Word Count: 953
Date:04/07/05
Series: One
Rating: T
Category: Relationships
Pairing/Focus: Kara, Helo
Warnings:
Summary: Starbuck
& Helo develop a relaxed/relaxing relationship. Mainly Kara talking to
Apollo about events post- Kobol's last gleaming though
Spoilers/Disclaimers: own none
of the characters or concepts and am making no money off this
Married officers quarters, Battlestar Galactica, ships morning.
Kara Thrace cuddled up next to Helo's hard bodied warmth and relaxed. It was still a while before either had duty, so she could be sleeping but wasn't. Truthfully she enjoyed the feeling too much, the peaceful glow of being warmed by a comfortable man in her bed.
Flashback
"Why Helo?" Lee had asked. Clearly thinking `Why not me?'
"He's comfortable." She had replied truthfully. "And he seems to feel the same about me."
After what was always referred to as `the unfortunate events at Kobol' a lot of deep thinking had been done and much had changed. In particular the anti-fraternization rules had been abandoned, an endangered species needed to be encouraged to breed after all.
"You're not in love with him?" Still the puzzled, hurt tone. "How can you do that with someone you don't love?"
"I loved Zac with all my heart and soul, and I couldn't bear to hurt his feelings."
Came the response. "Helo loved Boomer from afar from the moment he saw her, finally makes his move, and she's a fraking CYLON."
There had been a moment of silence.
"So you both gave up on love, it that it?"
"Your only brother DIED because I loved him. I couldn't be a ruthless enough bitch to drop him from flight school so HE DIED." The short blonde pilot looked up at her superior officer with a focused stare intense enough to burn a hole through a Cylon Basestar. "Helo and I can talk about it all without it feeling like our guts are being torn out. He's a warm, comfortable friend."
"Who has a pregnant ex-girlfriend in the brig and will never love you the way I…"
"DON'T SAY IT LEE!" The screaming voice was probably audible back on Caprica. "Don't ever say it. Sooner or later I'm going to die out there and you will have sent me there because you're the CAG and that's your job. It'd be better if you learned to hate me, it'll hurt less."
Reinforcing military traditions had been another of the post-Kobol changes. The tradition of acceptance that the military had no right to challenge civilian control of them being the obvious start, and the tradition that only the Commander of the Air Group – CAG – had a right to give orders and assignment to pilots another. As commander of the Galactica Adama had NEVER had the right to give Starbuck orders, let alone keep sending her off on missions he thought up himself. Maybe if he hadn't been allowed to get away with so much he might not have started acting like a feudal baron and wound up in the life station with two bullets in his guts…
"If you are so certain I'm sending you to die, why keep going?" Starbuck's would have been brother in law asked. "You could have any number of other postings."
Galactica had been stripped of all but the minimum personnel in preparation for becoming a museum ship when the Cylon's attacked. That and the casualties meant anyone with remotely applicable experience was being recruited from the civilians and promoted rapidly.
As an academy graduate Kara would probably have been promoted out of her viper already if she could just keep her insubordinate mouth shut.
"It was something Boxey said."
"Boxey?" For a second Apollo tried to think of a pilot callsign Boxey. Was it one of the new ones just out of training?
"The kid Boomer picked up on Caprica when she traded Helo for Baltar."
"Oh." And indeed he did remember him now. "The boy you've been looking after since, ah…"
"Since we blew his rescuer and adopted mother out the airlock without a spacesuit for being a genocidal chrome toaster in disguise, yeah." The short blonde closed her eyes at a memory before continuing.
Tyrol was different now too, `functional within acceptable limits' was probably the best description of the executed individuals long time lover. He had buried himself in his work and seemed set to stay that way.
"So, what did he say that was so motivating?" The CAG continued. "Must have been quite a speech."
"Mom."
"What?"
"He called me Mom." Kara finally said. "And here I was trying so hard for the `totally irresponsible but fun older sister' job. I don't think he realised he said it."
There was silence again for a while. What could he say to that? Well at least it explained where fun, exasperating, disciple problem Starbuck had gone and where this newly serious individual in front of him had come from.
"I have to go." And she had.
End flashback
Starbuck was drifting between sleep and wakefulness when a hand shook her shoulder. She turned to see Boxey with a worried expression and a schoolbag in his hand. He was old enough to have personal quarters assigned – with the crew shortage living quarters were not in short supply – but mainly lived here.
"Can you help me with my maths homework, I have to send it tomorrow and I'm stuck?" Schooling had re-started, mainly by correspondence, it was too much expense and security risk to bring the children together every day for classes. "I brought coffee?"
"Ok, you talked me into it."