon I want you looking for the eight not Thrace "

Leobon nodded he was lucky that Cavil had not done worse to him, anyway it didn't matter what Cavil said he was going after Kara.

Caprica left the meeting quickly she had another meeting she had to get to that was more important than this one.

Leobon silently walked away headed to see the Hybrid.

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