Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the Battlestar Galactica universe.

Note: Sorry this part took so long. The weather has been nice so I've been enjoying the great outdoors. Too bad there are no computer outlets in trees! Anyhow, thank you all again for your reviews. I will be doing my best to wrap this journey up soon. I hope you all enjoy it to the end.

Wing and a Prayer
Part 15

By
N. J. Borba

Even with a baby rousing him a few times during the middle of Pegasus’ sleep cycle, Lee woke up feeling more rested than he had in months. New Caprica had provided him with a decent cot and even the sofa in Leoben’s apartment-jail had been nice enough, but neither compared to the comfort of Kara’s bunk aboard Pegasus. Lee had a feeling that it wasn’t the bed that had helped him rest so well. It was being home.

He laid there a moment longer with his eyes closed. Pegasus was no home he’d ever known. He only considered it that at the moment because of Kara’s presence. Caprica, Galactica and even Earth were all small parts of home that he carried with him. But he realized that home was more simply defined as being in her presence.

Lee rolled over and opened his eyes, hoping to still find her curled up beside him. Disappointment greeted him as he quickly realized that she was gone. He and Joey seemed to be alone. Lee didn’t take it personally, knowing that a battlestar didn’t run by itself, especially in a time of war. In place of Kara beside him, he found a note atop a familiar looking sketch book. He sat up, grasped the paper and read.

Lee-

You better be around for all future events,
because I won’t be pulling my punches again.

-K

He smiled, not doubting that she was serious. Considering how sore he still was, Lee planned to heed her warning. He opened to the first page and spotted the blue sun that he’d drawn. The memory of that day seemed like a lifetime ago, and he was touched that she’d saved it. Kara’s multi-colored fish swam around on the page beside his sun. Then his breath hitched as he journeyed forward through the book. A vision of Kara with protruding stomach brought a tear to his eye. Several wrinkly faced baby images turned his sadness into laughter.

The rollercoaster of emotions was interrupted by the small cry of his daughter. The book was closed and he stood, making his way over to the crib where Joey lay squirming. Her bottom lip stuck out a little, reminding him of someone else. Kara had insisted that the girl looked just like him but he saw plenty of her in their child. Lee stood beside Joey’s bed, leaning over. He felt much the same as he had when first faced with Kasey.

“I’m not sure what to do here,” he let the child know. Her crying lessoned a little as she looked right up at him, big eyes shinning with tears. “Your mom had a while to get used to all this, so don’t hate me if I mess up,” he warned as he reached down and carefully managed to pick her up.

Lee stood with her at arm’s length for a moment. He’d held her the night before but only briefly and with Kara at his side to make sure he didn’t do anything wrong. He looked into her eyes and couldn’t help but smile. “I’m sorry for what I said before, when your mom tried to introduce us that first time. I was upset and confused,” he shook his head. “But those aren’t very good excuses. Mostly, I was scared,” he admitted.

Joey’s good nature of the new man in her life lasted very briefly and her cries started up again, growing more frantic. Lee felt a bit frazzled at first but he pulled her closer and put her high up on his shoulder the way he’d seen Kara walk with her through the night-shift. He’d tried to help then but Kara had insisted he needed sleep. Lee didn’t know how she did it, with so little sleep and a baby and now a battlestar to tend to.

“I can do this,” he whispered words of encouragement to himself. “I can be a father, I can get it right the way my dad didn’t,” Lee was determined to follow the old man’s orders. Joey cried louder.

“Shhh…” he walked faster and bounced the girl. It took him a while before the answer finally hit. Slowly he started to form the words of Kasey’s favorite song, trying it out on his daughter.

Kara opened the hatch a few minutes later and stopped in her tracks as she watched the scene with equal parts amusement and love. Lee was singing, not very well, but he was singing. And Joey seemed to be mesmerized by his presence. The smile on Kara’s face faltered as a sudden unexplainable sense of jealousy washed over her. She’d been Joey’s sole parent since birth and the bond between them was strong. No one had ever loved her so unconditionally, not even Lee.

