nd injuring scores of people in the process. 
Sheba had almost been one of them.
	Sheba had heard many stories about that time from
Starbuck, Athena, Cassie, even the Commander.  She had
been amazed at what they told her about what happened
and about Apollo’s actions at that time, his
protectiveness towards her.  How he had not let anyone
else take care of Sheba, except in rare instances and
then, in the quiet and solitude of the Celestial Dome,
she had heard Apollo’s side of things.  More memories
flitted across her mind – dancing with her captain on
the Rising Star and in his quarters.  Nova yahrens and
how they spent them together.  The first time they
attended a Taurian Festival of Hearts.  Sheba had been
amazed at the reverence the Taurians had for this
festival which celebrated love and family.  The spell
that had been woven around her and Apollo the first
time they attended and how they always made sure that
they attended that celebration each yahren.  
	More memories came to her.  HKobol Remembered  
by Rae

	The shock that Adama felt at the stark, unreal sight
that had been before him was almost more than the
overly weary, emotionally battered commander could
bear.  The utter dismay and mindless disbelief that
gripped his over wrought mind due to everything that
had happened to them in the short time of a few
centars.  Concerns, questions cluttered his mind in
such a cataclysmic whirl that Adama feared that he
would not be able to focus on the situation at hand
with the calm and sense of purpose that he needed. And
so much depended on that calm, clear-headed analysis. 
The training that he had worked so hard to attain over
the many yahrens.  The experience of  nearly an entire
lifetime in the military and in it's service to
protect their people.  
	But what clouded his mind now was not concern for his
people.  Not concern for the fleet.  Not concern for
the great battlestar that had been entrusted to his
care so many yahrens ago.  No, the turmoil of his
personal eow they would argue,
then make up.  How they could never stay angry with
each other for very long.  She fingered the necklace
that hung just underneath her uniform.  The rose
colored Eternity stone hung delicately entwined in the
gold that was spun around it to hold it in place. 
Apollo gave that to her for her last nova yahren,
after they had left a party held for her by her
friends.  They had gone to his quarters, where dinner
was sitting by candlelight, waiting for them.  Soft
music played in the background as they danced, holding
each other close.  She could still hear the soft
strains of the music…
	Sheba wanted to cry out as the memories started to
cripple her beyond all thought or movement.  She
wrapped her arms around her waist as though she was in
severe pain.  But the tears would not come, the cries
would not release themselves past her dry lips that
were pressed tightly together.  She felt so
overwhelmed by her emotions that she just wanted to
run from here, screaming to releasemotions were now clouding his mind,
impairing his judgement, fouling his mood.  There were
needs to be addressed.  Immediate needs for their
continued survival on this barren wasteland of a
planet.  And he had to pull himself together.  Put his
emotions in check and begin to concentrate...focus on
the problems at hand.  On the immediate needs.   
	Shelter.  They had to find shelter for if they didn't
find that, then there would be no hope for any of them
to survive this ordeal that they faced. The heat of
the desert would take its toll on them quickly if they
did not find someplace to provide them with shelter
from the sun's rays. Adama could feel the mild sting
of the sunburn that he had already acquired since his
arrival.  Their skin was unuse to the intense rays of
the sun because of they were confined to living in the
ships with artificial light as their only source of
light.  This crumbling building that they had taken
refuge in for the present time was not a proper
shelter.  No one th the intense
pressure she felt within.  She wanted Apollo to sit up
and smile at her, tell her that he was just fine.  She
wished with all her heart that this was all just a
horrible dream.
	A dream.  That’s what started all of this.  A dream. 
Apollo’s dream, or should she say ‘dreams’?  Athena
had eluded to the fact that she had been having some
sleepless nights because of her nightmares or
troubling thoughts.  Cassie had been acting funny as
of late and had confided to Sheba that she had not
been sleeping well.  Starbuck had also been on edge
lately, which Sheba had attributed to possibly Cassie
and her edginess or Apollo’s confidences to his friend
about his dreams.  Sheba was unsure and had not
concrete evidence about anything at this point, but
she was almost 100 percent certain that the dreams
were at the bottom of everyone’s feelings of edginess
and uncertainty.  
	Sheba looked around her at the paintings that were on
the walls, trying to figure out what they meant, what
they wereat Adama wanted.  
	His eyes darted around the room as he waited for the
others to join him here, noting the crumbing stones of
the walls, the pieces of roof that were missing in
some places.  Sunlight shone in, illuminating the
room, but there were still areas that still were
darkened to his glance.  The coolness that they had
experienced when they had first entered this place was
now slowly dissipating as the sun moved further
overhead signifying hopefully, that mid-cycle was upon
them and that soon the cool of the evening was only
centars away.  But Adama also felt twinges of guilt at
the wish for evening to come, because every passing
centar made their situation even more grim.   
	His thoughts turned to those above the planet.  Their
people.  The fleet.  The Galactica.  Where was
everyone?  Adama knew that Tigh would search for them
if the situation allowed it.  What had happened here? 
The thoughts intruded back into his mind and he
quickly closed the door on those concerns.  He didn' symbolizing.  The faces of the figures
seemed to almost come to life on the stone walls, but
Sheba knew that was impossible.  They were nothing
more than paintings, depictions of what life must have
been like on this planet all those yahrens ago.  But
they were haunting her with their imagery, with their
symbolism.  They were the handiwork of beings long
dead.  A shiver went through Sheba at the thought.  
	"Sheba," a voice whispered, intruding on her dark
thoughts.
	Sheba turned her attention back to the figure of
Apollo lying on the floor.  She quickly moved over to
Apollo’s side, her hand reaching for the cloth that
rested in the cool water from Starbuck’s canteen.  She
could see the fever still raged within him, his pale
face covered with sweat, his dark hair made even
darker with perspiration.  Carefully she stroked his
face with the cool cloth, wishing that she could bring
his fever down or that it would finally break.  
	Quietly Apollo sighed and said again, ever so softly,
"Sheba.t
care about his own continued survival.  He had lived
his life and it had been a good long life.  There were
things that he would have done differently, or not at
all.  There were things that he wished he could do
over and do them differently.  But everyone has those
regrets in their life.  No, Adama was not worried
about his own life, but the lives of his children. 
All his children.  Not just Apollo and Athena, but
Starbuck and Sheba.  And he knew that if he was not
careful, his mind would start to focus on the others
that had been like sons and daughters to him.  And his
grandson.  Tigh would keep Boxey safe.  Adama had no
doubt concerning that. 
	Adama took a deep breath and put his thoughts in
order.  A new shelter was needed.  One that seemed
more stable than this one that they occupied now. 
Water was another concern.  Without it in this heat
they would quickly dehydrate and start to lose their
strength.  And Apollo in his present condition would
be the first to suffer from the lac"
	Sheba felt the tears that she had been warring with
since this all began, build and threaten to roll down
her cheeks.  She leaned down close to his ear and
whispered "I’m right here, Apollo."
