Battlestar Galactica: 'The Warrior and the Fairy Queen'
Virtual Season 5, Episode 3
Written by Carla

/There are those who believe that life here began out there, far across
the universe, with tribes of humans who may have been the forefathers of
the Egyptians or the Toltecs or the Mayans. Some believe that there may
yet be brothers of man who even now fight to survive somewhere beyond the
heavens.../
Scene One,
     Cassiopeia sat alone in the dimly lit chamber, her fingers touching
the toggle switch on the console set into the small worktop before her.
She turned to move her gaze across the nearly empty chamber that had been
her home for so many sectars, her place of refuge through the journey
that had brought her to this moment. She absently noted the billowing
white gown that lay spread over the mattress of her sleeping platform,
its voluminous skirt dwarfing the small partially packed bag that sat in
slight disarray on the decking beside a small table strewn with cosmetics
and hair accessories. Her eyes caught the flash of her own movement in
the shadowed full length mirror that dominated the corner behind the
table. She took a deep steadying breath, then turned with a determined
pursing of her lips and moved the switch to power up the small
holographic recording device near the center of the console. She glanced
downward to adjust the framing of the image of her own face within the
outline of the unit's display monitor, took another small breath and
exhaled slowly, consciously projecting what she hoped would be perceived
by the intended viewer of this recording as a generically agreeable
expression. She pressed the active recording key and began to speak
softly, yet clearly, in the direction of the small microphone below the
monitor.
     "Cain," her eyes teared instantly as she spoke the name, her voice
faltering as she swallowed hard and continued to speak, her words softly
echoing through the near-empty space of the chamber, "I'm recording this
message to add to the compacted data transmission files that Adama is
preparing for our next long range communication with all of you aboard
the Pegasus," she smiled brightly through the tears that threatened to
spill over her lower lashes, blinking them back as she maintained her
warm and gentle tone, "This is one of the most difficult things that I've
ever had to do, but I must be the one to tell you, my dearest love, that
Starbuck has asked me to be sealed with him and I have agreed to pledge
myself to him," she paused, swallowed hard once more and continued
determinedly with her message, "I know that you would tell me that
following my heart doesn't need to be so complicated, but for me it is,
especially when it comes to the love that I have for you, and the
memories of everything that we have shared with one another..." she
switched off the recording function, leaving the image of her face
temporarily frozen in the monitor, an enigmatic expression that stared
back at her as she struggling to maintain her composure and her mind
wandered back to the moment when Starbuck had fumbled in his pocket for a
small trinket box, and then nervously presented her with a bracelet that
was clearly marked with the traditional Colonial symbols of fidelity and
faithfulness, all intertwined with a stylized image of the fabled
Galactican Bird with a tiny silver star of Kobol clutched in its
intricately carved talons and glittering green stones for eyes. She
remembered how her breath had caught in her throat and she had struggled
to speak as Starbuck had carefully clasped the delicate band over her
trembling wrist...
     "I hope you like it, Cass," Starbuck's voice had been
uncharacteristically hesitant, his blue eyes shrouded by an expression
that she had seldom seen on his face before, an attitude of uncertainty,
even fear, "I...I had it made especially for you," he had licked his dry
lips nervously and taken both of her hands in his as her heart had begun
to pound, seeming to her at the time as if it might burst from her chest,
"Cassiopeia, will you consent to be sealed with me?" the words had
tumbled out as if he had feared that his voice might fail him, "Will you
be my wife, for now, and for all eternity?"
     "Oh...Starbuck," she recalled how the warm tears had begun to pour
down her cheeks as he had knelt before her, looking up into her face, his
attitude so earnest, and so vulnerable, "...I.../yes/...yes, of course
I'll marry you. Yes!" she had laughed and fallen into his arms, the two
of them tumbling gently onto the soft carpet that had adorned her humble
quarters. They had laid there against the edge of the small sleeping
platform, clinging to one another as they had laughed and cried together
and then settled quietly into a comfortable embrace, whispering softly to
one another of freshly realized future plans...
     "Cain, I shall always love you," she spoke into the microphone after
switching the record function back on, "but now the time has come for us
to let each other go..."
     
Scene Two,
     "Don't be late, Starbuck!" Apollo chided as they walked with Boomer
along the corridor leading to the access to the Galactica's Rejuvenation
Centre, "be sure and get down to the barracks right after you've taken
leave of Chameleon. The guys are all gathering down there and I heard
from Giles that they were getting an early start with the festivities.
Things should be in full swing by the time you arrive."
     "Taking this best man thing a little seriously, aren't you guys?"
Starbuck's smile belied his words, the happiness in his expression plain
to see by the two who were his closest friends and comrades, "aren't you
two the ones always trying to tear me /away/ from the party?"
     "Don't take this away from us, Starbuck," Boomer's hearty baritone
interjected, "this is a day that we never thought we'd see."
     Starbuck hesitated awkwardly as the three Warriors paused together
beside the hatchway leading into a small lounge adjacent to the
Rejuvenation Centre. Starbuck's father Chameleon had arranged with his
son to meet with him there for a brief interlude before the send-off
party, a celebration that the old man had begged off, citing his lack of
stamina and insisting that he must be at his freshest for the sealing
ceremony tomorrow.
     "What is it, Starbuck?" Apollo asked, the sight of Starbuck's
suddenly uncertain posture bringing a cloud of concern over his flashing
white smile, "is there something wrong?"
     "Aaaahhh...look, fellas, ah...I...I just want to tell the two of
you," Starbuck pursed and wetted his dry lips as he faltered with his
words, "I want to tell you how much your friendship has meant to me all
these yahrens, and...and I want to thank you both for always being there,
even in those times when I made things really difficult for
everyone...including myself."
     "Starbuck, you're not dying," Apollo's green eyes twinkled in a way
that reminded Starbuck of the stones on Cassiopeia's betrothal bracelet,
the image of that slender wrist and her emphatic and joyfully tearful
/yes/ sounding through his head, "you're just getting married like the
rest of us old men," Apollo's words brought Starbuck's attention back to
the present and the faces of his friends smiling brightly at his awkward
expression of love for them, "Starbuck," Apollo placed his hands firmly
over Starbuck's shoulders, squeezing hard and holding the gaze of the
glistening blue eyes of his friend, "we love you, too."
   "And we'd also love to get down to that send-off," Boomer extended his
hand, fingers curled in a gesture of invitation, to which his friends
responded by stepping toward him and sharing a three way clasping of
hands, "Congratulations Starbuck, and congratulations to us for putting
up with you for all these yahrens."
     "Spoken like a true friend, Boomer," Starbuck said wryly, his
composure now returning, though he saw in the flash of Apollo's white
smile, and Boomer's laughing brown eyes, that he could hide nothing from
them, and for once in his life he realized that he didn't mind at all,
"what would I do without you guys?"
     "Let's hope that you never find out," Boomer responded as the three
unclasped and lowered their hands.
     "Starbuck," Apollo was the first to reluctantly emerge from the
comfortable blanket of silence that seemed to surround them, holding the
three friends together, their expressions speaking more than any words
they might have chosen, "you'd better get going. Chameleon will be
waiting. Boomer and I will see you down there in a centar or so."
     "Yeah, sure, I'll see you down there. Tell Jolly and the others not
to drink all the grog before I get there," Starbuck turned and stepped
through the hatchway as Apollo and Boomer laughingly took their leave of
him and moved toward the console beside the nearby lift access, neither
of them noticing the slender, coveralled figure several metrons distant,
stepping quickly away from them and disappearing from view down a small
maintenance access corridor.