“I didn’t mean to be gone so long,” she made her presence known, slipping further into the room. “I thought she’d still be asleep by the time I got back. I can take her now,” Kara offered.

Lee made no move to hand the baby over. “I think I managed all right.”

He was nervous. Kara could see that in his eyes. She could also see that he was looking for her approval. “Yes, you did,” her jealousy dissipated as fast as it has formed. A sense of gratefulness filled the void it left behind. This was what she’d been wanting all along, Lee at her side again; the three of them as a family. She kissed Lee softly on the lips and smiled as one of Joey’s little hands reached out toward her. Even as her head rested comfortably against Lee’s shoulder, Joey sought out her mother’s comfort too. The girl clearly had room in her heart for both of them.

“Action stations, action stations… All hands report for duty!”

The alert went up before Kara even had time to loosen the buttons on her uniform tunic. “All hands to action stations!” it continued to ring as she reluctantly edged her way toward the hatch, feeling the pull of duty run strong in her veins.

“There are clean diapers on the table,” she pointed them out as she walked backwards. “And if she gets fussy again it’s probably because she’s hungry and there’s…”

“A bottle in the refrigeration unit,” Lee supplied. “I know. You went over all this twice last night.” He was actually surprised he did remember, considering his state of mind ten hours ago had not been particularly alert. He looked down at the baby who wore a slightly distressed look on her face again. He figured the alarm claxons were not helping matters. “We’ll be fine,” he assured Kara, though he was not entirely convinced of the fact himself. Fatherhood was unlike any battle he’d ever faced before.

Kara nodded with a sad smile, hating to leave them both again so soon. “I’ll be happy when you’re well enough to take over command,” she shouted over the noise, just before ducking out of the room.

Lee bounced the baby some more, letting Kara’s words sink in for a moment. He recalled what she’d told him after they’d first touched down on Earth. Kara had mentioned something about the old man making him Commander of Pegasus. His father had repeated the idea after Lee had returned from Earth. But, as he looked into his daughter’s eyes again, Lee wondered if he’d ever be ready for command. It was more than he could wrap his head around at the moment.

The girl scrunched up her nose just before letting go with a loud wail.

“Though it might be easier than this,” he thought aloud as he tried again to calm his daughter.

xxx

Kara stepped foot in CIC just a few minutes after leaving quarter’s. She quickly assessed the situation and found Hoshi steadfast at his duty station. Helo hadn’t been back since they’d rescued the fleet. He was still with Sharon and Hera over on Galactica and she wasn’t sure if he ever planned to return to Pegasus, not that she could blame the man. “Report,” she ordered, pushing the thoughts from her mind and getting down to business.

“Cylon raiders, sir,” Hoshi informed her. “Ten of them just appeared off the fleet’s port side and they’re moving in fast.”

“Launch blue squadron,” the commander shot instructions to one of the men behind her. “Keep red and gold on standby,” the officer scrambled to follow her order as she faced Hoshi again. “Has Galactica launched Vipers yet?” she asked.

“Yes, sir,” he nodded. “They already have their red squad on intercept course,” Hoshi relayed.

“Put them on,” she ordered the communications officer. Soon the room was filled with the sound of pilot chatter as they shuffled off to battle. Their camaraderie only served to cut through her. She still longed for the days were jumping into her viper was the duty she served in the fleet. Command was hard. She hated being left behind.

“Pegasus blue squad has launched and will join Galactica red in one minute,” a female voice from behind called out, keeping them apprised of the situation.

“Galactica, this is Kat, I have visual on Cylon raiders,” the CAG’s voice carried across space. “What are your orders?”

“Engage Cylons when in weapons range,” the admiral relayed. “We’re done playing games with them.”

Starbuck kept her distance from the communication, listening and monitoring the fight but letting the old man run the show. She stood, white knuckled, with her nose practically glued to the dradis screen as Galactica engaged the enemy followed closely by Pegasus vipers. They filled the tiny screen in blips of green and red.

“Shit, these guys know how to fly,” Jabber had faced the Cylons for the first time just days ago and was still amazed by the speed of their craft and their unwavering pursuit.