	"Sheba, don’t leave me."  Apollo whispered.  Sheba
watched as he furrowed his brow as he laid there.  She
wished she knew what was going on in his mind right at
that moment, what his fever filled mind was seeing.
	"I’m right here, Apollo.  I’m not going anywhere." 
Sheba tried to reassure him as she reached up and
stroked his damp hair.  
	"Sheba, I love you.  Don’t leave me." Apollo pleaded,
his eyes closed but his voice strained..  "Just don’t
leave me."
	Sheba lost the war with her tears as they flowed
freely down her cheeks.  "I’m not leaving you, Apollo.
 I love you and I am never going to leave you.  I
promise."  
	Apollo seemed to hear her as he softly sighed and
seemed to relax somewhat.  Sheba quietly stroked his
hair for a short time, reassuring herself that he was
resting as comfortabk of water. Adama
felt overwhelming worry at the thought of his son, and
he vainly tried to push it away.  He had to stay
focused.  Food was another pressing issue. Adama tired
to pull together the information of what he had seen
since he had arrived on this planet.  The seeming lack
of water, no vegetation and as far as Adama had seen,
no wildlife or other sources of food.  Just sand and
barrenness as far as they eye could see.  But there
had to be a source of water and food here for the
civilization that existed here to survive.  But where
was it?  Or possibly, could the planet have changed so
dramatically climatically and ecologically due to some
unknown factors?  Dramatically enough to change a
planet that could have been overran with abundant lush
vegetation and turn it into a desert world?  Maybe the
food and water that was here and that supported the
populous of this planet died yahrens ago creating the
world they were on now.  Maybe there was never any
food or water here.  Maybe thely as he could.  She leaned down
and kissed him gently on the cheek.  Weariness washed
over her as she sat down at his side, leaning against
to coolness of the stone wall, her mind and her
emotions in turmoil.  
	Where were the others?  Where was the Galactica and
the fleet?  What was happening here?  Sheba grappled
with the fear of losing Apollo as she tried to keep
her wits about her.  The situation was grave.  She
knew that.  People were gone.  Just disappeared
without a single trace.  Where was base camp?  Where
did everyone go?  From everything they had seen, it
looked as though they had never even been here.  Sheba
fought against the despair she felt at the possible
loss of her friends, people she had come to respect
and admire and had come to love like family.  
	Sheba needed that sense of family and order in her
life.  When she had came aboard the Galactica, she had
left behind a man that she loved and adored, who had
adored her in return.  Her father.  Cain.  A forceful
man.   A m population of this
planet did not eat the same food as they did.  Maybe
it was just all gone.  Time and ecological evolution.
Adama's shoulders sagged slightly with the weightiness
of his feelings of hopelessness. 
	The heat of the late morning sun was beginning to
show in force what was in store for them in not so
many centars.  Adama felt the beads of perspiration
roll down his back and several trickle down the side
of a lined face that showed the experience of dealing
with tense situations like they faced now.  Only now
in the face of the desolateness of the landscape
before them and now the seeming hopelessness of their
future survival, Adama felt extremely unsure of
himself.  Not confident that he could guide them, lead
them, be strong for them in the face of odds that to
the normally confident man seemed almost
insurmountable.  
	Suddenly his mind shifted and his thoughts of centons
ago invaded his thinking again.  Where was the fleet? 
Where were the people that over four centars aan who knew what he wanted and moved heaven
and hell to get it.  A stubborn and determined man. 
Her father never knew the words ‘run’ or ‘defeat.’  
He had not agreed with Adama’s tactics in handling the
Cylons and he refused to follow Adama’s leadership. 
Sheba knew that her father highly respected the man
who was more to Cain than his superior officer.  He
had been friends with Adama at the Academy.  They had
been close friends for yahrens.  
	Sheba had never actually met the man that her father
had talked about since she was a child.  She had never
met Adama face to face, and when she had been left
aboard the Galactica after her father had evacuated
her to the Galactica, she had also not agreed with
Adama’s cautious tactics.  She had been raised,
trained and served under her father’s leadership.  She
had been so positive that her father’s methods were
right and Adama’s were wrong.  That had been the cause
of many a confrontation with Apollo, but they were the
children of two commanders go, were
sleeping peacefully in their shelters here in this
very spot?  Adama saw in his minds eye the area that
now looked almost too pristine with the sand smooth
and undisturbed, giving no clue as to what was once
here or where all of it had gone.  Not a trace.  Adama
somewhere in the back of his mind remembered an old
saying, "The desert tells no secrets, but keeps all
knowledge locked and hidden in it's vast sea of
nothingness." 
	Adama had to agree with that estimate of this desert.
 That's what it was -- a sea of nothingness.  But in
reality, when Adama had been younger, the desert had
fascinated him.  As a young boy on a school
expedition, he had been fascinated with the desert
regions of Scorpia and Tauria.  Aries great desert was
not as vast, but deadlier that the deserts that
covered either one of the two desert worlds.  It was
more than a wasteland, he had found out quite quickly.
 The sudden sandstorms that could blind an expedition
and leave its members to die from it's effecwho styles of leadership
were vastly different.  
	But she came to fully understand the wisdom of
Adama’s leadership in time.  Then she came to admire
the man who was now her commander almost as much as
she admired her own father.  Sheba saw what made his
patience a better tactic for the fleet, guaranteeing
it’s continued survival.  She understood why they were
on the ‘run,’ when in truth, they were not running,
just picking and choosing their battles.  
	Now, they were involved in a battle not of their
choosing.  What had happened to everyone?  Where was
Cassie and Boomer?  Boxey?  Colonel Tigh?  Bojay? 
Where was everyone?  And who or what was doing all of
this to them?  Who had shot Apollo?
	Sheba leaned her head back in weariness.  All
questions, but no answers.  All she really knew was
that the Galactica, the fleet, their friends and
family were gone.  Apollo laid on the dirty floor of
this place, shot by unknown entities with unknown
weapons, and could easily die without medical
attts.  Or
make a person so totally lost and confused that they
died in the desert from heat and thirst.  Even with
the most experience guide.  One trip there as a youth
had shown him that it was not a place to take lightly.
	But on Scorpia and Tauria, it had been a completely
different story. On those two worlds, Adama had seen
the desert tell its stories and reveal its treasures
from the past.  Carefully imparting the answers to
great
mysteries that had stumped mankind for ages.  But this
desert, unlike those deserts of the colonies, seemed
deadlier and more threatening.  Adama wondered if they
dug deep enough would find a river of blood running
benieth the surface, instead of a river of crystal
clear water.  And not just the blood of his son would
run there, but the blood of the members of his crew,
whose fate was unknown.  
