From: Adam C Stacey <stacey@student.msu.edu>
Subject: Round Robin #1

		      BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

		      ROUND ROBIN STORY #1

	      By the Battlestar Galactica Listserv


     The summary of the story is that the Galactica has been
hijacked by a group of terrorists who demand sanctuary on the
nearest habitable planet and a promise that they will be left
alone.  They have seized control of the bridge with Commander
Adama, Lieutenant Athena and Jolly as hostages.  Sheba and Bojay
are on board the Rising Star.  Boxey and Muffit are wherever you
want them.  Omega is hiding in an alcove with access to the
bridge.  What's going to happen?  I'll begin the story and set up
this scenario.  Where the story goes from there is up to you.
But the terrorists must be an integral part for the most part and
can't be dumped right away to do something else.  You can throw
in a Cylon attack somewhere and see how they react.  In fact, I'd
encourage that.  No major characters can be killed, only red
shirts or their Colonial equivalent.  Wounded yes.  Killed no.
Oh, by the way, Borellian Nomen are running amok.  Maybe that's a
bit too extreme, you decide.  And please, no crossovers.
     
     
     "Omega, where is the present location of Colonel Tigh?"
asked Commander Adama from his command alcove overlooking the
bridge of the last battlestar.
     "He and Captain Apollo are inspecting the new modifications
to our Vipers," replied the dutiful bridge officer.
     "Very well.  I'll be in my quarters if you need me."
     "Yes, sir-"  A large sound reverberated off the walls of the
bridge.  Smoke issued out from behind a control panel on the far
side of the deck.
     "Fire teams to the bridge," ordered Adama.  "Omega, see
what's happening."
     Omega left his station, indicating for Athena to carry out
the Commander's orders.  The panel was blown out with sparks
emanating from inside where the wiring had been ripped apart.
Omega did his best to put out the fire with an emergency
extinguisher located nearby.  Meanwhile, he was inspecting the
panel to see which system would be affected by the burnout.
     Just then a second sound erupted across the bridge.  This
one even more powerful than the first.  Omega looked across the
bridge to see a wall panel ripped to shreds from the explosion
and a team of paramilitary figures running out through the
opening.  Noone had time to react as the dozen citizen soldiers
scrambled around the bridge with their weapons trained at the
crewmen.  Three security officers tried to stop them but were
gunned down immediately, without inflicting any casualties of
their own.  Commander Adama reached down to grab the laser pistol
stashed in a compartment atop his command pedestal but was kicked
in the back before he could reach it.  He looked up from his
dazed position to see a large man dressed in ragged clothing
pointing a laser pistol at his head.
     "Commander Adama," said the dark haired man above him.  "My
name is Sargon.  And you are my prisoner."

     Colonel Tigh and Captain Apollo were inspecting a Viper up
close while the leader of their engineering team was giving them
a tour of the modifications he had made to the existing design.
     "We've increased the engine output by thirty percent while
introducing a higher grade of solium that we've been
experimenting with which should maximize fuel efficiency.  We've
only run tests in the simulator but the results are promising."
     "When can it be ready for a test flight?" asked Colonel
Tigh.
     "I can have it ready in a few centaurs.  That is if I could
find anyone crazy enough to believe our reports of its safety."
     Apollo gazed at the machine and a small smile spread across
his face.
     "I might be able to find a volunteer."
     "I thought you might say that.  We've also taken the liberty
of installing this model with new scanning devices we've
developed.  In case any of our pilots has time to eject in a
battle, this Viper should be able to pick up human lifesigns
within a half a million metrons."
     "Fantastic, Dr. Boros."  Before Tigh could say another word,
the lighting went into battle mode and began flashing red.  But
no klaxon accompanied the altered lighting.
     "That's odd," said Dr. Boros out loud.  "I wonder why the
klaxon didn't sound?"
     Tigh's and Apollo's faces had grown several shades paler as
they recognized what it implied.
     "It's because there isn't an attack on the fleet," said
Apollo.  "Colonel?"
     "Right with you, Apollo.  I'll summon all warriors on duty.
I'll meet you at the bridge in ten centons."
     "What's going on?" said the doctor, obviously puzzled.
     Tigh had gone to the nearest communications unit on the wall
and began issuing orders.  When he was finished he turned to
Boros to explain the situation.  "That lighting is a signal.
Commander Adama devised it long ago when Baltar and some
Borellian Nomen nearly took control of the bridge.  It means that
the bridge has been taken hostage."
     "Good Lord," said the doctor.
     "I hope he is because we can use all the help we can get."
Tigh strode out of the landing bay towards the lift as he moved
to join Apollo outside the bridge.

     Two Vipers streaked through space as they returned from a
deep space reconnaisance probe to investigate the flight path of
the Battlestar Galactica and its entourage.  Little did the
pilots know that everything was far from normal on their
baseship.
     "Starbuck?"
     "Yeah, Boomer."
     "I'm not getting any signal back from the Galactica.  I've
checked the instruments and we're well within direct
communication range of the fleet."
     "I'll try to raise them.  Hang on a micron."  Starbuck
toggled the communications channel and talked into his helmet
communicator.  "Starbuck to Galactica do you read?"  Nothing
followed.  "This is Deep Recon One to the Galactica, come in
please?"  Still no response.  "It's not your equipment Boomer, I
can't get them either."
     "Well my scanner still reads them straight ahead," said
Boomer more puzzled than ever.  "And there's no sign of any Cylon
activity in the area."
     "Well we're not going to find out anything out here,"
returned Starbuck.
     The two Vipers continued on their course as they moved
closer to the mysteriously silent battlestar.

