Dark Rivers Of The Mind
by Minna Toivonen (mikrito@hotmail.com)

Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to me. No profit is being made from 
this story.

Prologue

He opened his eyes. The room was quiet, dark. The only sound came from the
engines of the ship. The low, continuous, hypnotizing hum that he had
gotten so used to he barely noticed it any more. The man didn't see much in
the darkness, but then again there wasn't much he wanted to see. He knew
every inch of that little room. Every tiny detail of the metallic
nothingness that so depressed him.

The eerily luminous figures on the timepiece next to his bed showed that it
was the small centars of the night. Oh,how long it always seemed until
morning-cycle came and chased the shadows away. It was not the sun that lit
up the world with golden warmth and freed him, like back on Caprica. Here,
deep in space there was no light. Only stars, mere glimmer. Here, freedom
was not the light, but the life that surrounded him. The intensity of
reality.

During the day-cycle he felt safe, powerful. He felt almost happy. Almost
like all other beings. No. Stronger than others. Much stronger.

But veiled in these dark nightly shadows, his world had a mind of its own.
In the night, time stopped and brought all hidden nightmares to life. And
killed everything else.

Sometimes he wished that they had placed him in a dorm, like most other
patients. At least in there, during these sleepless nightmares, he could
have found comfort in the soft breathing that would echo in the darkness.
He would be aware of the others, real people, in the room. In this place,
he was surrounded by ghosts. shadowy dreams. Dark rivers of the mind.

He was special, they all kept analyzing. Saying he needed to be isolated
for the time being. They tried to tell him that the privacy was for his own
good. Oh, but he knew all the lies. He saw deeper under the surface than
anyone else.

And he knew there was never any real privacy. He was never alone. They were
constantly observing him. Analyzing him. They just wanted to create an
illusion of isolation to monitor how he would react. Okay. He would play
along. For now. He would do it so faultlessly because he was powerful. He
was invincible.

And lately, well, they had come to trust him a little more. He was finally
allowed an occational visitor. And they all came. One by one. Frightened,
curious. Ready to fly out of the room as soon as he would make one false
move. Oh, but soon relaxing, feeling almost comfortable in his company.
Charmed. Like in the past. They all came, except…

Yes. That all was very easy in the middle of the daytime intensity. But
then, unavoidably, it always arrived. The silence. The horror of emptiness…
or what should have been emptyness but wasn't. The monsters of the night. .
He knew he would never be free.

Chapter 1

"It's beautiful!" Starbuck reluctantly turned his gaze away from the
star-filled space and glanced at Apollo, who was leaning against the wall
near the wal-com units. "I still can't believe we actually found Earth!"

"Hey, calm down Starbuck!" Apollo was smiling. "We don't know if it's
Earth…."

"Well, what else can it be…" Starbuck looked out of the window again. "It's
blue, it's shining, it's… Earth-ish…"

Apollo laughed.

Starbuck kept his eyes on the planet. "And don't forget the solar system is
identical to the old drawings and maps we found on Caydra. I'm ready to bet
my sectar's pay that it's earth!! And you should know I don't like to
lose…especially when it comes to losing money!!" Starbuck heard Apollo's
soft steps approaching him from behind. He felt a familiar, soft touch on
his shoulder. Starbuck glanced at this beautiful, dark man, his lover, and
smiled. "Besides, have I ever been wrong about anything before…"

"Alright, alright…" There was great amusement detectable in Apollo's tender
voice. Apollo kept his eyes on the mysterious, enchanting planet, that had
appeared in the Galactica's view only four centons ago. "Come on then, you
wizard. The sooner we head off on our scheduled patrol, the sooner we will
find out what we are dealing with here…" Apollo pulled Starbuck by the
sleeve of his flight jacket. "Let's find Boomer!"

* * *

It had started three sectars ago.

Caydra was the worst place in the star system Starbuck could think of.

Caydra was isolated. Located at the far side of the star system Câ, it was
at least seven hectares away from all the other planets. Not even a moon
circuited in its orbit. Caydra was a grey, uninviting place that
unexpectedly provided the occational visitor with enormous energy sources.

The Galactica had led the colonial fleet accross the Câ system in mere
fifteen days. The fleet was about to enter a new world. A system, that no
one had any previous information on. And then they had arrived on the
surroundings of the desolate Caydra.

The bridge officers of the Galactica had become aware of the great kogas
deposits, the wonderful energy supplies on the planet through long range
scanner readings. After the gathering of the Council of the Twelve, it was
decided to make the planet Caydra the final stopping point before entering
the new star system. To acquire fuel and to prepair the fleet better to
face the unexpected that might lie ahead.

Patrols were sent down to gather as much material from the energy reserves
as possible. But oh sagan, how Starbuck hated the mission from the very
first micron his viper landed on the dull planet.

* * *

"Oh frack! I wish it would stop raining for even a micron!!" Starbuck
grimaced and tossed his rucksack into the landram. "How long have we been
down here anyway?…Two sectons?" Starbuck took off his rubber jacket that
was used for shielding against wetness. "And not even once has it ceased to
rain on this sagan forsaken planet!!!"

"Well, you better get used to it Starbuck!" Apollo shouted from behind the
landram. "We still have at least a secton left!"

Starbuck frowned and wiped the mud off his boots before climbing the few
steps into the landram. "Great! A secton! I'm already starting to rust!…"
Apollo's head peeked from behind the vehicle. "Oh, excuse me Starbuck but I
thought the brownish colour of your skin was suntan…" Apollo grinned. Then
his head disappeared behind the landram again. "After all, it has been only
three sectars since we were enjoying the sunshine of Cerigta!" A flock of
startled grey varjas flew off from the near-by bushes as Apollo walked
towards them to fetch a tiny radiometer. "I must admit I miss that place…"

"Hey, Apollo…" Starbuck shouted from inside the landram. "Where do I put
these…whatever these babies are..?"

"Kogas, Starbuck. They're Kogas! We are lucky to have found them actually."
Apollo's steps echoed near the landram door. "Put them in that glass
container, near the alpha scanners." Apollo wiped his boots and stepped
inside the vehicle. His eyes lingered on Starbuck for a micron. Apollo
couldn't resist a smile. Starbuck's wet rubber uniform had glued onto him
like a second skin, not leaving much to the imagination. Not that Apollo
needed imagination when it came to Starbuck's body. Apollo had learned to
know every tasty inch of that masterpiece…

Starbuck combed his wet hair back with his fingers and straightened his
back. "Oh felgercarb! This mission is my worst nightmare. What's so special
about the babies anyway? We have enough solium to carry our ships through
the next seven star systems…"

Apollo put the radiometer on the table and took off his boots. "Yeah, but
the kogas are safer to use than solium. And when exposed to high
temperature, they melt into liquid form that is at least three times as
powerful. A very usable source of energy, but unfortunately, very rare and
hard to find." Apollo took off his jacket and walked over to give Starbuck
a kiss. "I think we have done enough research for one day!" Apollo smiled
and squeezed Starbuck's hand. "Let's head back to the camp!"

* * *

"Frack! It's HOT!" Boomer grimaced and placed the spoon back on the plate.
"I'm not touching that stuff for at least another fifteen centons! I value
my taste receptors too much!" Boomer looked up at Giles, who was
uncharasterically quiet. "The soup burned your tongue already, did it?"

Giles glanced at Boomer. "Sorry buddy. I'm just fed up staying in this
place."

"Well, who isn't!" Boomer sneered.

"And I miss Kadeem." Giles continued softly, referring to his beautiful,
civilian boyfriend.

"I don't think we've ever been apart this long before. It's just… a bit
hard." There was such a forlorn look in Giles' eyes.

"Yeah…" Boomer felt a sting in his chest. He missed someone too. Terribly.
But he forced the thought out of his mind. He wasn't ready to talk about it
yet. Not to Giles anyway.

Boomer put aside the blanket and stretched. "…But for now, we don't have
much choice, so why not try to make the best of it." Boomer stood up.
"Ouch! My legs are killing me! I'm definately getting too old for all this
camping…"

Giles kept his eyes on Boomer. "Where are you off to?"

"Just fetching a drink from the tent. Be back in a micron."

Boomer walked over to the largest tent and disappeared inside. Giles kept
staring at the fire. The pale sun was beginning to drop and oh, how Giles
hated the freezing, damp, grey nights on Caydra. The wind was rustling in
the leaves of the jalav bushes around their camp. They made such a strange,
sort of a hollow sound…

* * *

Apollo glanced at the horizon and the pale sun that had painted it with
cold colours. "It'll be dark in two centars." Apollo kept his eyes on the
descending sun.

Starbuck was humming quietly as he drove the landram along the muddy paths
of the dying, yellowish meadow. "We'll easily reach the camp before that."
Starbuck paused humming as he struggled with the muleheaded gearbox of the
landram. "Come on…come on… don't play games with me now… Hey, did you
inform Boomer and Giles that we were on our way?" Starbuck glanced at
Apollo. "I want a delicious hot dinner ready and waiting for me when we
arrive" Starbuck's grin was audible in his voice. "That's the least I
deserve after putting up with all this felgercarb."

Starbuck pretended to look horrified as he glanced at his reflection in the
wing mirror. "This much moisture is definitely not good for my handsome
looks!!"

Apollo gave a little laugh. Starbuck eyed him warmly.

"Well did you?" Starbuck repeated his question. Apollo looked at Starbuck.

"Did what?

"Use the communicator to call Boomer and tell him to prepair the dinner."
Starbuck grinned.

"It was short on power, Starbuck. It wasn't working when I tried." Apollo's
eyes found their way to the horizon again. The colour of the sun seemed
even colder than centons ago.

"What felgercarb is that!! We are in the middle of the greatest energy
deposits in the universe and our communicator is short on power!!…"

A sudden jolt chucked Starbuck and Apollo backwards in their seats.

"What the frack?.."

The landram refused to move another millimetron.

Apollo frowned. " I can't believe this…"

Starbuck looked at Apollo eyes wide. "What?"

Apollo kept his eyes closed. "We got stuck in the fracking mud!!"

Apollo climbed out of the landram. The freezing, damp wind played with his
shaggy dark hair and made him shiver as he walked around the vehicle. "It's
the left rear wheel. It's buried pretty deep!" Apollo shoved his hair away
from his forehead and shielded his eyes to see better in the drizzle.
Starbuck reached his side.

"This place is cursed!"

* * *

"Turns my flesh into goose pumps…" Boomer sat back down on the mat next to
Giles. "That sound. It's somehow dark and eerie." Boomer drank straight
from the bottle. "I wonder…"

Giles kept staring at the fire. "It's getting kinda late. Shouldn't the
others be here by now…"

And there it was. Hanging in the air, invisible. The immense worry they
both had tried to suppress to the last. Boomer put down the bottle. Neither
of the men said another word. The only sound was the fire cracking and the
hollow sound of the jalavs.

* * *

"It's no use!" Apollo wiped his forehead. "It's not moving even a fraction
of a millimetron!"

Starbuck straightened his back."Fracking piece of junk! This thing should
have been destroyed along with the colonies…"

"Calm down Starbuck" Apollo touched his friend's arm. "There's not much we
can do now. Either we spend the night in the landram…"

"Sounds like fun!" Starbuck mumbled ironically. "I'm starving. There are no
primaries!"

"…or take a chance and try to walk back to the camp. It can't be further
than three or four metrics away…" Apollo was looking at Starbuck. His eyes
sparkled for a micron. "Might even turn out to be kinda romantic…"

"Great, even better! Just my idea of a romantic stroll in the starlight.
Ploughing through mud that must come up to our knees at least. Holding
hands while fighting our way through the wind and the rain with a smile.
Yeah, very romantic…"

"Do you have any better suggestions??" Apollo let go of Starbuck's arm and
sighed. The sun was now half way disappeared. The drizzle had become a
little more icy and made it hard to see further than two metrons.

Starbuck cast a yearning look towards the twilight sky. Very dim stars were
beginning to appear. "Just to think I could be on the Rising Star right
now, winning a fortune and enjoying a bottle of the finest ambrosa they can
find on that piece of metal." Starbuck shoved his wet hair away from his
face. "But instead I'm down on this felgercarb of a planet, rusting and
definately losing sevens yahrens of my youth. This is just not fare!"
Starbuck shook his head. "Oh, why for sagan's sake did I ever decided to
join the military…"

"Things could be worse." Apollo kept his eyes on the setting sun a micron
longer. Then he turned to go. "Well, I'm heading back inside the landram…"

Starbuck didn't answer.

"Are you coming?" Apollo looked at his friend, surprised that he hadn't
received any kind of response.

Starbuck didn't move.

Apollo followed the direction of Starbuck's stare…

* * *

The sun hovered above the horizon much too long as if it wasn't going to
drop out of sight at all. Then suddenly, it just vanished. Like it had
never been there. Darkness veiled everything. Grey darkness that concealed
all colours.

Boomer was pacing relentlessly between the campfire and the vipers.

"Felgercarb Boomer, there'll be a track the size of the cylon empire if you
don't stop doing that!" Giles was lying on the ground, his arms behind his
head. "I'm becoming exhausted just by looking at you trotting. Calm down!
I'm sure there is a logical explanation why they haven't returned yet.
Maybe they just decided they want to spend some quality time together…"

"They would have contacted us!" Boomer cut in. "Stop babbling Giles, you
just make me even more nervous!"

Giles gave a fatalistic sigh and closed his eyes.

"I can't believe you're not in the least worried" Boomer kept his eyes on
Giles.

"Of course I'm worried, Boomer. I'm worried as frack! But you are not going
to help the situation by giving yourself, and me, a heart attack." Giles
sat up. "Oh felgercarb! It's starting to rain again. I'm off to get some
sleep." Giles wrapped the blanket tighter around him. "Try not to bump into
the jalavs bushes when trotting Boomer. It's kinda dark…"

Giles stood up and walked to the big tent and opened the zipper. He yawned
just before vanishing into the tent.

Boomer kept on pacing.

* * *

"What is it?" Apollo narrowed his eyes trying to see better in the
darkness.

"I have no idea!" Starbuck whispered. "But we are about to find out! It's
approaching us!" Starbuck took a hold of Apollo's hand. "Let's get the
frack away from this place!"

"How, genius?" Apollo's voice was sarcastic. "The landram is stuck in the
mud and I don't think we have much a chance in hitching a ride…"

Starbuck didn't answer. He couldn't take his eyes off the little boy that
had appeared from the ditch bank like a ghost, and was now standing only
half a metron away from them. It had red eyes.

* * *

"We're out of mushies!" Jolly's head peeked from the red tent. "One of us
has to fly back to the Galactica tomorrow. There's no way I'm consenting to
eating those half a yahren old K-biscuits!" Jolly's head disappeared into
the tent again. "I'll volunteer…"

"You would, wouldn't you." Sheba was putting out the campfire. "Well,
you're not the only one ready to jump at a chance to get out of this place
in a micron. We'll decide tomorrow who's going." Sheba wiped her hands on a
grey tissue. "Besides, we wouldn't be out of mushies so soon if you hadn't
devoured them like a daggit." Sheba picked up the grey matresses they had
been sitting on and started towards the tent where Jolly already was.

Greanbean followed her carrying the solium heaters.

They had camped to the south-west side of Caydra, about 2090 metrics away
from Boomer's camp. They had already stayed there about a secton and two
days, but their kogas findings had been surprisingly weak. Doctor Wilker
had advised them to move further to the west, after scrutinizing the latest
scanner readings.

Sheba stepped into the tent. "Hey Jolly, you better check those gamma
air-humidifiers and place them about 25 millimetrons away from the kogas
containers."

"Sure, lieutenant." Jolly started towards the equipment. He raised one
eyebrow "But if you ask me, this is ridiculous. We are in a place that has
air humidity up to at least 500 sektors, and you are worried about
humidifying…" Jolly stopped and his his jaw dropped open. "What the
frack!…" The glass containers were broken. All of them. "How in the names
of sagans…"

Greanbean walked over to Jolly's side. He had noted something. "Hey Jolly…"

The kogas liquid was flowing out from the broken containers.

"How in the names of the lords can it be liquid??" Jolly stared at the
black fluid. He noticed a metallic launcher. "Let's get the frack out of
here!! It's going to explode!!!"

* * *

"K^ycêd?" The child kept his curious, unflinching red stare on Starbuck and
Apollo. "R^sÂJ?

"I'm very well thank you. And how is your family?" Starbuck rolled his
eyes. There was no way of understanding what the boy was saying. They had
never heard such language spoken anywhere else in the other star systems.

The boy raised one eyebrow. "F^RuaÛsh!! Â~hqÊ!!" His voice seemed somehow
impatient. Almost furious.

Starbuck couldn't look away from the glowing eyes. "Umm… Hey Apollo.
Hitching a ride doesn't sound like such a bad idea after all…"

Apollo didn't answer. He didn't remember how to create words.

The child obviously decided it was useless to communicate with such dumb
beings and turned to go. He scornfully glanced at the imbeciles once over
his shoulder right before suddenly disappearing into the bushes growing in
the ditch bank.

"Hey!" Apollo shouted. "Wait!"

Starbuck eyed his friend shocked. "Why for sagan's sake do you want that
little devil to stay here and make life even more difficult than it already
is?"

"Don't you see Starbuck!" Apollo's voice was impatient. "The boy could have
led us to a community where we could have gotten help with the landram."

"Oh yeah! Well, what are you waiting for then!! Catch the little nuisance!"
Starbuck grinned as Apollo gave him a glare! "I promise to give you mental
support."

"Shut up Starbuck and let's go." Apollo took a hold of Starbuck's sleeve.
"Let's find the boy before he gets too far away."

Starbuck rolled his eyes. "Here we go again! Don't you ever get tired of
all the adventures, Apollo…"

"This is not an adventure Starbuck." Apollo was already on his way. "This
is propriety!"

* * *

Jolly, Greenbean and Sheba flew out of the tent.

"Quick! Dive behind the landrams!! Jolly was just about to slip in the mud.
"HURRY!"

Jolly's voice drowned in the deafening detonation. The lanscape exploded
into thousands of flashing colours. Ravenous flames reached their deadly
hands towards the stars…

* * *

"Do you see the little bugger anywhere?" Starbuck wiped his forehead.

They were rushing along a narrow, muddy path that was mostly covered with
wet, slippery jalavs leaves.The icy drizzle had ceased but the wind had
picked up, turning the air even more freezing, numbing the limbs and
vaporizing the breathing.

"No!" Apollo tried to see something in the grey, misty darkness. "He
just…vanished."

"Well, good for him." Starbuck mumbled. "Why don't we keep it that way and
find our way back to the landram." Starbuck halted. "Besides, he didn't
really look like he would come from a community of nice and helpful beings.
Those red eyes scared the pogees out of me…"

Apollo glanced at Starbuck and sighed. "Maybe you're right. There's not
much of a chance finding him in this darkness anyway." Apollo took one more
glance at the misty covered meadow. "But it was strange though…"

"What?" Starbuck was already leaping his way back.

"Well, apart from those eyes, he looked so human…" Apollo's voice was
thoughtful.

"Come on Apollo. Looks can be deceiving. Lupuses look like cute little
daggits, but I sure wouldn't want to bump into one… Especially right now…"

"Yeah…" Apollo turned to stride after Starbuck, who had almost disappeared
in the mist by now. "Hey wait up!"

Someone grabbed a hold of Apollo's shoulder...

* * *

Chapter 2

"Apollo?!?" Starbuck got no answer. He couldn't see anything in the dark,
grey mist. "Stop playing games, Apollo. I'm not amused." Starbuck took a
couple of hesitant steps back towards the misty meadow. "When I catch you
there'll be frack to pay you daggit!…"

Nothing but the unpleasant squeal of the wind.

"This is not funny!" Starbuck tried to fight back the arising panic.
"Please, Apollo. Say something…" Only silence.

* * *

The place smelled like frack! A nauseating, sharp scent hovered in the air.
A man was sitting in front of Apollo, drilling his unmoving, red stare into
Apollo's eyes.

"^fr^Sãj^G H^vo¨dk." The man spoke with a high-pitched, strained voice that
seemed somehow unnatural.

Apollo remained in silence, keeping his eyes on the man.

"D^thd¨vF^wk??" The man inclined his head a little. A friendly gesture if
only the eyes wouldn't have been burning like fire.

"Where am I?" Apollo asked, more of himself than the person in the room.

The man didn't respond. Oh lords, the way he never looked away. The man
didn't even blink.

Apollo swallowed. "You mind telling me…"

"You are a warrior, aren't you?"

Startled, Apollo turned. The red-eyed child they had met in the meadow had
entered the room without making any kind of sound. "Are you going to kill
us?" The child remained standing halfway between the door and the chair
Apollo was placed to sit in.

"Now, why would I want to do a thing like that??" Apollo tried to keep his
voice normal.

"Well, you are a warrior, aren't you." Like the man, the boy didn't blink
either. "Warriors are machines that are trained to kill. That is what my
father has taught me."

"I had no idea you were able to speak my language…" Apollo stared at the
boy.

"Why didn't you speak to us when you met us by the ditch?"

The boy looked impatient. "Well. of course I didn't speak your language
back there, I didn't have my translator."

"Well, of course…" Apollo wanted to slap his forehead ironically.

The man gestured something to the little boy. The child's lips curled up to
a little smile.

"I feel sorry for you, mister… warrior."

Apollo swallowed. "What's going on?…"

The boy kept smiling. "You are about to be transferred into a defferent
dimension of existence, mister warrior."

Apollo stared at the boy. "Oh?…"

"My father is about to kill you, mister warrior." The expression on the
boy's face was almost cheerful. He turned and walked out of the room,
slowly closing the door behind him.

* * *

Giles dozily opened his eyes to find Boomer kneeling beside his mattress.

"They' re still not back, Giles." Boomer's expression was very grave. "We
are going in search of them. So get dressed."

"Oh Boomer…" Giles gave a fatalistic sigh. "And what are you going to do if
we find them in their landram, in the middle of…"

"Shut up Giles. Let's go!" Boomer handed Giles the brown uniform jacket. "I
already fetched the landram. It's right outside the tent." Boomer was
already going. "Hurry up!"

* * *

Starbuck had gone back into the landram and was now desperately trying to
force the communicator to co-operate. "Nothing works in this sagan forsaken
paradise!" Starbuck rolled his eyes. "What have I done to deserve this…" It
was much too dark to search for Apollo now. Starbuck would have only gotten
lost in the haze himself. "Please sagan, If you exist somewhere…I know I
never kept my other promises to you but this time, if you just help us out
of this felgercarbish situation and bring Apollo back to me, unharmed, I
promise that I will, really, give up all the gambling, drinking and
swearing. I promise…"

Starbuck threw the communicator back on the landram seat and buried his
face into his palms. The desperation he felt was undescribable and it had
nothing to do with his own unpleasant situation. It was all because Apollo
had disappeared.

Until now, Starbuck hadn't really minded being stuck in the mud and all the
other felgercarb…Errr, actually… yes he had minded, a frack of a lot! But
compaired to what he was feeling now, the previous confrontations seemed
like a holiday in one of those beach resorts on Caprica!

A greenish jovl was crawling slowly up the landram windshield. Starbuck was
convinced it gave him a malicious look. "Keep your thoughts to yourself,
you slimy little devil. I hope one day a crawlon walks up to you and has
you for a tasty dinner…" Starbuck rolled his eyes. "Great. Talking to
myself is obviously the first sign that I must be losing my mind…" Starbuck
climbed out of the landram. "…And talking to slimy little jovls is
definately the second!"

There was a weak sound. Starbuck stopped to listen. His heart leaped into
his throat. It sounded like…

* * *

"By the lords of Kobol!" Greenbean stared at the destruction of what used
to be their camp. "Thank the lords we are all unharmed!" Greenbean placed
his arm on Sheba's shoulder and smiled warmly at Jolly. "But how in the
heavens…"

Sheba's face was pale. "Someone here doesn't like visitors…"

Jolly turned to look at the other two. "But how in the names of sagans did
that someone get past us. We haven't been that far from the camp all day."

"Oh frack!" Greenbean frowned. "Every means of communication we had was
inside that tent!"

"Oh well, at least our vipers are still in one piece." Jolly forced a grin.

"At least now we have a good reason to return to the Galactica…"

"Avâdsï g^Fsa."

A little boy had appeared behind them.

A boy that couldn't have been more than five yahrens old.

The boy with the blazing red eyes.

* * *

Apollo had a hard time remaining conscious surrounded by that awful scent.
Sagan it made him nauseous…

The strange man had left the room about five centons ago. He hadn't said
anything, just stood up and left, right after the little boy. Now it was
only the scent that was keeping Apollo company… And a pounding sound that
seemed to come from somewhere below. The sound made Apollo think of the
possibility that he wasn't the only prisoner in that nightmarish place. But
the pounding… It was a little too rhythmic…

A squeak. Apollo turned.

The man was standing by the doorway. Smiling.

He was holding a sledge in his hand.

* * *

"BOOMER!!!" Starbuck roared.

Surprised, Giles and Boomer turned to see Starbuck rushing out of the
bushes.

"I could almost say I have never been as happy to see anyone in my entire
life…" Starbuck was out of breath as he reached the landram where Boomer
and Giles were standing, holding flashlights.

"Umm, Starbuck…" Boomer raised one eyebrow. "What where you doing in those
bushes…?"

Starbuck gave Boomer a glare and Giles grinned.

Starbuck's glare turned to a smile. He put his hand on Giles' shoulder and
reached out to pull Boomer closer. Starbuck closed his eyes as he gave them
both a tight hug. "Thank you for coming." Starbuck's voice was for once,
completely sincere.

"Where's Apollo?" Boomer detached from the embrace and looked around. "We
didn't interrupt anything, did we? I mean you hiding in the bushes and
all…"

"Idiot." Starbuck's face turned red. "Is that all you think about…"

Boomer grinned.

Starbuck's face became serious. He looked at both Boomer and Giles. "He's
missing. I have no idea where he is."

Boomer eyed Starbuck. "You better start from the beginning…"

* * *

Apollo took a dive and avoided, in microns, the hit from the sledge.

The man groaned with frustration.

The door had remained open. Apollo ran towards it but the man was faster.
He blocked the way and approached Apollo with a terrifying blaze in his
eyes. The pounding from somewhere below seemed to have grown louder. It
made Apollo's head ache. The horrible smell made it difficult to
concentrate.

The sledge came down again. This time it missed Apollo only by
millimetrons. By the lords of Kobol, the man seemed to become more and more
furious and vicious with every failure.

Apollo moved backwards, keeping his eyes on the man. Frack, a wall! Apollo
was cornered and the man was coming closer.

He raised the sledge… "~QsÖjg^Wbê!!!!!!!" Suprised, the man turned.

A blond, beautiful woman had appeared standing by the door. Apollo's jaw
dropped open.

The woman stepped into the room. She was breathtaking. Well, she would have
been if there hadn't been those awful eyes… They were black! So black they
looked like two holes instead of eyes.

"G^zgf." The woman walked closer to the man.

The door had remained open. Apollo eyed it, hoping…

The woman was now in front of the man, but she was somehow too close. She
seemed to be halfway inside the guy.

Apollo squeezed his eyes shut for a micron and then opened them again. He
hadn't been hallucinating. The woman was still standing half inside the
man, her hand on his cheek. Speaking quietly. Her voice was just the
opposite of the high-pitched, strained squeak that the man had. The woman's
voice was abnormally low, like the hum of a turbo engine.

The man was obviosly going into a trance. His red eyes were slowly closing.

The red blaze in the room was dying.

The woman kept on speaking. Her black eyes created a shimmer on the man's
face.

Apollo stared at the open door. It was now or never. He ran like a lupus…

* * *

The boy smiled. His eyes seemed to glow brighter than the flames of the
destroyed camp.

"Are you warriors?" The boy looked intrigued.

"Who are you?" Sheba eyed the boy closely. "How do you know what we are?"

"My father wants to meet more warriors." The boy seemed to be fighting back
laughter. Sheba kept thinking it was really weird. Greenbean wasn't really
looking at the boy, but the destroyed camp.

Jolly took two hesitant steps towards the child. "Hi son. I'm Jolly. What's
your name?"

"Don't talk to me that way." The boy's eyes burned Jolly's.

"In what way, my son." Jolly felt puzzled.

"Like I'm some kind of a mental retard." The child's face was pale now.
Almost colourless.

But the eyes turned Jolly's heart cold.

"Where can we find your father?" Sheba asked the boy.

The child smiled, pleased. "Follow me, warriors." He gestured to Sheba,
Jolly and Greenbean.

"My father will be very happily surprised to meet more warriors. He just
loves warriors."

Sheba flinched. "More?… You mean…"

Jolly took a hold of Sheba's arm. "We better go with the boy."

* * *

Apollo dashed out of the room. He didn't take time to turn to look back and
check whether the woman and her monster husband had noticed his escape and
were coming after him. He just had to find a hiding place as fast as
possible. Or get out of the damn place…

Apollo dashed through a filthy kitchen and grimaced as he banged his leg on
a chair or something. Feverishly Apollo eyed around the decaying dining
hall that connected the kitchen with unclean turbowashrooms. There had to
be a place to hide. "What a dump!" Apollo kept mumbling as he ran. He saw
crawlon webs all over the place. A couple of rat-like dardars pattered
accross the dining room floor.

A door. Almost unnoticeable. Apollo dashed towards it and pulled it open. A
cloud of dust made him cough and blinded him for a fraction of a centon.
Apollo glanced behind. There was no sign of the man or the woman. Quickly
Apollo pinched his way into the narrow corridor that was all covered with
crawlon webs and closed the door behind him.

* * *

"This is no use." Giles was driving the landram along muddy paths. "We
can't see a thing. We probably wouldn't even notice if Apollo was
hitch-hiking a couple of centimetrons away from us. This misty darkness is
like a blanket."

"Well, I'm not giving up!" Starbuck kept staring at the dark landscape
without seeing a thing. "We must find him!"

Boomer gently touched Starbuck shoulder. "We have much better chances in
finding him in the daylight, Starbuck."

"I'm not giving up!" Starbuck kept his gaze on the invisible darkness.
There were tears in his eyes.

* * *

The boy stopped. He suddenly looked horrified. "My father lost him!" The
boy's face turned to a grimace of disappointment. His eyes slowly changed
colour until they were like two black holes. "My mother… she interfered."
The child turned to look at the others. "I have to go…"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Sheba felt a sudden emptiness in the bottom of her
stomach. "You can't just leave us here. We have no way of finding our way
back." She hesitantly started towards the boy. "We don't even have any kind
of light. Our camp must be metrics away…"

The boy snorted. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Your camp is 2000 metrics to
the west…"

"How…how…" Sheba gasped.

"Besides…" The boy stared at Sheba, arrogantly. "…Have you already
forgotten that your camp is destroyed?" The boy grinned. "It was me! I
burned it!" He laughed.

Sheba fell totally speechless. Jolly and Greenbean stared at the little
monster, horrified.

"I'm so sorry, warriors, but you will have to be patient and…meet my father
some other time." The boy grinned and waved. "I have to go now and kill my
mother. She was never supposed to…interfere."

The child vanished so smoothly. Leaving Sheba, Jolly and Greenbeam
surrounded by inpenetrable Darkness.

* * *

Apollo tried to see something in the narrow hallway. The dust made him
cough constantly. And how he hated those crawlons. Little monsters. Oh
sagan. He had to find a way out fast.

"^Fhs^fd…"

The noise seemed to come from behind him. Quickly Apollo turned, ready to
fight for his life. There was no one. The corridor was deserted. Apollo
started running. He lost count how many times he hit his head on the low
ceiling of the hallway. "If I ever get out of here..." Apollo snorted.
"Starbuck won't be able to recognize me due to all the bumps on my head.
I'll probably look like one of the borays…"

"^Ha~crut^Ys…"

It was closer, but there was no telling from which direction it came. "Keep
on running buddy!" Apollo forced his way forward.

And then he saw the glow of red and black.

* * *

"STOP!" Jolly dashed to the front of the vehicle. He didn't give a frack
who or what was in it, just as long as it would give them a ride back to
their vipers.

"FELGERCARB!!" Giles stepped on the breaks as hard as he could. "That guy
is out of his mind!"

Boomer tapped Giles shoulder. "Hey, it's Jolly… for sagan's sake!"

"In the names of the lords…What the frack are they doing HERE!?!" Giles
couldn't believe his eyes. "Their camp is thousands of metrics to the
south-west!"

Starbuck too, stared at Jolly waving his arms in front of the headlights.
"Don't ask me how, but I think I have an idea…"

Boomer looked at Starbuck. "You do…?"

* * *

The boy entered the narrow corridor. He looked around, his eyes flashing,
but he could see no trace of the warrior. Oh, but the boy knew he was
there. The child could smell him. "I like the way you play." The boy
laughed. "I could almost like you, mister warrior. Your reluctance makes
things much more intriguing." The boy shut the door behind him and started
inching his way along the hallway. Sniffing.

* * *

Jolly told Boomer and the others about their little adventure. "…But I
still can't understand how in heavens did that little devil bring us 2000
metrics up north!" Jolly shook his head. "Now I know I must be on sleep
cycle. Nothing this crazy could possibly happen in real life."

Starbuck was quiet for a while. Then he looked at Jolly. "Remember how
smoothly the little pest seemed to move. And how unnoticeably."

Jolly shrugged. "So?"

"Well…" Starbuck continued. "I saw it move and it really jarred my chips!
It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the pest was able to move great
distances in mere microns…"

"All right, I give you that much. But how…" Jolly's eyes were wide.

Starbuck kept his eyes on the darkness outside the landram window. "Maybe
there is a way to combine your being with other beings. To unite the energy
somehow. Use your abilities as one…I don't know!" Starbuck hadn't smoked
for centars. He would have given ten yahrens of his life for a fumarello,
but just his luck that all the fumarellos were back at the camp. "Us
humans, we have no idea how it happens, but that doesn't prove it's not
possible."

Boomer turned to look at Starbuck, amazed. "What happened to you? Did you
take a course of energy combinement on the Galactica without my knowledge…"

Starbuck laughed a little.

"There's a point." Jolly's voice was thoughtful. "But if you're right
Starbuck, we have a problem…"

Starbuck raised his eyes and looked at Jolly. "If that pest has taken
Apollo…" Jolly paused. "He could be anywhere on this planet."

Starbuck's heart broke.

* * *

Apollo heard quiet footsteps approaching. He didn't allow himself to even
breath. The little monster was much too close.

The moment Apollo had recognized the eerie glow of the boy's eyes he had
started searching for a place to hide with intense desperation. And there
must have been a sagan, because he had actually found one. Quickly Apollo
had crawled into a tiny closet inserted into the wall. His heart had kept
pounding so loud that Apollo had been afraid it would reveal his
whereabouts. Oh please sagan let me fit into that damn closet, Apollo's
mind had kept on praying. And once again, luck had been on his side.

The closet was not actually a closet at all but a cellar. Dark, damp,
stuffy and choch-full of dardars. But in this case, Apollo would have
gladly accepted even a cylon to accompany him.

The footsteps were right outside the door to the cellar.

Apollo closed his eyes. If the boy knew about the existence of this place,
Apollo wouldn't be safe for much longer.

"Mister warrior!" An amused voice called out. "There's no point in hiding…
I know where you are…" The child laughed. "I know you're hiding in the
cellar, mister."

Apollo could here the boy sniffing. Then he saw the handle of the door
starting to turn, slowly.

"Care for some company, mister great warrior." The monster laughed again.
"Ready or not… here I come!!"

Apollo's heart stopped. He couldn't think of any escapade. He was trapped!

THUMP!

A sound of another door being banged open made Apollo jump at least two
metrons in the air.

The knob of the cellar door stopped turning. The sniffing ceased.

"Sh^SDh ^SdjFaf^r!"

A woman's voice.

Apollo's heart leaped to his throat. The blond woman with black-hole eyes…

The child started to scream. A terryfying howl that freezed the blood in
Apollo's veins. And the howling didn't stop. It went on and on until
Apollo's ears began to hurt and Apollo was sure he would soon go crazy.
Apollo sat on the floor, horrified, listening to the dreadful sound for at
least ten centons. He was paralyzed by both fear and relief.

The screaming paused. Apollo's body stiffened. He climbed to his knees and
crawled towards the little door in that tiny cellar. He couldn't hear
anything from the outside corridor. That wasn't good. That definately was
not good! Careful not to make any kind of a sound Apollo crept to the door
and pressed his ear against it. Nothing. Either the child and the woman had
gone, or the child was behind that door. Waiting. Probably grinning…

Alright, buddy. You don't have any choice. Either you remain trapped in
this dump until you're old and grey or open the door and try to escape. You
have to take a chance.

Slowly, very slowly Apollo put his hand on the door handle and turned. He
clenched his teeth together, scared that the handle might make a squeal or
somehing. It didn't. Apollo pushed the door a little more open and bent
slightly forward to take a peek from the tiny gap. And froze!

The child was there. He was eating the neck of the unconscious blond woman.

Apollo could hear the sounds of the feast. Oh lords it made him want to
throw up.

The child had already eaten both of the woman's black eyes. There were only
two holes left. And those holes were not black.

Suddenly the child raised his eyes. He was obviously distracted by
something.

Apollo stiffened. He prayed to sagans that the monster hadn't sensed his
closeness…

No, the boy turned his red stare towards the door of the hallway,
apparently disturbed by something that was happening outside the house.
Apollo had no idea what it could have been. He had not heard any sound.

The boy quickly climbed to his feet. He wiped the blood away from his mouth
with the back of his hand and smoothly moved to the exit of the corridor.
Apollo could hear the child sniffing again.

* * *

"It looks deserted." Starbuck climbed out of the landram. "What a shack!"

The little house looked like it was just about to collapse. It seemed to
have been built from degur wood. There was no glass on the windows. Just
holes. The surroundings reminded Starbuck of the fleet's sanitation ship's
dump. And the smell… by heavens…

"Okay, let's check this place and get the frack out of here." Starbuck was
already loping towards the shack. "The sooner the better!"

"Hey wait!" Boomer shouted. "I have a bad feeling about this… Let's just
keep a low profile first. We don't really know what we are fighting
against."

"Naah, I don't think they, whatever they are, would be stupid enough to
risk anything by keeping prisoners locked in a place like this." Starbuck
tossed his hand. "This place doesn't look very reliable for a prison." He
grinned at Boomer. "Besides, have I ever been wrong about anything before…"

The boy didn't take his glowing eyes off Starbuck, who started walking
towards the little house.

Chapter 3

The little boy had disappeared. Apollo was now alone in the hallway.
Something or someone was definately outside the house. Apollo could hear
voices now. His heart started beating with unexpected hope. Those beings
could help him get out of this prison. But he had to warn them. And soon!
Apollo knew the boy had already made his own plans of taking care of the
intruders.

Apollo ran to the exit of the corridor. He slowly, carefully opened the
door. It squeaked. Apollo gasped. He halted and waited silently for a
centon. Listening…

No sign of the little boy or the strange man.

Apollo slipped out of the hallway into the filthy dining room. It was empty
and silent, except for the little sound of water dripping from a rusty
faucet in the next room. Apollo walked smoothly accross the dining room
into the kitchen. He almost stumbled on a brown dardar that scampered
accross the floor. "Felgercarbish things!" Apollo hissed.

The kitchen looked different. All the closets were open. Shocked, Apollo
stared at the mess on the floor. Someone had pulled down most of the stuff
from the closets and the floor was covered with… Apollo gasped… Weapons.
All kinds of them. From ancient kerosil power guns to enormous axes and
serrated knives. This sure was one frack of a madhouse. Apollo made way
through the scrambled collection of weapons, picked up one of the ancient
kerosil guns and crept to the kitchen door. The rhythmic pounding that
seemed to have come from below the house had ceased. Apollo had no idea
what it had been.

"What the…?" Apollo's foot got caught in something and he found himself
falling flat on the floor. Positive that it had been one of the damn
dardars, Apollo turned to cast an angry look at the little nuisance, but
what he saw was a little brown box instead. The box was filthy and scuffed.
Half hidden under the arsenal of weapons. It must have been pulled out of
the kitchen cupboards along with the other stuff. Apollo crawled to the
little box and picked it up. It wasn't locked.

* * *

The boy kept his eyes on the blond warrior who was walking towards the
house. In his hand the child was holding an axe. His eyes were now totally
black. Just like his mother's eyes had been, but colder. More immobile.

Starbuck arrived at the door of the little house. It was ajar. "Hey,
Boomer! It's open!" Starbuck turned to shout back at the others, who had
remained by the landram. "I'm going in."

"I think you should wait, Starbuck." Boomer said thoughtfully.

Starbuck put his hand on the door knob and pushed. A ghastly smell greeted
him. "Jeeeeez!!" Starbuck coughed. "What felgercarb are they keeping in
this place…"

Something, a presentiment made him turn.

The boy dived from behind the house. His eyes shone like two black-hole
suns and he was holding the axe over his head. The axe looked almost as big
as the child himself.

Starbuck reached for his laser gun… Frack! He didn't have it! It was in the
landram… "Boomer!!!!" Starbuck yelled.

A sound of a laser shot echoed in the darkness.

* * *

Apollo opened the little box. Oh, what disappointment. It contained only
ragged pieces of paper and a brown, worn-out book. All covered in thick,
grey dust. Apollo picked up the book and opened it incidentally from
somewhere in the middle. He blew the dust away from the page and eyed it.
First casually, then again. And again until he couldn't go futher.
Overwhelmed he put the book down and stared into his own thoughts.

This was definately something he had never anticipated to have happened in
the history of mankind. It was much too horrendous. Apollo looked at the
book again. Browsed through a few of the next pages. His face was pale as
snow.

* * *

The little boy was lying on the ground. Blood was pouring from his chest
and his ears. His black eyes had remained open, but he no longer could see
the stars above him. Or mind the icy drizzle that rained on him. He was
dead.

Starbuck could do nothing but stare. He was paralyzed.

Boomer ran to Starbuck, his laser gun drawn. "Are you alright buddy?"
Boomer's breathing vaporized in the chilly air. Starbuck turned to look at
him.

"Once again, you saved my life…" Starbuck's eyes were full of gratitute.
"My brother…"

Boomer put his hand on Starbuck's shoulder. Words were no longer needed.

Jolly and Sheba walked to Starbuck and Boomer. Jolly eyed the shack. "I
think we better search this place..."

Sheba took one more glance at the little boy lying dead on the ground. Even
now it frightened the frack out of her."Yeah. We have to find Apollo!"

Starbuck didn't say anything. Sheba touched his cheek. "Don't worry. I'm
sure he's fine…"

Starbuck's smile was a little sad as he took Sheba's hand to squeeze it.
"He better be…"

* * *

Apollo quickly placed the book back on top of the dusty papers and closed
the box. Then he stumbled to his feet and dashed out of the kitchen. He had
heard the shot of a laser gun. Apollo ran like mad accross the living room
to the main entrance of the little house. He heard the voices better now
and there was no way he could be mistaken.They were…

Apollo threw open the door and flew to the front yard of the little house,
right in front of the extremely surprised eyes of his friends and fellow
warriors.

"APOLLO!" Starbuck cried out. He dived towards Apollo, tears flowing from
his eyes. He embraced Apollo so tightly that the man could barely breath.
"My love…." Starbuck's voice choked on tears.

Apollo's eyes were closed. He wanted to stay in Starbuck's arms eternally.

The rain ceased and the stars shone like diamonds.

But only in the world of Starbuck and Apollo.

* * *

They were driving back to Boomer's camp.

Starbuck had not even once let go of Apollo's hand. He couldn't. They sat
on the back of the landram, lost in each other's eyes. Silently touching
each other's souls.

Boomer was sitting in the front with the others. Nobody spoke much.

Dawn was about to arise.

* * *

The man with the red eyes stood alone in the dark room, still holding the
sledge. His eyes were open but they never blinked. Sunrise was slowly
painting the man's face and his worn-out gown with spectral colours.
Varjas, those little grey birds were starting to sing outside. A melancholy
song that greeted the pale morning. Yellow, fragile rainflowers opened
their petals to receive a drink from the sky. The rhythmic pounding from
underneath the house had begun again, but it was quiet. A huge dardar
pattered over the man's bare feet. The man didn't move. His eyes never
reflected the pale light of the rising sun. Because they were slowly
turning black.

* * *

Back at the camp Apollo showed the contents of the little box to the
others.and told them what he had found out in the haze of that dusty
kitchen, surrounded by arsenal of ancient weapons. The other colonial
warriors were listening quietly. Their hearts sinking with each word.

The book was the diary of the black-eyed, blond woman. She had started
writing it since very early age. Horrified by the secrets of her ancestors.
Searching for escape in those white pages. Yearning for freedom from her
past.

The thirteenth tribe had travelled through the system Câ and made a stop on
the planet Caydra. Only to find it was colonized by hostile govinons,
solitary souls of the universe, leading lives that they knew wouldn't be
accepted anywhere else. The govinons were cannibals, if you can call any
creature, who eats his own brother a cannibal. Barely escaping, the tribe,
once again, left for search of another place. But, tired of running, a few
of the humans stayed behind. And somehow succeeded in establishing lives
together with the vicious govinons.

However. What neither of the races were aware of, was the fact that the
humans were carrying a virus. Harmless to human existence. Deadly to the
govinons. They died of extinction, leaving the humans alone on the grey,
unplasant planet.

Those few humans, who by now were were feeling isolated and discontented
started building satellites, sending messages into space. Constantly
searching for company of some other living beings. And that was exactly
what they got. Cylon company.

Boomer sighed with sympathy.

Starbuck kept his eyes on Apollo, smoking a fumarello, listening to every
word.

"But if the cylons came" Boomer mumbled. "They must have destroyed
everything…"

Apollo put the book down for a centon. "Not this time. Don't ask me how,
but these cylons, who were the original species, not the infuriating
machines we have gotten to know and love…" Apollo grinned. "Those cylons
dicided to spare the lives of the humans." Apollo paused. The others waited
for him to continue. "Because they had a plan of their own…"

The cylons started experimenting with the humans. They wanted to produce a
race. An invincible breed. And they ended up submitting the humans into
reproductive intercommunication with the cylon race.

"Oh lords…" Sheba whispered.

"And don't ask me how…" Apollo looked at the others. "But they succeeded. A
new species was born. Half human, half cylon. And that was what we have now
encountered on this planet. A specimen of that race."

"A race from the depths of hell." Boomer was pale. "No wonder…"

Apollo was quiet for a while. The drizzle made little sharp noises on the
canvas of the tent.

Starbuck took the fumarello out of his mouth and bent a little to reach for
the ashtray. "So, Apollo. You think there are more of those devils left on
this planet…" Starbuck glanced up.

Apollo stared at the ashtray. "I don't know… but…"

The others kept their eyes on Apollo.

"The man… The boy's father. He is still alive…" Apollo's voice was quiet.

"Well, it's his lucky day then, because there is no way I'm going back to
that garden of eden to finish him off. No matter how dangerous he is.."
Starbuck stubbed the ashes into the tray and put the fumarello back into
his mouth. "I just want to get away from this sagan forsaken place as
quickly as possible!"

Apollo smiled a little. A barely noticeable smile. "That was not all…"

The others raised their eyes.

The dusty pieces of paper in the box…" Apollo started. Then he paused.

Starbuck could swear he saw excitement in Apollo's eyes. "Go on!" He urged,
curious.

"They are maps." Apollo's eyes were now sparkling. "Old maps…"

"Of what?" Boomer leaned forward.

Apollo paused again. He looked at them. One by one. Into the eyes. "I think
I know where Earth is."

* * *

They returned to the Galactica after that morning.

Thrilled. Overwhelmed. Confused. And afraid to let their hopes up.

Earth.

The place they had been searching for so long. The place they had dreamed
about. Could it really be that their dreams were finally coming true. They
were afraid to speculate what kind of a place Earth was. What if it turned
out to be a nightmare. What then. There wouldn't be anything else left to
believe in. If the power that had driven them trough star systems turned
out to be a disappointing illusion of happiness and security, they would
have no more hope. No more reason to exist.

And then, what if this mysterious place was not Earth after all.

No, they couldn't allow themselves to hope too much.

* * *

The new co-ordinates were inserted into the control computers of the
Galactica and the fleet entered the new star system. The system that the
map referred to as Escapade.

The drawings showed that there would be nine planets in that system. And
only one sun, which was the center of all circulation. Earth was marked to
be the third planet from the sun. But it was not named. It was only
referred to in the map as Probability.

* * *

Why had the blond woman with black eyes kept the old drawings. Starbuck
suspected that her ancestors had hoped to escape from Caydra and follow the
thirteenth tribe.

They had gathered around one table at the officers' club. Boomer, Starbuck,
Apollo, Jolly and Giles, to spend an intriguing centar of speculation
beside a nice cup of hot grog. Only Greenbean had had to go on patrol half
a centar ago.

"But why didn't they. If they had the map and all…" Jolly was smoking a
fumarello, which he did very rarely.

Apollo eyed Jolly. "I think they were afraid. They knew they descended from
a race that the humans feared most in the universe. They must have been
afraid that the descendants of the thirteenth tribe would automatically
defend themselves before they were to find out about the real nature of
those newcomers. Besides…" Apollo paused. He reached for a K-biscuit from
the wrapping.

"How can you eat those tasteless things…" Starbuck shook his head. He
leaned a little forward as Jolly gave him light for his fumarello. "By the
way, there was something funny about my viper…"

"What?" Giles raised one eyebrow.

"During the turbo acceleration, about ten microns after the take off from
Caydra…" Starbuck was watching the fumarello smoke curling in the air. "…My
com-scan went crazy and gave me disabled megon readings."

"Meaning?"

"I don't know… " Starbuck replied thoughtfully. "…But it showed me that the
weight of my viper's interior space was 51 point 8 betas, which is total
felgercarb! How can the interior weight increase although I wasn't carrying
any extra equipment…"

"Perhaps it was just because of the 500% air humidity of Caydra." Apollo
glanced at Starbuck. "That much moisture can easily affect the com-scan.
Don't you remember I had a similar kind of problem right after we took off
from the ice planet Kalba…"

"You're right, Apollo." Giles nodded. "The com-scans are easily damaged
when predisposed to moisture…"

Yeah, I guess…" Starbuck sighed. "Anyway. What were you saying about the
new race?…"

"Yeah, ummm…" Apollo tried to remember.

"Oh yeah. I believe the ancestors of that blonde woman were regarded as
failures. An unsuccesful result of a powerful experiment. Perhaps, if they
had tried to escape and follow the… footsteps…" Apollo grinned. "Please
excuse me the choice of expression…"

The others smiled.

Apollo continued. "…of the thirteenth tribe, they might have led the
so-called successful individuals to humans. And we all can figure out what
would have been the result of that…"

"Okay guys. It's been fun…" Boomer stood up.

Starbuck raised his eyes. "What's up?"

"I promised to meet someone." Boomer smiled at Starbuck. "Talk to you guys
later."

Starbuck grinned. "Say hi to Cree from me!"

Boomer blushed as he walked out of the officers' club.

* * *

Cree was definately fascinating.

Boomer had liked the boy from the very first micron he had laid eyes on him
at the officers' club the night Lomas had shot himself and Starbuck had
unintentionally broken Boomer's heart by getting back together with Apollo.

Boomer and Cree had kept on meeting occationally, intrigued by each other
after spending such an unexpectedly fun night on the Rising Star. Oh well,
it hadn't been really night time at that point, more like early morning.
But it didn't make any difference on the Rising Star. There was always some
kind of a action going on.

Cree always seemed so unreserved. Open. And yes, innocent. Boomer liked
that a lot. He liked it too much. During these sectons however, Cree had
kept his distance. He had remained a friend, although there obviously were
currents of infatuation circling under that boy's surface, Boomer could
tell. Cree was always flirting with him, touching Boomer by accident.
Letting him know there was definate interest. And then, when Boomer was
about to become physically, and mentally closer, Cree always smoothly,
elegantly, found a way to escape those situations. Boomer was frustrated.
He wanted Cree. He had a crush on the boy. But Cree, very much
intentionally, never gave Boomer a chance to show it.

Boomer stepped out of the elevator and noticed that the boy was already
there, waiting for him in the main lobby of the Galactica. Boomer's heart
picked up pace. Cree looked so cute like he always did. Sagan how the boy
looked like young Starbuck…. Boomer hastened his steps and grinned. Cree
noticed him and waved.

* * *

They were lying in bed together. Athena and doctor Salik.

Athena was caressing Salik's hairy chest, curling the locks around her
forefinger, smiling.

Salik's eyes were closed.

Athena liked Salik a frack of a lot. Finally a man, whom she could
definately trust. They all kept saying that she was searching for a father
figure that's why she dated an oler man, but Athena knew better. She never
wanted another Starbuck in her life again. Salik was so collected and
understanding. Athena wanted someone with perseverance, and that was a
feature that usually came with age.

Besides. The sex was great.

They never left Athena's quarters, though. And Salik very seldom had time
to stay through sleep cycle. Salik patiently kept explaining to Athena that
he was under a lot of stress, being the other one of the two doctors on the
ship and needing a lot of rest every time he was able to get it. But soon
they would have all the time in the world. Especially now that the fleet
was set course to a planet that most likely was Earth. Soon they could get
sealed and raise a family together. Oh, how Salik wanted to raise a family
with beautiful Athena.

Salik was breathing softly. Athena smiled and placed a gentle kiss on the
man's chest. Then she lay back and cuddled up in Salik's arms, closing her
eyes. She was definitely ready for the future.

* * *

Starbuck was lost in Apollo's blue eyes. He couldn't get enough of those
eyes. The intense love that he had felt for so long had only increased
during these sectons when they had been building their relationship. Gone
were the lies and the heartache. Starbuck knew he could trust his beautiful
lover this time. He could see it in Apollo's eyes, in his smile. And sense
it in the way he tenderly touched Starbuck at night, when he thought
Starbuck was asleep. Starbuck knew there was not a force more powerful in
the whole universe than love.

"What?" Apollo's eyes were amused. He had noticed that Starbuck had been
staring him for the last ten centons.

"Nothing…" Starbuck smiled, caressing Apollo's fingers under the table. "I
was just thinking…"

Apollo took Starbuck's hands into his own. "About what?"

Starbuck didn't turn his gaze off Apollo's blue eyes.

"That I know now that the sagan exists." Starbuck squeezed Apollo's hands.
"It is you, my love."

Apollo smiled warmly. Starbuck was so cute. Apollo loved Starbuck so much.
There was no way he could ever again live without this man. The love they
shared was so pure. So beautiful. Apollo raised Starbuck's hands to his
lips and kissed them tenderly.

* * *

Commander Adama and colonel Tigh had gotten sealed right after the fleet
had left the Volgron system. The sealing ceremony had been so memorable.

Hundreds of candles had been placed around Adama's quarters where the
ceremony had taken place. Apollo had been his father's best man. Athena had
carried Tigh's bouquet and acted as his maid of honour. Cassiopeia, Sheba
and Deitra had been the other bride's maids. They had all been dressed in
gold and white, including Tigh and Adama.

Boomer had even wiped tears from his eyes when the happy couple had
exchanged their sealing vows.

Unfortunately, Tigh and Adama had had to be contented in spending their
honeymoon in the private quarters of the Rising Star. But to them, it was
paradise.

* * *

In the end, the menage-a-trois arrangements with Sheba, Rigel and
Cassiopeia didn't work out.

Gradually and inevitably, Cassiopeia started feeing like the third wheel as
Rigel and Sheba were beginning to be more and more drawn to each other.
Cassie soon moved out of the large bedroom but the three women continued to
share the quarters.

And to pretend that their friendship hadn't suffered in any way.

"Oh, you're back already!" Sheba stepped out of the large bedroom and
smiled surprised. "I thought you would be on duty halfway through sleep
cycle."

Cassiopeia glanced at Sheba, who was brushing her long, shiny hair. "It was
a slow night. Wilker gave me the sleep cycle off…"

"That's great." Sheba grinned. "Well, then why don't you come to the Rising
Star with me and Rigel. We have a dinner reservation at nine…"

"Thanks for the invitation Sheba…" Cassie smiled a little. "…But I think
I'm just going to crawl into bed with a good book and a couple of tulipian
buds and make it an early night."

"Are you sure?" Sheba eyed the blond woman. "You haven't been out much
lately…"

"I'm sure." Cassie hung her uniform into the wardrobe, closed the doors and
then turned to give Sheba one more friendly smile. "Have fun you two. See
you in the morning."

* * *

"Lights out in five centons" The loudspeaker announced.

The man was standing by the wall, his hands passively hanging on the sides.
He was staring at the bunk, placed in the darkest corner of the isolation
chamber. He couldn't lie down on the bunk yet. He had to stand in the light
as long as it was possible. The death of intensity was only centons away.
Dark rivers of the mind awaited.

The man could hear other patients returning to their rooms. Returning to
the dorm down the corridor. Chattering. They all sounded so invulnerable.
Just like he was in the time of intensity. He hated them. Each and every
one them. But oh, how he wished he could be amongst them.

Was he being watched right now? Well, of course he was. By eyes that
thought they knew him so well. Oh, how wrong those eyes were. No one knew
him. No one… Except the sounds of silence. The unbearable passiveness of
the night.

Two centons.

One centon.

Darkness.

* * *

Chapter 4

Tigh smiled as he was looking at his reflection in the mirror. He was
wearing his white sealing gown.

Adama wasn't in the quarters. He had left about half a centar ago, to take
care of his duties on the bridge or something. Immediately as Adama had
closed the door, Tigh had dived to the wardrobe and taken out the sealing
dress.

By lords it was beautiful. The fabric was like silk. Sensuous and
fluttering. Caressing the skin like the wind. Tigh was convinced that white
was the colour that sagans had given to the universe. Tigh loved white.
Besides, it looked so fascinating against his dark skin. Such delightful
contrast.

Tigh held the dress in front of him for a long time. It was definately the
most intriguing piece of clothing he had ever owned. Tigh was almost sad
that the sealing ceremony was over and there was not a reason to dress in
that voluptious outfit any more. Frack!

Tigh couldn't resist. He put the dress on the bed and started taking off
his uniform, quickly, like a child about to something he didn't want his
parents to find out about. Tigh caressed the dress for a micron, eyes
sparkling. The soft light in the room made the fabric shimmer. Enjoying
every micron of it, Tigh put the dress on. He buttoned it and straightened
the hem. Oh, how erotic that dress made him feel

Shivering he returned to the front of the mirror to look at the reflection
of the dark man in the white sealing gown. Tigh could hardly breath, he was
so excited. Slowly he walked closer to the the mirror and placed one palm
on the cool, smooth surface.

"What are you doing, Tigh???"

An amused voice echoed from behind. Quickly Tigh turned, embarrassed as
frack.

Adama was standing by the door. He looked like he was going to burst into
laughter any micron. He had forgotten to close the door as well. Two young
ensigns walked past, casting explicitly curious looks towards Tigh in the
white dress.

"Close the door, will you!" Tigh hissed. He ran to the turbowashroom to get
out of sight of those ensigns. Adama soon followed him. Laughing.

"Would you mind telling me what by heavens were you doing…"

Tigh was peeling off the dress. "I… was reminiscing…"

Adama couldn't stop grinning. "Well, you sure were. Is this going to become
a habit? Will I often find my husband in his sealing gown when I return
unexpectedly…?

Tigh didn't know what to say. He blushed.

Adama kept on grinning. "Oh well, now that you already started the
reminiscing… Why don't we re-live the romance and passion of our sealing
night all over again…"

Tigh grinned. "Whatever you say, commander!"

* * *

"My breasts are too small!" Cassiopeia came out of the turbowashroom,
naked. Wearing only a towel around her head. A couple of blond locks had
escaped from under the towel.

Rigel was sitting in a big white chair next to the window. She lifted her
surprised eyes. "What are you talking about…" Rigel tried not to show her
amusement. "What in heavens put such felgercarb in you head?"

Cassie was looking down at her bare breasts. "I look like Boxey!" She
grumbled and took a night gown that was placed on the back of a metallic
chair.

Rigel burst out laughing. "Mild exaggeration young lady!"

Cassie put on the gown. "Yeah, you're right. I'm exaggerating…" She took
the towel off and shook her hair. "Even Boxey must have more bosom than me.

"Cut the felgercarb, Cassie" Rigel tittered. "You're out of your mind. Did
something happen in the turbowashroom that I should be worried about?… Did
you hit your head or something?…"

Cassiopeia didn't even bother to answer.

Rigel kept her almond eyes on her blonde friend and former mistress. She
rested the book on her lap. "Your breasts are beautiful. So stop talking
felgercarb!"

Cassie started combing her hair. "Yeah, well. It's easy for you to say."
Cassiopeia glanced at Rigel through the mirror. "Your battlements are the
size of two planets!"