Scene Three,
     "I'll always be grateful for the time that we had..." Cassiopeia
paused the recorder once more and dabbed at her eyes with a folded
handkerchief. She leaned forward with her arms resting on the work top,
her mind wandering once more through images of past and present, seeing
Cain as she remembered him, tall and rugged and mercurial, his smiling
face etched into her memory for all eternity, /if things had been
different, I would have been faithful to you forever/, she lowered her
head, cupping her chin in her hands, /faithful forever/, her mind stopped
and focussed on a moment that, for her, had almost seemed worse than the
Destruction, that moment when Starbuck had discovered the truth, the
secret over which they had very nearly lost what they had built between
them. Her mind's eye magnified the distant and painful image of that day
in the Life Station, the moment when Sergeant Castor had innocently
revealed Chameleon's secret to Starbuck, the census file, the DNA match,
the cold blankness of Starbuck's voice as he had spoken to her and the
icy cold rage that had been there in the glare of his eyes, /you lied to
me, Cass/, the words had cut deeply, causing that fear of losing him to
blossom darkly within her, along with the guilt and shame that she had
betrayed her lover's trust by keeping the secret of Chameleon's true
identity as Starbuck's father and that she might now have lost him
forever. The sight of him, struggling to put on his boots, nearly falling
on his injured knee and pushing Doctor Paye away with the outpouring of
that rage that the deception had awoken...
     Cassiopeia shook her head, as if clearing away all those difficult
sectons, when Starbuck had seemed to slip away from her until, somehow,
he had been renewed by his visions and the friends who had remained for
him, loved him, even when he'd pushed them away. By whatever force it was
that had returned him to her, the same old Starbuck that she had fallen
for in the midst of the worst of tragedies had been returned to her. /I'm
letting go of the last of my guilt over it, Starbuck/, it had been a
welcome release of the guilt she had felt at concealing the truth that
Chameleon had indeed been identified as Starbuck's father, and that she
had reluctantly agreed to keep the old man's secret. /Oh, Chameleon,
we've come such a long way haven't we/, she conjured the image of the old
former confidence man moving slowly and fluidly through her mind. He
strolled with the grace of a dancer and his impish grin reached out to
her, prompting a smile from her as she imagined his welcome reaction at
the sight of her pending gift to him, a token from a bride to a father.
She envisioned him again, this time tucked into his cozy quarters aboard
the Senior ship after the next day's sealing celebration, enjoying the
special bottle of Joab's rare vintages from the Protean Collection, a
libation of ambrosa for Chameleon to enjoy. It had occurred to her that
he might find himself alone and perhaps feeling let down after the end of
such a joyous thing as his only son's wedding. The gift would be there to
remind him that he now had a daughter, alongside his beloved son, to care
for him in his senior yahrens and help to soothe and comfort his damaged
heart and injured soul. Her eyes came to rest on the small metallic
object that hung suspended from the clasp of the bag beside the bed, a
tiny good luck charm, intended for a bride, from one who would have
stayed for all eternity, but for the fickle twist of fate.

Scene Four,
     "Starbuck..." Chameleon sat down at a nearby table, gesturing for
the younger man to join him, his graceful fingers unconsciously reaching
for the Pyramid deck, shuffling absently as the cards danced before him,
then pausing as he lifted his gaze to face his son with a calm and
cautious tone, "...I think that you must know how very happy I am that
you and Cassiopeia are to be sealed," he smiled gently and his voice took
on a tentative tone, "I understand that you've worked hard over these
last sectars to get past old heartaches," Chameleon laid down the cards,
turning the top of the deck to reveal a capstone, then reached forward
and grasped his son's hands with his own, "/Son/...if you'd like to
invite Cla.../Ayesha/...to be there at the ceremony tomorrow,
I...well...I just want you to know that it's alright with me."
     "Chameleon, ah...I..." Starbuck squeezed his father's fingers
affectionately, his brow furrowing as he moved his head slowly from side
to side, "/Father/," Starbuck grimaced with the effort to resist the
tears that threatened to spill from his bright blue eyes, "Cassiopeia and
I are grateful to have your blessing, and I appreciate you understanding
that I've made my peace with...with things that are out of my control,
but...well, I've already had a word with Ayesha, and she feels that it
would be best if she doesn't attend," Starbuck held to the old man's
hands, staring down at the capstone on the table between them, "I
accepted her decision, and she was kind enough to send along a little
gift for Cassiopeia, a good luck charm for a bride...and...and a letter
for you, if you wish to accept it," Starbuck released his grip, moving to
pull a small folded paper from the inside pocket of his flight jacket. He
placed it carefully over the Pyramid cards, his grimace becoming a smile
as the older man silently lifted and then pocketed the letter.
     "Thank you, Starbuck," Chameleon's voice trembled slightly, his
fingers gently smoothing the fabric of his tunic over the heavy
notepaper, "I'll read it later tonight, when I'm alone," he lifted his
palm as if anticipating resistance from Starbuck, "now... it's /your/
time, my boy, and my opportunity to be with my only son on the eve of his
sealing to the prettiest girl in the universe. I'm not going to waste a
centon before you hurry off to the barracks for your send-off celebration
with your /other/ family."
     Starbuck took a deep, cleansing breath, moving to scoop up the cards
from the table top, shuffling them nearly as gracefully as Chameleon had
done, then turning over the top to reveal the capstone once more, "now,
how about that game?"
     "Sure, Son," Chameleon's own smile brightened as he gestured for the
barman, "what are the stakes? Care to play for who chooses the name of my
first grandchild?"
     "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Starbuck's face registered a
moment of panic, but he smiled once more at the twinkle in Chameleon's
eyes, "we'll play for the bar tab for now, and leave the /big/ decisions
to Cassiopeia," the two men laughed together, the moment of past shared
pain melting away more easily than either of them had expected, and
Starbuck began to deal the cards.

Scene Five,
     Cassiopeia rose from her seat, leaving her own frozen image on the
screen in momentary stasis as she stepped over to the sleeping platform
to stand staring at the gown laid out over the mattress, its flowing
white fabric catching the dim light and appearing to glow softly, like a
gentle beacon, a siren drawing her from the darkness and calling her
forward. She bent down to smooth the dark green sash that Sheba had given
to her, a traditional Colonial token of sisterhood and good fortune that
would provide the only contrast to the pristinely pale bridal costume.
     "Sheba," she whispered the name as she straightened, images of the
past moving through her mind and slowly coming to rest upon the image of
the Daughter of Cain as she had been when Cassiopeia had first become
Cain's lover, when the young socialator had become a regular visitor
aboard the Battlestar Pegasus, long before the Destruction and the
unexpected reunion with the Battlestar Galactica and the rag tag Fleet...
     "Don't bother," Sheba's voice resonated from the past, a now distant
memory of a time before the two women had even imagined considering the
possibility that they could ever be friends, mere sectars since Sheba had
graduated from cadet to full Warrior, to serve aboard her father's ship,
and all in the midst of the worst tragedy and loss that she had ever
suffered, "there's nothing I can do about you being on this ship," the
young Warrior had spat the words at the socialator that had dared to
insert herself into Sheba's family, a family of two that had lost their
anchor, the wife and mother that had held them together as one unit in
spite of Cain's constant absence, until..."you /may/ keep my father
entertained, and do your /job/..." the contempt had been plain on Sheba's
face that day aboard the Battlestar Pegasus as the two had stood alone in
the corridor outside the hatchway of Cain's private quarters, no
witnesses to temper Sheba's volatile expression of the roiling mass of
grief and hate that had moved within her after the loss of her mother to
a devastating illness, and the appearance of this stranger, this bubbly
young woman that had stepped into the space that Bethany should have
occupied, a space that Sheba had assumed would be left somewhat in her
care, that she and her beloved father would have had their time together,
to grieve and comfort one another over a loss that only they two could
truly comprehend between them, "...but don't bother trying to cozy up to
/me/ you..." Cassiopeia recalled the effort that it had taken for her to
not burst into tears in the wake of Sheba's rage, and the grief that had
been so plainly poured from that wounded, partly orphaned soul, and
then...a quick fa‡ade of neutrality that had slammed down over Sheba's
features as the hatch had opened and Cain had stepped out to join them, a
broad smile crossing his angular features as his blue eyes had sparkled
and he had expressed his pleasure at seeing them 'getting to know one
another'. Sheba's dark eyes had turned to stone and Cassiopeia had forced
a bright smile as Cain had taken her arm and gestured for her to join
him, to attend a post battle celebration in the Officers' Club, an
invitation that Sheba had declined, "No thank you, Father," she had
responded in a dull, measured tone, "I have some things to do..."
     Cassiopeia resisted the urge to physically start at the memory of
the naked hate that had spewed from Sheba's gut that day, and many other
days as well, until the Pegasus had disappeared into deep space, and
Cassiopeia had assumed the worst, that Cain had perished and that all she
had left of him were memories, and the deep regret that she had never
made her peace with Sheba. She felt now that it had been a miracle of
enormous proportions, an act of the fates, that she had found herself
once more face to face with Sheba, the two of them suddenly serving
together. That night, the shuttle, the jump drop and the mission into the
heart of enemy territory when Sheba's dearest friend and wingman, Bojay,
had been injured and Cassiopeia had stayed with him, hefted a laser
pistol in her trembling hands to protect him, getting through to Cain's
daughter at last that her judgement of Cassiopeia had been flawed. Sheba
had learned that it was her father's grief that had pushed her away from
him and not Cassiopeia, who had done nothing more than to offer her
kindness, not just to Cain, but to Sheba as well.
     "Sheba," Cassiopeia repeated the name, her gentle smile contrasting
with the bittersweet tears that lingered at the edge of her eyelids,
"with every effort that I could expend, I've kept my promise to your
father. I have /tried/ and I have succeeded in being a friend to you,
being there for you, just as he wanted...and you have been the best of
friends to me, my more-than-sister," Cassiopeia turned and stepped back
to her task, to record the message that she hoped would silence the last
ghostly echoes of the past and allow her, to allow /all/ of them, to
confidently move forward.

