Word Count: 6,821
Date: 10/29/04
Series: Mini
Rating: T
Category: Character
Pairing/Focus: Kara
Warnings:
Summary:
Spoilers/Disclaimers:
Note from BSG03FanFic Management: These stories are obtained from the
BSG03RPG site, maintained by Kimberly Amyotte – they have been formatted to
for ease of reading, not to take away from the stories themselves. If you aren’t
familiar with her site, you may want to check it out before you read, just so
you’re clear about what’s happening…
Chapter 1
Setting: Just over 2 years pre-mini.
Apollo stood and called the room to order, beginning the briefing. “Intelligence had indicated an increase in activity along the Cylon neutral zone. Although the information so far had been considered hearsay and vague, a reconnaissance mission is necessary to determine the validity of this information. As you all know we have an ongoing treaty that cannot be compromised, therefore we require volunteers. Your mission with be disavowed by the by the quorum of 12, and you will have no outside support if you are apprehended.”
Kara shifted restlessly in her chair toward the back of the briefing room. When she heard Apollo’s last comment, she looked up and snickered. “I would say the treaty is shot all to frakking hell, but hey, count me in! I’m going frakking insane waiting around here for them to find us.” With that, she grabbed her cigar and put her feet up on the empty chair in front of her. “So,” she called out in a nonchalant voice. “Who’s with me?” She fired a wink towards Apollo, challenging him to accept the mission himself.
"Only you would be so cocky about something as serious as this. Anyone else up for the ride?" Slowly he began to grin..."Oh, Starbuck will be flying as sub-light salvage vessel."
Carrie watched the exchange between Starbuck and Apollo and smiled. She hoped that they were all as playful as those two. "I'm in," she said, kinda hoping it wasn't a really dangerous mission.
Kara's eyes grew wide and she nearly dropped her cigar in her lap at the mention of the salvage vessel. “You have got to be kidding me! In those old junk heaps it will take us at least three days to get there. There had better be a damn good reason for it. Even a raptor would be better than a salvage vessel.”
Apollo turned to the young pilot who had volunteered, smiling. “Glad to have you along, kid. You can kelp me keep this ‘rookie’ in line”
She had nodded towards Apollo with a grin. Then Carrie had smiled she listened to Starbuck. "Wow, you're as funny as they say. So anyway, why are we taking the salvage vessel?" Carrie asked, slightly confused but just happy to be there.
"Holster your gun Starbuck, we're not going to play with these fellas."
"Carrie," Apollo turned and smiled. "There's nothing dangerous about this mission, as long as we don't get caught. We R.V. at oh-six-hundred, at Caprica's Best Cafe, by the Academy. Bring a change of clothes that you don't much care about, no ID or identifiable items, and we'll be kitted up later. Let's clarify: This is a non-combatant operation. A Viper would bring attention we don’t need.
Kara had smirked. “Right. So, how long are we going to be gone? I have some basic soloing in a couple weeks, and there are a few things that need a little work before then…” She paused for a moment and smiled. “How long we gonna be gone?”
“As near as we can figure, seven days tops; four if we’re lucky.”
“Oh-six-hundred, then? You buying the coffee?”
Carrie nodded.
"Okay oh-six-hundred hours.” Kara said. “Got it. So, just out of curiosity, what are we gonna do? Recon? ‘Cos I don't find the idea of flying around living scrap metal too inviting. I mean, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather leave them alone. It’s been nearly forty years, Apollo. Do we really have to go?" she asked. Yeah she'd volunteered before, but she hadn't thought about it then. Now that she had, it seemed like a suicide mission.
"Starbuck, I'd have you watch my back in a fight any day, but there are no games here, got it? We can't afford the risk. I don't want to take you out, but if you’re gonna act like this…”
"Carrrie don't listen to a word he says. Trust me, I know."
Apollo looked at Starbuck sternly. "Carrie, the door’s over to your left. You can leave. Yes, it is a Recon mission. Frankly I don't know what we'll find." Apollo went slightly white. "All I know is that this is a need-to-know. Bare in mind, we are taking a big risk here if there is nothing going on and we get caught. We could end the armistice." Apollo paused for a moment, looked at Starbuck and said, "Today’s a good day to die."
