Disclaimer: The characters and situations of the TV
program Battlestar Galactica are the creations of SciFi,
Never Leave ~ Apollo’s Lady
Former Captain Lee Adama hunched behind the rocks with Lieutenants Kara “Starbuck” Thrace and Karl “Helo” Agathon. He struggled to control his breathing and his fear. The reality of their situation had settled in his mind. Now, he needed it to come to rest in his heart. Starbuck and Helo fired at the Cylons. Lee looked over at the rest of their ragtag group. Laura Roslin and Tom Zarek huddled a few steps away from them in the shelter of a tree.
Lee checked his ammunition and spoke carefully, so as not to have to repeat his words. “You two get the president and Zarek back to the Raptor. I’ll cover you.”
Helo said nothing. Starbuck looked at him as if he had just made a joke. “Frak that.”
Lee held her gaze and the firmness of his intent shown through his eyes, which had suddenly become cold blue. “That’s an order.”
Kara knew he was serious but she knew all too well what his plan meant and she would not allow that. “It’s a dumb one and you’re no longer a captain.”
Lee groaned and shot back. “Do you have a better one?”
She thought a moment. “We’re all going!” She looked at Helo for confirmation, but again, he neither said nor indicated anything. He turned and fired a few rounds.
Lee’s hand came up to his temple, paused a second and then rubbed through his hair in frustration. “Damn it, Starbuck. Can’t you just this once obey one of my frakin’ orders!” He paused a moment. “Just one. Just this once.” He didn’t bother to look at her.
Her guilt swelled up inside her. She knew she had brought him to this. She hadn’t done anything to make his job easier and then she’d gone and stolen the raider, further fraking up his life, forcing him to make decisions he hadn’t wanted to make. In a voice barely above a whisper and almost drowned out by the firefight around them, she replied. “Not this one. Not this one, Lee.”
With a groan, he reached up and pulled her down closer to him. Pain flared through his side at the action and he buckled forward for a few seconds. Kara reached out to steady him. He caught her hand and held it.
“Kara. Please. Let me do this. I’ve got nothing to go back for, nothing to fight for. I’ve lost. I can’t go back to Galactica…”
She cut him off. “Your dad…”
He moved his hand to her lips, halting them. “I’ve gone too far this time. I’ve finally fraked up in a way that he can’t forgive. Kara, he dishonorably discharged me and banned me from the Galactica. I think if he could have taken away my name, he would have done that too.” He shook his head slowly. “I’m surprised he didn’t have me blown out an airlock.” He was quiet as he considered the thought.
Kara laughed without joy. “See, he does care.” She knew her words were pathetic.
He looked back at her and smiled. “We came here at a high cost. We got what we needed. Let me do this. Let me do this one thing right. Save them.” He indicated to the two civilians.
“Lee, you don’t have to do this. We can get you out of here.” She looked again at his side. There was no blood, but they both knew the damage the centurion had caused Lee was internal.
It was Lee’s turn to laugh, mimicking hers. “Kara. Stop it. You don’t understand. We may have half the fleet up there but there’s no doctor.” He took her hand. “We both know I need a doctor.” He coughed and pain spasms again coursed through his body. “We have no idea where or when, frak, even if we’ll meet up with the fleet again. I don’t have that kind of time. The time I do have can save you.”
Kara couldn’t believe that she was letting Lee talk her into this. Her head knew he was right. She assembled a wall around her heart, not daring to let his logic get though. Tears threatened to roll from her eyes. “No, Lee. I can’t do this. Not you too.”
He smiled. The light and life returned to his blue eyes and she was lost. The wall crumbled. “You can because you know its what I want. What I need to do.” He could see in her face that he had won, or lost as the case were. “Save yourselves. Find the fleet. See my dad and find earth. You can do it.”
“Lee, your dad. He didn’t mean it. This’ll kill him.” Her protests sounded feeble.
Lee let a small, ponderous laugh out. “Maybe. Maybe he’ll feel a little bad at first. But then maybe, just maybe, he’ll find a little pride in me yet… if you let me do this for you.”
“For all of us. This will save the human race, Lee.”
“I’ll be happy if it saves you. He needs you.” He never took his eyes off her.
She choked on her words. She couldn’t say anything any more. She grabbed Helo’s arm. “Go to them and get ready to run.”
Helo looked at both warriors in front of him. He’d tried hard to ignore their conversation. He nodded to the Captain in understanding. “Where will you be?” He asked Kara.
She looked at Lee and then back to him. “Right behind you.”
Lee smiled. “Thank you, Lieutenants.”
A single tear spilled from her eye, down her cheek. She saluted him. “Sir, yes, Sir, Captain Adama.”
Lee returned her salute, took Helo’s extra weapon, checked his own supplies and nodded to them. Helo ducked and rolled over to Roslin and Zarek and informed them of the plan. Laura Roslin looked over to Lee but he refused to meet her eyes. He knew he couldn’t. He couldn’t handle any more good byes nor did he have time to argue with her as well.
Lee drew in as deep a breath as possible and turned his body to lie against the rock. He shouted at Kara, “GO!” He began firing in rapid succession with both guns drawn. He didn’t look back and neither did the group as they ran for freedom.
The Cylons, although limited in numbers, were moving in. He forced his body up and fired. He knew he was having success. The thrill pushed him on. He fired and fired, knowing each shot brought the small group closer to escape. He missed a centurion to his left and fired only after the bullet bit into his shoulder. He couldn’t control the cry of pain as it tore through his flesh. Instead of succumbing, he turned and fought even harder.