"My what?" Rigel laughed again. She closed the book and put it on the table
beside her. Then she streched and yawned. "I wonder what's keeping Sheba."
Rigel glanced at the timepiece on her wrist. "Her duty ended fifteen
centons ago…"

"How terrible!" Cassie's voice was ironic.

Rigel pretended not to notice the tone of Cassiopeia's voice. "It's my turn
to take the turbowash." Rigel stood up. "And you better not mention that
stupid breast thing ever again if you want us to think you still have all
your brain cells left and undamaged."

Cassiopeia kept on combing her hair for a long time after Rigel had
vanished into the turbowashroom.

Sure. She wasn't going to talk about it.

She was going to do something about it.

* * *

Apollo and Starbuck were alone inside the small glass dome on top of the
Galactica. They didn't speak for a long time, they were just lying on their
backs on the floor imagining that there wasn't any glass disunited them
with the infinity of space. The light of the millions and millions far-away
stars caressed their eyes. Even the hum of the battlestar engines seemed to
be quieter and further away than normal.

Starbuck rolled onto his side and looked at Apollo beside him, striped by
shadows and soft light. "Hey…" Starbuck said softly.

Apollo turned his head a little so his eyes found Starbuck's.

"Do you really think we are on our way to Earth?…" Starbuck's face was sort
of serious.

"Well, there's a big chance that it actually is Earth." Apollo answered
quietly. "Why?"

"I was just thinking…" Starbuck eyes wondered back to the star-filled space
above them.

Apollo kept his eyes on the blond beauty beside him. "Yes?"

There was a long silence.

Then Starbuck looked at Apollo again. "Well… If it really is Earth and our
search is over, we can finally establish lives and…" Starbuck paused.

Apollo arose from the floor a little. "Go on."

Starbuck didn't know how to continue. Apollo's eyes were too close. They
were too blue.

"Forget it." Starbuck said quietly.

"No. What??" Now Apollo was really curious.

"Forget it Apollo." Starbuck suddenly sat up and rubbed his neck. "Ouch,
this floor is hard as frack! Let's get out of here." Starbuck climbed to
his feet and gave his hand to Apollo. "Come on. I feel like a cup of
something..." Starbuck helped Apollo to his feet.

Apollo's eyes were still curious. Starbuck looked tenderly into those eyes.
"I love you more than anything. You know that, don't you..." Starbuck
touched the outlines of Apollo's lips.

Apollo smiled warmly. "I love you too Starbuck."

The kissed in the middle of infinity of space and stars.

* * *

Cree was smoking a fumarello. He and Boomer were sitting together at a
small table in the officers' club. Boomer was telling the boy about his
last game of triad and describing in detail how he and his team had scored
the crucial two points just five centons before the game had ended.

Smoke circled around Cree's head as he was listening to the telling and
grinning at Boomer's enthusiasm.

Boomer finally stopped talking and took a sip from the coffee cup. Cree
kept smiling at him and his eyes never moved away from Boomer, causing the
bottoms of Boomer's stomach tingle. "So, err… Have anything special planned
for today?" Boomer did his best to sound as casual as possible. "I was sort
of hoping we could…"

Cree's eyes were still on Boomer. He stubbed the rest of the fumarello out
into the ashtray. "I'm afraid I can't tonight." Cree reached for his coffee
cup and touched Boomer's hand by accident. "I promised to go and see
friend…"

Boomer tried to hide his disappointment. "Really. Well, some other time
then…"

"Definitely!" Cree's eyes were so warm. He smiled his beautiful, innocent
smile that Boomer found so damn irresistible. "I'll be looking forward to
that…"

* * *

Salik rushed down to the shuttle launching bay. He was late. Too fracking
late. Salik was trying to come up with a believable excuse where he had
been. The problem was that there had been too many excuses lately…

"The shuttle to the Tauranian boarding in five centons."

Salik was out of breath. He had to make that shuttle. There wouldn't be
another one due until after two centars and oh, would he be in deep trouble
then!!

"Hurry up you old daggit." Salik puffed.

* * *

Cree hurried to his quarters. He still had some time to take a turbowash
and change before he had to be on his way. Cree eyed the contents of his
wardrobe. Damn, he had nothing to wear.

There were a million butterflies in his stomach.

Butterflies? No shit! They were dragonflies the size of battlestars! Cree
was so nervous his hands were shaking. He was scared to death.

Cree had not gone there earlier although he was about to, so many times. He
had always chickened out. But not this time. Oh no. He was definitely
strong enough the enter that place now. To meet the man eye to eye.

* * *

The fleet had bypassed the first planet in the new star system about three
centars ago. A planet that the scribbles in the old map referred to as
Hope. The excitement amongst the colonials was growing with every centon.

The man was looking out of the window of the isolation chamber, wondering
about the same things as all the other people in the fleet. Was that new
planet really going to be Earth. Was the search going to be over soon.
Would it be worth it. What was going to happen… Did he really care? Well,
of course he cared. He was just as excited as the next man, but… The man
smiled a little. He didn't really give a frack.

There was a little hiss as the door opened. The man turned to look as one
of… them stepped inside. He couldn't stand the sight of that beige uniform.
The ones who wore it looked all the same. Dull and unintelligent. Just like
machines or trained daggits. How foolish of them to keep him in this
chamber and test him like this. To observe him like he was one of the
unicorns on the livery ship. The man's smile was so warm and welcoming as
the doctor approached him, unreserved. Yeah, he sure had won their trust in
such ridiculously short time.

"You are going to have one visitor today." The doctor eyeballed him from
behind thick glasses.

"I'll be looking forward to that, doctor." The man smiled so pleasantly.
"Care to tell me who it will be?"

"He requested to be kept anonymous." The doctor took a notebook out of the
pocket of his long uniform coat. "How did last night go?"

"Oh, very well. Thank you for asking." The man's eyes were kind. "I slept
like a little child."

"That's good to hear." The doctor smiled. "You seem to be progressing quite
expeditiously. If you keep this up we might soon be able to move you into
the dorm with the others. Would you like that?" The doctor was looking at
the man.

"Very much, sir." He couldn't believe how easily they were all fooled.

"All right then…" The doctor put the notebook back into his pocket after
shortly writing something on it. "Well, you better start getting ready for
your visitor." The doctor smiled and then turned to walk to the door. It
opened with a hiss and the older man stepped out.

The man stood very still until the doctor had disappeared.

He was smiling. He was so powerful.

Fools.

* * *

Cree was strolling around the lauching bay area. It was still ten centons
until the shuttle to the Sagittarian was due. Frack. All this additional
waiting made him even more nervous.

There weren't many others waiting for that shuttle and Cree wasn't
surprised. The Sagittarian sure wasn't a place to go on an incidental
visit.

It was believed that all the people that ended up being placed on the
Sagittarian were incurable. And that very few, if none had ever returned.
Damn, Cree didn't want to think about it.

What the felgercarb had made him want to pay a visit to such a nightmarish
place.

I must be out of my mind, Cree frowned. I'll end up on the sagan forsaken
Sagittarian myself!!!

Oh, but he had to go. He was obsessed. He had to pay one visit. Cree hoped
to sagan that it would remain just that. One visit…

* * *

Tigh couldn't stop thinking about the sealing dress. Hanging there in the
wardrobe. So invitingly. Just waiting for him to go and… Oh lords.

Adama was snoring beside him like a chainsaw.

Tigh forced his eyes shut. Stop thinking about it!!

But the dress was all that his mind saw.

* * *

Cassiopeia was trying to find doctor Wilker.

He hadn't been in his office nor around the sick bay areas, but the guy was
on duty so he had to be somewhere. Probably on the Canaris.

That was where Cassie now headed.

Her grin was from one ear to another. Boy, won't they all be surprised…

* * *

Chapter 5

Cree was sitting on the shuttle to the Sagittarian, biting his nails. There
were only about five other passengers on the craft. Nobody spoke. The hum
of the shuttle engines seemed somehow disturbingly loud although Cree knew
very well it was only his nervous imagination.

Seven centons left. The shuttle had passed all the familiar places in the
fleet centons ago. The Agroship 9, the Rising Star, the Aquarian… Cree had
never been this far from the Galactica before. The Sagittarian was one of
the last ships in the formation. Even the prison barge was a lot closer to
the Galactica that the Sagittarian.

One of the passengers, an elderly lady, stood up, walked to the back of the
shuttle and disappeared into the tiny turboflushroom. The man who was
collecting duckats finished his job and strolled into the cockpit of the
vehicle.

Cree almost jumped metrons into the air when the loudspeaker suddenly
crackled and a loud voice informed that the shuttle would be landing in two
centons.

Cree buckled his seatbelt and forced himself to stop biting his nails. He
glanced at his reflection in the mirror, ran his fingers through his tidily
brushed, sandy hair and then leaned back against the seat. "Here we go…" He
mumbled quietly.

* * *

Tigh picked up his blue cape and crept out the door. Jeeeez, he could hear
Adama's snoring all the way to the elevators. Tigh pressed the lift-call
button and checked his pockets that he had remembered to take enough cubits
with him. With a cling the elevator arrived and the doors opened. Tigh
stepped in. One of the fluorescent lamps was flickering.

* * *

Cree entered the ascetic, depressing lounge of the Sagittarian mental
health facilities. There was already someone waiting for him. An old man
with thick eyeglasses and a doctor's cape. He extended his hand to Cree and
mumbled his name.

"I believe you were informed of all the minor details of our established
practice."

Cree nodded.

"As you probably figured out yourself…" The old man smiled. "You are not
allowed to take weapons further than this lounge."

Cree tried to smile.

"And you have to leave all electronic equipment behind before entering the
alpha sector."

Cree nodded again.

"And just to make sure you understand…" The doctor eyed Cree closely.
"Everything you say beyond this room will be recorded and archived."

Cree swallowed. What the frack was he doing in this place.

"Shall we go?" The doctor was already walking towards the door. "The
maximum time you will have with the patient is two centars. But I suspect
that is quite enough…" The doctor obviously thought he had such great sense
of humour. Cree was not in the least amused.

The doctor escorted Cree along metallic corridors that seemed to go on
forever. They must have gone through at least three or four metal detectors
on their way.

One annoyingly high and mighty officer had taken Cree's laser gun.

They didn't meet anyone else but glowering, heavily armed on-duty officers
on their way. This definitely was not a picnic. Cree was even more nervous.

They arrived on a thick metallic door. The old man turned.

"From now on, you'll be on your own."

"Thank you doctor." Cree peeped.

"Please, in any situation, try not to fluster the patient. If things seem
to start to get out of hand, just leave. Do you understand?"

"Yes doctor" Cree swallowed.

The doctor was about to say something but then didn't. Instead, he patted
Cree on the shoulder and smiled incouragingly. "Off you go, young man."

Cree waited trembling until the door had opened and then stepped into a
depressing, small room.

At first he couldn't see much. His eyes needed many microns to adjust to
the sudden darkness after all the extremely bright lights of the corridors.

Then Cree saw him…

* * *

The man was very intrigued by this situation. He had not expected to see
this young beauty. How fascinating. The man walked slowly to Cree, not
taking his eyes off him for even a micron. He came very close, so close
that he could smell the mild scent of Cree's aftershave. Pleasant scent
indeed.

Cree couldn't take his eyes off the man either. But the look in the boy's
eyes were panicky, so frightened.

The man raised his hand and was just about to touch Cree's cheek… But then
he let his hand drop. "You better go…"

"No!" Cree's voice surprised the man. It was not at all so frightened as
the look in those innocent eyes. Cree took a hold of the man's hand, placed
it on his own cheek and closed his eyes.

The man was definitely surprised by all this. He kept staring at this young
boy very keenly.

Cree was breathing hard, keeping his eyes closed.

On the other hand…

The man was not in the least surprised of this young boy's behaviour. This
was the way he had overwhelmed them all when he had been free. No, not
free. He had never been free. What he meant was covered. From their eyes.
When his mind had been so well hidden from their awereness.

Oh, it was still hidden, but no one knew it. How vulnerable people became
when they started trusting their insticts and their judgement.

Cree's eyes were now open.

"Help me…" He whispered.

* * *

Tigh returned to the quarters. He opened the door quietly with his heart
thumping. Carefully he took a peek inside. The quarters were empty and Tigh
smiled. Thank the lords Adama was out somewhere. Tigh sure didn't want
Adama to see what he was carrying.

Tigh stepped in, placed the paper bag on the floor and turned on the
lights. Then he took off his cape and walked to the kitchen cupboard to
pour himself a drink. He stood there, leaning against the kitchen sink for
a while, sipping his drink while his eyes were caressing the bag he had
left by the door. Tigh felt his whole body tingling. He tried to prolong
the moment as much as he could. To amplify the excitement, until he
couldn't bare it any longer.

Tigh walked to the bag, picked it up and went into the turbowashroom. He
locked the door.

* * *

Cree had to run from the landing bay. He was just about to burst. He bumped
into some people but didn't take time to notice who they were, or to
apologize. He had to get to his room now!!

Oh sagan, it didn't work. Masturbation didn't ease the pressure at all.

Cree stared at his own feverish eyes through the mirror. By lords he had
not felt like this before. He had no idea this was possible. There had to
be some way to ease the tremendous desire he was feeling. Oh heavens, this
was not desire. This was agony.

Oh, but there was a way. Cree just couldn't do it on his own. He had to go
and see the man tomorrow. He just had to. He needed to be guided.

Cree kept on masturbating desperately, until he ached all over. He felt
like screaming.

* * *

Tigh was trebling as he opened the paper bag. He put his hand in and pulled
out a pair of black, silky panties and suspenders…

* * *

Daddy! Daddy!

Two little boys rushed to meet Salik as he entered the quarters.

Salik gave a delighted laugh, picked the smaller one of the boys up and
ruffled the bigger one's hair lovingly. "How have my little princes been
today? Anything interesting you want to share with your father…"

The bigger one of the boys was grinning. "Guess what, dad. I got an alpha
from instruction period today!" There was so much pride in that child's
voice.

"Well, of course you got an alpha, sonny!" Salik smiled. "You have
inherited my genes…"

"And I built a miniature model of a fighter craft, daddy!" The smaller
child's eyes were sparkling.

"Well, that sure is something!" Salik stroked the puffy cheek of the small
boy. "Hey, Elaina! I think we have a future bay technician in our family!"

The little boy giggled.

An elegant elderly woman with short brown hair emerged from the living
room.

Salik put the little boy down and walked to the woman to give her a kiss on
the cheek.

"The dinner is already cold, Salik!" The woman raised one eyebrow. "How
come you are returning at this centar?!"

Salik started taking off his uniform cape. "Duty called, as always." Salik
pretended to be sniffing curiously. "And what do we have prepared for
tonight, young lady?"

Elaina smiled. "Come. I have the dinner on the table…"

* * *

"Oh, you're back!" Sheba shouted from another room as she heard the door of
the quarters opening. "I'll be there in a micron…" She was humming while
she finished updating the circuits of her beta scanner. She didn't use this
equipment much when on duty, due to it being rather slow and not always
reliable. But Sheba wanted to keep it anyway. It had sentimental value to
her. It was the first scanner she had been provided with, when she had
gratuated from the academy.

Sheba put the scanner on the table and tossed her hair away from her eyes.
Then she walked to the living room. "Hey Cassie, what do you say if you, me
and Rigel went to see Athena tonight. We've been sort of neglecting her
lately without any reason. I know she would be thrilled…"

Sheba saw Cassiopeia by the door.

"By the lords of Kobol!!"

* * *

Sleep cycle was due in 30 centons.

The man was still excited about the meeting the young boy earlier. Not
because the boy had been great company. Oh no. The man didn't really feel
anything with other people. Well, not any more, thank the lords. Oh yes,
there had been a time when he had been exposed. A time when he needed all
the other human beings to be able to escape from himself. But now, he only
needed the others to create intensity. The man smiled darkly. And he needed
the intensity to believe in his own invincibility.

The boy, yes. The man was definitely excited about the kid. The boy was
going to be… his kind. How intriguing.

Today had been different in so many other ways too. The man had been
allowed to go to the public turbowashrooms with the other patients two
centars ago. He could still vividly remember the long-awaited sensation of
just standing there under the turbowash, letting the warm water flow all
over him, to swallow him. Standing there for many many centons, listening
to voices. Real human voices. The man had been almost overwhelmed.

The first unpleasant chill. Immediately the man forgot everything about the
young angel face. Or the human voices that had surrounded him in the
turbowash. It was much too quiet now.

His hands were shaking, just a little. The other patients had obviously
returned to their dorm. Apart from the hiss of the surveillance cameras,
there was now silence outside in the corridor.

He was sweating. They were getting closer now. The dark dreams. He
pretended to stroll casually around the room but his heart was racing a
million hectares per micron. The man stopped strolling, oh so
coincidentally, and remained standing at the right side of the room.
Smiling amused, just like he had just remembered something intriguing and
forgot to stroll around while thinking about it. But on the inside he was
silently screaming for escapade. Thank the lords he had found the brightest
spot in the chamber. The spot that provided him with the intensity until
the inevitable. The man turned his face towards the lamp, just a little. Oh
sagan how he yearned that light.

He knew he was being watched. Now, by them. The fools. Soon, by the eyes of
silence. The dangerous eyes that saw what was inside him. His own eyes.

* * *

Boomer tried to contact Cree by the officers' club wal-coms again, just
like he had tried at least a hundred times during the day. No answer. Where
could that kid be. Boomer didn't allow himself to think that the cadet was
knowingly avoiding him. It hurt. Maybe he would be better off with all
these disappointments. Boomer placed down the receiver of the wal-com unit.

Okay, that was it. He would definitely not chase the lad any more. If Cree
wanted to share his heart with Boomer, he would have to be the one to do
the chasing.

Boomer walked back to the table where his jacket was and sat down. Oh, how
relieved he was now that he had made up his mind…

After five centons Boomer was by the wal-com units again. Dialling the
number of Cree's quarters.

* * *

"CASSIOPEIA!" Sheba gasped. Rigel's horrified eyes peeked from the sleep
cycle quarters doorway. "What in heavens…"

Cassiopeia grinned. "Well? Do you like them?" She turned sideways and posed
for her two horrified room mates. "The wonders of modern technology!"
Cassie giggled.

* * *

Starbuck suddenly woke up, startled. It was the middle of the sleep cycle.
Apollo was softly breathing beside him, sleeping peacefully. Distant stars
that shone through the window, painted the room with stripes of light and
shadows. The figures on the timepiece glowed in green and revealed to
Starbuck that it was only three centars after midnight.

Starbuck hated that dream. He hated it, because it didn't let him forget
what had happened to him in his childhood. The dream kept coming back over
and over again, even after Starbuck was sure he had come to terms with his
past.

The dream was such a vivid recollection of the night he had been lost in
the endless forest of Umbra. Running in the dark, trying desperately to
find his parents. Oh, how scared he had been. A dark forest is definately
not a nice place to be alone in, especially if you are only about four or
five years old.

Finally, some people had found him and taken him to a near-by orphanage
along with so many other little boys. And then they had shattered
Starbuck's little heart by telling him that there was no way his parents
could be alive any more.

Starbuck had grown up in that deteriorated, unpleasant orphanage under
strict rules. And he learned. Leaned how to take care of himself. Learned
not to trust others so easily and how to hide his feelings as often as
possible. It wasn't until he had been accepted to the military academy that
he had found enough courage to look at the world not so warily. To dare to
open his heart to frienship. That was when he had met Apollo. The most
beautiful soul in the world. And the rest is history as they say…

But the past had bothered Starbuck intensely. Not knowing who he was or who
his parents had been. Starbuck's mind had given up the search, but not his
heart.

Well, he knew now that Chameleon was his father. Although Chameleon had
begged Cassiopeia not to reveal the test results to Starbuck, for his own
sake, Cassiopeia had been just as reliable as Baltar when it came to
keeping secrets.

Starbuck had confronted Chameleon, but the old man had never admitted his
fatherhood.

He had kept saying that the test results were not accurate. Bright eyed the
old man had sworn that he and Starbuck were not related.

Starbuck knew the man was lying. But he couldn't understand why. Oh well,
it didn't really matter any more. Starbuck knew now who he was. He was
Chameleon Junior.

Starbuck had been tasting that name over and over in his mouth on his way
back from the senior ship, the night he had confronted the daggit.

Chameleon Junior…

By heavens, it sounded like something doctor Wilker would build. He
definitely preferred to remain as Starbuck!! Definitely!

* * *

Chapter 6

Four centars ago the fleet had passed what the old map had called The Red
Planet. Earth, or the planet referred to as Probability would be the next
one.

Omega's calculations suggested that Probability would be reached in a day.
Possibly two. The excitement amonst the people of the fleet was
overwhelming, although, opinions were starting to differentiate.

Anarchistic groups were emerging. Groups, that consisted of people who were
beginning to be very unwilling to enter the area of planet Probability. And
the representatives of those groups were not afraid to speak their minds.

There had been at least five or six considerable demonstrations. The worst
ones on the Tauranian and on the Aquarian.

* * *

Cree had been to see the man every day. Sometimes even twice or three times
in 24 centars.

He was being enticingly guided into a new world of the mind. The more he
discovered, the more he wanted to experience and the further he wanted to
go.

The second time Cree had gone to the Sagittarian, he had been on the verge
of despair. Standing on the brink of his limited essence, afraid to go
further, not really knowing what was happening. Oh, but the man had been
aware of it.

The moment Cree had stepped into the room, the man had walked to him in
silence. Cree hadn't said anything either. They had just… experimented.
That time, with the mind. In the times to come, with the flesh. They had
found privacy in the turbowashroom cubicles. A cubicle was one of the very
few places on the Sagittarian that was not monitored.

The man had ran his forefinger along Cree's skin, barely touching, not
taking his eyes off Cree's.

"You see…" The man had spoken softly. "It is not sexual."

Cree had been quiet. Wide eyed and afraid, but so desperate to enter the
mind of the enticing man. They were becoming the same kind.

The man had continued. "I know how you were feeling." The man's voice had
been almost unaudible. "But it didn't help, did it…"

Cree hadn't been at all surprised that the man had known about his
agonizing fire. The overpowering desire Cree had felt the night he had
first returned from the Sagittarian.

Of course the man was aware. How could he have not been.

"No, it didn't help.." Cree had whispered.

"Because it was the fire of your new mind." The man had touched Crees lips
with his hand.

"It was the pressure of the mind rivers."

Cree hadn't understood, but he had known that the man was right.

"Please, help me. Show me the way." Cree had leaned forward and kissed the
man.

The very first time they had met, sectars ago, it had not been like this.
Cree had been fascinated, oh yes, but his mind had been on the level of all
the other beings. He had not yet been fully developed to understand, but he
definitely had been affected. But, by lords, was his mind searching now.

The man had smiled as he had guided Cree to the rivers the very first time.
Guided him to the acts and to the relief. But the man had never told Cree
about the other side of power.

The silent side.

* * *

Cassiopeia hated the way people reacted to her new tecra implants. Nobody
seemed to look at her in the face any more. All the eyes kept on ligering
down to her breasts. Casting embarrassed, hasty and intrigued glances.

Cassie was beginning to doubt that she had made such a brilliant move after
all. Not only were the breasts the only thing people payed attention in
her, but the way the implants made her breasts numb. She couldn't enjoy the
sensation of a tender touch any more. It was felgercarbishly frustrating.

Oh well, not that there were so many people in line waiting to touch her
breasts. Only Rigel and Sheba. And now they too, seemed to have lost
interest…

And if that wasn't unpleasant enough, the implants were heavy as frack.
They didn't move like normal breasts. They just… hung there. Like two
chunky beach balls. The kind that kids played with when on holiday in those
ocean resorts on Aries. Felgercarbish nuisances! Such pains in the fracking
butt.

* * *

Cree wasn't the only one experiencing new horizons.

Tigh too, had found a new intriguing world of his own.

Every day he took a shuttle to the textile ship and returned with bags full
of womens' clothes. Mostly underwear. Silk or lace panties, corsets,
beautiful bras, pantyhose, suspenders and suspender belts…

Tigh loved wearing all that stuff under his boring, blue bridge officers'
uniform. It excited him undescribably to feel the silk against his skin
while communicating with other bridge personnel and performing his
demanding duties as colonel. And when he was standing beside Adama, knowing
that his husband had no clue of what Tigh had under that tunic. Oh lords!

Then there were the clothes that Tigh could be able to wear only when he
was completely alone in the quarters. The evening gowns, the mini skirts,
high heeled shoes… Tigh could hardly wait for those moments to come.

Lately, he had also been discovering the sensuous pleasures of wearing make
up. Ooh, lipstick was a definate turn on. Tigh seemed to have a hard on
every time he was applying lipstick in front of the mirror. Slowly,
caressing his lips with the stick. Watching how the stuff turned his lips
somehow richer and more voluptious…

Oh lords.

* * *

Boomer stared at Athena. "You… and doctor Salik?!?" Boomer didn't like what
he was hearing.

"That's right Boomie." Athena giggled. "Salik wants to get sealed as soon
as we land on Earth."

Boomer didn't know how to continue. He didn't want his best friend's
beautiful, innocent sister to get hurt this way.

Athena had bumped into Boomer in the officers' club when she had been
looking for Apollo. And Boomer, once again, had been on his way to the
telecoms…

"Isn't it great!" Athena was beaming. "Salik even wants to have kids!"

Boomer and Athena had never been really close, not even after they had been
trapped in the recreation rooms when the Galactica had suffered from the
disastrous fire.

But Boomer liked Athena a lot. She was so much like Apollo. Such a
beautiful soul. So pure, likeable and trustworthy. Why, oh why did Boomer
have to be the one to tell Athena about the devious doctor Salik…

Athena didn't notice Boomer's hesitation. She kept on babbling about the
wonderful characteristic aspects of her new Mister Right.

Boomer placed his hand on top of Athena's. "Please, listen…"

Athena stopped talking and looked at Boomer really curious. "What's the
matter. You look like something's bothering you." Athena smiled
incouragingly. "Don't worry, Boomie. If it's love trouble, believe me when
I tell you that one day you will find your special someone…"

"Athena, listen to me!" Boomer swallowed.

Athena waited.

"It's doctor Salik…"

Now Athena really waited.

Boomer sighed. "Beautiful Athena. Don't you know that Salik is sealed!"
Athena laughed. "Stop joking Boomer. That is not funny in the least."

"I am not joking, Athena." Boomer's face was very serious. His kept his
dark eyes on Athena.

"Salik has a wife and two young children."

Athena was now pale as snow. "What are you talking about. I have never seen
Salik with anyone. And according to the computers, he doesn't have a family
on the Galactica…"

"Athena, his family is not on the Galactica. They live on the Tauranian…"

"No, you're wrong Boomer!! Salik would never lie to me!…"

Boomer didn't answer. He just kept his serious eyes on the pretty girl.

Athena couldn't believe what she was hearing. Tears were burning behind her
eyes. "No, Boomer…" But, the micron she said those words, she knew so well
that Boomer was telling the truth.

Athena shot up from the table.

"Athena, wait…" Boomer tried to grab her by the wrists. He missed.

Athena ran blindly out of the officers' club. And she kept running. Running
away from the lies and the hurt. To nowhere.

* * *

Today had been a very bad day. The man had not found the power inside. Not
today. He had been just like everyone else. Only a frack of a lot more
vulnerable because he was not free. In his world were the rivers.

The boy with the angel face had been to see him again earlier. This time
they had not entered the power. The man had not been able to. Not this
time. He had been aware that he would only have come across his frightening
weakness.

The boy had not understood. Oh but he will. In the future, when he faces
his shadows.

The man had not eaten today. He had not smiled today. The doctor had
eyeballed him in an infuriating manner. Frack. Now they all think he has
regressed. Of course he hadn't. It has just been a bad day.

* * *

Boomer felt lonely. The world around him seemed to be so much more alive
than he was. He was surrounded by love, erotism, partnership, hope… Even
heartache. All the beautiful and painful things humans are created for.
Boomer had never experienced the thrilling sensation of being loved. Well,
apart from being loved by his parents and his dear friends, but… It was not
what his soul and heart yearned for. So abandoned by love. Alone.

* * *

"I want to have a tattoo!"

Starbuck and Apollo were in Apollo's quarters playing pyramid. They had
finished two bottles of grog and felt more than a little giddy.

"Oh yeah?" Apollo giggled. "And where would you want it?"

"I want your name tattooed on my butt." Starbuck grinned.

Apollo guffawed. "Great idea! And why don't you add "Property of…" while
you're at it!"

They both laughed.

"Hey, it's my turn to deal out the cards!" Starbuck was still grinning.
"Winner deals out the cards remember!"

"You are a cheater Starbuck!" Apollo's eyes were watering from all the
laughing.

"How dare you!" Starbuck glared at Apollo as he was cluttering up the pack
of cards. "Nobody calls me a cheater and gets away with it!"

Apollo grinned took a sip from the cup of grog beside him. "Well, I must be
in deep felgercarb then…" His eyes were twinkling teasingly.

"You sure are!" Starbuck's smile was wide. He kept his eyes on Apollo for a
while, a smile lingering on his lips. "Why don't we finish the game right
here… There's something I want to show you…"

* * *

Athena couldn't return to her room. It was much too crowded with hurting
memories, and much too deserted to bear. Athena just had to sneer with
irony. Sagan damn it, her quarters were just like her life: Maliciously
empty.

Aimlessly Athena kept walking along the corridors of the Galactica. Hating
doctor Salik. Hating herself. Hating the sagan forsaken whole universe.
Never again! Never would she trust another boray of a man again. Not ever.
From now on, she was going to survive on her own. She would come to find a
way to stop feeling and turn the heart into stone. There had to be a way to
stop feeling…

Oh, but there was…

Don't think about it!

Athena closed her eyes and leaned against the metallic wall near the
skyliner offices.

The old craving washed over her, violently.

Don't think about it!!

* * *

Cree had tried it on his own for the first time. He couldn't believe how
easy it had been. So sweet, so relieving. So… all-inclusive. Ohhh, he was
powerful! He had finally entered the new world. He was ready to float on
the rivers. Never mind if they were dark. He was invincible.

Cree fetched a tissue from the turbowashroom and wiped the blood away from
the floor.

* * *

The man realized his mind had lately been lingering more and more around
one particular person. Not the angel faced kid. Not one of his visitors.
Not the imbecil doctors or the idiot patients. No, this was a person that
never came to visit him.

Probably the person didn't even know that the man was still alive. Yes,
that must be it. Or perhaps the person wasn't aware how comprehensively he
belonged to this dark world. Well, of course the person didn't know! How
foolish to forget! The man smiled. Maybe it was time to tell this person…

The door opened with a hiss and the doctor with thick eyeglasses entered.
"Medication time." The doctor winked.

The man didn't bother to smile. He didn't even raise his eyes. He wanted to
kill that daggit of a doctor. He wanted to twist the guy's neck until there
would be a sound like a branch snapping. How pleasurable would it be to
watch the light of sanity disappearing from those buldging eyes. To hear
the doctor screaming and despareately gasping for life. Sweet revenge.

Oh but he wouldn't do it. It had just been a bad day. That's all.

* * *

Salik took off the mask from his face and looked up at doctor Wilker.
"Jeeez! I haven't see something like this in… ten yahrens." Salik shook his
head. "Not a very pretty sight…" He walked to the sink in the corner of the
gamma sector of the life center, to wash the blood off his hands. "What are
we going to put on that report?"

Wilker was quiet for awhile, staring at the body on the autopsy table.
"Well, I think we can both agree that this lieutenant…" Wilker glanced at
the data sheet in his hands. "Bik… that's an usual name… didn't die natural
causes."

"…To put it mildly." Salik glanced over his shoulder. He finished washing
his hands and dried them on a white towel.

Wilker eyed the body. He had seen bad things before but this one… lords in
heavens! "The victim has been dead about three centars." Wilker lifted his
eyes as Salik appeared beside him. "Where was the body discovered?"

"In a turbowashroom of the declension abutment quarters…"

Wilker furrowed his brow. "But then somebody must have seen…"

"The abutment rooms are usually empty through most of the day-cycle. The
killer could have slipped in almost any time." Salik eyed the man on the
autopsy table. "The victim was slaughtered in the turbowashroom. The walls
were all covered in blood…"

Wilker was thoughtful for a centon. Then he looked up at Salik. "But if
those quarters are normally empty…" Wilker raised his eyebrows. "Then what
the felgercarb was lieutenant Bik doing in that place?…"

"I think that's rather irrelevant." Salik smiled coldly. "What I would like
to find out is who murdered lieutenant Bik. And why…"

* * *

Chapter 7

Omega put down the headphone and turned. "We are approaching our
destination.The planet Probability will be coming into view in five
centons. It will appear on the beta side of the ship. Approximately 16
point 2 angle."

The bridge officers stared out of the large windows. There were no more
voices on the bridge, as if everyone kept holding their breath.

Commander Adama was standing behind Omega, his hand on Omega's shoulder.

Tigh forgot for a micron about the black silk corset and the silk panties
he had underneath his uniform.

Rigel kept her eyes alternately on the readings of the computer monitor and
the window.

There was already something on the horizon. No outlines. Only vague
shimmer. But it was becoming brighter with every micron…

Three centons and approaching…

A shape. And traces of colours.

Two centons and approaching…

A definate shape. A beautiful glow of blue and white.

One centon. Approaching…

Zero centons.

The planet Probability.

Earth?

* * *

"It's beautiful!" Starbuck reluctantly turned his gaze away from the
star-filled space and glanced at Apollo, who was leaning against the wall
near the wal-com units. "I still can't believe we actually found Earth!"

"Hey, calm down Starbuck!" Apollo was smiling. "We don't know if it's
Earth…"

"Well, what else can it be?" Starbuck looked out of the window again. It's
blue, it's shining, it's…Earth-ish…"

"…Come on then, you wizard!" Apollo pulled Starbuck by the sleeve of his
flight jacket. "The sooner we head off on our scheduled patrol, the sooner
we will find out what we are dealing with here. Let's find Boomer…"

* * *

Apollo, Boomer and Starbuck rushed to the bridge.There was absolute chaos.

The excitement was immense.

All telecoms kept ringing incessantly. The bridge officers were constantly
answering incoming questions concerning the fleet's current situation. The
Inter Fleet Broadcasting staff informed the battlestar bridge personnel
that the IFB representatives were already on their way to the Galactica for
the airing of the informative meeting, cheduled to take place in just half
a centar.

Adama was standing alone by the large window, looking at the blue planet.
This would be the moment of truth. As the commander, had he led the fleet
to distruction. Or to safety.

Would the search be finally over. Or had they been chasing a shadow, mere
legend. The non-existent.

The military forces, as well as all the civilians placed on the Galactica,
were gathering into the main auditorium of the battlestar.

The representatives of the Council of the Twelve were sitting in the front
area of the hall. All of them grave-faced, hardly speaking.

The captains and the commanders of all the other ships in the fleet were
also present in this important briefing.

Starbuck couldn't let go of Apollo's hand. They were standing by the side
wall of the hall with Boomer, Jolly and Sheba.

Starbuck noticed Cassiopeia and Rigel, sitting together in the middle of a
civilian group at the back of the auditorium. Starbuck gasped. What in the
names of heavens has she done to her breasts!!

Athena walked to Apollo and the others. She looked really pale and Apollo
was worried about her. He had been told about the situation between Salik
and Athena. Lords curse that man!

Apollo hoped to sagan that even now, in all this distress, Athena would
remain strong enough to stay clean and away from the dekar…

Boomer noticed that Cree wasn't there.

The auditorium was finally getting full. Subdued, nervous chatter from the
audience accompanied the last few centons before the briefing was due to
start.

Then, the doors started closing and the IFB representatives finished
setting the broadcasting equipment to be operational.

The informative assembly was now ready to begin.

Adama was standing in front of the auditorium, accompanied by Tigh and
Omega. Behind them, was an enormous screen on which the current scanner
readings were projected.

The audience held it's breath.

* * *

Cree was on the Sagittarian, with the man. This time they were not entering
the rivers. Not performing the acts of power and relief. The tiny receiver
screen in the corner of the room was turned on. The assembly was being
aired all over the fleet. Cree could see familiar faces amongst the crowd.

Cree was excited. Earth, wow! He glanced at the man, hoping he could share
this tention with someone who mattered.

But the man didn't seem to be listening to the information at all. He
seemed bored. Just like children, when they are forced to spend the best
centars of the day taking instructional period.

Puzzled, Cree turned his attention to the broadcasting again.

Adama was presently pointing out that most of the surface of the planet was
covered in water.

Cree's eyes were wide. How can someone live in a place like that. He
continued to listen with curiosity.

The planet was definitely inhabited by human beings. The scanners revealed
that there were too many overpopulated areas, which seemed strange, because
there obviously were large, uninhabited areas that were cabable of
maintaining and supporting life.

Cree could hear mumbling amongst the huge crowd.

Omega stepped a little forward. "Unfortunately, we were not able to get
complete and reliable information using our scanners."

Astonished whispers.

"All gamma waves coming from that planet are distorted. Like they were
being in some way barracked and disrupted by the atmosphere before they
left the sphere of the planet's influence. Therefore we cannot give you
full information before we have sent out patrols.

Adama spoke.

"Until we have confirmed details about this planet, I cannot allow any
unathorized person to leave the fleet. I must ask you all to remain patient
and hopeful." The commander smiled. "If this planet is what we have been
searching for…"

Tigh softly finished Adama's sentence. "… We have finally come home."

Loud chatter of excitement and hope filled the auditorium.

An image of the blue planet was monitored onto the screen. It was so
beautiful and inviting.

So many hopeful eyes were raised. So many hearts were beating.

"By heavens!"

Omega and Tigh turned to look at Adama's pale face Adama pointed at the
image.

"The planet has two moons…"

* * *

Cree couldn't believe the sudden, horrible turn of the situation. He
couldn't speak, he just stared at the receiver, waiting for someone to step
forward from the crowd and say that this was all just a horrifying joke,
and that the planet really was Earth. Cree turned his delated, frightened
eyes towards the man sitting next to him.

The man's eyes were looking at the receiver. His beautiful face was almost
expressionless, apart from the little amused smile lingering in the eyes. A
cold, indifferent smile.

* * *

Not a whisper echoed in the auditorium.

The two moons were small and pale, but very easily noticed. Obviously
orbiting the planet in a exact opposed angle.

"It's not Earth!" Apollo frowned with so much disappointment. "All the
stories and the legends we have heard point out that Earth has only one
moon…"

"It doesn't have to mean anything." Eyes turned. Starbuck's face was
shining.

"Be quiet Starbuck!" Boomer hissed. He was sure Starbuck was just about to
say something utterly idiotic in front of all the IFB cameras and Boomer
would have to be ashamed for the rest of his sagan forsaken life.

"What?" Apollo was staring at Starbuck.

"Just like you said!" Starbuck was grinning. "All the stories and the
legends point out that Earth has only one moon…"

"Starbuck! Another time!" Boomer poked his blond friend with his elbow.
"This is not the place…"

Starbuck took a couple of steps forward. Boomer watched horrified as
Starbuck was now standing in front of the audience. And all the cameras…

"But how reliable are legends?" Starbuck started. He was looking at the
crowd.

Eyes were staring back at him.

"How easily would you guys believe every word you want to hear?" Starbuck
smiled. "Wouldn't you ever be suspicious, even a little…"

"Get to the point!" Someone shouted from the crowd.

Starbuck grinned. "Don't use that tone with me if you want to hear what I
have just realized."

Boomer pressed his fingers to his temples. Apollo just kept staring at his
obviously insane lover.

"What I'm trying to point out here, is the fact, that no one has ever seen
Earth. Yes, the legend describes us, that Earth has only one moon."
Starbuck walked closer to the image projected on the screen. "And this
planet here, to our utter disppointment, has obviously two of them."

"GET TO THE POINT!"

Starbuck grinned. "Easy. No one has seen earth. All the legends are stories
made up by people who were either travelling through space milleniums ago,
searching for the place. Or by people who stayed behind, remained on the
colonies and told stories about the thirteenth tribe to their children. But
no one, who could have drawn the maps or written the documents, had
actually been to this mysterious place.

Silence in the crowd.

"Maybe these legends are just false. Perhaps Earth has more moons than one.
Who are we to decide what is accurate if the information is based only on
some nice little bedtime stories…"

Adama stared at this young warrior who had just surprised the frack out of
him. "You definitely have a point Starbuck." Adama said thoughtfully.
"Maybe this is Earth after all…"

* * *

The broadcasting ended.

For a long time after that, they sat in silence. Cree and the man.

Incredible. It had been like an adventure. The conversation had had so many
unexpected turns that Cree had ended up being totally puzzled in what to
believe. He turned to look at the man who seemed to have sank into deep
thoughts. Cree felt a little uncomfortable about breaking the silence.
Perhaps if he waited a little longer the man would eventually speak. And
return to be his normal overwhelming self. Cree eyed the man. Lords he was
beautiful.

Suddenly the man turned towards Cree. "I want you to bring him to me." The
man's eyes were even more pale than usual.

Cree swallowed. He had been so afraid of this since the very beginning.
Cree had known the man would eventually want to meet Apollo. Desperation
and hurt burned in Cree's heart. He knew very well he could never compete
with the captain. Not when it came to this man.

"I… I don't know how I can convince Apollo to…" Cree was fighting back the
tears.

The man eyed Cree carefully, very intrigued. "Apollo?" The man smiled.
"Now, why would I want to meet Apollo?!?"

Cree could just stare. "Well, you and…"

The man smiled. He took a hold of Cree's hand and kissed it. "No, angel
face. Not this time."

"But…" Cree was stunned.

Besides it was hard to breathe. The man was too close. Much too close
without performing the act of power. To Cree this was almost unbearable. He
was shivering.

The man kept his gaze on Cree's eyes for so long Cree started to feel like
he was floating. But not on the dark rivers. Cree was being swirled by the
streams of emotion. He was falling in love.

The man leaned closer and kissed Cree on the lips. Lightly, lingering… His
soft hands were caressing Cree's back, his cheeks, his blond hair… Cree
closed his eyes and gave in to the streams.

The kiss ended but the man didn't move away. His lips lingered so very
close to Cree's, almost touching. Cree could feel the soft, warm current of
air as the man spoke.

"I wan't you to bring Starbuck to me."

* * *

Chapter 8

"Why Starbuck for heaven's sake?!?"

Cree was sitting on the shuttle back to the Galactica. He had left the
Sagittarian about ten centons ago, confused. Extremely unsatisfied.

Confused, because Cree couldn't understand why the man wanted to meet that
blond gambler of a warrior. As far as Cree knew, their histories in no way
entwined. And during all these sectons that Cree had been with the man,
following him into the new enticing dark world, the man had never referred
to Starbuck. Not once.

Unsatisfied, because today they had not entered the rivers. So frustrated,
because Cree was beginning to realize he wanted to be so much more inside
the man's mind. He wanted to be in the man's heart and soul. Cree knew he
was falling in love with his beautiful, pale-eyed mentor. Oh, but how
agonizing it was starting to be. Cree understood so well that the man was
too far above to feel the sensation of mere love. He would never echo
Cree's feelings. But still, deep inside the secret shadows of his heart,
Cree couldn't stop hoping…

* * *

Apollo and Starbuck were walking down the corridor connecting the bridge to
the private quarters section of the Galactica. They were not speaking much.
Everything was too overwhelming to put into the form of words.

Before leaving the bridge, Adama had asked Apollo to get ready to lead the
blue squadron on patrol to the place that was for now referred to as Planet
Probability. Apollo had agreed to be ready for departure in three centars.
The blue squadron was advised not to leave earlier than that, due to some
technical felgercarb concerning the pilots' long range scanners being
reprogrammed to be able to receive and send gamma waves, regardless of the
molecule constitution of the planet's atmosphere which had somehow
distorted all the previous gamma and even alpha waves that the Galactica
scanners had received.

Apollo and Starbuck reached their quarters. After searching his pockets for
centons under Apollo's impatient glare, Starbuck finally found the key and
they stepped inside.

Apollo turned on the light and started taking off his boots. Starbuck
walked to the sink and poured himself a cup of fresh carbonated water. He
turned. For a long time his eyes followed Apollo. His beautiful friend and
lover. His soul mate. By heavens, how much he loved that man. So much that
it hurt…

Centons passed. Many many centons. Apollo glanced up. "What?"

"Nothing." Starbuck was sipping his water.

Apollo raised one eyebrow. "All right. What's going on Starbuck?" Apollo
put down the degtor-transmitter he was holding in his hand and turned to
look straight at the other man. "I know you too well Bucky! Something's
bothering you!" Apollo kept his concerned eyes on his companion. "Okay,
spit it out!"

Starbuck grinned. "Hey, who's paranoid!" He put down the cup. "Can't a man
just spend a few quality centons admiring his loverboy…"

"Not, when he's looking strangely elegiac!"

Starbuck made up his mind. He took a deep breath. Okay, this was it! Here
we go…

"You know I love you more that life itself…" Starbuck whispered as he
started towards Apollo. "You are something that I cannot describe, my love.
Something more powerful that all the starlight and moonbeams and sunrays.
More everything than the infinity of all universe. More beautiful than the
soul of sagans…"

"Starbuck…" Apollo swallowed. "Are you about to dump me?…"

"By heavens!" Starbuck kept approaching. "Apollo… I know I am not a very
beautiful soul, or by far the most intelligent human being. I'm just this…
gambling, smoking, cursing, cynical rascal that always gets into trouble,
and I don't think that's ever going to change…" Starbuck paused. "We all
know that you deserve so much more than me…"

There were now tears in Apollo's blue eyes. "Starbuck. What are you
saying?"

Starbuck was now standing in front of Apollo. He took his beautiful lovers
hands into his own and raised them to his lips to kiss them softly. Then
his eyes willingly drowned in Apollo's. "Appy, my love…" Starbuck's voice
was choked. "Will you become my husband?"

Apollo couldn't find his voice any more.

Oh, but his eyes answered.

* * *

The shuttle from the Sagittarian landed on the Galactica.

Cree didn't want to do this. He definitely did not want to tell Starbuck
about the man. Cree knew Starbuck would eventually tell Apollo and that
would be the end of a beautiful friendship.

Cree sighed.

The end of the friendship between Apollo and Cree, Boomer and Cree,
Starbuck and Cree, the whole fracking Galactica and Cree…

Not to mention…

Cree couldn't bare the thought of losing his mentor to Apollo. Yes, that
would happen as soon as Apollo found out that the man was still alive. Cree
was so sure of it.

But he had no choice now. He had promised to take Starbuck to the
Sagittarian…

Cree stood up and walked out of the empty shuttle, centons after all the
other passangers had disappeared. Cree kept listening to his own footsteps
echoing from the metallic walls of the landing bay as he walked to the
elevators. He could smell the scent of solium and derator grease as he
passed a few vipers. He noticed four bay technicians further away and the
red light shining above the decontamination chambers.

Oh, but soon he wouldn't remember the pain in his soul any more. Cree knew
he just had to open the shadows of his mind and let the rivers flow.

Cree stepped into the elevator. He was on his way to find Starbuck.

* * *

Apollo and Starbuck saw Boomer in the officers' club.

"Hey buddy!!" Starbuck waved and loped to the table were Boomer was sitting
at.

Boomer lifted his eyes and smiled. "Hi guys. Care to join me for the last
drink before the unknown…"

"Sagan, Boomer. "Starbuck grinned. "You make our patrol sound like it's
something we have to be worried about!"

"Well, shouldn't we be?" Boomer eyed Starbuck teasingly. "We don't really
know what planet Probability has in store for us now, do we."

"Earth, Boomer. Earth!" Starbuck put his hand on his friend's shoulder and
squeezed a little.

"Sure!" Boomer raised one eyebrow. "Earth with two moons…"

Starbuck wasn't listening. "Boomer! Apollo and I, well… We have something
to tell you!"

Apollo reached the table and grinned warmly at Boomer. "Hi buddy!"

Boomer eyed the both of the men. "What? Let me guess! You guys have been on
patrol already and I'm off the hook!"

"You wish!" Apollo's eyes twinkled.

"Boomer, we want you to be our best man!" Starbuck couldn't wait any
longer.

"What?" Boomer wasn't smiling so happily now.

Starbuck put his arm around Apollo's shoulder. They both glanced at each
other so lovingly… Boomer couldn't bare to see it.

"We are getting sealed, buddy!" Starbuck was beaming. "And we want you to
be our best man! After all, you are our brother!"

Boomer fought so hard to smile. "Well guys, I'm very happy for you!" Boomer
stood up and hugged both Apollo and Starbuck. "You are two undescribably
lucky fellows to have found each other…"

"Yeah, we are!" Starbuck was looking into Apollo's eyes.

"Well, excuse me you love birds…" Boomer still kept his hands on both of
his brothers' shoulders. "I have something to take care of before we go and
conquer planet Probability…"

Boomer saw the look in Starbuck's twinkling eyes.

"Sorry… Earth!" Boomer grinned. "See you later. And congratulations!"
Boomer had to get to his quarters. His heart had just shattered to
stardust.

"I want us to get sealed as soon as possible!" Starbuck kept Apollo's hands
in his own.

"And just how soon were you thinking?" Apollo grinned.

"Well, how about yesterday!" Starbuck squeezed those hands.

Apollo's eyes remained looking at something that was approaching from
behind Starbuck.

"What?…" Starbuck turned.

Cree was not smiling. He walked to the two men and greeted them. Cree's
face was pale and he was shivering despite the tunic and the uniform
jacket.

"Hello Cree." Apollo smiled at the boy warmly. "I'm sorry but you just
missed Boomer…"

"Starbuck." Cree payed no attention to Apollo whatsoever. "I have something
to tell you."

* * *

Starbuck felt his legs failing him. He had to find a chair and sit down.
Right now, or he would collapse on the floor.

They were alone in Cree's tiny quarters.

Cree had not smiled once when he had told Starbuck about the man. In fact,
the boy's face had been so expressionless that Starbuck was beginning to
doubt that the boy wasn't actually Cree at all, but an android who looked
just like Cree.

A masterpiece of doctor Wilker's skills…

"Why doesn't anyone know he's alive?" Starbuck found it so hard to speak.
"How can he be alive?… It's impossible!!"

Cree kept his eyes on Starbuck, waiting for him to calm down. Cree wanted
to get this over with so he could escape into the darkness and privacy of
his quarters and hurt himself. "He wants to see you, Starbuck."

"Well, I sure in frack don't want to see him!" Starbuck stood up from the
chair and started towards the door. "No way in felgercarb!"

"Starbuck!" Cree's voice was too cold. Not at all like his normal, boyish
Gemon drawl.

Surprised Starbuck turned.

"I have to take you to the Sagittarian." Cree's eyes didn't falter from
Starbuck's. "I have to…"

"By heavens! What makes you think you can take me anywhere!" Starbuck felt
a wave of anger sweeping over him. Partly because the boy seemed to be
insane, but mostly because…"

Cree walked towards Starbuck. "Because you want to go." Cree smiled. "You
want to find out why he has chosen you."

Starbuck couldn't answer. This was a nightmare.

* * *

Boomer buried his face into his hands and cried for the first time in so
long. He couldn't keep on lying to himself any more.

Boomer cried, because it hurt so badly to realize that he still loved
Starbuck so much, and now he was going to lose him to Apollo for good. No
more excuses. No more secret hoping. He cried because little Cree didn't
give a frack about him. Boomer knew that now. And Boomer weeped because
right at this very micron, he understood that he was going to be lonely for
the rest of his miserable life. Boomer realized he would never be loved.

***

Kadeem couldn't get rid of the image.

It had been an accident. Kadeem had been in the officers' club with Giles
for centars enjoying his lover's company for once without any hurry. Giles
had been told he would be off-duty for at least two of the next days.
Kadeem had stood up and walked to the public turboflushrooms.

For sagan's sake. Something like this had never occurred to Kadeem. He
wouldn't never, not in a million yahrens, have suspected that he would bump
into a situation like this.

Kadeem had opened the grey door and stepped into the flushrooms, whistling.
All of the cubicle doors had been open so naturally Kadeem had supposed he
was alone in the place. He had walked to the nearest cubicle, pulled the
door wide open, ready to step in. And then he had seen Tigh.

By lords, Tigh had screamed his head off. He had been putting on a white,
lacy bra just the very micron Kadeem had opened the fracking door.

By all that is Kobollian, Kadeem had quickly banged the door shut and
rushed out of the turboflushrooms, embarrassed as frack!

But definitely not as embarrassed as colonel Tigh must have been! Oh lords!
Kadeem never told Giles what had happened. But for sagan's sake, had Giles
almost dropped off his chair from surprise when Kadeem had suddenly jumped
from behind him, pale as snow like he had just seen a ghost, and prayed
that they would leave the officers' club as quickly as possible.

Kadeem had not bumped into Tigh after that incident, thank the lords for
that!! But the strangest thing was that… Oh boy. After seeing Tigh dressed
in women's underwear, Kadeem himself had been drawn to do the same
felgercarbing thing!! He couldn't shake the thought from his mind! Great,
just great!

Okay. Perhaps the best thing to do now, in this sagan forsaken situation,
was to find enough courage to meet the colonel eye to eye and talk to him
about this.

Frack!

* * *

Cree led Starbuck along the grim corridors of the Sagittarian.

Starbuck sure didn't like leaving his laser gun behind. Especially as he
was on his way to meet the biggest crackpot in the history of the human
race.

They passed those metal detectors that had become so familiar to Cree, and
finally reached the door of isolation chamber 15. The doctor with thick
eyeglasses was there, waiting for them.

"Nice to meet you young man." The doctor extended his hand to Starbuck. "I
trust that this boy here has filled you in with all the normal
proceedings…"

"Yes, the boy has…" Starbuck mumbled. The doctor's handshake was
disgustingly clammy and slack.

"Remember, young man…" The doctor eyed Starbuck from behind his glasses.

Jeeez, the doctor was annoying as frack!

"…Try not to excite the patient in any way. If the situation gets out of
hand…"

"Yeah yeah!" Starbuck rolled his eyes. "Don't worry doc. I wouldn't dream
of staying in the room with that crackpot!"

"Wonderful." The doctor smiled. "Off you go then, lads."

"If that clown of a doctor doesn't soon shut up, I'll go and fetch my
laser…" Starbuck murmured to Cree, who pinched his arm hard and hissed to
him to shut up!

The door of the isolation chamber began to open. Starbuck swallowed.

Cree suddenly turned towards Starbuck. "I'll meet you back in the entering
lounge."

"What! No way in frack!" Starbuck eyeballed Cree. "You stay right where you
are!! If you think that I'm going to meet this loony, demented devil on my
own, you must be even more crazy than he is!!

Cree didn't bother to answer. He turned and left Starbuck alone, facing
whatever those slowly opening doors would reveal.

***

Apollo was really curious about why Cree had so badly wanted to talk to
Starbuck in private. Those two didn't really know each other, except from a
couple of minor military projects and yes, because of Boomer's little
infatuation with the kid. Boomer had introduced Cree to Apollo and Starbuck
and the boy had sat with them in the officers' club a couple of times.
Apollo liked the kid. Cree was funny and seemed honest and unpretended.
Apollo really hoped the boy would make Boomer happy. Boomer deserved to be
loved.

But what in heavens did that cadet want with Starbuck now? Apollo shrugged.
Well, he was going to find out sooner or later when Starbuck would return
to the quarters. Apollo glanced at the timepiece. Felgercarb! Starbuck
really should be getting back pretty soon. They were due to go on patrol to
Probability in a mere centar.

Apollo finished packing his rucksack and placed it on the floor next to the
scanners, the betameter and the little blue box where the extra batteries
of the communicators were usually kept. Apollo couldn't stop smiling.
Starbuck had been so wonderfully cute and shy when he had proposed. Apollo
loved that man from the bottom of his heart and now they were finally
getting sealed. Nothing would ever come between them again. They would be
happy forever after…

* * *

The doors were open, but Starbuck couldn't see much. He waited for a couple
of microns until his eyes started to adjust to the darkness that was
awaiting him.

There were two or three soft lamps in that room. A bed, a dresser, and a
metallic table with a matching ascetic chair. A turboflush and a sink were
in the east corner of the room. A figure of a man was standing by the
window, facing Starbuck.

"Come in, Starbuck." The man spoke.

Starbuck shuddered. By heavens, he had the same smile, the same eyes.

"Seeing you is a pleasure…" The man started walking towards Starbuck.
"Please, why don't you step inside and close the door. We don't want the
whole ship to hear about our little conversation, now do we…"

The man smiled sarcastically. He knew very well that the imbecil of a
doctor and his little helpers were even now listening to every word the man
was saying. Using the electronic devices hidden in the room.

"Don't forget now that this place is supposed to be an isolation chamber."
The man kept his amused pale eyes on Starbuck. "Now, close the door,
beautiful, so we can…" The man grinned. "…Isolate!"

Starbuck hesitated but he did eventually close that door. He was now alone
with the man surrounded by darkness and painful memories. "What do you want
from me, Lomas?" Starbuck asked, quietly.

Lomas's smile was just as breathtakingly enticing as it had been before he
had… disappeared. "Don't be so impatient Starbuck." Lomas was now in front
of the blond pilot. "Everything will be told in time.." The man's eyes were
so penetrating. The hypnotizing waterponds Starbuck hated even more the red
eyes of the cylons. Lomas wanted to touch Starbuck's face. Touch the same
skin as Apollo had caressed. Run his fingers along the traces of Apollo's
touch…

"Now, where shall I start…" Lomas prolonged his soft words, not taking his
eyes off Starbuck's.

Starbuck couldn't believe he was actually alone in this dark room with the
crazy freak who tried to steal Apollo's heart. "Well, why don't you start
from the night you should have died…" Starbuck said bitterly.

"Oh my!" Lomas smiled amused. "Aren't we jealous…"

Starbuck didn't answer. He kept hoping he had his laser so he could finish
the job that Lomas had left half-way.

"The night I should have died…" Lomas turned away from Starbuck to hide his
face in the shadows. "You are right, beautiful…" Lomas walked to the window
and remained standing there, his back turned to Starbuck. "…I should have
died." He turned.

Starbuck gasped as he saw the immense agony that those big pale eyes
reflected.

* * *

Cree was sitting alone in the grim entering lounge of the Sagittarian. He
had wasn't thinking about the exciting planet Probability. He wasn't
interested in the dark power now. Cree was feeling so lonely and scared. So
vulnerable. He knew too well he was going to lose Lomas, his beautiful
mentor. Perhaps to Apollo… or Starbuck… Maybe to the dark rivers of the
mind… But most probably to death.

* * *

Lomas was looking at Starbuck for a very very long time before he spoke
again. "Cree, the little fool saved my life." Lomas tried to smile
ironically but failed.

Starbuck was hardly able to breath. "What happened?"

Lomas' eyes lingered away from Starbuck and wondered aimlessly around the
dark room. "The angel face was such a fool to throw himself against me and
grab a hold of my wrist just as I was about to… be finally salvaged."

Starbuck didn't answer.

"The shot that was supposed to hit the monsters in my head…" Lomas' smile
was terrifying now. "…Happened to hit the mere flesh on my thigh."

Lomas' eyes were too pale. Starbuck had to keep reminding himself that he
was not looking at the eyes of a lupus, but those of a tormented man. A man
whom he had hated so much. Lomas continued, but his voice had suddenly
gained strenth. Become softer, more calm. "I didn't understand why that boy
had risked his own life to save mine." Lomas spoke. "Not until he came to
see me here on the Sagittarian…"

"The kid has obviously got the hots for you!" Starbuck wanted to get the
frack away from this place. "By lords I don't understand why, but we can't
really argue when it comes to the matters of taste, can we…"

Lomas' smile was hardly noticeable. "Yes. That is what I thought too, in
the beginning…" Lomas kept his eyes on Starbuck. "But after that first
visit I understood. The angel face and I, we are the same kind. We both
have to enter our minds to control the rivers."

Starbuck had no idea what this fruitcake was babbling about, but he
remained silent.

Lomas didn't speak either. He walked over to the dresser and opened a
drawer. Starbuck's eyes followed the man.

"Well, if you so much wanted to escape those monsters in your head…"
Starbuck started. "Why in heavens did you consent to be taken to this
paradise?…" Starbuck looked around the room and rolled his eyes. "If I had
been in your boots…" Starbuck suddenly paused, horrified as he saw what
Lomas had taken out of the drawer.

A laser gun.

Starbuck stared at the crazy son of a daggit. "Hey, it's not fare to shoot
an un-armed man!!"

Lomas raised his left eyebrow. "What are you waffling on about, Starbuck?"