"Hey, no worries, Boss," Starbuck replied with a smirk. "I have every intention of coming back in one piece. After all, I have a wedding to plan, remember?" She then grabbed her clipboard and her cigar and headed for the door. As she reached it, she called back over her shoulder, “See you both at oh-six-hundred.” She gave a wave as she exited the room.
"Cool, I'm gone." Carrie got up to leave but walked a little slowly as she headed out the door.
“Today’s a good day to die,” Apollo had said. Really. Carrie had always wondered when a good time to die was, and frankly this hadn’t been one of her answers. She walked out of the briefing room wondering what she was getting herself into, yet again. “I have every intention of coming back,” Starbuck had said casually. “After all, I have a wedding to plan, remember?” Carrie had heard this as the doors opened for Starbuck to leave. She remembered then that Kara was engaged to Lee’s brother, and she had to wonder why. She had seemed so perfect for Lee.
"See you both at oh-six-hundred,” Lee called.
"Yeah see you then," Carrie replied as she headed out of the building, for her home and her cozy, warm bed.
Outside, Lee had caught sight of Carrie and jogged up behind her. “Are you ready to play? These missions usually result in a pay grade increase.”
"Pay isn't much good if your dead," Carrie said as she walked out of the building. "'Night Starbuck, 'Night Apollo," she called over her shoulder.
She took the next transport bus back to her apartment on the outskirts of Caprica. It was a large space, mostly white with huge windows showing the green countryside. Carrie took a quick shower, had a bite to eat and sunk beneath the sheets of her warm bed.
At five o’clock the next morning, Carrie practically dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom. After yet another shower, she pulled on an old pair of trousers (that still looked half-decent) and a thin jumper, making sure to remove any jewelry or tags from the outfit. She hurried down the street making it to the oh-five-thirty bus just in time. She had reached the café about twenty-five minutes later, ordered coffee and a sandwich, and sat waiting for Starbuck and Apollo to arrive.
Ninety minutes earlier, Kara had stepped out onto the academy track for her morning run. The first rays of the sun had barely risen, and the air had still been cool. For the first time, she had looked around wondering when she might see the academy again. She had hoped that Lee knew what he was getting them into, but damned if she could ever say “no” to anything he asked. Her mind had raced faster than she could as she ran, wondering about the decisions she had made over the past few months. How might things have been different if… She shook her head. There was no point dwelling on things that never happened, she thought to herself. Now matter how much she wished they had, her wishes didn’t count for much.
Finishing her run, she headed for the showers and quickly dressed in an old t-shirt and a pair of nondescript jeans. Stopping for a moment, she remembered Lee’s comment about not wearing anything she didn’t want lost or ruined. She quickly stripped off the t-shirt, holding it for a moment before putting it back on the shelf in her locker and grabbed an old black tank-top instead. She laid her dog tags on the t-shirt she had removed and grabbed a cigar for her walk to the café.
Kara had strolled up to the café a minute before they were due to report. She saw Carrie sitting at a table, and smiled as she walked over to join her. “Ready?” she asked with a smile.
Carrie had smiled and stirred her coffee, watching the white froth spin round and round. “Carrie Nightsky Diarta was born ready,” she said, faking confidence before dropping the façade and looking straight at Kara. “Do you think we’ll find anything, Starbuck, or is this just a suicide mission? ‘Cause believe me, I want to have faith in Apollo, but I don’t know if I can this time. You know him better than I do… what do you think?”
Kara smiled reassuringly and spoke seriously for a moment. “Apollo never does anything half-way. He’s got your back, and mine. That’s something I can be sure of. Any mission is risky, but you have to take a chance if you want to get anywhere. I’ve known Lee most of my life. He’s straight-up. If he didn’t think one of us could handle it, he wouldn’t be letting us go. Kara took a seat and put her feet up on the edge of the table, leaning her chair back. She briefly looked at her watch and then looked around the café. “Now, where is he hiding, because I know he’s never late…”
Apollo wandered outside the Cafe and over to the patio table where Starbuck and Carrie were sitting. He was dressed in greasy coveralls, a worn-out pair of work boots, a black ball cap, and a five o’clock shadow. He wore a black cat around his neck. "Starbuck the least you could have done was ask me to buy you a coffee."