	Adama tried not to think of Cassie and Boomer, who
had been here with the others.  Or of the hundreds of 
possible scenarios as to the fate of the fleet.  More
than ention.  Why didn’t they leave when they had the
chance?  Why didn’t she listen to Apollo?  Why? 
Because she was too caught up in trying to exorcise a
ghost from Apollo’s past.  The woman she felt that she
was in competition with because Apollo had loved her
so much and because of the tragic way that she died. 
Serina.  
	Sheba felt her eyes grow heavy as she fought to stay
awake.  A scent was in the air, a sickeningly sweet
scent, like a perfume, but it was different.  Sheba
felt as though she was drifting, floating, rising
above all her worries and cares.  She felt free and
light as a feather.  Floating higher and higher into
the heavens……..
	Suddenly, her eyes opened with a start as Sheba found
herself standing  in the middle of a large open
building.  The sun was streaming through the open
areas with blinding brightness although the stone
pillars cast their shadows on the stones that made up
the floor of the building.  She felt the oppressive
heat that signified that it was almost aftlikely nothing had happened to the Galactica or
her fleet.  And there was the very real possibly that
everyone from the landing party and  from the base
camp had returned to the Galactica.  Adama seriously
doubted that scenario, but it was the most optimistic
compared to the others that he had rolling around in
his mind.  Another hopeful possiblity was that
atmospheric interference was stopping the Galactica
from scanning the planet for them or delaying a rescue
attempt.  Tigh would send out a search party for them.
 Adama was confident of that, but what were the
chances that they would still be alive when their
rescue came?  Adama chided himself for his chaotic
thoughts for he knew that he was grasping wildly for
the optimistic side rather than facing the truth of
the situation. 
	Adama turned his attention to the doorway as he heard
the soft sound of whispered voices.  A few centons
later, Starbuck passed through the crumbling doorway,
Apollo carefully cradled in his arms, with Sheba and
ernoon on
the planet.  The only relief she felt from the heat
was the breeze that gusted and then gently blew
against her face. 
	She felt the particles of sand brush against her legs
and looked down to find herself dressed in a very
strange, but beautiful dress.  Reaching to the floor,
the dress parted as the wind blew to expose her legs
to the sand.  Her arms were bare and the dress gently
draped itself over her shoulders, gathering itself at
her waist.  It was a beautiful color of dark rich blue
and made of the softest of materials that Sheba had
ever had the pleasure of wearing.  The dress made her
feel elegantly feminine.  But where had it came from? 
 And where was she?
	Sheba heard a sound and realized that she was not
alone.  Moving cautiously towards the sound, she
automatically reached for the laser that was usually
at her side.  All she grasped was empty air.  She
muttered a quiet epitaph, then proceeded in the
direction which the sound emanated.  Wishing that she
knew where sh
Athena close behind.  Adama stood there mutely
watching as Starbuck walked over to an area that had
some shade, then laid Apollo down there ever so
carefully.  Sheba and Athena stood close by, their
fear and worry etched on their faces as they hovered
close by.  Adama tried to push the image of Apollo's
pale face, of the injuries that desperately needed
medical treatment or the possibility that his son
would die from his mind as he watched the scene before
him.  Adama was torn between the desire to be near his
son and the needs of the situation at hand.  He knew
that if he walked over to Apollo, that he would never
leave his son's side.  After a forlorn, worried glance
at his son's pale, almost lifeless looking  face,
Adama turned away unable to deal with the sight.  
	First things came first.  The heat of the day would
be intense, so they needed to find shelter.  A shelter
better than this one.  One glance told Adama that the
structure was very unstable considering the amount of
stones the was so that she could formulate what to
expect, she cautiously placed her hand against one of
the rough stone pillars and tentatively glanced around
it.  
	She saw a slight lone figure move gracefully through
the courtyard, her identity obscured by the massive
stone pillars, with the exception of the long dark
hair and the long red dress that Sheba could see.  For
a micron, Sheba hoped against all hope that this was
Athena.  If it was, it would tell her that Apollo,
Starbuck, and the Commander were close by and that
Sheba had nothing to fear.  But her logical mind was
telling her that this was not Athena, that Apollo,
Starbuck and the Commander were not close at hand and
that Sheba had a great deal to fear.  
	Sheba watched, fighting the thoughts that threatened
to intrude on her conciousness, thoughts of where she
was and how she got here.  Where were the Commander,
Starbuck and Athena?  And where was Apollo?  Was he
being taken care of?  Was he even still alive?  Sheba
knew that if sheat were lying on the structure floor, and the
aging commander wondered how long it would before any
more of the structure collapsed around them or
possibly on them.  Food and water were his next
concern and he knew that concern was going to have to
be dealt with sooner than later.  Adama tried forcing
his mind to work, to analyze their needs and formulate
solutions, but the creeping fingers of worry, along
with the fear of his son's fate seeped into his
thoughts, almost crippling the vastly experienced
commander.  Adama almost cried out from the pain he
was enduring, not physical but the emotional agony. 
But he also knew that if he cried, if he showed any
physical weakness in front of Starbuck, Cassiopeia or
Sheba, that their barely controlled fear would surface
making them more of a hindrance than a help.  And he
was going to need their help.  But Adama found his own
thoughts straying dangerously -- this time the images
that flashed were of another time, another place.  
	If he let himsel were to dwell on these thoughts that
her worry would overwhelm her and make her useless. 
She had to survive.  She had to find her way back from
this place.  She remembered being at Apollo’s side,
reassuring him of her presence.  Now, she was here. 
Wherever _here_ was.
	She watched as the woman walked over to a doorway,
pausing for a micron, then entering the darkness
within.  Sheba felt her curiosity reach new levels as
she thought for a micron that she caught a fleeting
glimpse of the woman’s face and that for some reason,
she thought she might possibly know the woman.  She
waited a few centons, then moved towards the doorway
that the woman entered, cautious for any surprises
that might lurk to catch her unawares.  As she reached
the doorway, Sheba felt the cool breeze from within
the structure gently caress her face.  Even though she
hesitated at that doorway briefly, she knew that she
would have to follow whoever this was into the
structure.  
	Sheba took a deep breath trying to settf, Adama could see clearly the day
that Apollo was born.  The tiny, fragile form of his
son in his arms, the overwhelming love that he had
felt at that centon for that tiny baby.  A head full
of dark, dark hair that looked almost out of place on
the tiny infant.  The worry and fear that Adama had
lived with for those sectars after Apollo's premature
birth.  The promises he made in the night as he sat by
the side of the critical care neonatal unit that held
his only surviving child, the promises to the Gods,
the testing of his faith in everything he had been
taught to believe in, the strain that tested the
strength of the marriage of Adama and Ila, along with
their love for each other.