     "Sheba?" said Bojay, pestering his former wingmate for the
fifth time.  "Relax.  We came here for a break, remember?"
     "I know Bojay.  And I'll try.  It's just so hard."
     "Yeah, I know.  I miss the old war daggit too.  Sometimes I
can't believe that it's been a yahren since the Battle of
Gomoray."
     The two remained pensive for several centons, remembering
old times on the Pegasus.  Bojay had suggested this excursion, no
doubt to try to get Sheba's mind distracted at this joyless time.
He knew that she still missed her father very much, and he
couldn't blame her.  She had been at his side almost her whole
career.  It would be the same for Apollo if he had been forced to
suddenly leave his father and join another ship.
     The monitor above them was broadcasting the monthly
production that the children put on.  This play was about a fairy
who gest separated from her friends and leaves the Enchanted
Forest for the real world.  It was an attempt to retain some of
the culture that had been wiped out at the Peace Conference and
convey the history of their people onto a group of children who
could barely remember walking on terra firma looking up at a sky
instead of the cold metal plates of their new homes.  The
broadcast was interrupted suddenly as a slender woman came onto
the screen with the news booth behind her.  Bojay and Sheba both
caught the change and strained their ears to hear the message.
     "This just in.  Reports are that all contact with the
Galactica has been cut off.  There is no sign of any equipment
malfunction or evidence of Cylon attack.  Even now, ships are
scrambling to send shuttles to the battlestar in the hopes of
discovering what is happening.  We'll keep you informed as we
learn more about this situation."
     Bojay and Sheba exchanged a quick glance and headed for the
landing bay.  They had come over in a Galactica shuttle which
needed to deliver some supplies to the Rising Star anyway.  At
least they had a way of getting over to the Galactica.  Most of
the other shuttles would be tied up with intrafleet travel.  As
Sheba left the room, she caught an image out of the corner of her
eye that seemed rather odd.  As she hurried to the landing bay,
she went over the picture in her mind and could have sworn that
she had seen a Borellian Noman.  But her mind quickly returned to
the crisis at hand and she dismissed the thought, continuing onto
the landing bay on board the Rising Star.

			      Next!


Okay, a tally will now be conducted.  If anyone doesn't like
where this is going or where it started, speak now before the
next in line writes part two.

From: Eugenia Horne <HORNEUGN@fs.isu.edu>
Subject: Round Robin #1...Part 2

[Well, here you go...I bet you never ask to contribute
again...hahaha...you'll be begging for those crossovers...]

ROUND ROBIN STORY CONTINUES...PART 2

    "This is really odd, Bojay," Sheba muttered, while again trying
to hail the Galactica from the shuttle.  "There's nothing on any
frequency."  She continued to try various bands.
    " - is Recon One to Galactica..." Starbuck's voice suddenly came
through the shuttle's communications console.  "Hellloooo?  Is anyone
there?"
    "Starbuck, this is Sheba.  Are you having difficulty raising the
Galactica?"
    "Difficulty?" Starbuck answered.  "I haven't even been able to
raise static."
    "Something's really wrong," Boomer said.  "They've been silent
too long."
    "Adama would never let communications be out this long," Bojay
said.  "It would cripple the fleet's defenses."
    "I think there's something going on here besides an accidental
malfunction," Boomer said.  "And if the Galactica is having troubles,
it might be unwise to make a landing there until we know what's going
on."
    "Well, we can't just keep flying in circles."  Even Starbuck's
usual light tone sounded strained.
    "We're on the Rising Star.  Rendezvous here for the time being,"
Sheba suggested.
    "Save a gambling table for me," Starbuck acknowledged.  "We'll be
right in."

    "Hey, what's all the noise - " Jolly trotted onto the still smoky
bridge.  He stopped instantly as someone pointed a rather large laser
pistol in his face.  Knowing he was in serious trouble he raised his
hands, dropping the planned flight roster he had been carrying.  It
had just been his luck that it had been his turn to deliver the
flight roster to Adama this day.
    "Over there with the rest of them," his assailant snapped after
disarming Jolly.
    "I'm going.  I'm going.  No need to get pushy."  He stepped over
to where the rest of the bridge crew had been herded.  Jolly blanched
as he saw the damage that had been done to the bridge.  Omega wasn't
with the survivors which surprised Jolly.  That man never left his
post; the only logical alternative was that he wasn't able to
continue his duties.  Jolly shuddered.  He glanced at his captive
comrades.  Athena, blood staining her face and uniform, looked pale
and ready to cry, while Rigel looked stoic.  The others appeared to
still be in shock.
    "It'll be all right," he took Athena's cold, trembling hand.  She
had apparently been near the explosion as evidenced by the severe
laceration on her forehead.  Her uniform had also been torn in
several places and no doubt she had suffered further injuries the
extent of which Jolly was unable to determine.

