Revelations

Apollo groaned softly and started to move, but stopped
abruptly when his head throbbed like never before.
His stomach began to churn and he had just started to
wonder if he would be able to keep the food down when
a cool cloth was laid across his head.  He sighed
softly at the relief it offered then dared to open his
eyes slightly.  He smiled when he saw Sheba hovering
over him and closed his eyes once more.  "I thought I
ordered you to get everyone off the ship."

Sheba looked at him blankly for a micron.  "It's good
to see you too," she returned sarcastically.

"Hey buddy," Starbuck said, walking over to Apollo
when he heard him speak.  "How are you feeling?"

"Like a nova went off inside my head."  He dared
another peek at the lieutenant.  "Were you able to
seal the leak?"

Starbuck shook his head.  "We can't even get close to
it.  The entire rear half of the ship is filled with
solon."

Apollo slowly sat up at the news and regretted the
movement.  "Can't we vent it?"

"The leak is too large," Sheba returned as she sat
down on the lounger next to Apollo to help keep him
vertical.  "We can't vent it fast enough so it just
keeps building up."

"We've sealed off the affected areas, but we're not
getting off this tub until we purge the ship,"
Starbuck informed him.

"What happened to the shuttles?"

"They made it safely to the Galactica landing bay."

Apollo glanced around the room and noticed that they
weren't alone.  "How many people are still aboard?" he
asked then put an elbow on his knee so that he could
rest his head in the palm of his hand.

"Nineteen," Sheba said.  "A few of the staff, some
maintenance workers and the command crew.  There were
a few people from Red Squadron on furlong here and
they were able to take the shuttles out once we had
everyone on board."

"And that crewman who went down?" he asked.

"He's fine," Starbuck responded.  "It was a good thing
that they had the counteragent for the solon on
board."

Apollo closed his eyes for a micron as he broke out in
a cold sweat.  His stomach tried to revolt once more,
but he willed himself to focus.  "Has anyone contacted
the Galactica?"

"I just got off the line with the Commander," Boomer
announced as he walked into the lounge to join in the
conversation.  "There's a planet about half a parsec
from here which will suit our purposes nicely."

"The Commander gave his approval?" Starbuck asked.

"Approval for what?" Apollo asked, not bothering to
look up.

"We're going to take the Rising Star down to the
planet surface so that we can blow out the solon gas
and affect repairs," Boomer responded.

"Will we be running into any inhabitants on the
planet?" Apollo asked, going down a mental check list
to keep his mind off of his warring body.

"The Galactica was able to do a long range scan and
there are no obvious signs of human civilization."

"That's a little strange, isn't it?" Sheba asked.  "A
habitable planet with no human life?"

"Ah, I'm willing to bet that basestar had something to
do with it," Starbuck inserted.  "There's no telling
how long that thing was patrolling this part of the
galaxy before we came along."

"That would be a good bet," Boomer returned.  "The
Galactica picked up several large blast areas on the
planet."

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about them
dropping by for a visit."

"Not until the Empire sends another basestar to
investigate," Apollo argued.

"We'll be long gone by then," Boomer insisted.  "The
maintenance crew assures me that the repairs would
take less than a centar once they are able to get into
the area."

"In and out fast," Starbuck said with a smile.  "Just
the way I like it."

~~~

Dr. Wilker watched in amazement as Delos nimbly
adjusted the pieces to the complicated
three-dimensional puzzle and tossed the completed set
onto the table.  "That's incredible," he said in awe
as he picked up the cube to see its flawless design.

Delos thumped his finger against the table to get the
doctor's attention then he pointed to the time piece
in his hand.

"Oh!" Wilker exclaimed when he realized that the
counter was still running.  He clicked it off and
stared at the time.  "Unbelievable," he murmured then
looked up at Delos.  "You completed that in a little
over three centons."

"Two point forty six," Delos corrected him.

"Right, right," Dr. Wilker conceded for the time that
he took to actually click off the timer.  "But no one
has been able to complete that puzzle in under ten
centons," he explained.  Delos merely shrugged.

"Le.let's try the IQ test next."  Wilker hurried over
to an assortment of computapes that he had in his
office, pulled out the exam and slipped the disk into
a data pad.  "Now the way you do this is."  He stopped
his usual dialog when Delos took the pad out of his
hands and immediately started clicking responses to
the questions displayed.  Delos had already gone
through a dozen questions before Dr. Wilker had the
presence of mind to click on his timer once more.

A few centons later, Delos handed back the data pad
with a sigh.  "Don't bother to check it.  They're all
right," Delos said with confidence.

Wilker couldn't take his eyes off of him.  "There were
over 400 questions on that test," he said softly and
jolted himself into awareness just long enough to
click off the timer.

"Yeah, you might want to reword number 126," Delos
advised.  "It implies that the use of triton
technology is substandard to the current technology
when triton is actually the foundation of what we use
today."

Dr. Wilker could do nothing more than stand gaping.

