Disclosures

Starbuck tapped at his control panel, randomly
checking various long range scans for the anomaly, but
his thoughts were back on the Galactica.  After
turning up nothing, he sighed heavily and closed his
eyes.  The image of Cassiopia cradling that tiny baby
in her arms returned and he smiled.  She had looked so
natural holding that infant and he wondered for the
first time why she hadn't had any kids.

"Because she was a solicitor," he answered himself
then shook his head.  Although some in their society
may turn a blind eye to the profession, children of
such a union were ostracized so steps were taken to
prevent conception including some as drastic as
surgery.

"What if she can't have kids?" he asked himself and
felt his stomach lurch.  Although he had never really
pictured himself as a father, he had always assumed
that he would have children eventually.

That brought up another question in his mind.  Would
he still want to be with Cassiopia if he were to
discover that she didn't want to, or worse, couldn't
have children?

His mind wandered back over the time they had spent
together.  He had been attracted to her because of her
beauty, but there was so much more to Cassiopia.  She
had shown strength by moving beyond the life she had
known and taking up a vital position in the medical
staff.  She had displayed courage and impetuousness
when she volunteered for the mission on Gamoray.  She
had even proven her loyalty when he needed to sort out
his feelings for Aurora.  Instead of finding another
date, she had exchanged concert duckits for another
night when he suddenly backed out to visit the
Celestra.  He knew that there was any number of
warriors on the Galactica who would have happily
accompanied her to the concert, but she had waited for
him even with the uncertainty of a past love being
rekindled.

He nodded his head as he glanced over his readouts
once more.  He wanted to be with Cassiopia, of that,
he was certain.  He recalled a conversation with
Chameleon where he said that he thought about getting
sealed to Cassiopia someday, maybe when they reached
Earth, but now he wasn't sure that he wanted to wait
for "someday".  Their travels didn't seem to have any
end in sight.

His thoughts wandered to the relationship that had
developed between Boomer and Athena and he had to
admit to feeling a little envious.  The two of them
had become practically inseparable and neither of them
had ever looked happier.  Despite ugly rumors that
Boomer was merely looking to advance his position by
becoming sealed to the commander's daughter, it was
obvious to anyone who knew them that there was genuine
love.  Warriors were even placing bets on when the two
of them would be sealed.

"I wonder if there are any bets on me and Cass?" he
thought out loud.

~~~

"Give me a full sweep every five microns," Adama
ordered Omega as he leaned over his shoulder, "but
keep a concentrated scan on this area."  He tapped his
finger against the screen.  "We should be picking up
something on that distortion by now."

"Yes sir," Omega returned.

"Commander," Boomer called out as he mounted the steps
around the bridge tower.  "Athena just checked in.
She said that the last of the parents had picked up
the children and that she was on her way to the
Galactica with Gaea."

"Did she happen to mention how the trip went?" he
asked curiously.

"Are you ready for this?"  Boomer put a fist against
his hip.  "Your daughter healed a wooly."

Adama's brows shot up.  "Excuse me?"

He nodded as his jaw flinched.  He was uncomfortable
with Athena healing because of the effect that it had
on her so taking an unnecessary risk by healing an
animal was completely unjustified in his book.
"Apparently one of the children found out that there
was a sick wooly and asked Athena to heal it."

He held his hands wide as his mouth hung open.  "I've
never even heard of a healer working with animals,"
Adama admitted.

"She said that it was a unique experience that she's
not real anxious to repeat," Boomer said with a note
of skepticism.  "Still, if you don't mind sir, I'd
like to go have a little chat with her once she's back
on board."

The corner of Adama's mouth twitched up as he reached
out to give Boomer's shoulder a pat.  "Of course you
can, but don't be too hard on her.  If I know Athena,
she just couldn't say no to a child."

~~~

"Slow down!" Cassiopia insisted when she became
overwhelmed with the information that Drs. Salik and
Wilker were discussing.  "I can't type that fast."

