Chapter 2
An hour later, I was flying my viper alongside Boomer and Helo's raptor. I could see Boomer through the cockpit window at the controls; the lights in her helmet illuminated her face making me able to see her that much more clearly. I had to admit, seeing Boomer with her face scrunched up in concentration I saw what Helo saw in her. No matter how cute she was though, she still couldn't land her Raptor worth a crap.
"Spriggan, how are you holding up?" Helo radioed me.
"Just a walk in the park Helo. On your low left side by the way." I replied back.
"I think I see smoke coming from your canopy from that burn at the briefing." Boomer said; I could hear the snicker in her voice. I winced inwardly at the comment.
"Hey, c'mon Boomer, it could've happened to anybody. The CAG will yell at everybody at one point or another, it was just Spriggan's turn." That was Helo, always having my back.
"I'm surprised Starbuck wasn't the one who was yelling the way you shot lasers into the back of her skull. Gods, could you make it any more obvious?"
"I wasn't trying to be, I just…."
"I think it's safe to say that you're on her non-frack list."
I was about to come back with a witty retort but found I had nothing to respond with. Instead, all I could do was mutter something that was indecipherable even to me. Everybody in the military knew that you couldn't have a thin skin and expect to make it, but her comment cut me to the core nonetheless. In the comm background, I could barely make out the chatter between Helo and Boomer and suddenly, her whole tone changed.
"Oh, sorry Miles. I was just trying to lighten the mood. I wasn't out to hurt your feelings or anything."
"It's okay Boomer." I said simply. I was becoming a joke to my fellow pilots. Except for mandatory communications, we spent the rest of the exercise in silence.
When we landed, I got showered, dressed and headed straight to my bunk even though lights out wasn't for another four hours. Most of the guys were in the Officer's Club playing cards or drinking ambrosia. I laid on my bunk, listening to my hand-held radio. My favorite song "Leave the Bourbon on the shelf" by "The Killers" was playing and I had it on repeat. Helo, who slept below me (I originally wanted the bottom bunk but he was four inches taller than me and outweighed me by about thirty pounds, I wasn't about to argue with him). He was getting ready to head out himself; he turned to me and said, "You're always listening to that song. Don't you have any other favorites?"
"I like this one, it suits my mood."
"You don't have any other songs on your playlist?"
"I do, I just want to hear this one okay?"
"You know that song is about an overly jealous boyfriend who stalks his girlfriend right? Hey come to think of it, that's very applicable to you…."
I turned to Helo with a deadpan expression. "Har, har very funny, Beanstalk."
"Hey, I hope you're not sore at Sharon, Miles. She honestly didn't know; she was just busting your chops."
I shook my head even though I knew he couldn't see me doing it. "Nah, I'm not angry Helo. I mean she's right you know? I mean, what could I possibly offer Kara, right?"
Helo stood up; he was so tall that he his eyes were staring right at me without having to stand on his tiptoes. Yes, he was that tall. "Okay, stop that crap right now Miles. Don't do this 'downing yourself' crap. You have a lot to offer anybody, including Kara, especially Kara. What you need to do is get out of that bunk, come with me to the 'O-club,' have a couple of rounds and try to forget about what happened today. Besides, I need a good wingman for Sharon."
"I'm not really feeling it right now Karl. You go ahead, have a good time."
He wanted to press the issue but he knew that once I had my mind stuck on something, I wasn't going to budge. Helo turned to walk out when an idea occurred to me. "Hey Karl, you think Kara will be there?"
"Most likely Miles." I could almost hear his mouth turning into a slow grin.
I hopped down out of my bunk, threw on my boots and followed him out. "Okay, you talked me into it. You know, you're probably right. Being the awesome pilot that I am, I shouldn't get too down on myself."
"Alright, now you're talking!"
The Officer's Club was packed and buzzing with activity as usual. Cigar smoke and the smell of alcohol permeated the air as we walked in. Helo spotted Sharon across the room and nudged me to follow. I nodded and we joined Sharon at the table. Normally I would've found it odd that she was drinking alone; she was cute and funny and nice to be around. But the rumor was that she was fracking the deck boss, Chief Galen Tyrol. Everyone knew better than to try to confirm the rumor so we just kind of kept our traps shut and let it go; why bring down unnecessary heat? And I thought I had it tough with Kara; Helo was fighting a hopeless battle falling for someone that was already spoken for, even though it was a very illegal relationship between officer and enlisted.
Still, she seemed pretty happy to see us when we sat down. The minute our butts touched the seats, she reached out and grabbed my hand. It was a friendly gesture but I could feel Helo getting the beginnings of that heat you only feel when you're jealous. I knew he probably didn't mean to feel like that, it's just a reflex action sometimes.
"Again, I'm so sorry about earlier today Miles." Sharon said her eyes big and sympathetic.