Kara had smirked. “That is such a good look for you. You should dress up more often.” She gave Apollo a puzzled look when she spotted the cat, and made a mental note to ask him about it later.
Apollo handed each of them a brown paper bag at the same time a cab pulled up. "Here's our ride. You can change in the car. Also, your ident cards and profiles are in the bag to memorize. You’ll have to eat them then; I didn’t bring the shredder."
“Sounds fun,” Starbuck said with a laugh as she grabbed the bag, climbing into the back of the cab. She didn’t even wait for everyone to get settled, but pulled her disguise out of the bag and began changing into attire similar to Lee’s. She held the profile in one hand, and was clearly studying it, intent on having it memorized.
“At oh-six-thirty, we’ll be departing from Caprica International. Good morning, Carrie. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll grab a couple of minutes sleep while you change. Apollo then covered his head with a newspaper and cradled his cat in his arms.
Carrie had watched silently as Apollo had ushered them into a taxi and gave them each a brown paper bag. She had watched him sit and cover his face with a newspaper. With a shrug, she now slipped into the coveralls he’d provided. She read her profile with a smile. “Always love the good jobs,” she muttered.
At oh-seven-hundred, the C.S.S. Trojan (their famous Salvage Vessel) arrived. As the hatch on the vessel opened to accept the docking tube, a putrid smell of rot and decay filled the air. “Lords of Kobol,” Apollo muttered with a cringe. “This place smells like a dead pig!”
“An understatement if I ever heard one,” Starbuck agreed, looking around at the ship. It was filthy. She stood slightly behind Lee as the vessel’s captain approached them and introduced himself to Lee, completely ignoring the two women.
“I’m now wishing I didn’t have that sandwich,” Carrie muttered as she tried not to gag. The smell was overwhelming.
Just then, the vessel’s captain spoke. “Hello, Loki,” he said, referring to Apollo. “I’m Leoben. I heard you were coming. If it’s Cylon tech you want, then I’m your man. I can get you stuff the twelve Colonies have never seen.”
“Does it usually smell this bad, Leoben?” Apollo asked, still trying to hold back his desire to vomit. But his tensing hand annoyed the cat. Panther jumped down and ran off into Leoben’s ship.
“Buddy, for an arms dealer, you’re looking pretty green,” Leoben said as he watched the cat run down the corridor. “You usually bring your pets?”
Apollo immediately snapped at Leoben. “First, I’m not a dealer, I’m a buyer,” he snarled. “Second, you got a problem with animals? ‘Cause right now all you got is frak, and that’s all I’m gonna give you until you give me some proof.”
Leoben didn’t look all that offended, but he did turn his back to walk away. As he moved out of earshot, Starbuck muttered to Lee. “I don’t trust him.” She watched the cat moving down the hallway, her brow furrowing. “That can’t possibly be… that isn’t Panther, is it? I’ve heard of nine lives, but that cat must be ancient by now. Why did you bring him along?”
Carrie found the situation scary. Either Apollo was very good at acting, or a damn sight scarier out in the real world than he was in the briefing rooms. Starbuck proceeded to ask about Panther, obviously the black cat that had just disappeared down the hall and blended with the shadows at the end. He did not, however, answer her. “How are you holding up?” he asked, turning his attention to Carrie with a questioning look.
She turned to Starbuck, her hand trying desperately to fan away the stench and nodded. “Peachy. Yeah, um… I’m good. Do we really have to spend a whole frakking week on this pile of putrid junk?” Carrie asked, finally getting pissed off with their secret mission and wishing she was back doing flight training.
Starbuck looked around her, taking in everything around them. An uneasy look crossed her face.
“Possibly,” Starbuck answered. “Though I really hope not. “This place gives me the creeps. And that smell…” She stifled a gag. “I know that smell; I just can’t place it.” Leaning in close to Apollo she whispered to him. “I really don’t like the look – or the smell – of things.”
Several corridors later, as they walked into the heart of who knew what, Apollo whispered to Starbuck. He was more than aware that Carrie could hear him. “The intel says that Leoben has been running restricted black-market technology for years. Frankly, I don’t know how much of it is hype, but if anything can get us the intel we’re looking for, it’s him. And no, I don’t like or trust him either.”