    Tigh unlocked the door of the auxiliary bridge several decks
below and behind the main bridge.  Apollo and the hastily gathered
backup crew followed the Colonel in and began powering up the various
consoles.
    Tigh went to one particular instrument panel, immediately
engaging the controls.  After a few moments, an overhead view of the
main bridge appeared on the small screen.  Tigh could clearly see and
hear what was taking place.
    "Have you re-established flight communications?" Apollo asked,
standing next to the communications officer.  His father had been
fairly emphatic about the importance of restoring flight
communications between the Galactica and the fleet first in the event
of a disaster.
    "I'm having a little trouble re-routing," she said, working at
the problems.  "This should do it."  She snapped a final switch and
the normal, although subdued, chatter came through.
    "Try to locate Recon One," Apollo said leaning over the officer.
A moment later, Starbuck's voice came through.
    "Hey, we were wondering what happened to you."
    "Where are you?"  Apollo asked.
    "Heading over to the Rising Star to meet Sheba and Bojay.  What
is happening over there? "
    "We think the bridge has been seized; by whom, we don't know
yet."
    "Oh, frak.  Doesn't Council Security ever learn?"
    "Evidently not.  I'll get back to you."
    "We'll be waiting."
    Apollo strode over to where Tigh was watching the happenings
between Adama and another man on the bridge.
    "It looks like a concerted group of people have taken over," Tigh
muttered.
    "How did they manage to get to the bridge without being
challenged?"
    "I don't know.  Probably an inside source..."

    "What do you want?" Adama snapped, glowering at his captor.
    "We want free from this insane quest," Sargon growled back.
"You've dragged us along in pursuit of a fable for an eternity now."
    "I won't turn this fleet aside."
    "Did I say I wanted the fleet?  All I want is a few ships, some
supplies, and the coordinates to the nearest inhabitable planet."
    "I can't do that," Adama stated flatly in that tone intending to
convey that no argument was possible.  He had considered this
possibility long ago.  The fleet needed every resource it had brought
from the colonies or salvaged en route.  To give up even a few of
those resources could be devastating in the future.  For him to give
in to the demands of one fanatical group would only weaken his
authority among the diverse population held together only by the
common goal of survival.  No doubt the fleet would fragment into
smaller groups reducing any one ship's chances of reaching a
sanctuary.
    "Yes, you can..." Sargon hissed, glaring at Adama.
    A sudden cry among the crew broke the deadlocked gaze between
Sargon and Adama who both turned to look.
    "She needs a medtech," Jolly gasped, kneeling by Athena who had
collapsed.  Sargon smiled crookedly and returned his gaze to Adama.
The Commander remained outwardly controlled, but fury burned in his
eyes.
    "I won't consider another one of your petty demands until you
release her to the care of a medtech."
    "Fine, but I'm not letting your daughter out of this room,"
Sargon said almost cheerfully.  "Call a medtech.  Then we'll talk."
    "Omega - " Adama began automatically, then realized Omega wasn't
at his post.  He paused and stepped over to the communications
console.  It was inoperative.  He tried the emergency inter-ship line
with no more success.  He briefly glanced up towards the ceiling as
he made a few more motions with his hand.  "Tigh, get me a medtech
here.  Now."
    "And while were waiting, we can have that little discussion about
my demands."
    "I will not discuss anything until a medtech arrives," Adama said
flatly, crossing his arms.

    "I'm know what I'm doing," Cassiopiea said to Apollo, who had
traversed the Galactica in order to relay his father's order.
Internal communications had still not been fully restored, although
the flight system was up and operational.  Patrols were again
surveying the area.
    "You could get yourself killed," he said.
    "That's funny coming from someone who regularly puts himself in
front of the enemies' target sights," Cassiopiea laughed walking down
the hallway towards the bridge.
    "Cassiopiea, you don't understand.  If something happens to you,
Starbuck will kill me."
    "Look, Apollo, you and your father have continually made a place
for me on the Galactica.  It's time I return the favour.  And you can
tell Starbuck that I'm not going to kill off my old rival," she
smiled reassuringly as she entered the last hallway to the bridge.
Apollo sighed and trotted off to return to Tigh.

    Cassiopiea entered the bridge under the watchful eye of Sargon
and his gang.  Adama walked over to her.
    "Cassiopiea, thank you for coming," Adama murmured.
    "It will be all right," she replied softly, as she knelt by
Athena's side.  Jolly was still holding Athena's hand and looking
rather worried.  Cassiopiea ran a cursory scan with the equipment she
brought and administered a dose of medicine.  Athena moaned.
    "I've stabilized her for the time being," Cassiopiea told Adama.
"She needs to be taken to the Life Center but at the moment she and
her child are doing fine."
    "What?" Adama's jaw dropped.
    "Athena's pregnant; didn't she tell you?"



From: Michele Martin <martin@abacus.mc.duke.edu>
Subject: Round Robin #1...Part 3

Okay, you asked for it.  And I even managed to refrain from dragging in 
characters from any other television show....