“Jabber, one’s on your six. Juke right and let me in,” Hotdog instructed the rookie. “I can take him out.”

“Negative, let me draw him in a little closer first. He could get away if we don’t box him in.”

“Closer? What are you, crazy?” Hotdog asked. “Oh, right, Starbuck taught you. We’re all fraked,” the man groaned as he watched the Earth pilot fly. Just before the Cylon was about to fire, Jabber’s viper engaged FTL and jumped out of harms way, allowing Hotdog a direct kill shot. He zoomed past the Cylon wreckage. “Where can I get one of those ships?” Costanza asked of Starbuck’s Viper ME before he sped off after another enemy ship.

Kara continued to watch the raiders and the fleet’s vipers, noting every significant maneuver that was made. She’d been out there enough times to draw patterns in the Cylons’ attack methods. And there was one raider in particular that was flying in circles, hitting the outer most section of the dradis screen every twenty-three seconds. It didn’t settle well with her.

“I’ve got the last one,” Kat informed the others as she veered off and took pursuit of the lone raider left in their sky.

“Admiral, call all vipers back to base,” Kara spoke for the first time.

There was a brief pause on Galactica’s end. “Kat has it covered; we’ll jump when she’s…”

“No, now, get her back!” Kara grew anxious as she watched the raider and Kat’s viper dance. “That Cylon is drawing her away; I think it’s a trap. I can’t explain it sir, but…” she decided to go straight to the source and switched channels, “Katraine, leave him and get back to Galactica, now!” she ordered.

“Starbuck?” the younger woman was confused. “Frak that, I’ve almost got him. He’ll be in weapons-lock in…” her voice trailed off. “Oh, frak…”

“Dradis contact!” Hoshi shouted over the wireless chatter, sending chills down Kara’s spin. Sometimes she really hated being right. “Two basestars, bearing three-zero-niner, carom one-one-eight.” He looked to the commander with a ghostly pale face. “They’re right on top of her,” he informed Kara.

“Kat!” Starbuck shouted again.

“I can’t shake him, I can’t shake him,” Kat’s voice was fearful, unlike Kara had ever heard the hotshot pilot before. For once in her life, Kara wanted the woman to be a better pilot than herself. “He’s too fast, he keeps herding me into the basestars, I can’t…”

“Come on, Katraine, prove me wrong, prove you’re the best,” Kara whispered under her breath. “Find a hole, find a fraking way out.” She gritted her teeth and balled her hands into tight fists that beat against her thighs in frustration. She wanted to be out there with the young woman. She wanted to be the one to escort that Cylon to its death.

“All fleet ships have safely jumped away,” Hoshi relayed. “Galactica birds are all aboard, ours too.”

Starbuck knew what he was getting at. “We are not leaving her,” she growled at the man. “Find a hole, Katraine!” Kara yelled the order aloud. Her voice reverberated through the CIC and everyone silently watched her, not knowing what else to do.

“Our FTL is spun up,” Hoshi remained the picture of a perfect officer, cool under pressure. “Waiting for your order, sir,” he looked to Kara.

“Sorry, Starbuck…” there was defeat in Kat’s voice. “Guess you’re still the best,” she relayed.

Kara slammed her fists hard against the war table as she watched Kat’s signal wink out. “You stupid fraking nugget,” she swore. “You never could obey orders,” the words were not a shout, nor did they carry any palpable contempt. Anger was the only way Kara knew how to deal with the pain in her gut.

“Cylon basestars are now within weapons range,” Hoshi spoke up, his voice never rose yet there was a distinct note of urgency in the tone he used. “Galactica has just jumped away.”

She took a deep, shaky breath, still staring at a dradis screen full of red blips. “Then get us out of here too.”

xxx

Lee knocked at his father’s hatch and waited a long moment before he finally heard a reply. “Enter,” was all the old man said. He knew from experience that it was not his father’s happiest tone of voice.

He slowly pushed the partition open and poked his head inside. A hand rested protectively against his daughter’s back as Lee spotted the admiral, seated at his desk. “Is it safe to come in?” Lee moved his hand to reveal Joey fully; hoping the child would be enough to pay his entrance fee.

