BY YOUR COMMAND - Static ARCHIVE

He opened his eyes. The room was quiet, dark. The only sound came from the engines of the ship. The low, continuous, hypnotizing hum that he had gotten so used to he barely noticed it any more. The man didn't see much in the darkness, but then again there wasn't much he wanted to see. He knew every inch of that little room. Every tiny detail of the metallic nothingness that so depressed him.

The eerily luminous figures on the timepiece next to his bed showed that it was the small centars of the night. Oh,how long it always seemed until morning-cycle came and chased the shadows away. It was not the sun that lit up the world with golden warmth and freed him, like back on Caprica. Here, deep in space there was no light. Only stars, mere glimmer. Here, freedom was not the light, but the life that surrounded him. The intensity of reality.

During the day-cycle he felt safe, powerful. He felt almost happy. Almost like all other beings. No. Stronger than others. Much stronger.

But veiled in these dark nightly shadows, his world had a mind of its own. In the night, time stopped and brought all hidden nightmares to life. And killed everything else.

Sometimes he wished that they had placed him in a dorm, like most other patients. At least in there, during these sleepless nightmares, he could have found comfort in the soft breathing that would echo in the darkness. He would be aware of the others, real people, in the room. In this place, he was surrounded by ghosts. shadowy dreams. Dark rivers of the mind.

He was special, they all kept analyzing. Saying he needed to be isolated for the time being. They tried to tell him that the privacy was for his own good. Oh, but he knew all the lies. He saw deeper under the surface than anyone else.

And he knew there was never any real privacy. He was never alone. They were constantly observing him. Analyzing him. They just wanted to create an illusion of isolation to monitor how he would react. Okay. He would play along. For now. He would do it so faultlessly because he was powerful. He was invincible.

And lately, well, they had come to trust him a little more. He was finally allowed an occational visitor. And they all came. One by one. Frightened, curious. Ready to fly out of the room as soon as he would make one false move. Oh, but soon relaxing, feeling almost comfortable in his company. Charmed. Like in the past. They all came, except…

Yes. That all was very easy in the middle of the daytime intensity. But then, unavoidably, it always arrived. The silence. The horror of emptiness… or what should have been emptyness but wasn't. The monsters of the night. . He knew he would never be free.

Chapter 1

"It's beautiful!" Starbuck reluctantly turned his gaze away from the star-filled space and glanced at Apollo, who was leaning against the wall near the wal-com units. "I still can't believe we actually found Earth!"

"Hey, calm down Starbuck!" Apollo was smiling. "We don't know if it's Earth…."

"Well, what else can it be…" Starbuck looked out of the window again. "It's blue, it's shining, it's… Earth-ish…"

Apollo laughed.

Starbuck kept his eyes on the planet. "And don't forget the solar system is identical to the old drawings and maps we found on Caydra. I'm ready to bet my sectar's pay that it's earth!! And you should know I don't like to lose…especially when it comes to losing money!!" Starbuck heard Apollo's soft steps approaching him from behind. He felt a familiar, soft touch on his shoulder. Starbuck glanced at this beautiful, dark man, his lover, and smiled. "Besides, have I ever been wrong about anything before…"

"Alright, alright…" There was great amusement detectable in Apollo's tender voice. Apollo kept his eyes on the mysterious, enchanting planet, that had appeared in the Galactica's view only four centons ago. "Come on then, you wizard. The sooner we head off on our scheduled patrol, the sooner we will find out what we are dealing with here…" Apollo pulled Starbuck by the sleeve of his flight jacket. "Let's find Boomer!"

* * *

It had started three sectars ago.

Caydra was the worst place in the star system Starbuck could think of.

Caydra was isolated. Located at the far side of the star system Câ, it was at least seven hectares away from all the other planets. Not even a moon circuited in its orbit. Caydra was a grey, uninviting place that unexpectedly provided the occational visitor with enormous energy sources.

The Galactica had led the colonial fleet accross the Câ system in mere fifteen days. The fleet was about to enter a new world. A system, that no one had any previous information on. And then they had arrived on the surroundings of the desolate Caydra.

The bridge officers of the Galactica had become aware of the great kogas deposits, the wonderful energy supplies on the planet through long range scanner readings. After the gathering of the Council of the Twelve, it was decided to make the planet Caydra the final stopping point before entering the new star system. To acquire fuel and to prepair the fleet better to face the unexpected that might lie ahead.

Patrols were sent down to gather as much material from the energy reserves as possible. But oh sagan, how Starbuck hated the mission from the very first micron his viper landed on the dull planet.

* * *

"Oh frack! I wish it would stop raining for even a micron!!" Starbuck grimaced and tossed his rucksack into the landram. "How long have we been down here anyway?…Two sectons?" Starbuck took off his rubber jacket that was used for shielding against wetness. "And not even once has it ceased to rain on this sagan forsaken planet!!!"

"Well, you better get used to it Starbuck!" Apollo shouted from behind the landram. "We still have at least a secton left!"

Starbuck frowned and wiped the mud off his boots before climbing the few steps into the landram. "Great! A secton! I'm already starting to rust!…" Apollo's head peeked from behind the vehicle. "Oh, excuse me Starbuck but I thought the brownish colour of your skin was suntan…" Apollo grinned. Then his head disappeared behind the landram again. "After all, it has been only three sectars since we were enjoying the sunshine of Cerigta!" A flock of startled grey varjas flew off from the near-by bushes as Apollo walked towards them to fetch a tiny radiometer. "I must admit I miss that place…"

"Hey, Apollo…" Starbuck shouted from inside the landram. "Where do I put these…whatever these babies are..?"

"Kogas, Starbuck. They're Kogas! We are lucky to have found them actually." Apollo's steps echoed near the landram door. "Put them in that glass container, near the alpha scanners." Apollo wiped his boots and stepped inside the vehicle. His eyes lingered on Starbuck for a micron. Apollo couldn't resist a smile. Starbuck's wet rubber uniform had glued onto him like a second skin, not leaving much to the imagination. Not that Apollo needed imagination when it came to Starbuck's body. Apollo had learned to know every tasty inch of that masterpiece…

Starbuck combed his wet hair back with his fingers and straightened his back. "Oh felgercarb! This mission is my worst nightmare. What's so special about the babies anyway? We have enough solium to carry our ships through the next seven star systems…"

Apollo put the radiometer on the table and took off his boots. "Yeah, but the kogas are safer to use than solium. And when exposed to high temperature, they melt into liquid form that is at least three times as powerful. A very usable source of energy, but unfortunately, very rare and hard to find." Apollo took off his jacket and walked over to give Starbuck a kiss. "I think we have done enough research for one day!" Apollo smiled and squeezed Starbuck's hand. "Let's head back to the camp!"

* * *

"Frack! It's HOT!" Boomer grimaced and placed the spoon back on the plate. "I'm not touching that stuff for at least another fifteen centons! I value my taste receptors too much!" Boomer looked up at Giles, who was uncharasterically quiet. "The soup burned your tongue already, did it?"

Giles glanced at Boomer. "Sorry buddy. I'm just fed up staying in this place."

"Well, who isn't!" Boomer sneered.

"And I miss Kadeem." Giles continued softly, referring to his beautiful, civilian boyfriend.

"I don't think we've ever been apart this long before. It's just… a bit hard." There was such a forlorn look in Giles' eyes.

"Yeah…" Boomer felt a sting in his chest. He missed someone too. Terribly. But he forced the thought out of his mind. He wasn't ready to talk about it yet. Not to Giles anyway.

Boomer put aside the blanket and stretched. "…But for now, we don't have much choice, so why not try to make the best of it." Boomer stood up. "Ouch! My legs are killing me! I'm definately getting too old for all this camping…"

Giles kept his eyes on Boomer. "Where are you off to?"

"Just fetching a drink from the tent. Be back in a micron."

Boomer walked over to the largest tent and disappeared inside. Giles kept staring at the fire. The pale sun was beginning to drop and oh, how Giles hated the freezing, damp, grey nights on Caydra. The wind was rustling in the leaves of the jalav bushes around their camp. They made such a strange, sort of a hollow sound…

* * *

Apollo glanced at the horizon and the pale sun that had painted it with cold colours. "It'll be dark in two centars." Apollo kept his eyes on the descending sun.

Starbuck was humming quietly as he drove the landram along the muddy paths of the dying, yellowish meadow. "We'll easily reach the camp before that." Starbuck paused humming as he struggled with the muleheaded gearbox of the landram. "Come on…come on… don't play games with me now… Hey, did you inform Boomer and Giles that we were on our way?" Starbuck glanced at Apollo. "I want a delicious hot dinner ready and waiting for me when we arrive" Starbuck's grin was audible in his voice. "That's the least I deserve after putting up with all this felgercarb."

Starbuck pretended to look horrified as he glanced at his reflection in the wing mirror. "This much moisture is definitely not good for my handsome looks!!"

Apollo gave a little laugh. Starbuck eyed him warmly.

"Well did you?" Starbuck repeated his question. Apollo looked at Starbuck.

"Did what?

"Use the communicator to call Boomer and tell him to prepair the dinner." Starbuck grinned.

"It was short on power, Starbuck. It wasn't working when I tried." Apollo's eyes found their way to the horizon again. The colour of the sun seemed even colder than centons ago.

"What felgercarb is that!! We are in the middle of the greatest energy deposits in the universe and our communicator is short on power!!…"

A sudden jolt chucked Starbuck and Apollo backwards in their seats.

"What the frack?.."

The landram refused to move another millimetron.

Apollo frowned. " I can't believe this…"

Starbuck looked at Apollo eyes wide. "What?"

Apollo kept his eyes closed. "We got stuck in the fracking mud!!"

Apollo climbed out of the landram. The freezing, damp wind played with his shaggy dark hair and made him shiver as he walked around the vehicle. "It's the left rear wheel. It's buried pretty deep!" Apollo shoved his hair away from his forehead and shielded his eyes to see better in the drizzle. Starbuck reached his side.

"This place is cursed!"

* * *

"Turns my flesh into goose pumps…" Boomer sat back down on the mat next to Giles. "That sound. It's somehow dark and eerie." Boomer drank straight from the bottle. "I wonder…"

Giles kept staring at the fire. "It's getting kinda late. Shouldn't the others be here by now…"

And there it was. Hanging in the air, invisible. The immense worry they both had tried to suppress to the last. Boomer put down the bottle. Neither of the men said another word. The only sound was the fire cracking and the hollow sound of the jalavs.

* * *

"It's no use!" Apollo wiped his forehead. "It's not moving even a fraction of a millimetron!"

Starbuck straightened his back."Fracking piece of junk! This thing should have been destroyed along with the colonies…"

"Calm down Starbuck" Apollo touched his friend's arm. "There's not much we can do now. Either we spend the night in the landram…"

"Sounds like fun!" Starbuck mumbled ironically. "I'm starving. There are no primaries!"

"…or take a chance and try to walk back to the camp. It can't be further than three or four metrics away…" Apollo was looking at Starbuck. His eyes sparkled for a micron. "Might even turn out to be kinda romantic…"

"Great, even better! Just my idea of a romantic stroll in the starlight. Ploughing through mud that must come up to our knees at least. Holding hands while fighting our way through the wind and the rain with a smile. Yeah, very romantic…"

"Do you have any better suggestions??" Apollo let go of Starbuck's arm and sighed. The sun was now half way disappeared. The drizzle had become a little more icy and made it hard to see further than two metrons.

Starbuck cast a yearning look towards the twilight sky. Very dim stars were beginning to appear. "Just to think I could be on the Rising Star right now, winning a fortune and enjoying a bottle of the finest ambrosa they can find on that piece of metal." Starbuck shoved his wet hair away from his face. "But instead I'm down on this felgercarb of a planet, rusting and definately losing sevens yahrens of my youth. This is just not fare!" Starbuck shook his head. "Oh, why for sagan's sake did I ever decided to join the military…"

"Things could be worse." Apollo kept his eyes on the setting sun a micron longer. Then he turned to go. "Well, I'm heading back inside the landram…"

Starbuck didn't answer.

"Are you coming?" Apollo looked at his friend, surprised that he hadn't received any kind of response.

Starbuck didn't move.

Apollo followed the direction of Starbuck's stare…

* * *

The sun hovered above the horizon much too long as if it wasn't going to drop out of sight at all. Then suddenly, it just vanished. Like it had never been there. Darkness veiled everything. Grey darkness that concealed all colours.

Boomer was pacing relentlessly between the campfire and the vipers.

"Felgercarb Boomer, there'll be a track the size of the cylon empire if you don't stop doing that!" Giles was lying on the ground, his arms behind his head. "I'm becoming exhausted just by looking at you trotting. Calm down! I'm sure there is a logical explanation why they haven't returned yet. Maybe they just decided they want to spend some quality time together…"

"They would have contacted us!" Boomer cut in. "Stop babbling Giles, you just make me even more nervous!"

Giles gave a fatalistic sigh and closed his eyes.

"I can't believe you're not in the least worried" Boomer kept his eyes on Giles.

"Of course I'm worried, Boomer. I'm worried as frack! But you are not going to help the situation by giving yourself, and me, a heart attack." Giles sat up. "Oh felgercarb! It's starting to rain again. I'm off to get some sleep." Giles wrapped the blanket tighter around him. "Try not to bump into the jalavs bushes when trotting Boomer. It's kinda dark…"

Giles stood up and walked to the big tent and opened the zipper. He yawned just before vanishing into the tent.

Boomer kept on pacing.

* * *

"What is it?" Apollo narrowed his eyes trying to see better in the darkness.

"I have no idea!" Starbuck whispered. "But we are about to find out! It's approaching us!" Starbuck took a hold of Apollo's hand. "Let's get the frack away from this place!"

"How, genius?" Apollo's voice was sarcastic. "The landram is stuck in the mud and I don't think we have much a chance in hitching a ride…"

Starbuck didn't answer. He couldn't take his eyes off the little boy that had appeared from the ditch bank like a ghost, and was now standing only half a metron away from them. It had red eyes.

* * *

"We're out of mushies!" Jolly's head peeked from the red tent. "One of us has to fly back to the Galactica tomorrow. There's no way I'm consenting to eating those half a yahren old K-biscuits!" Jolly's head disappeared into the tent again. "I'll volunteer…"

"You would, wouldn't you." Sheba was putting out the campfire. "Well, you're not the only one ready to jump at a chance to get out of this place in a micron. We'll decide tomorrow who's going." Sheba wiped her hands on a grey tissue. "Besides, we wouldn't be out of mushies so soon if you hadn't devoured them like a daggit." Sheba picked up the grey matresses they had been sitting on and started towards the tent where Jolly already was.

Greanbean followed her carrying the solium heaters.

They had camped to the south-west side of Caydra, about 2090 metrics away from Boomer's camp. They had already stayed there about a secton and two days, but their kogas findings had been surprisingly weak. Doctor Wilker had advised them to move further to the west, after scrutinizing the latest scanner readings.

Sheba stepped into the tent. "Hey Jolly, you better check those gamma air-humidifiers and place them about 25 millimetrons away from the kogas containers."

"Sure, lieutenant." Jolly started towards the equipment. He raised one eyebrow "But if you ask me, this is ridiculous. We are in a place that has air humidity up to at least 500 sektors, and you are worried about humidifying…" Jolly stopped and his his jaw dropped open. "What the frack!…" The glass containers were broken. All of them. "How in the names of sagans…"

Greanbean walked over to Jolly's side. He had noted something. "Hey Jolly…"

The kogas liquid was flowing out from the broken containers.

"How in the names of the lords can it be liquid??" Jolly stared at the black fluid. He noticed a metallic launcher. "Let's get the frack out of here!! It's going to explode!!!"

* * *

"K^ycêd?" The child kept his curious, unflinching red stare on Starbuck and Apollo. "R^sÂJ?

"I'm very well thank you. And how is your family?" Starbuck rolled his eyes. There was no way of understanding what the boy was saying. They had never heard such language spoken anywhere else in the other star systems.

The boy raised one eyebrow. "F^RuaÛsh!! Â~hqÊ!!" His voice seemed somehow impatient. Almost furious.

Starbuck couldn't look away from the glowing eyes. "Umm… Hey Apollo. Hitching a ride doesn't sound like such a bad idea after all…"

Apollo didn't answer. He didn't remember how to create words.

The child obviously decided it was useless to communicate with such dumb beings and turned to go. He scornfully glanced at the imbeciles once over his shoulder right before suddenly disappearing into the bushes growing in the ditch bank.

"Hey!" Apollo shouted. "Wait!"

Starbuck eyed his friend shocked. "Why for sagan's sake do you want that little devil to stay here and make life even more difficult than it already is?"

"Don't you see Starbuck!" Apollo's voice was impatient. "The boy could have led us to a community where we could have gotten help with the landram."

"Oh yeah! Well, what are you waiting for then!! Catch the little nuisance!" Starbuck grinned as Apollo gave him a glare! "I promise to give you mental support."

"Shut up Starbuck and let's go." Apollo took a hold of Starbuck's sleeve. "Let's find the boy before he gets too far away."

Starbuck rolled his eyes. "Here we go again! Don't you ever get tired of all the adventures, Apollo…"

"This is not an adventure Starbuck." Apollo was already on his way. "This is propriety!"

* * *

Jolly, Greenbean and Sheba flew out of the tent.

"Quick! Dive behind the landrams!! Jolly was just about to slip in the mud. "HURRY!"

Jolly's voice drowned in the deafening detonation. The lanscape exploded into thousands of flashing colours. Ravenous flames reached their deadly hands towards the stars…

* * *

"Do you see the little bugger anywhere?" Starbuck wiped his forehead.

They were rushing along a narrow, muddy path that was mostly covered with wet, slippery jalavs leaves.The icy drizzle had ceased but the wind had picked up, turning the air even more freezing, numbing the limbs and vaporizing the breathing.

"No!" Apollo tried to see something in the grey, misty darkness. "He just…vanished."

"Well, good for him." Starbuck mumbled. "Why don't we keep it that way and find our way back to the landram." Starbuck halted. "Besides, he didn't really look like he would come from a community of nice and helpful beings. Those red eyes scared the pogees out of me…"

Apollo glanced at Starbuck and sighed. "Maybe you're right. There's not much of a chance finding him in this darkness anyway." Apollo took one more glance at the misty covered meadow. "But it was strange though…"

"What?" Starbuck was already leaping his way back.

"Well, apart from those eyes, he looked so human…" Apollo's voice was thoughtful.

"Come on Apollo. Looks can be deceiving. Lupuses look like cute little daggits, but I sure wouldn't want to bump into one… Especially right now…"

"Yeah…" Apollo turned to stride after Starbuck, who had almost disappeared in the mist by now. "Hey wait up!"

Someone grabbed a hold of Apollo's shoulder...

* * *

Chapter 2

"Apollo?!?" Starbuck got no answer. He couldn't see anything in the dark, grey mist. "Stop playing games, Apollo. I'm not amused." Starbuck took a couple of hesitant steps back towards the misty meadow. "When I catch you there'll be frack to pay you daggit!…"

Nothing but the unpleasant squeal of the wind.

"This is not funny!" Starbuck tried to fight back the arising panic. "Please, Apollo. Say something…" Only silence.

* * *

The place smelled like frack! A nauseating, sharp scent hovered in the air. A man was sitting in front of Apollo, drilling his unmoving, red stare into Apollo's eyes.

"^fr^Sãj^G H^vo¨dk." The man spoke with a high-pitched, strained voice that seemed somehow unnatural.

Apollo remained in silence, keeping his eyes on the man.

"D^thd¨vF^wk??" The man inclined his head a little. A friendly gesture if only the eyes wouldn't have been burning like fire.

"Where am I?" Apollo asked, more of himself than the person in the room.

The man didn't respond. Oh lords, the way he never looked away. The man didn't even blink.