“Good to know,” Carrie muttered as Leoben guided them down a dark corridor and into a room.
“Lords, I hope this is worth it,” Kara muttered. “There’s something just not right about this place.” She looked around at the nondescript hallway. “This does not look like a lived-in vessel. It’s more like a dumpster with thrusters. How can a human live like this?”
Just then Loeben returned. "You want the best right? The latest Cylon weapons. Well for a few million credits we'll be in business. Oh yes, I'll show were you'll be bunking. Follow me."
They walk down another corridor of his ship. Gray, stark, nothing was lively about it. Loeben escorted them to a small room with two bunks, a coffee table and three chairs.
"This certainly isn't the Ritz now, is it?” Apollo said with an attempt at humor that fell completely flat. “Frankly I hope that your toys are better than your accommodations." Apollo glanced over at Carrie, and smiled. "It can only get better." Carrie chose not to comment as she stepped into the room.
As Kara followed Loeben and Apollo into the cramped hole in the wall that they had been given as an accommodation, she spotted a small black shadow rounding a corner up ahead. Still shaking her head, she looked around the room. It was going to be an interesting night.
“Give it thirteen hours and you’ll see what I got for you,” Leoben grumbled. “In the meantime, watch the wise cracks, asshole. ‘Cause I ain’t seen the color of green yet either.” His voice sounded annoyed, but Kara couldn’t help thinking he was enjoying the opportunity for a good retort. “See you in thirteen.”
As Loeben closed the behind him Apollo raced for the door to catch it. He missed.
"Thirteen hours in this frak-hole? It’s confirmed, The Lords of Kobol hate my sorry ass," Carrie whined as she sank onto one of the chairs and leaned to put her elbows on her knees.
Kara reassuringly patted the young pilot on the shoulder. “We’ll get through this. I’ve heard of far worse,” she said, not really believing it herself. A look somewhere between disgust and fury crossed her face.
Carrie glanced up at the door as Apollo said, “Frak, frak, frak! I hope no one has to use the can.” Just then, appearing to look around to survey the room. “First thing, scan for anything that looks like a bug. If we’re gonna be here for a few hours, we’d better clean house. I just hope Panther’s doing better.”
“We’re sitting in a grimy little garbage hole with two beds, three chairs, a table, and no toilet or food that I can see, and you’re worried about the cat? Now just help me out here,” Kara said with her arms crossed before her. “How did you become a captain?” She began to search around the room, but she wasn’t able to find anything suspicious. Quite frankly, she wasn’t able to find much of anything at all. “Sadly, this is probably the cleanest place on the ship,” she sighed. Then, remembering the shadow she’d seen earlier, she turned to Lee. “I saw Panther. Looks like he’s going to be hunting for mice down in the cargo hold. Lords, that cat is gonna be fat if the housekeeping in this place is any indication; plenty of mice running around, I’ll bet.”
With another sigh, she looked around the room. “Looks like either one of us is going to have to sleep standing, or we’ll have to double-up.” She smirked as she looked over at Apollo.
He sat down at the table and pulled out what looked like a standard issue PDA. He opened it and began to work on it momentarily, then he stopped. Turning to Carrie and Kara he said, “Okay, we can talk now. First, I can jam up to a five meter radius with this PDA, just in case. However, I cannot receive any intel while I’m doing this.” Apollo gestured for the others to sit with him. “Leoben has been on our radar for the last 7 years. When we received the intel regarding the Cylon build-up, we established a line of communication to Leoben. He’s real, all right, and over the last few years we’ve had other operations acquire some of his technology. Near as we can tell, his loyalty is to money. But what I can’t figure out is how he gets his hands on the stuff. That’s our job: find out if we need to prepare for war.”
Kara listened for a moment, mulling things over. “Okay, I still don’t trust him though. Something just doesn’t feel right.” She glanced over at the locked hatch. “I realize most arms dealers are a little paranoid, but this guy really takes the cake. Thirteen hours is a long time, and considering we’ve been in here nearly an hour and he hasn’t even fired up the engines yet…? How long are we going to be sitting here and waiting for something to happen?”