Adama looked up. “That depends,” he stood. His face was hard, eyeing the boy with questioning eyes. “Did you apologize?”

The younger man took a few more steps forward. He looked down at his daughter and smiled. “Do you think Kara would have let me near Joey if I hadn’t?”

“Probably not,” the old man agreed, finally letting his guard down. “Smart boy,” he moved around the desk and put a hand upon his son’s shoulder. He smiled at Joey. “May I?” he asked. Lee nodded and transferred the girl. Adama motioned his son to sit and then took the chair beside him. “How did it go?” he asked while running a finger over Joey’s soft check. The girl rewarded her grandfather with a happy grin.

“It wasn’t easy,” Lee answered.

“That’s good,” Adama replied. He could see the confusion in his son’s eyes. “Anything worth having is never easy,” he amended.

Lee sighed as he settled into his seat. Life with Kara would doubtfully ever be easy. He watched his father with the little girl and had a feeling the old man was taking Kat’s loss pretty hard. “I’m sorry about what happened out there today,” he knew his father cared a lot about his officers, even though he tried not to. Kat had been a lot like Kara, fiery and a damn good pilot. She’d been with them from the start.

“It’s a hell of loss,” the Admiral replied, trying to keep his distance from the sadness. Joey’s smile helped. “How’s Kara?” he knew the two women had butted heads. He also knew that Kara had been the younger woman’s teacher.

“You know Kara, she trudges on,” Lee shrugged. The truth was he didn’t really know what she was thinking. Kara had been quiet on the way over from Pegasus and then she’d taken off without much explanation. “She had something to do, said she’d meet us all later for the meeting with Roslin.”

Adama nodded and ended that part of their conversation. “So,” the old man glanced at his granddaughter again. “This fatherhood business…”

Lee understood the unasked question on his father’s lips. “Is scary,” he answered, looking over at Joey as he admitted to the fear in his heart. “And wonderful,” he added. Another sigh escaped. “Dad, I… Kara mentioned something again about me in command on Pegasus. I know that’s what you’ve wanted for a while but… I think you should leave it to Kara. She’s good at it.”

“I won’t argue with you on that.” There was a silent but at the end of Adama’s reply. Lee knew that the old man couldn’t help wishing it were his son making waves as a commander.

“I didn’t think I could handle it when I first came back from Earth, I think I’m in even less of a position now. I’m not sure I can ever go back to this,” Lee looked around the old man’s office. “This was always your world, not mine. I did it for you. But I need to do something for myself now,” he bravely informed his father.

Adama tried to keep his cool, finally realizing the extent of the mistakes he’d made where his children were concerned. He could see it in Lee’s eyes as he spoke. “Meaning what exactly?” he was willing to listen to what the boy had to say.

“Meaning, I’d like to spend some time getting to know my daughter,” Lee declared.

A feeling of pride the old man had never known before settled in his heart. He held his granddaughter out toward her father and watched as Lee tenderly took her into his arms again. “She’s a very lucky little girl,” Adama smiled.

“You’re not disappointed?” Lee wondered if he’d always be looking for his father’s approval.

The old man shook his head. “You want to be a good father; you want to give your child the things you didn’t have.” He recalled Kara saying something very similar. “You’ll be a better father than I was. I could never be disappointed by that.” As much as he hated to admit his faults, a parent always wanted better for their children.

At the moment, Lee didn’t have any certainty in his mind that he’d be a better father. He’d come to realize that his old man had done the best he could. That’s all Lee could hope for too. “You’re wrong, dad, about what you said before. I don’t think it’s too late for you. Not where I’m concerned.”

Adama heard love and forgiveness in his son’s words. It was more than he could have hoped for.

xxx

Kara looked at the picture she’d gotten from Hotdog, then glanced up at the wall and recognized a few of the faces. Most were pilots that she’d known. A further sea of unknown eyes stared back at her, thousands whose names she didn’t know. She found a spot for the latest casualty and tacked the image up. “I’m sorry,” her words were a whisper as she focused on a small uniform flag-patch that was pinned up nearby. It was white with a simple red dot in the middle.