I shook my head and smiled, patting her hand. "No worries Sharon, honestly it's cool, water under the bridge and all of that." I made it a point to take my hand away from Sharon's quickly; I wanted to show Helo that I had no intentions of trying to make a move on Sharon.
Sharon and Helo made small talk and as the night progressed. I did my duty as wingman to my friend, making Sharon laugh and talking Helo up at key points. We kept things light, trying not to make it seem like an overt attempt to hit on Sharon, just some friends sharing a drink. I could see in Sharon's eyes that her heart really wasn't into hanging out despite her smiles and laughter. I guess that her mind was on Tyrol rather than my friend, and I think Helo knew this too. But I also think that he was just happy to settle for just hanging around her, so it didn't bother him too much. I knew how he felt.
"Hey Sharon, you know Helo is a champion dart player? I mean...he's not as good as me but he's still pretty good!" I said, trying to talk up my friend a little. If I was going to be a wingman, I might as well do my best dammit! As subtly as I could, I gestured to Helo to engage her.
"Oh...Uh...yeah, I'm pretty good at darts. Would you like to play Sharon?"
"C'mon, it'll be fun Sharon, do it! Do it!" I chimed in, egging Sharon on.
They played and I sat back and watched. It was funny how natural they looked together yet they were totally apart. I could see it, I'm pretty sure Helo sensed it too. It seemed that the only person on the ship that didn't catch the drift was Sharon. It never ceased to amaze me at how girls could be so supposedly in touch with feelings, yet be so clueless at the same time.
After awhile, the two of them came back, laughing. I hoped for my friend's sake that it was a beginning step in the right direction. At very least, she seemed a bit looser now.
"Hey Miles, get together with Karl, I want to take a picture." She said, producing a camera out of nowhere. Helo and I groaned. "C'mon, do it!" With mock resignation, we hoisted our mugs and she took a picture of Helo and I; we drunkenly mugged for the camera. The mood lightened a whole lot more after that and the conversation picked up.
Meanwhile, I slowly shrank into the corner of the table, drinking my ambrosia because I suddenly felt like a third wheel later on in the night. I couldn't stop thinking about my embarrassing scene in the ready room no matter how hard I tried or how much alcohol I drank. I think it was the alcohol that was actually making things worse by depressing me, yet I still kept drinking it.
The world started spinning and I was about to head back to my bunk when Karl nudged me, grabbing my attention. "There's your girl, ace" he said.
My vision turned toward the far end of the room and there she was. As always, Kara lit up the room just by her mere presence. She always had that easygoing way about her with people that made her one of the guys but secretly, all the guys were in love with her. That of course didn't make her a hit with too many of the other girls on the ship, but Kara knew who her friends were anyway so it didn't really bother her I think.
There she was with her friendly, inviting smile, laughing with some of the pilots at a card game with her customary cigar held in her hand. She was a wicked card player, a skill that only rivaled her flying expertise. I sat in on a game with her once and she cleaned out the whole table including me. I still remembered that night fondly.
"Yeah, go talk to her!" Sharon chimed in with a smile.
I shook my head and slowly began to rise. "Eh, I….I'd better not. I think I should just go back to my bunk and call it a night.
"Look at this, you'll jump into a viper that can explode on the flight deck at any moment but you won't talk to a girl?" Helo said. He stood up and grabbed my shoulder in a vise-like grip. "You're gonna go over there and fracking talk to her even if it kills you!" I could hear Sharon chuckling as he roughly escorted me to Kara.
His grip was too tight and I was too drunk to fight him. We had a friendly sparring match once back in the academy, it took two days for the stars to clear from my vision. Karl always became even more assertive than he already was when alcohol was in his system. That didn't stop me from protesting all the way to the table. "Karl c'mon for frack's sake man! I… I can't go over there!" I said in a hushed whisper.
"Miles, you're my bro and all but this shrinking violet crap whenever Kara enters a room is getting ridiculous. You're a great guy; Kara could do much worse than being around you! Besides, I'm getting sick of your fracking moping around all the time."
There was more that I wanted to say but it was too late, we were already at the table. My face went from frozen in sheer terror to frozen in sheer terror framed by a nervous smile. She and the rest of the table stopped to stare at the two of us, but mostly at me. Some of the guys didn't even try to suppress their snickers. Kara just looked at us with that cocky but pretty smile of hers that made me feel three inches tall.
"Hey Karl, hey Eddington, what's up?"
"Hey Kara, mind if we sit in on a hand?" Karl asked as he patted my shoulder all too hard.
"No, not at all! More meat for the grinder I say." She replied, slightly slurring her words.
A couple of the guys made room at the table for us and we sat down, but Karl sat right back up.
"Actually Kara, something came up that requires my attention. Miles here will stay though!" Karl said, slamming his big bear paw of a hand on the small of my back, making me lurch forward slightly.
She looked at Karl sideways for a moment, then toward the direction we came from and then a slow smile of understanding crossed her face. "Ah, gotcha. Good luck with that old buddy."