	More and more poignant images flashed by in the blink
of an eye. Adama felt his heart grow heavy as he
remembered each event in his son's life with clarity
and detail.  The fear the Apollo had exhibited when he
was just 2 yahrens old, after Adama had returned from
a lengthy mission only to find that his pridele the
fluttering in the pit of her stomach, then entered the
corridor, surprised to find the passage well lit by
flaming torches.  She knew that the woman had to have
followed this passage for it seemed to be the only one
to follow.  After about 5 centons, Sheba saw a bright
light appear ahead of her.  Carefully, she reached the
doorway from which the light emanated and looked
cautiously at what was ahead of her.  
	To Sheba’s surprise, it was a large room, with
sunlight streaming in from a skylight above.  Unlike
the ruins that Sheba had seen since she arrived on
this planet, this room was clean and tidy.  There was
mo sandy debris, nor was there anything that seemed
out of place.  Ahead of her, though, was a large stone
altar.  Made of an ebony-colored rock that seemed to
be polished until it gleamed, the large altar stood at
the far end of the room.  It looked to Sheba as though
there was something on top of it, but she couldn’t
make out what it was.
	As Sheba wondered if she should mo and joy
was absolutely terrified of him.  The first day of
primary school, where Adama had the good fortune of
being home on leave. He remembered the frightened eyes
of his son as he had looked at the classroom that
contained a number of other children Apollo's age. 
Some were in tears, some were fighting, some were
playing together.  All Apollo saw was the confusion,
chaos and the fact that his mother was not anywhere in
sight as he tightly grasped his father's hand and hid
behind his father's legs..  
	Adama's thought leapt ahead 10 yahrens, to the
frightened, nervous 15 yahren old, forced to attend a
military social for sons and daughters of Colonial
Service officers.  Apollo had begged, pleaded with his
father to not make him go.  Adama had wanted to say,
'You don't have to go.' but Adama also knew better. 
There was no order that compelled the officers to
force their 15 to 17 yahren old offspring to attend
this event, but it was a long standing tradition that
Adama knew Apollo had beve into the room,
she saw the woman, her long brown hair cascading down
her back.  She walked silently and stood before an
obelisk that stood alone in the room, not that far
away from the doorway that sheltered Sheba, who was
watching in mute fascination.  The woman knelt down,
then hung her head as though she was paying her
respects to the small obelisk.  Then the woman rose
her head and stared at the tall stone for several
centons before she finally rose to her feet once
again.  She continued to stand there silently as Sheba
studied her intently.  There was something about this
woman that was just so familiar to her.  Sheba just
couldn’t place her finger on where she had seen or met
this person before.
	"Welcome to the Temple of the Sacred Power,"  the
woman said commandingly, not in the least bit
welcomingly.  Sheba was startled by the woman’s voice
and quickly hid herself in the passageway, her back to
the wall.  She heard the woman sigh as she continued. 
"You can come into the Sacreden expected to attend.   
	Adama felt a slight smile tug at the corners of his
mouth as he remembered the conversation  he had with
the disturbed father of another teenage boy who had
also attended that night, but who had disappeared from
the social about two centars into the evening.. Adama
had a short time later found out that Apollo was also
missing from the party, as were 3 other boys and 2
girls.  They had all felt the same way about the whole
evening so they had left to enjoy the evening away
from people that each of the teens has described as
'stuffy' or 'over-bearing.'.  Adama was not surprised
to find the boy that Apollo had befriended at school,
a young man by the name of Starbuck, was right there
at his son's side that night also.  The blond haired
boy had engineered Apollo's escape from what Apollo
had termed was a 'fate worse than death.'   
	The brief respite that Adama had felt from the
problems at hand vanished like a puff of smoke in the
gentle breeze.  Adama hesitantly wal Chamber.  I know that
you are there.  I can feel your presence so it is
useless to try and hide from me."  Sheba accepted the
ring of truth to the woman’s statement, then pulled
herself away from the wall.  She cautiously peeked
around the corner at the woman’s back that was still
to her.  "Please come in and join me,"  the woman
paused, then turned to look directly at Sheba. 
"…Sheba."
	Sheba gasped in shock and recognition of the woman
who stood in front of her.  But that was impossible. 
This woman was dead.  Very dead.  But there she was. 
Alive.   Serina....
	Sheba stepped into the chamber and looked directly at
the woman of her own nightmares.  The woman who she
felt held such a hold on Apollo’s heart that in the
early days of their relationship, she had doubted that
he would ever break free from his mourning of her. 
But he had in time.  And Serina was a subject that
neither Apollo or Sheba had really sat down and spoke
about in the past 3 yahrens.  Even when they were
friends, Seked over to where
Starbuck and Sheba sat uncharacteristically silent
with Apollo's injured, still form, with Athena sitting
silently off to the side on some rocks.  The weight of
the situation came crashing down and Adama had to set
his priorities now.  Keep focused.  A better shelter
was needed and it was needed now before the mid-cycle
sun took it's toll on them.  The only options were the
ruins of the city that was here once upon a time, none
of which seemed in any better condition that this one
that they were already in.  Adama realized quickly
that he wished for other options.  A cave.  A portable
shelter.  Anything but the buildings that were here
and their ghosts.  
	Ghosts.  Ghosts do not shoot people and every bit of
Adama's religious training scoffed at the implications
that ghosts existed.  But there had always been a part
of Adama, a small part, that felt that there were
things that people and religion tried to deny existed
because it was something that they feared.  Something
rina was a sore point between them.  A
subject that Apollo was unwilling to discuss.  
	"You’re shocked to see me."  Serina said as she
looked Sheba over, her face seemed almost smug to
Sheba.  And for the life of her, Sheba was unsure why.
 "What’s wrong, Sheba?  Feline got your tongue?  You
can’t speak to me anymore?"
	Sheba’s eyes grew cold as she looked at the beautiful
woman in front of her.  "I can speak just fine,
Serina.  As for the fact that I am shocked to see you,
what reaction did you think I would have?  You have
been dead for almost 4 yahrens."
	Serina laughed.  Her laughter echoed through the
chamber as she turned her attention to the altar then
back to Sheba.  "Dead?  Dead?  Why does everybody
think I am dead?  Here I am, standing before you.  Do
I look dead to you?"
	"No."  Sheba said coldly.
	"You probably _wish_ I was dead, Sheba.  Then you
could have my husband all to yourself."  Serina walked
over and stood in front of Sheba, her eyes cold and
hard as she looked intenthat they could not control.  The thought of something
that could exist beyond their plane of understanding. 
Unexplainable.  So maybe, just maybe Adama believed in
the feasible possibility of the existence of ghosts. 
No!  What they saw at the temple, what shot Apollo was
definitely alive, but where were they?  Where were
they living and how?  Scans had shown that there was
no life on this planet. There was the possibility that
these beings lived under the planet's surface, but
nothing showed up on those scans either.  The only
other possibilities were that something within the
planet's structure shielded these beings from their
scans under the planet's surface or that these beings
were impervious to their scans.  