A memory of the man it had belonged to came forth. It had been torn from an extra uniform he’d brought along with him from Earth. She hadn’t known June Mohri very long, or even that well. But one shift on Jupiter had gotten them talking. He’d told her a story about Earth’s Second World War, in which the United States had rounded up all Japanese-Americans and placed them in internment camps. They’d been suspected of treason against the US and locked away without due cause.

Kara had come to discover for herself that Earth had a nasty history of war, long and varied. Some days she wondered what she was doing leading the fleet back to a planet whose religious views were mostly different from theirs; a place where wars were still fought inner-planetary. A world that still wasn’t sure what they planned to do with a group of Human’s from another part of the universe.

But Earth was the only hope they had left. And she held the power to give the fleet that hope. To give her daughter a chance to live where she’d have grass underfoot and water to splash in. Starbuck knew that she needed to do whatever it took to make the dream of Earth a reality for all of them. She arrived at the war room several minutes later with that goal firmly set again.

Lee was seated across the room, Joey asleep against his shoulder. Kara took up position at Adama’s right side. Roslin was to the old man’s left, Sharon and Helo stood at the other end of the table. Kara wasn’t sure what to make of that obvious division of the group. Then there was Colonel Tigh, also keeping his distance from the others. No one was sure what all had happened to him on New Caprica, other than his instrumental leadership of the resistance. They only knew he’d come back a different man. But the last year had changed all their lives in ways they never thought imaginable.

“How did they find us so soon?” Roslin dove into the main issue.

Helo was the first to respond, still feeling the need to referee between Sharon and the others. “Could have been a completely different faction of Cylons than those on New Caprica,” he offered. “Maybe they were just out scouting.”

“I doubt it,” Kara spoke up.

Roslin shifted her feet. “Perhaps Baltar is guiding them,” she put another suggestion on the table. They knew he wasn’t with the fleet and she had no doubt he’d escaped from the planet.

“Maybe.” There was no conviction in Starbuck’s word.

Adama looked to her. “You don’t think either of those options is true.”

She shook her head. “I’ve just been thinking…” Kara had done nothing but think since Kat’s death a few short hours ago. She didn’t care for the conclusions she’d drawn. “Most of the fleet ships were moored on New Caprica for nearly four months under Cylon occupation. They could have done just about anything to them,” she pointed out.

“You think they’re tracking us?” Roslin asked, surprised they hadn’t thought of it before.

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Kara recalled the unfortunate job she and Lee had undertaken in destroying the civilian laden Olympic Carrier. “There’s something else,” she paused, recalling Lee’s words to her about how Leoben had been completely obsessed in getting him to reveal her location. “I think they were after me out there, not Kat.”

The president furrowed her brow. “How’s that?”

Adama and Helo wore looks of concern as did Lee who sat forward a little more in an attempt to better hear the conversation. Kara remained stoic as she relayed the information. “They weren’t trying to fire on Kat. I was watching them closely. And Kat was good. They were looking for the lead viper, assuming it was me.” Kara paused a moment. “She was even flying my old bird.”

“Frak me,” Helo swore.

“They were trying to lure her to the basestars,” Starbuck continued. “I think they wanted her… me, alive. But the second I broke wireless silence, I signed her death certificate.”

“They were monitoring comms. They knew you weren’t in that viper, so they opened fire,” Helo shook his head not knowing what else to say.

No one spoke for several seconds, digesting the news. Finally the admiral regrouped, knowing time was of the essence and nothing could be done of the past. “We need to scan all the ships,” he concluded, looking first to his XO, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of the man. But Tigh didn’t seem eager to jump in, causing Adama to further worry about his long time friend.

“That’s going to be a daunting task,” Helo replied instead, noticing that Sharon was still quiet too. “Going over every inch of even the smallest passenger ships will take an extremely long time.”

“Time we don’t have,” Starbuck added.

“But if we don’t, we risk leading them straight to Earth,” Roslin countered.

“We need to start somewhere,” Adama pointed out the obvious.