~~~

Apollo shielded his eyes after stepping off of the
Rising Star.  Even with the cloud covered sky, the
light seared through his pupils to give his head a new
pain to ignore.  "Now that the maintenance crew can
get to work on that leak, we may as well have a look
around here and see what we can find."

"The scanner picked up some charred areas not too far
to the north," Boomer reported.

"Okay.  Boomer and Starbuck, you check out the area to
the north, but watch yourselves," Apollo warned.  "The
Cylons could have a small station here that the
Galactica wasn't able to pick up on the long range
scans.  Sheba and I will head south and see what we
can find."

"Are you sure you're feeling up to it?" Sheba asked as
she lightly rubbed his arm.  "You still look a little
shaky."

"I'll be fine," Apollo assured her.  "The fresh air
will do me good."  He looked back at Starbuck and
Boomer.  "We'll meet back here in half a centar.  I
want to make sure that we can launch the micron those
repairs are complete."

They hadn't gone far from the Rising Star when
Apollo's gait started to waver.  "Are you sure you're
okay?" Sheba asked again.

"I'm fine," Apollo said crisply then added lightly.
"Just stop talking so loud."

She shot him a glance and realized that he was
teasing.  "Your head's hurting that badly?"

Apollo looked around at the lush green surroundings.
"It helps to keep my mind off of it," he returned
evasively.  He never did feel comfortable discussing
his well-being with anyone.

"It looks like there might be a lake bed over in that
direction," Sheba said as she gestured off to their
right.

Apollo squinted more in an effort to block out the
light than to see the subtle shimmer in the distance.
"Looks like it."  He scanned the horizon.  "Let's head
over to that small cluster of hills and see if we can
get a better look at the area."  They adjusted their
bearings while Sheba scanned for life forms with no
luck.

~~~

Adama glanced at Tigh hovering over Omega's shoulder
and could tell in an instant that there was another
problem on the horizon.  Colonel Tigh spoke softly
with Omega and received a nod before he straightened.
Adama became even more curious as to what was going on
when Colonel Tigh didn't immediately report to him.
"Colonel?" Adama prompted.

Tigh jumped slightly at the sound of Adama's voice
coming from so close.  "Nothing you need to concern
yourself with Commander," Tigh answered before he
could be questioned.  He grabbed the end of the
communicator attached to his ear to transmit.
"Station twelve, report in."

Adama stepped closer to the colonel and drew his
shoulders back to reach his full height.  "I was under
the impression that everything was of concern to the
fleet commander."

Tigh darted a glance at him and shifted restlessly.
"It's just rumors sir."  He tried once more to evade
Adama's questioning.

"Colonel," Adama stated simply in his booming voice.

He didn't need to hear any more than the single word
to know that Adama was getting agitated.  "Apparently
there is a petition circulating around the fleet."

Adama's brows rose.  He couldn't understand why Tigh
would keep something like that from him.  "What sort
of petition?"

Tigh sighed in defeat.  "It seems that there are a
number of people who want to leave the fleet.  The
petition is a request to the Council to go in search
of those celestial ships."

~~~

Starbuck sighed heavily as he looked at the large
swatch of destruction that scorched the entire area.
"Laser cannon?"

"Yep," Boomer said simply as he punched at the buttons
on his scanner to record his findings.  "Any
structures that were in its path were completely
incinerated."  He looked around once more.  "It's a
real shame that we can't stay here longer than it
takes to repair the ship.  It would be nice if we
could take some of this vegetation back to the
Galactica."

