Chapter 3
Over the next couple of weeks, I tried to forget that night. I mostly kept to myself, going to duty and returning to my bunk like a pre-programmed Cylon. My off-time I spent alone in the O-Club, sitting at the bar, having a drink, trying to drown my sorrows and failing. I wish I were like other guys and just put things all behind me but it just lingered over my head like an ever-present rain cloud. I'd been doing my best to avoid everybody; Helo tried to talk to me about things but I just wasn't opening up.
One night, I wandered into the O-Club after getting off-duty and sat down for my customary drink at the bar. I spotted Starbuck out of the corner of my eye and felt my heart sink a little. There she was, laughing and joking with her fellow pilots as usual. I turned to look for a second and then returned to my drink. I felt the familiar bear-paw of a slap on the back of my shoulder, making me lurch forward slightly.
"Hey, long time no see man." Helo said, taking a seat at the bar.
"What's up Helo." My answer was more of a statement than a question.
"I heard what happened Miles. Hey, you gotta cheer up man. You know Kara gets when she's been drinking."
Helo did have a point, I did know how she got when she drank. It softened the blow slightly but not enough to bring up my spirits. All I could do was shrug and continue to sip at my drink. Helo, sensing my mood, sighed and was resigned to not trying to change it.
Starbuck started a game of cards and a part of me wished I was sitting at the table joining the rest of the group there, if only to be in her presence. Since I'd been rendered gutless from my last encounter with her, I did my best to turn my attention to my drink and found it really hard to not keep glancing in her direction.
The room went suddenly silent when Colonel Saul Tigh entered. As the ship's XO, depending on who you asked, he was either the most feared or most hated officer on the ship. I think I fell into the latter camp; his alcoholism didn't do much to dispel the hatred by his fellow officers. The way he tried to ingratiate himself with guys in the room probably drove everybody insane. I would've paid more attention but I was too busy wallowing in my misery.
What did catch my attention was Tigh pulling out a seat at the table Starbuck was sitting at. I found that unusual considering that if anybody hated Saul Tigh more, it was Kara Thrace. We all made unflattering remarks about him from time to time but Kara was nearly outspoken for her hatred for him. If she wasn't so tight with Commander Adama, she would've been drummed out of the service for her conduct towards him a long time ago. Indeed, I think she held the record for brig time served by anybody in the fleet because of her run-ins with him; I think she had her own personal cot there.
I don't think I'm out of line for saying that everybody held their breath a little for what seemed like the inevitable confrontation between Tigh and Kara. Everybody was trying not to be too obvious by staring at them out of the corners of their eyes while pretending to concentrate on their drinks. I was praying that the two of them could remain civil for one night. Okay, so I thought I was Kara's guardian angel even though she didn't realize it, so what?
Because I was near the rear of the room, I couldn't quite make out what was said between the two. I could however, see the tensing of their gestures as Kara dealt the cards. All of a sudden, Tigh flipped over the table causing me and the other guys in the room to jump. I could feel my stomach sink in slow-motion as I knew what was coming next. Please don't do this, I thought inwardly.
Maybe I should've said something but things were happening too fast. Kara hauled off with a right cross which caught Tigh, flush on the jaw and knocked him on his ass. Because of the old warhorse that he was, he quickly recovered and was lunging at Kara. Before the fight could really begin in earnest, people separated the two of them. Good thing two because we all knew that it wouldn't have ended until one of them were dead.
Colonel Tigh called for security and had Kara dragged out. Kara being the tough chick that she was, merely smiled as she was hauled away. "Everybody back to your drinks!" Tigh belted out to the room. The excitement had died down anyway so it was an easy order to obey. As I sipped my drink, I continued to kick myself for not reacting sooner. I knew it wasn't my responsibility but I kicked myself anyway. If Karl was there, he would've kicked me for being down on myself over something so stupid, and would've been right. Struggling to reconcile this, I went back to my rack because the alcohol wasn't helping.