"Where is Daltonei anyway?" Salik asked as he looked
through the glass pane from his office into the Life
Center.  "You're supposed to be completing your
studies.  She should be taking transcription, not
you."

"You sent her up to the bridge with computapes for the
commander that `had' to be delivered in person," she
returned, ticking her fingers in the air to accentuate
his choice of word.

"Oh yes.  Well, I'm sure she will be back soon."

"Not soon enough," Cassiopia mumbled as she glanced
over what she had typed to try to remember what she
was suppose to add.

"My new assistant is a wiz at dictation," Salik
explained to Wilker.

"Daltonei," Wilker said thoughtfully.  "I don't recall
the name.  Has she worked with you long?"

Salik shook his head.  "She one of the people in that
new job placement program.  Her fingers are so nimble
that even the computer has a hard time keeping up."

Wilker's brows shot up.  "An aberration of the agro
food?"

"Most likely."

"I wonder if I might borrow."

"Don't even think about it Wilker," Salik interrupted.
 "She's invaluable to me and the research that I'm
doing in the Life Center.  If you want a new
assistant, talk to the commander.  You're not getting
any of my people."

He held his arms wide.  "What happened to the spirit
of sharing, brotherhood and all that?"

Cassiopia rolled her eyes at the exchange.  "I'm
caught back up."

"Ah, good," Salik said as he leaned over her shoulder
and completely ignored Wilker's plea.  "Pull up the
last cranial scan that we did on Aries."

Salik straightened and folded his arms across his
chest as Cassiopia complied.  "Aries is one of the
children recently born with an addiction to agro
food," he explained for Wilker's benefit.  "He has
been showing a particularly high aptitude for solving
complicated problems.  Picture puzzles are one of his
favorites.  While I was testing him, I took two
readings."  He put his arm around Wilker's shoulders
and gestured down to the monitor.  "The one on the
left is the cranial scan that I took while his mother
was holding him.  The other is a scan that I took
while he was working on a puzzle."

Wilker leaned in closer and saw a glowing area on the
scan to the right.  "Did you alter this in any way?"

Salik shook his head as a smile crept up on his face.
"You're seeing it as it was originally recorded.  I
thought perhaps that there had been some glitch in the
equipment, but I took the scans again with the same
results."

His mind raced with the possibilities.  "If we could
somehow enhance the cranial scan, we could very well
map out the entire brain."

Salik was pleased by Wilker's excitement.  "If we
could understand precisely how the brain works, we
could practically wipe out any form of mental illness,
prevent strokes, possibly even restore function to
paralyzed limbs."

"Imagine the wealth of knowledge that we could extract
or even upload into the brain if we could tap into the
memory core.  The brain is basically a giant computer.
 What if we could access any part of it that we choose
at any given moment?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Salik cautioned.
"First we have to come up with a cranial scan that can
isolate specific areas of thought, emotions and
automated functions."