"Problem is we don't have anywhere to store it,"
Starbuck countered, waving his hand with the lit
fumarello expressively as he talked.  "The second agro
ship is still under construction and the first is
brimming with vegetation already."

"Seeds wouldn't take up that much space, but it's a
moot point," he said with a shrug.  "The Galactica
isn't going to stay in this quadrant any longer than
necessary."  Boomer started to return to the ship when
he noticed a grin growing on Starbuck's face and
hesitated.  "I always get nervous when I see that look
on your face."

Starbuck let out a sighing laugh then gestured
haphazardly around them.  "This planet does seem to
have everything necessary to sustain life.  Food.
Water.  Mild climate."

Boomer's eyes narrowed as Starbuck popped his
fumarello into his mouth for a drag.  "Just what are
you getting at?"

"Uh, perhaps we will be in the system just long enough
to drop off one reluctant passenger in the fleet."

Boomer had to think for a micron to catch Starbuck's
subtle hint then he smiled as well.  "Sometimes that
devious mind of yours comes in very handy."  He
chuckled and gave Starbuck's shoulder a pat.  "Let's
get back to the Rising Star."

~~~
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As Sheba and Apollo reached the pinnacle of the
tallest hill, they paused to absorb the breathtaking
surroundings.  "It's so beautiful here," Sheba sighed.

Apollo put his back to her so that he could quickly
wipe the perspiration from his face.  Sheba had been
watching him like a hawk and the hike up the hill had
taken more out of him than he was willing to admit.
"Still no sign of life?" he asked dutifully as he
gazed at the groves and lakes visible to them from
that vantage point.

"Nothing," Sheba returned as she double checked her
scanner.  She looked around and sighed once more.  "I
can't remember the last time I was able to enjoy
scenery like this."

"It is pretty incredible," Apollo agreed.  They fell
silent as they enjoyed a light breeze and the sweet
fragrance it carried.  "It's getting late.  We'd
better get back to the Rising Star," he finally said
and started to turn.

"Apollo?  Can we talk for a centon?"

"Sure," he returned easily.  "What's up?"

She moved closer to him as she searched for the right
words.  So many things had been going through her mind
since she confessed her feelings for him.  It had been
an impulse and she was worried that she might have
crossed the line with him.  Steeling her reserve, she
looked up into his hazel eyes.  "I just wanted to
apologize for some of the things I said the other
sectarie.  I had no right to bring up Serina like I
did."

"It's okay," Apollo returned quickly.

"No it's not," Sheba argued.  "It's obvious that I've
upset you from the way that you've been avoiding me."

Apollo shook his head and regretted it instantly.
When he started to sway, Sheba grabbed the front of
his jacket to make sure he didn't topple over.  "I'm
okay," Apollo stated before she had the chance to ask,
but he still grabbed her arms to help steady himself.
"Look Sheba.  It's not like that.  I haven't been
avoiding you.  It's just that."

"You don't have to explain," she interrupted him.  "I
understand if you don't return my feelings and I can't
say that I blame you after the fool I made of myself.
I just want to make sure that our friendship is still
in tact."

He sighed as he gave her an encouraging smile.
"That's one thing that you don't have to worry about,"
he assured her.  He gently brushed away a lock of hair
that the breeze tossed across her face then lightly
ran the back of his fingers down her cheek.  "I do
care about you, but I don't only have myself to
consider.  It has barely been a yahren since Boxey
lost his mother and I don't know how he will react if
he should find out that I'm interested in someone."

She felt the ache in her heart soften, but she could
still hear the finality in his words.  "I hadn't even
thought about what Boxey might make of.."  She smiled
and dipped her head, unable to finish her statement.
That was something that would always stand between
them.  Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears as
she gazed back up at him.  "Of course Boxey has to
come first.  I'm not trying change that or to pressure
you, Apollo.  I've simply learned that I need to say
what I feel before the chance slips away.  I've lost
too many people I care about without having the
opportunity to let them know how I feel."  She reached
up to brush the palm of her hand against his cheek.
"I wasn't going to let that happen with you."

Apollo's heart began to pound which only increased the
drums in his head, but he paid them no attention.  She
was letting him off the hook and he was surprised at
how much he disliked that idea.  He moved closer as he
slipped his fingers into her hair and lightly cupped
her cheeks in the palms of his hands.  "I just need
time to sort things out," he whispered and saw the
surprise in her eyes.

Apollo heeded her advice and didn't let the
opportunity slip away.  His lips lightly brushed hers
and he could feel her breath against his skin as he
looked back into her eyes.  He was taken off guard at
the intensity of emotions stirring inside of him.  He
had thought that the fact he was about to fly off to
visit a Cylon basestar had heightened the undercurrent
between them, but he couldn't deny the charge that
still existed.

Apollo held nothing back with the next kiss.  His arms
enveloped her small form as he pulled her close.  His
lips claimed hers as her body molded with his.  They
were swept up in the rush of passion that suddenly
welled to the surface.  Apollo's head was spinning as
he held onto Sheba like a lifeline.

Then Apollo stumbled and it took all of Sheba's
strength to keep him from hitting the ground.  "Easy
there big fella," she said lightly although the
concern was evident on her face.  "I'd like to think
that it was my kiss that knocked you off your feet,
but the better odds would be with the after effects of
solon poisoning."

Apollo smiled even though his senses were swimming.
"I don't know.  That was a pretty good kiss."

Sheba gave him a sideways look.  "We'd better get you
back to the Rising Star.   You're obviously
delirious."  Apollo chuckled and leaned heavily on
Sheba as they made their way back to the ship.

