Word Count: 2,092
Date: 9/24/05
Series: Season 2
Rating: M+
Category: Relationship
Pairing/Focus: Helo/Sharon, Lee/Kara, Adama
Warnings: Slightly violent bahvior directed at Sharon. But
written well before I saw Pegasus.
Summary: Galactica comes across an inhabited planet and Adama
lets the crew take some well-deserved time off.
Spoilers/Disclaimers: Through Final Cut; These characters
aren't mine. I just play with them. And make them do smutty things.
Apollo entered the Briefing Room and without ceremony began speaking to the waiting pilots. "The landing party has returned from the planet. It has been confirmed that the planet is Cyprion."
He paused, giving the pilots the chance to react to the idea of the legendary Cyprion, pleasure planet of the gods. After a significant length of time, he raised one hand and barked, "Okay, listen up!"
He waited for the excited murmurs to die down. "There are approximately 8,000 people on the planet. They have no weapons and no interplanetary transport, and the President has decreed that anyone wishing to take refuge in the fleet may do so. Once everyone is registered, we will begin bringing them aboard the ships. We've posted a duty roster for the next seventy-two hours. *Everyone* will be on duty for a minimum of twenty-four hours during that time." He paused, expecting the groans and grumbles that news caused. He pretended to check his notes, unable to contain a half- smile as he continued, "And everyone will get twenty-four hours of R&R on the planet as well."
He grinned as the room erupted into raucous cheers and shouted over the din, "Dismissed!" He gathered his notes and stepped away from the podium, leaving the Briefing Room.
Kara caught up to him with a playful bounce to her step. "So, Captain, when do we get off this bucket of bolts? Please tell me we're first on the list."
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and in a stern voice replied, "Don't you think senior officers should defer to their hard- working pilots and wait their turn?"
"No, sir, I think senior officers should get to pull rank and get some frakking R&R before we rip the heads off the other pilots."
"A good officer knows how to control those impulses," he said in his best supercilious tone.
She glared at him. "And here we have me controlling that very impulse right this minute. Can I get some R&R now?"
The sound of stomping feet warned them to separate as Hotdog and Kat came running down the corridor, both whooping with happiness. "First rotation, baby!" Hotdog yelled as he ran by.
Lee shot a grin at Kara. "I recommended to the Commander that senior officers have the last shift." He began backing away as soon as he said it.
"Apollo, you son of a bitch, what were you thinking?" Eyes narrowed, she advanced on him.
He shrugged, struggling to contain his laughter, but carefully speeding up to keep her from reaching him. "Just looking out for my pilots. As a good officer would."
"We're going to be short a good officer in about two seconds," she growled and broke into a full run.
Lee laughed and ran ahead of her, avoided oncoming traffic with hastily thrown apologies. When he reached the officers quarters, he ran across the top of the bench in the middle of the room and turned to face Kara, swatting at her with the sheaf of papers in his hand. She snatched the papers out of his hands and tossed them across the room.
Lee held up one hand. "Starbuck, if you kill me, you'll end up in hack and never make it to the planet at all."
She halted, tilting her head to the side and squinting. After a moment of thought, she said, "Totally worth it" and reached for him.
Lee shook his head and pretended to cower. "Don't hurt me, Starbuck."
"Don't worry, I'll make it quick," she said, hands curling around his neck.
"Good. Because we have some packing to do." Grabbing her wrists, he pulled away, dropping and flopping backward into his rack.
Thrown off-balance, Kara fell forward and landed on top of him. He let go off her arms and she scrambled to sit upright, straddling his hips and frowning down at him. "What do you mean, we have packing to do?"
He grinned up at her and clasped his hands behind his head. "Oh, just that the Commander decided we should be here to supervise retrieval of the planet's inhabitants, which is scheduled to begin in thirty-six hours, so we *have* to take first rotation. Transport leaves in twenty minutes."
She squeezed her eyes shut. "I *love* the Commander." She opened her eyes and glared down at him. "You, on the other hand. . ."
He smirked and quirked one eyebrow at her. "Yeah?"