Apollo swallowed. "You mind telling me…"

"You are a warrior, aren't you?"

Startled, Apollo turned. The red-eyed child they had met in the meadow had entered the room without making any kind of sound. "Are you going to kill us?" The child remained standing halfway between the door and the chair Apollo was placed to sit in.

"Now, why would I want to do a thing like that??" Apollo tried to keep his voice normal.

"Well, you are a warrior, aren't you." Like the man, the boy didn't blink either. "Warriors are machines that are trained to kill. That is what my father has taught me."

"I had no idea you were able to speak my language…" Apollo stared at the boy.

"Why didn't you speak to us when you met us by the ditch?"

The boy looked impatient. "Well. of course I didn't speak your language back there, I didn't have my translator."

"Well, of course…" Apollo wanted to slap his forehead ironically.

The man gestured something to the little boy. The child's lips curled up to a little smile.

"I feel sorry for you, mister… warrior."

Apollo swallowed. "What's going on?…"

The boy kept smiling. "You are about to be transferred into a defferent dimension of existence, mister warrior."

Apollo stared at the boy. "Oh?…"

"My father is about to kill you, mister warrior." The expression on the boy's face was almost cheerful. He turned and walked out of the room, slowly closing the door behind him.

* * *

Giles dozily opened his eyes to find Boomer kneeling beside his mattress.

"They' re still not back, Giles." Boomer's expression was very grave. "We are going in search of them. So get dressed."

"Oh Boomer…" Giles gave a fatalistic sigh. "And what are you going to do if we find them in their landram, in the middle of…"

"Shut up Giles. Let's go!" Boomer handed Giles the brown uniform jacket. "I already fetched the landram. It's right outside the tent." Boomer was already going. "Hurry up!"

* * *

Starbuck had gone back into the landram and was now desperately trying to force the communicator to co-operate. "Nothing works in this sagan forsaken paradise!" Starbuck rolled his eyes. "What have I done to deserve this…" It was much too dark to search for Apollo now. Starbuck would have only gotten lost in the haze himself. "Please sagan, If you exist somewhere…I know I never kept my other promises to you but this time, if you just help us out of this felgercarbish situation and bring Apollo back to me, unharmed, I promise that I will, really, give up all the gambling, drinking and swearing. I promise…"

Starbuck threw the communicator back on the landram seat and buried his face into his palms. The desperation he felt was undescribable and it had nothing to do with his own unpleasant situation. It was all because Apollo had disappeared.

Until now, Starbuck hadn't really minded being stuck in the mud and all the other felgercarb…Errr, actually… yes he had minded, a frack of a lot! But compaired to what he was feeling now, the previous confrontations seemed like a holiday in one of those beach resorts on Caprica!

A greenish jovl was crawling slowly up the landram windshield. Starbuck was convinced it gave him a malicious look. "Keep your thoughts to yourself, you slimy little devil. I hope one day a crawlon walks up to you and has you for a tasty dinner…" Starbuck rolled his eyes. "Great. Talking to myself is obviously the first sign that I must be losing my mind…" Starbuck climbed out of the landram. "…And talking to slimy little jovls is definately the second!"

There was a weak sound. Starbuck stopped to listen. His heart leaped into his throat. It sounded like…

* * *

"By the lords of Kobol!" Greenbean stared at the destruction of what used to be their camp. "Thank the lords we are all unharmed!" Greenbean placed his arm on Sheba's shoulder and smiled warmly at Jolly. "But how in the heavens…"

Sheba's face was pale. "Someone here doesn't like visitors…"

Jolly turned to look at the other two. "But how in the names of sagans did that someone get past us. We haven't been that far from the camp all day."

"Oh frack!" Greenbean frowned. "Every means of communication we had was inside that tent!"

"Oh well, at least our vipers are still in one piece." Jolly forced a grin.

"At least now we have a good reason to return to the Galactica…"

"Avâdsï g^Fsa."

A little boy had appeared behind them.

A boy that couldn't have been more than five yahrens old.

The boy with the blazing red eyes.

* * *

Apollo had a hard time remaining conscious surrounded by that awful scent. Sagan it made him nauseous…

The strange man had left the room about five centons ago. He hadn't said anything, just stood up and left, right after the little boy. Now it was only the scent that was keeping Apollo company… And a pounding sound that seemed to come from somewhere below. The sound made Apollo think of the possibility that he wasn't the only prisoner in that nightmarish place. But the pounding… It was a little too rhythmic…

A squeak. Apollo turned.

The man was standing by the doorway. Smiling.

He was holding a sledge in his hand.

* * *

"BOOMER!!!" Starbuck roared.

Surprised, Giles and Boomer turned to see Starbuck rushing out of the bushes.

"I could almost say I have never been as happy to see anyone in my entire life…" Starbuck was out of breath as he reached the landram where Boomer and Giles were standing, holding flashlights.

"Umm, Starbuck…" Boomer raised one eyebrow. "What where you doing in those bushes…?"

Starbuck gave Boomer a glare and Giles grinned.

Starbuck's glare turned to a smile. He put his hand on Giles' shoulder and reached out to pull Boomer closer. Starbuck closed his eyes as he gave them both a tight hug. "Thank you for coming." Starbuck's voice was for once, completely sincere.

"Where's Apollo?" Boomer detached from the embrace and looked around. "We didn't interrupt anything, did we? I mean you hiding in the bushes and all…"

"Idiot." Starbuck's face turned red. "Is that all you think about…"

Boomer grinned.

Starbuck's face became serious. He looked at both Boomer and Giles. "He's missing. I have no idea where he is."

Boomer eyed Starbuck. "You better start from the beginning…"

* * *

Apollo took a dive and avoided, in microns, the hit from the sledge.

The man groaned with frustration.

The door had remained open. Apollo ran towards it but the man was faster. He blocked the way and approached Apollo with a terrifying blaze in his eyes. The pounding from somewhere below seemed to have grown louder. It made Apollo's head ache. The horrible smell made it difficult to concentrate.

The sledge came down again. This time it missed Apollo only by millimetrons. By the lords of Kobol, the man seemed to become more and more furious and vicious with every failure.

Apollo moved backwards, keeping his eyes on the man. Frack, a wall! Apollo was cornered and the man was coming closer.

He raised the sledge… "~QsÖjg^Wbê!!!!!!!" Suprised, the man turned.

A blond, beautiful woman had appeared standing by the door. Apollo's jaw dropped open.

The woman stepped into the room. She was breathtaking. Well, she would have been if there hadn't been those awful eyes… They were black! So black they looked like two holes instead of eyes.

"G^zgf." The woman walked closer to the man.

The door had remained open. Apollo eyed it, hoping…

The woman was now in front of the man, but she was somehow too close. She seemed to be halfway inside the guy.

Apollo squeezed his eyes shut for a micron and then opened them again. He hadn't been hallucinating. The woman was still standing half inside the man, her hand on his cheek. Speaking quietly. Her voice was just the opposite of the high-pitched, strained squeak that the man had. The woman's voice was abnormally low, like the hum of a turbo engine.

The man was obviosly going into a trance. His red eyes were slowly closing.

The red blaze in the room was dying.

The woman kept on speaking. Her black eyes created a shimmer on the man's face.

Apollo stared at the open door. It was now or never. He ran like a lupus…

* * *

The boy smiled. His eyes seemed to glow brighter than the flames of the destroyed camp.

"Are you warriors?" The boy looked intrigued.

"Who are you?" Sheba eyed the boy closely. "How do you know what we are?"

"My father wants to meet more warriors." The boy seemed to be fighting back laughter. Sheba kept thinking it was really weird. Greenbean wasn't really looking at the boy, but the destroyed camp.

Jolly took two hesitant steps towards the child. "Hi son. I'm Jolly. What's your name?"

"Don't talk to me that way." The boy's eyes burned Jolly's.

"In what way, my son." Jolly felt puzzled.

"Like I'm some kind of a mental retard." The child's face was pale now. Almost colourless.

But the eyes turned Jolly's heart cold.

"Where can we find your father?" Sheba asked the boy.

The child smiled, pleased. "Follow me, warriors." He gestured to Sheba, Jolly and Greenbean.

"My father will be very happily surprised to meet more warriors. He just loves warriors."

Sheba flinched. "More?… You mean…"

Jolly took a hold of Sheba's arm. "We better go with the boy."

* * *

Apollo dashed out of the room. He didn't take time to turn to look back and check whether the woman and her monster husband had noticed his escape and were coming after him. He just had to find a hiding place as fast as possible. Or get out of the damn place…

Apollo dashed through a filthy kitchen and grimaced as he banged his leg on a chair or something. Feverishly Apollo eyed around the decaying dining hall that connected the kitchen with unclean turbowashrooms. There had to be a place to hide. "What a dump!" Apollo kept mumbling as he ran. He saw crawlon webs all over the place. A couple of rat-like dardars pattered accross the dining room floor.

A door. Almost unnoticeable. Apollo dashed towards it and pulled it open. A cloud of dust made him cough and blinded him for a fraction of a centon. Apollo glanced behind. There was no sign of the man or the woman. Quickly Apollo pinched his way into the narrow corridor that was all covered with crawlon webs and closed the door behind him.

* * *

"This is no use." Giles was driving the landram along muddy paths. "We can't see a thing. We probably wouldn't even notice if Apollo was hitch-hiking a couple of centimetrons away from us. This misty darkness is like a blanket."

"Well, I'm not giving up!" Starbuck kept staring at the dark landscape without seeing a thing. "We must find him!"

Boomer gently touched Starbuck shoulder. "We have much better chances in finding him in the daylight, Starbuck."

"I'm not giving up!" Starbuck kept his gaze on the invisible darkness. There were tears in his eyes.

* * *

The boy stopped. He suddenly looked horrified. "My father lost him!" The boy's face turned to a grimace of disappointment. His eyes slowly changed colour until they were like two black holes. "My mother… she interfered." The child turned to look at the others. "I have to go…"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Sheba felt a sudden emptiness in the bottom of her stomach. "You can't just leave us here. We have no way of finding our way back." She hesitantly started towards the boy. "We don't even have any kind of light. Our camp must be metrics away…"

The boy snorted. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Your camp is 2000 metrics to the west…"

"How…how…" Sheba gasped.

"Besides…" The boy stared at Sheba, arrogantly. "…Have you already forgotten that your camp is destroyed?" The boy grinned. "It was me! I burned it!" He laughed.

Sheba fell totally speechless. Jolly and Greenbean stared at the little monster, horrified.

"I'm so sorry, warriors, but you will have to be patient and…meet my father some other time." The boy grinned and waved. "I have to go now and kill my mother. She was never supposed to…interfere."

The child vanished so smoothly. Leaving Sheba, Jolly and Greenbeam surrounded by inpenetrable Darkness.

* * *

Apollo tried to see something in the narrow hallway. The dust made him cough constantly. And how he hated those crawlons. Little monsters. Oh sagan. He had to find a way out fast.

"^Fhs^fd…"

The noise seemed to come from behind him. Quickly Apollo turned, ready to fight for his life. There was no one. The corridor was deserted. Apollo started running. He lost count how many times he hit his head on the low ceiling of the hallway. "If I ever get out of here..." Apollo snorted. "Starbuck won't be able to recognize me due to all the bumps on my head. I'll probably look like one of the borays…"

"^Ha~crut^Ys…"

It was closer, but there was no telling from which direction it came. "Keep on running buddy!" Apollo forced his way forward.

And then he saw the glow of red and black.

* * *

"STOP!" Jolly dashed to the front of the vehicle. He didn't give a frack who or what was in it, just as long as it would give them a ride back to their vipers.

"FELGERCARB!!" Giles stepped on the breaks as hard as he could. "That guy is out of his mind!"

Boomer tapped Giles shoulder. "Hey, it's Jolly… for sagan's sake!"

"In the names of the lords…What the frack are they doing HERE!?!" Giles couldn't believe his eyes. "Their camp is thousands of metrics to the south-west!"

Starbuck too, stared at Jolly waving his arms in front of the headlights. "Don't ask me how, but I think I have an idea…"

Boomer looked at Starbuck. "You do…?"

* * *

The boy entered the narrow corridor. He looked around, his eyes flashing, but he could see no trace of the warrior. Oh, but the boy knew he was there. The child could smell him. "I like the way you play." The boy laughed. "I could almost like you, mister warrior. Your reluctance makes things much more intriguing." The boy shut the door behind him and started inching his way along the hallway. Sniffing.

* * *

Jolly told Boomer and the others about their little adventure. "…But I still can't understand how in heavens did that little devil bring us 2000 metrics up north!" Jolly shook his head. "Now I know I must be on sleep cycle. Nothing this crazy could possibly happen in real life."

Starbuck was quiet for a while. Then he looked at Jolly. "Remember how smoothly the little pest seemed to move. And how unnoticeably."

Jolly shrugged. "So?"

"Well…" Starbuck continued. "I saw it move and it really jarred my chips! It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the pest was able to move great distances in mere microns…"

"All right, I give you that much. But how…" Jolly's eyes were wide.

Starbuck kept his eyes on the darkness outside the landram window. "Maybe there is a way to combine your being with other beings. To unite the energy somehow. Use your abilities as one…I don't know!" Starbuck hadn't smoked for centars. He would have given ten yahrens of his life for a fumarello, but just his luck that all the fumarellos were back at the camp. "Us humans, we have no idea how it happens, but that doesn't prove it's not possible."

Boomer turned to look at Starbuck, amazed. "What happened to you? Did you take a course of energy combinement on the Galactica without my knowledge…"

Starbuck laughed a little.

"There's a point." Jolly's voice was thoughtful. "But if you're right Starbuck, we have a problem…"

Starbuck raised his eyes and looked at Jolly. "If that pest has taken Apollo…" Jolly paused. "He could be anywhere on this planet."

Starbuck's heart broke.

* * *

Apollo heard quiet footsteps approaching. He didn't allow himself to even breath. The little monster was much too close.

The moment Apollo had recognized the eerie glow of the boy's eyes he had started searching for a place to hide with intense desperation. And there must have been a sagan, because he had actually found one. Quickly Apollo had crawled into a tiny closet inserted into the wall. His heart had kept pounding so loud that Apollo had been afraid it would reveal his whereabouts. Oh please sagan let me fit into that damn closet, Apollo's mind had kept on praying. And once again, luck had been on his side.

The closet was not actually a closet at all but a cellar. Dark, damp, stuffy and choch-full of dardars. But in this case, Apollo would have gladly accepted even a cylon to accompany him.

The footsteps were right outside the door to the cellar.

Apollo closed his eyes. If the boy knew about the existence of this place, Apollo wouldn't be safe for much longer.

"Mister warrior!" An amused voice called out. "There's no point in hiding… I know where you are…" The child laughed. "I know you're hiding in the cellar, mister."

Apollo could here the boy sniffing. Then he saw the handle of the door starting to turn, slowly.

"Care for some company, mister great warrior." The monster laughed again. "Ready or not… here I come!!"

Apollo's heart stopped. He couldn't think of any escapade. He was trapped!

THUMP!

A sound of another door being banged open made Apollo jump at least two metrons in the air.

The knob of the cellar door stopped turning. The sniffing ceased.

"Sh^SDh ^SdjFaf^r!"

A woman's voice.

Apollo's heart leaped to his throat. The blond woman with black-hole eyes…

The child started to scream. A terryfying howl that freezed the blood in Apollo's veins. And the howling didn't stop. It went on and on until Apollo's ears began to hurt and Apollo was sure he would soon go crazy. Apollo sat on the floor, horrified, listening to the dreadful sound for at least ten centons. He was paralyzed by both fear and relief.

The screaming paused. Apollo's body stiffened. He climbed to his knees and crawled towards the little door in that tiny cellar. He couldn't hear anything from the outside corridor. That wasn't good. That definately was not good! Careful not to make any kind of a sound Apollo crept to the door and pressed his ear against it. Nothing. Either the child and the woman had gone, or the child was behind that door. Waiting. Probably grinning…

Alright, buddy. You don't have any choice. Either you remain trapped in this dump until you're old and grey or open the door and try to escape. You have to take a chance.

Slowly, very slowly Apollo put his hand on the door handle and turned. He clenched his teeth together, scared that the handle might make a squeal or somehing. It didn't. Apollo pushed the door a little more open and bent slightly forward to take a peek from the tiny gap. And froze!

The child was there. He was eating the neck of the unconscious blond woman.

Apollo could hear the sounds of the feast. Oh lords it made him want to throw up.

The child had already eaten both of the woman's black eyes. There were only two holes left. And those holes were not black.

Suddenly the child raised his eyes. He was obviously distracted by something.

Apollo stiffened. He prayed to sagans that the monster hadn't sensed his closeness…

No, the boy turned his red stare towards the door of the hallway, apparently disturbed by something that was happening outside the house. Apollo had no idea what it could have been. He had not heard any sound.

The boy quickly climbed to his feet. He wiped the blood away from his mouth with the back of his hand and smoothly moved to the exit of the corridor. Apollo could hear the child sniffing again.

* * *

"It looks deserted." Starbuck climbed out of the landram. "What a shack!"

The little house looked like it was just about to collapse. It seemed to have been built from degur wood. There was no glass on the windows. Just holes. The surroundings reminded Starbuck of the fleet's sanitation ship's dump. And the smell… by heavens…

"Okay, let's check this place and get the frack out of here." Starbuck was already loping towards the shack. "The sooner the better!"

"Hey wait!" Boomer shouted. "I have a bad feeling about this… Let's just keep a low profile first. We don't really know what we are fighting against."

"Naah, I don't think they, whatever they are, would be stupid enough to risk anything by keeping prisoners locked in a place like this." Starbuck tossed his hand. "This place doesn't look very reliable for a prison." He grinned at Boomer. "Besides, have I ever been wrong about anything before…"

The boy didn't take his glowing eyes off Starbuck, who started walking towards the little house.

Chapter 3

The little boy had disappeared. Apollo was now alone in the hallway. Something or someone was definately outside the house. Apollo could hear voices now. His heart started beating with unexpected hope. Those beings could help him get out of this prison. But he had to warn them. And soon! Apollo knew the boy had already made his own plans of taking care of the intruders.

Apollo ran to the exit of the corridor. He slowly, carefully opened the door. It squeaked. Apollo gasped. He halted and waited silently for a centon. Listening…

No sign of the little boy or the strange man.

Apollo slipped out of the hallway into the filthy dining room. It was empty and silent, except for the little sound of water dripping from a rusty faucet in the next room. Apollo walked smoothly accross the dining room into the kitchen. He almost stumbled on a brown dardar that scampered accross the floor. "Felgercarbish things!" Apollo hissed.

The kitchen looked different. All the closets were open. Shocked, Apollo stared at the mess on the floor. Someone had pulled down most of the stuff from the closets and the floor was covered with… Apollo gasped… Weapons. All kinds of them. From ancient kerosil power guns to enormous axes and serrated knives. This sure was one frack of a madhouse. Apollo made way through the scrambled collection of weapons, picked up one of the ancient kerosil guns and crept to the kitchen door. The rhythmic pounding that seemed to have come from below the house had ceased. Apollo had no idea what it had been.

"What the…?" Apollo's foot got caught in something and he found himself falling flat on the floor. Positive that it had been one of the damn dardars, Apollo turned to cast an angry look at the little nuisance, but what he saw was a little brown box instead. The box was filthy and scuffed. Half hidden under the arsenal of weapons. It must have been pulled out of the kitchen cupboards along with the other stuff. Apollo crawled to the little box and picked it up. It wasn't locked.

* * *

The boy kept his eyes on the blond warrior who was walking towards the house. In his hand the child was holding an axe. His eyes were now totally black. Just like his mother's eyes had been, but colder. More immobile.

Starbuck arrived at the door of the little house. It was ajar. "Hey, Boomer! It's open!" Starbuck turned to shout back at the others, who had remained by the landram. "I'm going in."