**********************************************************************
   "Galactica to Recon Patrol," came Tigh's voice over Starbuck's comlink as 
he prepared to land on the Rising Star.
   "Right here, Colonel.  What's happening?" Starbuck replied.
   "It looks like the situation is deteriorating.  I'll need you and 
lieutenant Boomer back onboard as soon as possible."
   "How bad is it?" Boomer asked.
   Tigh hesitated before responding, "It appears that there are injuries 
on the bridge, but the hostage-takers are not allowing anyone to go 
free.  Instead they called for a medtech.  We're waiting on the report now."
   Starbuck had a bad feeling about who the medtech in question was.  He 
angled his viper back toward the Galactica and kicked in the turbos.  
Boomer followed closely on his tail.  *If _anything_ happens to her....* 
Starbuck thought angrily to himself as he prepared again to land, this 
time on the Galactica. *...Tigh and Adama will be the _least_ of those 
terrorists' problems.*

  "She's _what_?!" Adama finally managed to gasp after Cassiopeia's 
revelation.  He couldn't believe it.  The last thing he needed on top of 
everything else.  Sargon seemed to find the situation highly amusing.
  "Tsk, tsk, Adama.  I would've thought that _you_ of all people would've 
raised your children better.  Think of the scandal! I wonder who the 
father could be?"
  Adama wondered that himself.  One name sprang almost immediately to 
mind--Starbuck. Oh, he recalled quite clearly the day that Athena had 
tearfully announced that the lieutenant had finally officially broken 
off their relationship...but that was almost a yahren ago, long enough 
for the man to have had second thoughts.  He certainly wouldn't put it 
past Starbuck to have another brief fling with his daughter--all the 
while _pretending_ to be seriously involved with someone else.  
Cassiopeia.  Adama glanced down at the medtech, who looked a bit pale and 
tight-lipped.  Apparantly some of the same thoughts were going through 
her mind as well.  However, she seemed to put aside her own personal 
musings as she turned to Sargon.
  "She really needs to be taken to the Life Center.  In her condition 
these injuries could prove more dangerous than they look."
  "Is there any danger of her getting worse in the immediate future?" 
Sargon asked coldly.
  "We can't be too careful...please, let me take her..."
  "No.  I'm not letting her off the bridge," Sargon stated adamantly.  He 
turned to Adama, "If anything, your daughter's condition works in our 
favor.  You can't afford, for her sake, to delay on your decision to help 
us."
  "I refuse to even consider your terms unless you release her..."
  "No!  You are in no position to argue with me, Adama.  I know you're a 
stubborn man, but we are desperate.  And desperate people do desperate 
things.  Don't forget that...and _don't_  underestimate how far I will go 
in order to make you listen."  Sargon turned back to Cassiopeia, who was 
helping Jolly make Athena more comfortable.  "I thank you for your help. 
Now, leave."
  "What?" Cassiopeia answered, looking confused.
  "Leave.  Go.  Get off the bridge.  You've served your purpose.  I don't 
want our intrepid leader here to get any ideas that you might improve his 
daughter's condition enough for him to hem and haw over our demands.  
I'm letting you go."
  "But if you won't let Athena go, I need to stay here and...."
  "GET OUT!" Sargon yelled as he grabbed Cassieopeia none too gently by 
the arm and shoved her toward the exit.
  "Hey!  You can't do that!" Jolly angrily said, standing up to face 
Sargon.  In response, the terrorist leader negligently backhanded the 
sargeant, knocking him to the floor beside Athena.
  "You'll do well to remember who's in charge here now, my friend.  Keep 
an eye on her if you're so concerned about her safety.  But don't 
interfere with me again! Now, Commander, shall we discuss my people's 
demands?"

  Omega watched the scene unfolding on the bridge in anger in 
frustration.  Anger over the callous manner in which Sargon treated his 
hostages, especially Athena who, from this angle, looked like she was 
really in need of further medical treatment.  And frustration because he 
couldn't do a blasted thing hiding here in the service alcove.  He was 
also, like everyone else on the bridge, amazed at the revelation of 
Athena's pregnancy.  How could it have happened?  Well, there wasn't 
anything he could do about it now...unless he could figure out some way 
to get in contact with Tigh.  Unarmed and blocked from any access to an 
escape route, the only way he could be helpful was to spy on the 
terrorists in hopes of finding a weak spot that others could exploit.  
But first he had to fix this panel.  Having reached a decision, Omega 
went to work.
	
  Upon their arrival, Starbuck and Boomer immediately headed toward the 
auxiliary bridge to rendezvous with Colonel Tigh.  They noted that 
internal communications were still out, making it all the more difficult 
to organize some sort of counter strategy.  Especially when there were 
hostages on the bridge.  Tigh filled them in on the entire situation, 
including the fact that Athena was injured and Cassiopeia had volunteered 
to go and help her out.  They'd just received word that the terrorists 
were releasing the med tech but not Athena.  Apollo had gone to meet her.
  "No word on her condition?" Starbuck asked, concerned.
  "No, but Sargon--that's the leaders name--seemed highly amused about 
_something_.  I believe he plans to use Athena as a bargaining chip 
against Adama to force him into making a faster decision," Tigh replied.
  "We should've known something like this would happen sooner or later.  
We've all noted how restless some of the civilians are getting.  I can't 
say I really blame them, cooped up in tight quarters and on strict 
rations for what seems like forever.  It's bad enough for us, and we're 
used to it," Boomer interjected.
  "But this is NOT the way...we have to work together if we're all going 
to survive.  That's what Adama's always believed.  Even with everything 
that's at risk, I doubt he'll give in to their demands easily.  He's 
counting on us to come up with some sort of plan.  If we could just get 
the internal communications working it'd be a big help," Tigh replied, 
frustration evident in his voice.
  "I think I may be able to help out there," Boomer said.  "At least it's 
something to do."
  "If you don't mind, sir, I'd like to go to the Life Center and make 
sure Cassieopeia's okay...and to see find out more about what's happening 
on the bridge," Starbuck asked. Tigh could see that he looked more than a 
little bit anxious.  He nodded, and the lieutenant hurriedly made his way 
toward the Life Center.