	No matter what the reason, Adama knew that they were
not in a strong defensive position if these beings
decided to appear again.  They had the element of
surprise on their side.  But right now as Adama felt a
distinct dryness in his mouth, water was the biggest
of their problemtly at Sheba.  "That’s what
you want and you know it.  For me to be dead so that
you can have Apollo all to yourself.  Well, I plan on
telling you here and now, you cannot have my husband,
Sheba.  He is mine.  Till death do us part.  Remember?
 He took the seal with ME!"  Serina shouted at Sheba. 
Serina’s angry, hateful expression nearly undid Sheba,
but she stood fast, not showing her own tumultuous
emotions.  
	"You were shot on Kobol, Serina.  You died on the
Galactica with Apollo at your side.  He mourned you
and he got over it."  Sheba kept her voice decidedly
cool as she tried to process what was happening here. 
She had never, ever met Serina.  How did this woman
know her name?  Just what in Hades was going on? 
Sheba fought to keep control.  She wanted to walk away
from this woman.  She wanted to get out of this place,
where ever she was.  Apollo was lying near death and
needed her.  She didn’t have time for this demented
nightmare.  
	"No."  Serina said as she took a step closer s.  Then food, and then suitable
shelter.  With the shelter situation, they could then
deal with the defense problem.  Adama knew he had to
find water here somewhere, just as they would find
food, and proper shelter.  He had to have some
optimism.  The beings that inhabited this city had to
have a source of water somewhere and it just had to
still exist.  But where?  He had not seen a well or
anything that could possibly be a source of water for
a city this size.  
	The Commander knew what needed to be done next.  He
had to go out there and find that source.  Turn the
city and it's ruins upside down if necessary.  Four
lives that he considered more important than his own
depended on his ability in finding food and water for
their continued survival on this wasteland.  Adama
closed his eyes in a silent curse concerning this
planet.  He wished they had never found it.  And most
importantly, that they had never landed there.  But he
knew that the time past could not be taken back and
adjustedto
Sheba, who firmly stood her ground and did not back
away.  "You and my husband, your lover, plotted to get
rid of me so that the two of you could continue your
illicit affair that you had been having for yahrens. 
I knew that you two had been together before Apollo
and I married, but he assured me that you were in his
past and that I was his future and I alone.  I should
have known better though.  I was warned not to get
involved with Apollo.  That he was nothing more than
an calculating, lying opportunist."
	"That’s not true!"  Sheba shouted heatedly, rising to
Apollo’s defense as she lost her thin hold on her
temper.  Why was this woman saying these things? 
Apollo?  An opportunist?  That sounded almost like a
description of someone else.  Starbuck didn’t even fit
that description and it had been used on him.  "Apollo
would never..."
	"Never what, Sheba?"  Serina shot back.  "Never lie
to you?  Never take advantage of me or anyone else?" 
Serina smirked.  "You are such a fool.  Such a to their own desires.  Adama glanced over to
where Starbuck was sitting much too quietly, his arm
resting on his bent knee as his head was hung
forlornly against his arm, his other hand rested on
Apollo's chest, over his heart.  Adama felt the pain
that he knew Starbuck was feeling.  The fear that
Apollo's heart would stop beating and his life would
slip away.  Adama glanced to Sheba, her dark eyes
seemed larger than before.  Her hand firmly clasped
Apollo's limp one as she sat there on the other side. 
Adama knew from vast experience in dealing with Cain
that his only child was a woman of action.  A woman
who confronted the situation and charged forward, a
plan of action carefully mapped out. But now Adama
could see her feelings of uselessness that were
clearly displayed on her features and it was a feeling
that was foreign to her.  
	Out of the blue as Adama gazed at the woman that
Apollo loved, he remembered an occasion when Apollo
had done something that had irritated Sheba a great
de naive
little fool.  Apollo had nothing without me, and he
was nothing.  I had it all.  Fame.  Money.  Social
position.  What did Apollo have?   Oh yes, the son of
the great Commander Adama of Caprica.  Apollo played
the part so well.  He even had me believing him for a
while, but as luck would have it, I caught on.  I
figured it out.  Not before the sealing unfortunately,
but I figured it out."
	Sheba shook her head, confused at what Serina was
saying.  This was not what she had heard from anyone
about Apollo and Serina’s relationship.  She had heard
versions from many different people, but one thing
seemed to be consistent – not many people were sure of
the durability of the relationship because of the
swiftness of it.  Several, including Apollo’s own
sister, doubted the fact that the marriage would have
survived for very long because it was commonly felt
that they were both rushing into a situation because
of an immense shock to each of their emotional
well-beings.  Athena had voiced heal.  While visiting with his son in his quarters,
Apollo had been saying to his father that he knew most
of the time what Sheba's emotions or feelings were
because they were clearly written on her face.  Just
then Sheba had entered the room, irritation still
apparent.  When she caught sight of Apollo, from the
look she gave him Adama knew his son had done
something pretty serious to upset her.  Apollo had
half jokingly whispered to his father that from the
look on her face now, he knew he was still in trouble.
 On second glance, Apollo had looked back at his
father and muttered, 'A whole lot of trouble.  Can you
call a drill, any drill right at this micron?  I'll
even take a long deep space probe."  Adama had laughed
as he commented that Apollo was on his own to which
Apollo had muttered something that sounded like
"Athena might end up with her childhood wish of being
an only child."
	That sobering thought brought Adama back to the
present, pushing the intrusive thoughts away.  The
thoughtr opinion to Sheba
one night that she felt that Serina had manipulated
Apollo for her own end.  What that end was Athena did
not know and now no one would know for the woman was
dead.  
	As Sheba looked Serina over carefully, she had to
admit to herself that the Caprican newswoman was a
very lovely woman.  She had a delicate quality about
her that most men liked in a woman.  She was the type
of woman that Sheba herself wished that she was or
could be.  But she guessed that maybe that was all an
illusion of Serina’s that she played to the public. 
Her looks had opened the doors for her, but it was her
drive and determination that got her there  Now Sheba
faced a dilemma, facing the woman in front of her. 
Was this the real Serina that she was seeing or was
she trapped in some place and time where people were
different than they were known to be?
	Sheba knew that she had never met Serina.  Had seen
her on the vid many times, but had never had any
occasion to meet the woman face to face.  Nows of happiness or laughter in the past.  The
present was what was needed to be concentrated on. 
Adama looked over at Athena, the person that concerned
him probably the most.  She had been
uncharacteristically quiet as they had trudged back to
the base camp.  Her eyes were wide and unusually
bright.  Her bearing was tense and stiff as she had
silently followed in her father's wake.  And that
worried Adama.  Apollo and Athena had been very close
as children.   Getting into mischief, tormenting their
younger brother terribly.  They were each other's
partner in crime.  Where there had been one, you knew
the other had not been too far behind.  