"Yes, yes."  He waved it off as if it was a minor
detail while he studied the image of the cranial scan
more closely.  "Fascinating."

~~~

Carmichael shook his head as he put his fists on his
hips and gazed up at the foam-filled domes.  He had
thought the protective system was a good idea in
theory, but the actual fact was that it was more
trouble than it was worth.  He was tired of having to
come on board the repair ship to care for the plants
under opaque domes.  He missed seeing the stars
whenever he looked up.

"I thought all of the agro pods were supposed to be
fixed by now?" the young apprentice, Amir, commented
as he walked into the pod to join Carmichael and his
son, Tanis.

"They were," Carmichael snipped as they all stared up.
 "People shouldn't try to fly these things if they
don't know what they're doing."

Tanis looked over at his work companion to translate.
"There was an accident with a crane as the ship was
leaving the bay," he explained.

"You're kidding?" Amir returned then moaned as he
looked up at the dome.  It took them twice as long to
finish their work having to shuttle between ships and
he had hoped that part of his job would be over.
"That's at least another three sectaries in here."

"I just hope that Wilker finally got his formula
right," Carmichael growled.  "If they have to replace
the domes again, that's another sectar!"  He scratched
at his head as he looked around at the foliage.  "We
might as well get started.  Tanis, I want you to go
ahead and check the water ducts in Pod Two.  I'll show
Amir what he needs to do in here and then he can check
the ducts in the third pod.  We've had a problem with
soil clogging our water lines," he explained to his
apprentice then looked back at his son.  "Only use the
pressure pump to blow out the debris as a last resort.
 Some of those pipes are so old that they may burst if
you try to force anything through them."

"Don't worry Father," Tanis returned with a smirk.  "I
haven't flooded the agro pods yet."

His father glared at him for bringing up the recent
accident he had experienced trying to flush out the
ducts.  "You're not too old to turn over my knee," he
warned, but he could hear his son, who was nearly
twice his size, laughing as he left the pod.

~~~

Gaea was fuming as she followed Athena into her
quarters.  "Of all the irresponsible things to do!"
she began the micron the door closed behind them.
"How can you take that kind of risk?"

Athena shook her head as she walked straight for her
bed.  "I'm not in the mood for one of your lectures
Gaea."

Gaea's arms started gesturing wildly as her mind raced
with questions.  She couldn't believe that Athena
would be so careless.  "Do you have any idea how
important you are to this fleet?  How important your
children could be one day?"

Athena pulled back the covers on the bed then stilled
as she imagined the possibility.  Her eyes were
glistening as she ran a hand over her stomach.  "I
would actually have to have them first," she whispered
in a choked voice.

Shaking her head in confusion, Gaea finally gave up
trying to understand.  "What are you talking about?"
she asked in exasperation.  "You're pregnant.  You're
going to have a baby."

The first tears escaped as Athena squeezed her eyes
shut.  She was completely spent from the healing and
stressed from Gaea glaring at her the entire way back.
 Thankfully Gaea had been able to contain herself
until they were alone, but the inevitability of their
conversation weighed on her and she was ready to
collapse into bed.   "No.  I'm going to lose her."

Gaea's body jolted with the shock.  "What?" she
breathed.

Athena had to swallow hard before she dared to speak.
"I've dreamt it," she explained as she gazed back over
her shoulder at her mentor.  "That's the one thing
that has been constant in my dreams.  I've known from
the moment that I got pregnant that I would never see
my baby's face."  Her features tightened as she fought
to control her emotions.  It was gut-wrenching for her
to even think about.  To hear the words spoken was
almost too much to bear.

When a sob escaped her, Gaea quickly took her into her
arms.  Athena's despair washed over her at the contact
and Gaea drew in a sharp breath.  She hadn't been
prepared for the intensity and felt herself tearing up
before she was able to block out the emotion.  "Sit
down, dearest, and tell me about this dream."

Athena complied without thought.  The lyrical voice
that Gaea used was one that she was familiar with.  It
had guided her through a number of healings.  It was
soothing, comforting.  Athena sniffed loudly and wiped
at her eyes with her fingertips.  "She's always there
with me in my dreams."  She darted a glance over to
Gaea's shrouded face and pasted on a smile.  "I feel
like I've already gotten to know her."  Her lip
trembled and she bit at it a moment before continuing.
 "But I've never actually seen her face."  She cleared
her throat then dabbed at her eyes again.  "I can hear
her crying in my dream, but when I turn to look."  She
shook her head as tears streamed down her cheek.  "She
vanishes."

Gaea shook her head as she gently rubbed Athena's
back.  She was able to pick up fleeting images as
Athena spoke about the dream, but they confused her
more than they clarified.  "That could mean anything,"
she assured her.  "Perhaps it's simply not time for
you to see her."  She could sense Athena's need to
believe her, but depression had already taken a firm
hold.  "Have you seen the doctor?"