Kara shifted restlessly, reaching for the pocket where she would have normally kept a cigar, realizing immediately that there wasn’t one. “Frak, this is going to be a long night. Then she looked at Apollo suspiciously. “Any other little gems you care to toss our way?”
Apollo reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigar. “You’re lucky I don’t often smoke these things,” he muttered. Then with a shrug he added, “It’s yours, although I was saving it for our return.”
“Thanks,” Kara said gratefully. “I owe you one when we get home.” She grinned, taking the cigar, grabbing a match from her utility belt, and lit it. Leaning back in her chair, she put her feet up on the table and listened.
“Carrie, I’m an acting Captain. It isn’t official; just an assignment. And that CAT is a very valuable asset to this mission. Ask Kara: we’ve had it all our lives. Just prior to the ‘Cylon Revolution’, or around the time the Hangman’s Virus infiltrated the Colonial network, Jetson Laboritories managed to successfully produce the next generation in Cylon technology: Real-Pets. But with the virus and the eventual revolution, they were never marketed to the public. At the halfway point of the Cylon wars, it was discovered that Cylons had no interest in anything other than the extermination of humanity. The cylons ignored all other life forms, and deemed them irrelevant. It’s for this reason that CATs were deployed. Panther is a highly advanced piece of surveillance equipment. They used CATs to infiltrate and gather information on enemy movement in order to plan Colonial attacks. If it wasn’t for them, our race would have been wiped out. Frankly, if you were to share this information with anyone, they would tell you that you’re frakking nuts. But that’s how it happened. CATs look and appear like the real thing. The only noticeable difference is that they have silica neuro-pathways. When we’re done talking, I’ll code-in and you can see what Panther is recording.
“Damn! I would have never guessed. He looks so real! But then, that explains how agile he is for a twenty-something year old cat.”
Kara chuckled a bit. “It also explains why he was our constant shadow for so many years.” She took a long drag of her cigar, pausing for a moment. “So, how many of these things are there?”
"I don't know anymore. As far a I know, Panther is the only active unit. My father was actually sent to retrieve him just before the armistice. However, when he returned, Panther's intel was not required. In fact, nothing was said about Panther and it was as if his mission was forgotten. Frankly he was a little miffed about the whole idea of being sent to retrieve a cat in the first place. It wasn't until ten years later that he realized that this was no ordinary cat. He did some digging the acronym CAT stands for "Combat Assisted Transmitter". Apparently there were only thirty-five of them produced, and when the war hit the information on their production was wiped out."
Kara nodded and smiled. "I can imagine your dad was quite chapped about it. He always did hate wasting time." She listened for a moment, the faint hiss and grinding of metal echoing in the corridor as the floor began to vibrate. “Looks like we’re finally moving,” she commented quietly as she closed her eyes for a moment to enjoy her cigar. “I would still be a lot happier if we weren’t locked in here. I hate not seeing the stars.”
Apollo looked at Carrie, and then at Kara. “Anything else?” At their negative head shakes, he responded, “Good. I’m turning off the jammer. Say nothing; just observe.”
Through Panther’s eyes, they observed a real-time view of the vessel. Panther was apparently in the cargo area. There appeared to be about fifteen human bodies, dismembered and rotting from what looked like a macabre of torture experiments. Panther hopped on top of one of the bodies and looked around. Cylons: five of them. Two were at the door to the hold and three were cleaning the tables. Panther looked down at the body he was presently standing on. It was a corpse of a young girl, maybe sixteen years old. Half of her face was missing. Panther continued to wander around the room, completely ignored by the Cylons. Just then, Leoben entered and the CAT turned his gaze that direction.
“We’re getting close now,” he muttered. “I believe these are three Colonial fighters. Be ready to mind-map them in two hours.
The Cylons responded to Leoben, “By your command.”
As the signal ended, Kara’s eyes grew wide and she fought back the urge to speak. She knew that they might be heard. She looked up at Apollo, a mix of fear and the pure desire to fight reflected in her eyes.
Apollo turned the jammer back on with a serious look of distress.
“Frak!” Carrie whispered under her breath as she turned to the other two. “I think we need to get out!” she said, digging through her pickets for something that might work on the locks. “I got gum, a pen, a screwdriver, and some measuring tape. How about you?”