  Following up on orders they'd received from Colonel Tigh, Sheba and 
Bojay were trying to reassure the nervous personnel and passengers on the 
Rising Star that everything was under control.  Even though they, 
personally, didn't really believe that.  Especially when Sheba could 
swear she kept catching glimpses of what looked like Borellian Nomen.  
Which was odd since the Borrellians had been mostly confined to their own 
ship after Maga and his group had persisted in their bloodhunt against 
Starbuck's friend Chameleon.  She hoped they weren't also prowling 
around.  It'd be the last thing they needed on top of all their other 
troubles.
  "This sort of thing would've never happened if my father were in 
charge," she muttered to herself.  Well, that was unfair--Cain had never 
had to deal with a fleet full of tired, bedraggled, and frustrated 
civilians.  Just tired, bedraggled, and frustrated military 
personnel...and there was a big difference between the two. As these 
thoughts flashed through her head, she and Bojay rounded another 
corner...and came face to face with a Nomen.  The Nomen seemed almost as 
surprised as they were, but only for a fraction of a micron. Then it 
drew out its laser boles.
  "Frak!" yelled Bojay as he and Sheba dived for cover.  The laser boles 
slammed into the wall next to them.  In the distance they could hear 
cries of alarm and sounds of fighting.  Bojay turned and fired a blast at 
their attacker.  But that's when he realized that there was more than one 
Nomen there...and more were coming. Too many for two warriors caught 
off guard.  They fired a few more rounds as they retreated back to the 
launch bay with one thought in mind--warn the Galactica.  The Nomen were 
loose.

  Starbuck arrived in the Life Center to find Apollo and Cassiopeia both 
there.  They looked like they were having a rather animated conversation, 
which ceased abruptly as they became aware of his arrival.  He was 
relieved to see that Cassie was unharmed.  But she looked more than a 
little anxious, as did Apollo, which didn't bode well for Athena's condition.
  "Tigh told me what happened.  Is Athena okay?" he asked.  He was 
caught completely offguard when Cassiopeia's hand slammed across the side 
of his face.  
  "You...you..." she sputtered angrily.  
  Surprised, he rubbed the sore spot on his cheek as he demanded, "What the 
frak was _that_ for??!!"
  Apollo supplied the answer.  "Athena...is pregnant."
  "What??!" Starbuck was stunned.
  "You heard me, _lieutenant_...she's _pregnant_," Apollo repeated, in a 
tone that indicated he had a definite idea about who the responsible 
party was and he was _not_ happy about it.
  "Now just hold on a micron...you're not insinuating that _I_ had 
anything to do with this, are you?" Starbuck began.  From the look on 
both Apollo and Cassiopeia's faces, the answer was obvious.  "You _are_!  
I can't believe this!  You honestly think... Cass, you gotta believe 
me. I broke it off with Athena almost a yahren ago!  You know that."
  "Just like you broke up with Aurora?  I don't know why I ever believed 
you! Well, it looks like your womanizing ways have finally caught up with 
you!" Cassiopeia declared.  She looked like she was about to say a whole 
lot more, but instead she angrily whirled and stormed out of the room.  
Starbuck made a move to go after her, but Apollo grabbed him by the arm.
  "Just where do you think you're going?  We haven't finished this 
conversation.  I want to know what you intend to do about my sister.  
You're not going to squirm out of your responsibility that easily..." 
Apollo angrily began.  Suddenly furious with all the accusations and 
mistrust flung in his direction by his supposed best friend, Starbuck 
shook off the Captain's grip.  He whirled to face Apollo and fixed him 
with an angry glare.
  "If you paid more attention to your sister, _Captain_, you wouldn't be 
making such a frakking stupid accusation!" With that, he stalked out of the 
Life Center, leaving Apollo to puzzle out the meaning of his parting words.