Scene Six,
     "Starbuck! Look out!" a mane of thick dark hair whizzed past
Starbuck's field of vision as strong arms shoved him roughly against the
bulkhead and then...
     .../CRASH/...
     "Wha..." Starbuck sputtered as he stared at the sparking wires
emerging from the wreckage of the large Unicom speaker that had fallen
from its mounting over the hatchway through which he had passed only
microns previously. He had taken his leave of the Rejuvenation Centre and
Chameleon and the virtual mountain of cubits that the old man had won,
not sparing even his own son from his sharp gamblers' touch at Pyramid,
"What in Hades..." Starbuck stared at the face before him, his mouth open
and his eyes blinking with the effort to take in his surroundings.
     "Starbuck! Are you alright?" Deitra peered with open concern into
Starbuck's face, "did you catch any debris? That thing seemed to leap off
the bulkhead! It's a good thing I came around the corner when I did! You
were right under it!
     "Uh, yeah...th...thanks Deitra!" Starbuck steadied himself with
Deitra's proffered arm, gaining his balance and staring at the Unicom
speaker at his feet, "We'd better call a maintenance tech to fix this
thing before somebody gets electrocuted..."
     "I'll take care of it, Starbuck," Deitra flashed a bright smile and
reached to straighten Starbuck's jacket in a comradely gesture, "you've
got a send-off due to start in the barracks. I'll see to it that the
maintenance techs are here before I go on to meet with Sheba. Some of us
are still getting our outfits together for tomorrow."
     "I'm sorry Cassie didn't want a send-off..." Starbuck began, but his
words were cut off by Deitra's upraised palm.
     "She had drinks with us earlier, Starbuck, and she explained that
she wants to have tonight to herself, to 'put some things in order for
tomorrow' was how she put it," Deitra gave her friend a gentle shove, "go
on, Flyboy. The guys are probably waiting for you with an ice-cold
tankard of some noxious variation of grog by now."
     "Yeah, I guess you're right," Starbuck mirrored Deitra's laughing
tone, "but make sure somebody clears that up, will you? I don't want any
medical emergencies taking Doctor Cassiopeia down to Life Station until
long after her sealing ceremony is completed," Starbuck glanced upward at
the hole in the bulkhead above him, frowning now at the sight of the
broken, smoking wires, "I owe you one, Deitra."
     "Don't mention it Starbuck," Deitra smiled and gave him another
gentle push, "I wouldn't want the Doctor to have been called down to Life
Station only to find that /you/ were the one with the head injury,
especially not tonight. You go on, Starbuck, and I'll see you tomorrow."
     "Thanks Deitra," Starbuck swallowed the nagging sense of unease that
had risen from the back of his throat at the sight of the damaged Unicom
speaker, "Cassiopeia would have been pretty upset if I'd been down for
the count due to a random equipment failure."
     The two of them nodded as Starbuck moved to enter the nearby lift,
the doors closing on the sight of Deitra moving toward the communication
console near the hatchway, a brief chill raising the hairs on his arms as
the doors came together with a slight /swoosh/ and the lift began to
move, carrying him toward the level where the barracks and his send-off
party awaited him.