“That’s good,” Apollo said noncommittally. “Kara, have you got any more matches? I’m not MacGyver, but I wouldn’t mind some gum.” Apollo looked around the sparse room as though trying to find something useful, and then sat down and started to remove his boots. “I need something to cut the sole off our boots with,” he said. “The metal shanks in our boots contain magnesium. Hopefully, we can use it to burn off the hinges or melt the locking mechanism.”
Kara took a match from her pocket. “I’ve only got a couple left,” she explained. “Let’s hope this works.”
Apollo took a match from Kara and lit his shoelace. “Not the best,” he admitted. “But it will do.” He returned his attention to his boots. “Now, I’ll try the screw driver to cut the seams, but we could use something better. Any suggestions or other ideas? We’ve only got one hour and fifty-three minutes left.”
"That's good Carrie. Kara have you got anymore matches? I'm not MacGyver but I wouldn't mind some gum." Apollo looked around the sparse room looking for something useful. Then he sat down and started to remove his boots. "I need something to cut the sole off our boots with. The metal shanks in our boots contain Magnesium. Hopefully we can use it to burn off the hinges or melt the lock mechanism."
Kara dug around in the pockets of her coveralls, but found nothing. She scanned the room, noticing an empty bottle under some newspapers. She grabbed the bottle and crashed it down onto the table. Picking up a broken piece of the glass, she handed it to Apollo.
Apollo looked over at Kara sadly. “I’m sorry,” he said. “If I’d known it would be a trap, I wouldn’t have ever let you come. I promise you’ll make it hope to Zak. This is the shortest – possibly the worst – recon I’ve ever been on. Apollo then turned to Carrie. “They were waiting for us. I don’t know how or why, but our goal now is to escape. The bodies of Kobol’s children tell all; it’s time to go.”
Kara looked at Apollo without speaking for a moment, and then gave him an uncharacteristically gentle smile. “Right,” she said softly, grabbing a piece of glass and beginning to cut away the sole of her boot.
“My only concern is that the magnesium is too thick to catch,” he said thoughtfully. “It has to get really hot to burn. Take your shanks and put them around the hinges. I’m putting this piece in the lock, and the other on the latch thingy – whatever – you see what I mean.” Apollo handed Carrie half a wad of his half-chewed gum. “Take your laces and wrap them around the portion of the shank that is jutting out. I should warn you that when magnesium burns it gets so hot that it’s blinding, so don’t look at it.” Apollo then walked over to the table and picked up his PDA. “I’m calling the CAT.”
He received real-time updates from Panther. By this time, Panther had compiled enough data to provide a map in conjunction with a view of a small launch area. In the bay, there were two small vessels, which were likely Cylon. Apollo entered a message into his PDA, and then began to speak. “I’ve told Panther to sit tight. Whatever you do, grab the CAT and bring him to Commander Adama. There’s no telling what type of intel that thing has recorded.” He turned to face his friend. “Kara, would you like to do the honors?”
She grinned and nodded. “Most definitely! Just give me one second…” She looked around the room for a moment, then ran over to the bunks. Grabbing the mattress off the top bunk, she tossed it aside and began to pull at the bunk. With a groan of protest, the metal began to give way. Kara called over to Carrie, “Nightsky, help me get these bunks off the wall. We can use them as a shield.”
Carrie grabbed the other side of the bunk and started to pull, she caught it as it fell and settled it down in front of her.
When the bunks were off, Kara tossed one to Lee, and left the other with Carrie. She went over to the hatch and lit the fuses on their makeshift explosives. As the magnesium began to ignite, bright flashes erupted from the door area. Kara ducked behind the bunk with Carrie, waiting….
With a brilliant flash, the metal on the latch and hinges give way, and the hatch clanged to the floor.
“Now, lets get the frak out of here!” Apollo said with a yell.
"Right with ya!" Carrie mumbled as she raced out of the door after the other two and stopped to listen.
"Now this is obviously not a quite an escape." Apollo informed her as he quickly handed his PDA to Kara. "Go left and get the hell out'a here. Follow the map, and grab Panther."
Just then, the sound of Cylons could be heard coming down the corridor. Apollo ran out the door, turned right and ran towards the sound "AAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHH".