Athena nodded, glad to be off of the subject of her
dreams.  They were too real for her, too vivid with
loss and suffering.  "Dr. Salik is the only other one
who knows."

"And what did he say when he examined you?" she
pressed.

She took a steadying breath, the hopelessness still
evident in her eyes.  "He said that the pregnancy was
progressing at an abnormally fast rate and that."  She
swallowed hard against the lump in her throat.  "that
I will probably give premature birth."

"You're on an agro diet," Gaea insisted.  "The term of
pregnancy for women on agro diets had decreased by
several sectars."

"Don't you think I know that?" Athena snapped before
standing and walking several paces away.  "I've been
able to think of nothing else."  She rubbed at her
temples to ease a pounding headache.  She wanted to
believe that her baby would survive.  She had been
tortured with the thought of losing her.

"Have you tried healing the baby yourself?" she
pressed.

Athena shook her head.  "Every night," she confessed.
"I can't even heal myself of a paper cut."  She sighed
heavily as she stared up at the track lighting around
her room.  "I've been trying to convince myself that
the baby will be far enough along to survive the
birth, but it's hard when you have known from the
beginning."  She had to stop there.  She just couldn't
say it again.

"Wait a centon," Gaea said as she searched her memory.
 "Did you say that Dr. Salik is the only other one
that knows?"  When Athena remained silent, Gaea's
mouth dropped open and she rose to her feet to
confront Athena once more.  "You haven't told Boomer?"

"No and I'm not going to tell him either," she added
quickly.

"Boomer has a right to know!"

Athena swung around to face her.  "Why?  So he can
have his heart broken too?"

Gaea growled in frustration.  She had a difficult time
understanding how Athena could be so giving and loving
herself, yet refuse to be comforted by those who loved
her.  "If that's what truly lies ahead, yes."