Starbuck swallowed. He had just come to the conclusion that it would be
pointless to try to talk some sense into the head of this insane lunatic so
he remained silent, watching Lomas grinning at him like there was something
amusing about the situation. Lords, the guy must be crazier than we all
thought…

"This gun…" Lomas kept his eyes on the other man. "Is a proof that I have
no longer need to escape. I have become so much stronger than I ever
thought possible." Lomas smiled. "I could have killed myself any micron.
But instead, I chose to face my eyes. I chose to enter the rivers." Lomas
put the gun gently on the bed. "All I need now is intensity…" He raised his
eyes to look at Starbuck again. "…And that I will find in the company of
other human beings." Lomas started walking towards Starbuck. "In other
words…" The man was closer now. "…I am finally cured."

Starbuck rolled his eyes. "Cured, yeah, sure you are!!"

"I will be released from this place very soon. And…" Lomas came closer and
closer. "And then I will live surrounded by the intensity forever." Lomas
was now standing in front of Starbuck. "Although I know I will never be
free from the rivers…" Lomas extended his hand and touched Starbuck's face.
Touched the traces of Apollo's fingers. "… I have come to realize I don't
have to be." Lomas touched Starbuck's lips. "Those rivers…" Lomas smiled.
"…Are me."

Starbuck shuddered violently. "You are out of your felgercarbing mind!"

Lomas withdrew his hand, but his face remained very close to Starbuck's. He
kept his eyes on Starbuck for a long time without saying a word. The faint
light from the lamps in the room glimmered in Lomas' wavy hair, making him
look like an elf. Lomas smiled. "You have not yet heard why I asked you to
come here…"

Lomas' eyes were pale as ice. Starbuck was suddenly scared to death of the
look in those eyes.

"Oh, don't tell me there's another reason for this than just raving on like
a madman, enjoying the chance to perform to an audience…" Starbuck snorted.

Lomas laughed. Such an engaging laughter.

Starbuck hated it.

"You are more like me Starbuck than you even realize…" Lomas was smiling
like an angel. But his eyes were those of a fiend.

* * *

Chapter 9

Cree raised his eyes. Something was very wrong. He had get back to Lomas'
isolation chamber as quickly as possible. Cree shot up and ran to the
doors.

The guard cast curious glances as the boy flew past him and disappeared
into the metallic corridor. Jeeez, even the visitors in this place were
fruitcakes! The guard shook his head. He couldn't wait to be promoted and
get the frack away from this ship of idiots.

Cree couldn't ran fast enough. He grew more and more frustarated every time
he was stopped to be examined by metal detectors. Damn it! His mentor was
in trouble. Cree had to get to Lomas now!

* * *

Starbuck stared at Lomas' horrifyingly beautiful face, so afraid to hear
what the monster was about to tell him. There was a very long lingering
silence in the chamber.

Lomas' waterpond eyes were now like frozen, ice-covered oceans. He was
standing so close to Starbuck that they seemed to be embracing without
touching.

"Starbuck…" Lomas smiled. "How much do you really know about your
childhood?"

"None of your business, you daggit!" Starbuck wanted to be furious. He
wanted to hate that leering monster standing so close to him, but his
feelings were somehow paralized. The only thing that was left was fear.

"What lies has Chameleon told you?" Lomas raised one eyebrow.

"Why for frack's sake are you so interested in me, Lomas?" Starbuck wanted
to yell and scream but his voice remained a whisper. "Why for sagan's sake
am I here? I have to go on patrol in half a centar. I don't have time to
stand here and play these stupid little games that obviously entertain you
so enormously!"

Lomas smiled at Starbuck, amused.

"So, you damn freak of a devil, if you don't have anything more meaningful
to say this very micron I'm off to find some frack a lot more intriguing
company…" Starbuck needed all his will power to turn away from Lomas and
start walking towards the exit.

He reached the door and placed his hand on the button.

Lomas' soft steps echoed from behind.

Lomas took a hold of Starbuck's arm and made him turn around, to face him.

Starbuck found himself once more devoured by those icy oceans that used to
be eyes.

Lomas took a strong hold of Starbuck by the back of his head and slowly
brought his own face closer and closer until his lips lightly touched
Starbuck's.

A kiss, but not a beautiful one.

A kiss, that slashed open Starbuck's heart and pulled out everything warm
and pleasant, replacing them with horror and coldness.

Their lips parted. Slowly. Lomas almost touched Starbuck's cheek but then
let his hand drop. The beautiful man's face was serene as he spoke.
"Welcome to my world of rivers, my brother."

Starbuck almost burst out laughing. "Yeah, I know you have a weird way of
expressing yourself, but do you mind if you didn't refer to me as your
brother. It doesn't really sound like something we would ever be." Starbuck
was releaved. The man was obviously as crazy as those old chimpanzees on
the livestock ship, and definately harmless in the end. Starbuck turned to
go. "Well, if you excuse me…" He grinned at Lomas. "Duty calls." Starbuck
started towards the door. "I'll leave you now with all the other lunatic
brothers you have on this ship of fruitcakes." Starbuck was still grinning.
"Your real brothers…"

Lomas smiled. "Do you think I am using symbolic expressions, Starbuck."

Starbuck had once again reached the door and wasn't really listening to
that lunatic freak any longer. He just wanted to get out of this place and
get to Apollo to tell his about this monkey of a man.

Lomas' eyes followed Starbuck to the door. "I never use meaningless
symbolic expressions, Starbuck." Lomas was still smiling. "Besides, aren't
you forgetting something, beautiful…" Lomas paused.

Starbuck was just about to press the red button.

"The forest of Umbra, Starbuck. The dark forest."

Starbuck turned. "So? Not very hard to remember that I once told about that
night and my childhood on the IFB broadcasting…"

Lomas kept his eyes on Starbuck. "Yes. But what you didn't tell in that
broadcasting was that someone came to see you in that orphanage."

* * *

Cree kept running. He was out of breath and he had no idea if he was going
to the right direction or was even in the right corridor any more. For
sagan's sake, those metallic hallways crossed each other endlessly and they
all looked the same.

Oh, but Cree couldn't stop. He had to get to Lomas.

* * *

Starbuck was suddenly not at all so releaved any more. This was something
he had been forcing out of his mind for so long he had almost forgotten
about it. The cold chills that rushed into his body made him shiver.

Lomas walked to Starbuck. "When you had been in that orphanage for three
years, someone came to see you. Isn't that right Starbuck…"

"How do you know…" Starbuck's voice was suddenly choked. It became harder
to breath.

Lomas continued. "Someone, a little boy who claimed to be your brother,
came to visit you…"

Oh lords. Starbuck didn't want to remember.

"You of course told him to get lost, didn't you Starbuck…" Lomas was now in
front of the pilot. "You were pretending to be so powerful and invincible."
Lomas smiled. "But you knew. Even then you knew…"

Starbuck closed his eyes. Suddenly he was a child again, sitting in the
deteriorating living room of the Umbra orphanage. In front of him was a
blond, little boy. A boy about the same age as he was. A boy that had an
innocent smile and a horrifying story to tell.

Starbuck's real parents were never married. His mother had abandoned him
the moment he was born, leaving him inside a garbage can in the corner of
Corellian Street, a quiet cross street of Capricornia Avenue. The main
street of Caprica City.

A squadron of young traffic controllers had found the little baby and taken
him to the headquarters of SSSC, the street supervising squadron of Caprica
City. And it must have been the baby's lucky day because a man named
Chameleon worked in that place at the time as a book keeper. He ended up
having custody of that child and so Starbuck's first four years were happy
ones.

The family Chameleon moved to Cyrannus, about a yahren before the cylons
came and raided the place. Young Chameleon Junior went astray from his
surrogate parents during that raid and got lost in the endless forest of
umbra. Alone and frightened.

Chameleon Junior was taken to the Umbra orphanage where he had to consent
to spend his unhappy childhood yahrens. There was no other place he could
have gone to. He was told that his parents had most probably died. No one
in the orphanage knew who the little boy or his parents were, and so the
boy was re-christened as Starbuck. Not least because of his obviously
adventurous nature.

After spending three yahrens in that horrible place, an instructioness came
to Starbuck to tell him he had a visitor. Starbuck's heart had leaped. He
had been so sure his parents had finally come to get him out of that
forsaken place. Starbuck had rushed to the main living room but there had
only been a little boy.

Starbuck didn't remember the boy's name after the incident, but he sure did
remember for a long time what the boy had told him.

The boy had claimed to be Starbuck's brother. He had told a horrifying
story about garbage cans and abandonment. Starbuck had wanted to shut his
ears from all this felgercarb but the boy had kept on speaking. He had told
Starbuck who his real father was, but the name hadn't meant anything to
Starbuck so he had forgotten it the micron he had heard it. The boy had
seemed so honest and Starbuck had hated him so much.

Starbuck never saw the boy again after that. Never. So, in the yahrens to
come, Starbuck had almost succeeded in forgetting all that felgercarb.
Almost. Not completely however, because in some unexplainable way, in the
depths of his heart, Starbuck had always suspected the boy had been telling
the truth.

So Chameleon had been honest with Starbuck the whole time he had been
denying his blood relation. But how in heavens did that old man succeed in
fumbling with the test results. Starbuck knew that Cassiopeia would never
lie about a thing like that…

"Chameleon is a talented swindler, Starbuck" Lomas knew what Starbuck was
thinking. "He had his ways…"

Starbuck and Lomas were standing face to face in that dark isolation
chamber.

"I was the little boy who came to see you." Lomas smile was somehow
melancholic. "I am your brother Starbuck."

"No!" Starbuck's scream remained a whisper.

"But you were luckier than me, my brother. You escaped in time." Lomas'
face was now the only thing Starbuck saw in that room. "Our father never
had the chance to…get to know you better…"

"By heavens…" Starbuck couldn't listen.

"Our father… Baltar. He never had a chance to… touch you, Starbuck." Lomas'
eyes were glazing.

Starbuck covered his ears.

"But the rivers are still there in your mind, my brother." The dim lights
in the room seemed to grow darker. "You and I, Starbuck. We are one."

"NOOOO!" Starbuck screamed from the depths of his lungs and dived towards
the bed. He grabbed the laser gun and pointed it at Lomas. The man, who was
now destroying everything that Starbuck had built. All the foundations of
his world. "You are lying! Please tell me you are insane!"

Lomas didn't answer. The expression in his eyes was tranquil, like the look
in the eyes of capricorns in the time of dawn. "Release the rivers,
Starbuck."

"STOP! STARBUCK, BY THE LORDS OF KOBOL!" Cree was there, standing by the
door, his eyes wide with horror. "Please Starbuck, put the gun down!"

"Let the rivers flow inside you mind, my brother." Lomas' pale eyes were
gleaming.

Starbuck was paralized. He kept pointing the laser gun at Lomas, his finger
so close to the trigger. He wanted to kill this monster who was telling him
all these lies. Starbuck wanted to see the lights of insanity go out from
those pale eyes. His finger crept closer to the trigger.

"Starbuck, I'm begging you!" Cree was crying.

The doctor with thick eyeglasses rushed to the door, panicking. "Young man,
the guards are on their way. Put down the weapon NOW!"

Lomas was smiling. "My brother." He whispered.

* * *

Boomer had finished packing. He had made up his mind. Slowly he put the
rucksack on the floor. Then he walked to the table where Starbuck had left
a pack of fumarellos by accident, the last time he had been in Boomer's
quarters.

Boomer took one of the fumarellos out of the pack, put it in his mouth and
lit it. Sagan it tasted like felgercarb. Boomer never puffed those things,
but this time, he just needed one. This patrol was going to be the last
time Boomer would perform his duties as a squadron pilot and a trained
warrior.

He smoked the whole fumarello in silence, smoke curling around him, all
over the quarters. Turning the place ethereal. Boomer turned and stubbed
out the thing. He watched until the podge slowly extinguished. Then he
picked up the rucksack and left his quarters without looking back.

* * *

Starbuck was squeezing the laser gun hard in his hands. His finger was
caressing the tiny trigger. Four guards had dashed to the open doorway,
pointing their laser guns at Starbuck.

Cree couldn't see properly through the tears of despair that veiled his
eyes.

The clown of a doctor was wiping his sweaty forehead with a white napkin.
"Please, young man. Put down the gun."

Sagan how that old man irritated Starbuck. No wonder Lomas was more crazy
than ever if he had been treated by people like that!…

Starbuck's forefinger put more pressure on the trigger, and it moved. Just
a tiny fraction.

Lomas' huge eyes were staring at Starbuck. Excited eyes. By lords the man
wanted to be shot!

Starbuck couldn't think straight. His whole life had just crashed. He was
the son a madman! And his brother was his worst enemy! Starbuck was staring
at Lomas' beautiful face but all he saw now was Baltar's deceitful eyes.
His own father's eyes.

By heavens, his own eyes…

Starbuck turned the gun away from Lomas and pointed it to his own head. He
closed his eyes as his finger put more pressure on the trigger…

* * *

Where the frack was Starbuck! Apollo kept pacing around the quarters,
growing more and more concerned. They were due to go on that patrol in five
centons!! Apollo had already contacted all the people he could think of,
but no one seemed to know where that frack of a man was! Well, he better
get his pretty butt back in microns or there would be felgercarb to pay.

* * *

Someone grabbed Starbuck's wrist and tried to force the laser gun away from
his hands. It was one of the guards. In a fraction of microns Starbuck
noticed how Cree was running to Lomas, crying. How the doctor was still
wiping his forehead with the stupid tissue. And how the other guards were
still pointing their guns at Starbuck. The laser gun fell to the floor.
Starbuck didn't find the inner strength to keep struggling. He collapsed to
the floor and covered his face with his hands.

The doctor walked to Starbuck. "I know how you must be feeling, young man.
Hearing about your identity in such horrendous way…" The doctor knealed
before Starbuck and tried to look into his eyes. "…But believe me, that it
will get easier…"

"Get the frack away from me!" Starbuck struggled to his feet. He ran to the
door and past the guards. All the way down the corridors to the entering
lounge. He ran desperately as fast as he could, trying to get away from the
horrible truth and the soul-tearing agony. Trying to escape the real
identity of himself.

***

"Starbuck!" Apollo flew to the door. "Where in the names of the lords have
you been?? We were supposed to go on patrol fifteen centons ago!!" Apollo
was angry as frack but his relief was more powerful. He embraced his blond
warrior lover and hugged him so tight. "I was so frightened that something
horrible had happened to you Starbuck!" Apollo hugged Starbuck so tight the
man was hardly able to breath. "Where have you been?…"

Starbuck couldn't bare this. He pushed Apollo away, not hard but firmly. He
couldn't even look at Apollo in the eyes. "I have to get away from this
place!" Starbuck loped to the closet, pulled out his rucksack and started
throwing his things in it. "The sooner we go on that patrol the better. I
just… I have to get away!"

"Starbuck. What has happened to you?" Apollo was frightened now. Starbuck's
eyes were too pale, too pained. "Where did Cree take you?…" Apollo felt a
sudden wave of fury flashing though his body. If that cadet had done
something to hurt Starbuck…

Starbuck closed the zipper of the bag and picked it up. He still couldn't
look at Apollo.

"Believe me when I tell you that you don't want to know!" Starbuck rushed
past Apollo towards the open door. "Let's go!"

Apollo flew after him and took a hold of his jacket. "Hey, wait a micron.
Starbuck. You better tell me what's going on…"

Starbuck turned. This time his eyes looked straight into Apollo's. "I just
found out who I really am." His grin was frighteningly sarcastic. "And I
just happened to meet my lovable brother!"

What???" Apollo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Who…"

Starbuck was already on his way down the corridor.

Apollo quickly picked up his rucksack and the other equipment and ran after
his lover. By the elevators he caught Starbuck and forced him to turn.
"Please tell me what in heavens are you babbling about?! What do you mean
you met your brother?!" Apollo was out of breath. "For sagan's sake
Starbuck…"

Starbuck's tired eyes turned to look at Apollo. "You will find out, my
love. Very soon." Starbuck's smile was so sad. "But when you do find out…"
Starbuck sighed. "You will start hating me, Apollo."

"No way in eternity Starbuck!" Apollo was horrified to hear him say such
things. "Nothing in this universe could ever cause me to stop loving you!"

Starbuck was still smiling. He softly touched Apollo's cheek. "I love you
so much, my angel." Starbuck's tender whisper echoed from the bare metallic
walls. "I will never stop loving you, no matter what happens." Oh, how
Starbuck's heart ached. He tenderly kissed Apollo. So tenderly that it was
almost painful. "Please try to understand that what I am about to do is for
the best!"

"What? Hey…"

Starbuck turned and stepped into the elevator.

* * *

Cree couldn't leave his beautiful mentor. He was still holding Lomas.
Pressing the man's beautiful head against his chest as hard as he could, so
the man would hear Cree's desperately beating heart.

Lomas' eyes were closed. He was now so tired. So tired of remembering.

"Please father. Please let me go…" The little boy was in his daddy's arms.

Daddy was caressing the boy's soft cheeks with his ragged fingertips. "That
is no way to talk to daddy dearest!" Baltar smiled to the boy. "You
wouldn't want daddy to get angry now, would you…"

The boy couldn't answer. His father's fingers were touching his tiny,
sensitive lips.

Baltar pulled little Lomas closer and whispered in his ear. "Now, remember,
son…"

Lomas heard the rivers of his father's soft whispers echoing in his head.

"You have to promise that you will never tell a soul about our little
secret…" Baltar's lips were so close they were touching the boy's ear. "If
you disappoint your daddy…" Baltar's fingers ran through the boy's wavy
hair. "Daddy will come and cut your prescious little throat…"

The six-year-old Lomas could feel the currents of air as his father spoke.

Currents and dark rivers.

"Do you understand, now, my pretty one?…"

"Yes father." Lomas' answer was barely audible.

Baltar's hand was stroking the little boy's thighs now, moving up. Closer
to his tiny penis.

Lomas closed his eyes. He hated his father. Hated so much that his little
heart was about to burst.

* * *

"We have now information that the blue squadron will be launching is seven
centons." Rigel reported to commander Adama without looking him. "Shall I
start inserting the clearance data?"

"Please do." The old commander replied absent-mindedly. He had spotted Tigh
by the entrance of the bridge, walking hastily towards him and Rigel.

"Colonel." Adama smiled. "I'm quite surprised by your eagerness to start
your duty shift twenty five centons before due."

"Commander…" Tigh reached Adama's side. "There has been another slaughter…"

"What?" Adama kept his now alert eyes on Tigh. "On the Galactica? Have they
all been on the battlestar so far?…"

"Yes commander." Tigh spoke with formality. "This is the third one."

Tigh paused for a micron and took a deep breath.

"The victim has been identified as corporal Lewis. He was found near the
recreation chambers about fifteen centons ago."

"By heavens…" Adama waited for Tigh to continue.

"The murder weapon appears to be very alike the one used in the two
previous cases. The victim is… well, to put it frankly sir. The victim is
completely butchered…" Tigh shuddered. He had seen the body, or rather the
remains of it, with his own eyes. "We will have more information in less
than two centars. Doctor Salik is prepairing for the autopsy as we speak."

Adama's gaze lingered in darkness outside the windows for a while. Then he
turned to look at Tigh. A very serious look.

"Colonel. It looks like we have a serial killer amongst us…"

* * *

Chapter 10

The blue squadron vipers landed on the planet Probability at approximately
2 centars after midday.

Apollo climbed down from his viper and looked around the place, amazed.

Apart from Starbuck and Boomer, he saw no one else. The whole place was
deserted. Well, actually, it was better that way. They would have time to
observe the local inhabitants before they would be discovered themselves.
But how breathtakingly beautiful the place was! Far away in the horizon,
endless rugged mountains were reaching for the blue sky. Most of those
mountains were so high that their tops were covered with a thick veil of
white clouds.

The area where the vipers had landed was a enormous field, bursting with
wild flowers and tall grass. A couple of trees were growing here and there,
their heart-shaped leaves rustling in the mild afternoon wind. And where
the field ended, a forest of extremely tall trees started. A forest, that
seemed to grow all the way to the mountains and must have covered an area
of at least two hundred metrics.

Apollo had never before seen such a clear day. One could see so far away
into the distance that it felt like you could almost extend your hand and
touch the mountains. The wild flowers filled the air with a scent of mild
perfume, and few buzzers were swarming around those flowers.

Starbuck walked to Apollo. "By heavens! This place must be paradise!" He
kept looking around the beautiful, peaceful landscape. "Now I'm definately
sure this place is Earth! No question about it whatsoever!"

Apollo's eyes lingered on Starbuck for a long time. He was very concerned
about his friend and lover. Starbuck had not consented to talk about his
obviously terrifying experience, and Apollo was bursting with worry. He had
done his best to make Starbuck open up, but the man had not said one word
about it. Nothing! Apollo couldn't understand.

And now Starbuck was acting so carefree, like he was the happiest man in
the star system.

But Apollo saw under the surface. He knew Starbuck much too well. Inside,
the man was screaming from agony and terror. Apollo sighed sadly. The
orphanage had brought Starbuck up well. He was too good at hiding his heart
if he wanted.

Boomer had appeared there beside Apollo and Starbuck. "All right." Boomer's
hands were on his hips as he eyed his companions. "Now what?"

"It's so strange that there is no sign of human life in a place like this!"
Apollo kept looking at the forest and the breathtaking mountains.

"Yeah! If I lived on this planet, this field would be the first place where
I would build my home." Starbuck grinned. "And then, all the other ten
homes in the place where all the other people are."

Boomer glanced at Starbuck. "Oh, you're already planning for your future as
a millionaire."

"Sure am!" Starbuck took a pack of fumarello from his jacket's pocket.

Apollo spoke. "I think we better check out the scanner readings. The
inhabited areas cannot be that far away. If we get moving now, we'll reach
them before it gets dark." Apollo glanced at the blue, bright sky. "If it
ever gets dark in this place…"

* * *

Lomas was sitting in the office of the doctor with thick eyeglasses. This
was the very first time the doctor had invited Lomas to have a conversation
with him in his office. Lomas had no idea what to expect. But he sat there,
in front of the doctor, looking very calm and serene. So beautiful that the
doctor found it hard to look at that man.

"Do you have any idea why I asked you to come…" The doctor took off his
eyeglasses and started wiping them with a white tissue. Probably the same
one he always wiped his forehead with.

Lomas didn't answer. He smiled a little, waiting for the doctor to
continue.

"We have decided to…" The doctor put his glasses back on. "…Let you leave
the Sagittarian."

The doctor expected to see Lomas very suprised, overwhelmed, ecstatic, but
to his amazement the young man remained too tranquil. Not a fraction of
expression changed on his enticing face. The doctor swallowed. "After
consulting with few of my colleagues, we came to a conclusion that there is
nothing more we can do for you, young man."

Lomas stared at the doctor.

"So, you could say that…ummm…" The doctor glanced at some papers on the
table, just so he wouldn't have to look into those pale eyes. "…That you
are cured." The doctor coughed. "You will be released in just few days.
After all the paperwork is finished."

Lomas couldn't believe his ears. "Where would I go?" He asked, quietly.

"We have negotiated with the head personnel of the Piscean. They are ready
to accomodate you."

"The Piscean…" Lomas tasted that word in his mouth. He knew it was one of
the worst places in the fleet. The pisceans lived under strict, religious
rules, and those who went astray were harshly punished.

"You may return to your quarters for now." The doctors eyes followed Lomas
as the man stood up and walked out of the office, softly closing the door
behind him.

The doctor sure was relieved this conversation was over. He always felt
uncomfortable in the company of that strange young man. The doctor knew it
was the worst possible decision to let Lomas leave, but the man couldn't
stay on the Sagittarian any longer, that was for sure. There was nothing
they could do to cure that man's dark mind. It was time to give up trying.

* * *

Lomas stepped inside his dark chamber and heard the door closing behind
him. He slowly looked around the quarters. Looked at every little detail of
that ascetic room. So, it was time to leave, huh. Fine. Lomas had known it
was to happen sooner or later. But the forsaken Piscean… Oh, he would never
set foot on that damn ship, that was for fracking sure. He had other plans.
And perhaps Starbuck would be strong enough to be a part of those plans.

Lomas smiled. "My brother." He whispered.

* * *

A long haired, dark man opened the gates. Then he turned to look at the
others. "You can consider yourself extremely lucky that I found you in
time." The man's voice was surprisingly low, but quite pleasant. "In half a
centar it will be dark. We have to hurry!"

Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer followed the dark man through the gateway.

"No man can survive above the water when darkness falls." The man was
walking quite fast. Apollo and the others had to almost run to keep up with
him. "When the sun sets, the atmospere goes through a chemical reaction. A
very harmful reaction."

They reached another gateway. A bigger one.

"The oxygen molecules are exposed to syflos gas when the temperature drops
below 25 cekrans. Which it always does when the darkness falls and the
moons rise." The man turned to face the others again. "That is why our
communities live above ground during daytime, and then escape to the cities
of benightment for the centars of darkness."

Apollo kept his eyes on the man. "We understand."

Boomer was standing a couple of steps behind Apollo and Starbuck. "So that
is why you have inhabited only a fraction of the planet…"

"Exactly." The man smiled. "Only a fraction of the subterranean areas..."
The man paused as he concentrated in opening the final gate. "…And always
the districts closest to the oceans. We could not live on this planet
otherwise."

Starbuck stared at the man. "Excuse me if I sound like a moron now, but how
in heavens are you guys able to breath under water??"

The man looked at Starbuck. "Good question." He grinned. "You will not
notice it but our cities are built inside enormous, almost endless caves.
They are so huge one can not usually see the walls. Most of the people in
our communities have probably even forgot that our residential areas are in
fact cavernous."

Apollo wanted to know more. "But how about the oxygen in these caves. How
can it be enough for all the people… Errr, how many people did you say that
approximately live on this planet?"

"For lords' sake" The man laughed. "I could never say. Billions! No one
knows for sure. But in my community, we have approximately seven to eight
million inhabitants." The man's dark brown eyes were on Apollo. "And what
comes to our oxygen supplies… We have a very developed mechanism that turns
carbon dioxide into oxygen."

"But if your system is so developed, maybe in time you could fight those
syflon gas molecules, turn them into oxygen, or at least carbon dioxide,
which you could then turn to oxygen…"

"You are very intelligent, my friend." The dark man grinned at Apollo.
"Yes. We are hoping to be able to do that some day. But for now, we will
have to spend our nights under these oceans." The man smiled and gestured
to Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer to follow him. "Please, come. When we go
through this gateway, those syflon molecules cannot harm us." The man
turned to go. "Please follow me."

* * *

Tigh kept his eyes on Kadeem. They were in Tigh's quarters. Together alone.
Adama was on the bridge, following closely the development of the
expedition to the planet Probability.

"All I can say is that you follow your heart." Tigh replied to Kadeem's
flood of words. "If you ask me…" Tigh smiled. "…There is nothing wrong with
experiencing new emotions and horizons."

Kadeem's heart was racing. He was listening to Tigh very carefully.

"Just do what you want, Kadeem!" Tigh slowly stood up. "Now if you'll
excuse me I have to get back to the bridge!"

Kadeem stood up too. He was smiling at Tigh very warmly, very thankfully.

"I guess I'll be seeing you on the textile ship." Tigh grinned. Kadeem
shook the older man's hand and started to walk towards the door.

"And if you want some really good advise…"

Kadeem turned. Tigh's eyes were twinkling.

"I can highly recommend those famous Goscarot bras. They feel like ambrosa
against you skin." Tigh grinned. "You'll find them on the omega side of the
textile ship."

Kadeem's smile was from one ear to the other. "Thanks for the tip…"

* * *

They entered a world they had never seen before. The dark man led Starbuck,
Boomer and Apollo to the edge of a balcony so they would have a good view
of what was opening ahead and below of them. They all held their breath.

There had been enourmous cities on the twelve colonies but nothing like
this. Skyscrapers that climbed all the way up to invisibility. And such
skyscapers were everywhere, as far as one's eyes could possible carry. And
the most suprising thing about those buildings was that they were all the
same colour, the same size, and even the same shape.

"Yeah, looks like you can really get lost in that place!" Starbuck mumbled.

Streets and avenues were curling between those buildings like thousands of
snakes. And all the roads were covered with something black that glimmered.
It didn't look at all like asphalt. There were people everywhere, swarming
on the glimmering streets like tiny dots.

The dark man looked at his guests. "This city is called Gezamâ. The Morning
Of Hope."

"Beautiful name!" Apollo replied politely.

"The man smiled. Yes. It is. But the city itself is not at all so
beautiful. Mindless violence, crime and deceit blossom on those glimmering
streets. Violence. Such waste of human capabilities, isn't it." The man
sighed. "Anyway. That is why I never spend my nights in that place." The
man gestured to the others to follow. "Please, come."

"Where are we going?" Starbuck asked. "I sure do hope you know a safe way
to get down from this place. We must be at least 1000 metrons above those
streets…"

"We are not going down there." The man grinned. "I will take you to
Camileon, The Fire Of Purple Clouds. That is the town where I live in."

The man took the others to a strangely fragile looking, silvery vehicle.

"You don't seriously think I going to climb into that pot, do you!"
Starbuck eyed the thing extremely suspicious.

Apollo glanced at his lover. "Come on Starbuck, I'm sure it's a frack of a
lot safer than what it looks like."

"Yeah right. And the cylons love us!"

"This is a boterra. The strongest flying object ever built in this star
system." The man was amused by Starbuck's hesitation. "I promise you, there
is no need to..."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Starbuck glanced up at the man. "Where are we?… I
mean, what is this planet called? And this star system?…"

"Our ancient ancestors named this star system Escapade. If you are
interested I will tell you about our history, but not now. Not here." The
man was stepping into the vehicle. "Oh, and our planet is called
Probability Of Distant Dreams."

"Frack!" Starbuck mumbled. "And I suppose the name Earth doesn't mean
anything to you…"

The man raised his eyes. "Earth! How in heavens do you know…"

Excited, Apollo stepped closer to the man and the vehicle. "So…You know
about Earth?"

The man looked suprised. "Well, of course I know about Earth! It's our
sister planet!"

Apollo was almost afraid to ask. "Is it somewhere in this star system?…"

"No." The man replied. "Not in the system Escapade.

Apollo swallowed "Do you know where it is…"

The man kept his eyes on his guests. "If you don't mind, we should really
be on our way as soon as possible. I promise I will tell you more about
Earth when the time is more suitable."

Starbuck frowned.

"Now, please step into the vehicle." The man was already switching on the
surprisingly silent engines. "By the way, you can call me Calbâ."

* * *

Athena looked around in the dark hallway to make felgercarbing sure no one
would see her breaking into the Canaris. This was easy. She had stolen the
key from Salik a long time ago, even before she had been emotionally
involved with the boray.

The doors opened.

Athena took a careful peek inside the dark place. It was empty. All the
patients were normally kept in the life center. The canaris was the medical
shuttle, offering help to people who couldn't get to the life center on
their own.

Athena stepped into the room. She didn't turn on the light. She could see
well enough in the glimmer of stars behind the windows. Besides she knew
where to look for the stuff she had come for. Without making any sound she
crept to the glass cabinet beside the doctor's desk. The same key that
opened the doors of the shuttle, fit into the lock of the cabinet. Athena's
eyes searched the shelves. Where the frack was it! Finally she spotted the
bottle near the thermometers.

Quickly Athena grabbed the bottle, closed the door of the cabinet and
carefully locked it with the key. She turned to find her way back to the
shuttle exit when she was suddenly blinded by a flashlight.

"By sagan! Is that you Athena?!?"

Athena dropped the bottle and jumped at least thirty metrons in the air.
She didn't recognize the voice. Shit if it was one of the senior guards…

"Athena?" The person turned off the flashlight and Athena's eyes slowly
adjusted to the starlight again. "Hey girl, what in heavens are you doing
in this place…"

It was Aurora. Starbuck's ex-lover from Caprica. Athena's legs almost
failed her from relief. "I could ask you the same thing, Aurora!!" Athena
tried to calm down her breathing.

Aurora kept her eyes on Athena for a very long time in the darkness.

"What?" Athena rolled her eyes.

"I think we need to get out of here." Aurora whispered.

"You're fracking right!" Athena croaked. She started rushing to the door.

"Hey!!" Aurora hissed.

Athena looked at the woman impatiently. "What is it now?"

Aurora was smiling. "Don't forget the bottle!"

Athena stared at Aurora for a fraction of a micron. Then she turned and
dashed back to the spot where she had dropped the bottle. She found it
easily and soon both of the women were running swiftly along the coridor
that led them away from the Canaris launching bay.

* * *

Starbuck kept his eyes closed during the whole horrifying flight on that
pot of a vehicle. Such a shame, because he missed the undescribable
landscape of the bottom of the seacaves. The animals and the plants. The
clouds and the lights.The colours and the blackness. The entirety and the
emptiness. He missed seeing of a completely new world.

The vehicle landed in the city of Camileon. How beautiful it was, Apollo
kept thinking as he saw the panorama of the town as they were approaching
it. So different from the dark metropolis of Gazamâ.

The man obviously wasn't very good at landing a plane. Starbuck was sure
his butt would ache yahrens after this.

The man climbed out of the machine. "Welcome to my home." He smiled. Apollo
and the others eyed the place with utter amazement. They were in a garden.

The colours were almost blinding. Boomer especially was really surprised
how the colours had become so much more intense under water than above the
ground where the sun painted them like a prism.

"This is…incredible!" He sighed. "Incredible!"

"Can you see those gates?" Calbâ walked to them and pointed at the huge
gateway, visible in the distance.

"What about it?" Boomer asked.

"Never go beyond that gate." Calbâ said. "It's the entrance to the
forbidden city." The man was not smiling. "Believe me, you do not want to
go there."

"Why?" Starbuck raised his eyebrows. "Is that the underworld of gamblers
and hustlers or what?"

"That city…" The man spoke. "Is the kingdom of the black queen."

* * *

Tigh was in the turbowashroom of his and Adama's quarters. Adama still
hadn't returned from duty. Fine, it gave Tigh some time to enjoy the
clothes he couldn't wear in public, under his uniform. Not to mention he
could put some make up on…oh lords.

Tigh was looking at himself in the mirror. His pink panties and a matching
pink bra were a bit too small, but Tigh didn't care. They looked great. And
they felt great.

Tigh dug his favourite lipstick out of the paper bag he always kept hidden
from Adama's eyes, and started to caress his lips with it. He was on fire.
Now the pink panties were definately too small!

The turbowashroom door opened. Tigh turned, horrified! He had forgotten to
lock it. Adama was standing there, by the doorway, dressed in a blue velvet
robe. He stared at Tigh without any expression on his face.

Centons must have passed. Tigh was sure he was going to die and go to hell.
Adama would definately dump his transvestite of a husband.

Tears were burning behind Tigh's eyes. He knew Adama would never accept
Tigh's new world!

The expression on Adama's face still had not changed. It was so blank that
Tigh wanted to scream. "What is the meaning of this?" Adama's tone was just
as expressionless as his face.

Tigh wanted so much to explain but there was nothing he could say. He just
stared at his husband in silence, his heart aching from shame.

"How long has this been going on?"

Tigh still couldn't answer. He just… couldn't.

"Is this going to become… a habit?"

Tigh couldn't bare this. "Please, Adama, please…"

Adama raised one eyebrow.

He let the blue robe slowly fall to the floor.

Tigh gasped.

Adama was wearing a crimson corset and red fishnet stockings… His smile was
wide. "Come here you naughty boy…"

* * *

Calbâ led Apollo, Boomer and Starbuck to a yellow kitchen of his house. He
gestured to them to take their seats at the table while he would fetch them
a drink from the cellar. A bottle of the finest docarello you can find
under these oceans, the man bragged. "I'll be right back."

"The black queen…" Starbuck said half aloud. He grinned. "Sounds like
something Boomer would like…"

Apollo laughed. Boomer gave Starbuck a glare. "Oh the loverboy jokes are
about to begin, are they…"

"Don't tell me you didn't find Vishnor in the least fascinating." Starbuck
was grinning. "Especially as he was wearing a mere kettle holder which
didn't really cover his…"

"You are incurable Starbuck!" Boomer rolled his eyes.

Apollo smiled slowly faded. Talking about Cerigta had reminded him of
Lomas. "So horrible…" He whispered, more to himself than to anyone else.

"What is?" Starbuck looked at Apollo.

"What Baltar did to his son… incest…"

"Yeah…" Someone just stabbed a hundred knives all over Starbuck's body, but
he somehow managed not to show his hurting at all. "Definately gives a
whole new meaning to the saying: Here comes daddy!" Starbuck grinned.

Apollo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Starbuck you are
unbelievable!"

Starbuck grinned. "That's me!"

Calbâ entered the kitchen carrying two bottles of docarello. "You are
definately going to like these!" Calbâ put the bottles on the table,
fetched four cups from the cupboard and sat down at the table with the rest
of them. "So, you want to hear about Earth…" Calbâ poured himself a drink.

Apollo told Calbâ what they had discovered on Caydra and why they had come
to this planet Probability Of Distant Dreams. He told about the diary, the
new race and the map.

The man listened in silence. It wasn't until Apollo had finished his story
that the man spoke.

"You are right. The thirteenth tribe came to this planet, thinking that
this was Earth."

"What happened?" Boomer asked with curiousity.

The man poured docarello into the cups. "Yes, we are descendants of the
thirteenth tribe."

Apollo gasped. "Go on!"

"You were right. The tribe did stay on this planet, for a very long time.
In fact, those people were the ones that started building these cities
under the oceans." The man took a sip from his cup. "The first squadrons
that the mother ship had sent to explore this planet before entering its
atmosphere found out about the syflos gas the hard way. A hundred people
died…"

Calbâ suddenly arose from his chair. "Oh dear, how inconsiderate of me…"

"What?" Boomer eyed the man.

"You guys must be hungry." Calbâ smiled. "Can I offer you some dabatas or…"

No, no, no, no, no!" Apollo impatiently tossed his hand. "Please, just go
on with your story…"

"The thirteenth tribe lived under the oceans for at least two hundred and
fifty yahrens according to the ancient carbon regimantals. The people did
realize that this was not the planet they had been looking for, but for a
little while, it didn't matter. They were happy, it didn't matter if it was
just for a micron in a millenium. Due to the harmful chemical reaction, the
planet had until that day been totally uninhabited. Now it became
over-exploited by thousands of humans whose technology was not in the least
as advanced as our's is now. People started dying of starvation. And there
wasn't enough oxygen in the caves, so too many people suffocated to death.
The communities made up their minds to rejoin together and continue their
voyage. And so they did, except for a little part of the tribe's population
who wanted to stay behind. Those people succeeded in establishing lives on
the planet in spite of the syflos gas. And there were now only a handful of
humans, so the oxygen supplies were sufficient and there was enough food to
feed the communities. Besides, those humans were obviously no imbecils.
They are the reason why our technology is now so advanced. They started all
the reseach and the manufacturing." The man paused. He took another sip
from the cup. "And then arrived the army of the black queen. After yahrens
and yahrens of desperation and war, the humans finally won their victory
over the black army. But so many men had been lost, so many yahrens wasted.
The black queen backed off. She withdrew her army and fled to the only
place that was not yet commuted by humans. The districts of the Jecâra. The
Ocean Of Disbelief."

Starbuck eyed the man like he was out of his mind. "The black queen? You
mean the same black queen that now controls the forbidden city?"

"The same one." Calbâ nodded.

Starbuck raised one eyebrow. "For Kobol's sake! The witch must be senile
and harmless by now!! Are you sure she didn't happen to, like… die, a
couple of thousand yahrens ago…"

"She's alive." Calbâ's voice was serene. "She's eternal. Just like the
power of the universe, she's everlasting, infinate. Overpowering."

"Sounds like my grandmother." Boomer grimaced. He was suddenly reminded of
the agonizing family reunions back on Caprica when he had been a kid.

Calbâ smiled. Apollo and Starbuck grinned.

Calba poured himself another cupful. "Besides…" Calba eyed his guests. "The
black queen is not a woman."

"Great, What is she then? A hairy male with tons of make up?" Starbuck
grinned.

"No one knows what she is." Calbâ looked at Starbuck. "No man, who is alive
today, has seen her."

* * *

Chapter 11

"Are you coming Starbuck?" Apollo lingered in the doorway, eyeing his blond
companion.

"In a centon…" Starbuck was leaning against the parapet of a little
balcony, his hands in his pockets, staring at the glow of lights that shone
from the distant centre of Camileon city. "In a centon…"

"What's wrong, Starbuck?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Starbuck's voice was soft. "You just go
ahead. I'll join you guys in a micron…"

Apollo knew something was wrong and he didn't want to leave Starbuck like
this. Surrounded by secret, dark thoughts. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Starbuck didn't look at his friend. "Just fine, Apollo. Never been better!"

Apollo hesitated for a long time. Finally he turned and walked into the
living room of Calbâ's quarters, closing the balcony door behind him.

Starbuck didn't notice to his beautiful friend leaving. He kept on staring
into the distance. Staring at the golden glow of Camileon.

Looking at the illuminated gates of the forbidden city…

* * *

This time Cree wanted so much to be disobedient. He wanted to hate the man.
Oh, but he couldn't. Cree was no longer in control of his own mind, or even
the beating of his own heart. Every part of his existence belonged to
beautiful Lomas. Cree had no choice. He had to obey.

But for sagan's sake he had no idea how to succeed in doing what Lomas had
asked him to do. The control center of the Galactica was always occupied by
on-duty officers and information techonology specialists. There was no way
in frack he could just sneak into that place and get the co-ordinates. Why
for sagan's sake did Lomas want those co-ordinates anyway!

Lomas had just eyed Cree with those waterpond eyes when he had asked about
it. "Angel face." Lomas had said. "You don't need to know. Not yet." The
man had touched Cree's hair so softly that it had made Cree tremble. "Just
do what I ask, my pretty one."

"Will you take me with you?" Cree had swallowed.

Lomas hadn't answered. He had just smiled and tenderly kissed Cree on the
cheek. "Bring me the co-ordinates."

Cree buried his face into his hands. Such unbearable, unrequited pain. Even
the acts of power had no consolation any longer. Cree wanted to cry. Oh
sagan, he needed to howl and scream! To force the desperate compulsiveness
out of his mind and tear away the horrible yearning from his heart before
it was too late.

Oh, but it already was too late. Much too late. There was only one way Cree
could ever find total freedom and tranquility. Cree had to be with Lomas
eternally. Or he would have to die.

* * *

Apollo walked to Boomer and Calbâ, who were sitting on the floor, sipping
their beweridges.

Boomer glanced up. "Where's Starbuck?"

Apollo sat down. "He'll join us in a centon."

"Oh?" Boomer raised one eyebrow. Calbâ was pouring docarello into Apollo's
cup.

"Yeah well, I guess he just likes the view a little more than the rest of
us." Apollo grinned.

Boomer's eyes were curious. He had noticed that Apollo was worried.

Apollo did his best to act casual. He smiled at Calbâ. "Your home sure is a
pretty one."

"Thanks!" Calba raised his cup and grinned.

Calbâ had shown his guests around his quarters a bit earlier, after they
had finished the overwhelming conversation about planet Probability.
Definitely not a big place. There were only four rooms. The furnishing was
extremely ascetic, but surprisingly elegant.

"Not bad for a bachelor!" Starbuck had grinned and whispered into Apollo's
ear. "I knew he wasn't sealed the moment we met him!"

"Sure you did!" Apollo had rolled his eyes.

The living room was all white. The sofa, two chairs, three huge carpets,
the walls… Everything, except the glass table next to the sofa. The glass
was carved like a prism, so it reflected the light from two white lamps and
painted the room with a million colours.

The bedroom was blue. Totally blue, apart from a touch of silver on the
ceiling. The only colours of the kitchen were yellow and violet. And then
there was one particular room…

It had no furniture. Its walls and ceiling were painted blood-red. Four
crimson carpets covered the floor. Seven lamps with bright-red light bulbs
and scarlet shades were placed around the room.

Boomer, Starbuck and Apollo had been amazed by each room, but this was
definitely the most fascinating.

"This is the place where I don't use my eyes." Calbâ smiled.

"HUH?" Starbuck stared at man. You mean you walk around this room with your
eyes closed or something… Why for sagan's sake. Don't you like the colour
or…"

"Shut up Starbuck!" Boomer hissed.

Calbâ laughed. "No my friend. Not eyes closed." Calbâ smiled warmly at the
others as he continued. "When I enter this room, I see with my soul."

Starbuck eyed Calbâ like he was a madman. "Oh?"

"This room is the same colour as my soul." Calbâ explained. "My soul is the
colour of blood. When I enter this place my soul and my being connect with
the eyes and the awareness of the universe. And I can see deeper into the
centre of life…"

"Well, isn't that great!" Starbuck was now sure the man was a total
crackpot.

"Are you looking at the center of life right now?" Starbuck rolled his
eyes. "Can you see sagan waving his hand or something…"

"Very funny." The man smiled. "To reach that point I have to spend centars
in this room, just looking at the colour of my soul."

Jeeez! "Don't you think you should be getting a little more sleep…"
Starbuck put his arm around Calbâ's shoulder. "I mean… When do you guys
generally sleep?? During the time of light, you rush out of these caverns
to enjoy the warmth of the sun. And when the night falls, you retire to
these caves and start partying underground…"

"Starbuck has a point." Apollo said. "When do you sleep?"

Calba looked at Apollo. "We only need to sleep 30 or 50 centons in 24
centars."

"No way!!" Boomer couldn't believe his ears.

"Oh yes, my friend." Calbâ smiled. "The equipment that provides us with
oxygen is the reason." Calba turned to leave the red room. The others
followed him, listening closely.

"The oxygen we breathe underwater is 83% more pure than the one above the
oceans. One of the elements used in creating such purified oxygen is called
genorex, which has a composition one could call… refreshing!" Calbâ laughed
out loud. "Its consistency is 99% energy… " Calbâ led the others to the
living room again. "And that is what our physical bodies are exposed to,
nightly."

"Wow!" Starbuck grinned. "Perhaps, if you don't mind, I can take a sample
of your underwater oxygen with me before we return to the Galactica. Man,
ff I was able to stay awake a secton on end I could win a fortune on the
Rising Star… Not to mention, we could sure beat the cylons!"

Calbâ laughed. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, my friend. But if this oxygen
is exposed to a ventilation even a fraction different than what we have
here, under these oceans, it immediately turns to syflon gas…"

"Frack!" Starbuck frowned.

Calbâ laughed again. Then he eyed his guests. "Please, follow me my
friends. I have something to show you…"

Calbâ had led Starbuck, Boomer and Apollo to a tiny balcony that he called
the pride and joy of his home. Apollo's could definitely understand why.
The little balcony was the garden of eden.

Except for two white wicker chairs, there was no furnishing. Only a
thick-leaved grapevine that climbed up the white, ragged walls. The glow
from the distant centre of Camileon painted the walls and the leaves of the
grapevine golden-brown and created moving shadows behind those leaves. And
then there was the sound. The continuous soft whisper of the moving
currents and waves of the enormous oceans above. It was like the oceans
were telling a tale of a thousand secrets.

* * *

The doctor had left the isolation chamber centons ago but Lomas still kept
on staring after him. No! Frack it! It was too early! He wasn't ready! This
was definately not good!

The doctor had just given Lomas the good news that he would be free to
leave the Sagittarian today. Great! Just great!

In fact, Lomas would have to leave in two centars. The clown of a doctor
had looked away from Lomas' pale eyes and mumbled something about needing
the isolation chamber for a new patient, who would be brought to the
Sagittarian from the Prison Barge today, before sleep cycle.

The doctor had grinned nervously and wished Lomas all the luck in his new
life on the Piscean.

Lomas had smiled at the doctor with utter contempt. "Oh, I'm sure my new
life will be such a happy one…"

The doctor hadn't answered. He had just given Lomas one more quick, nervous
smile without really looking at the man, and then stumbled out of the room
as fast as he could.

Lomas' eyes wondered away from the closed door. By lords, there had to be
something wrong with the ventilation. The air was freezing! Lomas put his
arms tightly around himself, trying to fight the horrible coldness that was
rushing into his inside. This was definately not good! The idiot doctor was
going to throw him out before he had had the time to refine his plan, to
find out about the details of the final destination. And he had not heard
from Cree yet. Felgercarb, he had to hear from Cree. Everything depended on
the boy now.

Lomas was sweating now. By sagan how he wanted to goudge the doctor's
bulging eyes out, to cut his head in half. Slowly tear the doctor's heart
out from his chest and feed it to the other patients for dinner. Oh, but of
course he wouldn't do it. He was cured. He was like everybody else now.

Lomas arose from the bunk and walked over to the sink to get a cup of cold
water. He let the water flow for a long long time before placing the
brownish cup under the faucet. Then he pressed the cool cup against his
burning forehead for centons before finally drinking the water. All of it.
In fact, he had to drink another cupful. And another. And yet another. By
heavens, Lomas felt like he was just about to die of thirst. The water
started flowing down Lomas' chin and neck as he was devouring it. Oh lords,
the water didn't quench his thirst at all. He still felt like he had been
walking around and around the enormous deserts of Kobol for endless
centuries. The room span around 180 degrees. The cup fell from Lomas'
hands. The man tried to grab a hold of the sink as the room disappeared
behind a veil of black rivers. They attacked him. The dark dreams. Lomas
collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

Apollo and the others must have spent centars in that little balcony.
Leaning against the paraphet, talking about this enticing underwater world
and the legend of the thirteenth tribe. Enjoying the piquant taste of
docarello and feeling so peaceful surrounded by the whisper of the oceans.

For some reason, Calbâ was very reluctant to talk about the black queen.
What a shame. That was the one thing Starbuck wanted most to talk about.

"What do you mean no man who is alive has seen her?" Starbuck was smoking a
fumarello and watching the smoke curling up towards the invisible ceiling
of the cavern. "Are you saying that if you lay your eyes on the queen you
just drop dead right tehn and there, or what?"

"I don't think that anyone has passed those gates in a hundred yahrens."
Calbâ's voice was just a fraction louder than the hum of the oceans. "And
if someone has…" Calbâ glanced at Starbuck. "He has never returned to tell
about it."

Starbuck didn't say anything. His eyes had found the illuminated gates of
the forbidden city, far away on the outskirts of Camileon. The gates seemed
somehow brighter than the rest of the nocturnal city. Even the carvings
seemed to be visible from the distance. It was so strange.

Too fascinating.

Apollo's hand was caressing Starbuck's back. Boomer's eyes were on the
orange-glowing clouds above the city.

"How come you guys have clouds in this place?"

Calbâ looked at Boomer and smiled a little. "When carbon dioxide turns to
oxygen, a tiny fraction of moisture is always formed and…"

Apollo poked Boomer with his elbow. "Yeah, buddy. And the rest of the
chemical felgercarb you should remember from instructional period."

Boomer smiled. "You wish!"

Apollo winked at his friend. "Oh, I almost forgot you were the
instructioness' nightmare, Boomer."

Boomer grinned. "Yeah… But secretly, believe it or not, she adored me!"

"Yeah, right!" Apollo laughed. "That's why you graduated from the InstCC a
year later than me. Only because the intructioness liked you so much she
didn't want to let you go."

Boomer raised one eyebrow and winked. "What can I do. It's my endless
charm!" He grinned.

"And of course my bad grades and unauthorized absences had nothing to do
with it whatsoever."

Apollo laughed. "Of course not."

The weather was changing. Calba felt the first shivers. "It's starting to
get chilly." He commented. "The temperature always drops a few cekrans
before dawn. "

"Why?" Apollo glanced at the man.

Calbâ didn't take his eyes off the clouds. "It's because the machinery that
provides us with the oxygen automatically increases its power about five to
seven centars after start-up. So the increase in moisture and genorex turn
the air colder. The man yawned. "Shall we go back inside?"

"Sure." Boomer turned towards Calbâ. "My cup is empty anyway." He grinned
at the dark man. "You still have docarello left?"

"For yahrens to come." Calba grinned too. He opened the door of the balcony
and disappeared into the white living room. Boomer followed him.

Apollo lingered by the door.

Starbuck didn't take his eyes off the gates of the forbidden city.

* * *

Aurora was pulling Athena by the sleeve. Quietly they passed the ensigns'
quarters and reached the corridor that connected the beta section with the
gamma section of. Ahead of them were the entrances to the simulator bays
and the solenite storage.

"I think we're fracking lost!" Athena mumbled.

"Listen!…" Athena hissed.

Oh felgercarb! Someone was coming! They both heard the footsteps.

Aurora looked at Athena. "Not to worry." She smiled a little. " You are the
commander's daughter for sagan's sake. You have a permission to be anywhere
on this battlestar…"

Athena eyed Aurora. She still hadn't gotten over the surprise of seeing her
on the Canaris.

"Sure." She whispered. The soft sound of footsteps was echoing from the
metal walls. "But don't you think it's a little weird that the commander's
daughter is sneaking the corridors of the gamma section with a lady who had
no business leaving the Celestra at this centar. And with a bottle of
stolen drugs in her pocket for sagan's sake…"

Aurora put her forefinger warningly to Athena's lips. The footsteps were
coming closer. "We better go back!" Aurora hissed. "Run! Now!"

Quickly they rushed back the corridor to the stairway.

Oh frack. The door had banged shut and could only be opened with a special
code number from this side of the section. Feverishly Athena and Aurora
were eyeing for a hiding place.

The bottle they had stolen from the Canaris dropped out of Athena's pockets
and rolled two or three metrons down the corridor.

"Leave it!" Aurora hissed. "Come on!"

But Athena was already running after the bottle.

"For sagan's sake girl!" Aurora rolled her eyes. "Are you suicidal or
something."

"Shhhh!" Athena halted. They both listened. The footsteps seemed to have
turned to another hallway near the solenite storage. Yes! The person was
definately going another way now.

"By Kobol!" Aurora wiped her forehead. Athena ran to the bottle, picked it
up and quickly returned to Aurora. "We better get out of here." Athena
whispered.

"No kidding." Aurora raised one eyebrow.

* * *

Lomas came to. He was conscious now, but still lost deep inside the world
of the rivers. Where was the cup? Oh lords it hurt to focus the eyes. He
had to find the cup. Lomas tried to sit up. Blinding pain shot through his
head. He had to lie back down quickly to be able to remain conscious. Where
was the fracking cup?!!

Lomas narrowed his eyes. His hand was feeling the surface of the cold
floor. There was a pool of water all around Lomas. Nastily cold water. The
man started to shiver again. Hey, but what's this? Lomas' hand recognized
the shape of the cup. Quickly he grabbed it and clenched his teeth together
as he forced himself to sit up. He needed all his strength now. Lords, the
room was spinning, it was so hard to focus. Now, do it!

Lomas hit the cup against the floor as hard as he possibly could. A sound
of jingling. Yes! It broke! Carefully Lomas caressed the serratied edge of
broken cup. Perfect! He put the cup against the flesh of his arm and
pressed. The porcelain dug into the skin and slowly the floor started to
turn red. Blood was flowing out of the wound as Lomas continued to press
the edge harder and harder into his arm. Such incredible agony! Such
pleasure…

Lomas didn't make a sound. He closed his eyes and his face was slowly lit
up by a beautiful, tranquil smile of happiness.

Sweet Intensity.

* * *

Athena and Aurora were in Athena's quarters, leaning against the door. By
heavens Athena was excited. She had loved the tension of trespassing and
the fear of getting caught. By lords, who needs drugs.

She glanced at Aurora. The other woman didn't look at Athena but she knew
the girl's eyes were on her and she smiled. Her hand found Athena's and
squeezed it a little. No words were needed. The only sound of the room was
the sound of their hard breathing.

* * *

Starbuck finally emerged to the white living room.

"For sagan's sake, buddy." Boomer grinned. "We were beginning to think you
had dropped off the balcony or something. By heavens, you must had been
standing there at least another centar after the rest of us left…"

Starbuck didn't answer. He just grinned a little, sort of distracted, and
sat down on the floor next to the others. Calbâ gave him a bottle. Apollo's
concerned eyes were on Starbuck.

"I sure wouldn't mind a little tour of this city." Starbuck grinned. "You
guys must have a couple of legendary discos around here, I mean, all the
energy felgercarb and hardly sleeping at all. The nightlife on Camileon
must be a frack of a trip compaired to the decks on the Rising Star…"

"Here he goes again!" Boomer eyed Apollo amused.

"I will possibly show you a little more of Camileon tomorrow night." Calba
smiled. "But now I think I better retire to the room of dreams and get my
30 centons of sleep…"

"Room of dreams?" Starbuck raised one eyebrow.

"Yeah, the blue room." Calba yawned and stood up, still holding the cup of
docarello in his hand. "When the morning arises, I will take you to the
cities of the sun."

"Cities of the sun…Those must be the ones on the shore, above ocean level."
Apollo kept his eyes on Calbâ.

"Yes." The dark man's smile was so likable. "You remember the gates we
passed when I brought you into our nocturnal world?" "Yes, of course."
Apollo nodded.

"Those are the gates of dusk and dawn…" Calbä was already heading towards
the room of dreams. Just before opening the door he turned towards the
others. "Behind those gates is the beginning of Florengza, The Rise Of
Transient Eternities." Calba yawned. "The first one of the sun cities. Now,
good night my friends."

He closed the door behind him.

* * *

Lomas fetched a towel and wiped the blood away from the floor. Then he
tossed the towel into the sink and washed his arm. He felt great. The world
was once again so wonderfully intense. Everything was progressing so
beautifully. Lomas was humming. Yeah, Cree, the pretty boy would probably
contact him in a couple of centars, and Lomas wouldn't even have to waste
more than one sleep cycle on the sagan forsaken Piscean.

Lomas started packing his few uniforms into a green and brown army bag. He
looked around the room. Had he forgotten something. Underwear, hairbrush,
black eyeliner that Cree had given him… Lomas laughed out loud. Did that
boy really think he would ever wear such felgercarb. Hmmm, what else.
Aftershave, the big blue towel, two pairs of boots. Oh, and definately the
broken cup … Frack! He had almost forgotten the toothbrush and the shaving
equipment. Lomas walked over to the sink to fetch them. What a shame they
had taken the laser gun. Oh Well, he would find another means of… revenge.
Probably even a better one. That thought made Lomas smile.

"I'm so sorry…"

Surprised Lomas raised his eyes. Cree was standing by the open doorway,
looking pale and frightened.

"I tried my best…" Cree's eyes were pleading his mentor to forgive him. The
boy took a couple of uncertain steps towards the man. "I couldn't get the
co-ordinates…"

Lomas stared at Cree. The boy hesitantly walked closer and closer.

"They caught me as I was inserting the question data into the computer. The
guards started interrogating me about my presence at the control center."
Cree's voice was frightened and fragile. "But I did manage to delete the
data I had already typed before they saw it…" Cree was close to Lomas now,
looking at him in the eyes. "Please, I really tried…"

Lomas stared at Cree for a long time without saying a word. Then he turned
away. He closed the zipper of the army bag, picked it up from the bunk and
walked past Cree towards the open doorway without even glancing at the boy.

Cree's heart almost stopped beating. He tried to fight back the sobs. "I
live for you…" He whispered.

Lomas didn't turn.

Cree ran after the man, panic-stricken. "Please, beautiful Lomas…" Cree was
now crying. "Don't you understand that I love you…"

Lomas walked out the door without looking back.

Cree fell onto his knees and buried his face in his hands. Now he was lost.

* * *

"I think we better get some sleep too." Boomer arose from the floor.
"Although I must admit the genorex could keep me going for sectons..."
Boomer picked up his cup and carried it to the kitchen. Starbuck too stood
up and streched.

"Where are we going to sleep? The floor doesn't sound too inviting to me…"

"Me neither!" Boomer's voice echoed from the kitchen. "The sofa's reserved
for me!"

"You wish!" Apollo grinned.

"Well, I'm off to the turboflush!" Starbuck started walking to the door.
"Hey Apollo…"

Apollo's head turned. He saw Starbuck in the middle of the living room,
looking at him. "What?"

"Come here." Starbuck was smiling teasingly. His eyes were sad.

"Why?" Apollo raised one eyebrow.

"Stop asking meaningless questions and wasting time." Starbuck grinned.
"Now, get your pretty butt over here."

Apollo smiled and walked to Starbuck. "If this is what I think it is, you
old goat…" Apollo was grinning. "…Don't forget that Boomer is in the next
room."

Starbuck placed his hands on Apollo's shoulders and looked into his lover's
eyes. His face was very serious.

Starbuck wanted to tell Apollo so much, but there was nothing he could say.
He could only hope that his eyes were explaining what was most important.
That his eyes had become now the mirror of his heart and soul. The
reflection of Starbuck's endless love.

Because In the end, that was the only thing Apollo needed to know.

Before…

"You are like an angel." Starbuck whispered.

"You've been drinking too much docarello, young man." Apollo grinned.

"No, Apollo." Starbuck did not smile. "You are an angel."

Starbuck kissed Apollo's lips so softly. Then he turned and walked out of
the living room.

Apollo had a strange feeling. His eyes followed Starbuck. "Don't get stuck
in the turboflush!" Apollo shouted with a grinning voice.