“Frak! Lee!” Kara called after him, muttering under her breath. “If we get out of here alive, I’m going to kill him!” Turning left, she started down the hall, motioning for Carrie to follow her.
"Lee? Lee!" Carrie called as she contemplated the consequences of going after him. She could go and either get herself killed by Cylons, or get the CAT and get the frak out of this pile of junk. It was a hard decision. She decided to follow Kara. As she jogged up behind her she whispered a thought without even thinking. "If Zak's anything like Lee, you're a lucky woman."
“Sometimes I wonder about that...” Kara turned briefly to look down the corridor where Lee had vanished around the corner. Hearing the metallic echo of footsteps, she quickly turned back towards the cargo bay.
They rounded another corner and went down a flight of stairs towards the cargo bay. Carrie, realizing they didn't have any weapons, grabbed two metal rods of the wall and tossed one to Kara. "Time to get the CAT."
Kara grabbed the rod with a grin and pointed to a smallish black figure near the first ship. “Grab him while I get this thing fired up.”
"Yeah." Carrie grabbed the CAT and let him go behind Starbuck's seat. She turned to the door and stood, listening.
Kara opened the canopy and grumbled. “Frak, they’re single seaters! Mind being a little cramped?” she smirked. “I’m sure we could both fit in one, that is if you don’t mind sitting behind the seat.”
"Sure, you're the pilot," Carrie mumbled as she walked towards the door and opened it. Standing with her metal pole at the ready, she whispered, "We gotta get Apollo." She glanced at Kara. "I'll go find him, you fire up the other one for him."
Starbuck nodded, moving towards the other ship. “Just don’t go far! We could have to make a hasty exit. Lee will make it out.”
She walked to the end of the short corridor and up the stairs. "Lee? Lee are you up here?" She whispered loudly.
“Frak!” Kara yelled just as Carrie reached the top of the stairs. Shots began to ring out through the docking bay. She ran to the craft where Panther was tucked behind the seat, reached in, and grabbed a small sidearm and began to fire back.
“Carrie, Come on! We have to go NOW! This thing only holds a few rounds at best! Get in!”
Carrie raced back towards the craft and dived in, just missing the CAT as she landed in a heap on the floor. She grabbed a second sidearm and started firing as Kara got back into the pilot’s seat and closed the canopy. "But Lee..." Carrie whispered as she turned on the CAT to see what it had recorded between the time they had left their room to when she had first retrieved it.
Kara grabbed a hold of the controls. It took a moment to get used to the slightly different configuration, but a bird was a bird. She’d never found a craft yet that she couldn’t fly. And right now they needed to fly. She maneuvered the craft towards the docking bay entrance just as it began to close.
“Frak, Lee. You better hurry up and get your ass out of here,” she muttered. Then she whispered under her breath, “Lords of Kobol, watch over Lee and bring him home safe.”
Up ahead, the docking bay door was nearly closed. Kara grabbed the fire control and let loose a stream of laser blasts, hitting the thrusters at the same time. With a blinding flash and a cloud of debris, the small craft shot out into space.
“Hang on tight… kickin in the burn!” She pushed the craft to full throttle, putting as much distance between their craft and the Cylons as possible.
As Kara had been positioning the Cylon vessel for launch, Panther had been graciously appreciating Carries efforts to turn him on and at first purred softly. Then the whole situation became a little too much for him, and he left her to jump on Kara shoulder, rubbing against her face. Meanwhile the PDA had started vibrating in Kara's pocket.
Kara struggled to see around the purring cat. Eventually she pulled the cat down off her shoulder and into her lap so she could see. Grabbing the PDA from her pocket, she briefly looks at it, and then handed it to Carrie in the back.
“See if you can figure this thing out while I try find out where the frak we are. We have to get Panther here back to Commander Adama. Hopefully the Galactica is at home port.”
Patting the purring cat in her lap with one hand, Kara muttered to it; “I sure as frakking hell hope you haven’t recorded all the conversations I’ve had with you over the years.”
"Okay" Carrie said, slightly unsure of what she was meant to be doing with the PDA. Pressing random buttons she glanced over at the CAT and frowned. "Think he'll know what to do with this? I have no idea what the whole vibrating things about...I didn't do too well at this sort of thing in college..."