"I think you should wait, Starbuck." Boomer said thoughtfully.

Starbuck put his hand on the door knob and pushed. A ghastly smell greeted him. "Jeeeeez!!" Starbuck coughed. "What felgercarb are they keeping in this place…"

Something, a presentiment made him turn.

The boy dived from behind the house. His eyes shone like two black-hole suns and he was holding the axe over his head. The axe looked almost as big as the child himself.

Starbuck reached for his laser gun… Frack! He didn't have it! It was in the landram… "Boomer!!!!" Starbuck yelled.

A sound of a laser shot echoed in the darkness.

* * *

Apollo opened the little box. Oh, what disappointment. It contained only ragged pieces of paper and a brown, worn-out book. All covered in thick, grey dust. Apollo picked up the book and opened it incidentally from somewhere in the middle. He blew the dust away from the page and eyed it. First casually, then again. And again until he couldn't go futher. Overwhelmed he put the book down and stared into his own thoughts.

This was definately something he had never anticipated to have happened in the history of mankind. It was much too horrendous. Apollo looked at the book again. Browsed through a few of the next pages. His face was pale as snow.

* * *

The little boy was lying on the ground. Blood was pouring from his chest and his ears. His black eyes had remained open, but he no longer could see the stars above him. Or mind the icy drizzle that rained on him. He was dead.

Starbuck could do nothing but stare. He was paralyzed.

Boomer ran to Starbuck, his laser gun drawn. "Are you alright buddy?" Boomer's breathing vaporized in the chilly air. Starbuck turned to look at him.

"Once again, you saved my life…" Starbuck's eyes were full of gratitute. "My brother…"

Boomer put his hand on Starbuck's shoulder. Words were no longer needed.

Jolly and Sheba walked to Starbuck and Boomer. Jolly eyed the shack. "I think we better search this place..."

Sheba took one more glance at the little boy lying dead on the ground. Even now it frightened the frack out of her."Yeah. We have to find Apollo!"

Starbuck didn't say anything. Sheba touched his cheek. "Don't worry. I'm sure he's fine…"

Starbuck's smile was a little sad as he took Sheba's hand to squeeze it. "He better be…"

* * *

Apollo quickly placed the book back on top of the dusty papers and closed the box. Then he stumbled to his feet and dashed out of the kitchen. He had heard the shot of a laser gun. Apollo ran like mad accross the living room to the main entrance of the little house. He heard the voices better now and there was no way he could be mistaken.They were…

Apollo threw open the door and flew to the front yard of the little house, right in front of the extremely surprised eyes of his friends and fellow warriors.

"APOLLO!" Starbuck cried out. He dived towards Apollo, tears flowing from his eyes. He embraced Apollo so tightly that the man could barely breath. "My love…." Starbuck's voice choked on tears.

Apollo's eyes were closed. He wanted to stay in Starbuck's arms eternally.

The rain ceased and the stars shone like diamonds.

But only in the world of Starbuck and Apollo.

* * *

They were driving back to Boomer's camp.

Starbuck had not even once let go of Apollo's hand. He couldn't. They sat on the back of the landram, lost in each other's eyes. Silently touching each other's souls.

Boomer was sitting in the front with the others. Nobody spoke much.

Dawn was about to arise.

* * *

The man with the red eyes stood alone in the dark room, still holding the sledge. His eyes were open but they never blinked. Sunrise was slowly painting the man's face and his worn-out gown with spectral colours. Varjas, those little grey birds were starting to sing outside. A melancholy song that greeted the pale morning. Yellow, fragile rainflowers opened their petals to receive a drink from the sky. The rhythmic pounding from underneath the house had begun again, but it was quiet. A huge dardar pattered over the man's bare feet. The man didn't move. His eyes never reflected the pale light of the rising sun. Because they were slowly turning black.

* * *

Back at the camp Apollo showed the contents of the little box to the others.and told them what he had found out in the haze of that dusty kitchen, surrounded by arsenal of ancient weapons. The other colonial warriors were listening quietly. Their hearts sinking with each word.

The book was the diary of the black-eyed, blond woman. She had started writing it since very early age. Horrified by the secrets of her ancestors. Searching for escape in those white pages. Yearning for freedom from her past.

The thirteenth tribe had travelled through the system Câ and made a stop on the planet Caydra. Only to find it was colonized by hostile govinons, solitary souls of the universe, leading lives that they knew wouldn't be accepted anywhere else. The govinons were cannibals, if you can call any creature, who eats his own brother a cannibal. Barely escaping, the tribe, once again, left for search of another place. But, tired of running, a few of the humans stayed behind. And somehow succeeded in establishing lives together with the vicious govinons.

However. What neither of the races were aware of, was the fact that the humans were carrying a virus. Harmless to human existence. Deadly to the govinons. They died of extinction, leaving the humans alone on the grey, unplasant planet.

Those few humans, who by now were were feeling isolated and discontented started building satellites, sending messages into space. Constantly searching for company of some other living beings. And that was exactly what they got. Cylon company.

Boomer sighed with sympathy.

Starbuck kept his eyes on Apollo, smoking a fumarello, listening to every word.

"But if the cylons came" Boomer mumbled. "They must have destroyed everything…"

Apollo put the book down for a centon. "Not this time. Don't ask me how, but these cylons, who were the original species, not the infuriating machines we have gotten to know and love…" Apollo grinned. "Those cylons dicided to spare the lives of the humans." Apollo paused. The others waited for him to continue. "Because they had a plan of their own…"

The cylons started experimenting with the humans. They wanted to produce a race. An invincible breed. And they ended up submitting the humans into reproductive intercommunication with the cylon race.

"Oh lords…" Sheba whispered.

"And don't ask me how…" Apollo looked at the others. "But they succeeded. A new species was born. Half human, half cylon. And that was what we have now encountered on this planet. A specimen of that race."

"A race from the depths of hell." Boomer was pale. "No wonder…"

Apollo was quiet for a while. The drizzle made little sharp noises on the canvas of the tent.

Starbuck took the fumarello out of his mouth and bent a little to reach for the ashtray. "So, Apollo. You think there are more of those devils left on this planet…" Starbuck glanced up.

Apollo stared at the ashtray. "I don't know… but…"

The others kept their eyes on Apollo.

"The man… The boy's father. He is still alive…" Apollo's voice was quiet.

"Well, it's his lucky day then, because there is no way I'm going back to that garden of eden to finish him off. No matter how dangerous he is.." Starbuck stubbed the ashes into the tray and put the fumarello back into his mouth. "I just want to get away from this sagan forsaken place as quickly as possible!"

Apollo smiled a little. A barely noticeable smile. "That was not all…"

The others raised their eyes.

The dusty pieces of paper in the box…" Apollo started. Then he paused.

Starbuck could swear he saw excitement in Apollo's eyes. "Go on!" He urged, curious.

"They are maps." Apollo's eyes were now sparkling. "Old maps…"

"Of what?" Boomer leaned forward.

Apollo paused again. He looked at them. One by one. Into the eyes. "I think I know where Earth is."

* * *

They returned to the Galactica after that morning.

Thrilled. Overwhelmed. Confused. And afraid to let their hopes up.

Earth.

The place they had been searching for so long. The place they had dreamed about. Could it really be that their dreams were finally coming true. They were afraid to speculate what kind of a place Earth was. What if it turned out to be a nightmare. What then. There wouldn't be anything else left to believe in. If the power that had driven them trough star systems turned out to be a disappointing illusion of happiness and security, they would have no more hope. No more reason to exist.

And then, what if this mysterious place was not Earth after all.

No, they couldn't allow themselves to hope too much.

* * *

The new co-ordinates were inserted into the control computers of the Galactica and the fleet entered the new star system. The system that the map referred to as Escapade.

The drawings showed that there would be nine planets in that system. And only one sun, which was the center of all circulation. Earth was marked to be the third planet from the sun. But it was not named. It was only referred to in the map as Probability.

* * *

Why had the blond woman with black eyes kept the old drawings. Starbuck suspected that her ancestors had hoped to escape from Caydra and follow the thirteenth tribe.

They had gathered around one table at the officers' club. Boomer, Starbuck, Apollo, Jolly and Giles, to spend an intriguing centar of speculation beside a nice cup of hot grog. Only Greenbean had had to go on patrol half a centar ago.

"But why didn't they. If they had the map and all…" Jolly was smoking a fumarello, which he did very rarely.

Apollo eyed Jolly. "I think they were afraid. They knew they descended from a race that the humans feared most in the universe. They must have been afraid that the descendants of the thirteenth tribe would automatically defend themselves before they were to find out about the real nature of those newcomers. Besides…" Apollo paused. He reached for a K-biscuit from the wrapping.

"How can you eat those tasteless things…" Starbuck shook his head. He leaned a little forward as Jolly gave him light for his fumarello. "By the way, there was something funny about my viper…"

"What?" Giles raised one eyebrow.

"During the turbo acceleration, about ten microns after the take off from Caydra…" Starbuck was watching the fumarello smoke curling in the air. "…My com-scan went crazy and gave me disabled megon readings."

"Meaning?"

"I don't know… " Starbuck replied thoughtfully. "…But it showed me that the weight of my viper's interior space was 51 point 8 betas, which is total felgercarb! How can the interior weight increase although I wasn't carrying any extra equipment…"

"Perhaps it was just because of the 500% air humidity of Caydra." Apollo glanced at Starbuck. "That much moisture can easily affect the com-scan. Don't you remember I had a similar kind of problem right after we took off from the ice planet Kalba…"

"You're right, Apollo." Giles nodded. "The com-scans are easily damaged when predisposed to moisture…"

Yeah, I guess…" Starbuck sighed. "Anyway. What were you saying about the new race?…"

"Yeah, ummm…" Apollo tried to remember.

"Oh yeah. I believe the ancestors of that blonde woman were regarded as failures. An unsuccesful result of a powerful experiment. Perhaps, if they had tried to escape and follow the… footsteps…" Apollo grinned. "Please excuse me the choice of expression…"

The others smiled.

Apollo continued. "…of the thirteenth tribe, they might have led the so-called successful individuals to humans. And we all can figure out what would have been the result of that…"

"Okay guys. It's been fun…" Boomer stood up.

Starbuck raised his eyes. "What's up?"

"I promised to meet someone." Boomer smiled at Starbuck. "Talk to you guys later."

Starbuck grinned. "Say hi to Cree from me!"

Boomer blushed as he walked out of the officers' club.

* * *

Cree was definately fascinating.

Boomer had liked the boy from the very first micron he had laid eyes on him at the officers' club the night Lomas had shot himself and Starbuck had unintentionally broken Boomer's heart by getting back together with Apollo.

Boomer and Cree had kept on meeting occationally, intrigued by each other after spending such an unexpectedly fun night on the Rising Star. Oh well, it hadn't been really night time at that point, more like early morning. But it didn't make any difference on the Rising Star. There was always some kind of a action going on.

Cree always seemed so unreserved. Open. And yes, innocent. Boomer liked that a lot. He liked it too much. During these sectons however, Cree had kept his distance. He had remained a friend, although there obviously were currents of infatuation circling under that boy's surface, Boomer could tell. Cree was always flirting with him, touching Boomer by accident. Letting him know there was definate interest. And then, when Boomer was about to become physically, and mentally closer, Cree always smoothly, elegantly, found a way to escape those situations. Boomer was frustrated. He wanted Cree. He had a crush on the boy. But Cree, very much intentionally, never gave Boomer a chance to show it.

Boomer stepped out of the elevator and noticed that the boy was already there, waiting for him in the main lobby of the Galactica. Boomer's heart picked up pace. Cree looked so cute like he always did. Sagan how the boy looked like young Starbuck…. Boomer hastened his steps and grinned. Cree noticed him and waved.

* * *

They were lying in bed together. Athena and doctor Salik.

Athena was caressing Salik's hairy chest, curling the locks around her forefinger, smiling.

Salik's eyes were closed.

Athena liked Salik a frack of a lot. Finally a man, whom she could definately trust. They all kept saying that she was searching for a father figure that's why she dated an oler man, but Athena knew better. She never wanted another Starbuck in her life again. Salik was so collected and understanding. Athena wanted someone with perseverance, and that was a feature that usually came with age.

Besides. The sex was great.

They never left Athena's quarters, though. And Salik very seldom had time to stay through sleep cycle. Salik patiently kept explaining to Athena that he was under a lot of stress, being the other one of the two doctors on the ship and needing a lot of rest every time he was able to get it. But soon they would have all the time in the world. Especially now that the fleet was set course to a planet that most likely was Earth. Soon they could get sealed and raise a family together. Oh, how Salik wanted to raise a family with beautiful Athena.

Salik was breathing softly. Athena smiled and placed a gentle kiss on the man's chest. Then she lay back and cuddled up in Salik's arms, closing her eyes. She was definitely ready for the future.

* * *

Starbuck was lost in Apollo's blue eyes. He couldn't get enough of those eyes. The intense love that he had felt for so long had only increased during these sectons when they had been building their relationship. Gone were the lies and the heartache. Starbuck knew he could trust his beautiful lover this time. He could see it in Apollo's eyes, in his smile. And sense it in the way he tenderly touched Starbuck at night, when he thought Starbuck was asleep. Starbuck knew there was not a force more powerful in the whole universe than love.

"What?" Apollo's eyes were amused. He had noticed that Starbuck had been staring him for the last ten centons.

"Nothing…" Starbuck smiled, caressing Apollo's fingers under the table. "I was just thinking…"

Apollo took Starbuck's hands into his own. "About what?"

Starbuck didn't turn his gaze off Apollo's blue eyes.

"That I know now that the sagan exists." Starbuck squeezed Apollo's hands. "It is you, my love."

Apollo smiled warmly. Starbuck was so cute. Apollo loved Starbuck so much. There was no way he could ever again live without this man. The love they shared was so pure. So beautiful. Apollo raised Starbuck's hands to his lips and kissed them tenderly.

* * *

Commander Adama and colonel Tigh had gotten sealed right after the fleet had left the Volgron system. The sealing ceremony had been so memorable.

Hundreds of candles had been placed around Adama's quarters where the ceremony had taken place. Apollo had been his father's best man. Athena had carried Tigh's bouquet and acted as his maid of honour. Cassiopeia, Sheba and Deitra had been the other bride's maids. They had all been dressed in gold and white, including Tigh and Adama.

Boomer had even wiped tears from his eyes when the happy couple had exchanged their sealing vows.

Unfortunately, Tigh and Adama had had to be contented in spending their honeymoon in the private quarters of the Rising Star. But to them, it was paradise.

* * *

In the end, the menage-a-trois arrangements with Sheba, Rigel and Cassiopeia didn't work out.

Gradually and inevitably, Cassiopeia started feeing like the third wheel as Rigel and Sheba were beginning to be more and more drawn to each other. Cassie soon moved out of the large bedroom but the three women continued to share the quarters.

And to pretend that their friendship hadn't suffered in any way.

"Oh, you're back already!" Sheba stepped out of the large bedroom and smiled surprised. "I thought you would be on duty halfway through sleep cycle."

Cassiopeia glanced at Sheba, who was brushing her long, shiny hair. "It was a slow night. Wilker gave me the sleep cycle off…"

"That's great." Sheba grinned. "Well, then why don't you come to the Rising Star with me and Rigel. We have a dinner reservation at nine…"

"Thanks for the invitation Sheba…" Cassie smiled a little. "…But I think I'm just going to crawl into bed with a good book and a couple of tulipian buds and make it an early night."

"Are you sure?" Sheba eyed the blond woman. "You haven't been out much lately…"

"I'm sure." Cassie hung her uniform into the wardrobe, closed the doors and then turned to give Sheba one more friendly smile. "Have fun you two. See you in the morning."

* * *

"Lights out in five centons" The loudspeaker announced.

The man was standing by the wall, his hands passively hanging on the sides. He was staring at the bunk, placed in the darkest corner of the isolation chamber. He couldn't lie down on the bunk yet. He had to stand in the light as long as it was possible. The death of intensity was only centons away. Dark rivers of the mind awaited.

The man could hear other patients returning to their rooms. Returning to the dorm down the corridor. Chattering. They all sounded so invulnerable. Just like he was in the time of intensity. He hated them. Each and every one them. But oh, how he wished he could be amongst them.

Was he being watched right now? Well, of course he was. By eyes that thought they knew him so well. Oh, how wrong those eyes were. No one knew him. No one… Except the sounds of silence. The unbearable passiveness of the night.

Two centons.

One centon.

Darkness.

* * *

Chapter 4

Tigh smiled as he was looking at his reflection in the mirror. He was wearing his white sealing gown.

Adama wasn't in the quarters. He had left about half a centar ago, to take care of his duties on the bridge or something. Immediately as Adama had closed the door, Tigh had dived to the wardrobe and taken out the sealing dress.

By lords it was beautiful. The fabric was like silk. Sensuous and fluttering. Caressing the skin like the wind. Tigh was convinced that white was the colour that sagans had given to the universe. Tigh loved white. Besides, it looked so fascinating against his dark skin. Such delightful contrast.

Tigh held the dress in front of him for a long time. It was definately the most intriguing piece of clothing he had ever owned. Tigh was almost sad that the sealing ceremony was over and there was not a reason to dress in that voluptious outfit any more. Frack!

Tigh couldn't resist. He put the dress on the bed and started taking off his uniform, quickly, like a child about to something he didn't want his parents to find out about. Tigh caressed the dress for a micron, eyes sparkling. The soft light in the room made the fabric shimmer. Enjoying every micron of it, Tigh put the dress on. He buttoned it and straightened the hem. Oh, how erotic that dress made him feel

Shivering he returned to the front of the mirror to look at the reflection of the dark man in the white sealing gown. Tigh could hardly breath, he was so excited. Slowly he walked closer to the the mirror and placed one palm on the cool, smooth surface.

"What are you doing, Tigh???"

An amused voice echoed from behind. Quickly Tigh turned, embarrassed as frack.

Adama was standing by the door. He looked like he was going to burst into laughter any micron. He had forgotten to close the door as well. Two young ensigns walked past, casting explicitly curious looks towards Tigh in the white dress.

"Close the door, will you!" Tigh hissed. He ran to the turbowashroom to get out of sight of those ensigns. Adama soon followed him. Laughing.

"Would you mind telling me what by heavens were you doing…"

Tigh was peeling off the dress. "I… was reminiscing…"

Adama couldn't stop grinning. "Well, you sure were. Is this going to become a habit? Will I often find my husband in his sealing gown when I return unexpectedly…?

Tigh didn't know what to say. He blushed.

Adama kept on grinning. "Oh well, now that you already started the reminiscing… Why don't we re-live the romance and passion of our sealing night all over again…"

Tigh grinned. "Whatever you say, commander!"

* * *

"My breasts are too small!" Cassiopeia came out of the turbowashroom, naked. Wearing only a towel around her head. A couple of blond locks had escaped from under the towel.

Rigel was sitting in a big white chair next to the window. She lifted her surprised eyes. "What are you talking about…" Rigel tried not to show her amusement. "What in heavens put such felgercarb in you head?"

Cassie was looking down at her bare breasts. "I look like Boxey!" She grumbled and took a night gown that was placed on the back of a metallic chair.

Rigel burst out laughing. "Mild exaggeration young lady!"

Cassie put on the gown. "Yeah, you're right. I'm exaggerating…" She took the towel off and shook her hair. "Even Boxey must have more bosom than me.

"Cut the felgercarb, Cassie" Rigel tittered. "You're out of your mind. Did something happen in the turbowashroom that I should be worried about?… Did you hit your head or something?…"

Cassiopeia didn't even bother to answer.

Rigel kept her almond eyes on her blonde friend and former mistress. She rested the book on her lap. "Your breasts are beautiful. So stop talking felgercarb!"