Kara already had a plan formed. “We know they couldn’t have touched Jupiter. I think our first step should be to send Jupiter ahead to Earth, access the situation there and be ready to relay that information back to the fleet once we arrive. Or sooner, if we need to be warned away from Earth for any reason.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Roslin looked to the admiral for agreement. He gave a small nod. “So who goes?” she asked.

“It should be me,” Kara promptly volunteered.

“No,” Adama didn’t hesitate. “I need you on Pegasus. Your command there will help win this war. Unless Earth has something up their sleeve that you haven’t told us about,” he prodded.

“It’s possible,” Kara shrugged, not liking how he’d dismissed her so quickly. “I know they didn’t keep me informed about all their projects. They gave me the Vipers, which kept me out from underfoot. But I have a feeling they do have something else planned.” She explained before turning back to her earlier request. “Galactica is a scrapper; she pulled us out of the fire several times even before Pegasus came into the picture. And someone else can command the beast just as easily…”

“You stay with your ship, commander. That is an order.” Adama maintained. “Now, we look for other options as far as Jupiter is concerned.”

“I volunteer,” Sharon finally made her voice heard. She looked to Adama and Roslin. There had been no apologies between them. But Sharon wasn’t looking for that, all she wanted was to be given a chance to live up to the potential she felt inside; to not be judged simply as a machine any longer. “I know Earth, and I’m sure I can handle flying Jupiter. I’ll go,” she reiterated.

Helo nodded, “We’ll go.”

Adama made his decision quickly, without consulting the president. “You take two viper pilots, two birds in the cargo hull and two armed Marines.”

“Hera goes with us too,” Sharon revealed her one demand.

“Agreed,” the admiral nodded, even as he watched Roslin twitch beside him. He didn’t care if she had an issue with his decision this time. They’d done it her way once, now he planned to try it his way. With that established he looked to Kara again. “What about the rest of the fleet? I assume your plan doesn’t end with Jupiter’s scout mission.”

“No, sir,” Kara answered. “Galactica and Pegasus were in orbit above the planet, so we assume they’re safe too,” she continued. “I say we divide the ships. Half go with Galactica, the other half with Pegasus. Each group takes a different route to Earth.”

“Split the fleet? You think that’s wise?” Roslin wasn’t fond of the idea and planned to voice her opinion on the matter, seeing as how she’d been dismissed from the last decision. “We’ve always been stronger together,” she recalled the ugly rift that had been caused after she’d asked for ships to join her in the quest for Kobal.

“If the Cylons are tracking us, then yes, I believe it’s wise,” Kara replied with confidence. “If we can divert their efforts to follow us, maybe make them think twice about whether we really know the way to Earth or not, possibly get them to follow just one group…” she shrugged. “We stand a chance of at least half the fleet getting safely to Earth.”

“I don’t like those odds,” Roslin looked down her nose at the young commander. “What’s to stop the Cylons from sending ships after both groups?”

“Nothing,” Kara admitted. “I’m not saying this plan will stop them, but the Cylons tend to think out their problems too much. Throwing them a curve like this could buy us some time. We slow them down a little and it could make all the difference in the worlds for us.”

“Not exactly a concrete plan,” Adama mulled the idea, usually expecting more from Kara. “I agree with the president, I don’t like the idea of breaking apart the fleet,” he noted. “But if we can throw them off even by an inch, then it will be worth it,” he agreed, eager to appease both women.

“Okay,” Roslin gave her approval, hoping they knew better than she did.

Kara didn’t give them time to rethink their agreement. She rolled out a star chart and everyone moved in closer. “It will be a bit of a stretch but I think we can get the fleet jumped in seven days. The quicker the better. Day seven, we meet here, third rock from the sun,” she pointed to the blue-green sphere on the map. “Earth.”

xxx

Lee moved Joey to his right shoulder and reached out to grasp Kara’s hand as they made their way toward the flight deck. She held it for a moment but there was little warmth against his skin. Worry pooled in his stomach. “You can’t blame yourself for what happened to Kat,” he tried to console her grief.

She shook her head. “Kind of hard not to. I was the one they were after.”