He didn’t slow down until he heard the roar of raptor engines. He felt the wave of relief flush over him. He couldn’t hold out much longer. He smiled, knowing they were safe. Click. One gun was empty. He continued to fire with the other until it too was empty. He stuck his head up just long enough to let the toasters know he was still alive. Then he slid down the rock surface, crumbling to his knees.
He struggled to stay conscious as his body fought for the relief of darkness. As he pulled the pin from the grenade clutched in his fist, he grinned. ‘No way you’re taking me alive, but I’m going to take a few of you with me.’
* bsg bsg bsg *
Kara’s heart pounded as she ran through the woods to the clearing where the raptor waited. She felt like she was dying. She knew it wasn’t from the effort of running. She forced herself to focus on the people in front of her and their safety, not on the man who was saving them all behind her.
Helo was already firing up the engines as she climbed up the ramp. Zarek and Roslin were strapping themselves into seats. Roslin questioned Starbuck as she climbed aboard. “Can’t we go back and help him?”
Kara pointed out the door she was closing. “Listen.”
Roslin didn’t understand. “I don’t hear anything.”
Starbuck closed the latch. “Exactly.” She coldly added. “No need to go back.”
She replaced Helo, who moved to his station. She was just about to lift off when another raptor suddenly appeared in her windshield. “What the…”
Helo squealed with joy, listening to the comm. channel. “It’s Galactica!”
The second raptor landed near them. As the doors opened, Kara didn’t even acknowledge Commander William Adama’s presence. She checked her gun and started back to where they’d come from.
Adama glanced at the small group, not seeing his purpose and immediately knew he needed to follow Kara. Helo watched the two go and looked back to the rest of the Galactica group. “You got a medic?”
One nodded. Helo continued. “Grab a stretcher and follow us.”
Adama’s fear and tension grew as he fought to catch up to Starbuck. He didn’t even know if she knew he was following her. She was intent on her goal. He reached out and grabbed her arm. She turned on him viciously and spit her words at him. “I trusted you. I defended you to him. I always sided with YOU. How could you?” She couldn’t face both her fear and anger. She pulled away from him and moved again.
He grabbed her arm again, hard. “Don’t you think I know that? Why do you think I’m here.”
She stopped, momentarily swayed by his words. Anger flooded back in. “Do you know what he said? He said he needed to do this one thing right so that maybe, just maybe, you’d finally find some pride in him.”
The words stung. “I’ve always been proud of him.” He had said the words to the air. Kara was already beyond him.
Kara stopped short. A lone Cylon was moving her direction. She fired repeatedly until it stopped. She brushed past it and moved toward the still figure, slumped down on the rock. Tears fell down her cheeks, knowing she had been too late. She saw blood now. She froze in her place.
Adama had fired at the Cylon as well and when it had fallen, he moved to Kara’s side and saw what she did. He heart crept into his throat. His mind shouted a million different things at him. ‘You’re too late. You blew it. You killed your son for sure this time. Why didn’t you try harder? Why hadn’t you listened to him? Why couldn’t you accept that your son is different from you? It's not like you helped raise him.’
He moved to his son, quietly calling out his name. Part of him hoped Lee was playing dead and would roll over and greet him. He knelt just behind his son and moved his hand to his shoulder. Slowly the hand moved of it’s own volition to Lee’s neck, checking for a pulse.
The surge of hope that rushed through him as he felt the weak, but ever present beat of life in his son, caused him to pull his son backward, into his arms. As he did so, he saw the primed grenade shift from Lee’s grasp. In that split second, William Adama accepted that at least he would die with his son in his arms.
The grey clothed arm shot past him and grabbed the grenade before Adama could react. He turned sideway in time to see Karl Agathon throw the explosive as hard as possible into the woods.
All he could do was mutter. “Helo? Thank you!”
Starbuck was still numb. It wasn’t until Helo was ordering the medic to move in and the three were loading Lee onto a stretcher, that she realized he was still alive. She met Adama’s eyes as they passed carrying Lee.
They loaded Lee into the Galactica raptor. Kara and Adama following Lee. Helo took note and went to their raptor. He’d be flying today. Laura Roslin attempted to talk to Adama. He looked at her briefly and grumbled. “Not now.” She smiled and understood.
** BSG **
A groan came from the bed and increased movement was seen behind closed lids. Starbuck was being examined in another area of life station. It had been a battle and only after Adama convinced her that he wasn’t going to cause Lee further pain, did she give in to Dr. Cottle’s demands. Adama knew he had some serious talking to do with her as well. Adama called out quietly to Lee, who was struggling to wake. He laid a gentle hand on Lee’s uninjured shoulder.
Lee’s eyes fluttered open and Adama saw both fear and confusion in the dark pools of blue.
“It’s alright, Son. It’s all right. You’re going to be fine. I promise.”
Lee said nothing. Adama couldn’t help but notice that Lee recoiled ever so slightly from him. He also watched his eyes roam the room.
Lee choked out one word. “Galactica?”
Adama smiled. “It’s where you belong. I was wrong about many things, Son. But I got one thing right.”
He saw the question in Lee’s eyes and smiled. He knew he had a chance to try again. “I told you that day in the hall. We’d never leave.”