~~~

"You're late," Starbuck had the pleasure of informing
Apollo as he walked up with Sheba.  Starbuck was
leaning against the hull of the Rising Star puffing on
a fumarello while he waited with Boomer for their
return.

"Are the repairs finished?" Apollo asked.

"They will be any centon," Boomer returned.  "The
maintenance crew decided to put a secondary seal on
the damaged section.  They don't want to take any
chances until they can get a replacement part."

"That's reassuring," Sheba returned.

"Were you able to check out that scorched ground?"
Apollo continued to question even though every fiber
of his being begged to lie down.  He was grateful that
he had regained enough strength to walk on his own
before they had returned, but his energy was draining
fast.

Boomer nodded.  "I got as much data as I could on the
scanner.  We're pretty sure it was caused by a laser
cannon.  Any sign of life here was completely wiped
out."

Apollo sighed heavily at the pointless destruction.
"I wonder how many people were lost."

Starbuck darted a glance at Boomer and figured it was
as good a time as any to bring up his idea.  "Maybe we
should consider taking advantage of this.unpopulated
paradise," Starbuck suggested.  "There are enough
natural resources around here to sustain thousands."

Apollo's brows drew together at the implications.
"Surely you're not suggesting that we allow some of
the people in the fleet to remain here?"

"No," Starbuck said slowly then smiled.  "Just one."

Apollo's frown turned into a pleased expression.  "You
might have something there."

Sheba scoffed at the idea.  "This place is too nice
for Baltar."

"Yeah, but better here than with the fleet," Starbuck
returned.

"We'll contact the Galactica as soon as we launch,"
Apollo decided.

"What do you think the chances are of sending back a
team to collect some seeds and grain?" Boomer asked as
he hitched his thumbs onto his belt.  "I, for one,
would like to have a choice of primaries considering
all of the speculation going on about the agro pod
food."

"You won't get any argument from me there," Apollo
returned.  "All of the changes we've been seeing have
made me more than a little nervous."

"All of this.uh.experimentation is what has me
worried," Starbuck interjected.  "What kind of person
volunteers to be a lab rodent?"

"You'd be surprised," Boomer returned.

"The only one that really surprised me was Athena,"
Sheba added.