Starbuck never answered.

* * *

Chapter 12

Boomer yawned as he entered the yellow kitchen. Calbâ was already there,
making something that looked misleadingly like coffee but smelled something
like strong vinegar. At that very micron Boomer decided he would definately
start his day without a cup of that felgercarb.

Calbâ turned. "Well, hello there." He smiled. "Did you sleep well, my
friend?"

Boomer scrached his head and looked around in the kitchen. "Are the others
still sleeping? What's the time anyway?"

Calbâ picked up the kettle from the hotplate and placed it on the table, on
a violet potholder. "It's two centars after subterranean sunrise." Calbâ
smiled at Boomer. "I haven't seen your blond friend yet, but the other one
is taking a turbowash down in the basement."

Boomer stopped scratching. "What? You have a basement?"

"Sure." Calba smiled. "But believe me, there's nothing to see except the
tiny turbowashroom and a steamroom which us probabilitians call sauinâs."

The man kept humming as he was buttering a piece of bread with a touch of
yellow, cheese-like grease. Then he took a sip of the brown, coffee-like
liquid and glanced at Boomer. "You want a cup of guskâ?"

Boomer eyed the brown stuff Calbâ was pouring into a yellow cup. "Err… some
other time perhaps." For heavens it smelled terrible.

Calbâ glanced at the doorway. "Oh, there's your friend now."

Boomer turned. Apollo was entering the kitchen, wearing one of Calbâ's
velvet robes and drying his wet hair with a towel. "Oh, good morning
Boomer. It's about time you woke up…"

Calbâ lifted the kettle and nodded to Apollo. "You want some of this?"

"Sure." Apollo was still drying his hair. "Why not."

Boomer rolled his eyes. "Oh well, it's your life buddy…"

Apollo wasn't listening. "What is it by the way?"

Calbâ was already pouring some of that brown stuff into Apollo's cup. "It's
guskâ." The man didn't take his eyes off the pot as he poured. "It consists
of the black seeds of vignâ. We grow them above the oceans at daytime."

"You what?" Apollo looked at Calbâ. "Hey wait a minute. Isn't that stuff
poisonous? I mean, if it's exposed to that gas… whatever felgercarb it's
name was…"

Boomer raised one eyebrow and grinned. "You're right. The stuff sure does
smell like it's exposed to felgercarb…"

Apollo gave Boomer a glare.

Calbâ laughed. He took a chair and sat down at the table, still eyeing his
guests amused. "No wonder you guys have survived all kinds of holocausts…"
Calbâ kept still smiling as he leaned forward to take two pieces of red
sweeteners from a glass container. He tossed them into his cup of guskâ and
swirled the liquid with a spoon. "…You guys definately do not lack in brain
cells."

Apollo gave Calbâ a grin.

"Actually, this stuff is safe to drink, trust me." Calbâ's dark, friendly
eyes were on his guests. "The seeds are stored in heat tanks for seven and
a half sectars before they are being processed. The temperature inside
those tanks never drops below 160 cekrans." Calba gestured to the others to
come and sit down at the table. "And, as you probably remember, syflos gas
is ineffective above 25 cekrans." Calbâ took another sip from his cup and
grinned. "And as you can see, I'm still alive and well."

Apollo smiled and took as chair. "Okay, let's taste it then.

Boomer grimaced.

"Hey, where's Starbuck?" Apollo looked at the others. "Boomer, you better
go and kick his butt if he's still sleeping. We have to be on our way in
half a centar."

Boomer grinned. "My pleasure."

He left the kitchen and headed to the red room. Starbuck sure wasn't in the
living room, and Boomer didn't think he'd find his blond warrior buddy in
Calbâ's bedroom either. So the red room was the only option. Hmm, perhaps
this might even turn out to be his lucky day and Boomer would surprise
Starbuck in all his glory… Boomer grinned …Naked.

* * *

"This way…" A red-haired processing technician glanced at Lomas. "Have you
been on the Piscean before?"

"No, I haven't." Lomas was smiling at the man oh so pleasantly. "But I'm
sure this will be a very comfortable place to stay in. The Piscean looks
like such a friendly ship…"

The pro tech didn't notice the sarcasm. "Your quarters are on the hydra
deck, in alpha section." The techinician gave Lomas a conspirator's smile
and winked. "You are a very lucky man, if I may say so…"

Lomas couldn't believe the pro tech was actually serious. "Is that right?…"

The technician grinned. "Oh yeah! The quarters on the alpha section have
private turbowashrooms and there's a parbon juice vending machine at the
end of every corridor."

"Well, isn't that just great." Lomas raised one eyebrow.

"Sure is!" The techinician gave a thumbs-up sign. "You couldn't believe
what kind of quarters the silicon section on the naval deck provides. By
heavens, in the worst case there can be about seven to twelve men crammed
in one 24 square metron sized room." The technician rolled his eyes. "Can
you believe it! It must be worse than the conditions on the livestock ship
for sagan's sake… Want a fumarello?" The pro tech took fumarellos out of
his pocket and offered one to his companion.

Lomas smiled and shook his head.

"Do you mind if I smoke? The man was looking at Lomas as he was trying to
get the silvery lighter to co-operate. "You know, we are not usually
allowed to smoke here on the Piscean. " The pro tech grinned. "What was I
saying… Oh yeah. Can you believe it. The naval deck is usually the place
where the supreme command of the Piscean usually decides to place all the
newcomers." The technician shook his head. "If you ask me that's just total
felgercarb that is…Oh, here we are now!" The man stopped and gave Lomas a
key. "Make yourself comfortable."

Lomas took the key from the pro tech's hand. "Would you mind telling…"

"Home sweet home!" The technician grinned.

Lomas's eyes were on the red haired guy. Very sarcastic eyes.

"Well, I'll see you in the assembly hall when it's time for the eighth
centar of prayer." The technician friendly patted Lomas on the shoulder.
"The assembly hall is right opposite the command bridge. You can't miss it!
Oh, and if you need something…" The pro tech winked. "Don't hesitate to
contact me."

Lomas smiled. "You can count on that…"

"Well, I see you later then." The technician grinned. "Don't forget to wear
the cape of penance to the centar of prayer. The cape is placed on your
bunk."

"Great." Lomas was still smiling.

It was a pleasure meeting you. Welcome aboard!" The technician patted
Lomas' shoulder one more time and then turned and walked down the hall.

Lomas watched the man going until he had turned and disappeared around a
corner. By heavens what a nuisance!

Lomas turned and inserted the key into the keyhole of the door. Okay. So,
this was unavoidable. Lomas would have to stay here on this sagan forsaken
ship as long as it was necessary. For a little while he would have to play
an enticing game of masquerade. Pretend to be one of these pisceanian
idiots.

Yes, he would have to control his every manouvre very carefully. So
carefully that no one would notice his world of dark rivers and power. No
one! Oh, but it was a piece of primaries, Lomas almost had to laugh out
loud. He could play the game so well. Much too well. Lomas opened the door,
stepped inside the dusty room and turned on the lights. What a depressing
dump! Yeah, I'm such a lucky man indeed, Lomas sneered. He put the army bag
down on the floor and remained standing there by the doorway for centons,
eyeing the room, thinking.

Cree had been such a disappointment. What a terrible shame. In the end, the
angel face had turned out to be just like all the others. Weak and
meaningless.

Lomas' beautiful face was almost sad.

How could he have miscalculated Cree so wrong. The boy had shown so much
potential… Lomas sighed. Oh well, now that Cree wasn't going to be much use
to him any more, he would have to do all the dirty work himself. But at
least this time the dirty work would certainly be taken care of. Lomas
grinned.

Then his grin freezed as his mind lingered to his brother. It was beginning
to look like Starbuck had been a terrible miscalculation. How could Lomas
possibly have been so wrong about something so inevitable…

Oh well. Perhaps it really was time to admit and adjust to a possibility
that he might have been mistaken about the power in that man. The power of
rage. Perhaps the rivers in his beloved brother's mind were not yet dark
enough. But Lomas had been so sure…

Why for frack's sake hadn't he heard from Starbuck! Now there was no more
time to wait.

Lomas noticed the grey cape of penance on the bunk. For sagan's sake these
people were insane. Staying on the Piscean was definately not going to be
easy. It was going to be a challenge. Lomas smiled. He loved challenges.

* * *

Apollo grimaced and put the cup down.

Calbâ eyed the man amused. "What? You don't like the stuff?"

Apollo shuddered. "No offence buddy, but… don't you have something a little
less… bitter?"

Calba grinned. "Funny! I've never noticed any bitterness…"

Boomer stepped into the kitchen. Apollo lifted his eyes. "Well?"

"No trace of Starbuck!" Boomer wasn't smiling.

Apollo laughed. "Cut the felgercarb Boomer! What did that lazy old daggit
bribe you with? You better go back and tell Starbuck to get his pretty butt
ready for the sun cities before I get my hands on him…"

"I'm not joking Apollo." Boomer's tone was serious. "I can't find him
anywhere."

Apollo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "When was the last time doctor
Salik checked your eyesight buddy. No one can just disappear in an
apartment as small as this." Apollo grinned. "Did you look under the bunk…"

Calbâ smiled. "And while you're at it, you better go and check the
basement. That is where I keep all my docarello, and what I noticed last
night, your friend kinda liked the stuff…"

"Oh lords…" Apollo suddenly gasped.

"What?" Boomer and Calbâ looked at Apollo, startled.

Apollo eyed the others, horrified. "Oh sagan! I should have suspected
this…"

"What?" Boomer was impatient now. "WHAT?"

Apollo's voice was forlorn. "Starbuck's gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Boomer raised one eyebrow. "Don't tell me that
boray flew back to the Galactica and left all the felgercarb to us…"

"No Boomer." Apollo's eyes lingered to the entrance of the little balcony.
"The idiot obviously decided to pay a little visit to the forbidden city."

Calbâ shuddered. Boomer was looking at Apollo with disbelief.

"What the frack are you talking about. Starbuck might be a crazy hothead
once in awhile but he's definately not suicidal!"

Apollo's sad eyes were on Boomer and Calbâ. "Please don't ask me why,
because I do not know…" Apollo spoke with such a quiet, choked voice. "…But
this time, he is."

* * *

The hollow sound of the gates closing echoed in the darkness. Starbuck
hesitated for a centon. He turned to take a look at the huge, metallic
gateway. There was no turning back now. It was obvious that the gate could
not be opened from this side. Starbuck was a prisoner of the forbidden
city.

"Okay buddy!" Starbuck mumbled. "you made your choice. Now stop being such
a pansy."

Starbuck didn't allow himself to think about Apollo at all. That would be
much too painful. Starbuck knew he would never see his friend and lover
again. Starbuck had made a choice and now he had to live with it. Or die
because of it. But Starbuck couldn't stop wondering if Apollo had somehow
sensed he had been saying goodbye to him, that moment in the living room.
At least he must have noticed the sadness in Starbuck's'eyes.

Starbuck felt a horrible sting in his heart. What if Apollo…

No, no, no! One day Apollo would understand that Starbuck had left because
there was no other way. Starbuck knew so well that if he had given in to
his heart and stayed, his terrible past would one day have come to hurt
Apollo much too badly. Yes, hurt Apollo. And everyone else who mattered to
Starbuck. He had to leave.

Starbuck closed his eyes. Please sagan, please let Apollo understand that I
did it because I love him more than I could ever love myself, or even life.
Please don't let Apollo hate me for this…

All right! Get moving before you need a wheelchair to do so. Starbuck
sighed. You have no time or strength for all these memories pal, so the
sooner you get them out of your head the better. Besides, you need to find
some living beings. Yeah, you need to find the black queen…

Starbuck opened his eyes and looked around. There wasn't much he could see
in the humid darkness. He was standing on a narrow street. The wet surface
of black asphalt was glimmering in the glow of few faint street lamps.
Tall, grey buildings rose towards the invisible ceiling of the cavern.
Apparently abandoned buildings. There was no light whatsoever shining from
any of the windows. Besides, those buildings seemed to be just about to
collapse. A black cat appeared from nowhere and ran accross the street,
startling Starbuck. There was a quiet sound of water running somewhere
nearby. It must have come from an underground sewer system of some kind.
Two huge rats were about four metrons away from Starbuck, apparently
feasting on some dead animal's corpse. The hum of oceans waves above seemed
somehow louder here in the forbidden city, than what they had back in
Camileon. And the whisper of the currents was somehow eerier, colder.
Starbuck didn't like it one bit. What a paradise, Starbuck rolled his eyes.
The place looked just like those depressing slums in the east side of
Caprica city. Oh well, you didn't come here for a holiday…

Starbuck started walking down the deserted, wet street. Walking towards the
unknown.

* * *

Athena couldn't sleep. She was much too excited.

Aurora had left a while ago. Jeeez, Athena had had no idea that Aurora
could be so intresting a character. They had talked and talked, mostly
about the incredible high of an adrenaline rush. The time had just flown
by.

Sure, they had swallowed a couple of those stolen pills, but that wasn't
the cause for their excitement, or the reason why Athena's eyes were now
gleaming passionately in the darkness of her quarters.

Aurora had promised to meet Athena tomorrow, just before sleep cycle.

Athena smiled. Boy she could hardly wait. They were going to carry out a
new plan. Experience something more dangerous than the fear of getting
caught while trespassing.

Athena felt like she had only found her real self tonight. Looked in the
mirror and for once seen totally clearly. She felt like she had just woken
up from a stuffy nightmare to greet a new morning that held the unexpected.

This was the beginning.

* * *

Chapter 13

Lomas was looking at his reflection in the mirror. By lords he looked
stupid in that cape. The person who had designed it was hopefully thrown on
the prison barge. Or even better, shoved out of the felgercarbing airlock…
Lomas leaned closer to the mirror to take a better look. Jeeez. there was a
hood too. Lomas grimaced. The monstrous hood was definately the most
horrifying part of this masterpiece from hell.

The arm still hurt a little. Lomas had cleaned the wound ten centons ago
and put a bandage over it. This time he had made a little mistake by
cutting himself a little too deep and it had been a bit hard to control the
flow of blood because the wound had been too close to the wrist… Oh, but he
had succeeded, Lomas grinned. He would always succeed.

Lomas glanced at the timepiece. It was almost time to leave for the idiotic
centar of prayer. Lomas took one more look at himself in the mirror, but
this time he didn't look at the ugly cape. He stared into his own pale
eyes.

So, it was now time to proceed. Lomas felt a shiver of excitement thinking
about it. He had been refining the plan over and over again. He knew it was
faultless. After the centar of prayer, Lomas would have to slip out of the
assembly hall, very unnoticeably, and head down to the shuttle launching
bays. He had checked the timetables earlier. There would be a shuttle due
to the Galactica about fifteen centons after the mass meeting of the
imbecils had ended. Lomas knew he could make it to the launching bay in
fifteen centons. No problem. Oh, unless some idiot decided to start talking
felgercarb to him after the mass.

He would take the stupid cape off on the way to the launching bay and shove
it somewhere, probably in the recycle bins near the elevators. What luck
that the idiotic cape was large enough so Lomas could unnoticeably wear his
uniform under it. What a shame the sagittarian doctors and the guards had
taken his laser gun. Oh well, he knew he could take care of the man in the
control center anyway. He didn't need a weapon. Not this time. Not yet.

Okay, it was time to begin. Lomas picked up the key from the table in front
of the mirror and headed towards the door. He turned to take one final look
at the depressing little room and smiled. He would never return.

Lomas opened the door and stepped out into the corridor. A group of three
or four civilian pisceanians passed Lomas, all of them wearing the idiotic
cape. One of those pisceanians, a young girl, smiled at Lomas. Such a warm
and friendly smile. Lomas smiled back. Fools.

* * *

"I don't understand!" Boomer couldn't take his eyes off Apollo. "Has
something happened to Starbuck? Something that made him leave?"

Apollo slowly nodded. "Yes Boomer. Something happened. Just before we left
the Galactica…"

"What?" Boomer asked eyes wide. "I haven't noticed anything different in
Starbuck's behaviour here on Probability… I think."

Apollo looked away.

"For sagan's sake, Apollo. What happened?" Boomer wanted to shake his
friend. "Stop giving me an ulcer. Spit it out!"

Apollo still didn't look at Boomer. "I have no idea. Starbuck refused to
tell me."

"That's felgercarb!" Boomer mumbled. "You guys share everything…"

"Not this time." Apollo shrugged. "Starbuck never said a word…"

"You must have known something!" Boomer walked to Apollo. "You were the one
to claim that Starbuck is suicidal, for heaven's sake. You must have seen
something…sensed something…"

Apollo lifted his sad eyes and looked at his dark friend. "All I know is
that just before we left the Galactica, Cree, your little friend, wanted to
speak to Starbuck in private…"

Boomer shuddered. "Cree??"

"Yes, Cree" Apollo repeated. "And when Starbuck returned he was…" Apollo
eyes lingered away from Boomer to look into that moment of Starbuck's
despair. "I had never before seen him like that, Boomer.Never." Apollo's
voice was sad. "Whatever Cree told him, it must have been pretty bad…"

Boomer eyed Apollo, shocked. "Cree has nothing to do with Starbuck…"

Apollo lifted his eyes and looked at the other man. "What do you really
know about Cree, Boomer…"

Boomer felt a sting in his heart. "Well, I… Cree is…" The dark man fell
quiet. What did he know about the boy. Nothing.

There was a moment's silence before Apollo spoke again. "Okay. Are we going
to just stand here and speculate for the rest of our sagan forsaken lives…"
Apollo's voice had changed from forlorn to determined. "…Or are we going to
do something about this!"

Do what?" Boomer raised his eyebrow. "What in the names of the lords can we
do?"

Apollo eyed Boomer. "Well, what do you think!" He grinned. "We are going to
get our butts to the forbidden city and and bring our idiot friend back."

* * *

There must have been at least ten thousand Pisceanians inside the assembly
hall. All of them were dressed in that stupid grey cape. Most of the people
were even wearing the sagan forsaken hood and looked like a group of
oversized dwarves just escaped from some children's fairytale. The sermon
master was a bumptios, little man with a big moustache and stupid
prick-ears. The master was wearing a red cape that was much too big for him
and his whiny voice hardly carried to the back of the hall.

Lomas kept eyeing the people. He couldn't understand how they had all
changed the very micron the little preacher man had entered the assembly
hall. First everyone had looked like normal, meaningless human beings. And
then, suddenly, when the little man had pattered in, the audience had
started reminding a herd of fracking lambkins. And even now those people
were listening to the pompous little nuisance preaching like he was a sagan
or something alike. Lomas shook his head.

When Lomas had arrived to the assembly hall earlier, the irritating
red-haired pro tech had immediately noticed him and rushed towards Lomas
with a wide grin on his face, waving his hand and shouting from the other
side of the hall. "Well, hello there…"

Lomas had smiled politely, scared to death that the pro tech would decide
to give him a hug.

And he almost had. Well, at least he sure would have, if Lomas hadn't
stepped a little backwards just in time to avoid it, and extended his hand
for a friendly handshake.

The technician grasped Lomas' hand with both fists and kept on shaking it
until Lomas was sure his hand was going to drop off. "Well, when are you
going to tell me that I was right about your room, eh?"

Lomas eyed the technician pleasantly. "The room is very comfortable, thank
you."

The technician laughed like a horse. "Comfortable. Yeah right! It's one of
the best guest quarters on the whole fracking ship!"

A dark woman appeared beside the pro tech, smiling.

"Hi honey." The technician winked his eye at the woman. Then he turned to
smile at Lomas again. "Meet my little lady." The pro tech grinned. "Quite a
package, eh?"

The woman said hello. She seemed a frack of a lot more sensible than the
technician.

"We've been sealed for seven sectars now." The man winked. "I'm a lucky
fellow aren't I…"

Lomas smiled politely. "She is very pretty…"

The woman blushed a little. "Ed, shouldn't we be getting back to the front
row..."

"Oh dear! Oh dear!" The technician gasped. He grasped a hold of Lomas by
the arm. "Oh dear!! You've hurt youself!! Oh boy!!"

A little stream of blood was curling down Lomas' hand. Lomas frowned. The
wound had opened. Obviously the bandage hadn't been strong enough. Great!
Lomas hoped to sagans that the bleeding would stop before someone would get
suspicious.

The technician was babbling like a madman. "Oh boy! Oh boy! This is bad! Oh
dear. I don't think the doctor has time to fix you up right at this centon,
buddy. After all, It is the centar of prayer…" Then the pro tech had eyed
Lomas curiously. "Where did you hurt yourself anyway?"

"It's nothing." Lomas pulled his hand away. "I cut myself while shaving."

The dark woman stared at Lomas. "You shave your arms, huh?"

Lomas looked at her. "What?"

"You just said you cut yourself while shaving…"

"Excuse me, I think I just saw someone…"

Quickly Lomas walked away, leaving the technician and his little lady
staring after him, stunned. Soon he had vanished into the crowd. There he
had kept wondering amongst the Piscenians, observing them, until the sermon
master had arrived and the ceremony had began.

And what an experience it had been so far. For heaven's sake. Some of the
people there had seemed to go into a trance after the seventh prayer. The
oblation had consisted of a piece of a badly manufactured K-biscuit and a
sip of water, and the whole occasion had seemed to last forever, since
almost every one of those ten thousand piscenian idiots had wanted to line
up and have a taste of the the holy stuff. Oh, and the sermon master sure
had looked like a cod on dry land as he had raised his bulging eyes towards
the ceiling of the assembly hall and bumptiously spouted out the last
pleadings of forgiveness to all the sagans.

What a relief this ordeal was going to be over in a few centons. Lomas kept
constantly eyeing his timepiece.

* * *

Starbuck's feet were aching. He must have kept on walking along that narrow
road forever. But nothing had changed. The buildings still looked exactly
the same, abandoned, slummed. The darkness was still exactly as
impenetrable and uncomfortably humid and Starbuck still had not seen one
living being, apart from those two rats earlier and a couple of cats. The
sound of water running was constantly there, making the man crazy. The
place had remained exactly the same. Starbuck started to feel like he
hadn't moved at all. Like he had been walking and walking for centars but
remained in the exact same one spot, like in a nightmare.

Starbuck stopped to think for a centon. What if he really hadn't moved.
Frack! No wonder no one ever came to the forbidden city. Travelling without
moving wasn't exactly fun.

Starbuck heard a little sound. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the
direction where the sound seemed to come from. There were two rats.
Feasting on a dead animal's corpse… A black cat appeared from nowhere and
ran across the street…

For sagan's sake. He actually was in a nightmare. He really hadn't moved at
all.

***

Lomas was moving closer to the exit of the assembly hall. So far no one had
payed any attention to him. People were gathering into their own little
groups to share opinions about the eighth centar of prayer and the sermon
master's glory and miraculousness. Oh yeah, and thank the lords the the pro
tech wasn't anywhere to be seen.

The exit door of the assembly hall was near now. All Lomas would have to do
is to sneak out and start walking down the corridor as quickly as possibly
without looking suspicious. No time to waste now. Frack, he had already
lost at least two or three centons because of some high and mighty
piscenian officer wanting to welcome him on board the Piscean.

"It's always so nice to see new desciples." The officer had smiled. "If you
want to ask something, don't hesitate to contact me." The officer had
winked. "By the way, you can call me Al."

Lomas had smiled. By heavens, the corners of his mouth were starting to
stiffen from all the pretentious smiling. "Nice to meet you Al. Now excuse
me, I need to find a friend…"

Lomas was almost in the doorway now. He was carefully eyeing the people
that were standing nearest to him. No one was looking. Perfect. It was
time…

"I don't think I have seen you hear before."

For sagan's sake! Not another one of those idiots! Lomas turned, annoyed as
frack.

A man had appeared there, beside Lomas. "You must be one of the newcomers."
The man's smile was friendly and his eyes sparkled. "I would definately
have noticed someone as pretty as you…" The man grinned and started taking
off his cape. "Phew, it gets hot in this gown…"

For heaven's sake the man was unnaturally beautiful, Lomas could hardly
breathe. He could swear he had never, not once in the whole history of his
excistence seen anything so overwhelmingly capturing.

The man was looking at Lomas with his pure-coloured green eyes. A crown of
curly blond hair was framing a face of an angel, falling down on the
shoulders.

Lomas swallowed. This was the true face of an angel. No, not just a pretty
thing to look at, like so many others. This face was created in heavens.
Risen from the silvery sparkles of stars and moonbeams. Born from the
blinding rays of a thousand suns. This man must have been sent to the world
of mere human beings by the sagans.

Lomas couldn't speak. He couldn't take his eyes off from the man. He just
couldn't move.

"This was your first experience, wasn't it…" The man's smile burned Lomas'
heart like fire. "But believe me, you will get used to it in time."

Oh lords, those eyes. They were like green diamonds. Lomas knew he just had
to say something. Anything. "Wgtsgfg…" The man smiled so breathtakingly.
Lomas wanted to remain in this time and place eternally, just watching the
man smiling.

"Well, I notice that you are in a hurry to get somewhere, so I won't be
holding you back any longer." The man casually ran his fingers through his
long, blonde hair. "But I do hope we will bump into each other again." He
smiled. "I'll be very much looking forward to that."

NO! DON'T GO! Lomas screamed from the bottom of his lungs. The scream was
silent.

The man's green eyes lingered on Lomas a little while longer. Then he
turned and walked away. The stars dimmed and the world grew dark and
meaningless.

* * *

Aurora turned and grinned as she saw Athena approaching her.

"Good, you're wearing black." She whispered as Athena gave her a little
kiss on both cheeks. "We can hide better in the darkness now."

Athena smiled. Her heart was beating with excitement. "Shall we go over our
plan again…"

Aurora shook her head. "No need to." She ran her fingers through her thick,
brown hair. "This is going to be a piece of primaries. And after this gig…"
Aurora smiled. "We don't have to do another one for a while. We'll have
enough pills to last at least two sectons."

Athena didn't like what she was hearing. "What do you mean we don't have to
do another gig? I thought we were doing this for the rush of excitement.
Not because of some drugs…"

Aurora glanced at Athena. "I'm sorry girl." She smiled. "Looks like I have
underestimated you."

Athena was looking at Aurora. "How?"

Aurora grinned. "Well, considering your former drug addiction, I took for
granted that that was what you wanted now too. Drugs."

"Felgercarb!" Athena snorted. "Who gives a frack about drugs. They are just
a nice little reward. In fact…" Athena's eyes were shining. "There's
something a frack of a lot better to do tonight than sneak into the life
center."

Aurora eyed the girl curiously. "Something better?"

Athena was grinning. "Oh yeah…"

"Would you mind sharing then…" Aurora felt a tingle of excitement now. Oh,
had she definately miscalculated the girl. In the end, Athena wasn't just
the commander's pretty little daugher who merely happened to have an
infatuation with drugs. This girl was a frack of a lot more.

Athena's eyes were beaming. "Follow me…"

* * *

The shuttle had left the Piscean exactly eight centons and sixteen microns
ago. Lomas knew that because some wiseguy at the back of the shuttle kept
informing his idiot friends of the exact micronage of the flight. Lomas was
shivering. By heavens he was freezing. And he was on fire. Burning like the
solium tanks, ready to explode any micron. Cold sweat was glimmering on
Lomas' forehead, and it wasn't caused by the discomfort of trespassing to
the Galactica. This was something that Lomas couldn't understand. How could
it be possible that the whole meaning of his existence had changed in mere
microns. Oh lords, he was in such terrible pain. He flet so undescribably
forlorn and lonely. Who in the names of sagans was that blond, beautiful
angel? Lomas had to see that man again or he would die.

Lomas had made it to the Piscean lauching bay just on time as the
passengers were boarding the shuttle to the Galactica. Then Lomas had
suddenly realized there were two guards by the entrance of the shuttle,
checking the passengers' identity codes. Lomas had shuddered. Oh frack! He
had totally forgotten that everyone who wanted to go aboard the Galactica
would be carefully checked. Well, he couldn't turn back now. He had to take
this chance.

Lomas' heart was pounding like mad as he was approaching the entrance of
the shuttle.

One of the guards looked up. "Hey there! you better hurry up! The shuttle
is due for take off in a couple of centons!"

Lomas kept his wary eyes on the officers. By heavens he was now too
distracted by the beautiful blond man. His mind wasn't co-operating. Lomas
had no idea how to get past the guards.

"Well, come on! Get inside. We have to close this door now." The guard's
voice was impatient.

Lomas oh so casually walked to the door.

"Get inside. We don't have all day!" The sandy haired officer wasn't even
looking at Lomas now. He was checking his timepiece and talking to his
partner.

Lomas was overwhelmed. Could this be possible.

Without looking at them, Lomas walked past the officers. Nothing happened.
Nobody grabbed his arm or told him to prove his identity. The guards didn't
even seem to notice him as he walked past. They were chatting with each
other, totally oblivious to their normal duty.

Lomas almost fainted from relief. Such luck that he had arrived this late.
Thank you sagan.

The dark one of the guards casually glanced up as Lomas walked past. Damn,
there was something familiar in that man…

The guard kept his eyes on the guy. He could swear he had seen that pretty
man somewhere before. He never forgot a face…

"Hey Willie!" The dark guard poked his partner with his elbow. "Shouldn't
we have checked the code of every passenger?"

The sandy haired officer looked up. "Hey, my duty cycle is now finished,
buddy. If you wanna go in there and check the last man's identity code, be
my guest. I'm off to the Tauranian to get a well-deserved cup of ambrosa!"

The dark haired guard eyed the shuttle doorway for a centon. Maybe he
should go and check the guy out. He had definately seen that man somewhere
before… But then again, the fleet wasn't that large of a community. He had
probably seen that bloke on the Rising Star. That was the place where they
all gathered at some point…

The dark officer grinned. "Yeah, you're right. It wouldn't be likely that
someone would have the nerve to trespass into the Galactica. Let's get out
of this place."

The sandy haired guard smiled at his partner. "Okay, Preeb. Time to lock
the doors."

* * *

Cassiopeia felt so sick. Oh sagan, she couldn't move. She couldn't possibly
eat another bite yet her body was still screaming for more food. Although
Cassie was now full as an elephant and she had to lie completely still so
she wouldn't throw up, she felt completely empty and unfulfilled. She hated
herself for being so fracking weak. She wanted to destroy herself for
surrendering to the destruction of herself. If she could have, Cassiopeia
would have laughed now. By lords, it sounded like utter felgercarb. But it
was the truth.

Cassiopeia had gained at least 10 kilos in mere days. Her stupid fake
breasts were even heavier now, hanging like two sacks full of felgercarb.
All her clothes were now too tight and she looked like a boray in them.
That's why she didn't want to leave her quarters much any more. She just
wanted to stay hidden from the eyes of the world. And all this only because
she was such despicably weak and destroyed. Cassiopeia closed her eyes now.
The only thing she wanted to do was to sleep. Please let me sleep, she
whispered.

* * *

The loudspeaker announced that the shuttle was due to land on the Galactica
in five centons. Lomas couldn't stop seeing the face of the strange blonde
man in his eyes. Everywhere he looked, there was a mirage of the face of an
angel, burning Lomas with those green eyes. Everywhere. Amongst the stars
in space. Shining so much brighter than all the faraway comets. Between the
other passengers, smiling at Lomas. Breathtakingly. Heartbreakingly. Next
to Lomas. Watching him in silence. Almost touching his face.

Lomas couldn't remember the details of his plan. Frack, he didn't even give
a felgercarb about the co-ordinates now. The blond man's green eyes were
next to him. Caressing him. Hurting him.

* * *

This was the first time Cree had had the courage, or the stupidity to cut
his face. Three slashes on his left cheek hadn't yet stopped bleading but
Cree didn't give a frack. He was lying on the floor, face down, numb to the
pain. Oblivious to ouside world. Cree had lost his mentor, nothing else
mattered now. "Beautiful Lomas." The boy whispered. He opened his hand and
the knife rolled to the floor.

* * *

Lomas eyed the co-ordinator for a centon before starting to walk towards
him.

The boy was reading data from the screen of sector eight alpha equalizer
when he heard a little noise and lifted his eyes.

"Hey, who are you?" The boy's voice was surprised. "What are you doing
here. I'm not supposed to…"

Lomas smiled.

The boy stared at the beautiful man who had amazingly blue eyes. Waterpond
eyes.

"Are you alone here?" Lomas spoke so softly.

"Why?" The boy asked the man, suspiciously. "What are you doing here?"

Lomas walked to the boy. He didn't turn his gaze away from those surprised
brown eyes.

The boy swallowed. "Err… My boss will…"

"… be back in thirty centons." Lomas was still smiling. "Am I not right?"

"Well, err… How?…" The boy was stuttering. This guy was weird. Just like
those dekar dealers on the Prison Barge. The boy sure knew what they were
like. He had bumped into them many many times as he had been there to visit
his friend.

This guy was frightening too just like those dealers.

Still, the boy couldn't turn his eyes away.

The man was fascinating as frack.

Lomas was now standing in front of the boy. He didn't speak. For centons he
just kept staring into the brown eyes without saying a word. Then he raised
his hand and gently touched the boy's lips. Lomas was so amused to notice
that the lips were trembling. The effect he always had on these idiots…
Lomas smiled. Oh dear, they were just so weak.

Lomas let his fingers linger for a long time. Feeling the softness and the
vulnerability of those young lips. The boy was sort of pretty. Not in a
very cultivated way, but pretty. Lomas almost wanted to kiss those lips.
Almost. He smiled. "Do you want to touch me?"

The boy was afraid to speak. He nodded. His mouth was dry.

Lomas took the boy's hand and placed it on his face. For sagan's sake, the
boy was stiff like a wooden doll. Lomas kept a hold of the boys hand and
softly started caressing his own face with it, not taking his eyes off the
lad. "Do you want to kiss me?"

"Yes." The boy croaked. "Please…"

Lomas let go of the boy's hand and took a hold of his narrow waist,
caressing the hips softly. The boy could hardly breath. "Then why don't
you?" The look in Lomas' eyes was intrigued. His smile was almost
unbearable to look at. It wasn't at all beautiful now. The smile had turned
somewhat vaguely distorted.

It looked like the smile of a demon.

The boy shuddered.

Oh, but it was the smile of a man he wanted passionately to make love to.

The boy leaned forward, his lips lingering closer to Lomas'

Lomas' eyes remained open. The look in them was slowly changing.

The boy didn't notice it because his eyes were now closed.

His lips yearning to touch the other man's…

Lomas was looking at the boy's face, so close now. Such a naive face. An
uninteresting face. Pretty, yes. But so uninteresting. Lomas was waiting
for the rivers to break free.

* * *

"Hey, look what I bought!" Adama stepped into the quarters with a wide grin
on his face. He closed the door behind him.

Tigh's head peeked from the turbowashroom. He had been washing his teeth.
The toothbrush was still in his mouth. "What?"

"Ta da!" Adama pulled a black string bikini-set out of the paper bag. He
grinned. "Like them?"

"Sure! They are great!" Tigh grinned with the toothbrush hanging from his
mouth. "But wait until I show you what I bought earlier…"

"Show me now!" Adama didn't want to wait. "Come on, let's see it."

Tigh took the toothbrush out of his mouth. He didn't say anything, just
walked to the bed and bent down. Adama watched his husband pulling
something out from under the bed…

"Okay, my man. What do you think about this!!" Tigh's face was beaming. In
his hands he was holding a packet of women's menstrual sanitary towels.
Tigh winked. "I bet you can't wait to try on one of these…"

* * *

Sheba was very concerned about her blonde friend.

Quietly she opened the bedroom door and glanced inside.

Cassiopeia was lying on the bed. She seemed to be asleep.

For sagan's sake it was the middle of the day! The curtains were closed and
the ventilation hadn't removed the stuffy scent in the room at all. Cassie
never seemed to come out of the room these days. Sheba couldn't even
remember when was the last time Cassie had really smiled.

Sheba sighed. She closed the door softly. Something was wrong, that was
obvious, but Sheba didn't really understand what.

Cassie wasn't speaking to her much. By lords, nowadays Cassie seemed to be
always in a foul mood. So easily irritable.

Sheba wanted to help her friend. To talk to her.

But Cassie didn't let anyone close.

* * *

Lomas wasn't kissing the co-ordinator boy at all.

The blonde angel was in his arms, surrendering to him. Taking him over.

Lomas was being devoured by flames of agony and desire. He kept kissing the
lips so hard that the boy sqeeked. A mild taste of blood lingered in Lomas'
mouth. Oh sagan, Lomas wanted to be inside the angel's heart and soul. He
couldn't get close enough. He couldn't get… inside enough! The man was in
Lomas' arms but too far away. So far away that it made the desire painful.
Lomas was so tenderly, so passionately stroking that blonde, curly, soft
hair. His lips found the eyelids of the green jewels that looked like eyes.
Lomas' mouth and tongue kept caressing the face of an angel, for a long
long time, until… Until he couldn't hold back any longer. Lomas' burning
lips found the eagerly responding lips of the beautiful angel and pressed
against them so hard. His hands were squeezing the man tighter and tighter
against his body.

The boy hoped to sagan that no one would enter the control center now. By
lords how the man turned him on. There was no way he could stop now. The
boy's throbbing, hard penis pressed against the other man's thigh, yearning
for release from the tight uniform trousers. "Please let me make love to
you…" The boy wispered with a choked voice. "Please…"

Lomas opened his eyes. For a centon he stared at the ugly little creature
in his arms. He couldn't understand. Where was the beautiful angel? What
was this meaningless young lad doing here? Taking advantage of Lomas'
desire for a much higher, delicate being. Kissing Lomas' neck with a wet,
repulsive mouth that felt nothing like the soft lips of the blond man.

The boy lifted his glazed eyes. He noticed that Lomas was staring at him.
There was such a strange look in those waterpond eyes. Such a strange look
indeed. But of course the boy naturally supposed it was the look of passion
and pleasure. Oh, how could he have known that the rivers inside the man's
dark mind were being set free. How could the boy have possibly understood
that those big beautiful eyes were now the eyes of a monster. "I want you
so much…" The boy sighed. He didn't even feel the first strike. The boy
fell to the floor.

Lomas' hard fists kept hitting him again and again, even after a pool of
dark blood burst out from the boy's nose.

* * *

Chapter 14

The co-ordinator boy was lying on the floor, in the middle of a pool of
blood.

Lomas indifferently glanced at the boy as he was waiting for the data to
appear on the screen of the central computer. By heavens this piece of
felgercarb was slow. Lomas had already waited for at least five centons for
the co-ordinates of the cylon basehip 7. "Come on, come on" Lomas kept
mumbling, once in awhile eyeing towards the entrance of the control center.
Lomas sure didn't want to be surprised by one of… them. Oh well, he still
had about ten centons before the captain of the control center, the lad's
boss would return.

Lomas glanced at the boy again. He seemed to be still unconscious. Lomas
didn't like the boy's face. Such a boring face.

Something flashed onto the computer screen. Lomas turned his eyes away from
the boy to look at the data appearing.

"The base ship 7 could not be located. Target outside long scanner range."

Frack! Lomas mind was working overtime. Okay, he couldn't get the
co-ordinates of the location of his father, but he could definately find
the base ship that was closest to the colonial fleet and get information on
Baltar's whereabouts from there. More data appeared onto the screen. Lomas
eyed it.

"Target found"

Lomas waited impatiently. Five centons left before the captain would
return. Come on you piece of felgercarb!!

"27 hectares west, 88 degrees beta circle, 164 alpha angle."

Lomas breathed harder. He typed more question data and inserted it into the
computer.

"The identity code of the target?"

The computer screen flashed blank. Frack! Lomas typed again.

"The identity code of the target?"

"Cylon base ship 7"

Lomas almost screamed. The scanner had found the co-ordinates of Baltar's
command ship after all.

Lomas deleated the text from the computer screen. He had two centons to get
out of that place. The boy still hadn't moved. Lomas raised one eyebrow.
Hopefully the boy wasn't dead. He hadn't wanted to kill the boy. Of course
not. He wasn't a killer. He was just too powerful so the weak sometimes
didn't survive.

Footsteps.

Frack. Lomas turned off the computer and rushed towards the exit of the
control center. Carefully he took a look at the still empty corridor
outside. He could hear the footsteps approaching. Lomas quickly sneaked out
of the control center and prayed to sagan that he had chosen the right
direction as he started running down the corridor to the left.

The footsteps were closer.

Lomas reached the elevators. He pressed the red button. Come on!!! For
sagan's sake, the elevator seemed to take forever. Lomas turned to look at
the corridor behind him. Thank the lords it was still deserted. Lomas could
hear two people talking now. Lomas kept pressing the button. Why was this
taking so long. Frack! Someone must have been using the elevator right at
this centon.

Lomas turned to take a look back. He saw two men appearing from behind the
far end corner. Feverishly Lomas eyed around the hallway. There had to be a
place to hide… Lomas noticed a little dent on the metal wall and dashed
towards it. It was too fracking small. Lomas couldn't fit into it
completely. The two men were walking towards Lomas. Chatting. Laughing.
Lomas didn't take his eyes off them. He was't even breathing now.

The men reached the entrance of the control center, pushed the door open
and stepped inside, still laughing about something they both thought was
very funny.

There was a soft clink as the elevator arrived.

"By the lords of Kobol!" Lomas heard one of the men shouting from inside
the control center. "Go get help! Hurry, for sagan's sake!"

The elevator doors opened.

"Is he dead?" The other voice sounded weaker, more horrified.

Lomas started running towards the elevator like mad.

"He's going to be if we don't get help NOW!" The stronger voice shouted.

Lomas saw the elevator doors slowly closing in front of him.

"All right, all right, I'm going!" The weaker voice seemed to be
approaching.

Lomas succeeded in grabbing a tight hold of the left door's edge just as it
was about to close. Sagan it hurt! Lomas was sure his hand would turn black
after this…

Nothing happened for microns. Come on, come on!!! Lomas was trying to force
the left door sideways with all his strength.

Yes! The doors opened. Lomas slipped inside the elevator. He could hear
footsteps getting closer. This time they were echoing near the exit of the
control room. Fracking doors. They weren't closing now.

A pale-faced man hurried out of the control center.

The elevator doors were still wide open. Lomas was holding his breath. The
pale-faced man's head turned. Lomas saw the look in his eyes.

"Hey!" The man shouted. "Who are you?"

The elevator doors started closing. Lomas was staring at the pale-faced
man.

"Who are you and what the frack are you doing here?"

The man was now running towards the elevator.

"This is a restricted area…"

The man was now only two metrons away.

"Hey, stop!" The man was shouting. "What's you identity code?…"

The elevator doors closed. Lomas closed his eyes.

* * *

The exact same black cat appeared what must have been the thirtieth time.
This time Starbuck's gaze followed it as it smoothly ran accross the wet
asphalt street. Elegantly the cat moved in the shadows, staying away from
the faint light of those few street lamps. The animal was almost invisible
in the darkness. Starbuck almost lost track of the cat until he saw the
pair of gleaming yellow eyes near the corner of of the building.

The cat had stopped. Its yellow eyes were looking straight at Starbuck.
Strange. Starbuck hadn't noticed that the cat would have turned to look at
him like this before. It seemed like the cat somehow knew that this time
the man's gaze had been following him. The cat's yellow eyes were on the
man for much too long a time. It reminded Starbuck of an animal about to
attack his prey. Then, after what must have been five centons, the cat
turned its eyes away and started to smoothly walk closer to one of the
buildings. Just before disappearing behind the corner, the animal stopped
and turned to look at the man again. Starbuck knew he had to follow the
cat. He started to run after the animal which had already vanished from
view.

Starbuck hastened his steps and slipped on the wet grass. He almost fell
flat on the ground but just in time he caught a hold of a tree brach or
something and succeeded in keeping his balance. Starbuck looked around
trying to spot the cat.

The animal was about two metrons away from Starbuck. It was standing in
front of a glass tower shaped in a form of a triangle, looking at the man.
Starbuck didn't even notice the cat now. He was staring at the triangle,
speechless.

The tower must have been about two metrons tall, maybe a little taller, and
it was slowly turning around and around. Inside that triangle there were
five or six extremely thin flakes of glass and when a blinding light, that
seemed to come from nowhere, shone through those thin flakes of glass, they
reacted like a prism. The beam of light broke into hundreds and hundreds of
rainbow streams which were so bright they were almost painful to look at.
Starbuck had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't on sleep cycle.

The cat was still looking at the man. Those rainbow-coloured streams of
light reflected from the cat's eyes. The animal was purring softly, licking
one of its forelegs. Then the cat streched elegantly and turned to walk
slowly towards the triangle. Starbuck's eyes followed the animal.

The cat was now only millimetrons away from the glass surface of the tower.
Still the animal kept walking towards it. Starbuck raised one eyebrow.
"Frack of a stupid cat. It's going to get a big bump on its forehead..."
The cat disappeared. Starbuck's mouth dropped open. The glass triangle was
suddenly turning around faster than microns ago. Starbuck was seriously
starting doubt his sanity. Especially when he decided to try to follow the
cat.

Somehow Starbuck sensed that the animal had led him to this tower of glass
intentionally. The triangle had to be some kind of an exit, a gateway out
of this dark slummy place where you couldn't go anywhere. A gate to another
side, or to another level… "What's the worst that can happen, eh? I get a
little bump on my head and become a little wiser for the next episode."
Starbuck grinned. "I think I can handle that."

The lights became brighter and brighter the closer Starbuck came to the
triangle. Soon he had to narrow his eyes and shield them with his hand.
There was now a hum, seeming to come from inside the tryingle. It was soft
and quiet but somehow horribly unpleasant and hurtful to the ears. It made
Starbuck feel like he was being perforated by electric waves. By lords,
Starbuck was sure his hair was sticking straight up, just like colonial
dance sticks are supposed to when one is doing the caprisian figuresteps.
Starbuck's skin was tingling. The closer he got to the tower, the more
uncomfortable the tingling became.

He reached the front of the tower and extended his hand to touch the glassy
surface. It felt smooth and solid, just like normal glass. There was no way
in frack one could just walk through it without the help of a sledgehammer
or something… The wind picked up. Funny, Starbuck never knew it could be so
windy inside a cave. He didn't realize that the air currents were actually
not the wind at all, but powerful air streams caused by the quick rotation
of the tower. The air streams were surprisingly strong. They were forcing
Starbuck closer to the triangle, pressing him tighter and tighter against
the glass surface… The glass disappeared.

* * *

Lomas walked quickly accross the officers' lounge, which was right opposite
the officers' club. He could hear chatting and jingling of glasses and cups
from inside the club. The lounge however was empty, thank the sagans. Lomas
knew he had about fifteen centons before there was a shuttle leaving to the
Piscean. Lomas hated going back there. It wasn't part of his plan. He was
never suppose to return to that ship of fools. But he had to return. The
blond man was there.

Lomas looked around. Still no one there in the lounge. But he would have to
hurry. The whiny-voiced man and his pal might even now be in one of the
elevators, coming after Lomas. He had to get away from the Galactica. Lomas
was almost by the opening of the beta section now. Still two more corridors
to go before he would reach the shuttle lauching bay. Lomas hastened his
steps.

He entered the first corridor. Frack. Someone was there, about ten metrons
away, walking away from Lomas, his back towards him. Lomas stopped. He
waited until the person disappeared. Then he proceeded forward. Lomas
turned to take a look back to make sure no one was following him. Then he
started running. He rushed down the corridor like mad, all the way to the
end of the hallway. It was hard to breathe, Lomas had to slow down for a
centon. One more corridor to go. Lomas stopped and took a moment to catch
his breath. He saw the boy from the corner of his eye. Lomas turned.

"What have you done to your face?" Lomas stared at Cree, repulsed.

Cree didn't answer. He was just standing there, opposite Lomas, with a
glazed gaze.

"It was nice to meet you…" Lomas grinned very unpleasantly. "But you must
excuse me, I have to run." Lomas turned and stepped into the final
corridor.

"I saw you…" Cree whispered.

Lomas turned. "Oh really."

"I saw you coming out of the control center." Cree's glazed eyes weren't
really looking at Lomas' face now. They were lingering somewhere between
his chest and his right arm.

Lomas didn't speak. He was staring Cree now, very warily.

"I saw the boy on the floor." Cree's voice was eerily quiet. Lomas hated
that voice.

"Cree, I have to go." Lomas eyed the boy with contempt.

"Take me with you." Cree's whisper was barely audible.

"What?" Lomas was sure he had heard wrong.

"Take me with you wherever you go." Lomas suddenly looked at Lomas in the
eyes.

"You're out of your felgercarbing mind!" Lomas didn't know whether to laugh
or cry. "For sagan's sake…"

Cree was staring at Lomas, in silence. The man didn't like the desperate
look in those eyes.

Only five centons before the shuttle to the Piscean was due. Lomas
hesitated. He hated the boy. Cree was weak and useless. But maybe… Lomas
eyed the lad. Maybe he could use the boy… in some way.

Lomas walked to Cree and took a hold of him by the arm. "All right. Get
moving then!" Lomas pulled Cree by the arm. Cree still didn't say a word.

They started running down the final corridor towards the launching bay. The
only sound was the echo of their steps.

Cree was smiling.

* * *

Starbuck squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. Nothing had changed.
He was still standing on the top of a moss-covered cliff. Before his eyes
opened a vast lake, it's tranquil waves glimmering in the light of the
summer sun. Small islands were rising from the lake as far into the horizon
as the eye could see. Bruce-like trees and birches grew dense on all the
islands and Starbuck could see a few tiny summer cabins, red or brown, here
and there, almost hidden behind the trees. The cabins were apparently empty
at that very moment or so it seemed. The sky was clear blue. Just very few
light summer clouds were hovering peacefully towards the east.

A bird or two were singing somewhere much further away. A sound of little
waves lapping against the rocks on the shore accompanied the distant
birdsong. There was such a mild wind it felt like a soft caress. It was the
most beautifully serene place Starbuck had ever seen. He had been there
before.

***

"I'll take you to my quarters." Lomas was leading the way. Cree's adoring
eyes were on his mentor. "You will wait for me there." Lomas glanced at the
boy indifferently. "There's something I need to do before we leave. You
will not astray from the room. Do you understand?"

Cree nodded. He felt so good being close to the beautiful man now. He
wouldn't have minded if they were to go to the end of the universe. He was
with Lomas, that was all that mattered.

Lomas' disgusted eyes lingered to the marks on Cree's left cheek . "And for
sagan's sake, do something to that face."

Cree subconsciously touched the cuts on his cheek. He had been stupid. By
lords he would never destroy his face again like this. Frack no! Cree
wanted to be pretty from now on, for Lomas' sake.

Lomas kept on walking a couple of steps ahead of Cree. "I wasn't supposed
to return to this place any more…"

Cree hastened his steps until he reached Lomas side. He looked at the man
in the eyes and saw a strange fire in them.

"…But something happened." Lomas whispered. "I had to come back."

Cree didn't understand, but he didn't care.

"The sagans wanted me to return." Lomas smiled. "This was meant to be…"
Lomas had to find the blond man. The angel.

They arrived at Lomas Pisceanian quarters. Lomas opened the door.

Cree eyed the room. How he loved the scent of Lomas, that was hovering all
around the place.

Lomas turned to look the boy. "I have to go now."

Cree nodded.

"You'll find some efficient disinfectant in the closet in the
turbowashroom. Take care of your face now." Lomas smiled. "Like a good
boy."

Cree smiled too but Lomas wasn't looking at the boy any more. He had turned
and left the room. Cree remained standing there, facing the closed door
with a smile on his face. Looking at Lomas, although he was no longer
there.

* * *

Boomer was dragging his rucksack towards the door. "Come on Apollo! The
sooner we get going, the quicker all this felgercarb will be behind us."

"In a centon!" Apollo glanced at Boomer. "I'll be right there…"

"What's taking so long for sagan's sake!" Boomer frowned. "Don't you
realize that the more time we waste, the bigger trouble Starbuck might get
himself in!"

"Calm down Boomer!" Apollo grinned. "I'm reloading my communicator so it
won't ran short on power too soon after we enter the forbidden city. We'll
be ready to leave in just a couple of centons." Apollo lifted his eyes and
glanced at Calbâ. "You coming with us?"

"You won't find your friend."

"What?" Apollo's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe the man had said such a
thing. "If that was meant to be a joke it sure wasn't very funny…"

The expression on Calbâ's face was serious. "If your friend is in the
forbidden city he can never be found."

Apollo forgot he was holding the reloading equipment. It dropped to the
floor. "What felgercarb are you talking about…"

Calbâ's eyes were kind, but very sad. He walked over to Apollo and put his
hand on the man's shoulder. "There's something I haven't told you about the
forbidden city."

* * *

Lomas had been walking around the Piscean for centars. Sagan, he was
getting desperate. So far there had been no trace of the beautiful man. All
the faces Lomas kept seeing were meaningless. Faces of nothingness. Still
he had to keep on searching. He had to find the angel.

People were starting to look at Lomas in a funny way when they saw him
passing the fourth time. Lomas didn't give a frack. There must have been
tears of frustration in eyes because Lomas was surprised to see that the
back of his hand was wet after he had wiped his grey veiled eyes with it.
Lomas' feet were so tired they ached but it didn't make any difference. His
head was pounding, the lights hurt the eyes but Lomas didn't even notice.
He kept on searching.

* * *

"I found the batteries Starbuck! Now we can finally get the radio working!"

Shocked Starbuck turned and gasped.

Seventeen yahren old Apollo was friskily walking towards him, towards the
cliff top, with a huge smile on his pretty young face. "Hey, what were you
dreaming about, buddy! Wake up! I thought we were going for a swim before
we leave! Get you suit on!"

Starbuck could do nothing but stare.

"Guess what!" Apollo kept his eyes on Starbuck. "Father said we can come
here for two sectons next sectar, just the two of us." Young Apollo
grinned. "Isn't that great! Boy I hope the stupid boat co-operates…"

* * *

Cree raised his eyes as Lomas stepped into the room.

"I took care of my face like you told me to." Cree smiled. "Look, it's much
better now."

Lomas didn't even glance at the boy. He walked past him and went into the
turbowashroom, banging the door shut behind him.

Cree stared after the man with frightened eyes. He arose from the bed and
walked to the closed turbowashroom. Gently he knocked. "Lomas?"

No answer.

"Beautiful Lomas? Is everything all right?" Cree heard a sound. A very
familiar one because he had made that sound so many times himself. "Lomas,
open the door, please!"

A choked sigh of agony.

Cree stopped knocking at the door.

He heard Lomas sighs growing louder.

Cree quietly walked away from the door and climbed back on the bed. He knew
his mentor was entering the rivers. Slashing himself with a blade. Cree
smiled.

* * *

Calbâ kept his eyes on the other two men. "There's something I have not
told you about the forbidden city."

Apollo and Boomer were both silent, waiting for the man to continue.

Calbâ too remained quiet for a while. He walked towards the yellow table
and took a chair. Then he lifted his eyes. "I think you better sit down."

"Just tell us what you are about to, Calbâ." Apollo's voice was impatient.

Calbâ sighed. "If you go to the forbidden city, you will not arrive at the
same world as your friend."

Boomer rolled his eyes. "Well of course! And why didn't I come to think of
that myself…"

Calba smiled a little. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. Even though
you pass the same gates and arrive at the same place as Starbuck…" Calbâ
kept his eyes on the others. "You will enter a completely different world."

Boomer stared at the dark man. "Uh huh…"

Calbâ laughed softly and melancholically. "I guess I better start from the
beginning."

"Oh, if you don't mind… Boomer grinned. "Please do!"

Calbâ was silent for a micron as he poured a little guskâ into a yellow cup
and took a sip. Then he took a deep breath. "The army of the black queen is
not human."

"So?" Boomer raised one eyebrow. "I recall hearing that before…"

Calbâ paused and took another sip of guskâ. Apollo was tapping his foot on
the floor. "Just so you understand. They are not human. They have a
completely different way of existing. I mean, their world is different…"

Apollo eyed Calbâ. "How?"

Calba looked at Apollo. "As you know, the universe known to us has three
dimensions. Four if you include time."

"Go on." Apollo took a couple of steps towards the table.

"No one knows where the black queen and her army originate from…" Calbâ
watched Apollo walking closer. "But one thing is for certain. Their
universe is outside and inside the one that we are in."

"What?" Boomer stared at Calbâ. "Would you mind repeating…"

The black queen comes from a universe of eleven dimensions." Calba kept his
eyes on the others. "And that is the way the forbidden city exists."

"Meaning what?" Apollo had now taken a chair and sat down.

"Eleven dimensions is something the human brain is incabable of
comprehending. So, if the human brain is exposed to such circumstances it
either tries to find a way to operate in it or it distructs."

Apollo was horrified. "Are you saying that Starbuck's brain could be
damaged…?"

"Not necessarily..."Calbâ eyed the mild darkness behind the window.

"Then what??" Boomer was getting angry. For sagan's sake the man was
speaking slower than the retarded apes in Caprica Central Zoo.

"When a being whose brain is formed like the human one enters the eleven
dimensions of the forbidden city, the being most apparently enters the
world of his own memories." "Uh huh…" Boomer raised one eyebrow.
"Meaning?…"

"It means…" Calbâ continued softly. "…That your mind creates an environment
that your brain can adjust to…"

"Your memories…" Apollo ended the sentence quietly.

Yes. Calba glanced at him. "Your mind enters the memories of your past
although physically you remain in the present tense." Calba looked at both
of the men. "We call it the entwining."

Apollo's face was pale. "And you are telling us that everyone enters his
own memories…"

"Exactly." Calbâ continued. "As you know, everyone's mind is different…"

Apollo turned his eyes away. "So everyone enters a different world when one
passes the gates of the forbidden city."

Calbâ put a hand softly on Apollo's shoulder. "You can never find your
friend, Apollo. Not in that city…"

"Hey wait a minute!" Boomer furrowed his eyebrows. "How in heavens do you
know all this stuff anyway. Just a couple of centars ago you told us that
no one has ever been to the forbidden city or at least one has not returned
from the place…"

"Yes." Calbâ smiled melancholically. "That is true." "Then, how in heavens
do know this stuff." Boomer eyed the man with disbelief. "Are you trying to
feed us with felgercarb…"

Calbâ's voice was patient. Hell, the guy never seemed to get tired of
explaining things... "One of the black queen's soldiers once succeeded in
escaping from the forbidden city once."

Apollo's eyes grew wider. "Why? What happened?"

"I do not know why he wanted to escape…" Calbâ glanced at Apollo. "But he
was caught and killed in mere centars…" Calbâ's thoughtful eyes turned to
stare out of the window. "He did however have enough time to tell us about
the world of the black queen before he was killed…"

***

Starbuck watched the young Apollo passing with a grin on his face and the
sun in his hair.

"Well Bucky, are you coming or not?…"

"I'm coming…" Starbuck answered, startling himself.

Starbuck couldn't understand how in the names of the lords this was
possible but he knew he had somehow returned to his own past. How vividly
Starbuck could still remember this very day… Remember all those days…

The first time Apollo had persuaded Starbuck to come to the family cabin
with him… It had been right after the first yahren of the academy had ended
and the second secton of the first sectar of summer vacation had just
begun. They had been only sixteen.

Starbuck had been reluctant and hesitant. Although he wanted so much to
spend the summer with his new beautiful friend, his first real friend,
Starbuck always felt uncomfortable and shy in the company of commander
Adama and Ila, Apollo's mother. Starbuck sure liked little Zak but the
younger sister, Athena annoyed the frack out of him.

Besides, Starbuck knew very well that he would only feel out of place
intruding someone else's family like that.

Apollo, however, did not give up and soon Starbuck found himself sitting
next to Apollo in Adama's black turboram, heading towards the outskirts of
a small caprican village called Ottawan, about 1175 metrics from Caprica
City. That was where the commander and his family owned a small island, in
the middle of one of the biggest lake on Caprica. Ottawan was such a
beautiful place and Starbuck sure fell in love with the island the very
first micron he set foot on the shore.

There was a little red cabin, the main cabin, built on the top of a cliff.
The view over the huge lake was breathtaking. Starbuck could hardly take
his eyes off it. Another cabin, a smaller one, was a little further away,
hidden in the woods. It was built very near the shore. The waves could
almost reach the front steps. The brown wooden sauna was quite a surprise
to Starbuck who had never before seen such a thing in his life, but after
the first experience Starbuck, to his utter amazement, found it to be one
of the top pleasures of life… There was no plumming on the island, no
running water, no power for communicators. In fact, there was no power at
all, not even solium. Nothing but the beauty of nature and a wonderful
ability to clear the human mind from all disturbing thoughts.

The red boat was a nuisance though. Adama seemed to be the only one who was
cabable of handling the boat without any trouble. Apollo and Starbuck
always had to struggle the felgercarbs out of the engine before it finally
consented to start up.

That first visit had been a prelude to a habit that had lasted for yahrens
to come. During the boring winter days in the academy, Starbuck and Apollo
had counted the days until it would be summer again and time to return to
that cabin.