She shifted against him and his smirk abruptly disappeared. With a wicked grin, she flexed her hips against his again and leaned down to whisper in his ear, "You. . ."
He closed his eyes, struggling inside against the pleasure he shouldn't be feeling with his friend. "What?" he rasped.
She squeezed her thighs together, rolling her hips in a slow circle, and it took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to groan aloud. She chuckled low in her throat and whispered, "You. . . owe me a drink for frakking with me."
With that, she sat up and rolled off of him, swinging her feet to the floor and pausing to glance down at him. She gave the obvious bulge between his legs a friendly pat and said, "You have less than twenty minutes to take care of that," and with another laugh, she left him lying stunned in the rack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Gods, I needed this," Kara said on a sigh.
Lee, basking in the light of a real sun, opened one eye to peer at her. She was reclining on the white sand of the Cyprion beach in a pose mirroring his own - propped on her elbows, legs stretched out before her, face lifted to the sun. His other eye popped open to see the relaxed, contented smile on her face. He stared at her, a warmth that had nothing to do with the Cyprion sun spreading through him.
"Lee?"
"Hmm?" he replied, still not taking his eyes off her.
She opened her eyes, absently taking a bite of the fresh, local fruit she had sitting in a dish on her stomach. "How long do…?" Turning her head towards him, her voice trailed off as her eyes met his. She swallowed and smiled, puzzled. "What?"
He blinked. "What?"
"You were staring."
"I was?"
"Yes, you were, " she said, finishing the last bite of fruit.
He chuckled a bit and shook his head. "Maybe it's just that I'm not used to seeing you anymore without murder in your eyes."
She sat up, setting the dish aside. "You try training these boneheads."
"Hey, my hands are full enough with you."
"Yeah, you *wish* you had your hands full with me," she said and flicked a handful of sand at him. Before he could react, she jumped to her feet and ran laughing towards the waves breaking on the beach, pealing off her tanks and running shorts as she went.
Lee scrambled to his feet and, quickly pulling his tanks over his head and shucking his shorts, he took off in pursuit of one laughing, mocking lieutenant. She stood thigh deep in the water, challenge on her face, and as he neared her, she swept both arms in a huge splash, spraying him full in the face with cool seawater. He shouted and kept running towards her, hopping a small wave to tackle her before she could splash him again. The force of his tackle and the receding wave took them out a couple of yards and they came up together, sputtering with laughter and clinging to each other.
Keeping one arm around Kara to prevent her from being swept away from him, Lee wiped the water from his face with the other hand. "Oh, my gods, this water's cold."
Kara looped both arms around his shoulders and shook the hair out of her face, grinning when he recoiled from the droplets. "Afraid of shrinkage?"
Swaying with the tide, he raised one eyebrow, determined this time not to let her embarrass him. "You mean so it would be the same size as most men's?"
She grinned, raising her own eyebrows at him. "Apparently, the ego matches the call sign."
"You didn't think they gave me that name because of my flying, did you?"
Throwing her head back, she laughed in delight. A half-smile on his face, Lee let his eyes drop, admiring the smooth, glistening skin of her throat and continuing down to where the water lapped at her breasts , a brief touch of regret flashing through him that she was still wearing a support tank. He blinked and jerked his eyes back to her face. Gods, he never looked. He'd seen Kara naked more times than he could count, and though he was aware on a basic level of what she looked like, he'd never violated the no staring rule. Then again, she'd never straddled him and rubbed against him like she had earlier.
A strong wave pushed against them, and Kara clung tighter to him, wrapping her legs around him when her feet got swept out from under her. Lee gripped her tighter, bracing his strong legs against the pull of the wave. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her body pressed against his, and an unbidden rush of need sang through his body at the sensation of her breasts, nipples pebbled from the cold water, rubbing against his chest. His hands dropped to her hips and he tried to subtly put some distance between them.
Kara leaned back, tightening her legs to keep their pelvises together. She pressed her lips together to contain a smile and waggled her eyebrows at him. "Kind of got a hair trigger going there, don't you, Apollo?"
He looked towards the heavens and heaved a sigh. "It's been a long time, Starbuck."