“Maybe, but you don’t know that for sure,” Lee countered, not wanting to think about Leoben’s ongoing obsession with her. “And Kat was just doing her job, the way we all do,” he pointed out. Another thought crept forward. “Are you upset because I told dad I didn’t want command of Pegasus. Are you mad at me because he’s making you stay on there?” Lee prodded further, wanting only to help.

“No,” she replied.

“Then what, Kara?” he persisted. “Don’t do this, okay,” Lee stopped and made her face him. “You asked me to be a part of this family; you made me promise to be at your side. Well, here I am, Kara. I’m not going anywhere, but you have to let me in. Don’t close your self off again,” he pleaded to her with his eyes. “Please, talk to me.” He got nothing but silence in return.

“Starbuck!”

Kara sighed inwardly as she heard Helo’s shout from down the corridor. She was thankful of the distraction and avoided Lee’s gaze while Helo caught up to them. Karl looked to his friend with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry I left you in the lurch back there, it’s just…”

“I understand, Helo,” she cut him off. “It makes the most sense,” Kara agreed. “I’m sure I’ll find another poor sucker to be my XO. You’re replaceable,” she teased, though her heart wasn’t in it. “You should be with your family,” the last words were sincere.

He smiled and pulled her close. “You’re family too, Buck,” Helo told her. “Always,” the hug was quick and then he turned to face Lee, extending his hand to the man. “I’m sorry about hitting you,” he apologized.

“It’s forgotten,” Lee shook the man’s hand. “Thank you, for being with them when I couldn’t.” Karl nodded and was off again, headed toward his ship.

The rest of their walk was short and Adama met up with them on the flight deck before Lee could try to reach Kara again. A raptor was ready to go, waiting to take them back to Pegasus. The old man stood for a long second before he fished something out of his pocket. He held the worn lighter in his left hand. “Should we go this route again?” he asked his children.

Lee looked at his daughter and grinned. “I think you should hold on to that one,” he replied to his father as he gently bounced the girl. “This time we have our own Joey Adama to get back to you,” he concluded.

“You be sure and do that,” Adama’s words caught in his throat. He’d just gotten his family back a short time ago and now he was saying goodbye to them. His whole life was starting to seem like a series of farewells. “I’d like a chance to get to know my granddaughter better,” he leaned in and kissed the baby on her cheek. Then he wrapped his arms around Lee and held the boy close for a long moment.

Adama pulled back and turned to Kara. “I found you a replacement for Helo,” he told her. “I’ve already sent Tigh on ahead. He knows the job and he’s familiar with the Pegasus crew,” the old man knew it was probably the most ridiculous thing he had ever done, pairing Saul and Kara to command a battlestar. But he felt that if anything could break Tigh out of his stupor it would be Starbuck, even if they did end up punching the crap out of each other.

Kara didn’t know what to say. But Tigh actually seemed the least of her worries as she found herself suddenly wrapped up in Adama’s embrace. Her already fragile state of mind was tipped yet again and she did her best to keep up appearances. Like Lee had said, they all had a job to do and she planned to see hers through, whatever it took.

They all felt a quick good-bye was best, so Adama sent them on their way with a simple promise. “I’ll see you all in a week.”

xxx

Seven days later…

He closed his eyes as the final jump commenced. Seconds later he re-opened them and glanced around the room. Roslin was at his side. She’d wanted to be aboard the battlestar for the final leg of their journey. Adama couldn’t help the smile that formed as she looked his way. One long week had changed their relationship even further. He returned to the task at hand and eyed Gaeta. “Can you confirm our position?”

The officer immediately scanned the area and compared the findings against data that Kara had provided for them. He came to a conclusion with a smile upon his face. “Initial sweep confirms that we are in close proximity of a planet that matches the data we have on file for Earth. Surrounding constellations also match… Capricorn, Sagittarius, Leo, Virgo…” his excited tone echoed through the silent CIC.

Once the realization sunk in, cheers went up all around the room. They’d found Earth. The hope of their long journey had just been turned into a reality for all of them to share. Laughter seeped from their tired souls. Tears fell from joyful eyes. Hugs were exchanged between those who had worked closely together for three long years to find a new place to call home.