Starbuck didn't know enough words to describe how much he enjoyed the
company of Apollo and yes, his family too. Starbuck loved purifying his
mind with the serenity of nature and having memorable adventures in the
center of that little ottawan village, which in fact surprised the frack
out of Starbuck for turning out to be quite an active place when it came to
nightlife…

Apollo and Starbuck must have spent at least two sectons in that cabin on
every summer vacation until they finished the academy and joined the
military. Even now Starbuck was sure those days must have been so close to
being the most happy ones in his entire life. Happy ones, oh absolutely.
Painful ones too.

Starbuck's eyes were still following the seventeen yahren old Apollo, who
had by now reached the waterline and was ready to dive into the lake.

"What's the matter with you buddy?" Grinning Apollo turned to look at
Starbuck. "Get your butt down here!"

Starbuck could remember this day so very well. Too well. In three centars
they would go to the center of Ottawan village and they would meet a
particular person. Someone who Starbuck would rather have forgotten.

* * *

Cree was awake. He was listening to Lomas tossing and turning in the living
room, once in a while getting up from the sofa and walking around the room,
restlessly.

Lomas had hardly said more that two or three sentences all night.

Cree had tried to get physically close to the man, but Lomas had just
turned away in silence.

When Lomas had stepped out of the turbowashroom, Cree had looked at him
warmly.

"How was it?" Cree had smiled. "Was it good?"

Lomas had glanced at the boy without saying a word.

Cree's admiring eyes had lingered on the man and then he had noticed a
stain of blood on the man's uniform sleeve. A bigger stain that it should
have been. Cree had gasped. Frack, half of the sleeve had been covered in
blood.

"Oh sagan, Lomas…" Cree had whispered. "What's wrong?"

Lomas hadn't answered. He had walked to the army bag placed on the floor
near the bed and without paying any attention to Cree, opened the bag and
taken out a clean tunic.

Cree had been holding his breath as Lomas had pulled off the stained tunic
and revealed his pale, lean body. By heavens, the man truly was beautiful.
Cree had so much wanted to touch Lomas. Kiss the wound on his arm. Make
love to the man's soul.

Lomas had pulled the clean tunic on. Then he had taken his jacket from the
back of a chair and walked out of the room without saying a word.

Lomas had returned centars later, even more in despair than the first time.

Cree couldn't understand. And to be honest, Cree was started to be
frightened of Lomas. The man didn't seem to be the person Cree had gotten
to know. The passionate master of dark mind rivers. The beautiful, enticing
elf of light. The fragile, gentle man Cree had come to love more than life.
Still, there was nothing in this universe that could prevent Cree from
following Lomas to the edge of the world.

Cree had watched Lomas pacing around the room with such a pained look on
his face. When the boy had risen from the bed and turned on the light,
Lomas had looked at him furiously and told him to turn it off. For some
reason the man had wanted to remain in darkness. Like if he had wanted to
see only the world inside himself and nothing else.

Cree had fallen asleep by accident. When he had woken up, he was alone in
the bedroom. Quietly Cree had crept to the bedroom door only to notice It
was locked. For sagan's sake. Lomas had locked Cree inside. Through the
door Cree could hear the restless pacing, the sighs…

Cree kept listening to those sounds through the sleep cycle until he heard
Lomas' steps approaching the bedroom door and a key turning. Cree
pretending to be asleep.

Lomas stepped into the room and remained standing by the doorway, obviously
staring at Cree in silence. Then, after centons the man quietly left the
room, leaving the bedroom door open.

Cree opened his eyes. He turned and looked.

Lomas was there, in the living room, obviously just about to leave the
quarters. He lifted his eyes and looked at the boy. Their eyes met.

"You are a fool Cree." Lomas said quietly.

Cree didn't answer.

"A fool." Lomas repeated. "You should leave me, Cree. Leave me now because
soon it will be too late." Lomas gave Cree a smile.

Cree shuddered. The smile was horrible. Not alike a smile at all but a
grimace of despair.

"You should leave Cree…"

"I can't." Cree whispered. "I love you."

Lomas turned his eyes away from the boy. He walked out of the room.

* * *

"What's taking him so long." Apollo glanced at the timepiece on his wrist.
Apollo and Boomer had been strolling circles in Calbâ's garden for at least
for five centons, waiting for the dark man. Apollo was getting impatient.
"What is he looking for?"

Don't ask me." Boomer shrugged.

Right then Calbâ rushed out of the house carrying a half a metron sized,
spanner-like thing. "Now we can go!"

Boomer eyed the thing. "What is that? Your vacuum cleaner?"

Calbâ laughed. "This thing here is a serrata, an essential part of the
boterra."

"The what?" Boomer raised one eyebrow.

Apollo glanced at thim. "You know. The flying pot that brought us to
Camileon."

Calba walked to the two men. "A stroke of luck that I did find the serrata,
I might add." Calbâ grinned. "The so-called pot doesn't fly without it."

"Great." Apollo smiled. "Let's get going then."

"Are you sure you want to leave today?" Calbâ eyed Apollo and Boomer for a
centon. "Tonight we have a celebration of Rage here in Camileon. If you
stayed, I can promise you that you would see something that you have never
before experienced."

Apollo was already walking towards the boterra. He turned to smile politely
at Calbâ. "Thank you for the invitation, but we really must leave now…"

"Celebration of rage" Boomer raised one eyebrow. "Sounds kinda anarchistic.
I hope you you're not going to set fire to turbo vehicles, beat up law
enforment officers and go on a rampage after a bloody game of foot-triad…"

Calbâ laughed. "That's the name of the ocean, Boomer. Gnasâ, the Ocean of
Rage. Tonight we celebrate the ocean above us."

"Oh, that's a relief." Boomer grinned.

Apollo's smiled too."I'm sure your celebration is an intriguing one, but we
need to go to the Galactica and get help…"

Calbâ looked at the Apollo. "Why do you not believe me my friend?.There is
nothing you can do for Starbuck now."

"Maybe not…" Apollo replied quietly. "But then again, maybe there is."
Apollo lifted his eyes to look into Calbâ's. "I cannot give up hoping. Not
as long as I live. There has to be a way to find Starbuck…"

Calbâ sighed. "I sincerely do hope that you will succeed in some way."

"So do I." Apollo smiled. "So do I."

Apollo wanted to get to the Galactica as soon as possible to get some help
from doctor Wilker. To have any chance in finding Starbuck in the forbidden
city they would need some kind of a mind transformer, and Apollo knew that
doctor Wilker was the only person on the Galactica who could possibly
invent and build such a thing...

Apollo was climbing into the boterra when halfway he turned to look down to
shout something to Boomer. He noticed Calbâ still standing in the middle of
the garden, thoughtfully looking at Apollo. "Hey, what are you waiting for.
Don't forget we need you to show us the way to the cities of the sun."

"Yes…" Calba smiled absent-mindedly. "But there's…"

"Well, come on then!" Apollo turned and continued to climb into the
vehicle.

"There's one more thing…" Calbâ kept his eyes on Apollo.

"What?" Apollo looked down at the man. Then his lips turned to a grin. "I
knew it. You are going to change your mind after all and come to the
Galactica with us."

"No my friend. " Calbâ spoke. "Unfortunately what I'm about to tell you is
something you don't want to hear."

"Uh oh…" Apollo grimaced. "Now you're gonna tell us that this boterra is
broken…"

Calbâ smiled vaguely. "Apollo, when you and the Galactican doctor start
building the mind transformer…"

"Yes?" Apollo eyed the man.

"You need to keep in mind that the world of the memories is not very
accurate."

"Meaning?"

"The pressure of the eleven dimensions tend to distort the function of the
brain, so the memories won't be the exact things that have happened in
reality." Calbâ didn't want to burden his friends' hearts more, but he had
to tell them what they were dealing with. "In most cases the memories turn
more or less into nightmares…" Calbâ sighed. "That is the way of the
forbidden city.

* * *

Lomas couldn't stop searching. He was now beginning to be so sure that the
angel had been only a reflection of his own imagination. An image of what
Lomas had hoped to see all his life. The man didn't exist. Still he
couldn't stop searching. Centar after centar. Desperately. Maybe, if Lomas
wanted hard enough, perhaps his mind rivers would reflect that image of the
angel again, even for a little while, for a passing centon… Lomas could
finally have a moment's serenity. Total fulfillment.

Lomas was sitting in a cantina, in the west section of hydra deck. He had a
cup of something in front of him, on the table. Lomas had no idea what the
cup contained. He had just asked the waitress to bring him something to
drink. Anything. The waitress had eyed Lomas disapprovingly and said that
alcohol was prohibited on the Piscean. Lomas had glanced at the girl
wearily. "Well, bring me a cup of felgercarb then, for sagan's sake.
Anything goes. Just leave me alone." The waitress had looked at Lomas
scornfully and disppeared. Only to come back in a couple of centons,
carrying a blue cup, which she placed on the table and charged three cubits
for it.

Lomas was staring into the cup, swirling the liquid with a little spoon
when he sensed that someone walked past him. Very very close, almost
touching his arm. Lomas raised his eyes, annoyed. The blond man was walking
towards the exit of the cantina. Lomas' heart stopped. He shot up from the
chair and knocked down the cup. The liquid ran all over the table and
started dripping onto the floor. Lomas didn't notice. He started running
towards the doorway as fast as he could. The blond man was now near the
stairway. A group of people appeared in front of Lomas and he lost the man
from view. Panicking he started pushing the annoyed people out of his way.
"Watch it, lad!" An astrabilious old man almost spat on Lomas. The old
man's companion, another old man commented with a loud tone. "These
youngsters. They are out of control nowadays. All of them." The old man
snorted. "When I was your age, young man…" Lomas didn't hear anything.

He was running towards the stairway. Damn it, he couldn't see the blond man
anywhere. Lomas flew down the stairs to the lobby of the starfish deck of
the omega section. Still no trace of the man. Lomas was almost crying now.
He had to find the angel. He just had to… Desperately Lomas looked around
the deck. He saw people everywhere. Meaningless people. Not the blond man.
Lomas ran towards the corridor that led from the starfish deck to the
private quarters of the omega section.

A guard stepped in his way. "And where do you think you're going young
man?"

"My aunt is dying." Lomas hissed. If glances could kill, the guard would
have dropped dead right then and there. "I have to go and take her to the
life center." Lomas tried to see something over the guard's shoulder. He
was sure the man had gone down the private corridor. "Please let me go…"
Lomas pleaded. He tried to push the guard out of his way. "…Or my uncle
will come here and you're in deep felgercarb!!"

The guard was getting annoyed now. "Listen lad. If you haven't disappeared
from my view in thirty microns I will call a little back up. And then you
can be sure that your aunt is not the only one dying…"

The elevator doors of the starfish lobby opened. Lomas knew immediately
there was something familiar in that whiny, weak voice… He turned. The
pale-faced man from the control center stepped out of the elevator
accompanied by two other men. They started walking towards the guard.

Lomas had no time to hesitate. He had to get out of the starfish deck. He
flew towards the stairway and ran up the stairs as fast as he possibly
could. He could hear the annoying whiny voice greeting the guard in charge
of the private corridor.

Lomas reached the top of the starway, breathing heavily. He stopped and
tried so hard to get his breathing to calm down a little. He had to hear
what the pale man was saying.

The guard laughed. His broad guffowing must have echoed to the last ship in
the fleet. "What? The crazy man running towards the stairway? No, I haven't
seen the him earlier." The guard lowered his voice a little and apparently
leaned closer to the other man. "I think he's one of the newcomers." The
guard hissed. "The supreme command always seems to place all the worst
losers of the fleet on this ship. Annoys the felgercarbs out of me, it
does." The guard's voice became louder again. " Why are you looking for
that lad anyway?"

The whiny voice spoke. "I'm sure that is the man I saw on the Galactica
yesterday. There is no way I could have made a mistake."

Lomas shuddered. Oh frack.

"He killed a computer co-ordinator. A young boy, merely the age of 20." The
whiny voice sounded pretensiously forlorn. "Can you imagine…"

The guard mumbled something. Lomas couldn't hear what.

The whiny voice continued. "These two men with me are officers from the
prison barge."

"Hi there..." The guard apparently nodded to the two officers.

"If you find out more about this man, I want you to contact me, or these
officers immediately." The whiny-voiced man was obviously smiling at the
guard. You can easily hear a smile from someone's voice.

The guard mumbled something that sounded like "Frack yes!"

"Here's my code and my telecom number." The whiny voice continued. "And
here is the contact number to the prison barge offices.You've been a great
help to us…"

Lomas wasn't listening any more.

Quickly he started towards the elevators that would take him to the hydra
deck. That had sounded like trouble. Lomas knew he had to go and fetch his
stuff as fast as possible and and then get the frack away from this ship.
Lomas' tried to ignore the terrible pain in his soul. No, he couldn't
listen to his heart now or he would risk everything. He had to proceed with
his plan as long as it was possible. But maybe, if for some reason he would
survive… Lomas closed his eyes for a fraction of a micron. …He would return
to the Piscean and find the angel. Oh yes he would…

Lomas started running.

***

Starbuck and the young Apollo had walked through the small center of
Ottawan and were now approaching the sportsground which was one of the few
places where the youngsters of the village usually gathered together to
spend the evening cycle at the end of every secton.

From a distance Starbuck could see a group of young people lying on a
mattress that was normally used for high jumping. It was such a weird
sensation. Starbuck was now looking at faces he hadn't seen in thirteen
yahrens.

Apollo was saying something to him, but unlike back then, this time
Starbuck wasn't listening. He kept his eyes on the group of people and
noticed two boys getting up from the mattress and starting to walk towards
Apollo and Starbuck. By heavens, Starbuck couldn't turn his eyes away from
the one with longer hair. Starbuck had to remind himself how to breath. It
was almost too overwhelming to see the boy exactly the way he had looked
like in the very beginning.

The long haired boy, Vega had been Starbuck's first real love. Oh well, at
least it had been something very close to being love… By lords had it
frightened the felgercarbs out of Starbuck to realize he was homosexual.
But then again, on the other hand, it had felt so wonderfully enticing,
like entering a new secret universe full of promises.

Starbuck had been so ashamed of his new feelings. And so intrigued by them.

He had kept those feelings so carefully hidden from the rest of the world.
Even from Apollo. Starbuck's charade, his reputation as a womanizer… or
rather a girlizer back then, had been very carefully built.

Starbuck had shared some beautiful, many painful, and all very secret
moments with Vega, but his heart had always remained unrequited.
Unfulfilled. Yes, Vega had treated Starbuck badly, hurt Starbuck in so many
ways. But the main reason for Starbuck's heart being unfulfilled had been
because of Apollo. Starbuck knew that now. Everything in his life had been
because of, and for Apollo. Everything.

The memories of Vega were hurtful and it had taken Starbuck a long time to
get over them. Yet there he was. Vega. Standing in front of Starbuck.
looking so innocent and so young. Just like the way he had back then, at
the age of seventeen.

Everything happened exactly the way it had before. The chatting on top of
the white diving rack. The taking of the rowing boat and sneaking into the
nearest island. Meeting all the others in the sportsground and then
building the idiotic tent from the synthetic resin that was normally used
for shielding the high jumping mattresses against moisture.

Starbuck couldn't influence the words he spoke, nor the movements he made.

Came the moment to crawl into the tent. The moment to experience the first
secret touch. Part of Starbuck hated to relive this now, but the other part
was overjoyed.

Starbuck could see Vega a little further, veiled in the dusk. Oh lords the
boy had the same shy, enticing look on his face. Starbuck swallowed. He
smiled at Vega and started crawling towards him, feeling shy.

Something was different.

Vega wasn't looking at Starbuck at all. This time he was smiling at Apollo.

A sudden feeling of jealousy and hurt rushed into Starbuck's heart. Why for
sagan's sake was he having these feelings. They didn't belong to this
moment. This had not happened. This was not happening. That smile… Starbuck
stared at Vega. That wasn't the smile the boy used to have. It had somehow
changed into something completely different. Into something very familiar…

Vega's eyes were hungrily looking past Starbuck and the boy's smile was
like a beautiful invitation of a fiend. The kind that Lomas had…

Quickly Starbuck turned towards Apollo who was crawling into the tent right
behind him.

"I know this sounds crazy…" Starbuck's mouth dropped open. Apollo wasn't
there. Confused Starbuck turned to take a look ahead and there he was. In
Veca's arms, his eyes on Starbuck.

"Why didn't you ever tell me you were gay, Starbuck?" Apollo's eyes were
somehow rude. "Don't you know its not nice to keep secrets from a friend…"

Apollo's grin was unpleasant and obscene. Starbuck couldn't believe his
eyes. Apollo's hand was stroking Vega's hair but his eyes were on Starbuck.
Arrogant, amused eyes.

"Why don't you leave us now for twenty centons, Starbuck." Apollo whispered
and winked. He turned and kissed Vega on the mouth in an ugly, repulsive
way.

Something was stabbed through Starbuck's heart and it started to bleed.

Vega turned."Yo, Bucky boy, what are you wating for. Give us a little
privacy will you..."

Apollo laughed. "Oh, let him watch. Maybe he likes to watch…"

"Yeah…" Vega smiled at Starbuck. "You like to watch, huh? Well watch this…"

The two boys kissed again, hard.

Vega turned to look at Starbuck, grinning. "Or perhaps you would like to
join us, Bucky boy…" Vega winked. "Come to my arms brother dearest..."

Starbuck shuddered. The boy didn't look like Vega at all. In fact, the boy
wasn't Vega any more. He was Lomas.

"Enjoying the view?" Startled Starbuck turned.

A twelve yahren old Athena was crawling into the tent with a grin on her
face. "Well, hello there Bucky." Athena leered. "Surprised to see me?"

Starbuck closed his eyes. This was not happening.

"No time to take a nap now Bucky." Athena's sarcastic voice echoed
somewhere nearby.

Starbuck didn't want to open his eyes but he did.

Athena was sitting in front of him, legs crossed. In her hands she was
holding a used condom. "Guess who just raped me, Bucky…" Little Athena
laughed. "Oh Yes, I got raped on the way here."

Sagan, please stop!" Starbuck whispered. "Please stop…"

"Guess who raped me, Bucky…" Young Athena was looking at Starbuck, eyes
gleaming.

This is not real! This is definately not real!

"Little Zak did it!" Athena laughed. "Little Zak raped me!"

Starbuck's face was horrified.

Athena's kept her amused eyes were on Starbuck. "And guess what?" Little
Athena grinned. "He promised to do it again."

"No…" Starbuck squeezed his eyes shut.

"Don't we just love our relatives, Bucky…" Athena's laughter echoed in the
dusk.

The black queen was looking at the man lying on the ground. What an
intriguing specimen. Not many human beings have had the stupidity to enter
this kingdom.

The queen arose from the chair and slowly walked around the man, not taking
her eyes away from him. What intresting brain storage. So many fears.
Fascinating.

The black queen knealt down beside the man and reached out to touch his
hair. Then she leaned a little forward and whispered into the Starbuck's
ear. "Show me your darkness."

***

Cree turned, startled, as Lomas rushed into the room.

"I'm leaving. Now." The man glanced at the boy. "And you are not coming
with me."

"Yes I am, Lomas." Cree's smile was a little melancholy.

Lomas tossed his stuff into the army bag as quickly as he could and then
closed the zipper. He straightened his back and looked at Cree. The boy was
just standing there, watching.

"I don't love you Cree." Lomas said coldly. "I dispise you."

"I love you." Cree whispered.

Lomas turned and walked towards the door. Cree was standing in the way. The
boy refused to move an inch. "You are an idiot, Cree." Lomas looked at the
boy with so much contempt.

"No, Lomas." Cree smiled. He still didn't move.

Lomas put the bad down and stared at Cree into the eyes.

"I'm coming with you, Lomas." Cree's voice was soft. "Don't forget I know
what you have done and where you are going." Cree smiled. "You have no
chance of getting to your destination if I open my mouth in the wrong place
and to the wrong people…"

Lomas didn't answer.

"I'm coming with you, beautiful Lomas." Cree whispered.

Lomas raised his hand and hit the boy in the face as hard as he could.

Cree cried out loud and fought to keep his balance. For a little while he
could see nothing but bright dots dancing in darkness.

Lomas hit the boy again. Cree fell to his knees, holding his head with his
hands.

Lomas stared at the boy kneeling there, in front of him, softly sobbing.
Lomas hesitated. Then he extended his hand, took a hold of Cree by the chin
and forced the boy to face him.

Cree couldn't look at Lomas. He kept his eyes lingering.

"Stand up."

Cree couldn't. His legs were not carrying him. He still wasn't looking at
Lomas.

Lomas took a hold of the boy by under his arm and forced him up.

Cree squeeked.

Lomas placed both hands on Cree's cheeks and brought his face closer. Very
close.

Cree was trembling, sobbing quietly. His horrified eyes finally looked into
Lomas' icy oceans and Cree drowned.

Lomas was not smiling. He leaned closer and kissed Cree softly on the lips.

Cree jolted violently.

Lomas' lips were caressing Cree's tenderly, almost not touching, oh but
burning like solium fire.

Too soon Lomas moved away and the kiss ended like it never really had
happened at all. The only thing that lingered on was the pleasant tingling
on both of the men's lips and the torch inside Cree's wounded heart.

"You are a fool Cree." Lomas whispered.

"Yes Lomas." Cree's pretty eyes were full of tears. "I'm a fool because I
can't stop loving you."

Lomas eyed the boy for a centon. Then he suddenly smiled. "Come on then,
you fool. Let's get out of here."

* * *

"What are you doing up so early?"

"Athena?" Starbuck opened his eyes.

One of the orphanage instructionesses was walking towards Starbuck with her
hands on her hips. "Well, Starbuck. Why are you up this early? It's hardly
sunrise…"

Starbuck's mouth dropped open. By heavens, that woman had died yahrens
before the distruction of the colonies. Starbuck hardly got out a word.
"Miss Diera?…"

"Perhaps this time I should punish you, young man." The expression on the
woman's face was stern, but Starbuck could vividly remember that the woman
was only trying to hide her amusement. "you have been here for three
yahrens, Starbuck. You should know the rules by now. No sneaking out of the
dorms until given permission."

Starbuck realized he was standing in the hallway which led to the orphanage
primaries storage cabins. Oh, he just had to smile. Starbuck knew every
inch of that hallway. By lords he had sneaked to the cabins to steal
primaries more times than he could even count.

The instructioness eyed Starbuck for centons, an angry expression on her
face. Then suddenly she laughed. "All right then Starbuck. I'll let you off
the hook for the last time. But if I ever catch you sneaking down these
corridors again, I will have to put you in detention, is that understood."
Starbuck grinned at the woman. He had always liked miss Diera. She had
never been unreasonably strict like most of the other orphanage
instructionesses. And how could Starbuck ever forget that this was not in
the least the first, nor the last time Diera let Starbuck get away with…
things.

"Not so fast, miss Diera…"

Starbuck and the instructioness both turned.

The siress of the orphanage was standing a little further away from them,
holding a whip in her hand.

Starbuck stared at the old woman. She didn't belong to this moment.

"I have been waiting for a long time to do this." The siress smiled while
she was rolling up the sleeves of her white tunic. "I'm going to start with
you, lad. Now be a good boy and take your shorts off."

Starbuck couldn't believe this. He was going to get a spanking at the age
of 33, trapped in a memory that wasn't even accurate. If the situation had
been less plausible, Starbuck would have burst out laughing.

The siress walked closer to Starbuck, eyes gleaming. "Guess what, little
boy." The siress smiled. "I just decided that spanking you isn't going to
be quite enough."

Starbuck stared at the woman.

"I just decided that we are going to donate you away. Isn't that
wonderful." The siress grinned. "And what coincidence that there just
happens to be someone who is very willing to adopt you, little lad." The
siress who was now in front of Starbuck, holding that whip. "You are such a
lucky boy, Starbuck." The siress was smiling. "Not many of our young
deciples get a chance to be reunited with their real families."

"Chameleon…" Starbuck whispered, hopefully.

"No, son!"

Starbuck turned and gasped.

Baltar was standing at the far end of the hallway, waving his hand.
"Welcome home, sonny." Baltar smiled. "Now we can finally get to know each
other really well…" The man started walking towards Starbuck, not taking
his eyes off the boy. Baltar grinned. "Really well indeed…"

The black queen was intrigued. The specimen seemed to have more fears than
most other individuals. Perhaps this specimen deserved to be treated
differently than the others. Oh definately. This one was going to be
special. The queen smiled.

* * *

Chapter 16

The forest was dark.

Starbuck could hear the cries and pleads of other children further away in
the woods. Starbuck felt just as scared and on the verge of tears now, as
he had back then, on the night of the cylon raid. "Mummy!" Starbuck
mumbled, startling himself. What the frack are you doing? Starbuck rolled
his eyes. You must be going crazy. For sagan's sake, You're a 33 yahrens
old heroic fighter pilot and this is just a mere memory. This is not
happening now!" But still Starbuck couldn't stop his heart from pounding.
Anything could be hiding in the darkness. The monsters from under the bed
had surely found their way to the forest and were now behind the trees,
grinning at the little scared boy, ready to attack him. "Mummy!!" Starbuck
called out again, frightened.

There was no answer. Just the whisper of the wind.

One could hardly see further than a metron in the darkness. Pale shadows
were moving on Starbuck's little tunic every time the red moon drifted into
view from behind the tall trees. "Daddy?" Starbuck whispered. You are
insane, Starbuck shook his head. He knew so very well that the orphanage
people would soon come for help. Nothing scary would happen in the forest.
No monsters would appear from the shadows. Nothing horrible would attack
him from behind and sink its long sharp teeth into his neck. Pull yourself
together old man.

"This time, the history changes."

Starbuck jumped two metrons into the air. He turned to the direction where
the voice came from.

"Isn't it a beautiful night Starbuck? Moonlight and everything…"

"Father.." Starbuck gasped. "In the orphanage they are going to tell me
you're dead…"

Chameleon was leaning against a pine tree. "Oh, you are not going to the
orphanage Starbuck."

"What?" Starbuck stared at Chameleon.

"You won't be taken to the orphanage this time." Chameleon smiled. "As I
said, the history changes."

"How the frack can something that has already happened yahrens ago suddenly
change?"

"It already has." Chameleon was grinning. "I never adopted you in the first
place."

"Huh?" Starbuck could only stare.

"Such a lucky little boy you are, Starbuck." Chameleon was still leaning
against the tree.

"You were never abandoned. Isn't that great."

"That's right, sonny." Baltar appeared next to Chameleon and put his arm
around the man's shoulder. "And we are not here in the forest at all."

Baltar looked around and grimaced. "Isn't it awful here. Why in the names
of the lords are we wasting any more time than we have to in a place where
we actually are not in at all."

Starbuck was sure he must be on sleep cycle.

"Let's get away from here, shall we." Baltar gestured Starbuck to follow.
"Come on, sonny." Baltar grinned. "I have a lot to teach you, my boy. A
lot…"

Chameleon was looking at Starbuck. "You don't mind if I stay behind, do
you? As a wise man once said… " Chameleon grinned. "Three's a crowd."

"That's right Chameleon." Baltar smiled. "Of course Starbuck doesn't mind.
Don't forget that this never really happened."

Chameleon slapped his forehead. "Oh, of course. I'm not actually here." The
man smiled. "Well, off you go then Starbuck. Be nice to your father…"

* * *

"What the frack are you doing…" Aurora hissed. "I'm not sneaking into that
place!"

Athena turned. "Why the frack not? It's not a bigger deal that stealing
pills from the Canaris."

Aurora kept her eyes on Athena. "Hey, I got into enough trouble on the
Celestra for stealing weapons and I'm not going to do the same mistake
now."

"Who said you need to steal anything." Athena turned to examine the lock on
the storage door. "I'm the one who wants to steal a gun."

"Why?" Aurora rolled her eyes. "You are in the military for sagan's sake.
You're the commander's daughter and you have the captain of the blue
squadron for a brother. You could get your hands on a pile of weapons a
frack of a lot more easily than by stealing them from the squadron
arsenal...

Athena sighed impatiently. "Oh Aurora. I can't use a marked weapon, you
should know that!"

"They are all marked." Aurora was looking at the girl.

"Yes, but marked for general military use." Athena eyed the lock. She knew
what the key code was. If only Aurora would shut up for a micron so she
could concentrate. "…And what I have planned, well, I can't really use a
gun that is marked for the use myself or my family, can I…"

Aurora kept her eyes on the younger woman. "You still haven't told me what
you are going to do, Athena. And I'm beginning to notice it's not something
that I want to participate in."

Athena sighed with impatience. She let her mind to forget the lock for a
micron and turned to look at Aurora. "Okay, let's get things straight. I
thought you were like me. That you liked doing forbidden stuff, Got a high
from doing something dangerous. Obviously I was wrong."

"What?" Aurora eyed the girl with disbelief.

"If you want to back off, that's fine." There were flames in Athena's eyes.
"But there is nothing that can stop me now. Nothing. I have been let down
too many times. Now I don't have anything to lose."

"Athena…" Aurora took a hold of Athena's arm.

"Shut up and listen. The first time we stole drugs from the Canaris I
realized something. I liked the way I was. Independent. Untouchable in so
many ways. Giving a frack to the rest of the world." Athena smiled. "No
drug could take me that high." Athena's eyes were shining. "The next couple
of times we experienced with the unforbidden, the feeling got even
stronger. There is no way I could ever turn back to the life I was leading
before. Not now."

Aurora could just stare at the younger woman.

"I need more… " Athena grinned. "More…

"If you're not careful girl, you will get caught."

"I don't care." Athena sneered as she glanced at the Aurora.

"But why weapons for Kobol's sake." Aurora asked, quietly.

Athena smiled. "It's better that you don't know."

"Athena, you're not going to…" Aurora's grasp on Athena's arm tightened.

Athena laughed quietly. A delighted laugh. "Of course I am. Revenge is the
ultimate high." Athena grinned. "The ultimate level of independence…"

"That's felgercarb!" Aurora hissed. "Revenge is evidence that you are
dependant on the past..."

Athena eyed Aurora, unpleasantly. "No one asked for your opinion, so you
better keep it to yourself." The younger woman turned to look at the code
lock again. "You're either with me on this, or you're not." Athena spoke
without looking at Aurora. "But I'm going to proceed just the way I want
to."

* * *

Lomas put his forefinger to Cree's lips to gesture him to be quiet.

They listened for a micron. There was no sound of human voices, nor an echo
of footsteps. It seemed safe to proceed.

"Let's go." Lomas whispered. He pulled Cree by his arm.

Smoothly they ran towards the door at the far end of the corridor. Cree
kept his eyes on the man as they were running. He loved Lomas so much. They
reached the end of the hallway. Lomas pressed one ear against the door,
then he turned to look at Cree. "This is your last chance to turn back."

"I'm coming with you." Cree smiled.

"Fool." Lomas snorted. "Well, let's get moving then." Lomas pushed the
green button and held his breath as the heavy door started to open. Slowly,
he let himself breathe out as he saw that the next corridor was deserted.
Lomas still held onto Cree's arm as they quickly slipped into the other
hallway. He took a look around to make sure there weren't any surveillance
waves or tracking devices in this corridor. There was nothing, and Lomas
wasn't surprised. He knew that most of the ships in the fleet were not that
well equipped. In fact, the Galactica and the prison barge were probably
the only ones with waves.

Still few more corridors to go before they would arrive at the launching
bay.

"Are you going to steal a viper?" Cree whispered curiously.

Lomas eyed the boy, bored. By lords Cree could be stupid sometimes.

"There are no vipers on the Piscean." Lomas hissed. "You should know that."

Cree didn't answer.

"We'll have to steal a shuttle." Lomas was now whispering more to himself
than to the boy. "Yeah, I know they are a frack of a lot more slow than the
vipers, but there is no time to sneak onto the Galactica to nick a viper."

Another door. Lomas pushed the button and it opened with a loud hiss. The
two men gasped. In front of them opened the lounge of the naval deck. For
sagan's sake they had gotten lost.

Frack, frack frack, Lomas' mind screamed. Quickly he reached out to press
the button again and the door closed. Lomas leaned his back against it,
closing his eyes for a micron.

Cree was staring at the man. "You know…" Cree started. "If we…"

"Shut up." Lomas was too tired to listen to the boy's felgercarb. He had to
concentrate.

"There is no other way out of here than through the naval deck." Cree said,
cautiously, ready to receive a whack from the man. "The previous door could
only be opened from one side…"

Lomas opened his eyes. "What did you just say?"

Cree stepped a little backwards. He didn't answer.

"Frack!" Lomas cursed. He rubbed his forehead with his hand for a micron
and then he looked at Cree. "Well, we have no choice then. Come on." Lomas
turned and pressed the button again. The door opened.

The men held their breath as they stepped out of the corridor into the
lively lounge. No one seemed to pay any attention to them.

Lomas had no idea how to find their way out of the naval deck. There were
five corridors, all leading to a different direction. And none of them had
any signs or marks overhead. Nothing that would reveal where the corridors
would lead.

"This is just fracking great!" Lomas hissed. "Okay, we just have to take a
chance." Lomas eyed around the lounge to make sure they still hadn't been
noticed. Then he took a hold of Cree's tunic sleeve and together they
started towards the corridor nearest to them.

"Are you sure the man is still on the Piscean?"

"Where would he go? We have placed guards on the landing bays of all other
ships!"

Lomas almost stopped breathing. He knew that voice. Quickly he turned to
look to the direction where the voice came from and frowned.

By heavens this sure was his unlucky day. The fracking whiny-voiced man
from the control center was approaching Lomas and Cree with the two
officers from the prison barge.

"What if the killer has left the fleet completely." One of the guards
spoke.

"Are there any security guards placed on the Piscean launching bay?"

"I don't think the man is stupid enough to leave the fleet." The whiny
voice replied. "Where would he go, for sagan's sake…"

Lomas eyed feverishly around the lounge to find a hiding place. The three
men were getting closer.

"But yes…" The whiny voice carried on. "I have arranged a couple of guards
on the lauching bay."

"Come on Cree!" Lomas whispered. Quickly they started back towards the
corridor where thay had just come out from.

"That's stupid, Lomas." Cree hissed. "We will only be trapped in that
hallway…"

Lomas stopped. He turned to look at Cree. "Did you just call me stupid?…"

Cree swallowed. "I'm sorry, Lomas. It just slipped out of my mouth. I
didn't mean…"

Lomas raised his hand, rage gleaming in his eyes.

Cree almost stopped breathing. "Lomas, those guards… We have to run…"

"How nice to see you again."

Lomas' hand fell limb to his side and the fury in the eyes turned to an
expression of shock.

Cree stared at the man that had appeared beside them.

"I had no idea you had been placed on the naval deck or in the silicon
section for that matter."

The blond man's smile was just as breathtaking as Lomas had remembered.

"But it's very nice to see new pretty faces around here…"

Lomas was suddenly totally lost for words. He couldn't breath, he was
paralyzed. Everything else in the whole universe vanished but the angel who
was standing in front of him. This was heaven.

"Who are you?" Cree asked the man suspiciously. "Do we know you?"

Lomas couldn't believe his ears. By lords he wanted to kill Cree but he
couldn't move. He couldn't take his eyes off the man.

The blond man glanced warmly at Cree and then turned to look at Lomas
again.. "Well, not yet but I'm hoping that you will get to know me." The
man smiled. "May I take you to the silicon club. They make delicious
mushies in that place…"

Lomas swallowed but the chunk in his throat didn't disappear. He still
couldn't speak.

"We are in a bit of a hurry…" Cree replied.

What did that boy just say!! Lomas slowly turned to look at Cree with so
much rage burning in his heart.

Cree kept his eyes on the blond man. "It was nice meeting you, but we
really must get going…"

Lomas hit Cree in the face. Hard.

Cree yelped and his hand flew to the burning spot on his cheek. "Lomas…"
Cree could hardly gasp.

Lomas turned towards the blond man, who was looking stunned and startled.
"We would… I would be more than happy to accompany you to the silicon
club." Lomas croaked and his heart was racing like mad. "I would love to
come with you…"

The blond man smiled a little suspiciously. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to
cause any trouble…"

Lomas couldn't look away from the those green eyes. He was afraid to look
away for even a micron in case the angel would disappear if he did. "You
could never cause any trouble…" Lomas was till croaking. "I have been
looking for you…"

"You have?" The blond man smiled, surprised.

Lomas was afraid to touch the man's arm. He reached out a little but then
let his hand drop. "My angel, you do exist…" He whispered.

"What's going on here?"

The whiny voiced man from the control center took a hold of Lomas' shoulder
from behind.

The prison barge officers were standing a little furhter back.

Lomas was horrified. No! It can't end now!! Not now!!

He turned to look at the whiny-voiced man in the eyes. Lomas had no idea
what to sayor what to do. He had never felt more scared and frustrated in
his life. All the rivers were still. All intensity had just disappeared.
This time Lomas was merely a prey.

The blond man smiled politely at the three officers. "I'm so sorry, but I
must confess that it was all my fault."

Lomas' jaw dropped. Stunned he stared at the angel.

The whiny-voiced man turned. "I beg your pardon?"

"Unfortunately, yes." The blond man's face was friendly. "I lost my temper
and gave a little slap on my little brother's ear…"

The older man glanced at Cree. "This is your brother."

"What?" Cree gasped.

"Oh yes, officer." The blond man smiled. "He's a little stubborn once in
awhile but will definately grow up to be a man with dignity."

"Yes…" The older man prolonged the word. "Sometimes you need to raise you
family with a strict hand." The man grinned. "I remember when I had to
teach my little sister some manners when she was younger. Oh dear, what a
hothead she was." The man shook his head. "But believe me, now she's one of
the best communicator experts on the the Celestra."

"Hey, wait a centon…" Cree croaked.

"The pressure of responsibility…" The blond man sighed. "You must never
underestimate it."

"Never." The older man smiled. "Please excuse us now, we have important
duties to care of."

"Certainly, officer." The blond man stood aside to let the old man pass.

Cree was staring at the blond man, horrified.

Lomas too was looking at the man, but in his eyes were a million stars.
"You saved me…" Lomas whispered, softly. "You saved me…

"What kind of trouble are you in?" The blond man asked quietly. His eyes
were concerned.

"Will you come with me…" Lomas was so afraid to ask.

Cree looked like a fish on dry land as he was trying to say something but
no words came out.

"Come with you?" The man's voice was surprised. "Where?"

Lomas hesitated just for a fraction of a micron. Then he took a gentle hold
of the man's arm. A thousand lightnings struck straight through his body.
Lomas was hardly able to control the shivering. "Come with me…" Lomas
pleaded, softly. "Please…"

* * *

"Starbuck! The colonies are gone! All of them!" Athena ran after Starbuck,
her voice still so forlorn and full of shock. She reached Starbuck and
grabbed a hold of his arm, making him turn.

"What do you mean gone?" Starbuck eyed the girl hesitantly. Athena was
obviously talking felgercarb. Starbuck didn't have time for this. He turned
and started down the hall again.

Athena ran after him.

For heaven's sake Starbuck didn't want to relive this memory. He tried to
squeeze his eyes shut and force his mind to remember the details of the
best pyramid game he had ever had. It didn't help. The panic and despair
caused by the holocaust and the distruction of the colonies was now so
alive around him.

Starbuck kept on heading down the corridor, trying to ignore Athena and the
mindless felgercarb that was coming out of her mouth. Oh how much Starbuck
wanted to turn and embrace the girl. Comfort her and tell her softly that
he knew she was telling the truth. But Starbuck couldn't alter the way he
acted.

"Starbuck!" Apollo was running towards him, waving his hand.

"Apollo? What are you doing here?" Starbuck gasped. "You are on Caprica
with Adama…"

Apollo looked at Starbuck like he was crazy. "What are you talking about.
Why should we go to Caprica. It's destroyed."

Starbuck stared at Apollo. "Exactly because of that! You need to go down to
the planet and face those few survivors. You need to tell them to spread
the word to everyone who is still alive on the destroyed twelve colonies
that the Galactica survived and that we all must flee…"

Apollo shook his head. "You're crazy Starbuck. There is no way I'm taking
my father in the middle of that destruction. If there are survivors on the
twelve colonies, well, they can take care of themselves"

"Apollo…" Starbuck's eyes were wide.

Apollo was looking at his blond wing man. "Why did you do it Starbuck?"

"What?" Starbuck couldn't understand.

"Betray us." Apollo's face reflected detest. "You gave us into the hands of
the cylons. You were the one to lead our worst enemy to the colonies."

Starbuck stared at his friend. "What the frack are you talking about?"

"Why did you destroy us Starbuck." Apollo said quietly.

"Hey wait a centon!" Starbuck gasped. "Are you saying that I'm responsible
for this felgercarb…"

Apollo's sad eyes were on his wing man.

"You can't be serious…" Starbuck placed his hands on Apollo's shoulders.
Then he remembered that this was not happening. Starbuck burst out
laughing. "This is crazy!!"

"You will be taken to the prison barge." Apollo determinedly removed
Starbuck hands from his shoulders and eyed the man coldly. "In two sectons
you will be executed."

Starbuck couldn't stop laughing. He couldn't take this any more. "Please
sagan, let me die now." Starbuck wiped away tears of laughter with the back
of his hand. "Or am I already dead? Am I in hell?"

Baltar appeared next to Starbuck and poked him with his elbow. "Hey, sonny.
How does it feel like to be punished for the sins committed by your
father..."

Starbuck saw Lomas standing further away down the hall. He was wearing a
white sealing gown and blood-red lipstick was smeared all over his face.

"I'm you Starbuck." Lomas smiled. "And you are me."

"That's right." Baltar laughter echoed in the hallway. "We are all just one
entirety."

Lomas winked. "One happy family…"

Apollo stared at the blond pilot. "I'm so sorry Starbuck. We could have
been friends…"

Starbuck couldn't answer. He just couldn't. He couldn't stop laughing.

* * *

Lomas was pulling the blond man by the hand as he was leading the way down
the last corridor to the Piscean launching bays. Cree was stumbling behind
them, swallowing his tears. His cheek was still burning.

None of the three men had spoken since they had left the naval lounge.

Lomas stopped. He listened for a centon. "Okay, this is it. We'll sneak
into the bay and take the first private shuttle we can find." Lomas glanced
at the blond man. "We'll take a private one because they are a fraction
faster than the larger, public ones." Lomas turned to proceed forward but
the blond man stayed put. He gently detached Lomas' grasp from his arm and
then looked at the man with the waterpond eyes.

"What is going on?"

"Please, just come with me." Lomas turned to glance at the blond man,
pleadingly. "I will tell you everything as soon as we have gotten far
enough from the fleet."

"The fleet?" The blond man eyed Lomas warily. "Hey, wait a centon. Are you
guys going to leave the fleet?"

Lomas took a deep breath. "Please, please come with me."

Cree was looking at Lomas with hurt in his eyes. "Why for frack's sake do
you want this stranger to go with you?" Cree's voice was narked. "You sure
didn't want me to come along."

Lomas ignored Cree completely. He kept his eyes on the blond man. "Please…"

The man didn't move. He kept his eyes on Lomas, very wary eyes. "What's
going on?"

"Trust me." Lomas was almost praying the man. "Trust me. I know what I'm
doing."

The blond man laughed a little. "Famous last words…"

Lomas couldn't smile even though he wanted to. He kept his pleading eyes on
the other man. "Please, come with me. Without you my intensity will be
meaningless…"

"What?" The blond stared at Lomas. "Hey hey hey… Hold on a centon. Listen,
I work down here as a controller of solium equalizers. I know a place where
we can talk, privately. I need to know what this is all about. I can't come
with you unless I know we you are going and what this is all about…"

Lomas was almost hysterical. "We don't have time to talk, for sagan's sake!
I promise you that I will explain everything to you when we get out of
here…"

They heard approaching footsteps. All blood disappeared from Lomas' face,
making him look pale as snow.

"Come." The blond man took Lomas' hand. "follow me…"

Together they started running quietly towards the shuttle offices nearby.

The blond man suddenly stopped and looked at Cree who hadn't come with
them.. "Hey, you too! Come on! Quickly!"

Cree didn't move. He kept his forlorn eyes on Lomas.

"For sagan's sake Cree. Get you butt down here!" Lomas hissed. He ran to
Cree and grasped a hold of his arm. "Come on!"

***

Starbuck opened his eyes. He was lying on a cold beton floor on his back.
It was too dark to see anything and Starbuck's head was pounding. He
grimaced as he tried to sit up.

Something that felt alike a hand was placed on his shoulder and Starbuck
was gently pressed back to lie down. "Where am I?" Starbuck whispered. He
couldn't get his voice out properly. He was dying of thirst. "Hey, who are
you?"

"You have been brough to the only place in my kingdom where your brain can
function normally. This is a room of three dimensions." A voice carried
from somewhere in the place. Apparently it was very near to Starbuck, but
he just couldn't really tell.

"Your eyes will adjust to the darkness in a couple of centons, but you need
to be in a lying position or you will lose consciousness."

"Who are you?" Starbuck asked. "Is this another memory?" Starbuck tried to
see something in the dark room. "Is this a memory that I have forgotten?"

"This is reality." The voice sounded amused. "Why, do you often forget
memories?"

"Who are you?" Starbuck couldn't care less about the pounding pain inside
his head now. He forced himself to sit up. Dizzyness immediately came over
him and the darkness started quickly crawling closer. Silvery dots started
dancing in front of Starbuck's eyes. He leaned his head against his hands
for centons and little by little his full consciousness returned. By
heavens he was thirsty. Starbuck lifted his eyes. He could hear someone or
something moving in the room. "Baltar?" Starbuck's heart missed a beat.
Then he snorted. Why for frack's sake would Baltar of all people be in this
strange dark room with him.

"Your father is not here." The voice answered.

Starbuck jerked. "What did you say?"

"I have been watching you memories" Starbuck was sure he could hear the
being moving closer. "I have fed on your darkness."

Okay, so this was another nightmare after all. Starbuck sighed with relief.
Soon he would wake up and find Apollo sleeping next to him. Man, won't
Apollo be amused when he's going to hear about these insane dreams.

"I am the black queen." The voice whispered into Starbuck's ear.

A candle was suddenly lit in the room. Starbuck shielded his eyes with his
hand. The figure next to Starbuck had no shape, no form. It had no colour
nor were its movements perciptable in the way they could be understood. The
being was very close, kneeling beside Starbuck, looking at him. Starbuck
could see the being but he couldn't really understand it. Its actions were
recognizable but somehow unexplainable. The being didn't make any sense.
Yet, in some way Starbuck's mind could comprehend the entirety. "The black
queen…" Starbuck breathed. "You mean that black queen?"

"Oh, I didn't know there were others..." The being seemed to raise one
eyebrow.

Well, at least it looked like it. Sort of.

Starbuck stared at the queen. By heavens, she sure didn't look anything
like a queen. In fact, the being didn't look like anything, period. And yet
it looked like everything… But definately not like a queen.

"Errr… Nice to meet you your highness." Starbuck had no idea what to say in
a situation like this. Who would!

The queen laughed. "Welcome to my world, specimen."

"Huh?" Starbuck's eyes were wide. "What did you call me?"

"Why are you so afraid of yourself?" The black queen asked curiously.

"I have been watching the dark side of your memories, and all of them end
up with fearing what you are yourself." The black leaned a little closer to
Starbuck. "Tell me about your childhood…"

"Hey, hang on a centon queenie." Starbuck snorted. "I'm not in the need of
a shrink here. And even if I was, give me one good reason why I should
trust you. No offence your highness."

"Ooooh, touchy!" The queen smiled. "You are a funny specimen. Well, let me
give you some advice…"

"Thanks, but…" Starbuck's eyes tried to find a door somewhere in that room.
"Okay, if you really want to give me advice, then tell me how do I get out
of this place."

"There is only one way to leave the forbidden city."

The queen's face was too close. It made Starbuck uneasy.

"You cannot leave unless I decide to transcend you with my mind."

Great, Starbuck rolled his eyes.

"Perhaps I will soon transcend you." The black queen whispered softly.
"Perhaps…"

"Oh, you might possibly let me go?" Starbuck smiled sarcastically. "Well,
aren't we lucky…"

"You are a darker specimen than most." The queen's eyes were on Starbuck.
"And it intrigues me…"

"Man, I always thought I was blond…" Starbuck grinned.

The queen was silent for a micron. Her eyes seemed observant. "So funny…"
The smile on the queen's face had faded. "Do not underestimate my rage,
specimen. It can be very easily awaken."

Starbuck didn't say anything. Why in the names of the lords did he always
have to bump into these power tripping crackpots.

"As I said, your subconscious fears intrigue me, so I am considering of
transcending you." The queen continued. "But only because it entertains me
to be aware of the fact that sooner or later you will have to confront
those fears. To face yourself."

"All right. Give me a mirror and I'll face myself." Starbuck mumbled. "Then
you've had your fun and you can let me go."

The queen's eyes diminished. Her voice suddenly changed from pleasant and
low to almost unaudible. "My rage is about to awaken…"

Starbuck clicked his mouth shut. The queen really did look insane, and with
these alien fruitcakes, you never knew how unpredictably they would react…
"If I transcend you…" The queen was now merely whispering. "You have to
promise me that you will let me see the battle of your mind. To be present
in your final confrontation through your eyes…"

Starbuck still didn't say anything. What could one say to such felgercarb.
This didn't make any sense.

The black queen stood up and moved little further away. Then she turned to
look at Starbuck. "Before you are transcended, I will entwine my mind with
yours. Entwine eleven dimensions with three." The queen smiled
apologetically. "Oops, I'm sorry, I meant four dimensions, including time."

Starbuck kept his disbelieving eyes on the being.

"Then I will detach my mind from yours when the confrontation is over. I
can promise you that I will not interfere in any way. You will not be aware
of the entwining."

"Really?" Starbuck snorted.

"I will have to submit enormous capacities of energy when I am entwined."
The queen continued. "So, if you want me not to interfere, you will have to
go and face the bases of your existence now, immediately after you are
transcended from the forbidden city."

"Is that so…" Starbuck rolled his eyes.

"If you disobey, you will die." The black queen smiled. "Or worse, you will
be chained to the world of eleven dimensions for the rest of your life. Do
you know what that means?"

"Well, I'm sure you're going to tell me…" starbuck replied with sarcasm.

"It means that you will relive all your memories until you die." The
queen's voice was still too quiet. "And those memories will be the
inaccurate, distorted ones.

Starbuck swallowed. "Okay, I'll do what you want. But do you mind
clarifying… I mean, so far I have no idea what it is that I am about to
do…"

The queen smiled. Her eyes enlargened again. She walked closer to Starbuck,
knelt beside him and touched his face.

Starbuck flinched a little but he kept his eyes on the queen.

"I will now show you images of options what will and what might not
happen." The queen's hand was still caressing Starbuck's face, his
forehead. "These are visions of your yet unfulfilled future. It will be in
your power to choose which one of these visions will become your reality."
The queen's voice was melodious. "But if you decide not to carry out one of
these visions, one of these destinies." The queen smiled. "You will remain
trapped in distorted memories until you die. Now close your eyes…"

Starbuck closed them, slowly.

"After you see this you will understand." The queen softly touched
Starbuck's hair. "And then the dicision to let live or let die will be all
yours…"

***

The blond man quietly closed the door of the equipment room and turned to
look at the others. "Okay, what's going on?"

Lomas had no idea how he could ever explain the rivers, or the meaning of
intensity. There were no words for such. Not now anyway. Lomas walked to
the man and looked at him straight in the eyes. "I never believed there
could be such intense thing as what I felt for you the very micron I saw
you after the centar of prayer." Lomas eyes were so honest and his stare
didn't falter.

Cree flinched violently. He tried not to listen.

"I don't think there is a word for what I feel." Lomas' voice was soft.
"You are from the heavens. The only angel I have ever believed in."

Cree couldn't bare to listen to this. His heart was being torn out of his
chest.

"I'm going to leave the fleet, because I am different than all the others."
Lomas kept his now eyes on the man. "I can't explain it. I don't know how
to…"

The blond man's face was tender as he was listening.

"But I need to go. I can't stay here." Lomas' voice choked. "And if you
decide not to come with me, I will die…" Lomas paused for a micron.

The blond man walked closer to Lomas and took a hold of his hand.

"…Because, if you are not coming with me…" Lomas' huge eyes were veiled
with tears. "I will not go…"

Cree pressed his hands tighter against his ears and squeezed his eyes shut.

"…And if I stay…" Lomas had to turn his eyes away. "…They will destroy me."

The blond man extended his hand and touched Lomas' face very tenderly.

Lomas lifted his eyes and the look in them made the blond man swallow.

Cree stood up. He violently pushed Lomas and the blond man aside and
started to run towards the door of the office. Tears were flowing down
Cree's cheeks. He just had to get out of the room right now before the pain
in his heart would destroy him. And perhaps outside, surrounded by the
silence of the corridor, Cree could pretend that this had only been a
terrible nightmare. That this had not happened. Perhaps he could even find
a blade of some sort somewhere in the bay storage cabins. Frack you Lomas.
I'm going to cut my face until you can't recognize me any more. Frack you.
Frack you! Without saying a word Cree rushed out the door, which closed
with a bang that echoed eerily in the office.

Astral looked at Lomas, concerned. "I think you should go after him."

Lomas didn't answer. He took the blond man's hand and pressed it tightly
against his own cheek.

"My angel…" Lomas closed his eyes. "Please come with me…"

The blond man grinned. "Errr, actually, my name is Astral..."

Lomas leaned closer and kissed the blond man softly. He had to fight so
hard to control the fire in his heart, to control the passion of the
rivers. Oh lords, how much Lomas' whole being yearned to be inside the
man's soul, his entirety. Be careful with intensity, Lomas' mind kept
warning him. And he would be, very very careful. Lomas definately did not
want to frighten the angel away now.

Lomas opened his eyes but his lips still lingered very close. So close that
Lomas' breathing was caressing the other man. "Angel Astral…" Lomas
whispered. "I have been waiting for you all my life. Please come with me."

* * *

Starbuck opened his eyes.

The black queen was still there, kneeling beside Starbuck, looking at him.
"You don't need to speak." The queen smiled. "I know what your decision
is."

Starbuck turned his eyes away. He didn't want anyone to see the darkness of
his mind that his eyes might reveal by accident. Starbuck knew now he was a
monster after all. Just like his insane brother. Just like dear father, who
was going to be murdered by the hand of his own son.

* * *

Astral kept his puzzled green eyes on Lomas. No, it didn't scare him to
hear about the other man's feelings. He wasn't anguished to be suddenly
holding someone's heart in the palm of his hands. But it did bother him
that the other man was so… definate. Like being obsessed.

"I'm going to be very honest with you" The blond man spoke. "What I feel
for you now is unexplainable enchantment, almost uncontrollable
fascination. You are something that I have never before experienced…
Something overwhelming…" Astral was speaking softly. "But love…"

"Please don't speak." Lomas said tenderly.

"Love is a mere word. A concept that is far less than the beauty and the
intensity with what we are surrounded."

Lomas touched the other man's lips.

"I was created for you."

Astral fell silent for a moment. Then he spoke. "You know nothing about me,
Lomas."

"There is nothing about you that I do not know." Lomas smiled. "Everything
else that you are, or what you have experienced, they are just mere
details. Meaningless."

"But…" Astral wanted to talk some sense into Lomas' head. "Hey, I'm a
Pisceanian for sagan's sake. Doesn't that matter?…"

"Why should it matter?" Lomas smiled. "Nobody's perfect… Except you."

Astral shook his head, partly amused, partly confused. "You must be aware
of the fact that us pisceanians are allowed to have physical contact only
once in seven yahrens. It's our religion…You do know that don't you?"

"You will change, my angel. In fact, you are already changing." Lomas took
the man's hand and kissed it. "Besides." Lomas smiled. "We just had
physical contact, dear. We kissed…"

Astral grinned. "Okay, I admit it. I've never been that religious to start
with…"

"And that was so much more than a kiss." Lomas' voice was grew even more
gentle. "Not only did our lips touch, but our souls touched too, they
entwined.That wasn't mere physical contact. It was the meaning of
everything." Lomas was looking deep into Astral's eyes. "Whatever you are,
it is what I am living for."

"Are you saying that you wouldn't care whether I had murdered a man or
not…" Astral kept his disbelieving eyes on Lomas. Something was definately
disturbing about this pale-eyed man, but Astral was much too enchanted to
be on his guard.

"Would you care if I was a murderer?" Lomas asked, eyeing Astral very
closely. "Would you accept my darkness?"

"I don't know." Astral replied truthfully. "Have you ever killed anyone?"

"Yes." Lomas answered. He didn't turn his eyes away from the blond man.

Astral gasped. "You have?…"

Lomas grinned. "Well, I used to be in the military. I've killed a frack of
a lot of cylons…"

Astral laughed.

Lomas kept his eyes on the blond, now unreserved man. "I have never killed
an innocent human being. I am not a monster, Astral." Lomas' eyes were very
honest. At this very moment he was telling the truth. He couldn't remember
killing the co-ordinator boy. The rivers were too still.

***

"Come on!" Ensign Daniel hissed impatiently. He kept his alert eyes on the
yet deserted hallway. "What's the matter with you? We've done this before…"

Ensign Mic hesitated. "I know, but… What if we get caught…"

Daniel sighed agonized. "Okay. What's gonna happen, huh? The worst
punishment we can get from drinking ambrosa illicitely in the private
sector of the Galactica is probably some extra duty shifts…"

"Yeah, I guess…" Mic didn't really want to do this. Besides, drinking
nicked ambrosa in a damp storage cabin wasn't that much fun, but Mic didn't
want to disappoint Daniel…

"Okay." Mic grinned. "Let's do it."

"That's the spirit!" Daniel's smile was wide. Quietly he pushed open the
door and the boys slipped into the dark room.

"Light a match Mic." Daniel hissed. "There should be a mattress sometwhere.
We can sit on it…What the frack!!…" Daniel suddenly stumbled on something.

"What?" Mic's surprised voice came from somewhere in the darkness. "What is
it??"

"I don't know…" Daniel tried to see what the thing had been. "Light the the
damn match will you!!"

"Okay, okay!" Mic was mumbling. "As soon as I can find the… Aaah, there."

The room suddenly became mysterious and alive. The ensigns saw each other's
shadowy faces in the flickering of the tiny flame.

"Hey, you look cute in this light." Daniel winked.

Mic blushed and quickly turned his eyes away. He saw something on the
floor. "Hey Daniel…"

"What?" The other boy turned to look at the direction of Mic's stare. What
is it?…" Daniel narrowed his eyes.

"Oh shit!!!" Mic's face was pale as snow. "Let's get the frack out of
here!!"

"Why?? What it is?" Daniel raised one eyebrow. "What's the matter with you
for sagan's sake. You've been acting weird all day. If I didn't know you
better I would think…" Daniel gasped as he saw what was lying on the floor.

A man.

Cadet Tate, eyes wide open in a pool of blood.

* * *

Chapter 17

"Have you seen Cassiopeia?"

"What?" Rigel emerged from the bedroom and glanced at Sheba. "What are you
mumbling, girl? Didn't your mother teach you not to speak with you mouth
full."

"Cassiopeia…" Sheba fell quiet for a micron and concentrated on chewing and
swallowing the tulipian bud she had just put in her mouth. "Have you seen
her today?"

"I think she's still sleeping." Rigel replied absent mindedly while looking
in the mirror and adding gloss on her lips.

"But it's the middle of the day, for sagan's sake…"

"Yeah, but she's always in her bedroom…" Rigel started brushing her long
hair.

Sheba swallowed another bud and took a sip of parbon juice. "That's what
I'm worried about, Rigel. She's becoming a hermit."

Rigel glanced at Sheba and grinned. "I'm sure Cassie is just fine. She's
just depressed about her tecra implants…"

"I don't thinks it's just that." Sheba answered thoughtfully. "Maybe we
should try to talk to her…"

"Well, I have to get going." Rigel took one more critical look at herself
in the mirror and straightened the collar of her launch controller's
uniform. "My duty shift starts in fifteen centons." Rigel walked over to
give Sheba a quick kiss and then turned to leave the quarters. "See you
before sleep cycle…" She grinned just before disappearing.

Sheba eyed the closed door of Cassiopeia's bedroom. Then she arose from the
chair and walked to that door. "Cassie?" Sheba knocked. "Are you awake?"

No answer.

Sheba tried to open the door but to her surprise it was locked. "Cassie?"
Sheba raised her voice a little.

Still nothing but silence.

"Oh well, maybe she is still sleeping." Sheba shrugged. She returned to the
table and continued to enjoy the buds and the parbon juice and soon Sheba
forgot all about her blond friend as she sank into the enticing world of
Military Magazine.