"How long? Because based on this…" she said, shimmying her hips against him, and he had to clench his jaw to prevent a moan from escaping, but nothing could stop his erection from surging eagerly towards her. Her grin broke across her face. "Based on that, I'd say you were a 17-year-old nugget who'd never gotten laid at all."
He walked a few steps into shallower waters and unceremoniously dumped her into the ocean. "Like I said, it's been a long time. Let`s leave it at that." He continued towards shore but halted when the waves were at waist level. Hands on his hips, he wait for his arousal to subside, trying to think of anything but Kara's soft, wet body moving against his. Which would be easier if she had the decency to leave him the frak alone.
She appeared at his side, plastering a sober and very fake helpful expression on her face. "You know, Lee, I bet some of the native girls would love to help you with that." She nodded towards the beach, which was dotted with couples, mostly pilots and natives. In the few hours they had been there, the natives had shown themselves to be quiet free sexually, and it hadn't been unusual to see a couple wander away from the beach seeking privacy. Or to see some forgo the privacy all together. "Have you noticed how friendly, not to mention easy, these people are? Plus, I`ve yet to see an ugly one."
"I've noticed. And I don't think it would be proper for the CAG to take advantage of the locals."
"Proper?" She snickered. "Lee, if you're not careful, that stick's going to get permanently stuck up your ass."
He slanted a look her way. "I don`t think there`s much likelihood of that with you around."
She stared straight ahead, nodding wisely. "I knew I had a purpose in life."
She peeked at him out of the corner of her eye, and they both broke into laughter. She nudged his arm with hers. "I'm going for a swim. Are you okay now?" she asked, looking towards his pelvis with a cheeky grin.
He looked down. "Look at that. All gone."
"Good. I was worried for a minute there that I'd have to take care of that thing myself."
With that and a cackling laugh, she turned and dove into the ocean, leaving Lee with his mouth hanging open for the second time that day.
And it was quite a while before he was able to leave the water.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helo, carrying a tray laden with food, waited for the guard to open the door to Sharon's cell and nodded his thanks as he entered. Sharon, who had been lying on her cot, sat up with a small welcoming smile.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, putting the tray on the table in front of the cot.
"Better."
"Any more pain?" He handed her a set of cutlery wrapped in a napkin.
"No, no pain."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm fine, Helo. Stop worrying."
"Hey, this is our first baby. I'm supposed to be worried. That's my job as the father."
Her head tilted to the side as she regarded him for a long moment, a tiny smile playing at the corner of her mouth. "First?" she said finally.
He nodded. "Yeah, why not? We could work on that boy next time."
"Don't you think we should see how this one turns out first?"
"She's going to be perfect," he said with complete confidence. He indicated the food with a nod. "So eat up. You need your strength." He paused, wondering. "I mean, do you need to eat?"
"We can go longer than humans without food, but we do need to eat. And I've been starving lately."
He grinned. "That's my daughter demanding to be fed."
"Just as long as she doesn't have your sweet tooth," Sharon said and dug into her food. She noticed the second plate on the tray and sent him an inquiring glance. "Are you staying?"
"Yes. If that's all right?"
She smiled. "Of course."
The two ate slowly, talking quietly, both trying to pretend that having a pregnant Cylon in a cell guarded by two burly men was nothing out of the ordinary. Once they were done eating and Sharon had satisfied their daughter's appetite by stealing half of Helo's food, he moved the tray out of the way and pulled out a Triad deck.
"Wanna play?"
"Aren't you on duty?"
He shook his head, opening the pack and pulling out the deck. "I'm on twenty-four hour leave as of one hour ago."
"Twenty-four hours? Why so much?" She took the pack from him and began expertly shuffling and dealing the cards.
"I guess the Commander decided everyone needed a break."
"I hear that."
"Plus, this'll probably be the last inhabited planet we'll see for a while," he said absently while arranging his cards.
Sharon looked up sharply from her own cards. "It's inhabited?"
"Yeah. There's about 8,000 people down there."
"Helo, what's the name of this planet?"