"No," Athena reaffirmed.  "Boomer can never know that
I'm pregna."  Her words trailed off as she turned to
see Boomer standing in the open doorway.

~~~
Errors-To: bsg-fanfic-bounces-
airys=mirarialpacafarm.com@lists.eyrie.org
X-UIDL: Yim!![l%"!+_&!!9Oi!!

"Okay cadets," the senior warrior said loudly to get
above the chatter of the group.  He pulled at the
front of his blue uniform and rolled his shoulders to
try to reach the itch between his shoulder blades.  He
was glad to be back in uniform after retiring ten
yahrens earlier even though the new material was a bit
scratchy.  "We're going to be going into the Aquatic
Center in just a centon.  I want you to remember that
you are Colonial Cadets and you are expected to behave
as such."  His eyes landed on a couple of his students
who liked to bend the rules.  "Do not tap on the tanks
and do not put your hands into the water.  Am I
understood?"

"Yes sir," the group returned collectively.

"Now who are our team leaders?"  Several of the
students raised their hands.  "Cadet Zarek, Cadet
Boxey and Cadet Ilsa, you will be responsible for
making sure that everyone in your team collects the
information necessary to fill out your study forms.
Does everyone have their list of questions?" he asked
the class in general and everyone held up their
individual data pads.  "Good.  Remember, we want to
find out what the different species of aquatics are,
what planet they originated from and why some of the
aquatics are for human consumption while some aren't."

As the door to the Aquatic Center slid open, the
children rushed inside to see a myriad of floor to
ceiling columns filled with aquatic life.  On the
walls were mounted large domed tanks filled with
brightly colored aquatics in a wide variety of shapes
and sizes.  The soft, ambient lighting gave the room
an ethereal glow.  Erratic ripples from the tank
lighting reflected on the walls added to the illusion
of being under water.

"Greetings junior warriors."  A tall, thin man walked
into the dimly lit room with his arms held wide as he
joined the group.  "I'm Dr. Xan and I'm the curator of
this facility."

"Hello Doctor," the cadet class instructor said as he
extended his arm.  "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Camlo of
the Academy Barge.  Thank you for taking time away
from your research to meet with us."

"It's my pleasure," Xan returned with a smile as he
looked out over the awed faces of the children as they
stared at the marine life.  "Perhaps we will inspire a
few of your cadets to extend their studies into
aquatic development."  His spindly arms curled in the
air to wave over the students who were wandering off.
"Come closer young warriors," he insisted as he walked
over to a domed tank mounted on the wall.  "We have a
lot to see here before we move into the breeding
facility."

Xan waited patiently as the group gathered around him.
 "We will start off with one of the smallest and,
possibly, the most important species of aquatics that
we have on board."  He gestured to the tank packed
with round green specimens.  "These are a variety of
Cyclostomata, a cartilaginous species whose sole
purpose is to remove bacteria from the water.  They
existed on all twelve of our home worlds, but were
more abundant in the warmer climates."

"My dad use to take me swimming in a lake all the time
and I've never seen one of those," one of the cadets
commented.

Xan smiled broadly.  "I'm not surprised.  You are
viewing these Cyclostomata through a magnifying dome.
These aquatics are so small that a dozen of them could
fit on the tip of your finger."  He pointed to an
information sign next to the tank that showed the
actual size.  "They are so small that they are
overlooked by the larger aquatics and only eaten on
accident when aquatics take in their real prey, but
don't let their size fool you.  They are the most
resilient of any aquatics and have even managed to
adapt to alien water that we have collected from a
multitude of planets we have visited."

Boxey raised his hand and Xan nodded in his direction.
 "If they're too small for other aquatics to eat, how
can you keep them from overpopulating?"

Xan gave him a smile.  "That's a very good question.
The accidental eating of the aquatics do somewhat
control the population, but in a tank such as this
where they are the sole occupant, many of the species
will die off and their remains become food for the
others."

"They eat each other?" Gillian asked in a distasteful
tone.

Xan's head bobbed slightly.  "Not exactly.  They don't
eat the carcasses themselves, but the bacteria that
the remains emit as it decays.  They play an important
part in keeping the other aquatic life healthy and are
necessary for maintaining our own food supply."  He
turned slightly to indicate the tank at his other
side.  "Moving on.."

~~~

Boomer took two steps into Athena's quarters, then
stilled while Gaea made a hasty retreat.  Boomer can
never know that I'm pregna.  The words played over and
over in his head.  He was stunned beyond reasoning.
Time dragged by before he could trust himself enough
to speak.  "Did I hear you right?"  His voice was
calm, even though he felt like his insides had been
yanked out.  "You're pregnant?"

Athena moved her hands over the soft mound of her
stomach.  "Yes," she whispered.

His eyes were riveted to Athena's waist as her hands
smoothed back the folds of her gown to reveal her
impending motherhood.  She had taken to wearing robes
over the past few sectons and had effectively
disguised her expanding middle.  He thought back over
her sudden shyness with him and realized that it must
have been around the same time that she started
showing.  His eyes slowly rose to hers.  "Were you
ever planning on telling me?"

Athena choked back the lump that rose in her throat.
"No."

Boomer's mouth dropped open slightly as his breathing
accelerated.  His heart fluttered wildly in his chest
and his stomach threatened to revolt.  He just
couldn't believe what he was hearing.  "Why?" he
breathed.

Her body began to tremble as she searched for the
right words.  The healing had left her weak and the
stress of finally having to face Boomer sapped what
little strength she had.  "Because I didn't want you
to get hurt."

He bit at his lip as his temper started to flare.
"Well thank you.  This is much better."

She winced at his sarcasm and closed her eyes.  The
baby stirred restlessly inside of her and she lovingly
cupped her stomach.  "It wasn't an easy decision for
me to make."

He shook his head in exasperation.  "Pardon me for
messing up your well-laid plans."

"It wasn't like that."