Cassie started combing her hair. "Yeah, well. It's easy for you to say." Cassiopeia glanced at Rigel through the mirror. "Your battlements are the size of two planets!"

"My what?" Rigel laughed again. She closed the book and put it on the table beside her. Then she streched and yawned. "I wonder what's keeping Sheba." Rigel glanced at the timepiece on her wrist. "Her duty ended fifteen centons ago…"

"How terrible!" Cassie's voice was ironic.

Rigel pretended not to notice the tone of Cassiopeia's voice. "It's my turn to take the turbowash." Rigel stood up. "And you better not mention that stupid breast thing ever again if you want us to think you still have all your brain cells left and undamaged."

Cassiopeia kept on combing her hair for a long time after Rigel had vanished into the turbowashroom.

Sure. She wasn't going to talk about it.

She was going to do something about it.

* * *

Apollo and Starbuck were alone inside the small glass dome on top of the Galactica. They didn't speak for a long time, they were just lying on their backs on the floor imagining that there wasn't any glass disunited them with the infinity of space. The light of the millions and millions far-away stars caressed their eyes. Even the hum of the battlestar engines seemed to be quieter and further away than normal.

Starbuck rolled onto his side and looked at Apollo beside him, striped by shadows and soft light. "Hey…" Starbuck said softly.

Apollo turned his head a little so his eyes found Starbuck's.

"Do you really think we are on our way to Earth?…" Starbuck's face was sort of serious.

"Well, there's a big chance that it actually is Earth." Apollo answered quietly. "Why?"

"I was just thinking…" Starbuck eyes wondered back to the star-filled space above them.

Apollo kept his eyes on the blond beauty beside him. "Yes?"

There was a long silence.

Then Starbuck looked at Apollo again. "Well… If it really is Earth and our search is over, we can finally establish lives and…" Starbuck paused.

Apollo arose from the floor a little. "Go on."

Starbuck didn't know how to continue. Apollo's eyes were too close. They were too blue.

"Forget it." Starbuck said quietly.

"No. What??" Now Apollo was really curious.

"Forget it Apollo." Starbuck suddenly sat up and rubbed his neck. "Ouch, this floor is hard as frack! Let's get out of here." Starbuck climbed to his feet and gave his hand to Apollo. "Come on. I feel like a cup of something..." Starbuck helped Apollo to his feet.

Apollo's eyes were still curious. Starbuck looked tenderly into those eyes. "I love you more than anything. You know that, don't you..." Starbuck touched the outlines of Apollo's lips.

Apollo smiled warmly. "I love you too Starbuck."

The kissed in the middle of infinity of space and stars.

* * *

Cree was smoking a fumarello. He and Boomer were sitting together at a small table in the officers' club. Boomer was telling the boy about his last game of triad and describing in detail how he and his team had scored the crucial two points just five centons before the game had ended.

Smoke circled around Cree's head as he was listening to the telling and grinning at Boomer's enthusiasm.

Boomer finally stopped talking and took a sip from the coffee cup. Cree kept smiling at him and his eyes never moved away from Boomer, causing the bottoms of Boomer's stomach tingle. "So, err… Have anything special planned for today?" Boomer did his best to sound as casual as possible. "I was sort of hoping we could…"

Cree's eyes were still on Boomer. He stubbed the rest of the fumarello out into the ashtray. "I'm afraid I can't tonight." Cree reached for his coffee cup and touched Boomer's hand by accident. "I promised to go and see friend…"

Boomer tried to hide his disappointment. "Really. Well, some other time then…"

"Definitely!" Cree's eyes were so warm. He smiled his beautiful, innocent smile that Boomer found so damn irresistible. "I'll be looking forward to that…"

* * *

Salik rushed down to the shuttle launching bay. He was late. Too fracking late. Salik was trying to come up with a believable excuse where he had been. The problem was that there had been too many excuses lately…

"The shuttle to the Tauranian boarding in five centons."

Salik was out of breath. He had to make that shuttle. There wouldn't be another one due until after two centars and oh, would he be in deep trouble then!!

"Hurry up you old daggit." Salik puffed.

* * *

Cree hurried to his quarters. He still had some time to take a turbowash and change before he had to be on his way. Cree eyed the contents of his wardrobe. Damn, he had nothing to wear.

There were a million butterflies in his stomach.

Butterflies? No shit! They were dragonflies the size of battlestars! Cree was so nervous his hands were shaking. He was scared to death.

Cree had not gone there earlier although he was about to, so many times. He had always chickened out. But not this time. Oh no. He was definitely strong enough the enter that place now. To meet the man eye to eye.

* * *

The fleet had bypassed the first planet in the new star system about three centars ago. A planet that the scribbles in the old map referred to as Hope. The excitement amongst the colonials was growing with every centon.

The man was looking out of the window of the isolation chamber, wondering about the same things as all the other people in the fleet. Was that new planet really going to be Earth. Was the search going to be over soon. Would it be worth it. What was going to happen… Did he really care? Well, of course he cared. He was just as excited as the next man, but… The man smiled a little. He didn't really give a frack.

There was a little hiss as the door opened. The man turned to look as one of… them stepped inside. He couldn't stand the sight of that beige uniform. The ones who wore it looked all the same. Dull and unintelligent. Just like machines or trained daggits. How foolish of them to keep him in this chamber and test him like this. To observe him like he was one of the unicorns on the livery ship. The man's smile was so warm and welcoming as the doctor approached him, unreserved. Yeah, he sure had won their trust in such ridiculously short time.

"You are going to have one visitor today." The doctor eyeballed him from behind thick glasses.

"I'll be looking forward to that, doctor." The man smiled so pleasantly. "Care to tell me who it will be?"

"He requested to be kept anonymous." The doctor took a notebook out of the pocket of his long uniform coat. "How did last night go?"

"Oh, very well. Thank you for asking." The man's eyes were kind. "I slept like a little child."

"That's good to hear." The doctor smiled. "You seem to be progressing quite expeditiously. If you keep this up we might soon be able to move you into the dorm with the others. Would you like that?" The doctor was looking at the man.

"Very much, sir." He couldn't believe how easily they were all fooled.

"All right then…" The doctor put the notebook back into his pocket after shortly writing something on it. "Well, you better start getting ready for your visitor." The doctor smiled and then turned to walk to the door. It opened with a hiss and the older man stepped out.

The man stood very still until the doctor had disappeared.

He was smiling. He was so powerful.

Fools.

* * *

Cree was strolling around the lauching bay area. It was still ten centons until the shuttle to the Sagittarian was due. Frack. All this additional waiting made him even more nervous.

There weren't many others waiting for that shuttle and Cree wasn't surprised. The Sagittarian sure wasn't a place to go on an incidental visit.

It was believed that all the people that ended up being placed on the Sagittarian were incurable. And that very few, if none had ever returned. Damn, Cree didn't want to think about it.

What the felgercarb had made him want to pay a visit to such a nightmarish place.

I must be out of my mind, Cree frowned. I'll end up on the sagan forsaken Sagittarian myself!!!

Oh, but he had to go. He was obsessed. He had to pay one visit. Cree hoped to sagan that it would remain just that. One visit…

* * *

Tigh couldn't stop thinking about the sealing dress. Hanging there in the wardrobe. So invitingly. Just waiting for him to go and… Oh lords.

Adama was snoring beside him like a chainsaw.

Tigh forced his eyes shut. Stop thinking about it!!

But the dress was all that his mind saw.

* * *

Cassiopeia was trying to find doctor Wilker.

He hadn't been in his office nor around the sick bay areas, but the guy was on duty so he had to be somewhere. Probably on the Canaris.

That was where Cassie now headed.

Her grin was from one ear to another. Boy, won't they all be surprised…

* * *

Chapter 5

Cree was sitting on the shuttle to the Sagittarian, biting his nails. There were only about five other passengers on the craft. Nobody spoke. The hum of the shuttle engines seemed somehow disturbingly loud although Cree knew very well it was only his nervous imagination.

Seven centons left. The shuttle had passed all the familiar places in the fleet centons ago. The Agroship 9, the Rising Star, the Aquarian… Cree had never been this far from the Galactica before. The Sagittarian was one of the last ships in the formation. Even the prison barge was a lot closer to the Galactica that the Sagittarian.

One of the passengers, an elderly lady, stood up, walked to the back of the shuttle and disappeared into the tiny turboflushroom. The man who was collecting duckats finished his job and strolled into the cockpit of the vehicle.

Cree almost jumped metrons into the air when the loudspeaker suddenly crackled and a loud voice informed that the shuttle would be landing in two centons.

Cree buckled his seatbelt and forced himself to stop biting his nails. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror, ran his fingers through his tidily brushed, sandy hair and then leaned back against the seat. "Here we go…" He mumbled quietly.

* * *

Tigh picked up his blue cape and crept out the door. Jeeeez, he could hear Adama's snoring all the way to the elevators. Tigh pressed the lift-call button and checked his pockets that he had remembered to take enough cubits with him. With a cling the elevator arrived and the doors opened. Tigh stepped in. One of the fluorescent lamps was flickering.

* * *

Cree entered the ascetic, depressing lounge of the Sagittarian mental health facilities. There was already someone waiting for him. An old man with thick eyeglasses and a doctor's cape. He extended his hand to Cree and mumbled his name.

"I believe you were informed of all the minor details of our established practice."

Cree nodded.

"As you probably figured out yourself…" The old man smiled. "You are not allowed to take weapons further than this lounge."

Cree tried to smile.

"And you have to leave all electronic equipment behind before entering the alpha sector."

Cree nodded again.

"And just to make sure you understand…" The doctor eyed Cree closely. "Everything you say beyond this room will be recorded and archived."

Cree swallowed. What the frack was he doing in this place.

"Shall we go?" The doctor was already walking towards the door. "The maximum time you will have with the patient is two centars. But I suspect that is quite enough…" The doctor obviously thought he had such great sense of humour. Cree was not in the least amused.

The doctor escorted Cree along metallic corridors that seemed to go on forever. They must have gone through at least three or four metal detectors on their way.

One annoyingly high and mighty officer had taken Cree's laser gun.

They didn't meet anyone else but glowering, heavily armed on-duty officers on their way. This definitely was not a picnic. Cree was even more nervous.

They arrived on a thick metallic door. The old man turned.

"From now on, you'll be on your own."

"Thank you doctor." Cree peeped.

"Please, in any situation, try not to fluster the patient. If things seem to start to get out of hand, just leave. Do you understand?"

"Yes doctor" Cree swallowed.

The doctor was about to say something but then didn't. Instead, he patted Cree on the shoulder and smiled incouragingly. "Off you go, young man."

Cree waited trembling until the door had opened and then stepped into a depressing, small room.

At first he couldn't see much. His eyes needed many microns to adjust to the sudden darkness after all the extremely bright lights of the corridors.

Then Cree saw him…

* * *

The man was very intrigued by this situation. He had not expected to see this young beauty. How fascinating. The man walked slowly to Cree, not taking his eyes off him for even a micron. He came very close, so close that he could smell the mild scent of Cree's aftershave. Pleasant scent indeed.

Cree couldn't take his eyes off the man either. But the look in the boy's eyes were panicky, so frightened.

The man raised his hand and was just about to touch Cree's cheek… But then he let his hand drop. "You better go…"

"No!" Cree's voice surprised the man. It was not at all so frightened as the look in those innocent eyes. Cree took a hold of the man's hand, placed it on his own cheek and closed his eyes.

The man was definitely surprised by all this. He kept staring at this young boy very keenly.

Cree was breathing hard, keeping his eyes closed.

On the other hand…

The man was not in the least surprised of this young boy's behaviour. This was the way he had overwhelmed them all when he had been free. No, not free. He had never been free. What he meant was covered. From their eyes. When his mind had been so well hidden from their awereness.

Oh, it was still hidden, but no one knew it. How vulnerable people became when they started trusting their insticts and their judgement.

Cree's eyes were now open.

"Help me…" He whispered.

* * *

Tigh returned to the quarters. He opened the door quietly with his heart thumping. Carefully he took a peek inside. The quarters were empty and Tigh smiled. Thank the lords Adama was out somewhere. Tigh sure didn't want Adama to see what he was carrying.

Tigh stepped in, placed the paper bag on the floor and turned on the lights. Then he took off his cape and walked to the kitchen cupboard to pour himself a drink. He stood there, leaning against the kitchen sink for a while, sipping his drink while his eyes were caressing the bag he had left by the door. Tigh felt his whole body tingling. He tried to prolong the moment as much as he could. To amplify the excitement, until he couldn't bare it any longer.

Tigh walked to the bag, picked it up and went into the turbowashroom. He locked the door.

* * *

Cree had to run from the landing bay. He was just about to burst. He bumped into some people but didn't take time to notice who they were, or to apologize. He had to get to his room now!!

Oh sagan, it didn't work. Masturbation didn't ease the pressure at all.

Cree stared at his own feverish eyes through the mirror. By lords he had not felt like this before. He had no idea this was possible. There had to be some way to ease the tremendous desire he was feeling. Oh heavens, this was not desire. This was agony.

Oh, but there was a way. Cree just couldn't do it on his own. He had to go and see the man tomorrow. He just had to. He needed to be guided.

Cree kept on masturbating desperately, until he ached all over. He felt like screaming.

* * *

Tigh was trebling as he opened the paper bag. He put his hand in and pulled out a pair of black, silky panties and suspenders…

* * *

Daddy! Daddy!

Two little boys rushed to meet Salik as he entered the quarters.

Salik gave a delighted laugh, picked the smaller one of the boys up and ruffled the bigger one's hair lovingly. "How have my little princes been today? Anything interesting you want to share with your father…"

The bigger one of the boys was grinning. "Guess what, dad. I got an alpha from instruction period today!" There was so much pride in that child's voice.

"Well, of course you got an alpha, sonny!" Salik smiled. "You have inherited my genes…"

"And I built a miniature model of a fighter craft, daddy!" The smaller child's eyes were sparkling.

"Well, that sure is something!" Salik stroked the puffy cheek of the small boy. "Hey, Elaina! I think we have a future bay technician in our family!"

The little boy giggled.

An elegant elderly woman with short brown hair emerged from the living room.

Salik put the little boy down and walked to the woman to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"The dinner is already cold, Salik!" The woman raised one eyebrow. "How come you are returning at this centar?!"

Salik started taking off his uniform cape. "Duty called, as always." Salik pretended to be sniffing curiously. "And what do we have prepared for tonight, young lady?"

Elaina smiled. "Come. I have the dinner on the table…"

* * *

"Oh, you're back!" Sheba shouted from another room as she heard the door of the quarters opening. "I'll be there in a micron…" She was humming while she finished updating the circuits of her beta scanner. She didn't use this equipment much when on duty, due to it being rather slow and not always reliable. But Sheba wanted to keep it anyway. It had sentimental value to her. It was the first scanner she had been provided with, when she had gratuated from the academy.

Sheba put the scanner on the table and tossed her hair away from her eyes. Then she walked to the living room. "Hey Cassie, what do you say if you, me and Rigel went to see Athena tonight. We've been sort of neglecting her lately without any reason. I know she would be thrilled…"

Sheba saw Cassiopeia by the door.

"By the lords of Kobol!!"

* * *

Sleep cycle was due in 30 centons.

The man was still excited about the meeting the young boy earlier. Not because the boy had been great company. Oh no. The man didn't really feel anything with other people. Well, not any more, thank the lords. Oh yes, there had been a time when he had been exposed. A time when he needed all the other human beings to be able to escape from himself. But now, he only needed the others to create intensity. The man smiled darkly. And he needed the intensity to believe in his own invincibility.

The boy, yes. The man was definitely excited about the kid. The boy was going to be… his kind. How intriguing.

Today had been different in so many other ways too. The man had been allowed to go to the public turbowashrooms with the other patients two centars ago. He could still vividly remember the long-awaited sensation of just standing there under the turbowash, letting the warm water flow all over him, to swallow him. Standing there for many many centons, listening to voices. Real human voices. The man had been almost overwhelmed.

The first unpleasant chill. Immediately the man forgot everything about the young angel face. Or the human voices that had surrounded him in the turbowash. It was much too quiet now.

His hands were shaking, just a little. The other patients had obviously returned to their dorm. Apart from the hiss of the surveillance cameras, there was now silence outside in the corridor.

He was sweating. They were getting closer now. The dark dreams. He pretended to stroll casually around the room but his heart was racing a million hectares per micron. The man stopped strolling, oh so coincidentally, and remained standing at the right side of the room. Smiling amused, just like he had just remembered something intriguing and forgot to stroll around while thinking about it. But on the inside he was silently screaming for escapade. Thank the lords he had found the brightest spot in the chamber. The spot that provided him with the intensity until the inevitable. The man turned his face towards the lamp, just a little. Oh sagan how he yearned that light.

He knew he was being watched. Now, by them. The fools. Soon, by the eyes of silence. The dangerous eyes that saw what was inside him. His own eyes.

* * *

Boomer tried to contact Cree by the officers' club wal-coms again, just like he had tried at least a hundred times during the day. No answer. Where could that kid be. Boomer didn't allow himself to think that the cadet was knowingly avoiding him. It hurt. Maybe he would be better off with all these disappointments. Boomer placed down the receiver of the wal-com unit.

Okay, that was it. He would definitely not chase the lad any more. If Cree wanted to share his heart with Boomer, he would have to be the one to do the chasing.

Boomer walked back to the table where his jacket was and sat down. Oh, how relieved he was now that he had made up his mind…

After five centons Boomer was by the wal-com units again. Dialling the number of Cree's quarters.

* * *

"CASSIOPEIA!" Sheba gasped. Rigel's horrified eyes peeked from the sleep cycle quarters doorway. "What in heavens…"

Cassiopeia grinned. "Well? Do you like them?" She turned sideways and posed for her two horrified room mates. "The wonders of modern technology!" Cassie giggled.

* * *

Starbuck suddenly woke up, startled. It was the middle of the sleep cycle. Apollo was softly breathing beside him, sleeping peacefully. Distant stars that shone through the window, painted the room with stripes of light and shadows. The figures on the timepiece glowed in green and revealed to Starbuck that it was only three centars after midnight.

Starbuck hated that dream. He hated it, because it didn't let him forget what had happened to him in his childhood. The dream kept coming back over and over again, even after Starbuck was sure he had come to terms with his past.

The dream was such a vivid recollection of the night he had been lost in the endless forest of Umbra. Running in the dark, trying desperately to find his parents. Oh, how scared he had been. A dark forest is definately not a nice place to be alone in, especially if you are only about four or five years old.

Finally, some people had found him and taken him to a near-by orphanage along with so many other little boys. And then they had shattered Starbuck's little heart by telling him that there was no way his parents could be alive any more.

Starbuck had grown up in that deteriorated, unpleasant orphanage under strict rules. And he learned. Leaned how to take care of himself. Learned not to trust others so easily and how to hide his feelings as often as possible. It wasn't until he had been accepted to the military academy that he had found enough courage to look at the world not so warily. To dare to open his heart to frienship. That was when he had met Apollo. The most beautiful soul in the world. And the rest is history as they say…

But the past had bothered Starbuck intensely. Not knowing who he was or who his parents had been. Starbuck's mind had given up the search, but not his heart.

Well, he knew now that Chameleon was his father. Although Chameleon had begged Cassiopeia not to reveal the test results to Starbuck, for his own sake, Cassiopeia had been just as reliable as Baltar when it came to keeping secrets.

Starbuck had confronted Chameleon, but the old man had never admitted his fatherhood.

He had kept saying that the test results were not accurate. Bright eyed the old man had sworn that he and Starbuck were not related.

Starbuck knew the man was lying. But he couldn't understand why. Oh well, it didn't really matter any more. Starbuck knew now who he was. He was Chameleon Junior.

