A New Beginning "We've got a full squadron coming down on us in twenty-five microns," Sheba said as she glanced down at the screen. "We just lost another gun on our left flank," Apollo returned as they maneuvered the sleek Gunstar through the sea of ships. Sheba kept her right hand on the controller as she typed a damage assessment command with her left. "One more hit on our turbines and we're going to lose lateral control." "Prepare for vertical dive," Apollo ordered. She shot him a glance. "We're right above that asteroid belt." "She can take it," Apollo returned as he tapped furiously at the control pad to his right. "Transferring available laser power to aft gun turrets." "Squadron intercept in ten microns," she returned. "Ninety degree dive on my mark," he ordered and they both adjusted themselves in their seats in preparation. "Three, two, one, mark." As the Gunstar started its hard dive, Apollo and Sheba were pressed back into their command chairs. "Forty degree starboard roll," Apollo ordered. Sheba grimaced as the G-forces made even the smallest move an effort. "We'll reach the asteroid perimeter in five microns." "All aft laser cannons firing," Apollo reported. "Positive shield." He was barely able to lift his hand to the control panel to activate the shields, but they closed just before entering the asteroid field. They were both jarred hard against their seats as the first of the asteroids struck the hull. "Apollo!" she called out as the strain of the dive threatened to cause her to black out. "Power down by two thirds!" he ordered in return. He watched her struggle for several agonizing moments to force her hand up to the control panel, but she finally managed to comply. "Level her out." Sheba drew in several deep breaths when the pressure of the dive was finally eased. Her body felt like a limp rag as the lights around them changed from red to white. "Targets destroyed," the computer reported. "Escape successful. Damage report, six gun turrets destroyed, landing bay disabled, Beta level disabled, Delta level loss of air lock, Alpha." "If the two of you are finished destroying the simulator, how about if you let a couple of real pilots get in there," Starbuck said from the observation station. Apollo shook his head at Starbuck then grabbed the data pad near his seat to jot down a few notes. He barely spared Starbuck and Jolly a glance when the mock viewing screen slid back and the two of them walked into the simulator. "What are you doing here?" Sheba asked as she rubbed at her aching arms. Having the simulator to themselves for the last several centars had given them the chance to run through a variety of scenarios, but had completely worn her out. "I thought you were working on the new Viper." Starbuck gave a shrug. "Kaden has to refit the turbo lasers which will probably take the rest of the sectarie at least. I high jacked Jolly so we could get some simulator time in here." "Work instead of pleasure? How unlike you," she teased then gave Jolly a curious look. "You look like you just woke up." Jolly rubbed at his tired eyes. "Yeah lucky me everyone else was out on patrol. I had billeting to myself for a change." "Come on Jolly," Starbuck cajoled him as he wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "Where's the adventure in sleeping?" "Oh sleep," Sheba said enviously as she leaned her head back in her chair. "I have a vague recollection of what that is." Apollo chuckled as he finished up the last of his notes. "All right, all right. I get the hint." He quickly checked the chronometer at his wrist. "I'm supposed to meet with Dr. Wilker in a few centars. It will give me a chance to compile my notes." ~~~ Athena moved uneasily in her bed as her stomach churned. "I hate you! I hate you!" the little girl screamed. Athena stared down at her blood soaked hands then her eyes rose to see hundreds of warriors sprawled out on a battlefield. They were all dying and she rushed for one to the other to help, but there was nothing that she could do. "Why didn't you stop this? Why won't you save us?" they asked as they reached out to her. She shook her head as her heart pounded in her chest. "I don't know how." "You're our bomoh.our healer," one of the men said as he grasped the edge of her gown. "If you can't save us.no one can." Athena dropped to her knees at the sound of a baby's plaintiff cry and the scene suddenly changed. She was with the children that were born with an addiction to the enhanced agro food and they were laughing. As she watched them play around her, she finally realized that she was having a dream. She drew in a slow breath and forced herself to relax, to detach herself from the dream as Gaea had instructed, but it was difficult. The horrific sight of so many warriors dying along with the knowledge that she could have done something troubled her deeply. They had lost twenty-three warriors when the Nomen and Alliance had attacked as well as sixty- eight civilians. Unfortunately, she couldn't be sure if her dream was the distorted memory of that battle or a premonition of a future conflict. She looked at the children with a new eye, carefully studying what they were doing. Two of the children tugged at a long rope while another bounced a ball against the wall. Athena stared at the ball for several microns and realized it was painted to look like a planet. She watched a few of the children put their hands up to their mouths as they whispered secrets in