"It's Cyprion." He grinned. "Ancient paradise of the Gods. From what I'm hearing, it's beautiful, with *very* friendly natives - "
She dropped her cards and stood. "How many of our people are down there, Helo?"
He frowned and stood as well. "I don't know, we're taking shifts. Why? What's wrong?"
She marched over to the door and lifted the receiver, motioning to the guard to do the same. "I need to speak to Commander Adama."
Helo followed her to the door. "Sharon? What's going on?"
Sharon stared at the unmoving guard. "Did you hear me? I need to see the Commander."
"Sharon, talk to me!" Helo stepped in front of her. "Tell me what the problem is."
"Helo, everyone on the planet is in danger. Have the guard get Adama and I'll tell you everything. Just hurry."
Helo took the receiver from her. "You heard her. Relay a message to the Commander. Now!" He waited for the guard to comply and then took Sharon's shoulders in his hands. "Now would you tell me what the frak is going on?"
"If I'm right, that's not Cyprion. It's a Cylon laboratory."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lee, sitting in the shade of a large palm tree at the edge of the beach, watched as Hotdog followed a young, scantily dressed native girl into the jungle. Part of him wished he weren`t the CAG and could be free to indulge in the local pleasures. The other part knew he probably wouldn`t have anyway. Though he could fully understand the other pilot's need to relieve the mind-breaking tension of the past few months, casual sex had lost its appeal for him a long time ago.
And then there was Kara.
He wished he knew what the hell was going on with the two of them. He'd been telling himself for months now that she was his friend, the woman his brother was going to marry, someone in his chain of command, anything to stop the thoughts that kept creeping in on him at odd moments. It didn't help that Kara, who obviously had no problem with casual sex, seemed to enjoy tormenting him lately. It was getting damn hard to think of her as just a friend or fellow pilot. He'd thought of trying to find someone else in the fleet, to do what Kara had done and be with someone else. Lords knew that he had plenty of offers. There were perks to being the CAG of the only thing keeping the fleet safe.
His eyes drifted to the lone figure slicing through the water and as usual, the idea faded before it could even really form.
As long as this . . . thing existed between them, no other woman held any real interest for him.
A peal of laughter drew his attention to a giggling Kat being chased into the jungle by not one but two tall, bronze skinned Cypriots. He smiled, glad to see her relaxing and enjoying herself after what she'd been through. With a heavy sigh, he let his head drop back against the tree and, lulled by the soft, warm breeze coming off the ocean, he felt his eyelids grow heavy and he closed his eyes to rest them for just a second. Minutes later, he was asleep against the tree.
The sound of a ship powering down its engines woke him. With a start, he opened his eyes and looked toward the noise to see a Raptor sitting nearby. He frowned. The next shift wasn't due down for another fifteen hours. Rising to his feet, he quickly strode to the Raptor, scanning the area and noting the location of four of his pilots as he went. He looked towards the ocean, but there was no sign of Kara. By the time he reached the ship, its hatch was opening and Racetrack stepped out.
"Aren't you a little early?" he asked.
She sent a nervous look around the beach. "I was sent by the Commander, sir. I'm supposed to give you these," she said, handing over a set of printouts.
"What's this?"
"They said I shouldn`t talk about it aloud, sir," she said in a low voice.
Eyes widening, Lee quickly began to read the directive from his father. "Oh, frak," he whispered as he turned to the second page. Once done reading, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, thinking quickly. He squared his shoulders, opened his eyes and nodded towards the four pilots still on the beach. "You get those four. Tell them there's been a viral outbreak on Galactica and all pilots have been recalled to CAP duty. Tell them lift off is in ten minutes. No exceptions."
Still looking nervous, Racetrack nodded.
"It's going to be fine, okay?" He waited for her to take a calming breath. "All right, I'm going to find Hotdog, Kat and Starbuck. If we're not here in ten, take off without us. We still have the other Raptor."
Trusting her to take care of the pilots on the beach, he headed for the spot he has seen Kat enter the jungle, hoping she hadn't gone too far. He paused upon entering, allowing his eyes to adjust to the relative darkness. He blinked at the sight of Kat on her hands and knees between the two men she'd entered the jungle with. With a slight shake of his head, he whirled around to face the other direction.
