This will be a series of stand-alone stories which deal with the choices that the characters on Battlestar Galactica have made throughout the first half of the second season (I'll be posting in as much of the order of the season as I can). I want to explore what would have happened/changed if things had gone differently. Some of the stories will be angst, some will be shippy, some will be funny. There will be different pairings throughout. Don't feel like you have to check out each one to understand the others. All I ask is that if it intrigues you, then give it a try. Hope you enjoy reading the stories as much as I enjoyed writing them!
There are pivotal moments in one's life where if you take the wrong path everything may change. Those changes may be for the good or for the bad. The possibilities are endless.
Kara Thrace could hear the crisp, clean sound of her father's piano. It echoed in her head as she pulled the Raider out of its jump. It had haunted her so much that she pushed her common sense to the side and took Helo to the apartment she kept in Delphi. She had to hear the music again.
Who knew that they would run into a resistance group that had their heads so far up their asses they couldn't see a good thing when it was pointing a gun in their face?
Kara pushed the memories of what had happened to Helo out of her mind as she focused on piloting the ship the last few miles home. It had taken so long to get here, and it seemed like she had sacrificed so much. At this point, there was only one sure thing in her life, and that was the desperate need to get the object currently nestled against her side back to the Fleet.
With a quick flick of a switch, Kara opened the comm channel. She didn't want a repeat like what happened last time she flew a Raider into Fleet airspace. "Galactica, Starbuck. Requesting permission to land."
As Kara had guessed, it was Dee's voice that responded to her request. "Acknowledged." She heard the comm cut off and figured Dee was getting confirmation from the Old Man to give her clearance. "Starbuck, you are clear to land in Tunnel C. Galactica Actual has instructed me to tell you that if you do one thing out of the ordinary, you will be shot out of the sky."
Okay. The Old Man was holding a small grudge, she guessed. "Wilco," she said before knocking the comm switch back to its off position.
Kara concentrated on flying the Raider as straight as she could and was pleased to see the CAP remain stationary in the sky above Galactica. A small part of her wondered if Lee was one of the pilots flying up there. She had thought about him a lot while on Caprica, specifically about what had happened between them right before she left. She wanted to apologize to him again.
The Raider touched down in the flight tube, and Kara could feel Galactica raise it up to enter the hangar bay. She knew that the crew was being gentle more to keep the ship from being harmed rather than keeping her from getting hurt. They wanted to study this thing more. It was one of the reasons she demanded Anders help her find a Raider instead of any available ship. She had taken it away from them so it was her duty to brig it back.
Kara disengaged the panel below her and slid out to stand on the hangar bay. She wasn't surprised to straighten up and see a whole pack of people waiting for her. The Old Man was up front and center with Colonel Tigh and a few other officers at his side. She scanned the room and was surprised to see that Lee was not one of them. He must have been flying CAP. The Chief was standing across the hangar bay, talking to his crew. Kara found it odd that he hadn't immediately come over to check out the Raider.
That's when she noticed the deck crew's eyes keep sliding to look not at her but someone over her shoulder. Kara turned to see two Marines had moved up behind her and were now standing ominously next to the Raider. Her attention shifted up onto the catwalk where there were even more Marines training their guns at her.
Kara scanned the rest of the hangar and realized two things were noticeably missing. Number one, no pilots were around to welcome her back, and number two, besides the Chief's whispering before, there was absolutely no movement anywhere in the room. This felt more like a hostage situation than a homecoming.
"So I brought it back in one piece," Kara said nervously. "Sort of." She looked to Adama for some sort of reassurance, but he only continued to stare at her coldly.
After a few excruciating painful moments of self-doubt, Adama finally motioned to the two Marines behind her. "I want Lieutenant Thrace to be escorted to the brig. She will stay there until she can be properly tried for her crimes.'
Kara felt like she had been smacked with a two-by-four. She knew Adama would be angry with her, but she hadn't actually expected him to send her to the brig. At least, she thought he would have explained first. The handcuffs snapped shut, and not sure of what else she could do, Kara let herself be led out of the hangar and into the corridors.
The steady beat of her father's music still rang in her head.