  Starbuck hurried to try and catch up with Cassiopeia, even though he 
wasn't sure where she'd gone after she'd left.  Actually, he was tempted 
just to let her fume by herself, upset that she trusted him so little as 
to think he'd been cheating on her with Athena. It really galled him, 
especially now when he was actually, perhaps against his better 
judgement, serious about his relationship with Cassiopeia.  Which was 
probably why he was trying to find her. He had to convince her of his 
innocence by pointing out how ludicrous the accusation was. Well, in 
truth, it wasn't all that ludicrous.  After all, his reputation with 
regards to relationships wasn't that good. Okay, so maybe that was his 
own fault. In fact, it probably wasn't that surprising she 
suspected him of cheating on her...especially when his own "best friend" 
backed up her worst suspicions. He muttered angrily to himself about 
trust and betrayal....and nearly ran Boomer down.
  "Whoa, buddy!  Slow down," Boomer remarked as the two almost collided.
  "Sorry, Boomer, got things on my mind.  Have you seen Cassie?"
  "I thought that's where you were going...well, nevermind. We got other 
things to worry about.  We just got word from Bojay and Sheba.  
Apparantly the Nomen no longer feel the need to remain under interdict on 
their own ship.  They're all over the Rising Star, apparantly trying to 
take it over.  And if they're there, they could be on other ships..."
  "Good Lords!" Starbuck exclaimed as Boomer's words sank in.  
  "Tigh told me to get you and Apollo back to auxiliary bridge so we can 
figure out what to do about this...." Boomer was continuing.  But 
Starbuck wasn't paying attention. He was thinking about Nomen and blood 
hunts.  Specifically the blood hunt against Chameleon, the man he'd once 
thought was his father.  Chameleon was now on the Retirees Ship with 
Siress Blassie.  And if the Nomen could overrun the rather well defended 
Rising Star they'd have no trouble with the poorly defended Retirees 
Ship.  He had to get over there and warn Chameleon, if it wasn't too late 
already.
  "I'll take care of it," he told Boomer hastily, then darted off towards 
the landing bay.
  "Starbuck?" Boomer called after him.  Then, thinking Starbuck was going 
to inform Apollo, he headed back towards the auxiliary bridge.
  But Starbuck had no intention of telling Apollo anything.  In part 
because he was still seething about the whole Athena incident. And in part 
because, he doubted Apollo would let him go.  He was almost to the 
landing bay when he saw Cassiopeia ahead of him.  Not bothering to 
question why she woul've come down here, he called out for her to wait as he 
hurried to catch her. She ignored him.  He caught up to her and tried again.
  "Cassie, please.  Listen to me. It's not what you think..."
  "Can it, Starbuck. I don't want to talk to you, so just go away."
  "Dammit, Cass, look at me!" With that he grabbed her arm and spun her 
around to face him.  He immediately let go when he noticed that she'd 
been crying.  He couldn't tell whether it was because she was angry, 
upset, or both. Probably both. He took a deep breath as he considered 
his next statement.
  "Okay.  Just tell me one thing--how far along is she?"
  Cassiopeia narrowed her eyes angrily as she spat out, "So, you admit it."
  "I'm not admitting anything. Just answer the question."
  "I couldn't tell exactly with the equipment I had on me, but I'd say 
about 3 sectons.  Satisfied?"
  "Yep.  That puts it just before we destroyed that Cylon basestar or 
thereabouts, am I right?"
  She thought about it for a centon before nodding.
  "Okay, then.  Tell me when, during that timeframe, I was supposed to 
have.._been_..with Athena?"  No response..but he could see she was 
considering what he'd just asked.  He continued,  "As I recall, 
for the past four or five sectons I've been spending almost all my spare 
time with you.  Except for the times I've been with my other friends..and 
I'm sure you can even verify that with them."  She was definitely 
listening now, and he could tell that he'd finally gotten through to 
her.  But she still looked doubtful. Okay, one last shot. "Cassie,  I don't 
blame you for doubting me, all things considered.  But you have to trust 
me. Please?"
  She looked down at the floor for a centon, then looked back at him as 
she replied softly, "I'm sorry..it's just that...well, what was I 
supposed to think? You and she had been so serious before...."
  "But it's over. It's been over for a long time.  I'm in love with 
_you_, not her.  I still care about her, but I'm not about to go running 
back to her.  Besides, I doubt she'd take me back anyway."  He grinned as 
he said the last sentence, trying to lighten the mood.  She looked at him 
for a moment before smiling herself.
  "Can you blame her?" she remarked facetiously.
  "Hey!  Well, anyway, I'm glad we got that settled.  Now, do me a 
favor...tell Apollo that the Nomen are loose and may be trying to take 
over some of the other ships in the fleet," he said, giving her a quick 
kiss on the cheek before continuing on toward the landing bay.
  "Wait!  Where are you going, Starbuck?" she called out, taken aback by 
his sudden departure.
  "If the Nomen are loose, I've got to warn Chameleon!" he yelled back as 
he disappeared around a corner.