"Kat."
He heard one of the men groan in protest when she stopped what she was doing, so he figured he had her attention.
"We've been recalled. Raptor leaves in six minutes."
The sounds the three were making suddenly increased in intensity.
"Kat!"
"Yes, sir?" she panted.
"Six minutes!"
"Got it."
"You need to come now."
He rolled his eyes when he heard a giggle from Kat. There was a prolonged masculine moan and then Kat sighed, "Yes, sir." Seconds later, she appeared, tugging her clothes back into place, her complacent grin dying at the look on his face. "Bye, boys," she said quickly and took off for the Raptor.
"Kat, wait." She halted and looked back over her shoulder at him. "Do you have any idea where Starbuck went?"
"The last time I saw her, she was with you."
Clenching his jaw, Apollo nodded. "Okay, get back to the Raptor."
He found Hotdog coming out of the jungle with his arm wrapped around a very satisfied looking woman. Since Hotdog was also unaware of Starbuck's whereabouts, Lee accompanied him back to the Raptor. Lee leaned into the open hatch to look at the four pilots waiting with Racetrack.
"Do any of you know where Starbuck disappeared to?" Lee's face tightened when they all shook their heads no. "Okay, I'll find her. The rest of you get the hell off this planet."
He stepped away and banged twice on the hull. Racetrack lowered the hatch and Apollo watched the Raptor take off. As soon as it was away, he turned to scan the beach again, worry beating a hole in his chest. He spotted his and Kara's clothes still lying in the sand, so he gathered them up, sliding his shorts and tanks on, his eyes continually searching for any sign of her. He was just about to start raiding every one of the locals' houses lining the beach when a speck of green on a sand bank to the far right of him caught his eye. He ran towards it, recognizing it as Kara's support tank as he neared. He picked it up and continued up and over the bank, finding black panties over the crest. He scooped them up and aimed for the sound of rushing water, hoping this was what had drawn Kara. He rounded a boulder and stopped abruptly, eyes widening.
"Oh, my gods," he whispered.
He had found a small clearing with a crystal clear pool of water surrounded by lush green foliage and a sharp rise of rock from which water cascaded, gushing over several smaller outcroppings of ragged rock and sliding down one large boulder, worn smooth by the falling water.
And lying there on the boulder was Kara.
Naked.
Eyes closed, she had one arm curled above her head, and Lee could see rivulets of water glistening on her pale skin, and he watched, mesmerized, as water slid over the hard, pink tip of her breast. She shifted one leg and suddenly he saw her hand moving between her thighs, rubbing herself in slow, gentle circles, and what little air Lee had left rushed from his lungs.
Kara's eyes drifted open and she smiled, a soft, sensuous smile of welcome that zipped right through his body.
"Mmm . . .Lee. I was just thinking about you."
~~~~~~~~~~~
Commander William Adama stalked into the cellblock where the Cylon was being held and motioned sharply for the guard to open the cell. Helo and Sharon stood as he entered the cell, and Sharon scrambled backwards as soon as she saw the look on his face. Helo shouted as the Commander pursued her into a corner of the cell, but two guards took him by the arms and held him back. He watched in anguish as Adama raised one hand and latched onto Sharon's throat, shoving her with a loud crash into the mesh of the window.
"Apollo and Starbuck didn't return from the planet with the others," he said in his deceptively low voice.
She said nothing, but the fear in her eyes increased dramatically.
Adama tightened the hand around her throat. "How many Cylons are down there?"
Her breath hissing through her lips, she shook her head. "I don't know."
He pulled her forward and slammed her back , making her head smash against the mesh.
"Commander!" Helo protested, straining towards them.
"How many?" Adama ground out.
"I don't know!" His grip tightened again and her hands flew up to his wrist. The other two guards jerked their rifles up to aim at her. She heard the clicks as they cocked them and sensed Helo struggling against his guards, and she dropped her hands. Her eyes pleaded with Adama as she panted, "I don't know. I've never been to the planet, I've only heard about it."
He relaxed his grip the smallest amount. "What have you heard?"
"I've told Colonel Tigh everything I know."