Starbuck had been tasting that name over and over in his mouth on his way back from the senior ship, the night he had confronted the daggit.

Chameleon Junior…

By heavens, it sounded like something doctor Wilker would build. He definitely preferred to remain as Starbuck!! Definitely!

* * *

Chapter 6

Four centars ago the fleet had passed what the old map had called The Red Planet. Earth, or the planet referred to as Probability would be the next one.

Omega's calculations suggested that Probability would be reached in a day. Possibly two. The excitement amonst the people of the fleet was overwhelming, although, opinions were starting to differentiate.

Anarchistic groups were emerging. Groups, that consisted of people who were beginning to be very unwilling to enter the area of planet Probability. And the representatives of those groups were not afraid to speak their minds.

There had been at least five or six considerable demonstrations. The worst ones on the Tauranian and on the Aquarian.

* * *

Cree had been to see the man every day. Sometimes even twice or three times in 24 centars.

He was being enticingly guided into a new world of the mind. The more he discovered, the more he wanted to experience and the further he wanted to go.

The second time Cree had gone to the Sagittarian, he had been on the verge of despair. Standing on the brink of his limited essence, afraid to go further, not really knowing what was happening. Oh, but the man had been aware of it.

The moment Cree had stepped into the room, the man had walked to him in silence. Cree hadn't said anything either. They had just… experimented. That time, with the mind. In the times to come, with the flesh. They had found privacy in the turbowashroom cubicles. A cubicle was one of the very few places on the Sagittarian that was not monitored.

The man had ran his forefinger along Cree's skin, barely touching, not taking his eyes off Cree's.

"You see…" The man had spoken softly. "It is not sexual."

Cree had been quiet. Wide eyed and afraid, but so desperate to enter the mind of the enticing man. They were becoming the same kind.

The man had continued. "I know how you were feeling." The man's voice had been almost unaudible. "But it didn't help, did it…"

Cree hadn't been at all surprised that the man had known about his agonizing fire. The overpowering desire Cree had felt the night he had first returned from the Sagittarian.

Of course the man was aware. How could he have not been.

"No, it didn't help.." Cree had whispered.

"Because it was the fire of your new mind." The man had touched Crees lips with his hand.

"It was the pressure of the mind rivers."

Cree hadn't understood, but he had known that the man was right.

"Please, help me. Show me the way." Cree had leaned forward and kissed the man.

The very first time they had met, sectars ago, it had not been like this. Cree had been fascinated, oh yes, but his mind had been on the level of all the other beings. He had not yet been fully developed to understand, but he definitely had been affected. But, by lords, was his mind searching now.

The man had smiled as he had guided Cree to the rivers the very first time. Guided him to the acts and to the relief. But the man had never told Cree about the other side of power.

The silent side.

* * *

Cassiopeia hated the way people reacted to her new tecra implants. Nobody seemed to look at her in the face any more. All the eyes kept on ligering down to her breasts. Casting embarrassed, hasty and intrigued glances.

Cassie was beginning to doubt that she had made such a brilliant move after all. Not only were the breasts the only thing people payed attention in her, but the way the implants made her breasts numb. She couldn't enjoy the sensation of a tender touch any more. It was felgercarbishly frustrating.

Oh well, not that there were so many people in line waiting to touch her breasts. Only Rigel and Sheba. And now they too, seemed to have lost interest…

And if that wasn't unpleasant enough, the implants were heavy as frack. They didn't move like normal breasts. They just… hung there. Like two chunky beach balls. The kind that kids played with when on holiday in those ocean resorts on Aries. Felgercarbish nuisances! Such pains in the fracking butt.

* * *

Cree wasn't the only one experiencing new horizons.

Tigh too, had found a new intriguing world of his own.

Every day he took a shuttle to the textile ship and returned with bags full of womens' clothes. Mostly underwear. Silk or lace panties, corsets, beautiful bras, pantyhose, suspenders and suspender belts…

Tigh loved wearing all that stuff under his boring, blue bridge officers' uniform. It excited him undescribably to feel the silk against his skin while communicating with other bridge personnel and performing his demanding duties as colonel. And when he was standing beside Adama, knowing that his husband had no clue of what Tigh had under that tunic. Oh lords!

Then there were the clothes that Tigh could be able to wear only when he was completely alone in the quarters. The evening gowns, the mini skirts, high heeled shoes… Tigh could hardly wait for those moments to come.

Lately, he had also been discovering the sensuous pleasures of wearing make up. Ooh, lipstick was a definate turn on. Tigh seemed to have a hard on every time he was applying lipstick in front of the mirror. Slowly, caressing his lips with the stick. Watching how the stuff turned his lips somehow richer and more voluptious…

Oh lords.

* * *

Boomer stared at Athena. "You… and doctor Salik?!?" Boomer didn't like what he was hearing.

"That's right Boomie." Athena giggled. "Salik wants to get sealed as soon as we land on Earth."

Boomer didn't know how to continue. He didn't want his best friend's beautiful, innocent sister to get hurt this way.

Athena had bumped into Boomer in the officers' club when she had been looking for Apollo. And Boomer, once again, had been on his way to the telecoms…

"Isn't it great!" Athena was beaming. "Salik even wants to have kids!"

Boomer and Athena had never been really close, not even after they had been trapped in the recreation rooms when the Galactica had suffered from the disastrous fire.

But Boomer liked Athena a lot. She was so much like Apollo. Such a beautiful soul. So pure, likeable and trustworthy. Why, oh why did Boomer have to be the one to tell Athena about the devious doctor Salik…

Athena didn't notice Boomer's hesitation. She kept on babbling about the wonderful characteristic aspects of her new Mister Right.

Boomer placed his hand on top of Athena's. "Please, listen…"

Athena stopped talking and looked at Boomer really curious. "What's the matter. You look like something's bothering you." Athena smiled incouragingly. "Don't worry, Boomie. If it's love trouble, believe me when I tell you that one day you will find your special someone…"

"Athena, listen to me!" Boomer swallowed.

Athena waited.

"It's doctor Salik…"

Now Athena really waited.

Boomer sighed. "Beautiful Athena. Don't you know that Salik is sealed!" Athena laughed. "Stop joking Boomer. That is not funny in the least."

"I am not joking, Athena." Boomer's face was very serious. His kept his dark eyes on Athena.

"Salik has a wife and two young children."

Athena was now pale as snow. "What are you talking about. I have never seen Salik with anyone. And according to the computers, he doesn't have a family on the Galactica…"

"Athena, his family is not on the Galactica. They live on the Tauranian…"

"No, you're wrong Boomer!! Salik would never lie to me!…"

Boomer didn't answer. He just kept his serious eyes on the pretty girl.

Athena couldn't believe what she was hearing. Tears were burning behind her eyes. "No, Boomer…" But, the micron she said those words, she knew so well that Boomer was telling the truth.

Athena shot up from the table.

"Athena, wait…" Boomer tried to grab her by the wrists. He missed.

Athena ran blindly out of the officers' club. And she kept running. Running away from the lies and the hurt. To nowhere.

* * *

Today had been a very bad day. The man had not found the power inside. Not today. He had been just like everyone else. Only a frack of a lot more vulnerable because he was not free. In his world were the rivers.

The boy with the angel face had been to see him again earlier. This time they had not entered the power. The man had not been able to. Not this time. He had been aware that he would only have come across his frightening weakness.

The boy had not understood. Oh but he will. In the future, when he faces his shadows.

The man had not eaten today. He had not smiled today. The doctor had eyeballed him in an infuriating manner. Frack. Now they all think he has regressed. Of course he hadn't. It has just been a bad day.

* * *

Boomer felt lonely. The world around him seemed to be so much more alive than he was. He was surrounded by love, erotism, partnership, hope… Even heartache. All the beautiful and painful things humans are created for. Boomer had never experienced the thrilling sensation of being loved. Well, apart from being loved by his parents and his dear friends, but… It was not what his soul and heart yearned for. So abandoned by love. Alone.

* * *

"I want to have a tattoo!"

Starbuck and Apollo were in Apollo's quarters playing pyramid. They had finished two bottles of grog and felt more than a little giddy.

"Oh yeah?" Apollo giggled. "And where would you want it?"

"I want your name tattooed on my butt." Starbuck grinned.

Apollo guffawed. "Great idea! And why don't you add "Property of…" while you're at it!"

They both laughed.

"Hey, it's my turn to deal out the cards!" Starbuck was still grinning. "Winner deals out the cards remember!"

"You are a cheater Starbuck!" Apollo's eyes were watering from all the laughing.

"How dare you!" Starbuck glared at Apollo as he was cluttering up the pack of cards. "Nobody calls me a cheater and gets away with it!"

Apollo grinned took a sip from the cup of grog beside him. "Well, I must be in deep felgercarb then…" His eyes were twinkling teasingly.

"You sure are!" Starbuck's smile was wide. He kept his eyes on Apollo for a while, a smile lingering on his lips. "Why don't we finish the game right here… There's something I want to show you…"

* * *

Athena couldn't return to her room. It was much too crowded with hurting memories, and much too deserted to bear. Athena just had to sneer with irony. Sagan damn it, her quarters were just like her life: Maliciously empty.

Aimlessly Athena kept walking along the corridors of the Galactica. Hating doctor Salik. Hating herself. Hating the sagan forsaken whole universe. Never again! Never would she trust another boray of a man again. Not ever. From now on, she was going to survive on her own. She would come to find a way to stop feeling and turn the heart into stone. There had to be a way to stop feeling…

Oh, but there was…

Don't think about it!

Athena closed her eyes and leaned against the metallic wall near the skyliner offices.

The old craving washed over her, violently.

Don't think about it!!

* * *

Cree had tried it on his own for the first time. He couldn't believe how easy it had been. So sweet, so relieving. So… all-inclusive. Ohhh, he was powerful! He had finally entered the new world. He was ready to float on the rivers. Never mind if they were dark. He was invincible.

Cree fetched a tissue from the turbowashroom and wiped the blood away from the floor.

* * *

The man realized his mind had lately been lingering more and more around one particular person. Not the angel faced kid. Not one of his visitors. Not the imbecil doctors or the idiot patients. No, this was a person that never came to visit him.

Probably the person didn't even know that the man was still alive. Yes, that must be it. Or perhaps the person wasn't aware how comprehensively he belonged to this dark world. Well, of course the person didn't know! How foolish to forget! The man smiled. Maybe it was time to tell this person…

The door opened with a hiss and the doctor with thick eyeglasses entered. "Medication time." The doctor winked.

The man didn't bother to smile. He didn't even raise his eyes. He wanted to kill that daggit of a doctor. He wanted to twist the guy's neck until there would be a sound like a branch snapping. How pleasurable would it be to watch the light of sanity disappearing from those buldging eyes. To hear the doctor screaming and despareately gasping for life. Sweet revenge.

Oh but he wouldn't do it. It had just been a bad day. That's all.

* * *

Salik took off the mask from his face and looked up at doctor Wilker. "Jeeez! I haven't see something like this in… ten yahrens." Salik shook his head. "Not a very pretty sight…" He walked to the sink in the corner of the gamma sector of the life center, to wash the blood off his hands. "What are we going to put on that report?"

Wilker was quiet for awhile, staring at the body on the autopsy table. "Well, I think we can both agree that this lieutenant…" Wilker glanced at the data sheet in his hands. "Bik… that's an usual name… didn't die natural causes."

"…To put it mildly." Salik glanced over his shoulder. He finished washing his hands and dried them on a white towel.

Wilker eyed the body. He had seen bad things before but this one… lords in heavens! "The victim has been dead about three centars." Wilker lifted his eyes as Salik appeared beside him. "Where was the body discovered?"

"In a turbowashroom of the declension abutment quarters…"

Wilker furrowed his brow. "But then somebody must have seen…"

"The abutment rooms are usually empty through most of the day-cycle. The killer could have slipped in almost any time." Salik eyed the man on the autopsy table. "The victim was slaughtered in the turbowashroom. The walls were all covered in blood…"

Wilker was thoughtful for a centon. Then he looked up at Salik. "But if those quarters are normally empty…" Wilker raised his eyebrows. "Then what the felgercarb was lieutenant Bik doing in that place?…"

"I think that's rather irrelevant." Salik smiled coldly. "What I would like to find out is who murdered lieutenant Bik. And why…"

* * *

Chapter 7

Omega put down the headphone and turned. "We are approaching our destination.The planet Probability will be coming into view in five centons. It will appear on the beta side of the ship. Approximately 16 point 2 angle."

The bridge officers stared out of the large windows. There were no more voices on the bridge, as if everyone kept holding their breath.

Commander Adama was standing behind Omega, his hand on Omega's shoulder.

Tigh forgot for a micron about the black silk corset and the silk panties he had underneath his uniform.

Rigel kept her eyes alternately on the readings of the computer monitor and the window.

There was already something on the horizon. No outlines. Only vague shimmer. But it was becoming brighter with every micron…

Three centons and approaching…

A shape. And traces of colours.

Two centons and approaching…

A definate shape. A beautiful glow of blue and white.

One centon. Approaching…

Zero centons.

The planet Probability.

Earth?

* * *

"It's beautiful!" Starbuck reluctantly turned his gaze away from the star-filled space and glanced at Apollo, who was leaning against the wall near the wal-com units. "I still can't believe we actually found Earth!"

"Hey, calm down Starbuck!" Apollo was smiling. "We don't know if it's Earth…"

"Well, what else can it be?" Starbuck looked out of the window again. It's blue, it's shining, it's…Earth-ish…"

"…Come on then, you wizard!" Apollo pulled Starbuck by the sleeve of his flight jacket. "The sooner we head off on our scheduled patrol, the sooner we will find out what we are dealing with here. Let's find Boomer…"

* * *

Apollo, Boomer and Starbuck rushed to the bridge.There was absolute chaos.

The excitement was immense.

All telecoms kept ringing incessantly. The bridge officers were constantly answering incoming questions concerning the fleet's current situation. The Inter Fleet Broadcasting staff informed the battlestar bridge personnel that the IFB representatives were already on their way to the Galactica for the airing of the informative meeting, cheduled to take place in just half a centar.

Adama was standing alone by the large window, looking at the blue planet. This would be the moment of truth. As the commander, had he led the fleet to distruction. Or to safety.

Would the search be finally over. Or had they been chasing a shadow, mere legend. The non-existent.

The military forces, as well as all the civilians placed on the Galactica, were gathering into the main auditorium of the battlestar.

The representatives of the Council of the Twelve were sitting in the front area of the hall. All of them grave-faced, hardly speaking.

The captains and the commanders of all the other ships in the fleet were also present in this important briefing.

Starbuck couldn't let go of Apollo's hand. They were standing by the side wall of the hall with Boomer, Jolly and Sheba.

Starbuck noticed Cassiopeia and Rigel, sitting together in the middle of a civilian group at the back of the auditorium. Starbuck gasped. What in the names of heavens has she done to her breasts!!

Athena walked to Apollo and the others. She looked really pale and Apollo was worried about her. He had been told about the situation between Salik and Athena. Lords curse that man!

Apollo hoped to sagan that even now, in all this distress, Athena would remain strong enough to stay clean and away from the dekar…

Boomer noticed that Cree wasn't there.

The auditorium was finally getting full. Subdued, nervous chatter from the audience accompanied the last few centons before the briefing was due to start.

Then, the doors started closing and the IFB representatives finished setting the broadcasting equipment to be operational.

The informative assembly was now ready to begin.

Adama was standing in front of the auditorium, accompanied by Tigh and Omega. Behind them, was an enormous screen on which the current scanner readings were projected.

The audience held it's breath.

* * *

Cree was on the Sagittarian, with the man. This time they were not entering the rivers. Not performing the acts of power and relief. The tiny receiver screen in the corner of the room was turned on. The assembly was being aired all over the fleet. Cree could see familiar faces amongst the crowd.

Cree was excited. Earth, wow! He glanced at the man, hoping he could share this tention with someone who mattered.

But the man didn't seem to be listening to the information at all. He seemed bored. Just like children, when they are forced to spend the best centars of the day taking instructional period.

Puzzled, Cree turned his attention to the broadcasting again.

Adama was presently pointing out that most of the surface of the planet was covered in water.

Cree's eyes were wide. How can someone live in a place like that. He continued to listen with curiosity.

The planet was definitely inhabited by human beings. The scanners revealed that there were too many overpopulated areas, which seemed strange, because there obviously were large, uninhabited areas that were cabable of maintaining and supporting life.

Cree could hear mumbling amongst the huge crowd.

Omega stepped a little forward. "Unfortunately, we were not able to get complete and reliable information using our scanners."

Astonished whispers.

"All gamma waves coming from that planet are distorted. Like they were being in some way barracked and disrupted by the atmosphere before they left the sphere of the planet's influence. Therefore we cannot give you full information before we have sent out patrols.

Adama spoke.

"Until we have confirmed details about this planet, I cannot allow any unathorized person to leave the fleet. I must ask you all to remain patient and hopeful." The commander smiled. "If this planet is what we have been searching for…"

Tigh softly finished Adama's sentence. "… We have finally come home."

Loud chatter of excitement and hope filled the auditorium.

An image of the blue planet was monitored onto the screen. It was so beautiful and inviting.

So many hopeful eyes were raised. So many hearts were beating.

"By heavens!"

Omega and Tigh turned to look at Adama's pale face Adama pointed at the image.

"The planet has two moons…"

* * *

Cree couldn't believe the sudden, horrible turn of the situation. He couldn't speak, he just stared at the receiver, waiting for someone to step forward from the crowd and say that this was all just a horrifying joke, and that the planet really was Earth. Cree turned his delated, frightened eyes towards the man sitting next to him.

The man's eyes were looking at the receiver. His beautiful face was almost expressionless, apart from the little amused smile lingering in the eyes. A cold, indifferent smile.

* * *

Not a whisper echoed in the auditorium.

The two moons were small and pale, but very easily noticed. Obviously orbiting the planet in a exact opposed angle.

"It's not Earth!" Apollo frowned with so much disappointment. "All the stories and the legends we have heard point out that Earth has only one moon…"

"It doesn't have to mean anything." Eyes turned. Starbuck's face was shining.

"Be quiet Starbuck!" Boomer hissed. He was sure Starbuck was just about to say something utterly idiotic in front of all the IFB cameras and Boomer would have to be ashamed for the rest of his sagan forsaken life.

"What?" Apollo was staring at Starbuck.

"Just like you said!" Starbuck was grinning. "All the stories and the legends point out that Earth has only one moon…"

"Starbuck! Another time!" Boomer poked his blond friend with his elbow. "This is not the place…"

Starbuck took a couple of steps forward. Boomer watched horrified as Starbuck was now standing in front of the audience. And all the cameras…

"But how reliable are legends?" Starbuck started. He was looking at the crowd.

Eyes were staring back at him.

"How easily would you guys believe every word you want to hear?" Starbuck smiled. "Wouldn't you ever be suspicious, even a little…"

"Get to the point!" Someone shouted from the crowd.

Starbuck grinned. "Don't use that tone with me if you want to hear what I have just realized."

Boomer pressed his fingers to his temples. Apollo just kept staring at his obviously insane lover.

"What I'm trying to point out here, is the fact, that no one has ever seen Earth. Yes, the legend describes us, that Earth has only one moon." Starbuck walked closer to the image projected on the screen. "And this planet here, to our utter disppointment, has obviously two of them."

"GET TO THE POINT!"

Starbuck grinned. "Easy. No one has seen earth. All the legends are stories made up by people who were either travelling through space milleniums ago, searching for the place. Or by people who stayed behind, remained on the colonies and told stories about the thirteenth tribe to their children. But no one, who could have drawn the maps or written the documents, had actually been to this mysterious place.

Silence in the crowd.