Scene Seven,
....Cassiopeia paused the recording and sat back in her chair, her mind
drifting once more, from that first night with Starbuck on the eve of his
mission to carry out Apollo's reckless plan for the two of them, along
with Boomer, to blast a path through the mines that had peppered the
sweltering expanse of the Nova Madagon, to that moment in the gaming
chancery on Carillon when Athena had appeared. She remembered the
disappointment and pain in Athena's eyes as the dark Lieutenant had
realized that Starbuck had chosen this new woman, this blonde interloper
who had conveniently appeared just when Athena had impulsively pushed
Starbuck away in the wake of such overwhelming pain over the Destruction
and her fear of losing another so close to her heart as her younger
brother had been. Cassiopeia knew all of this now that she and Athena had
become friends. Cassiopeia smiled with the remembrance of that chance
meeting in the Life Station that had broken through the layer of ice with
Starbuck's hold on Athena's heart frozen within its surface, a barrier
that had existed between the two women who had loved him and competed for
his affection in those first early days of their acquaintance.
     "I...I can come back later," Athena's voice had faltered as she had
realized that Cassiopeia was the only med-tech on duty that evening, so
long ago now it seemed.
     "No! Athena...please don't go," Cassiopeia had risen from her seat
at the Life Station's main console to reach out for Athena's arm as the
other woman had stumbled awkwardly, turning on a leg with an obvious
limp, "you'll fall, let me help you," she had ushered Athena to a
comfortable chair and carefully elevated the injured leg, feeling for any
broken bones or tensed muscles as she deftly removed Athena's boot and
propped her ankle on a cushioned stool, 'can you tell me what happened?"
     "I was heading back to my quarters from my learning cycle rotation,"
Athena winced as Cassiopeia cautiously unfastened the cuff of a uniform
trouser leg and rolled the fabric upward to reveal a quickly swelling
ankle, "I turned my heel on a toy daggit. One of the kids must have
dropped it on their way out after the end-of-lesson chime sounded. They
tend to rush out like a mob of Boray when the cycle ends."
     "I'll get you a cold compress, and we'll do a quick scan to be
certain that you haven't fractured anything," Cassiopeia remembered how
she had tended to Athena's ankle, finding only a badly torn tendon, which
she had infused with a healing compound before kneeling to wrap it in a
long, winding tension bandage, "you'll need to keep off of it for a day
or two, I'm afraid," Cassiopeia had worked hard to keep her manner
professional until Athena's voice had stopped her short.
     "I don't hate you, Cassiopeia," Athena had looked downward, holding
Cassiopeia's gaze as she had continued speaking, an edge of emotion
tumbling out with her disjointed words, as if she had struggled to get it
all out, to clear the air, "I know that I've been unkind to you, even
after all you've done...helping Apollo with Boxey and caring for my
father while he's been confined to his bed...and...I know that you've
tried so hard to be a friend to Sheba, even though...I...well, you see,
Starbuck broke my heart when he..."
     "Athena, you don't need to..."
     "No! You don't understand!" Athena had smiled through the tears that
had formed in the corners of her eyes, smiled at Cassiopeia with genuine
warmth for the first time that Cassiopeia could recall, and reached to
touch the med-tech's shoulder with a gentle hand, "I was in love with
him, he was my first real love and I pushed him away, then when I thought
twice and reached out for him, he'd already found you," Athena's smile
had seemed so incongruous in that moment, such good humour contrasting
with such a tale of heartbreak and loss, "I thought for a while that he
would come back to me, but it was clear that he'd fallen for you, and
that night before the mission through the mine field, when I searched
through the feeds on the surveillance monitors and saw the two of you in
that launch tube together, all I could see was red and I reached for the
steam purge..."
     "You?" Cassiopeia remembered how stunned she had felt, how her hands
had frozen with Athena's ankle in one, and the roll of bandage in
another. Cassiopeia's mind had returned with clarity to those first days
after the Destruction when Starbuck had offered her shelter from the
storm that had surrounded them all, with no judgement, and no demand for
any favours in return.../okay, but I think you're making a terrible
deal/...and to that first night with Starbuck in the launch bay, and then
into the launch tube.../don't you ever take that smouldering weed out of
your mouth?/...her own giggling voice had rung out from the past and
echoed in her head as the two women had stared silently at one another,
Athena's expression unfamiliar to her as Cassiopeia had sputtered out the
words, "/you/ turned on the steam? It wasn't just an equipment failure?"
     "Yes, it was me," Cassiopeia had continued staring silently into
Athena's tearful eyes as the Lieutenant continued, "I wanted that little
snake to pay for choosing to be with you instead of me, and I didn't
think, I...I just pressed the purge key."
     The two of them had remained, still frozen in a mixture of surprise
and uncertainty until the smile had broadened across Athena's face and
been mirrored on Cassiopeia's and the two of them had begun to twitch
with a small series of sputters and giggles that had grown to a tearful
and breathless loss of control as the memory of that night and Starbuck's
discomfort had taken hold of them both and reduced them to a state of
open and unreserved laughter.
     "Oh, Cassiopeia," Athena had said when the two of them had finally
regained their composure and Cassiopeia had reached to straighten the now
unrolled bandage that had fallen from her hand in the midst of their
shared laughter, "Cassiopeia, I can see now that I was never Starbuck's
one true love, and he was never mine. We had some wonderful times
together, and we /do/ love one another. In fact, even my mother had
thought that I would eventually marry him. She went so far as to /order/
my father and my brothers to stay out of...well, she told them not to
interfere when Starbuck would get caught up in one of his schemes and let
me down. Things are different now, and I've realized that there's someone
else for me. Cassiopeia, as I see it, you and I don't need to
be.../unfriendly/ anymore.
     Cassiopeia blinked and leaned forward in her seat, chuckling softly
at the recollection of that moment that seemed so long ago now, when she
and Athena had made their peace, had finally become friends, and
Cassiopeia had been one of the first to know which one of their small
circle of friends /would/ eventually marry Apollo's sister. She sighed
and reached again for the control on the console, adjusting her
expression and continuing her message to the man that had once been her
own true love, much as Starbuck had been Athena's...

Scene Eight,
     Starbuck pressed the lift control, selecting the level that would
carry him down to the main access corridor outside the crew quarters
section, his body unconsciously correcting for the sudden shift in
movement as the lift mechanism was initiated, a small smile crossing his
face as he contemplated the festivities awaiting him in the barracks
below. Adama had cleared all of Blue and Red Squadrons to attend, whilst
distributing the remaining Squadrons into rotating shifts of wing pairs
to alternate from routine short-range patrols and duty functions
throughout the Fleet with a cautionary two drink limit imposed upon them
as they alternated to take their turns to join in the revelry and
celebrate their brother's pending marriage, an event that few of them had
ever imagined would come to pass. /Starbuck/...getting /married/. He
could barely believe it himself as he stood watching the display above
the lift door begin to count down...
     /CRASH/   
   The lift suddenly stopped with a loud sound of metal striking metal
and Starbuck found himself in a tangle of arms and legs as he fell
abruptly to the deck plates beneath him, the red glow of emergency
lighting telling him that something was very wrong. He sprang to his feet
and reached for the console beside the still-closed doors, /frozen/, his
mind worked quickly as he looked around him, /if I can find a
wedge.../...
     "Hey! In the lift! Is anybody in there?" the voice was muffled but
the words came through clearly and a sense of relief flooded through
Starbuck's tensed muscles, "Can you hear me?"
     "I'm in /here/! I'm alone!" Starbuck cried, "The controls are
frozen! I can't get out!"
     "Hang on! We're working on the doors! You're between levels, so
we'll have to pull you up. We'll have you out in a centon or two!"
Starbuck watched as the doors began to open, revealing the end of a long
piece of metal tubing that held the doors ajar as a black-sleeved arm
reached inward, the hand grasping his and straining to pull him upward
and out through the opening to the deck plate roughly one metron above
him.
     "Reese!" Starbuck spoke the name reflexively as Council Security
Officer Reese hauled him unceremoniously through the opening and two
other 'black-shirts' held the tubing steady, withdrawing their make-shift
wedge only when Starbuck was safely clear of the track of the slamming
doors behind him "Reese! What the...?"
     "We were doing a routine sweep of the corridors, and we heard some
sort of 'bang'," Reese explained, "it sounded like small explosion of
some kind, and when we came around the corner, we saw /that/," Starbuck's
gaze followed the trajectory of Reese's pointing finger, his eyes
widening as he saw the console beside the now-closed lift doors, it's
outer casing melted away and bundles of singed wires hanging from a
jagged hole in the metal of the bulkhead, "it could be some sort of short
in the wiring. We'll have a tech get down here and check it out. In the
meantime we'll have to suspend all but essential lift transport until we
can be certain that this is an isolated event. I'll call in Croft, just
be on the safe side."
     "Reese, you don't think that..." Starbuck attempted a weak laugh of
derision, but it fell flat as he gazed at the mangled lift console, then
looked directly into Reese's face, seeing a concern there that sent a
small chill up his spine, "...you don't think that somebody did this
/deliberately/!" it was more a hopeful statement than a question.
     "I don't know, Starbuck," Reese's tone was cautious, "Look, why
don't you leave us to handle this. I know you have a party to get to.
Your friends are waiting for you. We'll let you know if there's reason
for concern."
     "Uh.../thanks/ Reese," Starbuck paused, his glance once more moving
from Reese's face, to the console, and then back to the Security Officer
again as he carefully chose his next words barely believing it himself
when he heard them emerge from his own mouth, "Reese, if...uh, if you
guys have a few centons between duty cycles, well...look, you're welcome
to join us in the barracks for drink or two ...that is...if you /want/
to."
     "That's really generous of you, Starbuck," Reese stood quietly, his
voice hesitant and oddly subdued, "I...uh...I just wanted to say
/congratulations/. Doctor Cassiopeia's the kindest and loveliest woman
most of us have ever met, and you're a lucky guy."
     "Yeah.../lucky/," Starbuck echoed the word as he looked once more at
the hole where the console keypad had been, "I guess I /owe/ you one,
Reese."
     "Just save me a grog, Lieutenant," Reese and Starbuck shared a
tentative smile, an unfamiliar posture between the two who had been
antagonistic rivals when it came to both personal and professional
matters for as long as either of them could remember, "the guys and I
will stop in and share a toast with you after shift rotation."
     "Sure," Starbuck's smile broadened as he realized that Reese seemed
to be sincerely making an effort to wish him well, 'Sure, you do that.
I'll tell the guys to expect you," Starbuck waved a hand in a casual
farewell as he turned to take his leave of the Security Officers.
     "Oh, and Starbuck!" Starbuck paused as Reese continued speaking,
"like I said, we'll have to suspend non-essential lift transport until we
have this, this.../equipment failure/ investigated. I'm afraid you'll
have to use the maintenance access shafts to get down to the crew levels
and get to the barracks."
     "Of course," Starbuck sighed and muttered under his breath as he
continued walking, making for the nearest emergency access, "why would it
be any other way. I don't like to spend my time worrying about what
/might/ happen, but /this/ is a bit much for the fates to expect from
me." He pursed his lips and reached for the manual control on the access
panel, "Lords, just don't sound an alert tonight, and I'll be good, I
promise," Starbuck felt an odd chill as he took a last sweeping look down
the corridor before entering the access shaft, unaware of a silent form
that scurried quickly into the shadows of a small maintenance chamber
beyond his field of vision as he pulled the panel closed behind him and
then made his way determinedly, rung by rung, down the access shaft
ladder.