"And now you`ll tell me. I want everything about this place, no matter how insignificant you think it is. Everything. Understand?"
She nodded.
His lips tightened and with some effort, he removed his hand and stepped back, motioning to the guards to lower their weapons and release Helo. Sharon, keeping a wary eye on Adama, held Helo off with one hand as he rushed to her side. "I'm okay, Helo."
Adama sat in a chair and waited as she warily sat in the chair opposite him. "Talk," he commanded.
"It's a laboratory, a training ground for the humanoid Cylons. It's kind of the flip side of the farms Kara found on Caprica." Her eyes jumped briefly to Helo, realizing that he hadn't heard this part before. "I told Kara they would have matched her with someone she liked if she had agreed to it. It's where they study human sexuality."
"How do they study it?"
"They put two humans together and observe their behavior. Or one of us would be sent in to interact with the human." She looked again at Helo, but he avoided her eyes, face tight. "They also experiment with drugs."
"Drugs?"
"Fertility drugs. Aphrodisiacs, chemical and organic. Pleasure enhancers. Anything to do with human sexuality and procreation."
"To what purpose?"
"To honor God's commandment. To be fruitful and multiply."
"To multiply? You're trying to *exterminate* our race."
"We study you to learn, to find the secret to human life." Her hand came to rest on her stomach. "Which we have."
His eyes dropped to her belly, and her other hand joined the first, protectively cupping her still-flat stomach. Helo stepped to stand behind Sharon, taking her shoulders in his hands and watching the Commander with as much defiance as his military training would allow. Adama took a breath and raised his eyes to Sharon's face. "But not without our help."
She shrugged.
"And if they've captured Starbuck and Apollo?"
"They might . . . test them."
He stood. "How many Centurions are on the planet?"
She stood as well, backing into Helo apprehensively. "I don't know."
He stepped closer, eyes narrowed. "How many like you?"
"I don't know."
Lips pressed together, he stepped closer, making her press harder against Helo. "How many?" the commander said, his voice rasping.
Sharon took a deep breath and straightened away from Helo, staring hard into Adama's eyes. "I said I don't know. And it doesn't matter, because if they know you're here, you can bet the others know and they're on their way now."
"How long do we have?"
"I don't know. I don't have that kind of access anymore. But you can waste your time trying to get information I don't have, or you can go find them and get the hell away from here. Stay here and you`ll all die."
Adama regarded her with a hard eye and she returned the stare without flinching. "Lieutenant?" he said, not breaking eye contact with Sharon.
"Sir?"
"Continue to interrogate the Cylon. Go over everything she knows a hundred times if you have to."
"Yes, sir."
"I'll be in CIC. Let me know if you learn anything new."
"Yes, sir."
Adama started to turn away and paused, pinning Sharon with a hard stare.
"If they die, you die."
Ignoring the sound of protest Helo made, Adama strode out of the cell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lee, realizing that once again he was standing with his mouth hanging open, snapped it shut. He attempted to avert his eyes from all that pale, gleaming flesh, but since that seemed rather futile, he continued to look, committing this moment to memory for later reflection. And had she really said she was thinking of him? While she.oh, gods no, he couldn't think about that right now.
"Kara, we have to go. Now."
"Oh, I don't think so." She moved in a lazy stretch, and he drew in a deep breath as her hand trailed across her stomach and one finger came to play on her breast, lightly flicking the distended point.
"Commander's orders."
"Frak the Commander," she said mildly. Her eyes widened and she laughed. "No, actually, you should frak me."
"Some . " His voice failed him and he had to clear his throat before he could finish. "Some other time. Right now, we need to leave."
She shook her head, still playfully grinning at him.
He held her clothes out. "Starbuck, come here and get dressed."
"Make me."
*She`s been drugged. She`s been drugged.* It became a running litany in his head. "Lt. Thrace, your orders are to get dressed and report back to the Galactica."
"I'd much rather you get undressed and report over here," she said, patting the smooth rock next to her hip.
Okay, orders weren't working. He decided to appeal to her ingrained hero impulses. "Kara, most of our pilots are sick. The fleet is practically defenseless right now."