"Maybe these legends are just false. Perhaps Earth has more moons than one. Who are we to decide what is accurate if the information is based only on some nice little bedtime stories…"

Adama stared at this young warrior who had just surprised the frack out of him. "You definitely have a point Starbuck." Adama said thoughtfully. "Maybe this is Earth after all…"

* * *

The broadcasting ended.

For a long time after that, they sat in silence. Cree and the man.

Incredible. It had been like an adventure. The conversation had had so many unexpected turns that Cree had ended up being totally puzzled in what to believe. He turned to look at the man who seemed to have sank into deep thoughts. Cree felt a little uncomfortable about breaking the silence. Perhaps if he waited a little longer the man would eventually speak. And return to be his normal overwhelming self. Cree eyed the man. Lords he was beautiful.

Suddenly the man turned towards Cree. "I want you to bring him to me." The man's eyes were even more pale than usual.

Cree swallowed. He had been so afraid of this since the very beginning. Cree had known the man would eventually want to meet Apollo. Desperation and hurt burned in Cree's heart. He knew very well he could never compete with the captain. Not when it came to this man.

"I… I don't know how I can convince Apollo to…" Cree was fighting back the tears.

The man eyed Cree carefully, very intrigued. "Apollo?" The man smiled. "Now, why would I want to meet Apollo?!?"

Cree could just stare. "Well, you and…"

The man smiled. He took a hold of Cree's hand and kissed it. "No, angel face. Not this time."

"But…" Cree was stunned.

Besides it was hard to breathe. The man was too close. Much too close without performing the act of power. To Cree this was almost unbearable. He was shivering.

The man kept his gaze on Cree's eyes for so long Cree started to feel like he was floating. But not on the dark rivers. Cree was being swirled by the streams of emotion. He was falling in love.

The man leaned closer and kissed Cree on the lips. Lightly, lingering… His soft hands were caressing Cree's back, his cheeks, his blond hair… Cree closed his eyes and gave in to the streams.

The kiss ended but the man didn't move away. His lips lingered so very close to Cree's, almost touching. Cree could feel the soft, warm current of air as the man spoke.

"I wan't you to bring Starbuck to me."

* * *

Chapter 8

"Why Starbuck for heaven's sake?!?"

Cree was sitting on the shuttle back to the Galactica. He had left the Sagittarian about ten centons ago, confused. Extremely unsatisfied.

Confused, because Cree couldn't understand why the man wanted to meet that blond gambler of a warrior. As far as Cree knew, their histories in no way entwined. And during all these sectons that Cree had been with the man, following him into the new enticing dark world, the man had never referred to Starbuck. Not once.

Unsatisfied, because today they had not entered the rivers. So frustrated, because Cree was beginning to realize he wanted to be so much more inside the man's mind. He wanted to be in the man's heart and soul. Cree knew he was falling in love with his beautiful, pale-eyed mentor. Oh, but how agonizing it was starting to be. Cree understood so well that the man was too far above to feel the sensation of mere love. He would never echo Cree's feelings. But still, deep inside the secret shadows of his heart, Cree couldn't stop hoping…

* * *

Apollo and Starbuck were walking down the corridor connecting the bridge to the private quarters section of the Galactica. They were not speaking much. Everything was too overwhelming to put into the form of words.

Before leaving the bridge, Adama had asked Apollo to get ready to lead the blue squadron on patrol to the place that was for now referred to as Planet Probability. Apollo had agreed to be ready for departure in three centars. The blue squadron was advised not to leave earlier than that, due to some technical felgercarb concerning the pilots' long range scanners being reprogrammed to be able to receive and send gamma waves, regardless of the molecule constitution of the planet's atmosphere which had somehow distorted all the previous gamma and even alpha waves that the Galactica scanners had received.

Apollo and Starbuck reached their quarters. After searching his pockets for centons under Apollo's impatient glare, Starbuck finally found the key and they stepped inside.

Apollo turned on the light and started taking off his boots. Starbuck walked to the sink and poured himself a cup of fresh carbonated water. He turned. For a long time his eyes followed Apollo. His beautiful friend and lover. His soul mate. By heavens, how much he loved that man. So much that it hurt…

Centons passed. Many many centons. Apollo glanced up. "What?"

"Nothing." Starbuck was sipping his water.

Apollo raised one eyebrow. "All right. What's going on Starbuck?" Apollo put down the degtor-transmitter he was holding in his hand and turned to look straight at the other man. "I know you too well Bucky! Something's bothering you!" Apollo kept his concerned eyes on his companion. "Okay, spit it out!"

Starbuck grinned. "Hey, who's paranoid!" He put down the cup. "Can't a man just spend a few quality centons admiring his loverboy…"

"Not, when he's looking strangely elegiac!"

Starbuck made up his mind. He took a deep breath. Okay, this was it! Here we go…

"You know I love you more that life itself…" Starbuck whispered as he started towards Apollo. "You are something that I cannot describe, my love. Something more powerful that all the starlight and moonbeams and sunrays. More everything than the infinity of all universe. More beautiful than the soul of sagans…"

"Starbuck…" Apollo swallowed. "Are you about to dump me?…"

"By heavens!" Starbuck kept approaching. "Apollo… I know I am not a very beautiful soul, or by far the most intelligent human being. I'm just this… gambling, smoking, cursing, cynical rascal that always gets into trouble, and I don't think that's ever going to change…" Starbuck paused. "We all know that you deserve so much more than me…"

There were now tears in Apollo's blue eyes. "Starbuck. What are you saying?"

Starbuck was now standing in front of Apollo. He took his beautiful lovers hands into his own and raised them to his lips to kiss them softly. Then his eyes willingly drowned in Apollo's. "Appy, my love…" Starbuck's voice was choked. "Will you become my husband?"

Apollo couldn't find his voice any more.

Oh, but his eyes answered.

* * *

The shuttle from the Sagittarian landed on the Galactica.

Cree didn't want to do this. He definitely did not want to tell Starbuck about the man. Cree knew Starbuck would eventually tell Apollo and that would be the end of a beautiful friendship.

Cree sighed.

The end of the friendship between Apollo and Cree, Boomer and Cree, Starbuck and Cree, the whole fracking Galactica and Cree…

Not to mention…

Cree couldn't bare the thought of losing his mentor to Apollo. Yes, that would happen as soon as Apollo found out that the man was still alive. Cree was so sure of it.

But he had no choice now. He had promised to take Starbuck to the Sagittarian…

Cree stood up and walked out of the empty shuttle, centons after all the other passangers had disappeared. Cree kept listening to his own footsteps echoing from the metallic walls of the landing bay as he walked to the elevators. He could smell the scent of solium and derator grease as he passed a few vipers. He noticed four bay technicians further away and the red light shining above the decontamination chambers.

Oh, but soon he wouldn't remember the pain in his soul any more. Cree knew he just had to open the shadows of his mind and let the rivers flow.

Cree stepped into the elevator. He was on his way to find Starbuck.

* * *

Apollo and Starbuck saw Boomer in the officers' club.

"Hey buddy!!" Starbuck waved and loped to the table were Boomer was sitting at.

Boomer lifted his eyes and smiled. "Hi guys. Care to join me for the last drink before the unknown…"

"Sagan, Boomer. "Starbuck grinned. "You make our patrol sound like it's something we have to be worried about!"

"Well, shouldn't we be?" Boomer eyed Starbuck teasingly. "We don't really know what planet Probability has in store for us now, do we."

"Earth, Boomer. Earth!" Starbuck put his hand on his friend's shoulder and squeezed a little.

"Sure!" Boomer raised one eyebrow. "Earth with two moons…"

Starbuck wasn't listening. "Boomer! Apollo and I, well… We have something to tell you!"

Apollo reached the table and grinned warmly at Boomer. "Hi buddy!"

Boomer eyed the both of the men. "What? Let me guess! You guys have been on patrol already and I'm off the hook!"

"You wish!" Apollo's eyes twinkled.

"Boomer, we want you to be our best man!" Starbuck couldn't wait any longer.

"What?" Boomer wasn't smiling so happily now.

Starbuck put his arm around Apollo's shoulder. They both glanced at each other so lovingly… Boomer couldn't bare to see it.

"We are getting sealed, buddy!" Starbuck was beaming. "And we want you to be our best man! After all, you are our brother!"

Boomer fought so hard to smile. "Well guys, I'm very happy for you!" Boomer stood up and hugged both Apollo and Starbuck. "You are two undescribably lucky fellows to have found each other…"

"Yeah, we are!" Starbuck was looking into Apollo's eyes.

"Well, excuse me you love birds…" Boomer still kept his hands on both of his brothers' shoulders. "I have something to take care of before we go and conquer planet Probability…"

Boomer saw the look in Starbuck's twinkling eyes.

"Sorry… Earth!" Boomer grinned. "See you later. And congratulations!" Boomer had to get to his quarters. His heart had just shattered to stardust.

"I want us to get sealed as soon as possible!" Starbuck kept Apollo's hands in his own.

"And just how soon were you thinking?" Apollo grinned.

"Well, how about yesterday!" Starbuck squeezed those hands.

Apollo's eyes remained looking at something that was approaching from behind Starbuck.

"What?…" Starbuck turned.

Cree was not smiling. He walked to the two men and greeted them. Cree's face was pale and he was shivering despite the tunic and the uniform jacket.

"Hello Cree." Apollo smiled at the boy warmly. "I'm sorry but you just missed Boomer…"

"Starbuck." Cree payed no attention to Apollo whatsoever. "I have something to tell you."

* * *

Starbuck felt his legs failing him. He had to find a chair and sit down. Right now, or he would collapse on the floor.

They were alone in Cree's tiny quarters.

Cree had not smiled once when he had told Starbuck about the man. In fact, the boy's face had been so expressionless that Starbuck was beginning to doubt that the boy wasn't actually Cree at all, but an android who looked just like Cree.

A masterpiece of doctor Wilker's skills…

"Why doesn't anyone know he's alive?" Starbuck found it so hard to speak. "How can he be alive?… It's impossible!!"

Cree kept his eyes on Starbuck, waiting for him to calm down. Cree wanted to get this over with so he could escape into the darkness and privacy of his quarters and hurt himself. "He wants to see you, Starbuck."

"Well, I sure in frack don't want to see him!" Starbuck stood up from the chair and started towards the door. "No way in felgercarb!"

"Starbuck!" Cree's voice was too cold. Not at all like his normal, boyish Gemon drawl.

Surprised Starbuck turned.

"I have to take you to the Sagittarian." Cree's eyes didn't falter from Starbuck's. "I have to…"

"By heavens! What makes you think you can take me anywhere!" Starbuck felt a wave of anger sweeping over him. Partly because the boy seemed to be insane, but mostly because…"

Cree walked towards Starbuck. "Because you want to go." Cree smiled. "You want to find out why he has chosen you."

Starbuck couldn't answer. This was a nightmare.

* * *

Boomer buried his face into his hands and cried for the first time in so long. He couldn't keep on lying to himself any more.

Boomer cried, because it hurt so badly to realize that he still loved Starbuck so much, and now he was going to lose him to Apollo for good. No more excuses. No more secret hoping. He cried because little Cree didn't give a frack about him. Boomer knew that now. And Boomer weeped because right at this very micron, he understood that he was going to be lonely for the rest of his miserable life. Boomer realized he would never be loved.

***

Kadeem couldn't get rid of the image.

It had been an accident. Kadeem had been in the officers' club with Giles for centars enjoying his lover's company for once without any hurry. Giles had been told he would be off-duty for at least two of the next days. Kadeem had stood up and walked to the public turboflushrooms.

For sagan's sake. Something like this had never occurred to Kadeem. He wouldn't never, not in a million yahrens, have suspected that he would bump into a situation like this.

Kadeem had opened the grey door and stepped into the flushrooms, whistling. All of the cubicle doors had been open so naturally Kadeem had supposed he was alone in the place. He had walked to the nearest cubicle, pulled the door wide open, ready to step in. And then he had seen Tigh.

By lords, Tigh had screamed his head off. He had been putting on a white, lacy bra just the very micron Kadeem had opened the fracking door.

By all that is Kobollian, Kadeem had quickly banged the door shut and rushed out of the turboflushrooms, embarrassed as frack!

But definitely not as embarrassed as colonel Tigh must have been! Oh lords! Kadeem never told Giles what had happened. But for sagan's sake, had Giles almost dropped off his chair from surprise when Kadeem had suddenly jumped from behind him, pale as snow like he had just seen a ghost, and prayed that they would leave the officers' club as quickly as possible.

Kadeem had not bumped into Tigh after that incident, thank the lords for that!! But the strangest thing was that… Oh boy. After seeing Tigh dressed in women's underwear, Kadeem himself had been drawn to do the same felgercarbing thing!! He couldn't shake the thought from his mind! Great, just great!

Okay. Perhaps the best thing to do now, in this sagan forsaken situation, was to find enough courage to meet the colonel eye to eye and talk to him about this.

Frack!

* * *

Cree led Starbuck along the grim corridors of the Sagittarian.

Starbuck sure didn't like leaving his laser gun behind. Especially as he was on his way to meet the biggest crackpot in the history of the human race.

They passed those metal detectors that had become so familiar to Cree, and finally reached the door of isolation chamber 15. The doctor with thick eyeglasses was there, waiting for them.

"Nice to meet you young man." The doctor extended his hand to Starbuck. "I trust that this boy here has filled you in with all the normal proceedings…"

"Yes, the boy has…" Starbuck mumbled. The doctor's handshake was disgustingly clammy and slack.

"Remember, young man…" The doctor eyed Starbuck from behind his glasses.

Jeeez, the doctor was annoying as frack!

"…Try not to excite the patient in any way. If the situation gets out of hand…"

"Yeah yeah!" Starbuck rolled his eyes. "Don't worry doc. I wouldn't dream of staying in the room with that crackpot!"

"Wonderful." The doctor smiled. "Off you go then, lads."

"If that clown of a doctor doesn't soon shut up, I'll go and fetch my laser…" Starbuck murmured to Cree, who pinched his arm hard and hissed to him to shut up!

The door of the isolation chamber began to open. Starbuck swallowed.

Cree suddenly turned towards Starbuck. "I'll meet you back in the entering lounge."

"What! No way in frack!" Starbuck eyeballed Cree. "You stay right where you are!! If you think that I'm going to meet this loony, demented devil on my own, you must be even more crazy than he is!!

Cree didn't bother to answer. He turned and left Starbuck alone, facing whatever those slowly opening doors would reveal.

***

Apollo was really curious about why Cree had so badly wanted to talk to Starbuck in private. Those two didn't really know each other, except from a couple of minor military projects and yes, because of Boomer's little infatuation with the kid. Boomer had introduced Cree to Apollo and Starbuck and the boy had sat with them in the officers' club a couple of times. Apollo liked the kid. Cree was funny and seemed honest and unpretended. Apollo really hoped the boy would make Boomer happy. Boomer deserved to be loved.

But what in heavens did that cadet want with Starbuck now? Apollo shrugged. Well, he was going to find out sooner or later when Starbuck would return to the quarters. Apollo glanced at the timepiece. Felgercarb! Starbuck really should be getting back pretty soon. They were due to go on patrol to Probability in a mere centar.

Apollo finished packing his rucksack and placed it on the floor next to the scanners, the betameter and the little blue box where the extra batteries of the communicators were usually kept. Apollo couldn't stop smiling. Starbuck had been so wonderfully cute and shy when he had proposed. Apollo loved that man from the bottom of his heart and now they were finally getting sealed. Nothing would ever come between them again. They would be happy forever after…

* * *

The doors were open, but Starbuck couldn't see much. He waited for a couple of microns until his eyes started to adjust to the darkness that was awaiting him.

There were two or three soft lamps in that room. A bed, a dresser, and a metallic table with a matching ascetic chair. A turboflush and a sink were in the east corner of the room. A figure of a man was standing by the window, facing Starbuck.

"Come in, Starbuck." The man spoke.

Starbuck shuddered. By heavens, he had the same smile, the same eyes.

"Seeing you is a pleasure…" The man started walking towards Starbuck. "Please, why don't you step inside and close the door. We don't want the whole ship to hear about our little conversation, now do we…"

The man smiled sarcastically. He knew very well that the imbecil of a doctor and his little helpers were even now listening to every word the man was saying. Using the electronic devices hidden in the room.

"Don't forget now that this place is supposed to be an isolation chamber." The man kept his amused pale eyes on Starbuck. "Now, close the door, beautiful, so we can…" The man grinned. "…Isolate!"

Starbuck hesitated but he did eventually close that door. He was now alone with the man surrounded by darkness and painful memories. "What do you want from me, Lomas?" Starbuck asked, quietly.

Lomas's smile was just as breathtakingly enticing as it had been before he had… disappeared. "Don't be so impatient Starbuck." Lomas was now in front of the blond pilot. "Everything will be told in time.." The man's eyes were so penetrating. The hypnotizing waterponds Starbuck hated even more the red eyes of the cylons. Lomas wanted to touch Starbuck's face. Touch the same skin as Apollo had caressed. Run his fingers along the traces of Apollo's touch…

"Now, where shall I start…" Lomas prolonged his soft words, not taking his eyes off Starbuck's.

Starbuck couldn't believe he was actually alone in this dark room with the crazy freak who tried to steal Apollo's heart. "Well, why don't you start from the night you should have died…" Starbuck said bitterly.

"Oh my!" Lomas smiled amused. "Aren't we jealous…"

Starbuck didn't answer. He kept hoping he had his laser so he could finish the job that Lomas had left half-way.

"The night I should have died…" Lomas turned away from Starbuck to hide his face in the shadows. "You are right, beautiful…" Lomas walked to the window and remained standing there, his back turned to Starbuck. "…I should have died." He turned.

Starbuck gasped as he saw the immense agony that those big pale eyes reflected.

* * *

Cree was sitting alone in the grim entering lounge of the Sagittarian. He had wasn't thinking about the exciting planet Probability. He wasn't interested in the dark power now. Cree was feeling so lonely and scared. So vulnerable. He knew too well he was going to lose Lomas, his beautiful mentor. Perhaps to Apollo… or Starbuck… Maybe to the dark rivers of the mind… But most probably to death.

* * *

Lomas was looking at Starbuck for a very very long time before he spoke again. "Cree, the little fool saved my life." Lomas tried to smile ironically but failed.

Starbuck was hardly able to breath. "What happened?"

Lomas' eyes lingered away from Starbuck and wondered aimlessly around the dark room. "The angel face was such a fool to throw himself against me and grab a hold of my wrist just as I was about to… be finally salvaged."

Starbuck didn't answer.

"The shot that was supposed to hit the monsters in my head…" Lomas' smile was terrifying now. "…Happened to hit the mere flesh on my thigh."

Lomas' eyes were too pale. Starbuck had to keep reminding himself that he was not looking at the eyes of a lupus, but those of a tormented man. A man whom he had hated so much. Lomas continued, but his voice had suddenly gained strenth. Become softer, more calm. "I didn't understand why that boy had risked his own life to save mine." Lomas spoke. "Not until he came to see me here on the Sagittarian…"

"The kid has obviously got the hots for you!" Starbuck wanted to get the frack away from this place. "By lords I don't understand why, but we can't really argue when it comes to the matters of taste, can we…"

Lomas' smile was hardly noticeable. "Yes. That is what I thought too, in the beginning…" Lomas kept his eyes on Starbuck. "But after that first visit I understood. The angel face and I, we are the same kind. We both have to enter our minds to control the rivers."

Starbuck had no idea what this fruitcake was babbling about, but he remained silent.

Lomas didn't speak either. He walked over to the dresser and opened a drawer. Starbuck's eyes followed the man.

"Well, if you so much wanted to escape those monsters in your head…" Starbuck started. "Why in heavens did you consent to be taken to this paradise?…" Starbuck looked around the room and rolled his eyes. "If I had been in your boots…" Starbuck suddenly paused, horrified as he saw what Lomas had taken out of the drawer.