Kara smirked. “Me neither, and I don’t think Panther will be much help in figuring it out. As far as he’s concerned, he’s just a regular housecat." Kara scratched panther behind the ears. “We have to get him back to Commander Adama; he’ll know what to do with it. I have Caprica in visual range. If Galactica’s not in home port…” Before she could finish, the comm crackled to life.
“Unidentified craft, this is Captain Spencer of the Galactica. Please Identify.” A pair of Vipers flew up, one appearing on either side of their small craft.
Kara smirked, “Well that answers that question…” Kara activated the comm. “Galactica patrol, this is Lieutenant Thrace of Caprica Flight Academy. Tag Id 3745Delta. We have important business with Commander Adama. Confidentiality is imperative.”
There was a long pause then, “Identity confirmed. We will escort you in.”
Kara breathed a sigh of relief; “Well, at least they didn’t shoot first. Don’t be alarmed, but we’ll probably have a welcoming committee when we arrive.” She glanced behind her to see that Carrie understood.
The Galactica came into view quickly. Kara followed the escort craft towards the port bay. A young voice soon came in on the comm, "Lt. Thrace this is Galactica, you are cleared for landing on port bay, hands on approach.”
“Roger that Galactica, I have the ball.” Kara glided the craft into the bay, settling it down gently on one of the lift pads, which immediately began to descend. Upon reaching the flight deck, several armed personnel greeted them.
Carrie sat up a bit in the back of the plane and watched as Kara guided the craft into the hanger bay. "Wow!" she said. This was the first time she had landed on the Galactica. She was normally on the other, more 'modern' battleships.
“You stay here on the deck. It will look less suspicious if I go alone. I will get panther up to Commander Adama and get us a shuttle home.” Kara picked up the CAT and descended the ladder to the flight deck.
"Great," Carrie said as she pulled herself out of the tiny area she had been sitting in and climbed down the ladder to the bay floor. She collapsed into a corner and watched as everyone hurried around, Vipers landing and taking off. This is where I want to be, she thought to herself...
Kara was just about to the stairs when she realized she had forgotten to grab the PDA Turning back, she went over to Carrie to retrieve it.
“You going to be okay here?” She smiled at Carrie, “I won’t be long”
Carrie tossed the PDA back to Kara. "I'm...great, yeah. Just carry on. I'm fine…" She frowned and quickly said, before Kara could walk away, "You gonna tell Adama about Lee? ‘Cos I'm guessing that’s not gonna go too well."
Kara sighed. “Yeah, that’s one reason I want you to stay here. I’ve known Adama most of my life. He’ll take it better if I break it to him alone.” Kara turned and headed back to the stairs, disappearing to the upper deck.
The PDA continued to vibrate in Kara's hands. She finally opened it.
“Username” and “Password” were the only words on the screen. Kara punched in Apollo as the username, and then attempted to figure out his password. She tried his mother’s name, his tag number, and his brother’s name. No luck. “Frak,” she muttered, running out of ideas. “Username: Apollo; Password: denied; Password hint: Rain Goddess.” Kara’s eyes went wide and she almost laughed in spite of herself. She punched in the proper password. “Access Granted,” flashed on the screen.
“Text message from Apollo: Kara, if you’re reading this, I’m likely dead. I’m sorry.” Kara stopped in her tracks, choking back a sob that so desperately wanted to escape. “The following is a directory list of available options, including where to find my latest mission brief. Dad doesn't know about the mission. Panther, however, is no longer Colonial property. He's our family pet. Yes Adama KNOWS everything. How do you think we always got caught. Download a copy of the data to your own PDA, and surrender Panther to Adama. Hold onto my PDA; you'll need it later.”
A display of options appeared on the PDA. One of the options was, “CAT Options Menu. 1) Remote View CAT; 2) Call Command; 3) Download File; 4) System Diagnostic; 5) Format Data.” There would be a time to mourn later. Kara grabbed her PDA and set about downloading the recon information from the CAT. She quickly tucked away her PDA and downloaded the data to Apollo’s as well. With a slight hesitation, she selected the option to format the CAT’s memory, leaving it just a housecat once more.
Just then, she reached the door to Commander Adama’s office. She knocked softly and waited for a reply.
(to be continued)