	Adama turned away from the expression on Athena's
face.  He had to turn away from the vision of her
sitting there, apart from the others, her back pressed
against corner the stones made in her own self imposed
hell.  The father remembered the last time he had seen
that expression on his only daughter's features - at
the memorial service for Zac and Ila. here
Serina was.  Claiming that Sheba and Apollo had been
involved in an affair for yahrens!.  Sheba had known
of Apollo, seen him in passing at many of the military
events that they had been forced to attend with their
parents as children, but Sheba and Apollo had never
really spoken maybe more than 5 words to each other in
their lives before Gammoray! 
	Sheba knew she had to figure out just what was
happening here, but as she struggled to make some
sensible order of her thoughts, Serina dramatically
turned and walked away from her.  Sheba was puzzled by
what was happening, but was unsure what to do.  And
where she was for that matter. 
	"You have to do something about her."  A voice said
quietly behind her.  Sheba turned and was shocked to
see a slender, dark haired woman standing there in the
doorway.  The dark eyes that looked at her glittered
with life and with something akin to anger.  Eyes and
features that were as familiar to Sheba as her own. 
Moira.  Her best friend for yahrens,  A service that
was held in actuality for all the victims of the cylon
treachery.  But Apollo, with Serina at his side, and
Athena, standing stock straight and still on the other
side of her brother, had both had that tortured
expression on their faces.  Adama knew that Athena's
biggest fear as she entered the military had been that
she would end up being the only child left to her
parents.  That her brothers would die fighting the war
and Athena would be left alone.  
Adama knew that his daughter would shirk off any
comfort that he tried to give her.  That her fragile
facade that she showed to them all would crack like
fine crystal and shatter into a million pieces.  All
her life, Athena had always tried to show that she
could handle tough situations.  That she could be
counted on to keep a level head and her emotions in
check like her brothers.  Her dream was to be a pilot
like her brothers.  To rise up the ranks of command
and someday command her own battlestar.  Become a part
of the e since childhood. 
But that was impossible.  Moira was assumed killed
when the cylons attacked the colonies.  And this Moira
that stood at her side was different than her friend
of so many yahrens.  Gone was the uniform that she
wore a medical researcher on Gemoni.  Instead she was
clothed in a dress that Sheba could only say looked
like one worn by a socialator.  In fact, it looked
like it resembled a dress that Cassie had in the
closet of her quarters on the Galactica.  A bright red
dress, very revealing, with Moira’s fair arms bare. 
The material draped and fell over her legs, parting
seductively as she moved.  Sheba had seen that type of
dress on many other women in the socialator
profession.  Revealing, seductive, a dress meant to
entice men to spend time in her company --  for a
price.  
	But Sheba knew that Moira had never been a
socialator.  Oh yes, when they had both as teenagers
seen the women on the streets of Gemoni, in front of
their temples, both teenage girls had wondered whlite ranks of female battlestar commanders. 
Maybe she had said one time, it would have been the
Galactica.  
As Adama walked towards the entrance in silence, he
grappled with the father side of him that wanted
desperately to turn and comfort Athena.  He stopped at
the doorway and looked back at his daughter.  He
wanted to tell her it was all right to cry right now. 
That she could give in to the pain she was feeling --
release it, not store it up inside of her and also
tell Starbuck and Sheba to do the same.  But he
couldn't.  He needed them.  Emotionally crippled, yes,
as they held it all in.  But he desperately needed
them and their skills.  He wanted to break down
himself and couldn't.  Not even in private.  Adama
felt a throbbing in his temples that was growing with
every passing centon.  The pressures were taking their
toll, building inside of him and he knew that he would
have to quit stalling.  He had to get out there and
explore the planet's surface to find water, food along
with at it
would be like to dress like that, sensual and sexy. 
Have men give them anything just so long as they could
spend some time with them.  Being a socialator was an
honorable profession on Gemoni, but it had been one
that her mother had never approved of.  But to Sheba
and Moira, the women had always looked so beautiful. 
They had watched as those women also served on
volunteer committees and did many good works for the
people of Gemoni.  Sheba had learned from Cassie that
a socialator went through a lengthy and arduous
schooling period to become a member of their
profession.  That being intimate with any of their
patrons was an option, not a requirement.  
	But what puzzled Sheba was why was Moira standing
here in an outfit that designated her as a socialator?
 How did she come to be here at all?  She was dead. 
Sheba had searched fleet records for her friend when
her father’s ship had met up with the fleet.  There
had been no record of Moira being within the fleet. 
Nothing.  Even thoa shelter more conducive to their needs.  Adama
swiftly turned away from the faces and expressions
that would be with him the rest of his days.  With a
determination born anew, the silver haired commander
walked through the crumbling doorway of the ruins, his
mission in his mind -- bright and clear.
Without so much as a word of farewell to Athena, Sheba
or Starbuck, he walked out into the bright sunlight
with the climbing heat of afternoon, intent on his
mission to save them from this planet.  
God help him.  

**************************

	Starbuck sat quietly at the side of the man who was
the one person who was closest to Starbuck – the only
person he had ever had for any length of time in his
life.  The person who knew Starbuck better than anyone
else.  Better than even the woman that Starbuck was in
love with -- Cassiopeia.  The man lying there so still
and silent, the one that Starbuck loved as though he
was his own brother, his own flesh and blood. 
Starbuck stared intently at the ugh Sheba did not fully trust the
fleet personnel computer because of the confusion that
had ensued after the destruction, she could be almost
positive that if her friend was still alive and within
the fleet that she would have been serving in some
capacity in her field.  Her friend was studying long
and hard to become a medical reasearcher.  Studying
yahrens to become a physician, then internship for 3
yahrens, then to be accepted in another internship in
her chosen field of research.  Nothing was making
sense.  This was like a badly written Sagittarian
farce.  Nothing was as it should be or as it was.  
	Moira moved forward and lightly stepped down to stand
in front of Sheba.  "You have to do something about
her," she repeated.  "You can’t let her get away with
the lies that she is saying to you."
	Sheba looked at Moira in confusion.  "What lies? 
That woman I just spoke to is dead and she’s been dead
for almost 4 yahrens.  Just what is going on here,
Moira?"
	Moira looked at her, an amapale face made even
paler by the dark hair, wishing with all his soul that
Apollo would give some sign of life.  The only thing
that consoled Starbuck at that micron was the
continued rise and fall of Apollo’s chest.  But the
cold fingers of fear still gripped Starbuck’s heart as
he watched that action – motion that could end
suddenly.  Stop without warning – without a sound. 
Apollo could die but with him would go a large part of
the brash man who sat intently at his side.  
	Starbuck could not stop the morbid thoughts from
coming over his mind.  Nor could he stop the memories
of the past.  His past carefully intertwined with
Apollo’s from the time they were both 15 yahrens old. 