A laser gun.

Starbuck stared at the crazy son of a daggit. "Hey, it's not fare to shoot an un-armed man!!"

Lomas raised his left eyebrow. "What are you waffling on about, Starbuck?"

Starbuck swallowed. He had just come to the conclusion that it would be pointless to try to talk some sense into the head of this insane lunatic so he remained silent, watching Lomas grinning at him like there was something amusing about the situation. Lords, the guy must be crazier than we all thought…

"This gun…" Lomas kept his eyes on the other man. "Is a proof that I have no longer need to escape. I have become so much stronger than I ever thought possible." Lomas smiled. "I could have killed myself any micron. But instead, I chose to face my eyes. I chose to enter the rivers." Lomas put the gun gently on the bed. "All I need now is intensity…" He raised his eyes to look at Starbuck again. "…And that I will find in the company of other human beings." Lomas started walking towards Starbuck. "In other words…" The man was closer now. "…I am finally cured."

Starbuck rolled his eyes. "Cured, yeah, sure you are!!"

"I will be released from this place very soon. And…" Lomas came closer and closer. "And then I will live surrounded by the intensity forever." Lomas was now standing in front of Starbuck. "Although I know I will never be free from the rivers…" Lomas extended his hand and touched Starbuck's face. Touched the traces of Apollo's fingers. "… I have come to realize I don't have to be." Lomas touched Starbuck's lips. "Those rivers…" Lomas smiled. "…Are me."

Starbuck shuddered violently. "You are out of your felgercarbing mind!"

Lomas withdrew his hand, but his face remained very close to Starbuck's. He kept his eyes on Starbuck for a long time without saying a word. The faint light from the lamps in the room glimmered in Lomas' wavy hair, making him look like an elf. Lomas smiled. "You have not yet heard why I asked you to come here…"

Lomas' eyes were pale as ice. Starbuck was suddenly scared to death of the look in those eyes.

"Oh, don't tell me there's another reason for this than just raving on like a madman, enjoying the chance to perform to an audience…" Starbuck snorted.

Lomas laughed. Such an engaging laughter.

Starbuck hated it.

"You are more like me Starbuck than you even realize…" Lomas was smiling like an angel. But his eyes were those of a fiend.

* * *

Chapter 9

Cree raised his eyes. Something was very wrong. He had get back to Lomas' isolation chamber as quickly as possible. Cree shot up and ran to the doors.

The guard cast curious glances as the boy flew past him and disappeared into the metallic corridor. Jeeez, even the visitors in this place were fruitcakes! The guard shook his head. He couldn't wait to be promoted and get the frack away from this ship of idiots.

Cree couldn't ran fast enough. He grew more and more frustarated every time he was stopped to be examined by metal detectors. Damn it! His mentor was in trouble. Cree had to get to Lomas now!

* * *

Starbuck stared at Lomas' horrifyingly beautiful face, so afraid to hear what the monster was about to tell him. There was a very long lingering silence in the chamber.

Lomas' waterpond eyes were now like frozen, ice-covered oceans. He was standing so close to Starbuck that they seemed to be embracing without touching.

"Starbuck…" Lomas smiled. "How much do you really know about your childhood?"

"None of your business, you daggit!" Starbuck wanted to be furious. He wanted to hate that leering monster standing so close to him, but his feelings were somehow paralized. The only thing that was left was fear.

"What lies has Chameleon told you?" Lomas raised one eyebrow.

"Why for frack's sake are you so interested in me, Lomas?" Starbuck wanted to yell and scream but his voice remained a whisper. "Why for sagan's sake am I here? I have to go on patrol in half a centar. I don't have time to stand here and play these stupid little games that obviously entertain you so enormously!"

Lomas smiled at Starbuck, amused.

"So, you damn freak of a devil, if you don't have anything more meaningful to say this very micron I'm off to find some frack a lot more intriguing company…" Starbuck needed all his will power to turn away from Lomas and start walking towards the exit.

He reached the door and placed his hand on the button.

Lomas' soft steps echoed from behind.

Lomas took a hold of Starbuck's arm and made him turn around, to face him.

Starbuck found himself once more devoured by those icy oceans that used to be eyes.

Lomas took a strong hold of Starbuck by the back of his head and slowly brought his own face closer and closer until his lips lightly touched Starbuck's.

A kiss, but not a beautiful one.

A kiss, that slashed open Starbuck's heart and pulled out everything warm and pleasant, replacing them with horror and coldness.

Their lips parted. Slowly. Lomas almost touched Starbuck's cheek but then let his hand drop. The beautiful man's face was serene as he spoke. "Welcome to my world of rivers, my brother."

Starbuck almost burst out laughing. "Yeah, I know you have a weird way of expressing yourself, but do you mind if you didn't refer to me as your brother. It doesn't really sound like something we would ever be." Starbuck was releaved. The man was obviously as crazy as those old chimpanzees on the livestock ship, and definately harmless in the end. Starbuck turned to go. "Well, if you excuse me…" He grinned at Lomas. "Duty calls." Starbuck started towards the door. "I'll leave you now with all the other lunatic brothers you have on this ship of fruitcakes." Starbuck was still grinning. "Your real brothers…"

Lomas smiled. "Do you think I am using symbolic expressions, Starbuck."

Starbuck had once again reached the door and wasn't really listening to that lunatic freak any longer. He just wanted to get out of this place and get to Apollo to tell his about this monkey of a man.

Lomas' eyes followed Starbuck to the door. "I never use meaningless symbolic expressions, Starbuck." Lomas was still smiling. "Besides, aren't you forgetting something, beautiful…" Lomas paused.

Starbuck was just about to press the red button.

"The forest of Umbra, Starbuck. The dark forest."

Starbuck turned. "So? Not very hard to remember that I once told about that night and my childhood on the IFB broadcasting…"

Lomas kept his eyes on Starbuck. "Yes. But what you didn't tell in that broadcasting was that someone came to see you in that orphanage."

* * *

Cree kept running. He was out of breath and he had no idea if he was going to the right direction or was even in the right corridor any more. For sagan's sake, those metallic hallways crossed each other endlessly and they all looked the same.

Oh, but Cree couldn't stop. He had to get to Lomas.

* * *

Starbuck was suddenly not at all so releaved any more. This was something he had been forcing out of his mind for so long he had almost forgotten about it. The cold chills that rushed into his body made him shiver.

Lomas walked to Starbuck. "When you had been in that orphanage for three years, someone came to see you. Isn't that right Starbuck…"

"How do you know…" Starbuck's voice was suddenly choked. It became harder to breath.

Lomas continued. "Someone, a little boy who claimed to be your brother, came to visit you…"

Oh lords. Starbuck didn't want to remember.

"You of course told him to get lost, didn't you Starbuck…" Lomas was now in front of the pilot. "You were pretending to be so powerful and invincible." Lomas smiled. "But you knew. Even then you knew…"

Starbuck closed his eyes. Suddenly he was a child again, sitting in the deteriorating living room of the Umbra orphanage. In front of him was a blond, little boy. A boy about the same age as he was. A boy that had an innocent smile and a horrifying story to tell.

Starbuck's real parents were never married. His mother had abandoned him the moment he was born, leaving him inside a garbage can in the corner of Corellian Street, a quiet cross street of Capricornia Avenue. The main street of Caprica City.

A squadron of young traffic controllers had found the little baby and taken him to the headquarters of SSSC, the street supervising squadron of Caprica City. And it must have been the baby's lucky day because a man named Chameleon worked in that place at the time as a book keeper. He ended up having custody of that child and so Starbuck's first four years were happy ones.

The family Chameleon moved to Cyrannus, about a yahren before the cylons came and raided the place. Young Chameleon Junior went astray from his surrogate parents during that raid and got lost in the endless forest of umbra. Alone and frightened.

Chameleon Junior was taken to the Umbra orphanage where he had to consent to spend his unhappy childhood yahrens. There was no other place he could have gone to. He was told that his parents had most probably died. No one in the orphanage knew who the little boy or his parents were, and so the boy was re-christened as Starbuck. Not least because of his obviously adventurous nature.

After spending three yahrens in that horrible place, an instructioness came to Starbuck to tell him he had a visitor. Starbuck's heart had leaped. He had been so sure his parents had finally come to get him out of that forsaken place. Starbuck had rushed to the main living room but there had only been a little boy.

Starbuck didn't remember the boy's name after the incident, but he sure did remember for a long time what the boy had told him.

The boy had claimed to be Starbuck's brother. He had told a horrifying story about garbage cans and abandonment. Starbuck had wanted to shut his ears from all this felgercarb but the boy had kept on speaking. He had told Starbuck who his real father was, but the name hadn't meant anything to Starbuck so he had forgotten it the micron he had heard it. The boy had seemed so honest and Starbuck had hated him so much.

Starbuck never saw the boy again after that. Never. So, in the yahrens to come, Starbuck had almost succeeded in forgetting all that felgercarb. Almost. Not completely however, because in some unexplainable way, in the depths of his heart, Starbuck had always suspected the boy had been telling the truth.

So Chameleon had been honest with Starbuck the whole time he had been denying his blood relation. But how in heavens did that old man succeed in fumbling with the test results. Starbuck knew that Cassiopeia would never lie about a thing like that…

"Chameleon is a talented swindler, Starbuck" Lomas knew what Starbuck was thinking. "He had his ways…"

Starbuck and Lomas were standing face to face in that dark isolation chamber.

"I was the little boy who came to see you." Lomas smile was somehow melancholic. "I am your brother Starbuck."

"No!" Starbuck's scream remained a whisper.

"But you were luckier than me, my brother. You escaped in time." Lomas' face was now the only thing Starbuck saw in that room. "Our father never had the chance to…get to know you better…"

"By heavens…" Starbuck couldn't listen.

"Our father… Baltar. He never had a chance to… touch you, Starbuck." Lomas' eyes were glazing.

Starbuck covered his ears.

"But the rivers are still there in your mind, my brother." The dim lights in the room seemed to grow darker. "You and I, Starbuck. We are one."

"NOOOO!" Starbuck screamed from the depths of his lungs and dived towards the bed. He grabbed the laser gun and pointed it at Lomas. The man, who was now destroying everything that Starbuck had built. All the foundations of his world. "You are lying! Please tell me you are insane!"

Lomas didn't answer. The expression in his eyes was tranquil, like the look in the eyes of capricorns in the time of dawn. "Release the rivers, Starbuck."

"STOP! STARBUCK, BY THE LORDS OF KOBOL!" Cree was there, standing by the door, his eyes wide with horror. "Please Starbuck, put the gun down!"

"Let the rivers flow inside you mind, my brother." Lomas' pale eyes were gleaming.

Starbuck was paralized. He kept pointing the laser gun at Lomas, his finger so close to the trigger. He wanted to kill this monster who was telling him all these lies. Starbuck wanted to see the lights of insanity go out from those pale eyes. His finger crept closer to the trigger.

"Starbuck, I'm begging you!" Cree was crying.

The doctor with thick eyeglasses rushed to the door, panicking. "Young man, the guards are on their way. Put down the weapon NOW!"

Lomas was smiling. "My brother." He whispered.

* * *

Boomer had finished packing. He had made up his mind. Slowly he put the rucksack on the floor. Then he walked to the table where Starbuck had left a pack of fumarellos by accident, the last time he had been in Boomer's quarters.

Boomer took one of the fumarellos out of the pack, put it in his mouth and lit it. Sagan it tasted like felgercarb. Boomer never puffed those things, but this time, he just needed one. This patrol was going to be the last time Boomer would perform his duties as a squadron pilot and a trained warrior.

He smoked the whole fumarello in silence, smoke curling around him, all over the quarters. Turning the place ethereal. Boomer turned and stubbed out the thing. He watched until the podge slowly extinguished. Then he picked up the rucksack and left his quarters without looking back.

* * *

Starbuck was squeezing the laser gun hard in his hands. His finger was caressing the tiny trigger. Four guards had dashed to the open doorway, pointing their laser guns at Starbuck.

Cree couldn't see properly through the tears of despair that veiled his eyes.

The clown of a doctor was wiping his sweaty forehead with a white napkin. "Please, young man. Put down the gun."

Sagan how that old man irritated Starbuck. No wonder Lomas was more crazy than ever if he had been treated by people like that!…

Starbuck's forefinger put more pressure on the trigger, and it moved. Just a tiny fraction.

Lomas' huge eyes were staring at Starbuck. Excited eyes. By lords the man wanted to be shot!

Starbuck couldn't think straight. His whole life had just crashed. He was the son a madman! And his brother was his worst enemy! Starbuck was staring at Lomas' beautiful face but all he saw now was Baltar's deceitful eyes. His own father's eyes.

By heavens, his own eyes…

Starbuck turned the gun away from Lomas and pointed it to his own head. He closed his eyes as his finger put more pressure on the trigger…

* * *

Where the frack was Starbuck! Apollo kept pacing around the quarters, growing more and more concerned. They were due to go on that patrol in five centons!! Apollo had already contacted all the people he could think of, but no one seemed to know where that frack of a man was! Well, he better get his pretty butt back in microns or there would be felgercarb to pay.

* * *

Someone grabbed Starbuck's wrist and tried to force the laser gun away from his hands. It was one of the guards. In a fraction of microns Starbuck noticed how Cree was running to Lomas, crying. How the doctor was still wiping his forehead with the stupid tissue. And how the other guards were still pointing their guns at Starbuck. The laser gun fell to the floor. Starbuck didn't find the inner strength to keep struggling. He collapsed to the floor and covered his face with his hands.

The doctor walked to Starbuck. "I know how you must be feeling, young man. Hearing about your identity in such horrendous way…" The doctor knealed before Starbuck and tried to look into his eyes. "…But believe me, that it will get easier…"

"Get the frack away from me!" Starbuck struggled to his feet. He ran to the door and past the guards. All the way down the corridors to the entering lounge. He ran desperately as fast as he could, trying to get away from the horrible truth and the soul-tearing agony. Trying to escape the real identity of himself.

***

"Starbuck!" Apollo flew to the door. "Where in the names of the lords have you been?? We were supposed to go on patrol fifteen centons ago!!" Apollo was angry as frack but his relief was more powerful. He embraced his blond warrior lover and hugged him so tight. "I was so frightened that something horrible had happened to you Starbuck!" Apollo hugged Starbuck so tight the man was hardly able to breath. "Where have you been?…"

Starbuck couldn't bare this. He pushed Apollo away, not hard but firmly. He couldn't even look at Apollo in the eyes. "I have to get away from this place!" Starbuck loped to the closet, pulled out his rucksack and started throwing his things in it. "The sooner we go on that patrol the better. I just… I have to get away!"

"Starbuck. What has happened to you?" Apollo was frightened now. Starbuck's eyes were too pale, too pained. "Where did Cree take you?…" Apollo felt a sudden wave of fury flashing though his body. If that cadet had done something to hurt Starbuck…

Starbuck closed the zipper of the bag and picked it up. He still couldn't look at Apollo.

"Believe me when I tell you that you don't want to know!" Starbuck rushed past Apollo towards the open door. "Let's go!"

Apollo flew after him and took a hold of his jacket. "Hey, wait a micron. Starbuck. You better tell me what's going on…"

Starbuck turned. This time his eyes looked straight into Apollo's. "I just found out who I really am." His grin was frighteningly sarcastic. "And I just happened to meet my lovable brother!"

What???" Apollo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Who…"

Starbuck was already on his way down the corridor.

Apollo quickly picked up his rucksack and the other equipment and ran after his lover. By the elevators he caught Starbuck and forced him to turn. "Please tell me what in heavens are you babbling about?! What do you mean you met your brother?!" Apollo was out of breath. "For sagan's sake Starbuck…"

Starbuck's tired eyes turned to look at Apollo. "You will find out, my love. Very soon." Starbuck's smile was so sad. "But when you do find out…" Starbuck sighed. "You will start hating me, Apollo."

"No way in eternity Starbuck!" Apollo was horrified to hear him say such things. "Nothing in this universe could ever cause me to stop loving you!"

Starbuck was still smiling. He softly touched Apollo's cheek. "I love you so much, my angel." Starbuck's tender whisper echoed from the bare metallic walls. "I will never stop loving you, no matter what happens." Oh, how Starbuck's heart ached. He tenderly kissed Apollo. So tenderly that it was almost painful. "Please try to understand that what I am about to do is for the best!"

"What? Hey…"

Starbuck turned and stepped into the elevator.

* * *

Cree couldn't leave his beautiful mentor. He was still holding Lomas. Pressing the man's beautiful head against his chest as hard as he could, so the man would hear Cree's desperately beating heart.

Lomas' eyes were closed. He was now so tired. So tired of remembering.

"Please father. Please let me go…" The little boy was in his daddy's arms.

Daddy was caressing the boy's soft cheeks with his ragged fingertips. "That is no way to talk to daddy dearest!" Baltar smiled to the boy. "You wouldn't want daddy to get angry now, would you…"

The boy couldn't answer. His father's fingers were touching his tiny, sensitive lips.

Baltar pulled little Lomas closer and whispered in his ear. "Now, remember, son…"

Lomas heard the rivers of his father's soft whispers echoing in his head.

"You have to promise that you will never tell a soul about our little secret…" Baltar's lips were so close they were touching the boy's ear. "If you disappoint your daddy…" Baltar's fingers ran through the boy's wavy hair. "Daddy will come and cut your prescious little throat…"

The six-year-old Lomas could feel the currents of air as his father spoke.

Currents and dark rivers.

"Do you understand, now, my pretty one?…"

"Yes father." Lomas' answer was barely audible.

Baltar's hand was stroking the little boy's thighs now, moving up. Closer to his tiny penis.

Lomas closed his eyes. He hated his father. Hated so much that his little heart was about to burst.

* * *

"We have now information that the blue squadron will be launching is seven centons." Rigel reported to commander Adama without looking him. "Shall I start inserting the clearance data?"

"Please do." The old commander replied absent-mindedly. He had spotted Tigh by the entrance of the bridge, walking hastily towards him and Rigel.

"Colonel." Adama smiled. "I'm quite surprised by your eagerness to start your duty shift twenty five centons before due."

"Commander…" Tigh reached Adama's side. "There has been another slaughter…"

"What?" Adama kept his now alert eyes on Tigh. "On the Galactica? Have they all been on the battlestar so far?…"

"Yes commander." Tigh spoke with formality. "This is the third one."

Tigh paused for a micron and took a deep breath.

"The victim has been identified as corporal Lewis. He was found near the recreation chambers about fifteen centons ago."

"By heavens…" Adama waited for Tigh to continue.

"The murder weapon appears to be very alike the one used in the two previous cases. The victim is… well, to put it frankly sir. The victim is completely butchered…" Tigh shuddered. He had seen the body, or rather the remains of it, with his own eyes. "We will have more information in less than two centars. Doctor Salik is prepairing for the autopsy as we speak."

Adama's gaze lingered in darkness outside the windows for a while. Then he turned to look at Tigh. A very serious look.

"Colonel. It looks like we have a serial killer amongst us…"

* * *

Chapter 10

The blue squadron vipers landed on the planet Probability at approximately 2 centars after midday.

Apollo climbed down from his viper and looked around the place, amazed.

Apart from Starbuck and Boomer, he saw no one else. The whole place was deserted. Well, actually, it was better that way. They would have time to observe the local inhabitants before they would be discovered themselves. But how breathtakingly beautiful the place was! Far away in the horizon, endless rugged mountains were reaching for the blue sky. Most of those mountains were so high that their tops were covered with a thick veil of white clouds.

The area where the vipers had landed was a enormous field, bursting with wild flowers and tall grass. A couple of trees were growing here and there, their heart-shaped leaves rustling in the mild afternoon wind. And where the field ended, a forest of extremely tall trees started. A forest, that seemed to grow all the way to the mountains and must have covered an area of at least two hundred metrics.