He breathed a sigh of relief as she sat up and slid off the boulder. She submerged herself and with a few strong kicks, crossed the small pool. She stood, raising her arms to slick back her wet hair as she walked towards him. Lee swallowed, hard, and kept his eyes trained on her face. He offered her clothes to her again and she took them, tossing them aside as she closed in on him.
He backed up a step. "Kara, the fleet needs you," he said, a slight tinge of desperation in his voice.
"And I need you," she breathed, reaching for him.
Lee's pulse pounded through his veins as Kara pressed her nude body against his. She slid her hands up his arms and across his shoulders, and his hands hovered in the air around her as he tried to find a safe place to put them to push her away. But then she clutched his head in both her hands and pulled his mouth to hers, and all rational thought fled from his mind, replaced with pure sensation.
Her mouth, warm and sweet, opened aginst his and a tiny, helpless moan sounded in his throat as he let her in, tasting her for the first time, and oh, gods, it was better than anything he had ever let himself imagine. Without conscious thought, he wrapped his arms around her waist, hauling her even tighter against him, needing to feel her as close as possible. She made an approving sound and rocked her hips against him, rubbing against the hardness there, making him groan with pleasure. He felt her hands grasping at his tanks, trying to pull them up and off, and a small sliver of reason returned to him. He took hold of her arms, pulling her hands away, and eased his mouth from hers.
"Kara, we can't."
"Why not?" she asked, chasing his mouth with hers and capturing him in another mind-numbing kiss.
With an almost pained groan, Lee wrenched his mouth from hers and buried his face in her neck. "Kara - ," he said, but she wouldn`t let him finish.
"Lee, I want you. Now." Her mouth opened against the sensitive flesh of his neck and she sucked lightly.
"Oh. Gods." He shuddered against her, breathing hard. He held her still and put his mouth near her ear, speaking softly and hoping if the Cylons were watching that they wouldn't be able to pick up what he was saying. "Kara, there are Cylons on this planet."
She stiffened. "What?" she asked in her normal clipped voice.
"Intel from Sharon."
"Frak me," she whispered. "How many?"
He shook his head. "Unknown. But we need to get off this planet. Now."
She nodded and he let her go, stepping back and turning away to let her dress. Closing his eyes, he stood with his hands on his hips, taking deep breaths and willing his body to calm down.
"What, no shoes?" Kara asked.
Lee looked over his shoulder, and thank the gods, she was covered. But he had the definite impression she had been looking at his ass. Which he was going to ignore and not think about at all. "I didn't exactly have time to go pack," he said. "Ready?"
She nodded and they turned as one to walk towards the beach and the second Raptor, both adopting a nonchalant stroll while Lee kept a constant watch of their surroundings. Kara moved closer to Lee, close enough that their arms brushed as they walked. He looked sideways at her and his breath caught in his throat at the heat still in her eyes. She smiled and her eyes flickered in a slow burn down his body and back up.
"Stop that," he muttered.
She laughed, a low, throaty chuckle that made him want to forget all about Cylons and danger and duty and just toss her on the ground and frak the hell out of her. Right there in front of all the Cypriots who - he looked around again - really didn't seem to care what they did.
"So what would the Cylons want with a planet like Cyprion?" Starbuck murmured.
"It`s some kind of training camp," he said quietly.
"For what? How to get laid?"
Lee, who hadn't wanted to get into that yet, just grimaced slightly.
Kara`s mouth dropped open. "You're shittin' me."
"No, apparently they're studying human sexuality."
Kara looked at him from under her eyelashes, a small smile playing on her mouth. "A few more minutes by the waterfall, and they would have had something for their textbooks." She waggled her eyebrows at him and then cackled with glee when his eyes widened at her.
"Kara - "
A movement beyond Lee's shoulder caught her eye, and her smiled vanished. She pulled Lee to a stop, stepping in close and resting her head in the curve of his neck. She squeezed his waist in a silent signal, peeking over his shoulder at the figure standing in the doorway of one of the bigger houses lining the beach.
"What's wrong?" Lee demanded in an urgent whisper.