In her bedroom Cassiopeia was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at
the two dozen zecratans she had just poured onto the palm of her hand. The
empty bottle was on the floor.

* * *

"Are you ready for the transcendence?"

"Hold on." Starbuck hesitated. "I don't know where Baltar's base ship is.
How can I…"

"Don't worry. I will make you aware of the exact co-ordinates while the
trancending happens." The queen stopped strolling around the room.
"Anything else?"

"Well, yeah…" Starbuck looked at the queen. "I only have a viper. I can't
really cover longer distances than thirty or fourty hectares at the most.
If the ship is outside system Escapade I'm in deep felgercarb…"

"The cylon base ship 7 is now 26 hectares away from the fleet. Exactly 25
point 14 hectares from the surface of the planet Probability. You won't
have any trouble reaching the ship."

Starbuck eyed the queen curiously. "How do you know…"

"Please. I'm tired of explaining things to you." The queen was getting
impatient. "Besides you wouldn't understand it anyway."

"Does it have something to do with the dimension thing?" Starbuck asked.

"Yes, partly." The queen kept her eyes on the man as she walked closer.
"Now, can we proceed…"

* * *

Lomas opened the door quietly and looked down the corridor. It was empty.
"Okay, let's go." He took a hold of Astral by his hand. The touch sent a
violent shiver through Lomas' body.

The two men ran to the metallic doors at the end of the hallway, only to
find that the doors were locked.

"Frack!" Lomas frowned. "I can't believe this…"

"Hey, don't forget that I work here." Astral grinned. He quickly inserted
the key code into the receiver and the doors slid open.

There were couple of mechanics here and there around the bay, but none of
them payed any attention the the two men.

"Shouldn't we find your young friend?" Astral glanced at Lomas.

"Why?" Lomas didn't look at the blond man. He kept his eyes on the
mechanics and the vehicles, trying to spot a suitable shuttle to steal.

"Well…" Astral swallowed. "I thought…"

"You thought wrong." Lomas said absent mindedly. "Hey what do you think...
The betaordinated shuttle over there seemes to be a good choice. It smaller
than the carriers but quite big for a private one…"

"Well, it sure is bigger than most." Astral smiled. "It belongs to the
commander of the Piscean."

"It's his unlucky day then, because that's the one we are going to steal.
Come on…" Lomas started to go.

"Hey wait!" Astral took a hold of Lomas' arm and made him turn. "I never
said I was coming with you, Lomas."

Lomas grinned. "You never said that you wouldn't…"

Lomas forced himself to believe the blond man was only hesitating. In
normal circumstances Lomas would have considered that to be rather
intriguing, a sort of a challenge, but in this case it was shattering
Lomas' heart to tiny pieces…

"My beautiful angel." Lomas whispered. "Please, don't test me like this.
There is no need to…"

"I'm very serious." Astral didn't turn his green eyes from Lomas.

"So am I." Lomas took Astral hands. "Without you I am nothing."

Astral's face was sad. "Lomas, listen…"

The sound of footsteps made Lomas turn. He saw two mechanics walking
towards the doorway. "Frack, they'll see us! We are trapped!"

"Calm down." Astral hissed. "Wait…"

Lomas could hardly breath. He leant his back tightly against the metallic
wall and tried to become invisible. The mechanics were approaching…

"Don't worry." Astral's whisper was barely audibly. "I'm quite sure they
are heading to the omega section or to the detacking areas. The mechanics
don't usually go to the offices…"

The two men were now only a metron away. Lomas kept his eyes on them and
prepaired to be ready to strike the very micron they would become a threat…

The mechanics turned and disappeared into another corridor.

Lomas closed his eyes and allowed himself to slowly breathe out. His hands
were still shaking. "That was too close…"

He opened his eyes and looked at Astral. "Come on, let's go. Now is the
perfect time…"

"There he is!! That's the man!!"

Lomas and Astral turned, slowly like in a nightmare.

The whiny-voiced man was at the end of the corridor, shouting and pointing
his forefinger at Lomas.

Three pisceanian guards entered the hallway just behind the whiny-voiced
man.

"Frack! Frack! Frack!" Lomas cursed with devotion. Quickly he looked around
the launching bay and his eyes lingered for a micron on the betaordinated
shuttle that was only a few metrons away. Lomas' mind was working with the
speed of a laser generator.

The pisceaning guards were now running towards Lomas and Astral with their
weapons drawn. For sagan's sake, Lomas would have given twenty yahrens of
his life for a little laser gun.

Astral turned his frightened eyes to take a look at Lomas who quickly took
a hold of Astral's hand. "Let's go!"

They started ranning towards the betaordinated shuttle as fast as they
could. "We'll make it! Come on!" Lomas was urging, breathless. Astral
almost stumbled on a tiny suction flatbox on the floor and sprained his
ankle. He yelped.

Lomas quickly turned to look at Astral, concerned. "Are you okay?…"

"I'm okay, keep going…" Astral was out of breath too.

A hand grabbed a strong hold of Lomas and jerked him backwards.

"Not so fast, corporal."

"NO!" Lomas tried desparately to fight free from the grip but it was no
use.

The puffier one of the prison barge officers was determinedly holding onto
Lomas' shoulder, while the shorter one was running towards them from the
bay elevators, his hand reaching for the weapon in the holster.

"Run!" Lomas cried to Astral. "RUN!"

The blond man didn't move.

He kept his frightened eyes on Lomas who was being held by the officer.

"Astral, please run!" Lomas pleaded.

A shot echoed in the launching bay and the officer holding onto Lomas'
shoulder suddenly let go and bent down with a surprised, choked cry.

Astral gasped.

Cree was standing in front of the betaordinated shuttle, pointing his laser
gun at the guards.

He hurriedly glanced at Lomas. "Come on!!!"

"Cree, what the frack are you doing?" Lomas shouted. "Are you out of your
felgercarbing mind?"

"Come on, Lomas!" Cree shouted, his voice trembling. "We have to get out of
this place!!"

"Young man, put down the gun." The whiny-voiced man tried to keep his voice
calm. "Do not make things more difficult for yourself."

"Lomas, please!!!" Cree was almost crying. The pisceanian guards seemed to
be getting over their hesitancy and started running towards Lomas and Cree.

"Stop right there!" Cree peeped, still pointing the gun at the guards.
"Stop!"

The guards kept running. One of them was almost able to grab Lomas now.

Cree started firing.

Lomas dived on the floor to take shelter but Astral just stood there,
completely paralyzed.

"You're crazy!!!" Lomas screamed at Cree.

Cree kept desperately firing until all the guards had been hit. The
whiny-voiced man had dashed out of the corridor, obviously frightened as
frack but mainly to quickly get some help.

"I'm doing all this for you, Lomas." Cree whispered when the sound of
gunshots silenced.

Lomas raised his head and looked straight into Cree's eyes. "Why for
sagan's sake?"

Cree smiled, so sadly. "Because I love you, Lomas."

Lomas couldn't turn his eyes away from the boy. He couldn't stop his heart
from breaking.

* * *

Apollo had to squeeze his eyes shut and open them again. "What the frack!…"
Quickly he turned towards Boomer who was still fighting his way through the
grass. It must have grown at least a metron and a half just overnight.

"Just my luck…" Boomer was out of breath. "Even the vegetation is plotting
against me…"

"Boomer! Starbuck's viper is gone!!"

Boomer looked up. "What?" he puffed. "Speak up. I can't hear you…"

"Starbuck's viper…" Apollo stared at the two remaining vipers. "It's not
here… It's gone…"

Boomer reached Apollo's side. "Stop talking felgercarb…" He paused. There
were only two vipers left. "I can't believe this!" Boomer frowned. "One of
them is stolen."

"No, Boomer. It's not stolen!" Apollo's impatient voice cut in. "Can't you
see that it's Starbuck's viper that has gone…"

"So?" Boomer glanced at Apollo and raised one eyebrow. "Someone decided to
take Starbuck's viper instead of mine. So what?" Boomer rubbed his forehead
and sighed. "And to be honest, it doesn't really surprise me…" Boomer
grinned. "My viper is in a frack of a lot more bad condition than yours or
Starbuck's. Just look at the rusty spots…"

"Starbuck has returned from the forbidden city. I just know it…" Apollo
could hardly control his voice.

Boomer turned to take a longer, a very suspicious look at his friend and
fellow warrior. "Is that so? And what else does your magic crystal ball
say…"

"I'm not joking Boomer." Apollo took a hold of Boomer's arm and pointed to
a spot in the grass. "Look!"

"What is it?" Boomer narrowed his eyes and watched as Apollo picked the
thing up.

"It's Starbuck's lucky cubit!"

A shiny piece of golden metal shone in the sun. Boomer rolled his eyes.
"Hey, come on. I know the man loves cubits but… "

"No, Boomer." Apollo's eyes were shining. "This is definately Starbuck's…"

"Apollo, calm down. You've obviosly spent too much time underwater…"

Apollo grinned. "This is not a cubit Boomer. It's a… well, it's sort of an
inside joke…"

"A joke that you're going to tell me, I hope..." Boomer kept his eyes on
the dark-haired pilot.

Apollo's eyes were twinkling as he looked at the piece of metal he was
holding in his hand. "Boomer, remember that evening when Boxey and Starbuck
were playing pyramid at the officers' club…"

"Which evening?" Boomer raised one eyebrow. "I do recall several ones..."

"Yeah, but this one was different." Apollo was smiling. "You remember it!"

"I do?" "Of course you do. It happened a couple of sectons after Starbuck
and I had established our relationship." Apollo grinned. "And it was one of
those nights when Boxey won."

"He won every time, Apollo…" Boomer sneered. "Starbuck always let the boy
win. Intentionally..."

"Let me tell you a little secret, Boomer." Apollo's grin was wide. "No, he
didn't. And it sure frustrated the frack out of him.." Apollo eyed Boomer,
eyes sparkling. "But don't you dare to mention this to Starbuck or you'll
be in deep felgercarb…"

Boomer grinned.

"Anyway, it was time for Boxey to go to sleep cycle. Athena took the boy by
the hand and started to lead him away from the club. But Boxey suddenly let
go of Athena's hand and ran back to Starbuck to give him a good night
kiss." Apollo's eyes were shining. "You remember how Boxey took Starbuck's
hand and placed one of Muffit's spare circuits on it. You know how those
things look a little like cubits…"

"Uh huh…" Boomer remembered.

Boxey had gently closed Starbuck's hand around the circuit. "This will
bring you luck the next time we play, Starbuck" Boxey had smiled. "You're
going to need it."

Starbuck had kissed the little boy's head and winked. "I'm gonna beat you
next time, soldier."

"No you won't." Boxey had grinned. "But I sure am happy that I have two
daddies…"

Then Boxey had ran back to Athena and they had left the club.

"Starbuck kept that circuit." Apollo smiled dreamily. "And he always called
it his lucky cubit…"

"Okay, It's Starbuck's, I'll give you that much." Boomer consented. "But he
could have dropped it when we first landed on this planet…"

"I saw Starbuck playing with it in Calbâ's living room, Boomer." Apollo
looked at the other man. "Starbuck had the lucky cubit the night he
disappeared…"

* * *

Athena glanced at her timepiece for what must have been a hundreth time.
Why wasn't the shuttle ready for boarding yet. For felgercarb's sake, the
shuttle should have been launched five centons ago.

Athena started biting her nails. Frack, there was no time to waste. Salik
would leave for duty in a mere centar and Athena had to get on the
Tauranian before that. But by lords this felt good. The thrill…

* * *

Did you check the quantitative data on the solium depot? We need three full
tanks to be able to cover 27 hectares…"

"All the five tanks are full." Cree heard Lomas' voice echoing from
somewhere near the shuttle doors and shouted back from inside the
flightdeck.

"Are you ready, Lomas? We need to close the doors. There will be guards
down here in mere microns." Cree heard a low hum as the shuttle engines
activated and he smiled, pleased. "Great, the thing works. Hey Lomas we
really need to get going!" Cree lifted his voice again.

Lomas didn't answer.

"Hey, I'm serious!" Cree shouted. "Thanks to the wonders of modern
technology and the laser denudation reactors of the launching bay, the
Pisceanian bridge control must be by now aware of the course of events that
just took place…"

"Hold on a micron Cree!" Lomas answered with an impatient voice. He was
standing by the door of the shuttle and his waterpond eyes were shocked.

"I'm not coming with you, Lomas." Astral remained standing two or three
metrons away. He kept his unflinching gaze on Lomas and there was a sad,
apologetic look on the man's beautiful face.

"I'm begging you, my angel." Lomas' tried to swallow away the tears that
burned in his throat. "Please don't kill me like this…" Lomas closed his
eyes for a micron to try to gain control of himself. When he opened his
eyes again Astral could see they were veiled with tears.

"Lomas, we have to go!" Cree shouted from the cockpit. "The shuttle scanner
shows that there are already people on the way down here…"

"You have to go, Lomas." Astral said softly.

"I'm not going without you." Lomas whispered. "Without you I have no reason
to go."

"Lomas…" Astral pleaded. "You have to save yourself. For me."

"Why?" Lomas couldn't understand.

"Because I care for you." Astral replied, quietly.

"Then come with me, please…" Lomas was begging from the bottom of his
heart.

"No Lomas." Astral smiled melancholically. "But I'll be waiting for you to
return. Some day…"

Seven guards rushed into the lauching bay. A shot from one of the laser
guns almost hit Lomas, who avoided it in a matter of only a hundreth part
of a micron.

"I'm closing the doors!" Cree screamed from the flightdeck. "I'm closing
the doors NOW!"

Lomas couldn't turn his pained gaze away from Astral as the metal doors
started closing in front of him. Lomas felt so powerless, so lost. There
was now nothing he could do now but watch his life, his soul disappearing
out of reach in front of his eyes.

More shots were fired. Lomas didn't give a frack. He kept staring at the
angel. The veil of tears in Lomas' eyes made Astral's figure glimmer. Like
an angel…

"I'll be waiting for you." Astral whispered. There were tears in his eyes
too.

The doors were now almost closed. Lomas grabbed them and tried desperately
to force them open. "NO!!!" Lomas screamed. "I'M NOT GOING WITHOUT YOU!!!"
But what could a man do when facing the power of technology. The merciless
doors closed. The last thing Lomas could see was beautiful Astral standing
there, looking so forlorn. And his barely audible whisper lingered amonst
the sound of laser shots.

"It's too late, Lomas. " Astral's lips mimed. "It's too late…"

The doors closed.

Lomas kept banging his fists against the door. "I'LL COME BACK FOR YOU
ASTRAL!!!! I WILL RETURN!!!!!!!"

Suddenly there was an oscillation as the shuttle took off.

"I WILL COME BACK…." Lomas lost all his strength and he fell silent as he
leaned his limp body against the metal doors. Lomas buried his face into
his hands and slowly slid to the floor. "In some way, I will return…" Lomas
whispered. "I promise you…" He knew he wouldn't.

Lomas let go of life and let himself to sink into the bottomless ocean of
despair. There was no reason to fight now. Just emptiness.

Cree glanced at Lomas from inside the flightdeck, worried as frack. It was
such a nightmare seeing the man suffering so much. Cree sighed. When his
mentor was suffering, Cree was suffering too. After all, they were one.

A little smile lit up Cree's face as he was directing the shuttle away from
the Piscean. Finally Lomas would belong to only him.

* * *

Starbuck checked that the co-ordinates inserted into the control computer
of his viper were accurate. He sure didn't want to get lost this far away
in space. Starbuck now had every intention of returning to Apollo and the
fleet after he had met Baltar face to face.

For the first time since he had met Lomas on the Sagittarian, Starbuck felt
calm and balanced. He had no need to run away now, not from himself. Not
from the past. Not from the dark side that he had come to discover inside.

The dark side was always there, in every human mind. It was unavoidable.
The way of existence. Yes, Starbuck realized that now.

But there was one more thing he needed to do before he could receive a
complete peace of mind from his past. Starbuck needed to face the source of
his darkness. He wanted to face Baltar. To talk to the man... And then
shoot the fracker...

* * *

"Are you saying that Starbuck's viper never landed on the Galactica!"
Apollo stared at Rigel.

"I have not seen him land nor have I received any data from his viper."
Rigel answered. "Should he have returned?"

"What about before you started your duty shift, could he have landed before
you arrived to the bridge?" Apollo was persistent.

"There are no markings about the landing of a viper, Captain." Rigel eyed
Apollo. "Any viper, except now yours and liutenant Boomer's. I'm sorry."

Apollo looked at Boomer who was standing behind him. This couldn't be.
Starbuck's viper had left the planet Probablity before theirs and there was
no other place Apollo could possibly imagine Starbuck would want to go to.
Unless he had gotten lost… Apollo suddered. Then he shed the horrible
thought. That was much too unlikely. Starbuck was the best pilot in the
blue squadron. Frack, he was the best pilot on the whole Galactica. There
was no way he could have gotten lost.

"Maybe you were wrong about Starbuck." Boomer said, warily. "What if his
viper really was stolen by some Probabilitian arsehole…"

"I know Starbuck left the planet." Apollo looked at Rigel again. "Can you
track the viper using the long range scanners?"

"There is no sign of a viper within 20 hectares." Rigel turned her eyes
away from the computer screen and looked at Apollo. "There was only a
Pisceanian shuttle, but it disappeared from the scanners a couple of
centons ago…"

"This is impossible." Apollo couldn't understand. He looked at Rigel.
"Would you try again…"

* * *

Starbuck double checked the tracking scrambler to make sure it was turned
on. The pilot smiled. Without the visibility of alpha, beta or gamma waves
there would be no way he could be spotted by a cylon radar or a scanner.
Any scanner for that matter.

Starbuck eyed the viper's radar. He would reach the base ship 7 in
approximately fourty seven centons. It sure wasn't going to be easy to
aboard a cylon ship but if the viper was invisible in the base ship's
scanners, maybe Starbuck would be able to sneak by without any interference
from cylon squadrons.

* * *

Thank the sagans there were no vipers on the Piscean. The Galactican ones
never had a chance to launch their vipers fast enough. When the word about
the escape had reached the bridge of the Galactica, the pisceanian shuttle
had already vanished from scanners.

Cree checked once more that he really had remembered to push the seven red
tracking control buttons to position omega. Of course he had. Those
Galactican vipers would never be able to follow them now. The tracking
inhibition device was turned on. Cree grinned. What an enormous stroke of
luck that the shuttle they had stolen belonged to the commander of the
Piscean. It sure was a frack of a lot better equipped than any other
shuttle they could possibly have gotten their hands on.

Cree turned to take a look at Lomas, who was still cuddled up on the floor
next to the shuttle doors. Cree wanted to so much to leave the flightdeck
for even a micron and go to the conveyance sector to comfort his mentor.
Cree yearned to kiss the man softly on the lips and look deep into those
forlorn waterpond eyes. To run his fingers gently through Lomas' wavy hair
and tell the man that from now on everything would be fine. Cree would
always be there to take care of him… The boy sighed. He couldn't leave the
fracking shuttle controls.

* * *

Lomas' eyes were not closed. They were staring at the emptiness that had
devoured him. There was nothing he could hold onto now. He wasn't alive any
more.

Lomas didn't move as the nightmares arrived. He didn't make a sound when
they whispered words of death into his ear. Nor did he care when he felt
those clammy hands start reaching all over him, desecrating him.

Lomas surrendered without a fight to the blades of darkness. He didn't even
sigh when those blades pierced into his eyes and cut into his mind to
destroy all what was left of intensity.

Lomas was ready to die. Because he was already dead.

* * *

Chapter 18

The shuttle landed on the Tauranian.

Athena unfastened her seatbelt and watched the other passengers pass her
by. It wasn't until the very last one of them had gotten off the shuttle
when Athena rose. She checked that the gun was still well hidden inside the
cape and then she moved to the aisle.

"Have a nice day, officer." The man-on-duty who had collected the duckats
earlier smiled at Athena by the doorway. She absent mindedly nodded at him.

Athena stepped out of the shuttle and looked around the landing bay. She
had no idea which direction to proceed. Athena had never been on the
Tauranian before. Nor did she know where the quarters of doctor Salik were.
She strolled towards the elevators, a metron or two behind the other
shuttle passengers.

A good looking bay technician winked at her but Athena didn't bother to
react.

There was a strong smell of solium in the air. Much stronger than on the
Galactica. It kind of surprised Athena, whose first thought was that the
bay filters were deteriorated and could be a possible health hazard. Athena
knew 98 percent of the colonial passenger freighters were older and at
least a third more unreliable than battlestars, and, not suprisingly, less
equipped too. To be honest, In normal circumstances, most of the ships in
the fleet wouldn't meet the colonial flying standards and would be
withdrawn from aviation. Perhaps the Tauranian was one of them.

Athena followed the other passengers into an elevator. Now, all she had to
do was to find Salik…

* * *

"Lomas, we will reach the destination in fifteen centons." Cree shouted
from the flightdeck. "I think you should come here…"

Lomas didn't answer. Cree turned to looked at the man who was still leaning
against the shuttle door and staring into the distance without seeing a
thing. "Lomas, for sagan's sake…"

Cree made up his mind. He left the shuttle without control and exited the
cockpit. He walked to Lomas, knealt beside him and took his hand.

Lomas violently teared his hand away.

Cree was quiet for a long time, just looking at the man, puzzled. Lomas
seemed to totally ignore the presence of the boy.

"Your life could have been so different…" Cree finally said, simply.

Lomas didn't react. He kept staring into the unknown.

"…That is why you are here." Cree stood up and walked to the flightdeck
without turning to look back.

Lomas turned his head and his eyes followed the boy going.

* * *

Apollo knocked at the door of his father's quarters. He had made up his
mind to launch squadrons to search for Starbuck but for that he needed the
commander's permission. No one seemed to come and answer the door although
Apollo could swear he had heard voices from inside the quarters. He knocked
again. "Come on! What's taking so long…"

The door opened.

Apollo's mouth dropped open and his jaw almost thumped to the floor as he
saw Kadeem standing in the doorway, wearing a pink tutu. "What the
frack!!…"

"Hello Apollo." Kadeem smiled.

"Who is it?" Apollo heard his father's voice from inside the room.

"What in the names of the lords is going on here…" Apollo hardly got out a
word.

"Come in, Apollo." Kadeem opened the door a little wider to let Apollo into
the quarters.

Apollo could do nothing but stare.

"I see you're back, son." Adama smiled. "Then why don't you join us. We are
just about to have mushies for dinner…"

"Father… what are you doing"…" Apollo hardly got out a word.

"Oh, you mean this…" Adama glanced at the yellow boob tube he was wearing.
"This is just something that Tigh gave me yesterday." Adama grinned. "You
like it?"

"Do I like it?" Apollo stuttered.

Tigh appeared into the living room, wearing a pair of black silk stockings
and an apron with pictures of little pink baby capricorns on it. "Oh, hi
there Apollo. How was Probability?"

"Are you all out of your felgercarbing minds…" Apollo didn't know whether
to burst out laughing or run out of the room screaming bloody murder. "What
the frack is all this?…"

Adama smiled. "A new experience."

"The mushies are done. Shall I open a bottle of ambrosa now?…" Giles came
from the kitchen. "Or do you guys want grog instead of…"

"Giles, we've got company." Tigh cut in.

Apollo stared at Giles' velvet, scarlet coloured evening gown and the blond
wig which reminded him of an old-time Aerian movie star, a sex symbol of
her era.

"For sagan's sake Giles…"

"Staying for dinner, Apollo?" Giles smiled.

"I have to go…" Apollo mumbled. "I think Boomer's looking for me…"

Adama lazily arose from the couch. "Hold on, Apollo. We need to talk…"

* * *

A hand took a hold of Cree's shoulder from behind.

"Contact the base ship 7 using beta waves and remember to turn off the
tracking scrambler."

Cree turned, very surprised to find Lomas unexpectedly having appeared into
the cockpit. Cree grinned, but tried to hide it. "Yes corporal."

"When you have established connection with the cylon centurion in charge,
let me do the talking." Lomas kept his expressionless eyes on the space
behind the shuttle windshield. "We want to aboard that ship without
combat."

"Yes corporal." Cree just couldn't stop grinning.

"Cree…" Lomas turned to look at the boy.

Cree lifted his eyes. "Yes?"

"Thank you." Lomas smiled.

Cree blushed.

* * *

The cerargyrite section. This should be it.

Athena pressed a button and the metal door slid open. Athena drew the gun
out from under her cape and stepped through the doorway.

A tauranian cook whom Athena had run into a couple of centons earlier had
told her where to find doctor Salik and his family. His family… Athena
grimaced. Fracking liar of a boray!

Athena continued down the corridor, eyeing the doors. According to the
tauranian cook, Salik's… and his fracking family's quarters were the fourth
one from the hallway entrance.

One…

Two…

* * *

"Permission to aboard the base ship 7 granted by commander Baltar." A
monotonous metallic voice of a cylon centurion flooded through the shuttle
communicator.

Lomas smiled a little. Obviously he had not been mistaken about his
father's well-hidden weakness. His stupid carelessness when it came to his
son… Lomas leaned a little closer to the communicator microphone and said
his sarcastic "By your command." Then he looked at Cree. "Carefully follow
the co-ordinates the centurion will shortly give you."

Cree glanced at Lomas. "Okay…"

"Don't worry when you see fighter squadrons appraching." Lomas continued.
"They are only launched to accompany us to the base ship. They will be no
threat to us…" Lomas smiled at the lad. "Now, excuse me, Cree, but I need
to recede to privacy for a few centons…"

Cree eyed the man with cusiosity. "Why?"

"To be strong enough to bring an end to the unjustice that began so many
yahrens ago…" Lomas smiled. "…I need to open one more gate… The final
gate."

Cree stared at the pale waterpond eyes. "What… what do you mean?"

Lomas' face was, if possible, now even more beautiful than ever before.
Terrifyingly beautiful. "It is finally the time to open the spring of all
the dark rivers of my mind." Lomas smiled. "Hatred."

* * *

"…Experiencing new horizons is nothing to be ashamed of." Adama concluded.
"Especially in a situation like ours. Torn away from our homes, constantly
searching for a place to establish lives on… Our beings need simulation in
any form we can find it."

"But if you ask me…" Tigh cut in unexpectedly. "We don't need to come up
with any explanations." Tigh walked to Adama and put his hand on the older
man's shoulder. "The human mind has always remained a mystery. Even the
whole meaning of the universe is unknown. Why should we chain ouselves to
something that we are not. If we can't follow our real nature, then I don't
see the point in human existence..."

Apollo eyed Tigh. "Partly, you are right. But if we take a closer look at
what you just claimed…" Apollo walked closer to Tigh and Adama. "The human
mind has so many shades. If we let ourself to follow what might come
naturally, then how can one possibly condemn deceit, violence, murder,
rape, incest… As you said, the human mind is a mystery…

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Giles cut in. "Enough of this philosophy
felgercarb. To cut a long story short. We like to dress in drag. Apollo
wants to make love to Starbuck, others want other things, mushies taste
good, and muffit is a robot. End of story. Now let's eat dinner…"

* * *

Athena knocked and waited. Soon she heard footsteps approaching and a click
as the door was opened. Athena found herself face to face with the boray of
a very suprised doctor Salik. No turning back now.

"Athena!" Salik gasped. "By the lords of Kobol, what are you doing here?…"
Salik quickly glanced at the yet empty living room doorway behind him. Then
he took a strong hold of Athena's shoulder and started shaking her. "What
the frack are you doing here, Athena?…" "I'm here to prevent you from
hurting anyone else, loverboy." Athena smiled.

Salik let go of Athena's shoulder and moved a couple of steps back,
horrified. Athena was pointing a laser gun at Salik's head. "For sagan's
sake, girl…"

Athena pulled the trigger and fired two shots. One at Salik's head and one
at his chest. As she moved the gun to point at Salik's groin for the third
shot, a middle-aged woman ran from the living room. Athena lifted her eyes
and fired. The woman fell to the floor.

Silence.

Athena eyed the two bleeding figures. Revenge.

"Mummy?"

Athena turned her head and saw two little boys standing in the bedroom
doorway, with tears rolling down their little cheeks. Athena raised the
laser gun and fired. She didn't stop until the boys were lying very still
on the floor next to their parents. Softly Athena closed the door.

* * *

Starbuck was beginning to get more and more disturbed by the fact that
there were no cylon fighters visible by eyesight nor detectable in the
scanners.

Maybe the cylons had developed a new, different kind of defence technique…
No that was felgercarb. The cylons wouldn't take such a stupid risk by
letting an intruder get abnormally close to the sphere of their base ship.
Besides, apart from Baltar, the cylons were much too predictible and
uncomplicated to be able to lay out a new defence plan… Starbuck knew he
was, or at least hoped to sagan to be, invisible in the scanners of the
base ship. But he knew from experience that there was always a fighter
squadron or two on patrol somewhere close by the base ship. This was
definately very strange…

* * *

"Cassiopeia?" Sheba tried the door again. "Are you all right?…"

No answer.

"Cassie, you better open this door before you are in deep felgercarb!…"

Silence.

Okay, that was it. Sheba was sure something was definately wrong.

Sheba hurried out of the quarters and headed to the control center where
the very seldom needed master key to all the places on the Galactica was
usually kept. Sheba was determined to get that door open in one way or
another, even if she had to break down the whole damn thing. Cassiopeia was
in trouble, Sheba was fracking sure of it. She hastened her steps.

* * *

"No, I can't give you permission to lauch squadrons to search for
lieutenant Starbuck." Adama's voice was slightly apologetic but very firm.

"Father, I don't understand..." Apollo was shocked. "There is no immadiate
cylon threat, nor is there any obvious probability of a hostile situation."
Apollo walked closer to Adama, not turning his eyes away from the old man.
"Starbuck is like a son to you…"

"Apollo, we are in the sphere of a fairly unknown planet, and evidently
within reach of a undoubtedly aggressive community as you described the
society of the so-called black queen. We cannot predispose the fleet to any
risk. We need those squadrons to be prepaired and standing by…"

"But Starbuck…" Apollo's voice was choked. "We need to find him, father. I
need to find him…"

"Apollo, you are the captain of the blue squadron. You have the training of
a military leader and it should be very clear to you that in any possibly
dangerous situation the captain's obligations…"

"I know, father." Apollo admitted quietly, but his heart couldn't give in.
"There has to be something that we can do…"

Adama's voice was soft. "All we can do now is wait…"

* * *

Athena hurried down the corridors to get to the lunching bay as fast it was
possible without arousing suspicion. Her body was shivering with sweet
excitement and her heart was in flames the size of starliners. Sagan it had
felt thrilling to expose oneself to such risk and then succeed in
destroying someone who deserved to be destroyed. Athena's eyes shone like
two suns. She tried to stop grinning by herself but she couldn't. Okay, she
hadn't planned to kill the woman and the little boys but they had been
witnesses… Besides, once Athena had started there had been no stopping. She
simply couldn't stop. It had felt too good. The thrill of pressing the
trigger, the suspense and horror of a possibility of getting caught, the
feeling of pure saganliness right at the micron of the killing… By lords!
It had felt better than the most perfect orgasm. This was definately a new
beginning for Athena.

* * *

The key got stuck. "Frack!" Sheba cursed. "Come on you piece of
felgercarb…" There was a click and the bedroom door suddenly jolted open.
Sheba hurried into the room and almost immediately noticed the figure lying
face down on the bed.

"Cassie, are you asleep?" Sheba approached the bed.

Cassiopeia's left arm was hanging from the side of the bed and touching the
floor while the other arm was trapped under her torso in an unnatural
position. The woman's face was deeply buried in pillows and Sheba wondered
how Cassie was able to breath…

Sheba reached the bed and shook Cassiopeia by her shoulder. "Hey, it's way
past sleep cycle…"

The limpness of the woman scared the felgercarbs out of Sheba. She started
shaking Cassie's shoulder way harder.

"Hey, you lazy daggit! Don't temp me to kick your…" Sheba paused. She saw
the empty bottle of zekratans on the floor near the bed. "Oh sagan! What
have you done, you idiot…"

Horrified sheba flew out of the room and dashed down the corridor towards
the sections of the life center and sick bay to get help…

* * *

"Show me that tape again." The Tauranian security officer in charge didn't
look at his assistant but instead kept his thoughtful eyes on the blurry
standstill picture of the cerargyrite section surveillance footage.
"There's something very familiar in that figure…"

The security assistant rewound the tape and played it again. Both of the
men were closely observing the figure of a woman pulling out a laser gun,
shooting four people and then quickly leaving the scene of the massacre.

"Again." The security officer didn't take his eyes of the figure of a
woman.

The assistant rewound the tape.

"Play it at 60 percent slower speed…"

There it was again. The woman knocked. The door was opened. The woman
pulled out a gun and fired two shots. She turned her head as if being
interrupted.

She fired again…

"Stop the tape." The security officer leant a little forward, looking
closely at the figure of the woman. "Frame the area 4 angle 88… Good, now
bring that framed picture to the front as a close-up…"

The security officer stared at the face of the woman for centons. Then he
turned his disbelieving eyes towards his assistant. "It's the fleet
commander's daughter for sagan's sake..."

* * *

"I can't get a hold of Salik." Doctor Wilker said, concerned. "I don't
understand. He should be on call." Wilker looked down at the figure of
Cassiopeia. "This doesn't look good, Sheba. Cassie looks like she's in bad
shape…" Wilker lifted the unconscious woman's eyelids and pointed the
solenium spotlight to the pupils. There was no reaction. Wilker looked up
at Sheba. "I need you to help me to take her to the life center
immediately. Okay, take a strong hold of Cassie by under her arms…"

"But, shouldn't we wait for some help?" Sheba hesitantly eyed Wilker. "I
don't know if I can carry her all the way to the life center…"

"There's no time to wait, Sheba." Wilker was already turning Cassiopeia's
limp body a little to get a better grip of her ankles. "The help will catch
us on the way. Now, come on, let's pick her up!"

"Doctor Wilker…Is she…is Cassiopeia…?" Sheba couldn't find words to ask the
question she most feared.

"No,Sheba. She's not dead. Not yet.".

Seba closed her eyes and said a million thank yous.

But we can't waste one more micron." Wilker paused and cast a very serious
look on Sheba. "There already is a 92 percent possibility that Cassiopeia
has suffered serious brain damage…

"Lords, no!" Sheba gasped.

* * *

Cree was directing the chuttle very carefully, and on the verge of a heart
attack and nervous breakdown, towards the enormous base ship's landing
area, accompanied by at least a squadron of cylon fighters. Cree had never
before seen a cylon base ship from such a close distance. Nor had he ever
had the pleasure of being voluntarily escorted by his worst enemies to the
place of his worst nightmares... What irony! If there was a sagan he sure
had a distorted sense of humor. Cree swallowed. Okay, everything would be
all right. All he had to do now was to keep calm. Just think about Lomas!
Think about Lomas! Lomas take care of everything! You can always trust
Lomas! For sagan's sake they would both die!! This was ludicrous!!! Calm
down, you idiot! Nothing's going to go wrong! Cree sighed with utter
capitulation. They were doomed…

Cree heard a voice of a cylon pilot instructing him through the
communicator. Cree followed the instructions and brought the shuttle down
to 2 point 7 angle.

What the frack was Lomas doing at the back of the shuttle. He had been gone
forever. Cree was beginning to panic. And hadn't the man just said
something about releasing rivers. Cree knew exactly what that meant. Just
great! What if Lomas got dangerously carried away and cut himself too deep
by accident. Or what if he ended up killing himself!! For sagan's sake,
Cree would have to meet all the cylon metalheads and Mr. Baltar on his own.
Just fracking great! Cree tried to keep his mind concentrated on the
approaching landing areas.

For felgercarb's sake he should have confiscated all the sagan forsaken
blades Lomas could possibly have gotten his hands on, the very micron they
had launched.

No shit. He should never have let the crazy daggit sit down at his table on
the Rising Star in the first place!"

* * *

Lomas had no need to cut himself now. Oh no. He could easily reach the
previously unattainable. Feel the formerly hidden and untouched.

He was ready.

* * *

"The shuttle to the Galactica now boarding." The loundspeaker announced.
Athena arouse from the bench and walked casually to the slowly moving line
of people waiting to get through the rutine of identity code check.

Athena couldn't stop grinning to herself. She didn't give a frack if other
people thought she was insane. In fact she didn't give a frack about
anything now. Athena could almost hear the blood gushing through her head
and her heart beating from the rush of the utmost thrill. All Athena wanted
now was to get to her quarters and take a couple of those stolen pills to
complete the perfect high, to take the undescribable adrenaline
intoxication to the extreme.

The two tauranian officers absent-mindedly checked Athena's identity code
and one of the guards smiled at her very amiably. "Hello Athena. How are
you doing…"

"I'm just great, Criedo. Just great." Athena smiled. "I see you're still an
officer on the Tauranian…"

"Sure am." The guard grinned. "And you can congratulate me, Athena. Soon
you can start referring to me as Lieutenant Criedo…"

"That's wonderful, Criedo. I'm happy for you." Athena grinned. She
continued to walk through the shuttle doors. "You deserve your promotion."

"I sure do!" Criedo grinned. "Say hi to your brother from me…"

Athena slowly let her body relax on the narrow shuttle seat and closed her
eyes to relive the intense moment of the killing again. She shut her mind
to the outside world and concentrated only on the sensation of the
after-excitement. Now the only thing she wanted were those pills… And she
couldn't wait to share the details of the moment with Aurora. Well, she had
to share the moment with someone…

Athena's head jolted backwards a little as the shuttle to the Galactica
took off.

* * *

The security officer of the Tauranian was on the telecom with one of the
on-duty bridge co-ordinators of the Galactica. The officer kept insisting
that the fleet commander should be alerted immediately.

A private matter…

* * *

Chapter 19

Lomas and Cree followed two cylon centurions along metallic and
glass-covered corridors of the base ship 7. They kept walking in silence.
The centurions never said a word. Cree was too afraid to speak. And Lomas
was way too deep inside his own world to even think about something so
shallow as speaking.

The walk seemed to take forever. Cree was already so totally lost. If for
some reason he now had to find his way back to the shuttle on his own,
without a map, a compass and a radar he would be in deep felgercarb.

Cree glanced at Lomas. For lords' sakes, the man was grinning idiotically
like he was on his way to a pajama party. Cree rolled his eyes. He sure had
a bad feeling about this.

They came to a glass door. One of the cylon centurions pressed a red button
and the door opened, revealing an enormous chamber with no other furnishing
than a huge black chair placed on a pedestal that must have been at least
three metrons tall.

"Hello Baltar."

Cree jumped in the air as he heard Lomas' voice.

The huge chair started to turn.

Cree held his breath. He had never seen Baltar before and he wasn't really
looking forward to that happening now either.

"Son…" Baltar's grin slowly turned to a leer. "Well, isn't this a
co-incidence. What are doing in my neighbourhood?"

Lomas didn't answer. He smiled at Baltar, sarcastically.

Baltar arouse from the chair, leering, not taking his eyes away from his
guests. "How nice of you to pop in and say hi. Should I perhaps offer you a
cup of tea or something?"

"A gentleman, as always." Lomas smiled coolly.

"That's me." Baltar grinned, his eyes lingering on Lomas for a long time.
Then he turned to look at the two centurions. "Leave us."

"By your command." The cylons turned and walked out of the chamber.

Baltar looked at Lomas again. "Now, why don't you tell me what brings you
here. And don't tell me you just happened to be passing by…"

Cree was silently thanking the sagans for Baltar seeming to have completely
ignored his presence in the chamber. Quietly Cree backed further into the
dark shadows, closer to the wall, and and tried to become invisible.

"Baltar…" Lomas started.

"Please!" Baltar grinned. "Why don't you call me dad!"

"Baltar." Lomas smiled. "I'm here to accomplish something that can no
longer be put aside."

"Is that so?" Baltar eyed Lomas. "Well, why don't you ease my excitement
and then tell me what it is."

"You know exactly what it is, DAD." Lomas smiled, coldly.

"Hey, the boy said the d-word." Baltar grinned. "There's hope for you yet…"

"Well, I always was a quick learner, wasn't I, DAD." Lomas kept his cold
eyes on Baltar.

"Oh dear. Do I detect sarcasm." Baltar descended from the podium and
started walking closer to Lomas. "Yes, sonny. Indeed you were a quick
learner…" Baltar reached the younger man's side and remained standing in
front of him, not turning his gaze away from Lomas' eyes. "But obviously
not quick enough." Baltar smiled "Remember when I taught you the most
important lesson of your life."

Lomas stared at Baltar. "And what might that have been?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember!" Baltar pretended to be shocked.

Lomas hated the man. "Well, why don't you refresh my memory."

Baltar grinned. "Always remember to eat your parbon berries with a touch of
whipped cream."

The older man laughed. Lomas wanted to strangle him.

Then Baltar syddenly stopped laughing. He kept his eyes lingering on Lomas.
You were such an immense possibility, sonny." Baltar spoke. "I almost
believed in you… I was almost…attached to you…" Baltar lifted his hand and
gave in to an urge to touch Lomas' cheek, very lightly. A what could have
been a glimpse of sorrow darkened his face for a fraction of a micron and
then dissappeared. "What changed your fragility son? Why did you end up
rejecting me…"

"Why did you lock the door, sonny…" Baltar was standing in the bedroom
doorway, holding a master key in his hand.

"I'm sorry, dad. " Little Lomas was swallowing tears. "I don't know why I
lock it… I guess I was afraid of the dark…I didn't meant to…"

Baltar leered. "You were afraid of the monsters under the bed, weren't
you." Baltar stepped into the room and quietly close the door behind him.
"Well, aren't you just the stupedest little kid in the universe. Don't you
know that you couldn't have locked those monsters out by locking the door?
You would have locked them in the room, with you…" Baltar smiled. "But
daddy's here now. Daddy's here to protect you from all the monsters…"

Lomas grabbed Baltar's wrist and forced his hand away. "My fragility was
never the one to change. I always remained fragile." Lomas eyed Baltar with
so much hatred. "I changed, because you broke me."

* * *

Starbuck was quietly sneaking down the corridors towards what he knew would
be Baltar's throne chamber. As he was about to enter the hallway of the
third section, a group of cylon warriors came into view and Starbuck
quickly withdrew into a dent in the wall to hide himself from their sight.

Starbuck's hand lightly touched his holster, but he didn't draw out the
laser gun. In order to succeed in confronting Baltar the way he wanted to,
Starbuck knew he needed to remain in total secrecy. And to be able to do
that, he would have to avoid all the unnecessary shooting to the very last.
The viper was definately the weak point in the plan. Starbuck could only
hope to sagans that no one would notice his viper on the fourth deck or he
would be in deep felgercarb.

Starbuck carefully looked at each direction to make fracking sure the group
of cylons had disappeared from view. Then he started down the corridor.

* * *

"Sentimental felgercarb." Baltar snorted. "You always wanted to be
physically close to me, sonny. And you deserved to be punished because you
knew that your closeness would lure me..."

"You are such a bad boy, sonny." Baltar's hand was slowly moving up inside
little Lomas' night gown. "Maybe I Should hurt you this time, son. Would
that feel nice?"

Lomas cleched his teeth together and squeezed his eyes shut.

Baltar took a tight hold of Lomas' little wrist. He forced the boy's hand
into his trousers.

Lomas didn't allow himself to cry. He had already cried so many times that
the tears didn't express anything any more. Lomas didn't plead, he didn't
make a sound when Baltar's hurtful grip directed Lomas hand to move up and
down on his hardened penis. Lomas was already so far, far away. Riding his
white unicorn on the moonlit suburbian streets of Caprica City. Laughing
with elfs in the secret garden of imagination. Holding faraway stars in his
hands while flying through the most distant milky ways. Smiling to another
smiling face as the friendship he had always yearned for but never found,
had finally arrived and filled his empty heart.

Lomas kept his eyes closed and pretended not to hear the whispers and sighs
of his father's dark passion.

"I will tell you a secret, dad." Lomas was staring Baltar's face. "I never
forgot the darkness of your whispers. I still hear them in my nightmares
when I am awake."

"Oh well, didn't one wise man once say: Listen to your father." Baltar
grinned and turned away from Lomas. "I guess you took that a little too
literally…"

Baltar gasped as a blade was suddenly pressed against his throat. "What the
frack are you doing sonny. Didn't anyone teach you that you should never
play with dangerous toys…"

"Shut up dad." Lomas' voice was a mere whisper. He firmly held onto Baltar
from behind, with one hand around the man's chest and the other pressing
the blade of a carving knife hurtfully against the skin on the man's
throat. "Maybe I should hurt you this time, daddy. Would that feel nice…"

* * *

Another cylon squadron. For frack's sake this place was swarming with those
parasites. Starbuck had to grin to that logic. This was, after all, a cylon
base ship… Okay, two more corridors to go…

* * *

"Don't be a fool sonny." Baltar croaked. "You will not accomplish anything
by killing me."

"Maybe not, but how does this feel like, dad?" Lomas' voice lingered very
close to Baltar's ear. "Do you like being the helpless one?"

"How does this feel like, son?…" Baltar was so close that his lips were
almost touching little Lomas' face as he spoke. Lomas couldn't move. Baltar
was pressing him firmly on the bed. "You need to be taught a little lesson
on disobedience, my son."

Lomas didn't answer. He was frightened.

"No dinner tonight, sonny." Baltar smiled. "You are going to stay in this
room until daddy comes back with gardening scissors and cuts you little
dick off. That's what happens to naughty little boys when they are bad.
When they do bad things like you…" Without saying anything more, Baltar
arose from the bedside. He switched off the light in the room as he walked
out, locking the door behind him.

Lomas was afraid to close his eyes. He remained still, lying on the bed in
the darkness waiting for the monsters to crawl out from under the bed.
Waiting for his daddy to come back with the gardening scissors…

"The worst part of it all, dad…" Lomas whispered. "Was that you blamed me
for your own sickness. And guess what…" Lomas breath caressed Baltar's ear.
"I ended up believing it too… I ended up blaming myself."

"But my dear son…" Baltar croaked and grinned so a row of teeth appeared.
"It really was all your fault!"

Lomas smiled."You had your time for games, daddy dearest…"

Baltar felt the knife being pressed tighter against his throat. He gasped.

Lomas leant very close to whisper into Baltar's ear. "Now daddy, it is
finally your time to die."

"Hey, hold on a micron!!"

Baltar, Lomas and Cree lifted their very surprised, disbelieving eyes and
saw Starbuck in the chamber doorway, pointing his laser gun towards the
three men.

Lomas didn't loosen his hold on Baltar. The knife was still very much
pressed against the older man's throat. However, Lomas couldn't turn his
amazed, intrigued eyes away from Starbuck.

Baltar lifted one eyebrow. "Well, isn't this a day for surprises..."

"It warms my heart to see such loving family reunions." Starbuck grinned.
"I hope you don't mind if I join in. After all, I am a part of the family,
aren't I…"

Baltar's jaw dropped all the way to the floor. "What? For Kobol's sake
Bucky boy. You've obviously been travelling in space much too long. You've
lost all your fracking sense!"

"Not quite. Let me tell you a little story. Starbuck kept his eyes on
Baltar. "A couple of days ago, your obviously very loving sibling here…"
Starbuck nodded at Lomas' direction, "decided to make my day by telling me
that we are the same blood. You and me Baltar. Father and the long lost
son."

"Don't make me laugh!…" Baltar sneered.

Lomas was looking at Starbuck but his words were aimed at Baltar. "He is
your blood, father. The son you thought you never had."

Baltar couldn't answer. This was too much, even from the mouth of his
insane son.

"Remember dad, how you once told me a story of a baby who died inside her
mother's womb just centons before he was due to be born…" Lomas continued,
sarcastically. "Well father, you were fooled big time. The baby was born.
You just were never told about him. Mum kept him a secret from you." Lomas
smiled. "How does it feel like to find out you were deceited, Baltar…"

Baltar couldn't believe what the crazy daggit was telling him. "The baby
was born dead, you fool. They showed me the body…"

They showed you a body, period." Lomas smiled. "But not the body of your
son."

"You are out of your mind…" Baltar snorted.

"Mother hated the real you, Baltar. She tried everything in her power to
free herself from you." Lomas eyes were cold. "When she became pregnant the
first time, she was shattered. She realized you would never let her go now,
so she tried to escape by lying to you. " Lomas smiled. "And that's exactly
what she did daddy dearest. She lied to you. The baby was definately not a
stillborn but very much alive when he was thrown into a garbage can…"

"And how would you know?" Baltar eyed Lomas with contemp. "You weren't even
born."

"I'll come to that…" Lomas' didn't bother to react to anything that Baltar
might say or do. He continued speaking. "And, of course, knowing what a
bastard you are, you never did let mother go. Oh no. You even sank low
enough to blame her for losing that child, didn't you." Lomas voice was now
so sad. "And then you forced her to become pregnant a second time…" Lomas
paused for a centons as if he was trying to remember the face of his
mother. "Why father?" Lomas lifted his eyes and looked at Baltar. "You
already had so much power over so many people. Why couldn't you just let
her go! You didn't need her. And you sure didn't love her." Lomas paused.
He smiled, ironically. "But you know what, Baltar. She did escape from you
in the end. She escaped by finally committing suicide, five years after I
was born." Lomas closed his eyes. "You broke her. Just like you broke me.
But unfortunately she was always the more fragile one. She didn't survive…"

"you are out of your mind." Baltar almost spat out the words.

"And when mother was dead, father. What did you do…" Lomas suddenly put
more pressure on the blade on Baltar's throat. A drop of blood appeared and
started curling down. "You turned your power on me, so I had to come up
with something that might possibly save me. And I did…" Lomas turned his
eyes on Starbuck. "I found out about you…"

Baltar's voice was still full of contemp. "You are such a little liar.
There was no way you could have been able to dig up something that had been
buried six yahrens before. Even I never found out about the existence of
another son..." Lomas looked at Baltar. "That's because I searched for him,
dad. You didn't…"

Starbuck swallowed. "How can you be so sure it was me? That's impossible…"

Lomas turned to look at Starbuck. "As I said. I searched. I found out the
truth. Don't bother to imagine that I could be mistaken, because I am not.
You are the brother that was supposed to be dead."

"But…" Starbuck had a frack of a hard time accepting this. "This is total
felgercarb…"

There is no but." Lomas' face was almost expressionless. "You are the one."

Starbuck paused. He mind lingered to the distorted memories of the
forbidden city. There was no way to explain how, but Starbuck knew he was
the supposed to be dead son of Baltar. Perhaps the distortions in memories
had revelations of the subconsciousness. Metaphors of the hidden but
existing. Or maybe the sagan forsaken black queen was interfering. But
whatever it was, Starbuck had been shown the truth. And somehow he had
known it all along.

Baltar stared at Starbuck, grinning. "Well, I'll be damned!"

Starbuck eyed Lomas. "Why did you search for your brother… for me…"

Lomas was silent for a while. His gaze lingered on Starbuck. An
uninterpreted gaze. "I kept believing that if I found you…" Lomas spoke,
this time with sadness. "I might be able to turn my father's dark passion
away from myself…"

Starbuck stared at Lomas. "Wait a centon…"

"But you turned your back on me." Lomas eyed Starbuck, now with hatred.
"You didn't give a frack about the truth! So easily you denied me and left
me facing my nightmares alone and defenseless…"

"Hey, hey, hey. Hold on here! I was just a child when you came to me."
Starbuck cut in. "Besides, you can't place the guilt on my shoulders, damn
it! In no way could I have been able to change your life…"

"Yes, you could have." Lomas eyed Starbuck, wearily. "And the saddest part
is that you don't realize it at all." Lomas was suddenly so tired. So
empty.

He let go of Baltar.

The older man's legs failed him and he fell to the floor, holding his hand
on the little wound on his throat.

Lomas looked at Starbuck again. "But you are here now. This time you did
not let me down."

"What?" Starbuck eyed Lomas warily. "You are starting to talk felgercarb
again."

"I almost lost faith in your darker strengh." Lomas smiled a little. "But
I'm glad to see that even I can make a mistake."

"Errr… What the frack are you talking about?" Starbuck stared at Lomas.

"You came here for one reason, didn't you." Lomas was still smiling. "To
get revenge on the man who destroyed our childlike innocence. Mine by
bringing the monsters alive, yours by abandonment."

"Hey, Hold on a centon. I did have a great childhood at first. I did have a
family…"

For a while, yes." Lomas admitted. "But then you faced another abandonment,
didn't you."

"Umm, I don't quite see how that could be Baltar's fault…" Starbuck was
still staring at Lomas.

"Everything you were never able to run away from. All the things that you
didn't want to face in yourself…" Lomas started walking closer to Starbuck.
"All those things are what Baltar is responsible for."

"Yeah, that's what I thought at first, after our little friendly chat on
the Sagittarian." Starbuck nodded. "But I was very wrong."

"No, you weren't wrong, Starbuck." Lomas was still walking closer. "You
released your hatred then, and you can release it again now." Lomas smiled.
"You did come here for a reason didn't you Starbuck."

"Well, yes… yes, of course." Starbuck was now very suspicious of Lomas'
motives. Frack he was always suspicious of Lomas' motives…

"And that reason…" Lomas stopped in front of Starbuck. Too close, Starbuck
took a couple of steps backwards. It amused Lomas. "Well, there's no use
repeating myself, is there. I just said what the reason was, and I was
right."

"Okay, I admit I was angry. Frack I was furious. I hated Baltar for being
my father. Most of all I hated you for being my brother and for being
honest with me… ummm, those amongst so many other things…" Starbuck
grinned. Then the expression on his face became more serious again. "Yes, I
wanted to confront Baltar, and I would be a sagan forsaken liar if I denied
that killing Baltar never crossed my mind." Starbuck kept his gaze on the
other man's waterpond eyes. "But I guess you are the one I should now thank
you for making me realize how stupid that would have been." "What?"
Starbuck's last words made Lomas lost control for a micron. That was a
micron too much. The rivers broke free.

"Baltar is not responsible for any darkness in me, Lomas." Starbuck
continued. "He's just a pitiful old goat who was, and always will be,
idiotic enough to push away everyone who could have stood by him one day."

Lomas was glaring at Starbuck.

"I admit that what the goat did to you was… a frack of a lot more than
plainly unforgivable." Starbuck's eyes were sympathetic. "But just because
someone has sank undescribably low, it doesn't give the others the right to
sink down to the same level. Yes, revenge can be the sweetest pleasure, but
in the end it is only a weakness."

"Beautiful. And so believable. You are such a genius Starbuck." Lomas
applaused by clapping his hands. "But aren't you forgetting something."

Starbuck eyed the man. "What?"

Lomas' eyes were amused as he kept looking at Starbuck for a long time.
Alarm bells should have started ringing in Starbuck's head. He should have
recognized this version of Lomas. He had seen it before. The man with
serene waterpond eyes had become a fiend. Lomas smiled. "You're not my
shrink."

He attacked Starbuck, who was unprepaired for such immense physical
strentgh.

The first strike was bad. Starbuck felt dizzy long enough to allow Lomas to
have total control. Lomas kept on hitting Starbuck, scratching him in the
face, biting him like a wild animal.

The worst thing was that Lomas was still holding onto the fracking knife
and tried to stab the blade into anything he could.

Starbuck cried out from pain as Lomas kicked him in the stomach. He bent
over and Lomas used this moment to strike a hard hit on Starbuck's head.
Starbuck fell to the floor, half unconscious but still trying to cover his
head with his hands to avoid more of Lomas' kicks and strikes…

Lomas stopped. He remained standing beside Starbuck, staring at the man.
"You are so ridiculously weak, brother dearest." Lomas spoke. "I despise
myself to have ever believed that someone like you could ever be an
accomplice to someone like me."

Starbuck was quietly moaning.

"I despise myself for hoping. even for a micron, that you could ever be
strong enough for revenge." Lomas was still eyeing the man on the floor.
"How could I ever have seen a glimpse of me in you, when I should have
noticed from the very beginning that your rivers were just non-existent
puddles." Lomas didn't really want to waste any more time on this
meaningless daggit. He kicked at Starbuck one more time on his thigh and
leered. "I pity you, brother dearest. I pity you."

Lomas turned. "Hey father. Why don't we pick up from where we left." Lomas
grinned and suddenly dashed towards the older man.

Baltar grimaced and quickly reached for his laser gun. Lomas was quicker.
He kicked the gun out of Baltar's hand. The older man took a couple of
steps backwards, holding his hurting hand and eyeing Lomas with disbelief,
but most of all with hatred and contempt.

Lomas was pointing the knife at Baltar. "Come to my arms, daaad." Lomas
sneered. "Let's refresh all those wonderful father-son memories."

Baltar snorted.

Lomas kept the knife steady and his eyes on the older man as he slowly
moved over towards the gun he had kicked out of Baltar's hands. He knealt
down to pick it up from the floor. "Thanks for the gun, daaad. " Lomas
smiled. "Or, on the second thought. Perhaps you should rather thank me…"

Baltar eyed his obviously insane sibling. "And why in the heavens' names
would I do that, sonny."

Lomas took his time before he answered. "You see, daaad. At first I planned
that I would slowly cut you to pieces with my knife and really make you
suffer…"

Baltar sneered. "Is that so."

Lomas' eyes narrowed. "Don't tempt me…"

Baltar grinned and his teeth showed. "I wouldn't dream of it, sonny."

Lomas eyed Baltar. "But now that I'm such a lucky owner of your laser gun,
I could kill you faster and you wouldn't have to suffer so much. Doesn't
that sound great." Lomas paused. "Although suffering would be something you
definately deserve…"

"Killed by a laser gun. Well, aren't I a lucky son of a daggit." Baltar's
face didn't reflect any kind of fear. Only contempt. "Then, why don't you
get it over with and get the frack away from my ship. This conversation is
starting to bore the felgercarbs out of me…"

Lomas smiled. "Playing touch, I notice. Well, don't bother, dad. I can see
the real you. I can see the fear."

Baltar didn't aswer.

Lomas walked around Baltar and stopped behind the man. He moved very close,
so close that his face was only millimetrons away from Baltar's occiput as
he whispered. "Enjoying the closeness, daaad… Like in the old days…" Lomas
put the gun against Baltar's head. "It's your choice now, daddy dearest.
Will it be the gun, or will it be the knife…" Lomas smiled. "Your choice…
But make up your mind quickly. My hand is getting tired."

"I choose the holiday on Aries." Baltar leered.

Lomas fell silent. He didn't say a word when he slowly moved further away
from Baltar and even took his eyes off the older man for a fraction of a
moment. Then Lomas suddenly turned. He raised the gun and smiled. "Goodbye
Baltar."

"Not so fast!"

Agitated Lomas turned. His furious eyes spotted Starbuck, who had managed
to arise from the floor and was pointing his laser gun at Lomas. "This is
beginning to feel like a sarcastic joke, Starbuck." Lomas spoke, irritated.
"Why don't you just mind your own business and let me take care of the
rest." Lomas smiled a little. "After all, one couldn't trust you to do the
tough job in the first place, could he…"

"I'm warning you Lomas." Starbuck's hand didn't flinch. "Baltar and I might
not be the best of buddies, but I still won't allow you to kill him." Lomas
raised one eyebrow. "Oh really? And may I ask why?"

"Because, although he's a sagan forsaken crook, a despicable traitor and a
pitiful jerk…"

"I beg your pardon!" Baltar raised one eyebrow.

Starbuck kept his voice calm. "…It still doesn't give you the right to play
sagan and take his life."

"Hold on here!" Lomas couldn't believe his ears. "And this statement from a
man who has killed more beings that he can possibly count…"

"For self protection." Starbuck wasn't going to let Lomas' sarcasm
infuriate him. "And for the protection of the fleet. I have never killed
anyone without a very good reason."

"Well, I have a good reason." Lomas grinned, darkly. "So why don't you
bugger off and let me finish what should have been finished 25 yahrens
ago."

Lomas once again looked away from Starbuck and pointed his gun at Baltar.
His finger started putting pressure on the trigger.

"I'm warning you." Lomas heard Starbuck's voice. "Put down that gun."

"Frack off!" Lomas aimed the gun at Baltar's head.

"Don't be such a naive fool, sonny." Baltar spoke. "Do you really think
that I would be careless enough to carry only one weapon…"

"Shut up, dad." Lomas kept his eyes of hatred on Baltar.

"I'm not kidding…" Baltar smiled. "Don't be a fool now…"

"Put the gun down. Lomas" Starbuck kept his alert eyes on Lomas. "Don't
give me a reason to interfere…"

"Please, Starbuck." Cree's trembling voice came from somewhere in the
shadows. "Don't hurt him, please…"

"Lomas, for frack's sake!" Starbuck was shouting. "If there is any sense
left in your sagan forsaken empty head… "

"Too late, Bucko!" Lomas pressed the trigger. "Be nice to the devil, dad…"
Starbuck aimed at Lomas…

Cree saw Baltar raising a laser gun…

"NOOOOOO!!!" Cree screamed. He flew out of the shadows and dived in front
of Lomas to cover his beautiful mentor with his body. "LOMAAAAAAASSS!!!!
NOOOOO!!!