each other's ears then her gaze drifted to children sitting on the floor. One of them tossed small objects into the air to scatter them and she looked more closely to see that they were miniature ships. Most of them looked like Vipers, but there were two that looked like the Galactica. Athena gasped when one of the children ran across the toys and crushed several of the ships. She felt her heart leap in her chest at the sight of one of the battlestars in pieces, but the children playing with the toys seemed to accept the destruction as part of the game. She looked up curiously when one of the children stopped in front of her. He smiled innocently then handed her a sweet green fruit that was one of her favorites before running off to play. She started to take a bite of the fruit when it suddenly withered in her hand. She watched in astonishment as the hearty fruit shriveled down to its pits before becoming dust that poured through her fingers. She darted a quick glance around at the children and her stomach lurched. All of the children were sprawled out on the floor in much the same way that the warriors had been only the children weren't moving. She rose to her feet, her eyes luminous with tears as she watched the children's bodies wither like the fruit. She felt something stir against her and she looked down into her arms to see a newborn infant staring up at her. An instant later, it was gone. "No!" Athena sat bolt upright in bed as she gulped in air. Her eyes darted around her dark quarters to assure herself that she was safe in bed before she pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. "Athena?" Boomer said softly as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. When he heard a sob escape her, he sat up and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Hey. It's okay," he assured her as he gently pulled her hair back from her face. "Did you have another nightmare?" When she nodded he squeezed her tighter. He hated how Athena was tormented by her dreams, but even more so that he could do nothing about it. "Do you want to talk about it?" He sighed heavily when she shook her head. Even though their relationship had progressed to the point where Boomer stayed in her quarters most nights, there was still a part of her that she kept from him. "Come here," he insisted as he lay back on the bed and pulled her down with him. She curled up against his bare chest as he gently stroked her hair. "Did I ever tell you what a great cook my mother was?" he asked. Athena smiled as she squeezed her eyes shut. She loved the way that Boomer could take her mind off of anything that was troubling her. "Was she?" "Oh the best!" he returned. "She could make a glazed anatidae that would melt in your mouth and her stuffed Arian twists were the lightest you ever tasted. I was so fat that I didn't even learn to walk until I was four," he teased. "I just sort of rolled around the house." He glanced down at her when he heard a faint chuckle then continued to talk about the various dishes that his mother made. Eventually, he felt her slow steady breathing and knew she had drifted back off to sleep. ~~~ "If Wilker could move even some of the controls onto the arms of command chairs, that would be an improvement," Apollo said as he walked down the corridor with Sheba to his quarters. "It could cut down on response time." "Speaking of responses, have you heard from Boxey lately?" she asked hoping to change the subject. The Gunstar was the sole occupant of Apollo's thoughts of late. "Yeah, I got a communiqu‚ from him earlier. Apparently he has every intention of asking my father to have an obstacle course installed on the Galactica when he gets back from training." Sheba's look was chagrinned. "Since when did he become a little masochist?" Apollo chuckled. "He is really getting into his Academy training. Spending an entire secton with his class is like a dream come true for him. He said they're getting to act like real warriors." She smiled at the memory of her own time in cadet training. Living in billeting and eating in the mess hall had made her feel like a grownup when she was Boxey's age. She had been pleased when the commander had taken care to initialize the old practices and even arranged a camping trip on one of the agro pods. "No doubt the simulator training is his favorite," she remarked as she rolled her shoulders slightly to try to ease the stiffness settling in. "He would spend the entire sectarie in the simulator if he could," Apollo confirmed. "Apparently he's pretty good too. He said that he has the highest point total in the simulator so far in his class." "Like father like son," she teased as she leaned against the wall next to the door of Apollo's quarters. He looked at her a little sheepishly as he pulled his key card out of his utility belt. "Yeah, sorry about that. I had no idea we were in there so long. It's just so easy to get caught up in the moment when you really care about something." Sheba's eyebrow arched as he unlocked the door to his quarters. "Care to prove that to me?" He looked at her curiously as the door slid open. "Wasn't that what we were just doing?" She shook her head slightly as she smiled. "When do you have to meet with Dr. Wilker?" He glanced down at his chronometer. "In about six centars." Sheba put her hand over the time piece and deftly unhooked it from his wrist. "Good. Then you can spend the next five and a half centars proving to me just