“Dradis contact!”

As quickly as the celebration had begun, it ended. The room was quiet again. “Reading one ship bearing three-three-one, carom zero-one-niner,” Gaeta checked the signal. Fear was abated as the man’s serious face blossomed into another grin. “Sir, it’s the Jupiter.”

“I’m getting something from them,” Dee announced as she piped the message through.

“Galactica, this is Athena, do you read?”

The old man was confused as he spoke. “Jupiter, this is Galactica Actual. Please repeat call-sign,” he instructed.

“Galactica, Helo here,” the man answered, stifling a laugh. “Sorry, sir, we’ve been out here a few days waiting for you. Hotdog got bored and insisted we find Sharon a call-sign,” he explained.

Adama almost cracked a smile. They sounded jovial. And looking out at the faces around him, he found more happiness staring back. They’d made it home. “Athena,” he addressed the woman, finding a renewed sense of faith in her abilities. “What is Earth’s status?”

“Earth is secure,” she was pleased to reply. “I’ve been in touch with the UESA director, General Mason. He’s assured us that there is no Cylon presence upon Earth,” Athena confirmed the good news.

“Dradis contact!”

The admiral’s joy slipped a moment as they again waited to hear from Gaeta. “It’s the rest of the fleet, sir. Pegasus and all twenty-two ships under their command are accounted for,” he confirmed.

No Cylon presence on Earth. All fleet ships were in tact and they hadn't found any Cylon tracking signals. They never could have hoped for such a feat. But Adama knew they still needed to be wary of the Cylons jumping in at any moment. Which meant they needed to regroup as soon as possible. “Lieutenant Dualla, get me Pegasus actual on the line,” he instructed.

She followed his order but an odd look on the young woman’s face caused his stomach to flop. “Do you have her?” he asked.

Dee swallowed. “Pegasus actual is on the line, sir,” she replied.

“Put it overhead,” he instructed, happy that his initial worry appeared to be unfounded. “Everyone in this fleet owes you a dept of gratitude, Starbuck,” he spoke over the comm.

“Galactica,” it wasn’t Kara’s voice that replied. “This is Pegasus commander, Lee Adama.”

The words echoed off the walls of CIC and silence once again reigned in the room. The old man clutched the edge of his table. Roslin put a hand to his forearm, seeing the worry and confusion written in his brow. The same questions plagued her. He finally found the courage to speak, his voice stiff. “Lee, where is Ka… where is Commander Thrace?” he demanded.

A long pause followed before Lee’s voice returned. “Commander Thrace and Colonel Tigh are no longer aboard Pegasus,” he calmly relayed the words.

But to Adama’s trained ear, he could hear his son’s heart breaking. “What does that mean?” he ground out the question.

Lee continued to speak in a manner so devoid of emotion that he sounded like he was reading off a prompt card. “Two days ago we came across a Cylon Heavy Raider. It was badly damaged and there were no life signs. Commander Thrace insisted on bringing it aboard, thinking we could scrap it for parts and weapons. We discovered three Cylons waiting for us with an armed nuclear warhead. They’d masked their body heat. They threatened to detonate the weapon unless we met their demand.”

“Which was?” the old man could hardly believe what he was hearing.

“All they wanted was Kara,” Lee’s utterance of her name finally caused a damn to break, his voice wavered. “She went with them, willingly,” he revealed.

Of course she did. Adama shook his head. “Why?” he asked in a horse whisper of breath. Then he exploded, hands beating down against the table. “Why!” he shouted the demand. “What do they want with her?” The old man had hoped Kara’s theory behind Kat’s death had been false, now he saw the truth of it plain as day.

“The Cylon, Leoben,” his name was a curse that flowed from Lee’s lips like blood. “He knows she’s been to Earth, knows she’s worked with the people of Earth to create new ships and to formulate battle plans…”

Adama’s last ounce of hope thrummed a cadence of dread in time with his pulse. He knew what was coming.

“I think they believe Kara can secure Earth for them.”

To Be Continued…