There were times of reflection where Starbuck felt
that his life just began at that point.  The point
that Apollo and his family came into Starbuck’s young
impressionable life and gave him the friendship, love
and acceptance that he had searched for all of his
existence.  Starbuck felt himself being drawn into
thzed look on her face. 
"Dead?  Serina?  I don’t think that woman knows how to
die.  All she wants is for Apollo to live to worship
her, to be totally devoted to her.  And for what?  She
has her own agenda for her life.  Apollo just happened
along when things were not going her way.  She’s
nothing but a user, Sheba."
	"Apollo loved her.  He married her."  Sheba stated
flatly absently wondering how Moira knew Apollo.  
	Moira snorted unladylike as she turned to face her
friend, her voice scornful.  "Only after she pushed
him into it.  Only after Starbuck disappeared and
Apollo was so racked with guilt and grief that he
would have agreed to anything at that moment in time. 
She made him prove his love to her by marrying her
right then and there.  Starbuck had his suspicions
about her, but would not voice them to Apollo."
	"Why?"  Sheba looked over at her friend, curiously.
	"Because Apollo was blinded by Serina’s charms.  She
knew what she wanted and she knew how to use what she
had to get what dangerous world of long ago memories.  A place
where you could lose yourself completely into if you
let yourself.  But the memories were all Starbuck had
to hold on to right now.  The memories and the hope
that sustained him.  Unlike the dream.  
	Starbuck closed his eyes, trying to block out the
memories of that dream.  The dream of horror and
bloodshed.  He tried pushing them aside and
concentrating on the good memories.  The happy ones. 
Starbuck’s first day at another new school on the
planet of Caprica.  But this school was different. 
Walking across the school’s threshold into the open
building would change his life forever.  He would not
leave there until he graduated – 2nd in his class,
right behind Apollo.
	Starbuck had felt nervous the first day there. 
Showing off for the other kid’s benefit.  By the early
afternoon, he had achieved his goal of being one of
the most popular kids there.  He had many people who
wanted to be his friend, to be seen with him because
he was so popuat she wanted.  She married into a family
with much respect, history and power.  In my opinion
she used Apollo.  But what for, I can only speculate."
	"How do you know Serina, Moira?  As far as I know,
you never knew this woman."
	"Oh, I knew her, Sheba and I wish to heaven I had
never met her now."
	Sheba shook her head in her growing confusion.  "I
just don’t understand any of this.  Where are we,
Moira?  What is happening here?  This can’t be real. 
None of this can be real.  Serina is dead and has been
dead for a while now."
	Moira looked at her with a dubious frown.  "Why are
*you* asking all these questions?  You _know_ where we
are.  We’re on Kobol.  We’ve been stuck here for
yahrens."
	Sheba’s eyes widened at the news that Cassie told
her.  "What?!  That’s impossible.  I didn’t come on
board till after Kobol."
	"Sheba, what in hades is wrong with _you_?"  Moira
looked at her, a frown on her face.  "You were on
Gemoni when the Holocaust happened, escaping to the
safety of the Galalar, then he walked into his 4th period
class for that day.  A science course taught by one of
the most boring instructors in the school.  Starbuck
had been surrounded by other kids clamoring for his
attention when he had walked into that room.  Noisy
and rowdy, Starbuck had been the center of attention
from both girls and boys.  They all wanted to be his
friend – to be a part of his adventures.  Starbuck had
walked into that class with all intents to do what he
had done before at all his other schools – just slide
by.  But something – no, someone caught his eye.
	Dylan.  A kid that Starbuck knew very well.  Orphaned
in the same cylon attack that Starbuck was and had
been in several of the same foster homes as Starbuck. 
He was nothing but trouble from the word go.  Starbuck
had wondered what he was doing in this school, but
more than that he wondered what scheme Dylan was
concocting in his small evil mind now.  And just who
was he planning to have take the fall for the outcome
of another octica when we left the colonies. 
But then where else would Apollo have you, but on the
battlestar with him."
	"What do you mean by that?"  Sheba felt like she was
losing her mind.  All of what Moira was telling her
was opposite of what she knew was right.  What she
knew was true.  
	"Come on now, Sheba.  You and Apollo have been lovers
since you met over 10 yahrens ago and we all know that
the only reason that you two have never sealed is
because of the scandal that ruined your father’s
career and reputation.  As much as Apollo has desired
to seal with you, he knew that he couldn’t and still
keep his career in the military.  Even the power and
reputation of Commander Adama could not overcome what
ruined Cain."
	Sheba stood there in mute silence trying to grasp
what Moira had just told her.  None of this ever
happened!!  Her father was the greatest of the
warriors of the colonies.  He was the Commander of the
Pegasus, exploring the deep reaches of space and in
his own way, protecting the ne of his schemes?  Starbuck’s eyes had
wandered to the boy that was sitting next to Dylan.  A
tall, thin dark-haired boy, about 15 yahrens.  No
smile on his face, only a look of seriousness that
intrigued Starbuck from the start.  
	Starbuck had no idea who the other boy was but he
fully intended to find out for that air of seriousness
intrigued the orphaned youth, besides the fact that
Dylan seemed to hover over the boy.  Dylan had not
been at all pleased when Starbuck brashly sat down at
the table with Dylan and Apollo and you could have
sworn that a cylon bomb had gone off when Starbuck had
been assigned to team up with the quiet Apollo to work
on a project for class.  Dylan had been irate where
Starbuck felt smug about thwarting Dylan in whatever
his plans were.  Apollo seemed a little relieved when
the assignments were passed out, finding out that he
was not going to be assigned to work with Dylan, but
he had also seemed a bit wary of the gregarious new
kid.  But after about a centar,fleet while it journeyed
for Earth.  Her father?  Ruined?  Scandalized?  This
was not really happening to her!
	None of what she was saying ever happened!  Yes, she
knew of Apollo, in fact how could she not seeing who
his father was.  She had possibly seen him at military
functions, had been forced to interact with him
socially as well as his siblings, the same as any of
the other sons and daughters of the military brass. 
It had been expected of her.  But never had she and
Apollo been involved in any way, besides a purely
antagonist involvement, before she came aboard the
Galactica.  She was 2 yahrens behind Starbuck and
Apollo at the academy even.  She never got to see
Apollo even then except for assemblies, ceremonies,
social events or the like.  They had passed each other
their whole lives like ships passing through the
stars.  Sheba was jolted out of her remembrances by
Moira’s voice and its tone of disdain.  
	"Then Serina came along, and with Adama pushing for
Apollo to marry and ha Starbuck had Apollo
shyly smiling and starting to talk to him and Starbuck
really liked what he saw in his new friend.