A laser beam hit Cree and the boy cried out from extreme pain. Blood burst
out of the boy's chest and his legs suddenly failed him. With a stunned
expression on his young face Cree grabbed a desperate hold of Lomas' tunic
and tried so hard to remain alive. "Help me, Lomas. Take me away from this
cold darkness…" Cree's whisper was hardly a sigh. He still tried to hold
onto Lomas tunic, but slowly, unavoidably Cree fell to the floor, his eyes
still remaining wide open. Scared. Forlorn… "I love you, beautiful Lomas."
…And now blind.

Baltar stared at the dying boy with an unreadable, blank look on his face.
He was holding a laser gun in his limp hand and smoke was slowly curling
out of the gun's pipe.

Starbuck buried his face into his hands.

"Cree!!!" Lomas grabbed the boy's limp body and held it against his chest.
"Cree, don't leave me, please." Lomas didn't even realize he was crying.
"Cree, my little angel face… You can't leave me… Don't you dare to leave
me!! Didn't you just promise me to stay with me eternally. Then hold onto
your promises, you fool!"

Lomas' voice faded. His words drowned into a flood of tears of extreme
agony. Tears of the utmost guilt. He kept holding Cree against his chest,
kissing the top of the boy's head, caressing the shaggy sandy hair tenderly
with his lips and his hands.

"Cree… I'm so sorry!…" Lomas closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry…"

Lomas knelt down and gently placed Cree's lifeless body on the floor,
keeping his forlorn eyes on the boy. How beautiful Cree now looked through
the veil of tears. "We were the same kind…" Lomas kissed Cree's forehead.
"And I did care…"

Slowly, powerlessly Lomas arose from the floor. He remained standing there,
beside Cree for centons. "Why for frack's sake did you have to be such a
stubborn nuisance, Cree! Didn't I tell you not to come, damn it!…" Lomas
had to look away. "I did love you…"

So wearily Lomas turned towards Baltar. "You took away everything beautiful
father. My innocence, my freedom, my hopes and my belief. My life…"

A tear was slowly rolling down Lomas' cheek. He didn't notice it.

"And how you replaced them with darkness, whispers and rivers, hatred…You
filled me with only death, father…"

Lomas turned and slowly walked to the glass doors of the throne chamber.
Once more he lifted his eyes and looked back at Starbuck, and then at
Baltar.

"…But worst of all father, you deprived love." Lomas' voice was so fragile,
so forlorn. "You made both of my angels fly away. Now I'm alone." Lomas
turned to go. "Now I'm dead."

He walked out of the chamber.

* * *

Chapter 20

"Father and son, huh! Well, what do you know…"

Starbuck, who had stared at the empty doorway for a long time after Lomas
had left, turned and saw Baltar's ironic eyes looking at him.

"Isn't this just terribly amusing." Baltar's eyes were twinkling. "Had
someone come to me yesterday and told me that I'm the lucky father of the
most hotheaded hero of the Galactica. Blood relation to the dearest
companion of Adama's son…" Baltar grinned. "I would have pushed him right
out of the airlock and laughed myself to death!"

Starbuck didn't answer. He walked over to Cree's body and knealt down
beside it. "Goodbye, friend." Starbuck whispered. "Take care of yourself,
wherever you will go…" Starbuck bent down and kissed Cree's forhead. Then
he raised his eyes to notice that Baltar was walking towards him. Starbuck
stood up, not taking his eyes off the leering Baltar.

"But what do you know, Starbuck. Life sure seems to have a tendency to
surprise the frack out of you sometimes, doesn't it." Baltar raised one
eyebrow. "And to be honest, things could've turned out worse." Baltar
leered. "My dear long lost son could have turned out to be one of the
felgercarb recyclers on the sanitation ship." Baltar stopped in front of
Starbuck, still leering at him. "Welcome to the family Starbuck." Baltar
grinned. "My son, the fanatic…"

"Why don't we just pretend that this touching revelation never took place."
Starbuck smiled at Baltar, sarcastically. "As far as I'm concerned, you
never were, and never will be, my father. To me you will always remain the
pitiful traitor of human race, an old goat who is alive today only because
of the deceitful mercy of some vicious machines."

Baltar eyed Starbuck, freezingly. "Be careful, sonny, or I will send some
of those so-called vicious machines after you…"

"No you won't." Starbuck smiled. "If I spot even one of your metal daggits
on my scanner, I will make a sharp V-turn and come back here to finish off
what your other fanatic son started." Starbuck intended to go, but he still
kept his ironic eyes on Baltar for a micron longer. "Now, if you don't
mind, I'm off to the Galactica. And please, don't bother to try to track
me, Baltar. My viper will be invisible on your radars…" Starbuck grinned.
"Thanks for dinner dad, and let's not keep in touch."

Starbuck walked to Cree, picked up his limp body and then turned and walked
out of the chamber.

Baltar stared after him, leering. "See you again, sonny!" Starbuck heard
Baltar's sarcastic laughter echoing from behind. "Don't get into too much
trouble before that!"

* * *

Athena heard the glass door closing behind her. She didn't turn.

Jolly was shocked. He stared at the brown-haired woman for centons, totally
lost for words. He still couldn't believe he had just arrested Athena. For
lords' sakes, Athena, of all people. Not only was she a fellow officer, but
she was the beautiful sister of Apollo, the lovable daughter of the fleet's
commander, and last but not least, a good friend too. Jolly swallowed.
"Athena, I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Athena's voice was blank. She didn't turn to look at Jolly. "If
you don't mind, I would like to be alone for a while…"

"Sure…" Jolly felt so helpless. He eyed Athena compassionately a little
while longer and then turned and walked away from the prison barge cell
section beta. Athena stared at a cell wall. She didn't want to think about
anything.

Where was the adrenaline rush now, huh… What happened to the thrill and the
saganliness… The only thing Athena was now feeling was numbness. And yes,
indifference.

Still, she couldn't shed the image of her father's face…

The shuttle from the Tauranian had landed on the Galactica on schedule.
Athena had followed the other passengers out of the vehicle, smiling
brighter like the suns on Cerigta, feeling like she never thought could be
possible. Athena was sure the other passengers must have noticed how her
eyes were sparkling and heard how her heart was beating a million hectares
per centon…

Then she had noticed Adama.

"Father?" She smiled. "What are you doing down here?"

Adama didn't answer. He just kept his eyes on his daughter.

Athena felt a tingle of disturbance. Not really a shudder of warning yet,
just a little shiver of uncomfort. "Father, I thought you would be on duty
on the bridge…"

"I am on duty." Adama answered, slowly, wearily.

"You are?…" The discomfort intensified, turning to a wave of hidden
anxiety. "Are you waiting for a shuttle or..."

Athena noticed two Galactican officers standing behind Adama, one of which
was one very grave-faced wing sergeant Jolly.

"Hi Jolly, how are you?…"Athena smiled at him. The wing sergeant tried to
smile back in a strangely encouraging way, but the smile was a failure.

"Hello Athena…"

At that micron Athena knew. She was in felgercarb…

Adama looked away from his daughter and turned to face the two officers
behind him. "Take her to the prison barge."

Athena felt all the blood suddenly disappeared from her head. She had to
struggle to remain calm. How the frack did they find out!!! "You're
mistaken father. I haven't…"

Adama turned.

Athena swallowed. She had never seen such a cold look in those blue eyes
before.

"Why, Athena?" The quiet, forlorn question echoed in the landing bay. "What
were you searching that didn't I give you?"

"Father, I'm really sorry." Athena stuttered. "I never meant to… I didn't
think…I mean…"

"I'm sorry too." The old man said.

Not once did Adama turn to look back at his daughter as he walked away from
the landing bay.

* * *

Frack! Frack! Frack! Starbuck couldn't believe it. His viper was gone!

Starbuck placed Cree's body on the floor, spotted a screwdriver near his
foot and kicked it, cursing out loud. Starbuck knew very well who the
daggit was that had taken the damn craft. Oh, you could always count on
Lomas to put you in deep felgercarb. The man was a master at that.

"I'm definately going to kick that boray in the cojones the next time I see
him!" Starbuck mumbled half aloud and kicked more stuff on the floor. "Just
great! Now what?" Starbuck eyed around the deck 4. He couldn't spot any
other vehicles besides cylon fighters and Starbuck wasn't exactly willing
to take a risk by trying to approach the Galactica with an enemy ship. Damn
it, the Galacticans would be sure to shoot him before he even had time to
identify himself.

Hey wait a centon, Starbuck lifted his head. Lomas and Cree obviously
couldn't fly, so they hadn't come here by using their own wings. There had
to be another vehicle.

Starbuck eyed the are of deck four more carefully. Where the frack was that
vehicle. It had to be here…

Two cylons entered the deck area and Starbuck quickly found a hiding place
behind a cylon fighter. Cree's body was next to him and Starbuck hoped to
sagan the cylons wouldn't think of looking at the fighter too carefully or
they would notice Cree's legs…

Starbuck grinned as unexpectedly spotted a Piscenian shuttle on the left
side of the deck, approximately fourty metrons away from him. Lomas'
shuttle. Brilliant. Luck hadn't obviously turned its back on him yet…

The cylons seemed to hang around the deck area forever. Starbuck's back was
beginning to ache from all the crouching and his legs were starting to
stiffen. What the frack were they doing, anyway. They sure had picked a
funny place for a picnic…

A third cylon entered the area. He walked to the other ones and Starbuck
could easily hear the metallic-voiced discussion of which he couldn't
understand felgercarb. It was something about the hermetic modulation of
passive cyclon-sequence-separators.

Jeeez, Starbuck had hardly understood anything about the modulation of
regular alpha-sequencers, about which some instruction specialists in the
academy had held a couple of obligatory remediations. Starbuck had,of
course, slept like a baby with a clear concience through those lessons,
even though Apollo had been kicking Starbuck's leg the whole fracking time…
And just his luck to end up in a situation where you had to listen to the
same felgercarb about the triple-form modulating all over again, but this
time from the cylonic technical point of view… phew!

After what seemed like a hundred yahrens to Starbuck the cylons finally
left the are and Starbuck creeped out from behind the fighter. Okay, where
was the shuttle again. The left side of the deck, great.

Starbuck ran to the vehicle and his smile must have been from one ear to
the other when he noticed that the shuttle doors weren't looked. Starbuck
climbed in and hurried to the cockpit. This baby sure was abnormally well
equipped for a shuttle, Starbuck noted. He sat down on the seat, next to
the solium control mechanism and pressed down seven green buttons to
prepair the shuttle for start-up. The solium mechanism started squeeking
like mad and Starbuck jumped at least ten metrons in the air. "What the
frack?…" Starbuck frowned. The solium readings showed that all the
containers were empty. Well, sagan damn it, of course they were empty.
Starbuck should have come to think of it earlier. How could he have
forgotten such an important detail.

Okay, if Lomas had had any braincells at all left in his head he must have
known that after such a long flight to the base ship, the viper couldn't
possibly contain enough fuel to carry all the way back to fleet. The solium
tanks were not large enough. Frack! Starbuck should have remembered that
himself. Then why hadn't he!!!!

Starbuck swiched off the squeeking control mechanism and prayed to sagans
that the high-pitched noise hadn't lured any curious cylons to the fourth
deck. Starbuck listened quietly for awhile. Nothing alarming. No footsteps.
No metallic voices. Great. Starbuck stared at the zero readings on the
solium control and tried to think. Lomas obviously had had the sense to
fill the viper tanks with the solium that was still left in the shuttle.
Good for him, a nightmare for Starbuck. Starbuck sighed. Okay, there were
not too many choices to choose from. He had to either take a risk and steal
one of the cylon fighters or he would have to stay here on this forsaken
base ship and start playing happy family with Baltar…

Starbuck felt an irresistible urge to quote Baltar and choose the holiday
on Aries. By Kobol, he sure was in need of a holiday. Okay, it was going to
be a cylon craft. Starbuck just had to find a suitable one and refresh his
memory how to operate those felgercarbs. Yeah, and Starbuck sure hoped to
sagan that the bridge officers of the Galactica would receive his
identification code in time…

* * *

Boomer was humming to himself and playing with a toothpick.

"Would you cut it out." Apollo glanced at the dark lieutenant, who was
sitting opposite him. "You're making me nervous."

"You already are nervous. It's not the toothpick…"

"I don't understand where Starbuck could possibly be!" Apollo's voice was
angry. "And I can't believe that Adama didn't give us permission to go and
search for him, when he knows so well that Starbuck means more to me than
my own life."

"Calm down, Apollo." Boomer glanced at a group of cadets who entered the
officers club, chattering loudly. They reminded him of Cree…

"We couldn't have gone after Starbuck in the first place, because we have
no fracking clue of his whereabouts." Boomer put the toothpick into his
mouth like a fumarello, eyeing Apollo. "And I'm not very thrilled about the
idea of getting lost in space…"

"I would die for Starbuck." Apollo didn't look at Boomer.

"I know. And if it came to that, I would too. "Boomer's tone was serious.
"But I don't think Starbuck wants us killed. I don't think that was his
intention."

"Then tell me, damn it, what was his intention." Apollo snapped.

"We have been through this before, Apollo." Boomer kept his eyes on his
friend. "Something happened right before we left for Probability, right?
And knowing how stubborn Starbuck can sometimes be, I'm sure he just wanted
to take that something off our shoulders…"

"He's a sagan forsaken fool…"

Yes, occationally." Boomer smiled. "But a well-intentioned fool."

"I know…" Apollo's voice choked. "I just wish he could have been able to
talk to me…" Apollo's hand was nervously flinching on the table, Boomer
reached out and put his own hand on top of Apollo's.

"Let's not stop hoping, Apollo." Boomer's voice was soft. "I'm sure that
some day he will return…"

"Do you really believe that?" Apollo looked at Boomer.

"I don't know." Boomer answered truthfully. "But it is something that I
want to believe in."

* * *

Lomas looked at his hands. He didn't recognize them any more. He didn't
feel his face as he touched it with those strange hands. He didn't see
himself when he looked at the reflection on the viper's sidewindow. He
didn't exist. He had become a new one. And he had no destiny, only a desire
to feel.

Everything Lomas had believed in, had vanished into porpouslessness. He had
not achieved serenity nor synchronized with intensity. Nothingness was much
worse than darkness. Yes, the hatred was still there. The weakness was
still there. The fear and the power were still very much there. But Lomas
had become someone else.

* * *

The members of the Council of the Twelve fell into awkward silence as the
fleet commander entered the chamber.

Adama walked to his seat at the end of the table and sat down. He lifted
his eyes and looked at each council member. "I will not oppose the sentence
of my daughter in any way."

Sire Kane hesitated and then stood up. "Commander, I do hope you are aware
of fact that bridge officer Athena could face imprisonment up to twenty
yahrens…"

Adama's face was expressionless. "You can forge ahead with the enforcement
of punishment without further ado"

* * *

Starbuck switched the sega-compromizers up to position gamma. It was all
coming back to him now. He was beginning to remember how those cylon
garbage cans called fighters worked. Surprisingly the system wasn't all
that different from the colonial starbuses which Starbuck had chauffered
for a while once, as a summer job, back in the academy days. Starbuck
checked that the wing equalizers were working. They were. Perfect. Okay,
time to press the lauching button.

There was a smile on Starbuck's face. Boy, he could hardly wait to get back
to the Galactica. Oh sagan it had been so stupid to run away in the first
place, Starbuck understood that now. But the human mind always moved in
mysterious ways.

Possibly, without going through the anxiety brought on by the memory
distortions, Starbuck might not have understood the deeper meaning of the
fact one could never affect something that had already happened, but there
was always a possibility to change the future to be the way one wanted it
to be. Sure, Starbuck had always known all that stuff, but he had to… like,
realize it all to be able to really internalize it. Besides. Things, they
don't always have a logical meaning. There aren't always explanations to
even the most simple course of events. In fact, there very seldom is. To
quate one ancient Aquarian science fiction broadcasting: The truth is out
there… But it can never be found because there are just as many truths as
there are mind rivers.

"My head is beginning to ache." Starbuck rolled his eyes. "This is not the
time or place to get deep, damn it. Now concentrate on operating the
fighter…" Starbuck switched on the co-ordinators and the scanner adjusters.
The craft was ready to be launched. "Okay, Apollo, here I come…" Starbuck
grinned. "You better not shoot me, buddy…"

* * *

Lomas glanced at the scanner. Still 14 point 62 hectares to cover. Quite
good. He had already left behind over half of the journey in a much shorter
time than he had anticipated. But then again, these vipers were faster than
shuttles, no matter how well-equipped the shuttles might be.

Lomas switched off the tracking scrambler. It was a bit too early for that
really, but he did it anyway to eliminate any possibility that he might
forget. Lomas sure wanted to be visible in the fleet radars when the time
came. Yes, he was returning to the Piscean. Such an unexpected turn. Yet,
so obvious. So unpreventable.

* * *

To Starbuck's surprise, Baltar had seemingly kept the unspoken promise to
hold back all cylon squadrons. Starbuck had easily escaped from the sphere
of the base ship 7. There had been no trouble with the controlling either.
Although this kind of fighter normally needed two cylons to operate it,
Starbuck had no difficulty handling the vehicle on his own. Starbuck
grinned. Well, of course he could do it on his own. He was. after all, the
hero, and the cylons were just some metal daggits whose screws were always
falling off someplace.

"What's this…" Starbuck noticed a red, twinkling apparatus. A kind that he
hadn't seen before, not even in the previous cylon fighters he had been in.
"Looks intriguing. What if it is the grog cupboard…" Starbuck grinned. "Oh
well. Better not fiddle with it. You never know, this thing might blow up
or something. Just forget it." Starbuck couldn't resist. He leaned forward
and pressed the yellowish e- button. "Idiot!" Starbuck snorted to himself
and squeezed his eyes shut to prepair for the possible explosion. Nothing
happened. Starbuck slowly opened his eyes. "For sagan's sake, buddy. The
next time you feel an urge to do something stupid, just keep your hands on
the control stick!"

Starbuck glanced at Cree's body that was placed under a blanket on the seat
where the third cylon, the one giving commands, always sat. "What do you
say, Cree. Want to play a game of pyramid to kill the time." Starbuck
grinned. The unavoidable curses of boring, lonely journeys. You start
acting like a felgercarbing fruitcake.

* * *

"Why ?" There was so much sadness and uncomprehension in Apollo's eyes.
"Please make me understand."

Athena eyed her brother through the glass door. "Why, why, why… for sagan's
sake I'm tired of all the fracking why's. I can't give you reasons, Apollo.
I can't even give reasons to myself. I just did it, because doing it felt
good." Athena's face was indifferent. "I admit it, I'm not too thrilled
about getting caught and spending the best yahrens of my life on the
fracking prison barge. But hey, it's not the end of the world."

Athena walked closer to the glass door, still keeping her eyes on Apollo.
"I enjoyed killing Salik, I'm not going to lie about it. And to be honest,
if I had the chance, I would probably do it again." Athena smiled. "And
only because it felt fracking good."

Athena was now standing in front of Apollo, very very close, but still
separated by the glass door. "I have changed, Apollo." Athena spoke. "And I
will never again be what I was before."

"What changed you?" Apollo asked, sadly.

"Questions, again. Sagan, Apollo. Didn't I just tell you that I have no
answers…"

Apollo remained silent.

Athena sighed. "I don't know what changed me. Perhaps it was awareness,
perhaps it has always been in me. Or maybe I simply have had too many
disappontments."

Athena placed her hand on the glass surface, as if touching her brother.
"I'm sorry for hurting you, but I'm not sorry for becoming."

Apollo kept his sad eyes on Athena. "I wan't you to know that I will do
everything in my power to get you out of this place, Athena. It breaks my
heart to see you on the prison barge…"

Athena's eyes narrowed, just a little. "Which is it that breaks your heart
the most, Apollo? Me being here, or me being here and you having to be
ashamed of and disappointed in me? Which is it. Brother? Be honest."

Apollo stared at Athena. "I don't know you any more…"

"Oh, is that so." Athena smiled. "Well, quite frankly my dear, I don't give
a frack…"

* * *

"You had so much…" Sheba held Cassiopeia's limp hand. "Why couldn't you see
it." Sheba bent his head down and rested it against Cassiopeia chest for a
centon.

Cassiopeia didn't open her eyes.

"I loved you Cassie." Sheba kept her head on Cassie's chest. "Not always
the way you wanted me to, but I still loved you." Sheba closed her eyes. "I
loved you for what you were."

Sheba lifted his eyes as doctor Wilker approached her. "Has there been any
change in her condition?" Sheba already knew the answer and she didn't
really want to hear it.

Wilker's face was compassionate. "I'm sorry Sheba, but there had been no
change. She is still in a coma." Doctor Wilker paused for a centon. "I'm
going to be honest with you…"

"Whatever it is doctor, please tell me." Sheba kept her eyes on Wilker.

"The chances that she will ever regain consciousness are very small. The
longer she remains comatose, the narrower the possibilities of recovery
get." Doctor Wilker hesitated. "And, as I said I'm going to be honest with
you Sheba. Even if Cassiopeia did regain consciousness, there is not much
of a chance that she could ever be fully recovered. The possibility of
permanent brain damage is now 99,2 per cent…"

* * *

"This is lieutenant Starbuck requesting permission and co-ordinates for
landing."

"Permission granted." The voice of a pisceanian bridge officer flooded
through the computer.

"The co-ordinates are 83 point 7 inclination beta, 4.11 alpha angle, 62
degrees omega. Landing sector 2 is currently unavailable, you need to
direct the craft onto sector 3, bay 5."

"Co-ordinates received and proceeding to land."

Lomas turned off the communicator and smiled in the darkness of the viper .
Too easy.

His cover was perfect. What a stroke of luck that he had noticed the viper
on the fourth deck. Lomas had immediately perceived that with that viper he
would have the perfect alias to enter the sphere of the fleet's scanners
without any trouble at all, and sneak onto the Piscean to find Astral.

Everything was intense. So beautiful. Lomas had been reborn from the ashes
of his disillusion. Reborn, and regenerated. Into awareness. Into oblivion.

Lomas turned to smile at Cree. Angel face. You never died.

* * *

"Okay, buddy." Starbuck was still chatting with Cree's body. "We are
starting approach the Galactica's scanner range. It's time to start holding
our breaths."

Starbuck glanced at the computer readings. It was time to switch the wing
equalizers off autocontrol. Starbuck needed to use the equalizers manually
in order to succeed in swaying the fighter from one side to another as
approaching the battlestar. Starbuck remembered how he and Apollo had once
been recogniced by that stunt, so there was a good possibility that it
might work again. Hopefully Boomer will be on the bridge. Or Apollo…

Beautiful Apollo… Starbuck heart picked up beat. He couldn't wait to see
the look in Apollo's eyes… The lights of the Sagittarian and a few other
fleet stragglers were already twinkling ahead. Dimly, yes, but
recognizable. Starbuck could even see vague figures of a couple of tiny
shuttles.

That reflective thing in the far distance… Starbuck narrowed his eyes and
smiled. It couldn't be anything else than the Agroship 9. Enthusiastically
Starbuck tried to spot the Galactica.

Hey, there was the Rising Star, hovering in space like a swan. Beautiful,
inviting and full of promises of unspeakable riches.. Yep, it was
definitely the Rising Star.

Starbuck grinned. Home, sweet home.

* * *

Chapter 21

"You are approaching the landing bay in too steep an angle. Correct the
position of the viper and bring the nose up approximately 2 point 74
degrees."

Lomas followed the instructions of the pisceanian landing controller.

"Fifteen microns to touchdown."

The lights of the landing bay were becoming brighter with every micron and
how Lomas loved the sight of those approaching lights.

"Ten microns to touchdown."

Lomas smiled as he glanced at Cree. "You are looking beautiful."

Cree blushed and Lomas grinned.

"No, really. I mean it. These lights make you look almost unreal. It
doesn't matter that you once were stupid enough to cut your face. The
traces have disappeared. You have become eternal and undestructable, just
like me." Lomas extended his hand and touched Cree's face. "Soon we will
all be together."

"Yes." Cree smiled. "All of us.

"Five microns to touchdown."

* * *

"What's going on?" Boomer entered the bridge, running. The sound of the
claxon was screeding all over the Galactica and the personnel on the bridge
were rushing to take the emergency positions.

Tigh turned to look at Boomer. "Condition red, liutenant. We are being
approached by an enemy craft. A cylon fighter."

Boomer looked out of the large window. "I don't see any…" He noticed the
image on the scanner. "But it's still almost a hectar away…"

"We can't risk the safety of the fleet." Adama's voice was calm. "We can't
take a chance that this might be another suicide dive."

Boomer could never forget the huge fire that had been caused by a cylon
craft making a suicide crash onto the Galactica landing bay. That was one
of the times they had all been in serious felgercarb. Boomer still
remembered too well the fear and the powerlessness he had felt when being
trapped inside a recreation chamber with a few others, including Athena and
Boxey. Sagan, it sure had been a close call. If it hadn't been for Muffit,
they wouldn't have survived. Thank sagan for the little daggit. But one
thing Boomer still couldn't internalize. How in the frack could Muffit, a
robot for lords' sakes, smell the mushies and be evoked by them enough to
want to follow the scent…

Apollo kept his eyes on the object on the scanner. "I still think we should
wait until we can contact the craft."

"We would take an unnecessary risk…"

"Commander." Boomer spoke. "I think I know what Apollo is thinking…" Boomer
turned to look at the captain. "…But it's very unprobable that Starbuck
could be in that fighter."

Apollo didn't look at Boomer. "All I'm asking is that we wait until we will
be able to receive a possible identification…"

"All right. We will delay the attack for another five centons. But if we do
not receive any ID-code in that time, we will either launch vipers to check
it out, or use the laser generators on the Galactica to destroy it."
Adama's voice was determined. "We cannot take another risk…"

* * *

"Okay buddy. We are in the fleet's radar sphere now." Starbuck didn't
really care whether he was talking to Cree's lifeless body or to himself.
He just wanted to talk aloud and hear his own voice. It made him feel less
anxious. "We are now visible in the scanners. In a couple of centons I'm
going to start swaying this piece of metal. I hope you don't get seasick
too easily…" Starbuck grinned at Cree's body. "Or maybe I should use the
term spacesick."

Starbuck turned to look at the approaching lights of the 220 ships of the
fleet. "Beautiful sight." Starbuck just had to comment. "I'll never get
bored seeing that view. It sure is breathtaking." Starbuck raised one
eyebrow. "Let's just hope this won't be the last time we see it."

Starbuck eyed the co-ordinates on the computer. It was time to proceed.
"Okay Cree, you better tighten your seat belt. It's going to feel like a
rollercoaster for a while…" Starbuck took a hold of the manual wing-control
stick. His hands were sweating. "And for sagan's sake Cree. Keep hoping for
the best…"

* * *

Lomas took off the helmet and wiped the matted hair away from his forehead.
He turned to glance at the empty seat behind him. "I don't think it's a
good idea for you to come with me, Cree." Lomas smiled at the boy. "I don't
want you to take any risks now that you have finally… become."

Cree's eyes were on Lomas. "Don't forget I'm eternal. Nothing can harm me.
I exist in you."

Lomas reached out and caressed Cree's shaggy hair. "Angel face, I will
return as soon as I find Astral."

Cree smiled. "I know."

Lomas climbed out of the viper. The bay technicians didn't pay any
attention to him. Casually Lomas strolled across the bay towards the
corridors, absorbing the homely goings-on around the bay area. The noise
from one of the cranes a couple of metrons away from Lomas paused and the
technicians operating it started shouting instructions to each other. A
forklift truck drove past Lomas and a shuttle was being trailed to a
launching position. A fluorescent lamp further away was flickering.

Lomas knew very well that he should have gone through decom, but he was too
impatient. Stupid? Oh yes, that too, but Lomas just couldn't waste any more
microns. He wanted so much to find the angel.

One should never skip the few obligatory centons in decontamination after a
viper flight. Yes, vipers were faster and much better equipped than other
small vehicles, but they lacked in apha dust sterility. Shuttles were more
tightly sealed and better compressed to block out the alpha, and even
ferosin dust. Shuttles were better condensed because they were operated
more frequently and were in constant use of civilians. And decontamination
of every passenger after every minimal shuttle flight would definitely
cause problems.

This time Lomas knew where to search for the angel. The man was either
somewhere on the bay areas, where he had said he worked, or he would be
somewhere on the naval deck or the silicon section. Unless… Lomas hoped to
sagan it wasn't time for one of those idiotic centars of prayer…

Of course, it wasn't going to be all that easy to find the man. But this
time things were a little different. First of all, this time there was no
reason for desperation. Lomas knew now that the angel was real and not only
something that he wanted to see. Something that his mind had created. And
secondly, Lomas now had more time due to not needing to follow the inner
compulsion for fulfilling the destined. Besides, this time he had all the
strength in the universe. He had intensified.

And thirdly, his charade was perfect. Not only had Lomas risen from the
ashes of his former, destroyed self to be reborn into a new level of
existence, but in the blind eyes of all the others, the meaningless ones,
he actually was someone else. Lomas grinned. He was lieutenant Starbuck.

* * *

"There is still no idenfication coming from the craft." Rigel turned to
look at the others standing beside her. "The fighter does not react to our
requests."

Adama's face was thoughtful. Boomer's eyes were on the large window of the
bridge.

"Hey, look!" Boomer poked Apollo on the rib. "I can see the thing..."

The men turned to look out of the window and saw the fighter approaching, a
cylon craft.

"The object will reach us in twelve centons…" Rigel observed the computer
screen.

"We have to proceed now." Adama started. "Prepair to launch vipers…"

"Guys…" Apollo could hardly speak. He pointed at the fighter. "It's
swaying…"

You're right." Boomer raised one eyebrow. "That's funny…"

Apollo's smile was brighter than the eternal fire on the Caprica City
Square.

"It's Starbuck…" Apollo turned to look at the others. "It's him! He's
coming back!!"

The pulsation from the radar drowned under a flood of words of relief and
excitement.

Rigel covered her other ear as she tried to hear the person on the com
unit. She eyed the data appearing on the computer screen in front of her.
After a couple of centons she put down the unit and turned to look at the
others. Her face was serious. "It can't be Starbuck in that cylon fighter…"

Apollo looked at Rigel with disbelief. "What are you saying, girl…"

"According to the fleet's flight control data…" Rigel paused to take a look
at the computer screen again. "…Lieutenant Starbuck's viper landed on the
Piscean fifteen centons ago."

* * *

Starbuck couldn't believe this. The communicator of the cylon fighter
refused to operate on alpha or beta sequence and connection with the
Galactica couldn't be established. "Great!" Starbuck frowned. "Why do these
things always have to happen to me!" Starbuck felt like banging his
forehead against the windshield of the viper. Actually, he felt like
banging someone else's forehead against it. A cylon forehead.

"Okay, if I won't be able to send or receive any data in the next ten
centons, I'm going in blind, without co-ordinates." Starbuck sighed,
capitulatingly. "Let's just hope the bay technicians know how to run..."

* * *

Boomer climbed into the viper and put on his helmet. He heard Apollo's
voice through the communicator.

"Blue squadron launching in seven microns." Apollo was saying. "Hey,
Boomer, you take Starbuck's position as my wing man. And Jolly, you keep
guard on the tail, okay?"

"Sure. Hey Boomer." Jolly's voice. "Are we the only squadron attacking?"

"Yes." Boomer answered. "The silver spar squadron will be on standby, but
don't you all think we can take care of one cylon ship with our eyes
closed…"

Apollo's slightly amused voice. "You're right Boomer. But guys, keep in
mind that we do not know if the vehicle contains cylons or other hostile
beings. We must try our best to establish connection with the object."

"Apollo, it's not Starbuck." Giles' voice. "Didn't you just see the data of
Starbuck's landing on the Piscean…"

"That's what bothers me." Apollo said thoughtfully. "What would Starbuck do
on the Piscean for sagan's sake."

"You have a point." Boomer consented. "But it was Starbuck's viper that
landed…"

"Just keep trying for the connection, okay?" Apollo switched up the
take-off preparators.

"You guys ready?"

"Uh huh." Boomer put his finger on the turbo button. "As ready as we'll
ever be."

"Blue squadron prepairing to launch." Apollo spoke to the communicator.

"All clear." Rigel's voice. "Launch when ready."

* * *

The cantina on the west section of hydra deck was packed. Lomas was
standing in the doorway, eyeing around the place to find an empty table or
at least an empty seat.

Lomas had been looking for Astral everywhere on the ship, but the angel
sure knew how to be difficult to find. Lomas was starting to feel slightly
uncomfortable but he kept fighting against the approaching anxiety. He
repeated to himself over and over again that the angel would be found. Of
course the man would be found. Lomas would never leave the Piscean without
him. Lomas would rather die. And without Astral, he was dead.

"I'm sorry sir. We have no seats available at the moment." A red-haired
waitress hurried towards Lomas. "You have to wait, or make a reservation."

"I'll wait." Lomas replied absent-mindedly. He didn't look at the waitress.
"Why is it so crowded? What's the special occasion?"

The waitress smiled in a way that annoyed the frack out of Lomas. "You
don't know what day today is… Oh lords. You are obviously not pisceanian."

"Good guess." Lomas smiled, sarcastically. "So, what's the occasion?"

"It's the eleventh opening of elements." The waitress said proudly. "The
third one for me."

"I regret that I asked." Lomas snorted.

The waitress pretended not to notice the arrogance. "May I suggest that you
make a reservation. It might take a while…"

"All right." Lomas consented. "I'll make a reservation. You can put my name
on the list."

The waitress smiled. "Good choice. And what is your name sir?"

"Starbuck." Lomas grinned. "Lieutenant Starbuck."

The waitress wrote the name down. "Nice to meet you lieutenant Starbuck.
I've heard a lot about you…"

"Don't believe even the half of it." Lomas turned to go. "I'm much worse
than my reputation."

"You have a seat reserved in exactly two centars, sir." The waitress smiled
pleasantly. "We will imform you via com-unit-speakers. But I must warn you
that the audibility of the unit is restricted only in the silicon section
and the alpha section, so you need to remain in that area..."

"I'll keep that in mind." Lomas said politely. "By the way, have you seen a
blond, long-haired, tall man entering the cantina? Around thirty yahrens
old and very beautiful…"

"You must be talking about Astral." The waitress grinned.

"How do you know…" Lomas was stunned.

"Oh, he's a regular. He comes here at least four times a secton." The
waitress' eyes twinkled. "Sure is a good looking guy. I've had my eye on
him for a while."

Lomas felt a wave of uncontrollable rage. He fought hard not to let it
show.

"Why are you looking for him?" The waitress asked, keeping her curious eyes
on Lomas. "You guys friends or…?"

"Do you know where I can find Astral now?" Lomas kept his voice was calm,
but he felt the rivers awaking. "I need to talk to him."

"Sure." The waitress grinned. "He's in the cantina at this centon, sitting
at one of my tables…"

Lomas hated the way the waitress almost winked. How contemptible. So
vulgar. But then of course, she only was one of the meaningless ones. How
could she know anything about the connection of souls. Lomas stared at the
waitress. "Would you get him for me, please. It's really important…"

The waitress hesitated. "Umm… I don't know if I can interrupt him. He's not
alone…"

"Is that so?" A sudden surge of overpowering jealousy flushed over Lomas.
"Who is he with?…"

The waitress leant forward to whisper into Lomas' ear like a conspirator.
"I don't really know who the men are, but I've heard that the assembly
fellowship is thinking of making Astral the next assistant to the sermon
master."

"Really…" Lomas didn't know whether to laugh or scream. These people really
were insane!

The waitress grinned. "Remember, you didn't hear this from me, but I think
the only reason for Astral to be considered for the position of the next
assistant is because the sermon master has an eye on him…You know, a
crush…"

"Well, what do you know." Lomas couldn't believe this felgercarb. The
smiled as he leaned closer to whisper into the ear of the waitress. "But
let me tell you a little secret. I don't quite believe that Astral wants
to…"

"Can we get some service here!!" An annoyed murmur came from somewhere
behind.

Lomas turned and noticed that a line of people had gathered behind him
while he had had this such a mind-expanding conversation with the waitress.

"I'm sorry sir. I'll be with you in just a centon." The waitress replyed
apologetically.

She turned towards Lomas. "Your reservation is in two centars sir. I'm
sorry, we have to keep this line moving."

Lomas took a hold of the waitress by her shoulder. A hurting hold. "Let me
go in. I need to speak to Astral."

"I'm sorry. You can't go… Hey wait a centon!! SIR!!" The waitress ran after
Lomas who had already pushed her aside and was now loping down the mid
aisle of the cantina.

"Hey, watch it! An oncoming waiter almost bumped into Lomas. "For lords'
sakes…"

Lomas didn't even bother to apologize. He had already wasted so much energy
for nothingness. Now that the angel was somewhere within reach, Lomas sure
wasn't going to be prevented from reaching out. Nothing could hold him
back…

Lomas saw the angel. Everything else in the universe disappeared at that
very micron. They were alone together. They had always been.

Astral almost choked on the mushies as he spotted Lomas loping towards his
table.

"What?" An older man dressed in a black tunic and assembly organizer's
loose-fitting chinos lifted his eyes and looked at Astral.

"Errr, nothing." Astral coughed.

Lomas was smiling so beautifully, Astral could hardly bare to look at him.
And the way he walked. Oh sagan, it was so much more capturing than the
dance of the wind.

Lomas reached the table. He was looking straight into Astral's eyes,
sinking deep inside the beauty of the angel's existence. Astral was so much
more intense that Lomas had even been cabable of comprehending. Astral was
the reason why the world was created.

"Hello, Lomas." Astral smiled. "I'm glad to see you have returned."

"Yes." Lomas couldn't turn his eyes away. "I returned for you."

Astral blushed embarrassed. Ummm, Lomas. Meet acolyte Eternio. He has just
offered me a very respectable position on this ship…"

The older man extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, young man. One of
Astral's friends I presume…?"

Lomas totally ignored Eternio's friendlyness. "Astral, We need to…"

"And this is acolyte Seneka…"

"Astral, why do we have to waste time on all this nothingness, when there
is so much beauty awaiting…"

Now Astral was really embarrassed. He eyed the two older man
apologetically. "And this is Corporal Lo…"

"Lieutenant Starbuck." Lomas snorted and extended his hand. "Pleasure to
meet such meaningless beings. Now please Astral, my angel. Please can we
go…"

"What unspeakable impudence!" Acolyte Seneka stared at Lomas, outraged.
"Don't you have any manners, lad…" Seneka paused.

Where in the names of heavens had he seen that person before… Seneka's mind
couldn't place that man anywhere on the Piscean but still, there was
something disturbingly familiar in that pale face…

* * *

"Frack!" Starbuck cursed out loud. He still hadn't been able to establish
any connection with the battlestar and it was now only five centons due to
landing. Things didn't look good. "Oh well, at least they haven't shot at
me yet." Starbuck tried to see the lighter side of the situation. And right
then he saw the vipers of the blue squadron approaching…

~~~~

Apollo kept his eyes on the cylon fighter. It was smaller than the usual
ones and that seemed a little odd. Why would such a tiny craft be sent to
attack the fleet. The vehicle seemed too small to even be like the ones the
cylons sometimes used for reconaissances. "Damn!"

"What?" Boomer heard Apollo's voice. "What is it?"

"Well of course it's a small one." Apollo grimaced. "Why destroy a better
ship…"

"What are you babbling about, Apollo."

"They are going to attemp to make a suicide crash. We have no time to
waste."

"None of us have been able to establish any kind of connection with the
craft." Giles' cut in. "So, captain. What are we going to do?"

Apollo looked at the fighter for a micron. "Let's shoot the daggit."

~~~~

Starbuck started swaying the fighter like mad. "Come on, Apollo. It's me
damn it. Don't you recognize the forsaken signal!"

The vipers were approaching in a formation.

Starbuck didn't like that sight at all, but hey, how many times do you get
to see the blue squadron in formation from the cylon point of view…

A laser beam was shot. It missed Starbuck by quarter of a metron.

"FRACK!" Starbuck shouted. "What's the matter with you guys!!!" Another
shot. "I have a bad feeling about this." Starbuck frowned.

It would be sheer insanity to try to approach the Galactica now. He would
never make it. The only choice was to flee. Starbuck glanced at the solium
controllers and what he saw made his hair raise towards the ceiling of the
fighter. There was only 0,005 megons of fuel left. Frack. That wouldn't
even carry him to the nearest planet. This was bad. This was really bad. He
had to try anyway or he would get blown up.

"Come on, you piece of cylon felgercarb!" Starbuck pulled back the control
switch as hard as he could. The vehicle didn't seem to react at all. "Turn,
you piece of frack!"

Nothing happened and Starbuck knew very well why. He had read his physics
at the academy. With a grimace, yes. But read it anyway. So he knew that
the forsaken fighter had moved with too high speed to be able to turn in
such a small angle. Although there was no air in space, there was
resistance which composed of chromomyte particles. Those, in higher
quantities, compounded alpha dust.

~~~~

"It sure moves in a funny way!" Boomer commented. "Look at the way it
rocks. It either has to be a some sort of a signal, or the being inside the
craft is either cross eyed or been sniffing plant vapors…"

"I admit, there is something funny about that thing." Apollo said
thoughtfully.

"Maybe it is intended to be a diversion." Giles' voice. "You never know
what goes on inside the metallic heads of the cylons. They might surprise
the frack out of you when you least expect it."

"Yeah…" Boomer's absent-minded voice. "If that thing inside the ship is a
cylon…"

~~~~

Starbuck desperately tried to come up with something that would save his
life. In his mind, with the speed of light, Starbuck recapitulated the
facts.

Okay. The communicator didn't operate. The craft wouldn't turn quickly
enough to escape the laser beams. The figter was almost out of solium, and
even if there had been enough of it, Starbuck couldn't spot a suitable
planet on the radar to land on. Even Probability was now much too far… God
damn!

Give a laser signal, Starbuck's head came up with an idea. Shoot, but don't
shoot at the vipers.

Starbuck eyed the laser launchers. He had never before operated any kind of
cylonic weapon that was within a cylon craft. The mechanism looked like
felgercarb. Starbuck decided to press the button that read "generating".
Three lights came on. Okay. Starbuck took another lucky guess and pressed
the one in the middle. A hiss. Then nothing. Suddenly a laser beam flashed
from the front generators of the fighter. Jeeeez, Starbuck saw himself just
firing towards Apollo's viper.

In mere fraction of microns, Apollo managed to curve up and avoid the hit.

Starbuck swallowed air at least five times in a row. His hand was shaking
as he wiped perspire off his forehead with the back of his hand. "You
IDIOT!! Why didn't you just shoot yourself while you were at it!"

Starbuck closed his eyes for a micron and said a million prayers for Apollo
not having been hit. But it had been too close. Much too close.Starbuck
knew he would never forget this micron of his worst nightmares. He took a
deep, deep sigh. "I'm going to need a shrink after this…"

~~~~

"Apollo!! Are you okay??" Boomer shouted to the communicator. "Apollo???"

"I'm fine Boomer." Apollo answered. "Will you stop shouting in my ear…"

Jolly's voice. "That didn't look good. The shot missed you only by
millimetrons."

"Thanks for reminding me!" Apollo rolled his eyes.

"Well, at least now we know that it's an enemy ship and we can destroy it
with a clear conscience." Giles grinned.

"You are right." Apollo spoke, keeping his eyes on the cylon craft. "Fire
when ready."

* * *

"Err, Lomas…Why don't we go…" Astral stood up quickly, embarrassed that
Lomas might decide to say something even more damaging. Astral looked down
to smile at the two older men, apologetically. "I'm so sorry, but something
came up…"

Acolyte Seneka was eyeing Lomas very disapprovingly. "Yes, something
certainly did."

"I want you to know that I'm extremely honoured that you chose to ask me to
be the assistant of the sermon master…" Astral smiled very warmly. "But
regretfully I must decline."

"This is not an opportunity that comes knocking on your quarters every day,
Astral." Acolyte Eternio corrected the position of his eyeglasses. "I don't
believe you have given this enough thought…"

Lomas' waterpond eyes turned to look at the two acolytes.

Astral smiled nervously. "I think we really need to go now…"

"Don't waste your time, gentlemen." Lomas smiled pleasantly. "My angel
isn't in the least interested in your felgercarb. You can go and tell your
pathetic sermon master that he can frack off and find another object for
his forbidden desires." Lomas grinned. "Oh dear. Did I just say the word
frack? Oh, I'm soooo sorry. I forgot one can't use such language on this
ship."

"Lieutenant Starbuck!" Acolyte Eterno rose to his feet. "Your military
career is going to be over the micron I inform the fleet commander of your
adverse behaviour."

"By all means." Lomas grinned. "Don't let me hold you back."

Astral tried to be invisible. "Lomas, can we leave now…"

"Lomas?" Acolyte Seneka raised his eyes and looked at the man more
carefully. "Corporal Lomas?"

"Poor old man." Lomas grinned. "My great grandmother used to suffer from
alzheimer's too, so I know what you must be going through." Lomas eyed the
acolyte sarcastically. "Well I guess it's useless to repeat that my name is
Starbuck. Lieutenant Starbuck. You will forget the name in a centon
anyway." Acolyte Seneka ignored what the young military man was saying. He
smoothly drew out a laser gun from under his cape of penance and pointed it
at Lomas. "You son of a daggit murdered a young boy on the Galactica."
Seneka spoke, softly, poisonously. "How unlucky for you that the boy
happened to be my cousin's roommate's foster child…"

Astral turned his shocked eyes towards Lomas. "you said you had never…"

Lomas laughed. "Is this a joke?"

"I wish it was." Seneka put pressure on the trigger.

Lomas eyed the obviously insane acolyte. "Hey, hold on here. I haven't
killed any innocent being in my entire life. You are mistaken…"

"No, I'm not. Your face is recorded on the surveillance systems of the
Galactica control center. Your face is tattooed in my soul."

"How achingly poetic." Lomas sneered. "If you are so certain that I have
killed… whoever the person was. Your roommate's grandmother's cat's gourmet
cook's masseur…"

"Very funny…" Seneka snorted.

"…Then why don't you just shoot me." Lomas smiled. "You cannot destroy me."

"For sagan's sake, Lomas…" Astral gasped. "Seneka, don't do anything
stupid…"

"Would someone tell me what is going on here…"

Acolyte Seneka turned.

A chunky officer wearing the insignia of the Galactica was walking towards
Astral and the others. "I don't consider it to be very polite to intrude me
in the middle of a meal…

Lomas paled. He knew that man.

"Hey preacherman, for sagan's sake, put down that gun." The chunky officer
shook his head. "What do you think this is, the night of the yahrenly
moonage fireworks…"

The officer paused.

"Corporal…?"

Lomas looked the other way to try to keep his face hidden. The galactican
officer took a hold of his shoulder.

"Lomas? Hey, I thought it was you. What are you doing on the…"

"Corporal Lomas. I'm placing you under imprisonbargement for the murder of
the computer co-ordinator Karlo…"

Lomas knew what he would see even before he raised his eyes.

Astral turned and saw another man standing behind the table, pointing a
laser gun at Lomas.

The chunky officer looked at the guy who had been sitting at the table with
him just centons ago, enjoying his meal and telling jokes about the daggit
he used to own before the colonies were destroyed.

"Hey Nano, what's going on here? What are you doing with that gun…"

"I'm fulfilling my duties as an officer of the Galactica." The whiny-voiced
man, Nano smiled.

He turned his eyes on Lomas.

"I knew you would return. Isn't it a saying that the criminal always
returnes to the crime scene…" Nano grinned. "But in this case, the criminal
returned to the neighbourhood of the crime scene…"

Nano glanced at the chunky officer as he was putting handcuffs on Lomas.

"You better inform the Galactica that we will be bringing in a prisoner."

The chunky man was puzzled. "Why the Galactica? Shouldn't we be taking this
dude to the prison barge…"

Nano patted the chunky officer's shoulder. "Oh Bert. Have you forgotten
that the judicial processing is always held on the Galactica."

"Oh yeah… sorry."

Lomas had no idea what the others were talking about.

He stared at the men, frightened, confused. Lomas could only just remember
where he was. Everything looked somehow disturbingly parallel. Like he was
outside his own existence, observing himself, but trapped in a place where
everything had lost all sense. Like in a dark dream.

"Astral…" Lomas whispered. "Help me. Please."

* * *

Giles' finger put pressure on the "fire" button of the control stick. He
had the fighter locked on his scanner. "I've got you locked… "Giled
mumbled, concentrating. "Now, hold still you daggit…"

"What did you say?" Apollo had heard Rigel's voice through the com unit
very clearly, but he hadn't internalized it.

"Oh, nothing. Just talking to the enemy…" Giles grinned.

"No, not you Giles." Apollo cut in impatiently.

"The man on the Piscean have been identified." Rigel's voice repeated.
"He's not liutenant Starbuck."

"Hold the fire!!" Apollo shouted into the communicator. "Don't fire!!"

"What's going on?" Boomer turned his head and eyed Apollo's viper beside
him.

"Just… Don't fire!!… NOOO!.." Apollo dropped the communicator and stared
horrified as Giles' viper sent a laser beam towards the cylon fighter.

The laser hit the wing of the fighter.

It lost balance and got caught in an uncontrallable tailspin.

~~~~

Starbuck saw the laser beam coming. It shot towards him much too quickly to
leave any time for extra reaction, such as thinking and swearing out loud.
Like in a trance, Starbuck inserted more speed into the turbo controllers
and tried to avoid the hit by sliding past the target point. The damn craft
was too slow. The laser beam hit the wing and the vehicle jerked violently.
Starbuck lost consciousness.

~~~~

"GILES!!! I TOLD YOU TO HOLD ALL FIRE!!!" Apollo screamed.

"Yes, you did." Giles admitted. "But a micron too late. I had already
fired." Giles paused. "What's the matter anyway? It's just a cylon
fighter…"

"Yeah! A cylon fighter with someone who might very well be Starbuck inside
it!!!!"

"But…wasn't Starbuck supposed to be on the Piscean…"

"They identified the bloke. It's not Starbuck!"

Apollo didn't want to waste time on his felgercarb. He had to act. There
had to be something he could do. He couldn't just helplessly lay back and
watch his own life tailspinning to death in front of his eyes.

~~~~

The pressure was unbearable. Starbuck came to and grimaced as he tried to
lift his head. He couldn't move. "What the…"

"Oh frack!" In microns Starbuck realized that he had been hit and was now
trapped in a very felgercarbish situation. Turn off the engines, Starbuck
mind pounded, making his head ache more. Starbuck clenched his teeth
together and he tried to reached to the turbo switches. Damn it, they were
too far away. Starbuck cursed out loud, extended his right leg and kicked
the swiches to position gamma. The roar of the engines silenced. Starbuck
could feel the pressure created by the tailspin decreasing. He climbed to a
sitting position on the seat and took a strong hold of the control stick.
Now all he had to do was to bring the fighter to an 5,5 angle. The
chromomyte particles would provide enough resistance to put the fighter
into a slide for what could last up to one and a half hectares. With that
sliding technique Starbuck could easily land on the Galactica. And that was
exactly what he was going to do.