"Later guys" Karl said with a nod and went back to Sharon, leaving me alone with Kara and a bunch of guys who were ready to laugh me into a quivering pile of goo. I suddenly felt vulnerable without Helo there. I knew I was using him as a crutch and at that moment, I didn't care.
"Let's play some Triad!" Kara said, blowing out a puff of smoke into the ceiling. The other players nodded and grinned; I was the only one who sat silent as the cards got dealt. I looked at my hand and grimaced at what I was dealt. I folded the first hand and I could tell I was on the way for a repeat of history.
The second hand was dealt and it was much better than the first one; I had a "three on the run." Not the greatest hand but one of the better hands if you wanted to win some cash. The ambrosia was taking its toll and that coupled with my desire to impress Starbuck, I bet really high. The other players folded their hands until only Starbuck and I were remaining. I laid down my hand with a confident smile. "Three on the run and you can run that to your local bank!" I said with a drunken smile.
"Oh Eddington, you never learn do you?" She said, smiling sweetly. My eyebrow raised in confusion as she laid down "Full colors," the highest hand you could get in this game. The others started laughing, my smile disappeared from my face. "Awww Eddington, cheer up, it happens to all men once in a while." I couldn't tell if she was talking about losing or impotence; I felt like both had happened to me.
A few hands later, predictably, Kara was up while almost half the table had cashed out. It was only me and two other players, "Minx" and "Dynamite" but they looked like they were fading fast. I myself was blowing through cubits like it was going out style. I'd won one or two hands but her triad skills were amazing! I was determined however to leave the table last. The whole while though, I kept thinking, there's got to be a better way than this.
Mercifully the end of the night finally arrived and like I hoped, I wasn't the last one out. It was the last hand and this time I had a surefire hand. Starbuck had gotten "full-colors" four times throughout the night; she was either cheating or was the luckiest person in the universe because statistically, that was impossible. I knew she couldn't beat my "prince high red" hand, the second highest hand in the game. I'd only gotten full colors once and that was the only reason why I was still in it.
"I'm impressed Miles, I thought you would've gone out a long time ago." Starbuck quipped.
"Yeah well, the sun even shines on a dog's ass every once in a while." I retorted with a smile that was confident for the first time all night.
"Look at you! You must think you really have something there huh?"
"Oh….Oh I might. It's gonna cost you to find out."
Starbuck's grin broadened even wider. "Oh it's like that huh?" She was drunk now but I knew she wasn't so drunk that she lost all of her skills and couldn't pull this game out.
"It is like that indeed." I replied slurring now. I was drunk too, drunker than I had been in a long time. That was probably the biggest reason why I was feeling so damn confident.
"Okay then, show!" she said as she stubbed out her cigar.
I was more than happy to grant her request as I laid down my cards. "Prince high red! Yeah, eat that!" I said, drunkenly pumping my fist. I leaned in to pull in my cubits when her hand slapped mine. I looked up to see her lay down her cards.
"Sorry Lieutenant, but it looks like I have full colors again." She said as sweetly as you'd please. I could only look at her cards in shock as she raked in the remains of my cubits. The remaining people in the room laughed and cheered at the show we put on. Some of them patted my back in pity, the others couldn't stop clapping for Starbuck. I could feel my pride run drain out of my body and into oblivion.
It felt like I was alone in the room even though it was crowded. I couldn't believe how embarrassed I was; I think it was worse than the briefing room incident earlier that day. I was 0 for 2 and right at that moment I just wanted to get out of there.
"Good game Starbuck" I said, offering my hand. I doubted she heard me in the din of the laughter and shouting. But her attention turned toward me and she took my hand.
"Same to you Spriggan." She went back to getting congratulated; a pilot poured a shot of ambrosia down her throat in congratulations. I was dejected but I figured I wasn't completely out of the game yet. I waited until the crowd dispersed slightly; I still had plenty of liquid courage left in me so I made my move.
"Hey Kara, I was wondering if you wanted to get together sometime? Maybe for a drink or a movie or something?" Even drunk, I was amazed how smooth the words flowed out of my mouth, alcohol was great!
She laughed. She laughed. Maybe it was the alcohol that was influencing her actions and maybe my drunkenness was skewing my judgment but that didn't make it hurt any less. The rest of the room again erupted in raucous laughter.
I was clearly a non-factor so I made my exit silently. As I thought, nobody noticed that I left the room, especially Starbuck. I blew it.
Mostly everybody was asleep except for one or two guys just either laying in their bunks talking to their sweethearts back on Caprica on their phones. I hopped into my bunk, hoping that I didn't disturb Helo; the last thing I wanted was his pity right then. My luck held true to form as I felt his knocking below me.
"Hey, how'd things go buddy?"
"Like you'd expect." Was my only reply as I pulled the blanket over my head. The alcohol wore me out and I fell asleep immediately.