Scene Nine,
     Cassiopeia sat silently at the console, her mind searching for the
right things to say, determined not to dwell on where Cain was and what
he might be doing at this moment. Now was the time for her to attend to
unfinished business, /plenty of time to worry for the Pegasus between
transmissions/, she pondered with wonder the very fact that she now knew
that he was alive, with a beloved member of the Galactican family beside
him on his bridge, and that the fates had given her the opportunity to
set him free to love again if that should be his destiny.
     /Destiny/, she leaned back in her seat, folding her arms, her mind
rushing over those first chaotic days when Starbuck had helped her to
find a place for herself in this new, unfamiliar Fleet of strangers.
Starbuck and Apollo had been the first to extend their supporting arms to
her, and then... she smiled with the remembrance of that first day in
Life Station when she had presented herself for duty, the crisp medical
technician's uniform still stiff and fresh from the laundry section.
     "Now, it says here..." she had stood uncertainly before the gruff
man who had introduced himself as 'your new boss, Doctor Salik', "...it
says here that you have a great deal of medical training due to your
professional experience," he had spoken without any noticeable reaction
to the title of 'Socialator' that she had entered on her new personnel
record. There was no lascivious leer, no lift of an eyebrow that
Cassiopeia had often encountered with other, less stalwart and practical
men than was her new mentor, and soon to be father figure, the man who
would become for her a Protector, and was to stand with her tomorrow at
her wedding, the inimitable force of nature known as Doctor Salik,
"Cassiopeia," Salik had crossed his arms and stared directly into her
eyes, his voice firm and somehow comforting as well, "you are the most
qualified of our new recruits. I'm going to have to ask you to take on a
supervisory role, perhaps even take on some surgical and emergency intake
duties. Are you up for it?'
     "Yes Doctor!" Cassiopeia remembered how warm and secure she had felt
in his presence that first intimidating day that she had become a member
of the crew of the Battlestar Galactica, and how thrilled she had been to
be given such trust and authority with no glimmer of concern over where
she had come from, and who she may have been before. Salik wanted only to
care for his patients and see to it that the people under his charge were
relieved of their suffering in the best and most efficient means
available, and the nature of Cassiopeia's former life before the
Destruction seemed to have barely registered on him, "Thank you, Doctor!
I won't let you down!" she remembered the smile that he had given her and
the fatherly pat on one shoulder, and the way that he had made her feel
like part of a family for the first time in a very long while.
     "Doctor Salik," she spoke the name into the darkness of the small
chamber, her white teeth biting down on her lower lip as her mind moved
forward, to the stranger who had appeared amongst them, and the
frustration that Adama and the others had felt over not getting any
answers from the enigmatic creature who had introduced himself
as.../Iblis/...
     "Doctor, there's all kinds of portable scanners! Surely you can get
close enough to him for a simple respiratory probe!" Apollo's words came
back to her from that moment when he and Starbuck had hurried through the
Life Station to join Salik and Cassiopeia.
     "I'm telling you, I sent two of my best technicians to try to get
close to Iblis. They both came back with broken scanners. I even sent
/Cassiopeia/."
     "When all of our medical technology fails we still resort to blatant
feminine wiles," Cassiopeia remembered the words that she had spoken to
the two Warriors, and the look on Starbuck's face as he had reacted with
a mixture of bravado and uncertainty.
     "Mmmmm.../what happened/!" She had struggled to resist the urge to
giggle at his clear display of insecurity.
     "Well...I certainly think he was the most /charming/ man I've ever
met," she had continued. She remembered how she had willed her face to
remain expressionless while knowing that Starbuck could plainly tell that
she could see right through him.
     "The...uh.../most/ charming?" Starbuck's face had lost its last
effort at a calm expression.
     "That was on the /outside/" she had tried to express a tone of
reassurance through her reflexive desire to giggle at Starbuck's clear
display of jealously, "I still have no idea what he's like under that
beautiful smile."
     Apollo had interjected, "Maybe you weren't close enough to get a
good scan of him."
     "Apollo," she remembered how she had felt a small wave of
self-consciousness as she had avoided Starbuck's gaze and moved toward
the Captain. She remembered how safe and accepted she had always felt in
the presence of Starbuck's dearest friend, "Apollo, do you mind if we
discuss this without Starbuck around?"
     "Hey! Look! This was all done in the line of duty, I...wasn't it?"
Starbuck had seemed near to losing the last of his composure.
     "Starbuck, I'd be lying to you if I told you that I wasn't impressed
by him, but I /still/ came back with an empty tape."
     "Excuse me," Salik had muttered as he moved past Starbuck and Apollo
to reach for the console controls on Cassiopeia's other side, the
Doctor's expression impassive as Starbuck had struggled quite comically
to regain his composure, and to conceal his jealousy over Cassiopeia's
affections.
     "What are you talking about, 'an empty tape'?" Starbuck had gestured
toward the display before them, "That heart-rate is dancing like a Cylon
scanner!"
     "Oh, that's /my/ pulse-rate.../this is his/."
     "A straight line. You...ah...really /got to him/."
     Memories of the Life Station and Starbuck's final attempt at
mockingly jovial sarcasm now fell away into the darkness as Cassiopeia
uncrossed her arms and rose from her seat, wandering once more to gaze
down at the softly glowing whiteness of her wedding gown, shaking loose
her stiffened muscles, and laughing softly to herself at the
vulnerability of her beloved's fa‡ade of bravado.