Sagan help the person who would try to stop him.

~~~~

Apollo felt all the blood disappearing from his head. The world around him
was rapidly turning white and swiftly vanishing further and further away.
Apollo had to bend down his head and rest it against his knuckles for
centons or he would have undoubtedly fainted right there and then. The
relief that Apollo felt when he saw the fighter suddenly starting to
straighten couldn't be described with words. It was so much more than
immense.

"What a stunt!" Jolly's sigh of admiration echoed from the communicator.
"The guy in that fighter's cockpit sure is cool-headed."

"Or a hot-headed one. " Boomer grinned. "No question about it. It's
Starbuck alright!"

* * *

Chapter 22

Starbuck and Apollo were lying on the bed. Starbuck's head was resting on
Apollo's chest and softly Apollo was caressing Starbuck's hair.

Both the men had been quiet for many many centons. There was no light in
the quarters, except the light from the distant stars.

Apollo moved his head a little so he could look down at Starbuck. "You
almost shot me, you daggit." Apollo's voice was teasing but tender. "First
you dump me and then you try to shoot me. Is this how you're going to treat
me when we're sealed…"

Starbuck grinned and replied to one of Apollo's nipples. "Hey, you forgot
about me wasting all your money on gambling, taking idiotic risks on
patrols, eating so many tulipian buds that I will look like a boray at the
age of thirty five…"

Apollo laughed. "Yeah, not to mention the fact that I will gain such a
lovable and even-tempered brother-in-law."

Starbuck lifted his head and turned to look at Apollo in the eyes. "Still
wanna get sealed to me?..."

"Starbuck…" Apollo kept caressing Starbuck's hair. "What happened? Why did
you run away?"

"I have already told you everything a thousand times." Starbuck grimaced.
"Please can we just forget about this subject for the rest of our lives."

"But there are still so many things that don't seem rational…"

"Okay, this is the short short version." Starbuck grinned. "I was an idiot.
There. Satisfied?"

"You never change Starbuck." Apollo just had to smile. "You are such a
stubborn daggit…"

"And that's what you most love about me, isn't it." Starbuck winked.

Apollo smiled. He was silent for a centon. "Starbuck…" He started.

"Now what?" Starbuck was talking to the nipple again.

"I don't want to waste any more time. I want to get sealed to you now."

Starbuck grimaced. "Oh no. Please don't tell me you're pregnant…"

Apollo slapped Starbuck, but softly. "I'm serious. I wan't to get sealed as
soon as possible. We could just jump on a shuttle and get sealed tonight on
the Rising Star…"

"Uh uh uh uh uh uh!" Starbuck lifted his head again. "Out of the question,
buddy! I don't want to do any sneaking. No more sneaking!! I want a proper
sealing. You know… with all the trimmings." Starbuck sat up and looked at
Apollo in the face. "I want your father to be the one to perform the
sealing. I want the white dress, the buquet and everything. I want to see
Tigh dressed in a pink bridal gown. I want Boomer to jump out of the
sealing cake…"

Apollo laughed. Starbuck kept his grinning eyes on the man.

"And I want you to have the happiest day of your life."

Apollo smiled. "You just want to get your hands on the expensive sealing
presents, don't you…"

Starbuck laughed. "You read my mind."

* * *

Boomer didn't see the images on the inter fleet broadcasting receiver. His
mind was on Cree. Beautiful, beautiful Cree. Boomer couldn't believe the
boy was gone. Forever. Why for frack's sake do those, who deserve the most
to live, die so soon. Much too soon. There were no tears on Boomer's
cheeks. Only abysmal pain in the eyes, endless sorrow in the heart.

Boomer had been present when doctor Wilker had arranged Cree's body to be
removed from the fighter. Starbuck had been there too. Standing beside
Boomer, his hand on the man's shoulder, silently comforting. Comfort didn't
exist. Despaired, Boomer had turned away when the med technicians had
lifted the lifeless body out of the craft. But he hadn't turned fast
enough. Boomer had caught a glimpse of Cree's face. And that face was
beside him right now. It would never let go. Boomer stood up and walked to
the receiver to turn off the IFB. Darkness and silence cascaded into the
room.

Why did the live ones have to die when there were so many dead people
alive. Boomer was one of the dead ones. Living without reason. Existing
without aim. Extinguished. Disillusioned by life, Boomer had given in and
stopped fighting back when the fire was fading. He had not lived for so
long he had forgotten what it felt like. He had even lost belief in being
able to become alive again.

Boomer realized he hadn't been truly happy for at least the last ten
yahrens. Hope was only a scratch in the surface. A lie. Inside, there was
only disappointment. Anger. Yes, sadness too. Most of all, just emptiness.

Why did Cree, who was only beginning to blossom, have to fade away, when
Boomer was the one who had already faded. Such terrible shame to waste life
away like this.

* * *

"I feel guilty…" Starbuck didn't really say the words out loud but Apollo
heard them anyway. He lifted his head and looked down at Starbuck, who was
back to resting his head on Apollo's chest.

"Guilty?" Apollo raised his left eyebrow.

"…For being happy." Starbuck turned his head and met Apollo's eyes. "I'm
ashamed to feel like this when there is so much unfairness…"

Apollo knew what Starbuck was talking about. He caressed Starbuck's hair
and he rested his head back on the pillow, eyeing the ceiling.

"Athena…" he whispered.

"…And Cassiopeia." Starbuck kept his on Apollo.

"Cree…" Apollo closed his eyes. "Yes. So much unfairness." Apollo sighed.
"But everything comes in waves. Why should we feel guilty for being on top
of the wave, when so many times we have been the ones about to drown."
Apollo opened his eyes and sat up.

"Besides…"

"What?"

Apollo looked at Starbuck. "Athena wanted to proceed the way that ended up
on the prison barge. Cassiopeia chose to kill herself. And Cree wasn't told
to jump in front of a laser beam to save Lomas. They all did that because
of their own free will…"

"Apollo. What they did is not the real tragedy."Starbuck said quietly. "The
true unfairness lies in the process… "

"Uh oh!" Apollo murmured. "Are you about to get existentialistic with me…"
Starbuck smiled a little.

"Athena, Cassiopeia and Cree…" Starbuck spoke. "They were all victims of
the harshness and unfairness of life."

Apollo opened his mouth to...

"I know what you are about to say." Starbuck said before Apollo had time to
form any words. "Yes, we all are victims of life. In one way or the other.
It's just that perhaps some of us are weaker. More affected."

Apollo didn't say anything. He was digesting Starbuck's words.

"Athena was disillusioned by others. Cassiopeia was disillusioned by
herself. And Cree's bad fortune was the fact that he merely loved."
Starbuck's voice was forlorn.

"Or perhaps life really is cruel and treats some people so much more
unfairly than others."

Starbuck suddenly grew very fed up with the subject. "Hey, don't expect me
to give you answers. I'm not the sagan here. I'm not responsible for the
way the existence of everything works. Damn it, why did I ever start this
conversation anyway…" Starbuck sat up and grinned. "My feelings of guilt
just suddenly disappeared. What do you say we go to the officers' club and
order a ambrata with onions. I'm getting kinda hungry here…"

Apollo smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."

***

"It would be advisable to proceed with the judicial hearing as
expeditiously as possible." Chief opposer Solon was in Adama's quarters.
"The defendant cannot stay on the Galactica more than twenty four centars.
I hear there already are minor difficulties concerning the situation…"

"I'm aware of the difficulties." Adama nodded. "But rest assured that the
hearing will take place Tomorrow morning. We already have the jury
completely assembled and the authorized passes delivered to the
participants." Adama arose from the chair. "I have examined the concrete
evidence and gotten acquainted with the accusation…" Adama's eyes were on
the chief opposer. "There is no doubt that the defendant is guilty of
committing the crimes." Adama looked away for a centon. "I'm just not sure
if he should be condemned…"

Solon eyed the commander. "Sire, what do you mean…?"

Adama turned towards Solon again. "The defendant is just as much innocent
as he is guilty."

"I don't understand." Solon's face was puzzled.

Adama smiled, melancholically. "You will."

* * *

"Don't switch off the light, please." Lomas didn't turn to look at the
guard.

The officer hesitated. Then he shrugged and left the light on as he stepped
out of the room.

Lomas heard the guard locking the door and then walking away down the
corridor as the footsteps gradually died down. Lomas was now alone in one
of the guest quarters of the Galactica gamma sector. Alone? Oh no. Not at
all.

Astral was there. Sitting on the floor, opposite the bunk, silently looking
at Lomas. The angel looked more beautiful than ever. His blond, curly hair
fell softly to the shoulders and the immense, green jewel-eyes were a
gateway to heavens.

Cree was there too, pacing around the room, telling nervous jokes, trying
to make Lomas, and himself, forget that they were being locked inside a
small room.

Lomas just had to smile. That was just so typical pre-reborn Cree.

Cree the somewhat annoying. Cree the foolishly moving.

Starbuck was standing by the window, grinning at Lomas. "Now what, brother.
Any plans?"

Lomas glared at Starbuck. Why was the man in this room now. He wasn't
supposed to be here.

"I always desired you, Lomas. I should never have let you slip away."
Apollo was leaning against the wall.

Lomas smiled. "I don't want you Apollo. You are nothingness."

Lomas sat down on the side of the bunk. He looked around to see the others
but the room was empty.

* * *

Boomer fetched the rucksacks and all other bags from the largest closet.
Then he walked to the bedroom wardrobe, opened it and took out all his
clothes, placing them on the bunk. The military uniforms were the ones to
remain on top of the pile of clothes. Boomer stared at the uniforms for a
long time.

After what must have been more than ten centons, Boomer started folding the
clothes and putting them into the bags, one by one. Very slowly, very
carefully, like reliving a memory with each garment.

He packed the uniforms in separate bags than the civilian clothes. Boomer
detached the colonial and military insigniasfrom the uniforms and placed
tham into the bag pockets. The communicators and all other equipment
belonging to the Galactica he lay on top of the uniforms. One more thing to
do. Boomer unbuckled his belt, took the laser gun out of the holster and
placed the weapon on the bunk. Slowly he folded the belt and put in in the
bag.

Boomer's eyes lingered to the gun. It remained on the bunk. Boomer didn't
want to touch it. He turned, walked to a chair in the corner of the bedroom
and sat down to stare at the gun on the bed. It had saved his life so many
times. Was it now time to give back?

* * *

Astral was lying on the bunk with his arms under his head, staring at the
ceiling. He felt numb. Totally numb. Astral knew the numbness would be only
temporary. Soon would arrive the anger, the disappointment, even sadness.
But most of all, disgust. Lomas had seemed so… so… For sagan's sake, so
anything, but not the monster he was claimed to be.

Astral had to admit to himself that he had become fascinated by the man. He
had even considered delving into a relationship with Lomas, even though the
piscenian religion forbid all physical interaction. Not that Astral would
have really given a frack about the religion stuff. It was the older
generation that took it more seriously and still tried to live like the
religious rules demanded. And that was mostly eyewashing too. Astral, as
all the other young adults on the Piscean knew better. Nobody lived under
those rules nowadays.

Astral imagination created figures on the metallic ceiling. He saw clouds,
unicorns, moons… And he saw Lomas' face. Astral stared into the pale,
tranquil eyes. They were whispering to him. He tried not to hear what those
eyes were saying. Lomas' lips were smiling. They were inviting Astral to
enter the eyes.

Damn it! Why did he ever have to meet Lomas in the first place!

Well, Astral sure wasn't going to let the man influence his life any more.
No way. He would never want to see Lomas again for the rest of his life…

Okay. After the judicial hearing tomorrow Astral would never want to see
Lomas again. Not ever. Absolutely not.

By accident Astral happened to glance at the timepiece on the bedside
table. Felgercarb, it was already way past time to drag oneself to a the
centar of prayer. With a grimace Astral shot up from the bunk. Frack! The
last thing he wanted to do right now was to listen to the sermon master's
manic preaching and try to hide from the still agitated acolytes.

Astral opened the bedroom closet and pulled out the shabby cape of penance.
Even the sight of it made him want to crawl back to bed. Astral reluctantly
put the cape on and glanced at his reflection. He looked like a 6 foot
dwarf from the Tales of Seven Enchanted Forests. Astral leaned closer to
the mirror. Damn, there were dark bags under his eyes and his hair was a
shaggy mess. Great. Oh well. Perhaps if he showed up to the holy assembly
looking like a daggit, the sermon master would probably find something more
interesting to concentrate in.

Astral hastily grabbed the book of prayers from the top of the dresser and
dashed out of the room.

***

"What do you want to drink?" Starbuck eyed Apollo.

"I don't know… ummm… I'll have a cup of parbon juice. It goes better with
the ambrata than grog." Apollo folded the menu and handed it over to the
waiter.

Starbuck did the same, eyeing the waiter. Umm, yes. Bring us two ambratas
with onions and peperato. Plus one cup of parbon juice and a cup of grog."

"Yes, lieutenant." The waiter left Apollo and Starbuck sitting at the table
together alone.

Apollo picked up the fork beside his plate and started poking holes in his
piece of bred. (Yes, it really was spelled that way on Caprica.) "I know
you're going to sigh out with agony when you hear this, but…" Apollo's eyes
were on the bred as he kept poking it.

"I'm already agonized from watching you abusing that poor thing." Starbuck
grinned.

Apollo smiled. He looked at Starbuck. "When you were in the forbidden
city…"

"Oh lords in heavens!" Starbuck buried his face into his palms.

"… You told me that you had distorted memories." Apollo kept his eyes on
Starbuck. "I know it's none of my business, but I'm dying of curiosity…"

"Apollo…" Starbuck frowned. "You are ruining my appetite…"

"Please Starbuck, please tell me what memories you had." Apollo's leant
closer.

Starbuck sighed resignedly. All right. But I refuse to describe the
distortions."

"Fine by me." Apollo grinned. "I'm just curious about the memories…"

"One was about being lost in the forest after the cylons raded Cyrannus…"

"Go on." Apollo was listening.

"Then I remembered when I was sneaking into the orphanage primaries storage
and one of the instructionesses caught me…" Starbuck grinned.

"What happened?" Apollo was smiling.

"Hey, I told you I wouldn't talk about the distortions…"

"No, I mean. What happened in real life?" Apollo grinned. "Did you get
spanked?"

Starbuck smiled. "Nope. The instructioness let me off the hook. She was
kinda nice…"

"You devil. You always wrapped everyone around your finger, didn't you."
Apollo's eyes were amused.

"Not everyone." Starbuck grinned.

"Any other memories?" Apollo kept his eyes on Starbuck.

"Yeah. One that I'd rather forget." Starbuck didn't want to talk about this
one. "It was the moment when I heard about the distruction of the
colonies."

"I'm sorry." Apollo said softly.

"Can we stop talking about this now?" Starbuck glanced at Apollo. "This is
not one of my favourite subjects…"

"Okay, if you want to." Apollo concented. "Sagan, those ambratas take long
to be prepaired…"

Hey, there's one more!" Starbuck smiled.

"Huh?" Apollo lifted his eyes.

"I memorized about one of the summers in Ottawan."

"Really?" Apollo remembered that place oh so well. "Which summer?"

Starbuck paused. He looked at Apollo in the eyes. "Do you remember Vega…"

"Of course. Wasn't he the one making up all those stories about…"

"I saw him in the memory." Starbuck's eyes stared into the past for a
centon. "I guess I should tell you something Apollo..."

"You had a crush on Vega." Apollo smiled.

"How in the frack do you know?…" Starbuck's jaw dropped.

"Come on Starbuck." Apollo was grinning. "It was written all over you."

"Great." Starbuck blushed.

Apollo's eyes were very amused by Starbuck's abashment. "What do you think
happened to Vega by the way?" Apollo pondered. "We haven't seen him in
yahrens…"

"Oh, he was probably killed in the distruction of the colonies." Starbuck
was still blushed. "Can we talk about something else…"

Apollo kept his eyes on Starbuck for a long time. "Do you think Cassiopeia
will ever recover?"

"You sure know how to pick a subject." Starbuck raised one eyebrow.
"Jeeez…." Starbuck's face grew serious. "To be honest…" Starbuck replied.
"I think it's very likely that she will die."

"What happened to optimism?" Apollo raised one eyebrow.

"It was replaced by realism. "Starbuck smiled. A sad smile. "And even if
Cassiopeia did regain consciousness…" Starbuck spoke. "She would almost
definitely wake up a vegetable." Starbuck hesitated for a micron. He looked
into Apollo's eyes. "I really really hate to say this, but I think it would
be a lot better if she did die…"

"You guys look cheerful."

Jolly was standing by the table, grinning.

"Hey Starbuck, I think Boomer has something important he wants to talk to
you about."

Starbuck eyed Jolly, curious. "What? Why couldn't he come here…?"

"Hey, don't ask me!" Jolly shrugged. "I'm just the messanger boy here."

Starbuck grinned. "All right. I better go and see what Boomer wants."
Starbuck arose from the chair. He bent a little towards Apollo and gave him
a kiss on the lips. "Don't eat my ambrata while I'm gone…"

Apollo smile was wide. "You better hurry back then."

"I love you." Starbuck whispered into Apollo's ear. Then he left to meet
Boomer.

* * *

Lomas laid down on the bunk and doubled up to foetal position. He kept his
eyes open and stared at the wall. "Cree, I don't feel too good…" Lomas
mumbled.

"What's the matter, Lomas?" Cree was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I'm… I don't know. My stomach hurts." Lomas whispered. "I don't think I
can move."

"Nonsense." Cree put his hand on Lomas' shoulder. "You have just eaten too
many mushies for dinner."

"Cree, why are you wearing white?" Lomas looked up, confused. "Where did
Astral go?"

Cree smiled. "Close your eyes now Lomas. You should get some sleep." Cree
arose from the bedside. "Shall I turn out the light?"

"No, not the light. Please." Lomas narrowed his eyes to try to see Cree
better. The boy was a mere blur. "Cree?"

"I'm right here."

"I feel sick…" Lomas rested his head on the pillow again. "I want to fade
away…"

"Yes, Lomas. I know." Cree sighed sympathetically. "But you can't."

"I hate, Cree. I… hate myself." Lomas was tired of speaking. He was tired
of awareness.

"Yes, occationally you do." Cree replied with patience.

Lomas pressed his forehead against the cold metal surface of the wall. "It
will never be over, Cree." Lomas' voice was now almost unaudible.

"What's that?" Cree lifted one eyebrow.

"Emptiness." Lomas closed his eyes. "I want to be the wind, Cree. Please,
help me be the wind."

"It's getting really late, Lomas. "Cree glanced at his timepiece. "You
should definately get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a tough day with
all the judicial felgercarb. You need strength."

Lomas didn't answer.

"You just get some sleep." Cree grinned encouragingly. "Soon the new day
will arise and all these night-time shadows will vanish. You'll see…"

"That's where you are wrong, Cree." Lomas said quietly.

"They never do."

* * *

Starbuck knocked.

"It's not locked." Boomer's voice shouted from inside the quarters.

Starbuck pushed the door open and stepped in. "Hey buddy." He smiled.
"What's up?"

"Hello Starbuck.". Boomer was standing by the window.

"What's going on here?" Starbuck stared at the rucksacks on the floor,
stunned. "Are we supposed to go on patrol?…"

"I did some thinking…" Boomer started.

"Oh no…" Starbuck grimaced. "This doesn't sound promising."

Boomer could resist a smile. "Will you shut up for a centon. I'm trying to
be serious here."

"All right." Starbuck said. "Go on."

Boomer looked at Starbuck for a while without saying anything. Then he
spoke. "Things have to change, Starbuck. I'm not alive."

"What felgercarb are you letting out of your mouth. What are you then, a
ghost?"

"I'm very serious." Boomer wasn't smiling. "I haven't lived for so long I
don't remember what it is like. But…"

Starbuck kept his eyes on Boomer. "Hey, come on…"

"Please, let me finish before you say anything, okay?" Boomer's eyes
pleaded. "I didn't invite you here because I wanted to talk about my
so-called life." Boomer continued. "I asked you here because I..." Boomer
turned to look out of the window. "I never stopped loving you Starbuck. And
it is destroying me to stand aside and watch you with Apollo…"

"Boomer…" Starbuck said quietly.

"Please, let me finish." Boomer was looking at the stars far away. "Cree's
death really affected me. I didn't love Cree, but he was someone dear. And
he was so… alive." Boomer turned but his eyes were still avoiding Starbuck.
"I thought about ending my life, Starbuck."

Starbuck gasped.

"I don't know whether I'm too weak or much stronger than I have realized,
but I couldn't go through with it."

"Thank the sagans for that…" Starbuck's eyes were horrified.

"But I can't stay on the Galactica any more." Boomer lited his eyes. "I'm
giving up my career as a military officer, a lieutenant and a pilot in the
blue squadron."

"You can't be serious…" Starbuck couldn't believe his ears.

"I'm very serious." Boomer spoke. "I'm giving up my quarters on the
Galactica."

"For lords' sakes, where would you be placed?"

"I have applied for one of the available quarters on the Rising Star."
Boomer replied. And I have a good chance in getting it…"

"Boomer, you can't give up the military!"

Boomer's eyes were on Starbuck. "I already have another occupation…"

Starbuck stared at Boomer. "What? Where? When?…"

"I'll be working on the Rising Star…" Boomer smiled for the first time
during the conversation. "…as a stripper."

"Boomer, for heaven's sake!" Starbuck had never heard anything so
ridiculous in his whole life. "You are pulling my leg aren't you."

Boomer smiled. "No Starbuck. I'm very serious. I'll start work in 48
centars."

"You are insane, Boomer." Starbuck didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Don't you know what goes on behind the Rising Star stripping scene…"

"I'm very aware of the socialating business." Boomer kept his eyes on
Starbuck. "Because I have agreed to become one of those socialators…"

"What??" Starbuck stared at Boomer. This couldn't be happening. This had to
be a joke.

"I'm tired of my loneliness." Boomer spoke. "I have given in to the fact
that I will never be loved the way I would hope to. I will never be in a
proper relationship. I will always be filled with emptiness. And I will
always be hurting because of you, Starbuck." Boomer walked closer. "I want
closeness, Starbuck. In any way I can get it." Boomer smiled
melancholically. "I'm tired of being lonely."

"For sagan's sake you fool." Starbuck was angry. "How can you possibly
claim such things…"

"I knew you wouldn't understand." Boomer said quietly. "But you will.
Perhaps. One day."

"Boomer I love you. Not like you want me to, but I still do." Starbuck just
had to do something. He made a move to pull Boomer closer into a hug but
the dark man didn't want to be touched. He turned and walked to the window.
"Sagan Boomer!" Starbuck stormed. "You are an indispensible, dear friend.
My goddamn brother. Why is it so fracking hard to see that there are so
many people who love you unconditionally…" "Because I don't love myself,
Starbuck." Boomer smiled.

* * *

The planet Probability was no longer in view. The fleet had moved 29 point
3 degrees west to avoid any possibility of a syflon hazard.

Rigel turned to glance at Omega. "We have been hovering still for 26
centars now. Is there something wrong with any of the ships?"

Omega took off his headphone. "No Rigel. According to the main surveillance
data and all the ships' captains, everything should be in perfect order."

Rigel kept her puzzled eyes on the bridge operations co-ordinator. "Then
why are we in the state of stagnation? Has the commander informed you of
any deviation of normality?

Omega was quiet for a centon while he was checking the readings of the
solium storage radiation.

"Well?" Rigel raised one eyebrow.

Omega looked at her. "Commander Adama has asked the operations division of
every ship to hold their position until further notice."

"Why?" Rigel was amazed.

Omega shrugged.

"But this is absurd!" Rigel ejaculated. "The fleet is currently in a very
negative situation if one considers the vulnerability and exposure to
possible hostility…"

Omega was back to concentrating on the radiation readings on the computer
screen. "I'm sure commander Adama has his reasons…" Omega mumbled
absent-mindedly.

"Yeah, sure." Rigel snarled. "Has everyone on this fleet gone completely
insane in the past three sectars… What if the cylons… What if the army of
the black queen attacks! Probability is hardly a stone's throw away from us
for lords' sakes…"

Omega wasn't really listening. "Hey Rigel, why don't you go and get a cup
of coffee from the officers' club. They have great tulipian buds today.
Real fresh…"

Rigel sighed. "I must be the only reasonable human being left on this
battlestar. I should be the commander of the damn fleet…"

* * *

Starbuck's head was spinning as he left Boomer's quarters and headed
towards the officers' club. He had lost all appetite. By all means, Apollo
can eat both of the ambratas…

For sagan's sake Boomer had lost his mind. Starbuck couldn't let that
daggit do such a terrible mistake. There had to be some way to turn
Boomer's head around and talk some sense into him…

Someone was approaching Starbuck in the corridor. Starbuck sure wasn't in
the mood to talk felgercarb to anyone. He hoped the person approaching him
would be some freshly trained ensign or a cadet whom he didn't know and
wouldn't have to deal with. Starbuck lifted his eyes. And his jaw dropped
all the way to the floor.

"Hello Starbuck." Doctor Salik greeted. "Nice to see that you have returned
safely."

"What?… How?… Frack!" Starbuck almost stumbled on his own feet. God damn
it! Starbuck could easily take all the black queens, all the Baltars and
the Lomases and other crackpots. For sagan's sake Starbuck could even
handle it if he turned into a big, fat boray. But seeing doctor Salik in a
corridor, in flesh and blood, resurrected from the death was definitely a
little too much to handle!! "Salik?" Starbuck kept opening his mouth but
only a little peep came out.

"Hello Starbuck." Doctor Wilker appeared behind the corner of the hallway.
"I see you've already met the new, improved doctor Salik."

"Wilker…" Starbuck was peeping. "Don't you dare claim that you have some
special abilities that you have kept hidden, because I will find it very
hard to believe…" Starbuck glanced at Salik. "Or then again, maybe not so
hard…"

Wilker laughed out loud. "What? The power to bring the dead to life. By
heavens. No, of course not." Wilker eyed Starbuck extremely amused. "No,
no, no, no, no. By lords no. This is not the doctor Salik. This is a doctor
Salik. Starbuck, meet doctor Salik, the android." Wilker grinned. "He's a
robot, Starbuck. Just like Muffit."

With disbelief Starbuck stared at Salik the android. "Well, you sure could
have fooled me! He looks even more like doctor Salik than the real one…"

Wilker laughed.

Starbuck raised his eyebrows and looked at Wilker. "But why?"

"I could not possibly handle all the doctoring business on the Galactica on
my own…" Wilker replied.

"Then why didn't you just employ and train up a new doctor…?" Starbuck
asked, stunned.

Wilker smiled. "I guess I just got sort of used to my old buddy…"

* * *

Lomas jolted awake. "Cree?" For a centon Lomas had no idea where he was.
"Cree, are you still here?" It hurt to speak. Lomas' throat felt like
sandpaper.

Cree approached the bed. "I'm always with you."

Lomas shielded his eyes from the hurting, bright light in the room which
made his head pound with stabbing pain. "Cree, I saw something I couldn't
comprehend."

"What did you see?" Cree was still dressed in white and seemed to glimmer
in the light of the room.

"You were lying on the floor, Cree. Bleeding. You were dying…"

"Only one of the dark dreams, Lomas." Cree smiled. "Go back to sleep."

"Cree…" Lomas suddenly took a hold of Cree's wrist. "You are behind veils…"

"No, Lomas. It's only moonsilver." Cree's voice was far away.

"Moonsilver…" Lomas closed his eyes for a centon. He saw. Baltar holding a
gun. A sound. Cree diving in front of Lomas. A cry. Blood bursting out of
Cree's chest. Blood smearing Lomas' tunic. Cree slowly falling to the
floor. Pleads. Silence.

"Moonsilver…" Lomas whispered.

* * *

Starbuck was shaking his head as he entered the officers' club. Starbuck
walked straight to the table where Apollo was sitting. He grabbed a chair,
sat down and took a centon to slowly breathe out. Then he looked at Apollo.
"Hold onto your chair buddy." Starbuck rolled his eyes. "Boy, do I have
some news for you…"

* * *

"Xavier, would you come into my office for a centon..." The head of the
sagittarian doctor with thick eyeglasses peeked from the doorway for a
micron and then disappeared.

"What's up?" Xavier, one of the doctor's assistant strolled into the room.

"I trust you have read the notice about one of our former patients being
taken to court tomorrow."

"Sure." Xavier took a chair and sat down. " Corporal Lomas. I remember him.
Quite a character."

The doctor eyed Xavier. "In tomorrow's proceedings, Lomas is without any
doubt found guilty. There is enough evidence to condemn him." The doctor
corrected the position of his eyeglasses. "So I figured that the judicial
hearing is obviously held because of trying to decide whether the defendant
will be placed on the prison barge or here on the Sagittarian…"

"Yes…" Xavier waited for the doctor to continue.

"…And I am quite positive that Lomas will be re-placed here." The doctor
finished the sentence. "But as you know, the Sagittarian is already
overcrowded as it is." The doctor sighed. "So we need to come up with a
locating solution."

Xavier thought for a centon. "Can the guy be placed in one of the dorms?"

"No, I don't think so." The doctor replied. "He's kind of a special case."

"But we don't have any private chambers available…" Xavier eyed the doctor.

"Exactly." The doctor prolonged the word. "So, the only choice is to place
Lomas in a chamber with another patient…"

Xavier kept his eyes on the doctor. "Okay, but which one? This is going to
cause problems…"

"Not necessarily…" The doctor smiled vaguely. "The patient in chamber seven
in sector three…"

"The silent one." Xavier nodded.

"Yes. How long has he been on the Sagittarian?"

"He was brought here almost immediately after the distruction of…" Xavier
replied thoughtfully. "I think it had something to do with… oh damn. I
can't remember…"

"So, what do you think? Could we place Lomas with the silent one…" The
doctor eyed Xavier.

"well, I don't see why not." Xavier replied truthfully.

"Good. I'll summon the board of psymed-doctors and take up this solution."
The doctor smiled. "But I need a recommendation from one of my assistants.
Would you…?"

"Of course." Xavier smiled. "I think the silent one is the perfect choice…"

* * *

Centars later. Very late at night. The corridors of the Galactica were
deserted.

Corporal Antoniel yawned. He had returned to the Galactica from the Rising
Star by the last shuttle before mornng cycle. The vehicle had been almost
empty. A couple of ambrosa-giddy wing sergeants had kept Antoniel company
telling him dopey jokes all the way to the battlestar. Thank sagans the
flight had only lasted about seventeen centons. There's never much shuttle
traffic at this time of sleep cycle.

It had been kinda slow night. Well, actually, it was never slow on the
Star, but corporal Antoniel hadn't really felt like partying tonight. No
reason, just too many duty shifts during the last two sectons. Too much
work and no play sure had made Jack a dull boy, to quote one famous
caprican horror novelist.

Antoniel dug into his pockets for the key. He yawned again. Tomorrow would
be an off-duty day so lords help the person who might happen to interrupt
him too early in the morning. Tomorrow would be dedicated to complete and
utter laziness.

A sound.

Antoniel instinctively turned to take a worried look behind. The corridor
was empty. Well of course it was empty. For sagan's sake, was he ever going
to grow out of his dopey fear for dark places.

Two more corridors to go. In his mind Antoniel was already seeing the soft,
inviting bunk awaiting in his quarters. A song of the Tucanas, the one that
had been playing on the Star just before Antoniel had left, kept playing in
his head now and made him hum along. Catchy tune! Perhaps Antoniel should
buy the album…

A loud thump.

Antoniel's heart leaped two hectares and quickly he turned. This time he
hadn't been mistaken. There was someone else in one of the nearby
corridors.

Antoniel kept his wary eyes on the hallway behind but he didn't see anyone
appearing from behind any corner. The corridors were completely silent.
Sagan damn it. If there was someone in one of the hallways, why for
felgercarb's sake did that person remain still and quiet now.

Footsteps.

Frack! Antoniel didn't hesitate. He turned and started loping down the
hallway as fast as he could. The soft footsteps from behind hastened.
Jeeez. Antoniel started running. The footsteps started running too. Shit!
There was someone coming after him. Fast.

Antoniel noticed that the door to the beta sector cleaning storage was
ajar. He couldn't believe the luck. Heart thumping Antoniel turned to take
a hasty glance behind. There wasn't anyone else in the corridor yet. Thank
you sagan! Antoniel flew to the storage room door, pulled it open and slid
inside. Softly he closed the door and prayed that it would lock
automatically. The damn thing didn't. The lock was broken. The
felgercarbing door remained ajar.

Through the little gap Antoniel saw a dark figure appearing into the
corridor. The figure halted. It remained still now, looking around the
hallway, listening. Antoniel held his breath. Microns lasted milleniums.

Suddenly the figure turned. Swiftly, it returned to the direction where it
had come from, soon disappering behind the corner. Antoniel closed his
eyes.

For at least ten centons Antoniel remained crouching by the storage
doorway, eyes closed, afraid to move. What if the strange person was still
lurking behind that corner… What if it had crept back while Antoniel had
not been looking and was waiting behind the storage room door.

Quietly Antoniel arose to his feet. He took a careful look through the
doorway gap. The corridor seemed to be empty. Antoniel took a deep breath
and gently pushed the door a little more open. Nothing happened. He wasn't
suddenly attacked and strangled to death. No strange beings jumped on him
and kicked him in the cojones.

Okay, here we go. Antoniel opened the door and stepped warily into the dark
corridor. He felt a little current of air in the back of his neck. A warm
current. Slowly, like in a nightmare, Antoniel turned. And he saw the
person. So close to him.

Oh sagan, that smile… Those eyes…Antoniel had never before seen anything
alike. And then he realized what the person was holding in the hand.
Antoniel screamed… But only for a micron before his head was cut in half.

***

Chapter 23

Morning.

Lomas' eyes followed chief opposer Solon entering the judicial chamber and
walking towards the court cathedras.

Fleet commander Adama, who was to be the judge in today's judicial
proceedings, greeted the opposer and then eyed the audience in the chamber
en passant.

The chamber was beginning to get packed. Perhaps it was time to start
reducing the amount of people allowed to take part in the hearing.

The judicial proceedings were very seldom prohibited from the public, and
this case was no different. But due to the surprisingly immense public
attraction concentrating on the murder on the Galactica, guards had been
placed around the chamber and in the doorways to keep an eye on the
situation.

Lomas eyes wondered around the hall too. He noticed several intrigued
glances rapidly being turned away when Lomas' eyes met them. Few
individuals were courageous enough to meet Lomas' gaze and smile at him.
One of those few was the piscenian waitress with big mouth. Lomas smiled
back at her but the smile wasn't pleasant.

Starbuck was there, looking like he'd rather be somewhere else. He was
sitting beside Apollo and Boomer, playing with a box of matches and
jiggling his leg.

Lomas noted how Apollo raised one eyebrow and took a hold of Starbuck's
wrist saying something. Starbuck started looking even more agonized.

Lomas smiled. He could almost hear the conversation in his mind.

Starbuck the impulsive, and at this moment obviously a very bored, daggit
and Apollo the always so sensible captain. What a pair.

Lomas eyed Boomer for a centon. The man looked absent-minded and oblivious
to what was going on around him. Lomas was kind of surprised to see Boomer
present in the hearing.They had never been acquainted that well. Although
they had shared centars in the near launching bay duty quarters in the
past, they had never really payed any attention to each other. So why was
the guy here now? Oh of course, Lomas realized. His buddies were present,
that's why. Lomas knew so well that Boomer would probably follow Starbuck
and Apollo to the edge of the universe, so why not to a meaningless
judicial hearing. Lomas sighed empathically. A daggit in a leash…

Lomas' indifferent gaze lingered on to Nano, the whiny-voiced man who had
made the arrest. By heavens the bloke looked ridiculous. Casting
self-conceited glances and brash smiles at Lomas like some kind of a
self-illusioned high and mighty geminian GFX-agent. Lomas leered. He winked
at the man.

Nano's face darkened and the brashness turned to hatred.

Lomas grinned. Then he noticed the angel.

Astral quickly turned his eyes away the very moment Lomas looked at him.
Damn it. Astral hands started twiching nervously on his lap. He felt Lomas'
stare burning the right side of his face but Astral carefully kept his eyes
at the cathedras in front of the judicial chamber to avoid the slightest
eye-contact with Lomas.

Lomas kept his pleading eyes on Astral for a long time. He couldn't
understand. Why was the angel consciously avoiding his eyes. It made no
sense. Surely the angel didn't believe the mad felgercarb about Lomas'
being guilty of something ridiculous like murder… Naah, of course not. The
angel trusted Lomas. They were togetherness. But, despite this conviction,
Lomas felt like his heart was suddenly clutched by abysmal coldness.
Impenetrable darkness.

Someone touched Lomas' hand.

Cree smiled. "Don't worry. I will be with you."

"We are ready to proceed." Adama spoke.

The hum of voices in the chamber silenced and everyone present turned their
awaiting eyes towards the judge podium.

"Please keep in mind that this is an official hearing. A person causing
disruption will be immediately removed from the chamber." Adama's voice was
cautionary. "And anyone who wishes to put forward circumstantial evidence
concerning the subject of this proceeding, must await to be properly
addressed."

Adama eyed on the audience for a couple of centons and then sat down on the
judge's cathedra, placed on the highest podium. "Please be seated." The
trial councel stated.

There was a little clatter as the participants in the audience took their
seats.

Chief opposer Solon walked to the front of the chamber. "Corporal Lomas."
He began. "You are accused of intentionally murdering a Galactican computer
co-ordinator." Solon's piercing, dark eyes were at Lomas. "Is there
anything you wish to say before I begin the interrogation."

Lomas stood up. He was surprised to notice that his hands were actually
trembling. "I'm innocent, opposer." Lomas unflinchingly looked at Solon and
the others present in the jury. His eyes were honest. A little tumult of
voices arose.

"Quiet, please." Solon irritably glanced at audience. Then he turned his
eyes back on the defendant. "Corporal Lomas. Are you aware that there is
hard evedence pointing out that you did kill the co-ordinator. The control
center surveillance equipment recorded your manouvres that day and the
records show clearly that you were present in the control center and
proceeded to kill an innocent youth."

Lomas stared at Solon, suddenly frightened. "I don't understand…" He
noticed Cree's sympathetic eyes looking at him. Cree, baby. Please help me,
Lomas' eyes prayed.

Cree put his hand on top of Lomas' and smiled encouragingly. "Everything
will be all right, Lomas." Cree whispered. "I'm here with you. Nothing bad
will happen. You need to trust me."

I trust you Cree. Lomas closed his eyes for a micron. Show me the way.

"Corporal Lomas." Solon spoke. "Would you come down to the front of the
chamber and place your hand on the Holy Book of Kobol."

Lomas walked to the front, placed his hand on the book and repeated the
kobollian oath of honesty after chief opposer Solon. Then he walked to a
silver-coloured chair that was placed opposite the jury's cathedras and sat
down.

Solon approached Lomas, not taking his eyes off the the man. "Let me repeat
what the data states." Solon spoke, eyeing the papers on his hand. "You
have gone through psychological treatment on the Sagittarian, after which
you were placed on the Piscean." Solon lifted his eyes. "Is this correct?"

"Yes." Lomas replied warily.

Solon kept his thoughtful eyes on Lomas for a centon and then continued.
"On the Piscean, according to few unfocused statements, your condition
deteriorated." Solon glanced up. He took off his reading glasses and
continued speaking without looking at the data on the papers. "For a reason
which we can only suspect had something to do with co-ordinates…" Solon
kept his eyes on Lomas. "…You sneaked onto the Galactica, trespassed into
the control center and killed a computer co-ordinator, whom you obviously
considered to be a dangerous witness to something you were planning."

"Objection!" The chief advocate Michel raised his hand. "The opposer is
speculating!"

Objection overruled." Adama stated. "The surveillance records show clearly
that the defendant proceeded to go forward with the killing."

"No… That's not true…" Lomas' eyes were wide. "I have never…"

"You are not allowed to speak." Adama warned.

"Then, if the evidence is condemning, why are we here..?" Advocate Michel
shrugged.

"Every accused person is entitled to a judicial hearing. And in this case
the main goal is to find out whether the defendant committed the crimes
intentionally or under a state of mental disturbance."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that during this hearing it will be decided whether the defendant
should be sentanced to the prison barge, or placed on the Sagittarian for
psychological treatment."

"I understand." Chief advocate Michel took a seat.

Adama looked at opposer Solon. "You may continue."

Solon approached Lomas. "For some reason you returned to the Piscean, on
where you stole the ship's commander's shuttle. Then, according to the
statements from lieutenant Starbuck, you confronted Baltar and as a result
of that confrontation, cadet Cree died."

"What??" Lomas stared at Solon, confused. "No, you are wrong…"

"After the confrontation you stole lieutenant Starbuck's viper and
unlicensedly used his identity code to land on the Piscean…"

"This is all felgercarb!!" Lomas suddenly shot up. "Yes, I stole the
shuttle of some old piscenian goat and nicked Starbuck's sagan forsaken
viper. Yeah, I admit to using Starbuck's name and identity code when
landing on a ship full of complete idiots. Big deal!…"

Gasp in the audience.

"I'm warning you corporal…" Adama eyed Lomas.

"…But all this felgercarb about killing a co-ordinator… It's absurd!!!" The
lights in the chamber made Lomas' eyes hurt and the back of his head was
beginning to ache. "And all this idiocy about cadet Cree" Lomas' tried to
ignore the flickering of the fluorescent lights. "How can you say he's dead
when he is sitting right there amongst you…"

A tumult of voices. A shudder brushed over the audience.

"Silence in the chamber!" Adama raised his voice. "Silence!"

Solon turned towards the audience. "Liutenant Starbuck. You claimed that
Cadet Cree was shot by Baltar when trying to save the life of corporal
Lomas…"

"Isn't it rather obvious that someone is dying when it happens right in
front of you!" Starbuck rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he had just
been asked this question. "And if you need further reassurance, then may I
suggest that you talk to doctor Wilker. He was there to take Cree's body
right after I had landed on the Galactica…"

Lomas paled. He turned to stare at Starbuck. An unflinching, piercing
stare.

"Corporal Lomas, how do you explain this statement?"

Lomas didn't hear.

"Corporal Lomas…" Solon approached the chair.

Lomas turned his eyes. He was smiling. "Corporal Lomas isn't here at the
moment. Can I take a message?"

Stunned silence in the audience.

"Oh heavens. His personality just changed!" The pisceanian waitress
whispered excitedly to the person sitting next to her. "This is horrible…"

Chief opposer Solon kept his wary eyes on Lomas. "Who am I addressing right
now?"

Lomas smiled. "Well, the president, of course!" He winked.

Solon's face darkened with anger.

Lomas laughed. "Jeeez you guys are easily fooled. Who did you think I'd be.
Sagan?"

"This is not the place for dumb jokes, corporal."

"Who's joking?" Lomas grinned. He stood up. "May I say a few words here…"

"This is an outrage…" Solon puffed.

Lomas stood up. He walked away from the cathedras and approached the
audience.

"You guys think I have some kind of schitzophrenic multiple personality
disorder. Well, let me correct your false views." Lomas halted in front of
the first rows of the audience. "I am not at all what you fools think.
"Lomas eyed the crowd. "I'm different." He smiled. "I'm above you, but you
cannot comprehend my existence because on your level…" Lomas paused. He saw
Astral's angelic face amonst the other faces, meaningless ones. "You an I
are one." Lomas' smile turned pained. "Please don't let nothingness pull
you away from where you exist."

Astral blushed as people in the crowd turned to look at him, curiously.
"Lomas, shut up…" Astral hissed through clenched teeth, causing even more
curious glances being turned towards him.

"Please Astral, become." Lomas spoke, forlornly. "Because only then I can
become."

Lords! Astral wanted the ground to swallow him this micron. He closed his
eyes and tried to be invisible.

"I do not only love you, Astral." Lomas eyes were so immense. "I exist in
your presence. That is when I'm created."

Astral covered his face with his hands. This was horrible…

The pisceanian waitress' head was craning higher than all the other heads
in the crowd. She didn't want to miss a centon of this development. This
sure did beat the IFB's day-cycle soap operas...

"Astral, I want to tell you about heartshine, starbeams, lakes of silver,
moments of eternity…" Lomas suddenly fell silent. His puzzled gaze swept
over the audience. "Cree?" He asked, confused.

"I'm here, master." Cree was beside Lomas, smiling tenderly.

Lomas turned towards the boy and extended his hand. "Take me to the
rivers…"

"I can't watch this felgercarb any more…" Starbuck stood up and tried to
detach Apollo's hand that had tightly grabbed a hold of him.

"For heaven's sake Starbuck, sit down and act like a man of your age
should…" Apollo's voice was irritated. "You can't leave now, damn it. You
are expected to give a statement in half a centar…"

"They won't need my statement." Starbuck replied. "They will soon see
everything with their own eyes." Starbuck glanced at Lomas. "I've seen him
changing before and I'm not looking forward to seeing it again."

"What do you mean changing?" Apollo kept a hold on Starbuck's arm. "He's
just acting because he enjoys to annoy people."

"No, Apollo." Starbuck answered.

And then they heard the cry.

Lomas dashed to the east-side wall of the chamber and started banging his
forehead against the metal, so hard that blood was soon running down his
face. Lomas' scream was like the one of a wounded wild animal.
Hair-raising, so heartbreaking. And he kept tearing his hair with his
nails.

A guard got a hold of Lomas from behind and tried to keep the man still
while shouting for help.

Lomas fought himself free from the grip and threw himself against the wall.

Astral tried desperately to cover his ears with his hands so he wouldn't
hear Lomas' penetrating screams. By lords, the man's beautiful face was all
covered in blood now. Astral felt sick. He could hardly bare to watch
bloody scenes in the IFB movies and now this!! Sagan how he wanted to run
out of the chamber and forget that a person called Lomas had ever existed,
but all Astral could do was to stare at the man being empowered by
something horrifying and uncomprehendible.

Suddenly complete silence. Lomas fell to the floor.

Everyone in the chamber remained paralyzed for centons.

"Sagan damn it!" Starbuck roared. "Get him now that he's unconscious!!! Tie
his arms!!"

Three guards hesitantly started towards Lomas. One of them was pulling
handcuffs out from his back pocket.

"Too late." Lomas opened his eyes and grinned.

Like a lupus he shot up from the floor and attacked the guards.

Starbuck grimaced. He remembered too well the horrible strength Lomas had
when he believed in it.

Lomas kicked one of guards in the cojones and the guard bent over with a
yelp. Lomas quickly grabbed the laser gun from the guard's holster and
pointed the gun at the two other approaching guards. "Stop right there, my
friends." Lomas smiled. "The party's over."

The guards halted.

Lomas took his time walking around the two men, pointing the gun at them
the whole time.

"Do you eat you parbon berries with whipped cream?" Lomas grinned. "Oh you
should! That's the second important lesson my father ever taught me." Lomas
eyed the guards with mischief. "The first one? " Lomas smiled. "You should
never trust a man who talks about parbon berries."

Lomas fired.

The two guards fell. They were already dead even before they hit the floor.

People in the audience started screaming their lungs out and most of them
dived on the floor to take any kind of shelter from more possible firing.

Grinning, Lomas aimed the gun towards the audience. "What's the matter? Did
someone's wallet just fall apart? Hey save me some of those cubits or I'll
shoot…" Lomas laughed. He saw Starbuck.

"Well hello there." Lomas smiled. "Why don't you join me up here like a
loving brother would."

"Why don't you just crawl back to the hole where you came from." Starbuck
hissed.

"Wanna crawl with me?" Lomas winked. "Hey, how about us crawling back to
the past. Doesn't that sound fascinating…"

"It's useless repeating yourself Lomas." Starbuck replied calmly. "I'm not
affected by you any more…."

Lomas eyed Starbuck amused. "My, my. Aren't we independent. Does this mean
that you won't be coming to my quarters on Kobolmas." (Author's note: The
yahrenly celebrated birthday of the oldest lord of Kobol.)

"Exactly that." Starbuck eyed Lomas sarcastically. "And no more family
dinners either."

"Well, I'll be damned!" Lomas was grinning.

Starbuck was slowly drawing his gun out hoping to sagan that Lomas woudn't
notice.

Apollo was staring at Starbuck's movements horrified. What was the idiot
doing. Lomas would undoubtedly shoot the very micron he suspected
something. Apollo kicked Starbuck in the shin.

Starbuck winced.

Lomas raised one eyebrow. "What the frack was that?"

Starbuck was clenching his teeth, trying to keep his voice normal. "Err…
Nothing. I just kicked myself in the leg by accident…It's not that
comfortable slouching here on the floor…"

Lomas laughed. "Okay Bucky. Put that gun on the floor, kick it over to me
and raise your hands where I can see them…"

"Yes, Obi-Wan." Starbuck grabbed the gun out of the holster and fired.

The shot hit Lomas' upper arm. The gun he was holding dropped to the floor
and Lomas fell on his knees, crying out in pain.

"The fastest shooter in the wild west Aries." Starbuck grinned.

Apollo rolled his eyes and shook his head. Then he looked at Starbuck. "By
the way Bucky…" Apollo raised one eyebrow. "Who the frack is Obi-Wan?"

~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

Time stopped.

Lomas was holding his arm, staring at something the others couldn't see.

"Cree…" Lomas pleaded. "Please help me!"

Cree remined silent.

Cree?" Lomas tried to touch Cree but the boy was behind veils.

"I can't Lomas. Not now." Cree replied softly.

Lomas' eyes were drowning in Cree's. "Moonsilver?"

Cree nodded.

Lomas slowly closed his eyes.

Cree remained in stillness, staring at Lomas. So beautiful, so many
moonbeams away.

Lomas opened his eyes and saw the dark rivers of his mind. He saw the
sadness, the rainbows, the darkness and the stardust hidden in his heart.
He looked through them all and met Cree's eyes. "I'm so sorry…"

Cree touched Lomas' face, gently. Lomas placed his own hand on top of
Cree's.

For a moment, moonsilver surrounded them both.

* * *

Epilogue

"Eight six eight point five requesting entrance to sector three."

A metal door slid to the side and Lomas felt a little tap on his shoulder
as the prison barge officer escorting him to sector three, one of the five
totally restricted areas on the Sagittarian mental health facilities, gave
him a sign to move forward.

Lomas stepped through the doorway and saw yet another one of security
checkpoints. He rolled his eyes. There seemed to be a fracking security
check behind every forsaken corner.

"Please, raise your hands." A man wearing SG-uniform stepped forward.

Lomas did as he was told and waited patiently the security guard
hand-searched him and then led him through transillumination.

"All clear." The controller by the scan-com nodded her head.

Lomas was then led to a pentagon shaped room and handed a black garment and
an insignia. He eyed the stuff. "What's this?"

"The official uniform of sector three." The security guard replied. "You
are expected to wear it."

Resignedly Lomas sighed and pulled on the black garment, a tunic. It came
all the way down to his ankles and the sleeves were much too long. Thank
sagan there weren't any mirrors in the room…

"And the insignia…" The guard reminded.

Lomas struggled with the needle but finally succeeded in detaching the
felgercarbish thing on the collar of the damn tunic.

The prison barge officer was leaning against a wall, tapping his foot
impatiently on the floor waiting to take Lomas to chamber seven.

"What's the rush?" Lomas eyed the officer sarcastically. "You need to use
the turboflush or something?"

"Shut up and let's get going." The officer walked over to Lomas and took
him by the arm. "The doctor's awaiting."

More corridors. And then some more.

Lomas was starting to feel like they were either lost and kept walking in
circles or they would soon accidentally walk completely off the whole ship.
Not that it would have mattered much to Lomas. He would rather have drifted
away to space than spend centars, sectons, sectars in nothingness.

No, the imprisonment was not the nothingness. Lomas didn't give a frack
about being sentenced to the Sagittarian for psychological treatment for an
undefined period of time. Nothingness was the truth. Reality.

Cree, the sweet angel face would forever be veiled behind moonsilver. How
Lomas wished that he could have been the one to die instead of the boy.

Astral, the beautiful angel had turned away. From now on Lomas would be a
prisoner of endless pain. The only reason for existence had shattered.

But one night. During the most silent centars, Lomas knew The vision of the
angel would return. Kneal beside Lomas' bed and softly touch his face.
Whisper sweet lies into his ears. Lead him to the garden of starlight. To
the remains of what used to be beauty. To memories.

Yes, the illusions were fading. But the rivers would always be there.

One more door. The officer held onto Lomas' arm as they stepped into what
looked like an office. Lomas had been there before.

"Welcome back young man." The doctor with thick eyeglasses arose from the
chair behind his desk and corrected the position of his eyeglasses. "How
are you feeling today?"

Lomas gave the old man a glare. "Never been better, thank you…"

The guard gave Lomas a warning glance. The doctor kept twiching nervously,
annoyingly.

"I presume you have been informed that we have no private isolation
chambers available, so we are going to place you with another person."

"Wonderful." Lomas sneered.

"Yes. But why don't I take to your chamber now." The doctor smiled.
"Please, follow me."

The doctor led the two men to a monitored hallway very near the brainwave
calibration units and stopped in front of a thick door searching for keys
in his pocket. "I can assure you that the patient in chamber seven is the
best choice we could have come up with…"

"How reassuring." Lomas snorted.

"Here we go…" The doctor inserted the key to the lock and opened the door.
He turned and smiled at Lomas. "After you…"

Lomas stepped into the chamber. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to
the faint light but gradually the room started having horizons and details.

Lomas noted that the chamber was bigger than the previous one he had been
placed in, but exactly as aschetically furnished and dull as frack. Apart
from two uncomfortable looking beds there was a sink, two drawers, a
cracked mirror on the wall, an small IFB receiver and two wooden stools by
the small window. A binary wardrobe was inserted into the wall.

On the table there was a pile of books and an empty, unwashed cup. The
three lamps hanging from the ceiling were even uglier than the one in the
previous room and they sure didn't light up the chamber much. Long,
secretive shadows reigned the room.

Lomas didn't care. He wouldn't be affected by darkness any more. Darkness
was only a part of nothingness. No monsters. No voices. Surely he wouldn't
be afraid…

A figure of a man arose from the bunk. He had been so veiled in the shadows
that Lomas hadn't noticed him at first.

"Meet your roommate." The doctor smiled at Lomas. "This is patient beta755.
We refer to him as the silent one."

"Really?" Lomas raised one eyebrow. "And what will I be? The one who surfs
the rivers…"

The doctor didn't get the sarcasm.

"The silent one has been here almost since the distruction of our colonies
but to this day, no one here on the Sagittarian is aware of his real name
or identity."

Lomas was a fraction surprised. He glanced at the silent one, intrigued.

"But why don't I leave you boys to get acquainted." The doctor grinned and
Lomas felt overpowering desire to kick him. "I will come by in two centars
to take the necessary blood samples and take you to pre-calibration.
Tomorrow we can begin the sessions and define you medication."

"I can hardly wait." Lomas snorted. He was still eyeing the silent one.

"Oh, by the way. You might want to turn on the IFB." The doctor turned at
the door."In a few centons there will be somekind of a newsflash from the
Galactica…"

Lomas glanced at the doctor. "The Galactica?"

"Yes, the commander himself has requested fifteen centons of broadcasting
time to speak to the people of the fleet." The doctor gave one more
annoying smile before he stepped into the corridor. "Make yourselves
comfortable. I will be back in two centars." The old man closed the door.

Lomas looked at the silent one. "Do you mind if…"

"No." The silent one eyed Lomas. "Go ahead."

Lomas walked to the receiver and turned it on. There wasn't anything on the
IFB yet, only informative programme data.

"You can take the bunk on the left. It's the unoccupied one." The stare of
the man made Lomas uneasy.

"Thanks." Lomas walked to the bunk to sit down. He tried not to look at the
man, but he couldn't help it. His eyes kept turning towards the guy.
Secret, curious glances. There was something intriguing about the silent
one.

Not in the way he looked. Sure, the guy's appearance was pretty but
definately not unexceptional. Light brown hair, Starbuck haircut, skinny
figure but not fairylike and fragile like Astral's. Slant eyes that made
one suspect the guy was of scorpion origin…

Yes, very pretty, but not intriguing. The allure was not in the looks. It
was in the essence. Something less ordinary…

The man glanced at Lomas. Frack! Quickly Lomas turned his eyes away.

"See anything you like?" The man raised one eyebrow. He kept his eyes on
Lomas for a long, long time, smiling.

Lomas was strictly staring at the IFB receiver, hoping to sagans that the
fracking broadcasting would start…

* * *

"Airing in five centons…" The assistant director of the IFB shouted. "Can I
get some more light here…Hey, key grip! Bring the dolly a metron closer…"

Adama was sitting patiently at the end of the council table while the make
up artist was hassling with his face. ""Hold still now…" The girl mumbled
with concentration.

"I don't see the reason for all this beautifying…" Adama murmured. "This is
only an informative briefing about the situation of the fleet for sagan's
sake."

The girl smiled. "This is not beautifying commander. This is inevitability
so your face will look normal in the cameras…"

"Sound?" The assistant director shouted.

"We are ready." An answer came from somewhere in the crowd.

The cameraman whispered something to the director who turned and raised his
hand.

"Hold it." The director walked to the microphone holder. "The mic is
showing. We need a frame. Airing in three centons!" The assistant director
shouted.

"I need a voice sample…" The sound editor raised his hand and stated while
keeping his eyes on the the equipment in front of him.

"Commander?" The assistant director gestured to Adama.

"One two, one two…" Adama rolled his eyes.

"Perfect." The sound editor was pleased. "I'm using alpha frequency."

The producer was walking amongst people, keeping an eye on the situation.

"Airing in 20 microns!" The assistant director raised his hand and looked
around the room.

Adama took a deep breath. Lords he hated these broadcastings. He would
rather have spoken personally to an assembled crowd here on the Galactica…

Besides, the assistant director's loud voice was getting on Adama's nerves.

"Airing in ten microns!… Lights!… Can we have some more light here please!
How many times do I have to ask… Camera!… All set!"

The director standing beside the cameraman kept his eyes on the marked
frame. He lifted his hand. "Aaaand... Action!"

The red "On Air" sign lit up and the room silenced.

"People in the fleet…" Adama looked straight into the camera. "I am
commander Adama…"

* * *

"No shit…" Starbuck was leaning back on the couch with his hands behind his
head and one leg over another, watching the Inter Fleet Broadcasting. "And
here I was thinking that he was the big bad lupus…"

"Shut up Starbuck." Apollo hissed. "I want to hear this…"

Starbuck glanced at Apollo. "You have any idea what this is about?"

"Not really." Apollo leaned a little forward in his chair to get a better
view. "But I do suspect it has something to do with the fact that the fleet
has remained stagnated for an unexceptionally long time…"

"Are you saying that Adama hasn't mention anything to you?" Starbuck took a
fumarello out of the pack and put it in his mouth.

"Nothing." Apollo kept his eyes on the receiver.

"Well I'll be damned!" Starbuck lifted his eyebrows while lighting the
fumarello. "Now I'm getting really intrigued…"

"Uh huh…" Apollo wasn't listening.

"Hey, you think it has something to do with the slaughters…" Starbuck said
thoughtfully "What if they've got an idea who the killer is…"

"Yeah…" Apollo answered absently.

"I've been wondering about the murderer…" Starbuck watched the fumarello
smoke slowly moving. "Do you think it could be Lomas… I mean… Heck, the guy
ain't the sanest person I've met…"

"Ummmm…."

"Apollo, you're not listening to me…"

"Starbuck, sagan damn it. Can we please watch this broadcasting!!"

"You're right, I'm sorry.." Starbuck fell silent and concentrated on the
IFB. "By the way Apollo…" Starbuck turned to look at the other man.

"Starbuck!!!!"

"Okay, okay…"

* * *

"People in the fleet, you all are aware of the meaning of our voyage..."
Adama began his speech. "After the distruction of our homes we have been
trying to escape from our enemy the cylons and kept searching for one
particular place to re-establish our lives on."

The camera moved closer to Adama.

"In good faith I have been leading you to a planet, which the old legends
of Kobol refer to as Earth…" Adama paused. He kept his eyes on the camera.
"Yes, I have been trying to follow the footsteps of the ancient thirteenth
tribe believing in the colonial desire to find other human beings…"

Adama slowly arose from the chair he had been sitting on and walked to the
lit radar on the left of the room. The camera followed him.

"Lately however, I have come to reconsider the possibilities and the
actuality of our situation… Adama turned to face the camera. "Reconsidering
the possible target of our voyage…"

***

Starbuck gasped. "Oh no, don't tell me your father wants to move to
Probability…"

Apollo grinned. "What's the matter? You don't like the idea of living under
water?"

Starbuck grimaced. "Let's just say that I don't find the idea of living
next door to the black queen very alluring…"

* * *

Adama was now standing in front of the bright radar map. "I have grown
weary of constantly searching for a place that might not exist at all, or
which could still be millions and millions of parsecs away from us."

The camera slid closer to Adama's face.

"Yes, I am tired of searching for Earth." Adama paused, keeping his eyes on
the camera. "People of the fleet. I have decided that we will end our
journey on the next suitable planet that comes across."

"Aaand cut to the commercial break!" The director shouted. "Fifteen
microns!"

* * *

"Frack!!" Starbuck stared at the receiver not really knowing whether his
explosive frack was manifested to the timing of the commercial break or the
bomb Adama had just dropped.

"You sure have a way with words…" Apollo was amused.

"Can you believe that!" Starbuck turned to look at Apollo. "Your father is
giving up on his dream…"

Apollo eyed Starbuck for a centon, thoughtfully. "Yes, you're right, he
is." Apollo nodded. "But beside all the dreams always lies reality. Adama
is the fleet commander. He is in a position where he has to place the needs
of others ahead of the ones of his own."

"Poor Addy!" Starbuck sighed. "Tough job being a commander…"

"Yep." Apollo could hide his smile. "But someone's got to do it."

"What do you feel about this?" Starbuck eyed Apollo. "I know you wanted to
find Earth too."

"Perhaps we will find it some day." Apollo arose from the chair. "Perhaps
Earth will be the next suitable planet that comes across."

"Always optimistic." Starbuck grinned. "I suppose the next thing you're
gonna say is that the cylons will stop hating us, the worldpeace is just
around the corner, we will all live happily together forever after and I'm
going to win a million cubits…"

"Not such a bad thing to think about." Apollo walked to the couch, sat down
and crawled to Starbuck's side.

Starbuck put his arm around Apollo, pulled him close and kissed him on the
forehead. "What, the worldpeace or the million cubits?" Starbuck grinned.

"The happiness." Apollo smilled."Time to set the sealing date!"

Starbuck eyed Apollo warmly. "Okay, how about three sectons from now.
That'll give us enough time to fight over which one of us gets to wear the
dress…"

Apollo grinned and kissed the tip of Starbuck's nose. "Sounds perfect."

Starbuck pulled Apollo into a tight hug. "I love you Appy. Just when I
think that I'm gonna burst from love like a balloon I realize that I love
you a million times more…"

Apollo laughed. "You've been reading those damn Sidney Sagittara novels
again…"

"I'm serious Apollo." Starbuck closed his eyes and held Apollo tight. "I
love you so much more than life Apollo. My love for you is infinate."

"I love you too." Apollo whispered. "You are my sun and my stars, my reason
and my dreams. You are everything I exists for."

The two men stared into each others' eyes, Lost in their own world of
absolute beauty. Nothing else mattered.

"By the way Starbuck!" Apollo raised one eyebrow. "You've been using my
aftershave again…"

* * *

"We have ten centons of airing time left!" The assistant director shouted.
"The commercial break will end in seven microns."

The make-up artist quickly finished adding some powder on Adama's face.

"Ready?" The assistant director eyed around the room. "Okay! Lights!…
Camera!…"

Adama coughed to clear his throat. He was back to sitting at the end of the
table.

"All set!"

A microns total silence.

"Aaaaand… Action!

"People of the fleet…"

* * *

"Turn it off." The silent one was blankly staring at the figures on the
receiver screen.

"But…" Lomas eyed the man.

"Turn it off." The man turned to look at Lomas. "Please."

Lomas arose from the bunk, walked to the receiver and switched it off. He
turned to look at the man. "Hey, what do you think…"

The silent one had laid down on the bunk. His eyes were closed and he was
breathing quietly.

"Great! A party daggit…" Lomas rolled his eyes and he returned to his own
bunk. "I might as well be on the damn Piscean…" Lomas laid down on the bunk
too and stretched. Okay, he might as well sleep for two centars until the
idiot doctor returned…

"What is your name?" A question came from the shadows. "Other than the one
who surfs the rivers…"

Lomas laughed out loud. "Lomas. You mind telling me yours?…"

"Why are you here?" The silent one asked.

"You really don't know?" Lomas grinned. "And here I was thinking that I was
the fleet celebrity…"

The figure on the bed was quiet for a while. "Why didn't they place you on
the prison barge."

Lomas turned his eyes to look at the man. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"Okay. I'm here because…" Lomas sat up. "I'm…"

"…Infinity, sadness, intensity, fragility, stardust, invincibility,
moonshine, sunlight, darkness, anxiety, beauty, the rivers, the wind and
the uncomprehendible…" The man smiled.

Lomas could do nothing but stare.

The dark figure sat up on the bed and turned to face Lomas. "We are alike."
The man' eyes were like the ones of a cat. They were alive in the darkness.
"The flow is in me too..."

"No offence but…" Lomas eyed the man. No wonder the guy was placed on the
Sagittarian. He was crazy for real.

"You think that all you have left is nothingness, don't you." The man's
face was almost sympathetic. "But you couldn't be more mistaken…" The man
stood up and walked to the window. He remained standing there with his back
turned to Lomas. "I can take you back…"

"To where…?" Lomas already knew.

The man turned. "To what you have always been."

Lomas kept his eyes on the man for a long, long time. "I need to know who
you are."

The silent one smiled. "My friend, I am you."

Lomas smiled. He knew so well what the man meant. He understood. "Who are
you in me?"

The man walked to Lomas and took a hold of both his hands. His smile was
pure. "In you, my name is Vega. I'm from Ottawan…"

***

"Five centons!" There was a sharp knock on the door. Boomer's eyes didn't
turn his eyes away from the mirror. No, he wasn't looking at the reflection
of all the colours, the make-up, the feathers, the paillettes or the
glitter and glamour of the jewels. He didn't see the reflection of a
performer, nor a stripper. What he saw was a new beginning. The first night
on the Rising Star. The first performace.

It was time. Boomer arose from the chair. He kept his eyes on the mirror a
while longer as he added some more glimmering eyeshadow and then he pouted
his lips seductively like he had seen done in some glamorous old-time
movies. Perfect. He was ready. And he was nervous as frack.

Stomach full of butterflies the size of colonial freighters Boomer
approached the closed curtains. From the other side he could hear voices,
laughter, soft background music and merry jingling of glasses. Boomer
closed his eyes for a centon. He concentrated.

"30 microns." Someone knocked Boomer shoulder. A young boy dressed in gold
strings that left nothing to the imagination winked at Boomer and gave him
the thumbs-up sign.

The announcer's footsteps echoed in the lounge as he walked the microphone
placed on the stage. From behind the curtains Boomer could see the figure
of the man. Boomer swallowed. Here we go…

"Ladies and gentlemen, performing on the Rising Star for the first time
tonight… CHOCOLATE LOVE…"

The curtains started to rise. Boomer created a huge smile on his face and
walked to the front of the audience. The fanfares were defening and the
multicoloured lights were flashing blindingly. For a moment Boomer could
see nothing but the flashing, but he heard applause from the audience. He
heard cheers of encouragement and approval. The smile on Boomer's face
turned genuine. He winked. More cheers.

The music stopped. A moment's total silence. Boomer took his position.

The first beats of "Love Love Love" filled the Astral lounge. The lights in
the audience turned dark purple and the spotlight of gold illuminated the
stage. Boomer blew a kiss to the audience. A thunder of cheers. Boomer
swallowed. He took a couple of awkward, overly practised steps at the same
time as he started slowly pulling the feather boa off from around his neck.

With a wink and a smiled Boomer tossed the boa towards the front rows of
the audience. Somebody shouted something. The beat of "Love Love Love"
accelerated. The warmth of the spotlights caressed Boomer's skin. They
danced on the walls, entwined with the anticipation. And it all changed.

Boomer became the Music and the Lights. He became Sensuality and
Enticement. He was born to be a Star.

***

"What centar is it?" Cadet Cora glanced the attendant. "Couldn't we close
the beta sector storage control a just a little earlier tonight. Just this
once…"

Beta attendant Erik raised his eyebrow. "You are always trying to slip out
of your duties young lady."

"Please." Cora smiled beggingly. "Just this once. What could possibly
happen in a stock room of a battlestar in the middle of space for heaven's
sake. It doesn't seem very likely that someone would want to sneak in here
and steal a trunk of Kogas…"

Erik sighed, trying to hide his amusement.

"Cora, you are incurable! Okay, let's lock the place up. We would only have
ten centons left anyway." Erik arose from the chair behind the duty desk.
"Get the keys."

"Erik, you are a sweetheart." Cora blew kisses to the attendant. "If I
wasn't dating corporal Storke I would definately get sealed to you in a
micron!"

"Just get the keys." Erik grinned. "Let's get out of here…"

~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

Darkness and secrecy cascaded into the stock room. An old gamma radiator,
placed near the duty desk, kept snapping as it cooled down.

There were other sounds too. Those, that always remained in a room after it
was left deserted. The low hum of the battlestar engine, it never silenced.
The dripping of the water faucet in the storage room turboflush. The patter
of occasionally appearing phi-particles on the window. Oh, they sounded
just like autumn rain on Caprica.

Then there was the unaudible noises, the ones that lingered on in the
silence. The echos of memories from moments before. Those were the loudest
sounds.

The lid of the 5 megon kogas storage trunk started to open slowly.

Carefully he looked around in the darkness before quietly climbing out of
the huge wooden box with something in his hand. Something that looked like
one of those sickles used on the livestock ship for cutting up gorellian
meat or stone-hard jamalah fruits.

The man waited and listened. Only sounds of silence.

He smiled. The man from Caydra. The man with the blazing black eyes…

* * *

Fleeing from the cylon tyranny, the last battlestar, Galactica, leeds a
ragtag fugitive fleet, On a lonely quest - for a shining planet, Known as
Earth…

...Or possibly someplace else.

THE BEGINNING