"Then tell me what it was like, Athena!" he demanded.
"Explain to my why you could tell Gaea that you were
having my child, but not me."

"I didn't tell her."  She took half a step toward him
then thought better of it.  She couldn't recall a time
when she had seen Boomer that angry.  "She found out
by accident."

He began to pace like a caged animal.  "Oh!  Well that
makes a difference!  I'm so glad to know that I wasn't
the only one you lied to."

"I didn." she began then drew in a sharp breath before
covering her mouth lightly with her fingers.  She
couldn't defend herself against the angry comment or
she would lose what little self-control she managed to
hang on to.  Boomer deserved to hear the truth, not
excuses.

No longer willing to trust her legs to hold her,
Athena slowly moved over to her bed and sat down on
the edge.  "Even considering the fact that I'm on an
agro diet, our baby will be born too soon."  She gave
him a sad smile when he stilled and stared at her
across the dimly lit room.  "Dr. Salik is doing
everything that he can, but it's only a matter of time
now."

Her brows drew together repeatedly as she fought back
the tears.  She held her palms up as she scowled at
them.  "I've lain awake at night.trying to use this
cursed gift that I've been given.praying to God that I
could heal my own child."  She clenched her fists
tight then slammed them against the bed.  "but I
can't."  She shook her head as her eyes pleaded for
understanding.  "I didn't tell you bec."  She drew in
a shuttering breath.  "because I'm going to lose her."

Boomer's knees started to buckled and he caught
himself against a narrow chest of drawers.  Mere
centons after discovering that he was going to be a
father he was faced with the prospect of losing his
child.  "No, it's."  He shook his head as he rubbed a
hand across his face to awake from the nightmare.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.  "I'm going to lose
our baby."

Bile rose in his throat as his gaze fell on Athena.
She no longer tried to hold back her anguish as she
covered her face with her hands and wept.  He crossed
the room in several great strides and dropped down on
his knee at her feet to wrap his arms around her.

Athena pressed her face into his shoulder as she
latched onto his arms.  "I'm sorry Boomer.  I'm so
sorry."

He shushed her as he gently rubbed his hands across
her back.  "It's okay," he assured her.  "We're going
to make it through this."  He pulled back slightly and
pressed his palm against her cheek.  "Did you hear
me?" he asked sternly so that she would look at him.
"We are going to get through this.  You and me.
Together."  She nodded then turned her head slightly
to kiss his palm.

His heart skipped a beat as it always did when he was
near her.  "You should have told me Athena," he said
as he buried his fingers deep in her hair.  "Promise
me that you will never keep anything like this from me
again," he insisted then dropped his forehead down
onto her shoulder.  He was in turmoil and needed some
assurance, however small.  "Promise me Athena.  I need
to hear you say it."

"I promise.  I promise," she whispered.

Boomer couldn't keep himself from tearing up.  His
heart was throbbing in his chest like never before.
The love of his life was having his child and they
were going to lose her.  "No," he said firmly as he
pulled back from Athena.  He wasn't giving up either
without a fight.  "This can't be good for you or the
baby.  You need to rest."

She reached out to cup his cheeks in her palms and
lightly rubbed away his tears with her thumbs.  "Do
you hate me?"

He did his best to work up a smile for her.  "You're
not getting rid of me that easy.  Now come on.  Lay
down," he insisted.  He lifted her legs onto the bed
as she leaned back, then he fussed for a moment with
covering her.

Once she was firmly tucked in, he knelt down next to
the bed once more and looked into her red-rimmed eyes.
 He took her hand into his and brushed his lips
against her fingers.  "Now that I have you captive,"
he teased lightly in an attempt to push down his
shattered emotions, "I want you to know something."
He wrapped both hands around hers as he propped his
elbows on the side of her bed.  "I don't want this to
be the last child that we have together."  He saw the
surprise in her eyes and he licked his lips nervously.
 "I've always loved you and I don't see that every
changing."  He squeezed her hand as her eyes welled up
once more.  "An eternity with you wouldn't be long
enough."