Scene Ten,
     "Hey! Lieutenant! What are /you/ doing here? Don't you have a party
to get to?"
     Starbuck took the out-stretched hand that had appeared in front of
him as he had forced the stiff-hinged hatch with his shoulder and pushed
his way through the opening of the access shaft, "thanks,' he breathed,
winded from the effort it had taken to muscle his way into the corridor,
"I was heading there when the lifts were taken off-line. I need to go two
more levels down, but the hinges on those hatches down there are frozen
solid!"
     "That's odd," Sergeant Cygnus responded, withdrawing his supporting
arm as Starbuck gained a foothold on the decking below them, "the
maintenance section usually keeps those hinges lubricated. That's our
emergency access. I'd better report to the section chief, let him know.
If we don't loosen up those hinges, then the guys in the barracks would
be stuck if they needed to evacuate quickly."
     "Captain Apollo will be down there already," Starbuck mused aloud as
he studied the hatch, his brow furrowing at the sense of unease that had
been growing in his gut, "get in touch with him and let him know that the
access is limited...just in case."
     "Sure, Lieutenant," Cygnus paused at the sight of Starbuck's
expression, "Starbuck? Is there something wrong, something I should pass
on to the section chief...or Security?"
     "Mmmmm? Oh...no," Starbuck roused himself from his reverie,
"I...ah...I need to get down to the barracks. I'll confirm that the
Captain is aware of the maintenance issue."
     "Right," Cygnus nodded, "I suggest you take that service stair over
there down to the next level, Lieutenant," the Sergeant pointed to a
small hatchway set into the bulkhead several metrons along the corridor,
"they ran some routine security drills down that way yesterday, and the
big hatch in the centre of the main chamber was in working order. I went
through it myself to get down into the barracks and repair a shorted out
refrigeration unit before the housekeepers came in, "It's not the most
dignified way for you to arrive at your send-off, but it'll get you
there, Sir."
     "Thanks, Sarge," Starbuck clapped the maintenance technician's
shoulder as he moved to take his leave."
     "Lieutenant?" Starbuck paused and, lifting a querulous eyebrow,
turned back toward Cygnus to hear his next words, "Congratulations, Sir!
You're a lucky man."
     "Yeah.../lucky/," Starbuck smiled with what he hoped would come
across as conviction and waved a casual farewell as he headed for the
stairs.

Scene Eleven,
     "My dearest Cain, I want you to know that I'm happy with Starbuck,
that he loves me and...and I love /him/ as well," Cassiopeia swallowed
hard as she struggled to maintain a bright, encouraging smile, "I'm
telling you this so that you can allow yourself to be released from any
promise, any oath of fidelity that you've ever made to me. I want you to
know that I shall always love /you/ as well, but that you don't have to
worry about me, or wonder if I'm safe, or if someone is there for me. I
want you to be free, and if an opportunity for happiness, for you to find
true love again, to open up your heart to someone new should present
itself, I want you to feel free to accept it, with no hesitation over
what we've shared together. I shall pray for you and for your crew, and
think of you as you make your way.../homeward/. Cain...I...I shall always
love you, and I shall never forget you.../you old war-daggit/," A sob
escaped from Cassiopeia's throat as she pressed the recording control and
switched the toggle to power down the unit. She carefully removed the
holographic data crystal from the console and placed it gently to one
side of the small work-top. Only then did she allow herself to break
down, weeping as she stood and moved to stare out through ovoid view
port, imagining him out there, his ship carrying him further away from
her with every passing centon, the lost love that she had now finally
released from her heart. She shed her cleansing tears to let him go,
finally let him go, and stand prepared to move confidently forward with
her new love with no hesitation or doubt, to make the journey that she
must make in the opposite direction. /You old war-daggit/, the words
echoed through her mind as she wiped her tears and straightened her
spine, /I shall never forget you/. She stayed there for a long while, the
near darkness of the chamber seeming to embrace her as she continued to
gaze outward, and into the vastness of space. 

Scene Twelve,
     "Sta-arbuck!" Starbuck turned at the familiar lilting tones that
emerged from the access to the service stair, "the maintenance fella
upstairs told me this was the route fer me ta take, but I niver expected
ta find ya on your knees until after the weddin' was over!"
     "Very funny, Joab," Starbuck rose from where he had knelt beside the
large hatch set into the decking below them, "I was just about to open
the hatch. The barracks are below us, so we'll have to drop in on the
party and see if we can set up some sort of ladder or stairs for anyone
coming behind us. What's in the box?"
     'Oh, this?" Joab grinned mischievously, "these are five bottles of
me finest Protean ambrosa, at the special request of yer lovely
wife-ta-be. I'd have brought ya all six, but she had one bottle sent over
fer a special delivery ta the Senior Ship, fer after the weddin'"
     "She does think of everything," Starbuck smiled happily as the image
of Cassiopeia's face moved through his mind, "She's thinking that my
father might feel a bit lonesome after the party's all over."
     "She's a catch, that gi-irl," Joab's grin seemed fixed to his face,
his eagerness to join in on the send-off apparent in his manner as he
placed the box gently beside the hatch and began to reach for the locking
mechanism, "now, let's get down ta this shindig of yers, and get ya
properly sent off ta that weddin' ceremony," he paused, his hands poised
over the hatch, "ye're a /lucky/ man, Sta-arbuck!"
     "Yeah, so everybody's been telling me the whole time that I..."
     .../WHOOOMFF!/...
     The space around them turned to smoke and pieces of metal as Joab
pulled the release on the hatch and the two of them fell, flailing for
balance through the gaping hole where the hatchway had been and down into
dozens of flight jackets, somehow fortuitously tossed by their owners
into a pile that had accumulated directly under the hatchway, breaking
the two mens' fall as they crashed through the ceiling and into the
barracks below.
     "What the..." Apollo cried as he coughed and swatted at the dust and
smoke that surrounded them all, "Starbuck! Are you alright!"
     "I...I think so," Starbuck staggered down the smoking mound of
jackets, nearly falling into Apollo's open arms, "Joab was just opening
the hatch and...oh my god!...Joab!" Starbuck turned in time to see a
coughing form crawl out from within the massive folds of fabric.
     "I'm al-lright! What in the name of all that's holy was that?"
     "Some sort of explosive charge!" Boomer came forward, a coughing
crowd of staggering Warriors and crewmen behind him, "it went off when
you opened the hatch! Look! Look at the wires hanging down from that
hole. That hatch was rigged to blow!"
   "Help! Somebody..." the crowd of warriors turned as another form
emerged from the other side of the smouldering pile of fabric and rubble,
"What in Hades...?
     "Reese!" Apollo exclaimed, rushing forward with Starbuck to catch
the tall Council Security Officer as he staggered blindly toward them,
"What are /you/ doing here? What in Hades just happened?"
     "I...I was just coming from the upper level. Cygnus said everybody
was taking the stairs, and then I saw Starbuck with somebody at the
hatchway. I went to join them, and then...then...everything turned to
smoke and..." Reese's rattled nerves suddenly settled and his eyes
widened, "Somebody pushed me! Just before all the noise and
smoke...somebody pushed me through the hole!"
     "Stay back! Stay back! This entire chamber is wired and I'll take
you all out with me!" the small coveralled figure of a woman sprang from
the thick smoke of the rubble, a metal box with several multi coloured
toggle switches connected with multiple coils of wire clutched tightly in
her hand.
     "Everybody take cover!" Boomer cried, "That looks like a detonator
in her hand!
     The crowd moved backward, stumbling over one another and leaping
into a jumble of uniformed arms and legs behind the row of bunks at the
furthermost end of the chamber, Apollo and Boomer pulling Starbuck, Joab
and Reese along with them.
     "The ambrosa!" Joab cried "The box! It's atop of the pile!"
     "Leave it!" Apollo shouted, grabbing the Protean and pulling him
toward the nearest bunk rail."
     "Oh, Starbuck!" a mournful voice emanated from the soot-covered form
that now stood atop of the pile, Joab's still intact box at her feet, "we
were so happy together. Every day was better than the last and I was
always there for you, tidying up and keeping you happy."
     What in the name of..." Starbuck sputtered, "What are you talking
about? Who /are/ you?"
     "We would have been fine if /she/ hadn't come along. The nerve she
had, constantly telling you to take that smouldering weed out of your
mouth! I was happy to sweep up the ashes for you and /now/...," the woman
raised her hand, brandishing the detonator, "if /I/ can't have you, then
/nobody/ can!"
     "No!" Starbuck cried as her finger depressed the ignition toggle
and...
     .../silence/...
     "What?" the woman clawed at the detonator controls, "No! No! No!"
She cried, casting a hate-filled look in Reese's direction, "Clumsy
Black-Shirt! You've broken it! You've ruined /everything/!" the woman
leaped forward, her booted foot catching on the corner of the box
containing the still unbroken bottles of ambrosa, the detonator falling
from her hands and suddenly sparking as it smashed into the open box
below...
     "Everybody get down! It's gonna blow!" bellowed Boomer, as the crowd
packed itself against the back wall. Starbuck and Reese joined Apollo,
all three pulling hard on Joab's tunic, stumbling together to join the
others behind the bunk rails.
     "It's a special batch! The last of it in the unive-erse!" Joab
wailed with a sorrowful cry.
     "Let it go!" Starbuck yelled, tumbling with the others behind the
nearest upright support and diving for cover.
     .../WHOOOMFFF/...
     The box ignited with an astonishing upward blast, enveloping the
deranged bomber and sending pieces of fabric and metal in all
directions...