  Sargon was getting increasingly frustrated.  Despite all the advantages 
he had, he still couldn't get Adama to budge.  Even with his own 
daughter's life at stake. Well, maybe not at stake. Athena didn't seem to 
be getting worse, though she occassionally moaned in pain from her 
position on the floor next to Jolly.  The sargeant was so solicitous of 
her Sargon wondered if perhaps he was the father of her unborn child.  
Well, that mystery wasn't really any of his concern, though he did enjoy 
the discomfort it caused Adama.  He motioned to one of his subordinates 
who was carrying an odd looking object, indicating that the man should 
hook it up to the communications consle.
   "What is that thing?" Adama asked suspiciously.
  "I was hoping we  wouldn't be here long enough to use it, but you are 
more stubborn than I expected.  I need to find out what your Colonel 
Tigh is planning, therefore I need to eavesdrop.  I know you have 
an auxiliary bridge set up nearby, just in case of such an emergency as 
this.  And I'm quite sure that your friends have gotten in touch with the 
rest of the fleet by now. I don't wish to have to deal with a 'surprise' 
attack from that quarter.  So I brought along this little device, just in 
case.  It's called a Peripheral Listening-in On Transmissions Device.  
Perhaps you've heard of it?"
  "A P.L.O.T. Device?  Yes, I've heard of such things," Adama replied grimly.
  As the device was being installed, another of his group motioned to 
Sargon from her position hear Rigel.
  "What is it?" he demanded.
  "Another viper has just launched. I think it's one of the ones that 
returned recently."
  He looked at Rigel for comfirmation.  She hesitated, glancing at Adama. 
He motioned for her to answer Sargon.  "Yes.  It's Lieutenant Starbuck's 
viper."
  "Hmm...I wonder what _he's_ up to?" Sargon asked.  
  Adama wondered as well.  He secretly suspected the lieutenant was 
trying to avoid the combined wrath of Apollo and Cassiopeia. He was sure 
by now that word of Athena's...condition...had spread to the relevant 
parties.  But the fleet really wasn't big enough for Starbuck to hide 
from _him_. If he ever got off this bridge.

  Still fuming about the entire Athena affair and his friends refusal 
to face up to responsibility, Apollo made his way back to the auxiliary 
bridge.  When he arrived on the bridge, Tigh immediately asked him about 
Athena.
  "Well, she's was injured by the blast and has some cuts and bruises and 
possibly more serious internal injuries.  Nothing immediately 
threatening, but she can't go too long without treatment. Especially not 
in her....condition," he answered.
  "I'm not sure I follow you," Tigh answered, looking concerned.  Well, 
he might as well know. Everyone would soon enough.
  "She's pregnant."
  "What?  Is Cassiopeia positive?"
  Apollo nodded.  "And it's not too hard to figure out who the 
responsible party is..."
  "I take it you confronted Starbuck about the matter?  That explains his 
sudden departure."
  "Departure?"
  "Just before you arrived.  You two were supposed to report back here 
so we could discuss the Nomen situation, but..."
  "Wait.  What Nomen situation?"
  Boomer looked up from where he was helping the communications officer 
try to piece the internal communications back together.  "He didn't tell 
you?  I thought he said he'd take care of it?"
  "Will someone _please_ tell me what's going on?" Apollo asked impatiently.
  "Lieutenants Bojay and Sheba reported that a large group of Nomen are 
running amok on the Rising Star.  It may be indicative of a larger 
movement by the group to take over several ships," Tigh replied.
  "Just what we need--another splinter group," remarked Apollo.  "Any 
idea where Starbuck was headed?"
  "According to our instruments he just landed on the Retiree's Ship," 
remarked the auxiliary bridge officer.
  "Retiree's ship? Why in Hades would he go there?" asked Tigh.
  "He's gone to warn Chameleon," answered Cassiopeia, who'd just entered 
the bridge. "He's afraid the Nomen are out to continue their blood hunt."
  "By himself?  If he's right, he may be in serious trouble--considering 
that he interfered the last time, Maga and his crew may have expanded the 
hunt to include him," Boomer remarked.
  "Ensign Incidental, see if you can contact Lieutenant Starbuck," Tigh 
ordered.  The communications officer with a rather odd name nodded.  But 
she was unsuccessful in reaching Starbuck.
  "That means he's left his ship already.  I hope he doesn't do anything 
rash," Tigh commented.
  "Colonel, when have you known Starbuck _not_ to do anything rash?" 
Apollo responded.