	There was an air of total innocence to Apollo back
then, but there was something else there that Starbuck
was unsure of.  An edge to Apollo that Starbuck
finally discovered a short time later in their
friendship was a defense against some of the teenage
hurt that Apollo had felt then.  Starbuck knew that
Apollo had a younger sister and brother, besides the
fact that Apollo talked about his mother with great
love and pride, but Starbuck never heard anything
about Apollo’s father.  He had just assumed from his
friend’s demeanor that he was dead and that his friend
just did not want to talk about him.   Starbuck had
even been to Apollo’s home several times and never was
there any mention made of Apollo’s father.  
	Then one day, he had shown up at Apollo’s home to
pick up his friend for an outing and had been almost
shocked when the door was opened by a man whose face
was vve an heir, well let’s just say
the marriage was very beneficial for Serina.  Of
course that woman is so stuck on herself and her own
status, that she claims it is her who is making
Apollo.  The bitch!"  Hatred dripped from Moira’s tone
and words.  Scorn for the dark-haired woman was
written all over her features.  "I wish she had died 4
yahrens ago.  After everything she’s done to Starbuck
and to Boomer, and of course we won’t even mention
Apollo, she deserves to die."
	Thoughts of Boxey ran across Sheba’s tormented and
confused mind.  "What….what about Boxey?"
	"Boxey?"
	"Yes, Serina’s son."
	A strange expression came over Moira’s face then she
burst out laughing.  "Serina?  A son?  Now that’s
rich, Sheba.  Really, really rich!  Serina HATES kids.
 To get Apollo to the altar she said otherwise, but as
soon as they were sealed, uh-uh, no way.  No kids. 
She outright hates kids besides the fact that she had
surgery many yahrens ago to guarantee that she will
never be bothered with a childery familiar to Starbuck.  One he had seen on the
vid many times.  Commander Adama of the batttlestar
Galactica, one of the finest ships in the colonial
fleet and who just happened to also be a member of the
Council of Twelve,  You could have knocked Starbuck
over with a feather.  Now he knew why his friend had
never mentioned his father, but it also explained to
Starbuck questions that were still unanswered about
his friend.  
	With his father being the Commander of the Galactica,
Apollo had built a wall around himself against those
who wanted his friendship for their own personal gain.
 To use Apollo’s family background to promote their
own selves to others.  Starbuck now understood why his
friend was the way he was.  Starbuck also knew now why
people whispered about him  concerning his friendship
with Apollo behind his back.  Starbuck never cared
about what people whispered about him.  He was use to
it after all this time, but strangely Starbuck cared a
great deal about what they whisper or the way her body
would change to have one."  Moira tried to rid her
face of her mirth at what Sheba said, but was finding
it hard to do.  "You should have heard Adama when
Apollo told him that there would be no children by
Serina.  That went over real well."
	Sheba turned her attention back to Serina as the
Caprican woman slowly slaundered over to where Sheba
and Moira stood.  Sheba didn’t like the smug
expression on the woman’s face and wished that she
could wipe it off of there.  She just had to keep
reminding herself that this was not real.  It couldn’t
be real.  None of her own memories reflected anything
of what Moira had told her about the current
happenings.  Her father was not a ruined man, a man
who had been disgraced.  She was not having a long
term affair with Apollo behind his wife’s back for  
Serina had died before the Pegasus ever encountered
the fleet and that very real fact could not be changed
by the situation as it now presented itself.    
	All of this was not real ed about Apollo. 
>From that point on, Starbuck had always protected his
friend from those who wanted to use Apollo for their
own gain, but also found himself defending himself and
his own friendship with Apollo.
	More than a few people over the yahrens had claimed
that Starbuck was not truly Apollo’s friend, but using
him to better his own self.  Or to promote his own
self worth.  Many had spoken about how could a
nameless orphan from the Umbra raids think that he was
worthy to be included with one of the oldest blueblood
families of Caprica.  Starbuck had found himself at
one point in his life after graduation from the
academy where Starbuck was even questioning his own
motives for his friendship with Apollo.  He was tired
to the constant scrutiny that seemed to go on where
ever they went, even when they were assigned as
wingmates on the Galactica.  Starbuck knew that he
cared about the person that Apollo was and the person
he presently is.  The two of them had been through
some situatioand that was what she just
had to keep repeating to herself.  This was not real,
but it seemed so real.  Everything that was happening
seemed just so real, but Sheba knew that she could not
be drawn into the seductive reality that it presented.
 A different one than she was facing right now, with
Apollo lying back there on the floor of the building
that they were in, possibly dying from the wounds that
he suffered at the hands of unknown entities.  How she
got here she did not know and how she could escape
from this place, she also did not know.  Someone or
something was at the root of everything that was.
	Sheba looked over at the image of her long dead
friend, a woman who had stood beside her during some
of the most trying times in her life.  Suddenly, Sheba
felt as though a fog was lifting.  The fear and
confusion that she had felt only moments before seemed
to melt away faster than the Arian snows in the heat
of the summer sun.  Suddenly things started to seem
clearer to her – questionsns in their lives that no one should have
came out of unscathed, let alone alive, but they had. 
Together.  It seemed that when they were apart that
they got into more trouble than if they were together.
 And the bond they shared was something that neither
of them questioned but just learned over the yahrens
to accept.  
	Sheba’s voice filtered through Starbuck’s thoughts as
he remembered a conversation he had with her just a
sectar ago.  They had been talking about luck and
friendship.  Sheba had looked at Starbuck with tears
in her eyes and thanked him for being there for
Apollo.  Starbuck had felt slightly embarrassed that
this woman who he considered to be a close friend was
thanking him for being there for the man that they
both cared about, each in a different way.  But Sheba
told him, ‘At least I know that if you are with
Apollo, then he has a better chance of coming back to
me and to his family in one piece than if you were not
with him.  And honestly, I am willing to bet that
Cass that seemed to be
unanswerable seemed answerable to Sheba.
	Sheba smiled to herself as she watched the image of
Serina stop in front of her.  Oh, yes, now everything
was _quite_  clear.       

***************ie feels the same way about Apollo being with you.
 It’s like our little security blanket in a very
insecure universe.’
	Starbuck looked at the still form of his best friend
lying in front of him and felt his eyes start to fill
with tears as guilt started to come over him like a
funeral shroud.  He didn’t do a very good job at
protecting his friend.  Apollo had told Starbuck of
the dream that he had been having, without getting
into some specific details, but Starbuck knew enough. 
Starbuck had been having dreams of his own.  Of sand,
of blood and of death.  Of severe emotional pain. 
Like what he was feeling right now.  And of a
beautiful woman standing alone in the distance. 
Starbuck wondered what his dreams meant and why he was
having it, but he was coming to find out that everyone
seemed to be having these disturbing dreams.  Apollo. 
Himself.  Cassie…
	Cassie.  Starbuck felt pain pull at his heart as he
thought of the beautiful blond haired woman that he
loved.  Where was she?  Was s