"What?" Apollo and Starbuck said in unison as they
stared at Sheba.
~~~
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Apollo marched off of the shuttle onto the Galactica
with Starbuck and Boomer on his heels.  "Boomer, while
Sheba is taking care of the shuttles, I want you to
set up a team to collect what seed and grain they can
from the planet while we're transferring Baltar to the
surface.  Starbuck, take all of the data we've
collected up to the bridge and see how long it's going
to take to get Baltar moved from the prison barge to
the Galactica."

"Whoa, wait," Starbuck said when Apollo would have
walked off.  "Where are you going?  Don't tell me
you're going to take Sheba's advice and report to the
life station?"

Apollo stopped and looked at his two friends.  "I'm
going to go find Athena."

Boomer and Starbuck exchanged a worried look.  With
the mood that Apollo was in, that wasn't going to be a
pleasant conversation.  "Apollo," Boomer said to stop
him once more.  "Don't you think that you should take
a little time to cool down before."

"Captain."

All three of them froze for an instant when a fourth
hushed voice called from the dark corners of the
landing bay.  With the echo from the metal walls, it
took them a micron to discover where the voice had
come from then they saw the mysterious figure
motioning to them from behind some crates.  The trio
exchanged another glance between themselves then they
went to see who felt the need to hide on the landing
bay.

"Can we help y." Apollo began, but his words dropped
off when the mystery man turned to face them.
"Croft?"

"Captain.  Lieutenants," he said simply in greeting
while the warriors exchanged incredulous looks.  It
was the first time that he had seen them face to face
since they had taken out the Ravishol Pulsar on Arcta.
 "I've got some information that I think you need to
know."

"Information?" Apollo prompted.

Croft nodded and made a sweeping glance of the area to
ensure they were alone.  "I've been working on one of
the salvage ships for the past couple of sectars.
Most of the stuff we bring in is just space junk, but
yesterday we brought in a piece of equipment unlike
anything I've ever seen before."

"A ship?" Starbuck asked hoping to speed things along.
 There was a big pyramid game that he wanted to make.

Croft shook his head.  "I think it's a satellite of
some sort, but it has very unusual markings."

"Satellites aren't exactly modern, but it's not like
we haven't come across them before," Boomer inserted.

"Not like this one," Croft assured them.  "When we
started to dismantle it for salvage, we found several
metal containers inside.  We cracked open the first
one and found some sort of manual.  Our shift
commander took one look at it and ordered everyone out
of the bay."

Apollo darted a glance at Boomer.  "Suspicious
behavior seems to be the norm around here lately," he
muttered.  "Do you have any idea what the manual was
for?"

Croft shook his head once more.  "I didn't get a good
look at it, but the shift commander's reaction got me
curious so I did a little snooping around.  Turns out
that this isn't the first time that the salvage ship
has come across this type of equipment.  There was one
other occasion with a ship that had identical
markings.  When the owner of the salvage barge found
out about it, he order everything destroyed."

"Destroyed?" Starbuck said in surprise.  "Isn't the
entire point of a salvage ship to salvage?"

"My point exactly," Croft returned.  "I also found out
that the owner plans on going to the salvage ship to
see the wreckage currently there."

"When?" Apollo asked bluntly.

"He could be there already," Croft said with
uncertainty.  "There is one other thing.  Just before
I left, I saw two of the crew stoking the
incinerator."

"That's not a regular occurrence?" Apollo questioned.

"We only incinerate the useless parts once a secton to
conserve energy and we did that two sectaries ago."

The three warriors exchanged questioning glances.
"Sounds like they're planning on disposing of the
evidence," Boomer said with a note of sarcasm.

"Could it be contaminated?" Starbuck asked as they
tried to sort out what was going on.

Apollo shook his head.  "If that were the case, why
all the secrecy?  And why call in the owner when there
is already protocol established for the disposal of
contaminated items?"  Apollo looked back at Croft.
"Do you have any idea who the owner is?"

"Not specifically," Croft eluded.

"But you do have a general idea?" Starbuck nudged.

Croft pursed his lips as he debated with himself for a
moment.  "Rumor has it, that particular salvage ship
is owned by a member of the Council of Twelve."

~~~

"I just can't explain it," Athena said in defeat as
she told Gaea of her dream.  "In some ways I could
sense it was a dream, but the emotions were so vivid."

Gaea kept her head bowed with her eyes closed as she
listened with all of her senses to Athena's words.
Gaea could feel her concern and her confusion.  "One
of the most difficult things about following the path
is discerning what is real and what's not."

Athena shook her head.  "But dreams aren't real."

Gaea sighed heavily.  Athena's formal education had
created a wall of logic that was difficult to breach.
"When we sleep, we leave ourselves open to the cosmos.
 Our dreams can reflect the emotions that we are
feeling or the worries that we carry.  But, when we
are at peace, then the secrets of the universe can be
unlocked."

"Secrets revealed in dreams?" Athena said skeptically.