how.focused you can be." She tossed his chronometer over her shoulder and it landed somewhere inside his dark chambers. Apollo wrapped his arms around her as she pressed against him to give him a languid kiss. "I thought you were tired," he commented as she slowly backed away. She smiled enticingly. "It's not very often that I get you to myself," she told him as she grabbed onto his utility belt to keep him with her as she backed into his quarters. "I don't want to waste a centon of it." Dr. Wilker mumbled to himself as he inspected the reassembled section of the Wilker Pods which had been damaged in battle. He had grown beyond frustrated trying to dissolve the protective foam from between the two layers of glass. They had used every kind of solvent there was in the fleet and the doctor even concocted many of his own. Nothing worked. There was something in the chemical composition of the foam that bonded to the glass and fused the two domes together. In the end, the domes had been removed for use in other sections of the fleet and new ones had been constructed. All of the pods had been refitted with new bio-degradable foam which the doctor had tested repeatedly for its solubility before installing. And the original protective foam had been dispensed throughout the fleet to fill the spaces between thin hulls on ships. Its light composition not only acted as a sealant, but as an insulator, muffling out some of the ship's noise as well as holding in more heat. "We're ready to launch Doctor," one of the men told him as they watched the final preparations of the pods from the control center of the landing bay. "Proceed," Wilker said simply. Computations of Cylon technology ran through his head as he stared down at the pods. He had only recently been able to reactivate the centurions that they had captured and their matrix had him intrigued. "Dr. Wilker?" Komma said when clearing his throat hadn't been enough to get the doctor's attention. "Sir?" He finally blinked to awareness and shot Komma a glance. "Yes, what is it?" "Sir, Dr. Salik wants to meet with you concerning the cranial scan that you are working on and Colonel Tigh has requested an update on the Viper prototype." He waved that off. "I've got to see Captain Apollo on the Galactica in," he glanced down at his chronometer, "forty-five centons. I'll meet with them after that." "We have liftoff," one of the men at the controls announced as the Wilker Pods rose off of the flight deck. "All systems normal." Komma glanced down at his data pad to make sure that he wasn't forgetting anything. Dr. Wilker had a way of unnerving him. "Oh! And the Au that you have requested is unavailable." "What?" Wilker glared at him as if he was the cause for the lack of gold in the fleet. "I'm sorry sir." Komma fidgeted. "That's why the commander implemented the credit system in the fleet," he reminded the doctor. "Au is in very short supply." "I only need ten laxar," Wilker growled. "I have to have that Au or the power system for the electron wave won't work." "I understand that sir," he replied as he took a step back, "but the only Au left in the fleet is designated for the manufacturing of cubits." Dr. Wilker looked at Komma thoughtfully. "Cubits?" "We have forward motion," the controller reported then tapped at the view screen to zoom in closer on a section of the landing bay. "Crane Number Two not responding." Komma frowned as he looked out into the landing bay. The controller continued to speak with the crane operator as the newly refurbished Wilker Pods moved slowly down the bay. He shot a glance at Wilker and saw that his mind had wandered off again. "Dr. Wilker?" Wilker shook himself out of his musings and turned to see what was happening. His mouth dropped open as he saw the pods getting dangerously close to a crane that had failed to retract properly. "Hit the reverse thrusters! Hit the reverse thrusters!" He could see the pods slowing as the controller relayed the orders, but it wasn't enough to stop the pods in time. The spine-jarring sound of metal against metal filled the bay. The grid surrounding the domes on one of the pods scrapped against the bottom of the crane. When the sound ended, everyone stared out at the pods and breathed a collective sigh of relief. They had made it under the crane with only slight damage to the outer frame. Some of the people in the control room started to clap. It had been a long hard road for everyone repairing the Wilker Pods and they were all glad to see the last of them launch. In the next instant, the vegetation inside the pods was obscured from view when the protective foam was released between the domes. Silence fell in the control room and all eyes turned to Wilker after all three domes in the section filled with the foam. "Look at it this way," Komma said his voice weak even in the stillness of the room. "At least now you'll get to test the solvent." Wilker stared at him in disbelief. After six sectons of aggravation, after endless centars of reworking the formula and after redesigning the dispersal system, he had thought that it was finally over. The frustration welled up inside of Wilker until he thought that he would explode under the pressure. When he began jumping up and down, stomping his feet hard against the metal deck, everyone in the room drew back. ~~~ Cassiopia shook her head as she stared at the data on the monitor. "I can understand why the parents are upset. At this rate, the agro