Apollo had never before seen such a clear day. One could see so far away into the distance that it felt like you could almost extend your hand and touch the mountains. The wild flowers filled the air with a scent of mild perfume, and few buzzers were swarming around those flowers.

Starbuck walked to Apollo. "By heavens! This place must be paradise!" He kept looking around the beautiful, peaceful landscape. "Now I'm definately sure this place is Earth! No question about it whatsoever!"

Apollo's eyes lingered on Starbuck for a long time. He was very concerned about his friend and lover. Starbuck had not consented to talk about his obviously terrifying experience, and Apollo was bursting with worry. He had done his best to make Starbuck open up, but the man had not said one word about it. Nothing! Apollo couldn't understand.

And now Starbuck was acting so carefree, like he was the happiest man in the star system.

But Apollo saw under the surface. He knew Starbuck much too well. Inside, the man was screaming from agony and terror. Apollo sighed sadly. The orphanage had brought Starbuck up well. He was too good at hiding his heart if he wanted.

Boomer had appeared there beside Apollo and Starbuck. "All right." Boomer's hands were on his hips as he eyed his companions. "Now what?"

"It's so strange that there is no sign of human life in a place like this!" Apollo kept looking at the forest and the breathtaking mountains.

"Yeah! If I lived on this planet, this field would be the first place where I would build my home." Starbuck grinned. "And then, all the other ten homes in the place where all the other people are."

Boomer glanced at Starbuck. "Oh, you're already planning for your future as a millionaire."

"Sure am!" Starbuck took a pack of fumarello from his jacket's pocket.

Apollo spoke. "I think we better check out the scanner readings. The inhabited areas cannot be that far away. If we get moving now, we'll reach them before it gets dark." Apollo glanced at the blue, bright sky. "If it ever gets dark in this place…"

* * *

Lomas was sitting in the office of the doctor with thick eyeglasses. This was the very first time the doctor had invited Lomas to have a conversation with him in his office. Lomas had no idea what to expect. But he sat there, in front of the doctor, looking very calm and serene. So beautiful that the doctor found it hard to look at that man.

"Do you have any idea why I asked you to come…" The doctor took off his eyeglasses and started wiping them with a white tissue. Probably the same one he always wiped his forehead with.

Lomas didn't answer. He smiled a little, waiting for the doctor to continue.

"We have decided to…" The doctor put his glasses back on. "…Let you leave the Sagittarian."

The doctor expected to see Lomas very suprised, overwhelmed, ecstatic, but to his amazement the young man remained too tranquil. Not a fraction of expression changed on his enticing face. The doctor swallowed. "After consulting with few of my colleagues, we came to a conclusion that there is nothing more we can do for you, young man."

Lomas stared at the doctor.

"So, you could say that…ummm…" The doctor glanced at some papers on the table, just so he wouldn't have to look into those pale eyes. "…That you are cured." The doctor coughed. "You will be released in just few days. After all the paperwork is finished."

Lomas couldn't believe his ears. "Where would I go?" He asked, quietly.

"We have negotiated with the head personnel of the Piscean. They are ready to accomodate you."

"The Piscean…" Lomas tasted that word in his mouth. He knew it was one of the worst places in the fleet. The pisceans lived under strict, religious rules, and those who went astray were harshly punished.

"You may return to your quarters for now." The doctors eyes followed Lomas as the man stood up and walked out of the office, softly closing the door behind him.

The doctor sure was relieved this conversation was over. He always felt uncomfortable in the company of that strange young man. The doctor knew it was the worst possible decision to let Lomas leave, but the man couldn't stay on the Sagittarian any longer, that was for sure. There was nothing they could do to cure that man's dark mind. It was time to give up trying.

* * *

Lomas stepped inside his dark chamber and heard the door closing behind him. He slowly looked around the quarters. Looked at every little detail of that ascetic room. So, it was time to leave, huh. Fine. Lomas had known it was to happen sooner or later. But the forsaken Piscean… Oh, he would never set foot on that damn ship, that was for fracking sure. He had other plans. And perhaps Starbuck would be strong enough to be a part of those plans.

Lomas smiled. "My brother." He whispered.

* * *

A long haired, dark man opened the gates. Then he turned to look at the others. "You can consider yourself extremely lucky that I found you in time." The man's voice was surprisingly low, but quite pleasant. "In half a centar it will be dark. We have to hurry!"

Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer followed the dark man through the gateway.

"No man can survive above the water when darkness falls." The man was walking quite fast. Apollo and the others had to almost run to keep up with him. "When the sun sets, the atmospere goes through a chemical reaction. A very harmful reaction."

They reached another gateway. A bigger one.

"The oxygen molecules are exposed to syflos gas when the temperature drops below 25 cekrans. Which it always does when the darkness falls and the moons rise." The man turned to face the others again. "That is why our communities live above ground during daytime, and then escape to the cities of benightment for the centars of darkness."

Apollo kept his eyes on the man. "We understand."

Boomer was standing a couple of steps behind Apollo and Starbuck. "So that is why you have inhabited only a fraction of the planet…"

"Exactly." The man smiled. "Only a fraction of the subterranean areas..." The man paused as he concentrated in opening the final gate. "…And always the districts closest to the oceans. We could not live on this planet otherwise."

Starbuck stared at the man. "Excuse me if I sound like a moron now, but how in heavens are you guys able to breath under water??"

The man looked at Starbuck. "Good question." He grinned. "You will not notice it but our cities are built inside enormous, almost endless caves. They are so huge one can not usually see the walls. Most of the people in our communities have probably even forgot that our residential areas are in fact cavernous."

Apollo wanted to know more. "But how about the oxygen in these caves. How can it be enough for all the people… Errr, how many people did you say that approximately live on this planet?"

"For lords' sake" The man laughed. "I could never say. Billions! No one knows for sure. But in my community, we have approximately seven to eight million inhabitants." The man's dark brown eyes were on Apollo. "And what comes to our oxygen supplies… We have a very developed mechanism that turns carbon dioxide into oxygen."

"But if your system is so developed, maybe in time you could fight those syflon gas molecules, turn them into oxygen, or at least carbon dioxide, which you could then turn to oxygen…"

"You are very intelligent, my friend." The dark man grinned at Apollo. "Yes. We are hoping to be able to do that some day. But for now, we will have to spend our nights under these oceans." The man smiled and gestured to Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer to follow him. "Please, come. When we go through this gateway, those syflon molecules cannot harm us." The man turned to go. "Please follow me."

* * *

Tigh kept his eyes on Kadeem. They were in Tigh's quarters. Together alone. Adama was on the bridge, following closely the development of the expedition to the planet Probability.

"All I can say is that you follow your heart." Tigh replied to Kadeem's flood of words. "If you ask me…" Tigh smiled. "…There is nothing wrong with experiencing new emotions and horizons."

Kadeem's heart was racing. He was listening to Tigh very carefully.

"Just do what you want, Kadeem!" Tigh slowly stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me I have to get back to the bridge!"

Kadeem stood up too. He was smiling at Tigh very warmly, very thankfully.

"I guess I'll be seeing you on the textile ship." Tigh grinned. Kadeem shook the older man's hand and started to walk towards the door.

"And if you want some really good advise…"

Kadeem turned. Tigh's eyes were twinkling.

"I can highly recommend those famous Goscarot bras. They feel like ambrosa against you skin." Tigh grinned. "You'll find them on the omega side of the textile ship."

Kadeem's smile was from one ear to the other. "Thanks for the tip…"

* * *

They entered a world they had never seen before. The dark man led Starbuck, Boomer and Apollo to the edge of a balcony so they would have a good view of what was opening ahead and below of them. They all held their breath.

There had been enourmous cities on the twelve colonies but nothing like this. Skyscrapers that climbed all the way up to invisibility. And such skyscapers were everywhere, as far as one's eyes could possible carry. And the most suprising thing about those buildings was that they were all the same colour, the same size, and even the same shape.

"Yeah, looks like you can really get lost in that place!" Starbuck mumbled.

Streets and avenues were curling between those buildings like thousands of snakes. And all the roads were covered with something black that glimmered. It didn't look at all like asphalt. There were people everywhere, swarming on the glimmering streets like tiny dots.

The dark man looked at his guests. "This city is called Gezamâ. The Morning Of Hope."

"Beautiful name!" Apollo replied politely.

"The man smiled. Yes. It is. But the city itself is not at all so beautiful. Mindless violence, crime and deceit blossom on those glimmering streets. Violence. Such waste of human capabilities, isn't it." The man sighed. "Anyway. That is why I never spend my nights in that place." The man gestured to the others to follow. "Please, come."

"Where are we going?" Starbuck asked. "I sure do hope you know a safe way to get down from this place. We must be at least 1000 metrons above those streets…"

"We are not going down there." The man grinned. "I will take you to Camileon, The Fire Of Purple Clouds. That is the town where I live in."

The man took the others to a strangely fragile looking, silvery vehicle.

"You don't seriously think I going to climb into that pot, do you!" Starbuck eyed the thing extremely suspicious.

Apollo glanced at his lover. "Come on Starbuck, I'm sure it's a frack of a lot safer than what it looks like."

"Yeah right. And the cylons love us!"

"This is a boterra. The strongest flying object ever built in this star system." The man was amused by Starbuck's hesitation. "I promise you, there is no need to..."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Starbuck glanced up at the man. "Where are we?… I mean, what is this planet called? And this star system?…"

"Our ancient ancestors named this star system Escapade. If you are interested I will tell you about our history, but not now. Not here." The man was stepping into the vehicle. "Oh, and our planet is called Probability Of Distant Dreams."

"Frack!" Starbuck mumbled. "And I suppose the name Earth doesn't mean anything to you…"

The man raised his eyes. "Earth! How in heavens do you know…"

Excited, Apollo stepped closer to the man and the vehicle. "So…You know about Earth?"

The man looked suprised. "Well, of course I know about Earth! It's our sister planet!"

Apollo was almost afraid to ask. "Is it somewhere in this star system?…"

"No." The man replied. "Not in the system Escapade.

Apollo swallowed "Do you know where it is…"

The man kept his eyes on his guests. "If you don't mind, we should really be on our way as soon as possible. I promise I will tell you more about Earth when the time is more suitable."

Starbuck frowned.

"Now, please step into the vehicle." The man was already switching on the surprisingly silent engines. "By the way, you can call me Calbâ."

* * *

Athena looked around in the dark hallway to make felgercarbing sure no one would see her breaking into the Canaris. This was easy. She had stolen the key from Salik a long time ago, even before she had been emotionally involved with the boray.

The doors opened.

Athena took a careful peek inside the dark place. It was empty. All the patients were normally kept in the life center. The canaris was the medical shuttle, offering help to people who couldn't get to the life center on their own.

Athena stepped into the room. She didn't turn on the light. She could see well enough in the glimmer of stars behind the windows. Besides she knew where to look for the stuff she had come for. Without making any sound she crept to the glass cabinet beside the doctor's desk. The same key that opened the doors of the shuttle, fit into the lock of the cabinet. Athena's eyes searched the shelves. Where the frack was it! Finally she spotted the bottle near the thermometers.

Quickly Athena grabbed the bottle, closed the door of the cabinet and carefully locked it with the key. She turned to find her way back to the shuttle exit when she was suddenly blinded by a flashlight.

"By sagan! Is that you Athena?!?"

Athena dropped the bottle and jumped at least thirty metrons in the air. She didn't recognize the voice. Shit if it was one of the senior guards…

"Athena?" The person turned off the flashlight and Athena's eyes slowly adjusted to the starlight again. "Hey girl, what in heavens are you doing in this place…"

It was Aurora. Starbuck's ex-lover from Caprica. Athena's legs almost failed her from relief. "I could ask you the same thing, Aurora!!" Athena tried to calm down her breathing.

Aurora kept her eyes on Athena for a very long time in the darkness.

"What?" Athena rolled her eyes.

"I think we need to get out of here." Aurora whispered.

"You're fracking right!" Athena croaked. She started rushing to the door.

"Hey!!" Aurora hissed.

Athena looked at the woman impatiently. "What is it now?"

Aurora was smiling. "Don't forget the bottle!"

Athena stared at Aurora for a fraction of a micron. Then she turned and dashed back to the spot where she had dropped the bottle. She found it easily and soon both of the women were running swiftly along the coridor that led them away from the Canaris launching bay.

* * *

Starbuck kept his eyes closed during the whole horrifying flight on that pot of a vehicle. Such a shame, because he missed the undescribable landscape of the bottom of the seacaves. The animals and the plants. The clouds and the lights.The colours and the blackness. The entirety and the emptiness. He missed seeing of a completely new world.

The vehicle landed in the city of Camileon. How beautiful it was, Apollo kept thinking as he saw the panorama of the town as they were approaching it. So different from the dark metropolis of Gazamâ.

The man obviously wasn't very good at landing a plane. Starbuck was sure his butt would ache yahrens after this.

The man climbed out of the machine. "Welcome to my home." He smiled. Apollo and the others eyed the place with utter amazement. They were in a garden.

The colours were almost blinding. Boomer especially was really surprised how the colours had become so much more intense under water than above the ground where the sun painted them like a prism.

"This is…incredible!" He sighed. "Incredible!"

"Can you see those gates?" Calbâ walked to them and pointed at the huge gateway, visible in the distance.

"What about it?" Boomer asked.

"Never go beyond that gate." Calbâ said. "It's the entrance to the forbidden city." The man was not smiling. "Believe me, you do not want to go there."

"Why?" Starbuck raised his eyebrows. "Is that the underworld of gamblers and hustlers or what?"

"That city…" The man spoke. "Is the kingdom of the black queen."

* * *

Tigh was in the turbowashroom of his and Adama's quarters. Adama still hadn't returned from duty. Fine, it gave Tigh some time to enjoy the clothes he couldn't wear in public, under his uniform. Not to mention he could put some make up on…oh lords.

Tigh was looking at himself in the mirror. His pink panties and a matching pink bra were a bit too small, but Tigh didn't care. They looked great. And they felt great.

Tigh dug his favourite lipstick out of the paper bag he always kept hidden from Adama's eyes, and started to caress his lips with it. He was on fire. Now the pink panties were definately too small!

The turbowashroom door opened. Tigh turned, horrified! He had forgotten to lock it. Adama was standing there, by the doorway, dressed in a blue velvet robe. He stared at Tigh without any expression on his face.

Centons must have passed. Tigh was sure he was going to die and go to hell. Adama would definately dump his transvestite of a husband.

Tears were burning behind Tigh's eyes. He knew Adama would never accept Tigh's new world!

The expression on Adama's face still had not changed. It was so blank that Tigh wanted to scream. "What is the meaning of this?" Adama's tone was just as expressionless as his face.

Tigh wanted so much to explain but there was nothing he could say. He just stared at his husband in silence, his heart aching from shame.

"How long has this been going on?"

Tigh still couldn't answer. He just… couldn't.

"Is this going to become… a habit?"

Tigh couldn't bare this. "Please, Adama, please…"

Adama raised one eyebrow.

He let the blue robe slowly fall to the floor.

Tigh gasped.

Adama was wearing a crimson corset and red fishnet stockings… His smile was wide. "Come here you naughty boy…"

* * *

Calbâ led Apollo, Boomer and Starbuck to a yellow kitchen of his house. He gestured to them to take their seats at the table while he would fetch them a drink from the cellar. A bottle of the finest docarello you can find under these oceans, the man bragged. "I'll be right back."

"The black queen…" Starbuck said half aloud. He grinned. "Sounds like something Boomer would like…"

Apollo laughed. Boomer gave Starbuck a glare. "Oh the loverboy jokes are about to begin, are they…"

"Don't tell me you didn't find Vishnor in the least fascinating." Starbuck was grinning. "Especially as he was wearing a mere kettle holder which didn't really cover his…"

"You are incurable Starbuck!" Boomer rolled his eyes.

Apollo smiled slowly faded. Talking about Cerigta had reminded him of Lomas. "So horrible…" He whispered, more to himself than to anyone else.

"What is?" Starbuck looked at Apollo.

"What Baltar did to his son… incest…"

"Yeah…" Someone just stabbed a hundred knives all over Starbuck's body, but he somehow managed not to show his hurting at all. "Definately gives a whole new meaning to the saying: Here comes daddy!" Starbuck grinned.

Apollo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Starbuck you are unbelievable!"

Starbuck grinned. "That's me!"

Calbâ entered the kitchen carrying two bottles of docarello. "You are definately going to like these!" Calbâ put the bottles on the table, fetched four cups from the cupboard and sat down at the table with the rest of them. "So, you want to hear about Earth…" Calbâ poured himself a drink.

Apollo told Calbâ what they had discovered on Caydra and why they had come to this planet Probability Of Distant Dreams. He told about the diary, the new race and the map.

The man listened in silence. It wasn't until Apollo had finished his story that the man spoke.

"You are right. The thirteenth tribe came to this planet, thinking that this was Earth."

"What happened?" Boomer asked with curiousity.

The man poured docarello into the cups. "Yes, we are descendants of the thirteenth tribe."

Apollo gasped. "Go on!"

"You were right. The tribe did stay on this planet, for a very long time. In fact, those people were the ones that started building these cities under the oceans." The man took a sip from his cup. "The first squadrons that the mother ship had sent to explore this planet before entering its atmosphere found out about the syflos gas the hard way. A hundred people died…"

Calbâ suddenly arose from his chair. "Oh dear, how inconsiderate of me…"

"What?" Boomer eyed the man.

"You guys must be hungry." Calbâ smiled. "Can I offer you some dabatas or…"

No, no, no, no, no!" Apollo impatiently tossed his hand. "Please, just go on with your story…"

"The thirteenth tribe lived under the oceans for at least two hundred and fifty yahrens according to the ancient carbon regimantals. The people did realize that this was not the planet they had been looking for, but for a little while, it didn't matter. They were happy, it didn't matter if it was just for a micron in a millenium. Due to the harmful chemical reaction, the planet had until that day been totally uninhabited. Now it became over-exploited by thousands of humans whose technology was not in the least as advanced as our's is now. People started dying of starvation. And there wasn't enough oxygen in the caves, so too many people suffocated to death. The communities made up their minds to rejoin together and continue their voyage. And so they did, except for a little part of the tribe's population who wanted to stay behind. Those people succeeded in establishing lives on the planet in spite of the syflos gas. And there were now only a handful of humans, so the oxygen supplies were sufficient and there was enough food to feed the communities. Besides, those humans were obviously no imbecils. They are the reason why our technology is now so advanced. They started all the reseach and the manufacturing." The man paused. He took another sip from the cup. "And then arrived the army of the black queen. After yahrens and yahrens of desperation and war, the humans finally won their victory over the black army. But so many men had been lost, so many yahrens wasted. The black queen backed off. She withdrew her army and fled to the only place that was not yet commuted by humans. The districts of the Jecâra. The Ocean Of Disbelief."

Starbuck eyed the man like he was out of his mind. "The black queen? You mean the same black queen that now controls the forbidden city?"

"The same one." Calbâ nodded.

Starbuck raised one eyebrow. "For Kobol's sake! The witch must be senile and harmless by now!! Are you sure she didn't happen to, like… die, a couple of thousand yahrens ago…"

"She's alive." Calbâ's voice was serene. "She's eternal. Just like the power of the universe, she's everlasting, infinate. Overpowering."

"Sounds like my grandmother." Boomer grimaced. He was suddenly reminded of the agonizing family reunions back on Caprica when he had been a kid.

Calbâ smiled. Apollo and Starbuck grinned.

Calba poured himself another cupful. "Besides…" Calba eyed his guests. "The black queen is not a woman."

"Great, What is she then? A hairy male with tons of make up?" Starbuck grinned.

"No one knows what she is." Calbâ looked at Starbuck. "No man, who is alive today, has seen her."

To PART 2