"Open your mind to the possibilities," Gaea said
softly.  "You have to release your emotions, to set
them aside so that you can see what the dream is
telling you."  Gaea's attention snapped toward the
door.  She had been concentrating on Athena so
intently that she had missed the force propelling
toward them until it was almost upon them.  "Apollo
comes."

Athena didn't even have the chance to react before a
persistent beep came from the door.  Her mouth dropped
open and she darted a surprised look at Gaea who was
slowly backing into the shadows of the room.  When
Apollo started pounding on the door with his fist,
Athena hurried to unlock it.  "Apollo!" she began in
reprimand, but her brother pushed passed her and
walked straight into her quarters before turning to
face her.

"What's this I hear about you joining Wilker's
experiment?" he demanded.  "Do you have any idea how
dangerous that can be?"

Athena folded her arms over her chest.  "What right do
you have to question me?" she countered.

"My right as your brother," he insisted.  "We have
already lost half of our family to the Cylons.  I
don't want to lose another one to stupidity."

Athena's hands flew to her hips as her mouth dropped
open.  "How dare you?  At least give me some credit
for being able to think for myself."

"Volunteering for experimentation isn't thinking.
It's surrendering."  Apollo started to pace the small
room.  "We put our lives on the line every sectarie to
protect the fleet, but not for something like this."
He stopped in front of her once more.  "I don't
understand what's going on with you lately.  I don't
see you for sectaries on end.  Even Boxey has noticed
that something is wrong and who is this person I keep
seeing you with?  Do I know her?  Why haven't you
introduced us?"

"I didn't realize that I needed to post my itinerary
with you, Captain," she shot back.

Apollo covered his eyes with his hand as he rubbed at
his forehead.  The pounding in his head had subsided a
little on the flight back to the Galactica, but now it
was back in full force.  He did his best to push down
the anger he was feeling as he looked back at his
sister.  "I'm just concerned about you," he said with
more self-control.

"Put your mind at rest, Captain," Gaea said softly as
she slowly moved into the light.  "I have given an
oath to protect your sister."

Apollo's eyes grew when he saw Gaea coming towards
them.  He knew that it was merely an optical illusion,
but it looked as if Gaea was coming out of the wall.
"And you are?" he said with a note of sarcasm.

"I am called Gaea," she replied simply.

"Well, forgive me for being rude, Gaea, but I can take
care of my own family."

"Is it your family that drives you Captain?" Gaea
asked as she continued to hold his attention.  "Or is
your family what haunts you?"

"Excuse me?"

"What haunts you, Captain?" Gaea repeated.  Athena
backed away from Apollo as Gaea moved closer still.
"Even now you struggle within yourself."  Her hand
rose as if to touch Apollo's chest, but it never quite
made contact.  "You hold on to what could have been
instead of letting go for what can be."

Apollo's breathing began to increase as his mind raced
to understand this stranger's words.  There was
something familiar about her, something that he
couldn't quite grasp, but it unsettled him.  "At the
moment, the only thing that haunts me is what your
presence is doing to my sister."

Gaea moved slowly around him.  "That's not what haunts
you, Captain," she whispered.  "Your love for the
people around you keeps you strong, but it can also be
your weakness."

"What do you know of my weaknesses?"  He tried to take
the offensive to give himself some time to think.
There was something about her voice.

"Your loyalty is boundless," she said as if she was
analyzing him.  "It has saved the lives of your
friends many times, but loyalty can't keep those you
love from dying."  She could feel the frustration
building inside of him as if it was an entity in the
room.  "Nor can it resurrect the dead."

Gaea closed her eyes as the emotions raged through
Apollo.  She knew what her words were doing to him.
She could sense the suspicion, the anger, the fear.
"Courage isn't exclusive to the battle field," she
whispered in his ear as she stood at his back.  She
paused for a moment then continued to circle him
slowly.  "Courage, loyalty, love.  They're noble
attributes and yet they become your weaknesses when
you allow them to hold you prisoner."  She stood in
front of him once more and leaned in close.  "So I ask
you again.  What haunts you, Apollo?"

Apollo gulped in air at the sound of her voice.  He
told himself it was impossible, but he couldn't stop
himself from reaching out and jerking back Gaea's
hood.  He stumbled back several paces in disbelief
when he revealed the face of Serina.

~~~