children will be adults before they reach ten yahren." "But it's not a constant growth," Salik argued as he tapped at a figure on the screen. "The children have only gone through a growth spurt." She gave him a sideways look. "They've gone through three yahrens of growth in a little over a single yahren. I'd say that's more than a spurt." Salik typed in a new series of commands to pull up previously recorded data. "Look. Their growth accelerated about two sectars ago, but it's slowing back down. Another couple of sectons and they should return to their normal bio rhythms. Cassiopia shook her head again. "That change is so slight. How can you be sure?" He straightened and fidgeted slightly as he looked down at her. "It's similar to the growth spurt they had at six sectars although a bit more dramatic." "A bit?" She looked up at him with wide eyes. "You can actually see the physical changes in the children from one secton to the next. What's that doing to do to their life cycle? They could be grandparents by the time their thirty and dead before they even reach one hundred!" She turned in her chair as she stared up at him. "If I was a parent, I would be more than a little worried." "We don't know that the children's life cycle is going to be shortened," he argued. "They may live well beyond our present normal life span of two hundred yahren." "We can assume from the statistics." "We can't afford to assume anything as far as these children are concerned," Salik interrupted. "Their bodies are adjusting properly to the unusual growth. For them, this is normal. All we can do is monitor them and hope that we can handle any problems that may arise." He was just as concerned for the children as Cassiopia, but that was edged with anticipation as he watched the children mature. Nothing like what they were seeing had ever been recorded in the medical journals so he was excited as well as wary. "What about our new mother?" he asked to change the subject. "All of the tests have come back normal," she returned with a bit of relief. "You were right. The little girl was simply born two sectars premature." She skimmed down the information. "It looks like she's responding well to her treatment." "I want to keep both mother and child in the Life Center for a couple more sectaries for monitoring. Make a note for me to stop into the Birth Ward as soon as possible," he instructed softly. She followed his orders, pulling up his personal schedule to make the addition. "You've got an appointment with Doctor Wilker later," she reminded him when she saw it listed. "And Flight Sergeant Bartlet is still waiting for you to release him." She went ahead and pulled up his medical records. "How's his cough?" "The spray you concocted has really helped even with the scarring on his lungs. I don't see any residuals of solium gas in his hemo data." "Good," he said simply. "I'll stop in to see him in a centon. Put him on limited duties with a follow up in a secton. I'll have to mix up another batch of that spray in the meantime." ~~~ "I don't know what to make of it Gaea," Athena said softly as they slowly walked through the livestock ship behind the anxious group of children. They had arranged a special trip to the ship for the agro children as a break from their regular activities. "I tried to do as you instructed, but the sensations were so real." "It was your reaction to the dream that pulled you out of it," Gaea returned in hushed tones as she glanced around at the collection of animal younglings. The curator of the ship had moved the younglings into a single bay so that the children could actually go in with them. "If the dream should return, try to see it through. Detaching yourself is crucial." "It's hard to detach yourself when you have a personal connection. I couldn't love these children more if they were my own," she said with a catch in her throat. Her heart throbbed heavily as a fleeting image of the children withering away flashed in her mind's eye. Athena tossed a wave to one of the men working on the livestock ship and pasted a smile on her face as he opened a large gate to allow the children to enter. The room was filled with excited squeals from children and animals alike. Athena and Gaea stepped over to the low metal fencing and leaned their arms on it to watch the children. "The connection between the fruit and the children is obvious," Gaea said in an attempt to analyze the dream. She could sense Athena's distress, but hoped that speaking of the dream in a casual tone would demonstrate how to view it logically instead of emotionally. "If we lose one, we will lose the other." "But was the dream simply the knowledge of that fact or a premonition?" Gaea was silent for a long moment as she glanced around. She could sense Athena's mood lightening and knew that it was from watching the children. They would be her greatest joy and her greatest heartache. "Perhaps the best way to discern that will be to speak with your father," she suggested. "Find out if there have been any problems with the agro ships." "That's an idea," Athena said, but took little comfort in the suggestion. If something was going to happen to their food source, she wanted to take action immediately. "Do you know if anyone has tried to preserve the agro food? Canning or drying?" Gaea looked at her curiously. "I have no idea, but that's definitely worth looking into." Athena's head tilted to one side as she watched one of the children