Scene Thirteen,
     "The whole place was wired, Apollo," Boomer approached the Captain
where he stood with Starbuck and Reese beside the still smouldering pile
of ash and fabric and twisted metal, "I figure when she used Reese to
cushion her fall through the blast hole, the detonator must have been
damaged, probably a crossed wire. When the spark hit the ambrosa, she was
vapourized almost instantly," Boomer clapped the Security Officer's
soot-covered shoulder, "Looks like /you/ saved Starbuck's life, Reese!"
     "Uhhhh..." the tall man furrowed his brow in confusion,
"I...I...uh...you're.../welcome/?" the stunned man stammered through a
slowly lifting fog of shock.
     "It's alright, Reese," Starbuck reached into his pocket and
retrieved a half-smoked fumarello, clenching it between his teeth, as if
reassuring himself with a familiar gesture, "I'm not used to us getting
along either. The whole world has suddenly turned upside down, but
/apparently/ I'm a lucky guy, or so they tell me." Starbuck hesitated,
removing the fumarello from between his lips and peering into Reese's
face with a speculative posture, "you, uh...you /will/ be coming to the
ceremony tomorrow, right?"
     "Uhh...ya.../yeah/.../sure/...I mean, /yes/...I'll be there,
Starbuck...Thanks," Reese seemed as one who had stepped into an
unfamiliar dimension as he and Starbuck regarded one another in silence,
both of them sharing a moment of surreal disbelief that the fates had
deposited them here at this moment to find a glimmer of good will between
the two of them.
     "The whole ever-lovin' batch," Joab's voice was mournful as he
regarded the remains of the box that had held his ambrosa, "what a
tragedy!" Joab became aware of the many eyes that now turned to him as
his distinctively lilting voice rang out over the chaotic activity in
what had once been the Blue Squadron barracks, "eh...I mean...how tragic!
/Poor lady/! What a shame! She must've been off her nut!"
     "That's probably not an unfair assessment," Castor interjected as he
approached the assembled group of dazed Warriors and crewmen that now
stood arrayed, staring at the pile of smoking rubble as the fire detail
slowly worked their way through with shovels and extinguishers, and a
crew of technicians scanned the chamber for hidden explosive charges.
"Looks like she's been stalking you for several yahrens, Lieutenant,"
Castor hefted a small tattered notebook with daggit-eared pages and
multiple bookmarks of random items including bits of yarn and coloured
paper, "We found a journal under her bunk, in the maintenance crew
quarters. She's been on the housekeeping detail since we left Caprican
space. That's how she got in here to wire the explosive charges. Seems
she was a demolition expert on a construction team. There's a picture
pasted inside the front cover, an image that she recorded of herself in
front of what looks like a Colonial structure."
     "That's the Caprican Forces Munitions Bunker on Mount Benedict!"
Starbuck exclaimed, "I was stationed there for a couple of training
rotations just after..."
     "Just after Athena graduated from the Academy," Apollo's voice
interjected, "Starbuck, look at the background, the group of figures in
front of the main building. It's you, and some other Warriors, and..."
     "Athena," Starbuck breathed as his mind rolled back to those days,
"she came to visit me there, after she graduated, we went out for a
furlon while the construction..." his mouth opened wide as the details
came back to him, "there was a woman on the crew, she seemed always to be
lifting things too heavy for her. I remember meeting her on the steps
between shift rotations, helping her with her boxes and bags...my god!
Was she waiting there for me every day? Deliberately trying to get my
attention? Athena! Thank god she didn't snap and go for Athena!" Starbuck
and Apollo shared expressions that spoke of a mixture of horror and
relief, "or /Cassiopeia/!"
...."Thank the Gods she went after /you/!" Jolly piped up, "If she'd gone
after every girl /you've/ known over the yahrens, there'd have been a
trail of bodies from here all the way back to the moons of Orion!"
     "/Thanks/ Jolly," Starbuck muttered, giving the large man a look
that spoke of exaggerated annoyance, disguising the rattled state of his
nerves, "/that/ makes it /so/ much better." Starbuck reached downward,
lighting his fumarello from a hot spark on the pile and took a long,
comforting draw of smoke, /sorry Cass/, he smiled to himself, prompting
expressions of concern and confusion amongst the friends and ship-mates
that surrounded him, /sometimes a guy's just got to put a smouldering
weed in his mouth/, he clenched the fumarello between his teeth, "she'll
just have to get used to it," he muttered into Apollo's expression of
concern, then turned to sit on the nearest bunk and hefted an intact
bottle of ale that had somehow rolled clear of the explosion, "she'll
just have to get used to it."
     Starbuck sat quietly, sipping the ale and smiling to himself as
Apollo approached, "You alright, Starbuck? Do you think maybe you should
go to the Life Station?"
     "That's alright buddy," Starbuck laughed, "I've already got an
appointment with a Doctor tomorrow, and I intend to keep it," Apollo
mirrored his friend's smile with a fair measure of uncertainty as the two
sat together surveying the chaos around them, "she's just going to have
to get used to it," Starbuck repeated, "I'm a very /lucky/ guy. Everybody
says so."