"I see a Cylon," she whispered back. "And he knows me."
"He?"
"His name is Simon." She paused and her fingers flexed against his side before she continued in a flat voice, "He's the one who fixed me when I was shot."
"And the other scar?"
"Yeah, that'd be his work too."
Lee tensed, every instinct shouting at him to kill the Cylon bastard, but Kara shook him slightly. "Lee, don't."
He nodded, and keeping their arms wrapped around each other and Kara's face hidden against him, they continued towards the Raptor. They reached it and entered it at a near run. Once inside, Lee motioned Kara to navigation and slid into the pilot seat himself. He fired up the engine and quickly put a headset on, punching a button to initiate the comm system.
"Galactica, this is Apollo."
After a tense moment, Dualla's voice came back to him. "Apollo, Galactica. Go ahead."
"Galactica, I've found Starbuck. Lift off in forty-five seconds."
"Confirm that, Apollo. Galactica out."
"Let's get the frak out of here, Apollo," Kara yelled from navigation.
"Copy that," he said and the Raptor lifted off the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Commander," Dee said, "Apollo and Starbuck are en route to Galactica, ETA thirteen minutes."
"Prepare the fleet to make a jump." Adama said to Gaeta. "We go as soon as they're on board."
"Aye, sir."
"Contact!" All eyes turned to Dualla. "Dradis contact, multiple signals."
Gaeta rushed to his console. "Cylon raiders incoming, bearing zero- seven-zero carom three-four-eight. They'll be in weapons range within three minutes."
"Launch alert fighters," Tigh commanded.
"Have the fleet commence the jump, Lt. Gaeta," Adama ordered.
They watched the monitors as Vipers met Raiders and ships in the fleet began blinking away, hearing the comm chatter as Galactica's fighters held off the Raiders.
"Dualla, how long until the Raptor is aboard?"
"Nine minutes, sir."
Starbuck's voice came over the comm system. "Galactica, this is Raptor 1. We have incoming Cylon raiders on an intercept course. Taking evasive maneuvers, but we may be a little delayed."
"Acknowledged, Raptor 1," Dee replied.
"Sir," Gaeta twisted around to look at Adama. "There's a Basestar."
Adama and Tigh exchanged a look. "We can't hold off a Basestar that long," Tigh said in a low voice.
"Oh, frak me!" Everyone looked towards the monitors as Starbuck's voice came over the comm system again. "Apollo, we have two incoming missiles, now!"
"Copy that," Apollo said. "Launching Swallows." After several tense moments, Apollo added, "Missiles neutralized."
"Commander, all ships have made the jump," Dee said.
Never taking his eyes from the monitors, Adama said, "Recall all Vipers. Prep for jump."
As Dualla sent the recall message, they all heard Starbuck`s frantic shout, "Apollo, two more missiles. Launch Swallows now! Now now now!"
"We only have one left. Launching Swallow."
"Lt. Gaeta?"
Gaeta swiveled around to look at Adama. "Sir?"
"Can the Raptor make the jump to the next coordinates?"
"Yes, sir, it's within the Raptor's capabilities."
"Transmit the coordinates to the Raptor and tell them they're to jump immediately."
"Yes, sir. Transmitting coordinates." He swiveled back around and punched several buttons on the console.
"Galactica, we have the coordinates, '' Apollo acknowledged.
"Apollo, that missile's right on our six. Get us out of here now!" Starbuck called.
"Executing ju-" Apollo's voice was abruptly cut off and the Raptor's signal disappeared from the monitors.
Adama looked to Gaeta. "Did they jump?"
"Unknown, sir."
Dualla spoke up, "All vipers are aboard."
Adama`s eyes scanned every inch of the monitors, looking for any sign of the Raptor. When none could be found, he clenched his jaw and said, "Execute jump."
In seconds, the Galactica had jumped away. As soon as they reached their destination, Adama turned towards Gaeta, who studied the Dradis monitor carefully, checking each ship of the fleet as it popped onto the screen.
"Lt. Gaeta?"
Gaeta turned and met Adama's eyes. With sympathy on his face, he slowly shook his head.
TBC