approach a small wooly. The young girl didn't reach out to touch the animal. Instead, she knelt down in front of it. To Athena's surprise, the wooly sat down on its haunches to stare at the girl's face. Athena was drawn by the curious exchange and silently made her way around the gate. "Deneb? Don't you want to pet him?" Athena asked as she knelt down behind the girl. Deneb shook her head. "He doesn't want me to." Athena's brows rose at the statement. "He doesn't?" Her expression was sad as she looked back at the wooly. "A man took him away from his mama and he's afraid that I'll take him away too." Athena gasped and glanced back over her shoulder to find Gaea listening in. Gaea gave her an encouraging nod to continue as she focused on the child. Athena cleared her throat and lightly caressed Deneb's hair. "Did he tell you that?" she asked carefully and was surprised when the little girl nodded. "What else did he say?" She looked up at Athena with the same sad eyes. "His mama is really sick and no one will let him see her." Gaea's gaze darted around the room until it landed on one of the workers cleaning out a stall and she quickly waved him over. "Can you tell me the history of this animal?" she asked as she pointed down to the wooly. He frowned at the odd question as he put his hands on his hips. "The history?" he repeated then shrugged. "There isn't much. He's only about a sectar old." "His mama's sick," the little girl said as she looked up at the man. He looked at her curiously. "Did one of the staff tell you that?" Deneb turned back to the animal then nodded before looking back at the man. "You're the one that took him away from his mama." He took a step back as if something had hit him then shot a look at Gaea and Athena. The wooly had bleated soulfully when he had taken him away from his sick mother and he had pitied the small animal. He hated that part of his job, but no one else had been available. He had been alone in the pens. "How could you know that?" "Athena?" Deneb said then reached out to take her arm. "Can you help his mama? She's really sick and he hasn't seen her in sectaries." Athena blinked several times at the unexpected request. "I don't know," she returned honestly then looked back at Gaea. Gaea turned to the worker. "Can you take us to the mother?" His eyes skimmed over Gaea's shrouded form as he tried to ascertain what was happening. "Is this a joke?" Athena stood to face him as well. "Please take us to her." Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces- airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org X-UIDL: &TI!!_(("!M0`"!:J%!! Adama walked into the holographic chamber onboard the Trinian to see Dr. Quaye standing in the middle of a three dimensional star field. He paused a moment to gaze at the awe inspiring display. Quaye had added an assortment of planets since his last visit to the ship and the various colors dotting the small room only added to its appeal. His eyes finally fell on the doctor herself as she made notions on a data pad. "Computer," Quaye said. "Move to quadrant three-two-eight mark seven-four." Adama darted a glance around once more as the collection of stars and planets changed then he walked slowly to the center of the room to join the doctor. "Always hard at work," he commented with a smile. Quaye's head snapped around, her eyes wide at the unexpected intrusion until she saw who had come in. "I haven't quite finished my computations Commander," she said briskly then turned back to her data pad. Adama frowned at her chilly reception. He had come to the Trinian whenever he had the chance and had cultivated a close relationship with the doctor over the past several sectars. "Are we back to Commander again?" She didn't even spare him a glance. "That's what you are, aren't you? The Supreme Commander of the Colonial Fleet?" Now he was certain that something was wrong. He knew that Dr. Quaye was very much a peace advocate, but other than sparking several lively debates which he had thoroughly enjoyed, she seemed to accept the fact that he had his roll to play in the fleet. "Has something happened that I'm unaware of?" Quaye turned to him then, the anger and disappointment evident on her face. "No, something has happened that I was unaware of. Don't you have a new battle cruiser to inspect?" Understanding dawned as she put her back to him once more. "The Gunstar," he said softly. They had managed to keep the construction of the new ship a secret until it had been moved to the Galactica for assembly. For a peace advocate like Quaye, the addition of another war ship was like a slap in the face. Quaye sighed heavily as she let the data pad drop to her side. "Yes, the Gunstar," she repeated. "I know that I'm just another passenger in the fleet, but I thought that we had developed at least some trust between us." He shook his head slowly. "It was necessary to keep the construction of the Gunstar a secret." "Ah yes, the military and secrets. The two do seem to go together quite well." Adama reached out and grasped her shoulder so that she would turn to face him. "Are you more upset about the Gunstar or the fact that I didn't tell you?" "It's not like you didn't have the opportunity, Adama," she returned. "We've talked about the Fleet and where we are going. You've trusted me with navigational charts and taken my advice on course corrections. Why couldn't you trust me with this?" He smiled sadly. "It was need-to-know. Even my