Scene Fourteen,
     "Tigh, have you taken care of it?"
     "Yes, Adama," Colonel Tigh whispered quietly as the two men stood
together on the dais along one wall of the large Conference Chamber,
candlelight flickering over the silver trim of their formal dress blue
uniforms as they surveyed the faces of the guests who were now arriving
through the open hatchway leading directly into the gallery below, "Ama
says that she cannot attend our 'infidel-infested' ceremony in good
conscience. We've set her up at the end of the corridor outside with an
incense burner and some wet reeds. I've got security posted nearby, ready
with a fire extinguisher. Apparently, she's warding off evil spirits.
What a shame she wasn't so vigilant yesterday when half of our pilots and
crewmen were almost blown to bits in the barracks."
     "Not to worry, Tigh," Adama chuckled softly at the annoyance in his
friend's dry tone, "Castor has informed me that the security sweeps were
thorough. He and the others are convinced that the poor soul that
committed this act of madness was alone in her pursuits. She was sadly
vapourized in a matter of milli-microns once that flammable liquid was
ignited, and the damage to the barracks can be repaired within a few
daily cycles, although Blue and Red Squadrons will have to billet
elsewhere until the maintenance people have completed their work."
     "I think we're almost ready, Sir," Adama's eyes followed the
direction that Tigh's whispering nod had indicated. The Commander's smile
widened as Apollo approached them, his hand on Starbuck's shoulder, and
Boomer on Starbuck's other side, their dark blue dress uniforms a match
to Adama and Tigh.
     "Are you ready, Starbuck?' Apollo smiled at the sight of Starbuck's
pale and uncertain expression, the usual bravado now nowhere to be seen,
"don't worry, you'll be fine," Apollo whispered as the men gathered at
the dais with Adama, Tigh and Boomer, all in the same dress blue, and
many others, both Warriors and civilians, assembled in a large group in
the gallery behind them.
     "Ready as I'll ever be," Starbuck breathed softly, feeling Apollo's
steady hand squeeze and release his shoulder as his eyes skimmed over the
many figures that appeared to him through the flickering veil of the
candlelight. The large chamber seemed to him to be overflowing with
people. He caught sight of some faces, standing out to him only briefly
in the shifting gaps between the shadows, silently waiting with him for
his bride to appear. Chameleon stood to one side of Apollo, the old man's
face a study of joy, and Deitra...Giles...Jolly...Brie...Bojay and
Gayla...Mairwen and little Cassy...Komma and Wilker...Aurora and Damon,
/that hair/, Starbuck mused idly...Reese. Starbuck's smile widened
briefly as he recalled the shock on the Council Security Officer's face
when Starbuck had invited him to attend, /I owe you one, Reese/, the
faces all blurred, too many for him to pick out of the crowd as a murmur
began to move through them like a gentle wave, and Starbuck's eyes joined
all of theirs to watch as the small hatchway to the side of the dais was
opened and Doctor Salik stepped through, Cassiopeia on his arm, Sheba and
Athena close behind them, /Cassiopeia, my Fairy Queen/.
     Cassiopeia smiled, her lips trembling as Salik, Sheba and Athena
escorted her down the short flight of steps to join the group at the dais
and stand facing Starbuck in her flowing white gown, Sheba's green sash
tied in a simple bow at her waist, and Starbuck's bracelet reflecting the
candlelight from her wrist as she carried a spray of delicate white
flowers that Athena had gathered for her from the Agro-Ship gardens.
Starbuck swallowed hard as he and Cassiopeia locked eyes, sharing a
moment of unspoken joy and anticipation, tempered only by a fragment of
nervousness and self-consciousness as the gravity of this moment settled
a small lump of fear in both of their respective stomachs.
     "Will the Protector of Cassiopeia consent to relinquish his
responsibilities to Starbuck?" Adama recited as Starbuck's senses
focussed into a moment of clarity and he felt as if his legs might fail
him. Apollo's hand reached for him and touched the small of his back,
steadying him silently and without expression as Starbuck gratefully
regained his composure. He watched with bated breath as Sheba deftly
relieved the bride of her bouquet and Salik took hold of those small,
delicate fingers.
     "Yes," Doctor Salik's gruff voice was tinged with an unfamiliar
flutter of emotion as he stepped forward with his surrogate daughter and
placed her hands over Starbuck's, releasing her with a gentle squeeze and
kissing her briefly on the forehead before moving to stand behind her
with Sheba and Athena, "I will."
     Adama nodded gravely and stepped forward, reaching for the amulet
that Tigh had held at the ready for him and wrapping the long heavy chain
gently around the two lovers' hands as he continued with the ancient
sealing ritual, "The words I am about to speak are the most powerful in
all the universe. They seal a union between this man and this woman which
is not only for now, but for all the eternities." Adama paused and smiled
into the faces of two who were so like his own children to him,
"Starbuck. Cassiopeia. Under the eyes of God, bound by the symbol of the
faiths of the Lords of Kobol, I declare you sealed," the two moved
forward to share a kiss, both of them still shaking slightly with the
enormity of the pledge that they had made to one another. They parted,
and a cheer came up from the gallery as Adama removed the amulet from
around their hands and held to them briefly with him own, tears plainly
evident in the corners of his warm brown eyes as he leaned forward and
placed a fatherly kiss on Cassiopeia's now tear-stained cheek, "My
children, may the blessings of the Lords of Kobol be with you always."
     The crowd of well-wishers surrounded them with a wave of joy and
love, and they held to each other, the realization that they were now
sealed sinking in to them as that small pocket of fear evaporated from
within each of them and they moved forward together, bound by the words
that Adama had spoken, together for now and for all the eternities to
come.

Epilogue,
     Chameleon settled into the comfortable chair that dominated one
corner of the main chamber of the small, utilitarian quarters that had
become his private sanctuary aboard the Senior Ship of the Colonial
Fleet. He sighed deeply, visions of Cassiopeia in her flowing white gown
with Starbuck beside her dancing fluidly through his mind, "what a
beautiful wedding," he spoke to himself as he reached over to the nearby
side table, removing the stopper from a cut crystal decanter and pouring
a small libation of dark amber liquid into the tumbler that stood ready
to one side, "ahhh, a toast to my new daughter for thinking ahead and
stowing a bottle of Protean ambrosa in my quarters for me," he lifted the
tumbler in a graceful gesture of salutation and then touched the edge to
his lips and took a small savouring sip, "it gives this father's heart a
lifetime's worth of joy to see my son so happy..." Chameleon's eyes
wandered down the line formed by the curving vertical edge of the
decanter, to the third item that occupied the surface of the small table
top, the folded sheet of heavy notepaper, the missive that Starbuck had
given to him only yesterday, with the words that had been put there for
him, by the hand of one still precious in his heart, /Claudia/, the name
refused to emerge from his lips, his heartache held back by the joy that
he had felt this day, a day of celebration where he had somehow felt her
presence even in the face of the harsh realities that had taken them from
one another. He set down his tumbler, reaching for the letter and
settling deeper into the cushions of the chair, unfolded the paper and
once more studied the words that he had already memorized from the night
before...

My Dearest Chameleon,

....I know that neither my little token for Cassiopeia nor even this
letter to you will ever come close to compensating for what my presence
at the ceremony would have meant to you - and to me. Know always that I
have shared in your joy. I have seen how far Starbuck has grown as a man
in these changing times that we have found ourselves in. He has now
opened his heart to begin a new chapter in his life as a husband to
Cassiopeia and - hopefully in the not too distant future and for /your/
sake especially! -a father to your grandchildren, as well.
     Each of us knows something of new chapters. Our meeting was one such
chapter that I shall always treasure as the happiest and greatest of my
life. Nothing shall ever change in my heart regarding our time together -
not until the day that I die. And neither shall my heart ever be fully
mended because of what I have ultimately compelled you to endure. The
knowledge that you have forgiven me - as Starbuck has told me that you
have - has tempered much of the brokenness and renewed me with an
understanding of the duty that I have felt called to perform, and of why
it must be so. But that brokenness shall never heal completely through
the separation that must continue between us. Starbuck has assured me
that you understand my actions, and even as Starbuck has also gained that
understanding - I shall never feel completely whole again. My time with
you was truly the one and only chapter though which I have ever felt
complete.
     I shall take heart in the knowledge that you should expect me to be
strong - as I have the hope that you are able to be strong as well -
especially through these chapters of our lives that we would have
preferred to have been so much easier for us. Each of us, in our own way,
is serving with our faith the call of service from a realm that is more
enlightened than either of the two of us. You have truly made a
difference for Starbuck as more than just his father, but as his friend
as well. I have no doubt that as a proud parent - with a new and someday
extended family - your legacy shall continue to burn ever brighter. May
these blessings shine on you always - and know also that you shall have a
place in my heart - and in my prayers - through each and every day for as
long as I may live.

Yours ever,
Claudia


     Chameleon lowered the letter, carefully folding it and pressing it
to his lips before reaching to tuck it into a small drawer set into the
edge of the side table. He coughed away the tears that had formed in his
crystal blue eyes and lifted the tumbler to his trembling lips to take
another small sip of ambrosa, his composure returning to him as he felt
the amber liquid warming his chest and dulling the grief that had
threatened to rise up in him, "the joy and celebration for my son, and
for the future," he whispered as he raised the glass to the space of his
cozy chambers, "and a time of fond remembrance...that is how I shall
recall this day," he smiled to himself, and settled in his chair, the
image of Claudia's gentle face moving slowly to one side and giving way
to the sight of Starbuck and Cassiopeia, dancing together in their
wedding clothes and lulling him to sleep.

/Fleeing from the Cylon tyranny...the last Battlestar, Galactica, leads a
rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest...a shining planet known
as...Earth./