He lost himself for a moment in her azure eyes and the
smile that toyed with her lips.  This wasn't the way
that he wanted to propose, but he didn't want to wait
another centon.  "You don't have to answer me right
now," he faltered nervously, "but I would like for us
to be sealed."  Without even realizing it, Boomer held
his breath.  It wasn't until that moment that he
realized she could say no and then he would be left
without her or their child.

"Would you want to even if.?"  She rubbed her free
hand across her stomach.

The air slowly escaped Boomer's lungs and he placed
his hand against her stomach.  "Even if," he returned.

~~~

Sheba shifted restlessly as she switched off her
canopy screen to view the field of stars around them.
"I can't get use to this new canopy," she admitted
over the unicom.  "I feel so closed in whenever it's
on."

"I know what you mean," Apollo returned.  "It does get
a bit claustrophobic and having all this extra
equipment jammed in isn't helping."  He tried to
stretch out his legs and bumped into a memory storage
unit at his feet.

Sheba frowned as she adjusted her communicator.
"Something must be wrong with my equipment.  I'm
picking up some sort of static over the com line,"
Sheba said as she checked her instruments.

Apollo smiled.  "I'm afraid that's me," he admitted.
"I'm playing back one of the gamma recordings from the
celestial dome."

"Oh!" she said in surprise.  She had completely
forgotten about Boomer rigging up a personal player
for him to use.  "I take it you haven't heard anything
yet?"

"Nothing that can't be explained through normal
space," he said with a note of disappointment.

"That's not surprising considering that the salvage
barge destroyed that satellite."

"Actually, there were supposedly two."

"You're kidding?"

"Well, there's no way to know for certain, but when
Croft came to tell us about the satellite, he
mentioned that they had previously destroyed a vessel
with the same kind of technology."

"And no one said anything?" she asked in shock.

He sighed heavily.  "It's amazing what can go on in a
fleet our size without anyone knowing."  He heard a
familiar sound on the computape and quickly reached
for the speed dial to replay it.  "Hey, you want to
hear the sound of a quasar?"

"You're kidding?" Sheba replied skeptically.

"No, listen."  He turned up the volume on the player
so the low drone could be heard beneath the louder
tones.

Sheba's eyes darted as the unfamiliar sound filled her
cockpit.  "That almost sounds like a fast drum beat."
She listened a little longer.  "And some sort of gamma
signal."

"That's just the natural sounds from the quasar,"
Apollo assured her.  "All stellar objects emit some
sort of sound.  We try to block it out with our
communications systems, but I've been able to pick up
quite a few interesting sounds using the equipment in
the celestial chamber."

"How can you tell what they are?"

He smiled once more.  "I've had a little help from
stellar cartography.  I've become a bit of an expert
analyzing the computapes.  I can practically tell you
the age of a star by the sound it emits."

"Okay, I'm officially impressed."

Apollo chuckled as he turned the sound back down.
"Starbuck?"

"Yo!"

"You're being awfully quiet.  Everything all right?"

"Yeah," he said less than convincingly.

"What's on your mind buddy?"

Starbuck sighed heavily.  "How do you know that you
really want something if it's not something that
you've ever wanted before?  It's not like I never
wanted it, but I never really considered it as a
possibility."

Apollo shook his head in confusion.  "Uh, you want to
translate for me?"

Starbuck wasn't sure that he even wanted to admit to
himself let alone say it out loud, but all he had been
able to think about was how beautiful Cassiopia looked
holding that baby.  "It's nothing," he finally said as
new data appeared on his canopy view screen.  "I'm
picking up something from that distortion."  He
glanced down at his instruments then adjusted the
sensors.

Apollo checked his equipment.  "I'm still not reading
anything."

He frowned as a faint image came in on the green
field.  "It looks like some sort of ship."