own daughter didn't know about the construction until it became general knowledge." "Am I supposed to take solace in that?" she challenged. "All that tells me is that, no matter how close we get.." She drew in a deep breath to steady the sudden rush of emotions that threatened to overtake her. Her feelings for Adama had blossomed and she had thought that they had a strong bond of trust between them. Discovering otherwise made her question if her feelings were only one sided. She looked up at him with sad eyes. "There's always going to be a part of you that I will never know." "Isn't that true of any relationship?" he countered. "I thought that you were primarily a man of peace," she shot back, her anger evident in her tone. "Why do we need more weapons when we're supposedly on a quest to find a planet to live on?" "For protection." "Isn't that what the Galactica is for? And all of those Vipers?" "And what if something happens to the Galactica?" he argued. "It's only one ship." "You've managed quite well thus far with only one ship." He shook his head again. "We've been lucky. As commander of the fleet, I can't in good conscious continue to press that luck when there are steps that we can take to ensure the safety of our people." Quaye closed her eyes as the fight left her. She knew that his argument was a reasonable one, but she couldn't help feeling the way that she did. "How many more Gunstars are going to be built?" His gaze dropped to the floor for a moment as he considered whether or not to answer then his eyes rose to hers. "We already have a second one under construction." She shook her head as she looked up at him once more. "What about the education of the children? What about proper living quarters for the people of the Fleet? What about finding Earth? Are all of those suddenly unimportant?" Adama straightened slightly. "Those are all top priority and always have been." "So why isn't an educational facility being built? Or a billeting ship? There are even things on the Trinian that are in dire need of improvement, but all of that seems to take second place to building war ships." She shook her head. "I thought that I knew you, Commander, but I guess I was wrong." Adama dropped his head as he clasped his hands behind his back. He was unnerved by the urge to explain things to her. Ordinarily he would be bristling at being questioned, but her opinion had come to mean a great deal to him. Still, he was the commander and protocols had to be followed. His eyes rose back to her with authority. "Very well. I've come for an update on the navigational charts, Doctor." Quaye felt a stab in her chest and she looked down at her data pad quickly to try to hide her reaction. She gave the appearance of checking her information then she turned away from him once more. "There's a problem in one of the systems that we are approaching," she told him and was relieved that her voice could sound as dispassionate as his. "Computer, bring up quadrant Epsilon three-eight." When the stars changed, Quaye took a few steps closer to the area she was having trouble with. "There's some sort of distortion in this area." She withdrew a laser pen from her smock pocket and made a circle in the air that faded away after a few microns. "What's the cause?" She shook her head. "My first thought was that there was some sort of nova or planetary collapse causing the distortion, but the data isn't supporting that theory." "But you do think that it's a natural phenomenon?" he pressed. "That will be impossible to tell without further information," she told him as she snuck a glance at him over her shoulder. "It could be a space or time distortion." His brows drew together as he shot her a skeptical look. "A worm hole?" Doctor Quaye shook her head. "That's highly unlikely. It's more of a wrinkle in space than a hole, but speculation is pointless. The problem is that this disturbance may completely throw off the charts that Delos made." "How so?" Adama asked as his stomach started to churn. They had been relying on Delos' maps for many sectars. If they were suddenly suspect, they could have inadvertently gone hundreds of parsecs off course. "He doesn't account for the phenomenon in his work," she explained. "If this is something new, we can recalibrate the instruments to accommodate, but if it's something that he overlooked, it could throw our course off by hundreds, maybe even thousands of parsecs down the proverbial road." "Can't we recalibrate the instruments in either case?" She turned and gave him one of her best scholarly disapproving looks. "While Delos' theories are quite impressive, I would be disinclined to trust any information beyond this point if he made a mistake of this magnitude." Adama's brows drew together as his gaze dropped to the black floor. He had followed the charts with such confidence. The Book of the Word mentioned little of the path to Earth, but what there was had coincided with the calculations that Delos had made. "I'll launch a recon patrol to investigate," he told her as his eyes rose back to hers. "Is there any specific information that you will need?" She gave him a long look knowing that he was about to leave, but uncertain of whether he would ever return. "I'll have Adler bring the equipment to your shuttle," she said softly. Adama gave her a sad smile. "Thank you Doctor," he said crisply then gave her a slight bow before turning on his heal and walking back out of the Star Chamber.