  *No one in the landing bay...this is not a good sign* Starbuck thought 
to himself as he crept along the corridor.  The Retiree's Ship was hardly 
the most active ship in the fleet, but he should've run into someone by 
now.  His anxiety level was increasing.  Suddenly, he heard a movement in 
the corner.  He whirled around to face the potential threat, his weapon 
raised.
  "All right, I see you.  Come out, slowly." In response two men, one old 
and one a bit older than himself cautiously came out. He recognized the 
older man.
  "You're Councilor Bink, the new representative for the Aquarians, 
correct?"
  The man nodded.  "And this is my son, Dor, who came over to help me and 
my wife move to the new quarters on the Galactica.  And you're Lieutenant 
Starbuck, aren't you? I hope you're here to help."
  "Help?"
  "Yes. It seems that someone...several someones...have taken over the ship."
  "Uh-oh. These wouldn't happen to be big, hairy, menacing someones would 
they?  Like Borellian Nomen?"
  "We're not sure--I was showing Dor around when it happened. The lights 
went out and there was some yelling.  Then the power came back on but we 
could still hear fighting.  We headed back the way we came...I was 
worried about my wife, you see...but there was so much confusion we 
couldn't really tell what was happening.  I'm afraid we got a bit turned 
around, which is rather unusual."
  "Probably lucky--you might otherwise have run right into the fighting.  
So you don't know who it is?"
  "Well, it wasn't our main concern...but we could find out," answered 
Dor.  He turned and addressed the wall, asking it to see if it remembered 
any unusual people coming aboard the ship. Starbuck watched this 
exceedingly odd behavior for a micron before turning to Bink.
  "Um, why is he doing that?"
  "He's trying to find out that information you wanted."
  "He's talking...to a wall"
  "Yes.  He does that.  It's really a rather useful talent to have. 
People don't guard what they say or do in front of inanimate objects, so 
if you can converse with such them you can usually find out all sorts 
of things."
  "Are you saying that he talks to inanimate objects and they talk 
_back_ to him?"
  "Oh yes--but you probably won't hear it. I don't mean to be insulting, 
but you strike me as being a bit, well, too mundane to understand these 
sorts of things."
  "Ah...no offense taken."  It confirmed what he'd always believed, 
really.  Members of the Council of the Twelve _were_ absolutely goofy.  
Bink seemed like a nice enough fellow, but he...and his son...apparantly 
weren't all there.
  "You're right, lieutenant. It _was_ Borellian Nomen.  It seems a 
shuttle full of them arrived about half a centar ago and immediately 
overran the landing bay personnel.  They seemed rather intent on a goal 
inside and didn't bother to place any guards.  Do you have any idea what 
they might be after?" Dor said as he finished his...conversation...with 
the wall.
  Starbuck hesitated, not sure how much he should reveal to this bizarre 
pair.  Oh well, it wouldn't hurt....
  Suddenly there was a sharp whine from behind.  Starbuck spun in time to 
see a Nomen appear, aiming a laser bole directly at Councilor Bink.
  "Bink! Get down!" he yelled as he dove for cover, dragging Dor along 
with him.  Bink turned, startled, as the Nomen let fly.  There was no way 
Starbuck could get to the man in time.  Amazingly enough, however, the 
Nomen's aim was off.  The bole whirled harmlessly by the older man 
without so much as singeing a hair on his head. What incredible luck!  
Nomen were had notoriously accurate aim.  The Nomen was stunned by his 
failure as well, and his hesitation gave Starbuck enough time to grab the 
Councilor and pull him to safety.
  "Are you crazy?!  Why didn't you duck?!  You could've been killed!" he 
hissed as the trio crouched behind some equipment.  Frak!  He was cut 
off.  He had to get back to his viper and warn Tigh and the others.  Or 
go forward and rescue Chameleon...no, he'd need reinforcements to do 
that.  
  "Oh, there was really no danger, lieutenant.  For some reason my father 
seems immune to the sorts of mishaps that befall everyone else," Dor 
replied.  Starbuck just shook his head. He couldn't believe these two.  
  "Listen--I need to find a way to get back to my viper so I can warn the 
Galactica about these Nomen.  It's going to be hairy to get through with 
all these Nomen about, so I want you two to stay put. You'll be safe here."
  "Actually, I think we'd better come with you. I don't think you can 
make it back by yourself, and I'd feel bad if anything happened to you," 
answered Bink.
  "Look you don't understand--this is _really_ dangerous.  I can't expose 
a member of the Council to that sort of risk...."
  "Oh, don't worry about me," Bink replied with a grin as he headed out 
of cover down the corridor to the landing bay.  Dor followed after him.  
  "Hey!  You can't go out there alone!!" Starbuck shouted after them.  
*Great!  Just great!* he thought as he followed.
  Amazingly, Bink's luck seemed to hold.  They passed no less than four 
armed Borellians, none of whom seemed able to score a hit on the trio.  
Starbuck was impressed.  Finally he asked, "How is this possible?  
There can't be _that_ many poorly trained Nomen!"
  Bink just grinned and replied, "It's a kind of magic."
  They finally made it to the landing bay.  As Starbuck reached his 
viper, he turned to the two men.  "Okay, I don't know how long it'll take 
help to get here.  We might be able to wait it out."
  "Oh, I'm sure we'll be fine," responded Bink placidly.
  "I can ask the walls, floor, ceiling, bulkhead, litter, ships, and 
crates to yell if they spot anyone coming," offered Dor.
  "Uh, yeah.  You, um, go ahead and do that," replied Starbuck as he 
inched away from Dor over to his ship.  Weird. That guy was _really_ 
weird. Too bad.  He seemed nice enough otherwise.  Starbuck shrugged as 
he reached into the cockpit of his viper and signalled the Galactica.  

  The group in the auxiliary bridge were still trying to plan their next 
move when Starbuck's call came in.
  "Starbuck to Galactica. Come in, Colonel Tigh."
  "Lieutenant!  What do you think you're doing over there?  I order you 
to get back here on the double!!" Tigh responded angrily.
  "Sir, I think you should know this situation with the Nomen is getting 
out of hand. I think they've taken over the Retiree Ship as well, and I'm 
going to need reinforcements. Any more news from Bojay and Sheba?"
  "No.  And you are NOT, I repeat, NOT to engage in any action on the 
Retiree Ship.  There're too many lives at stake for you to embark on a 
personal crusade!  Now get back here!"
  "With all due respect, Colonel, I really don't think we can afford to 
let this situation with the Nomen progress any further before we act on it."
  Tigh sighed in frustration, then motioned to Apollo.  "Maybe you can 
talk some sense into him."
  "Oh, I'll talk to him all right.  Starbuck, what the frak are you up 
to?  If this is your idea of an excuse to avoid that little conversation 
we were having..."
  Starbuck's made some irritated noises, clearly annoyed with the sudden 
shift in the conversation.  He replied impatiently, "I really don't think 
this is the time to discuss your sister.  I know you're upset about it 
but it's not my fault.  If you were paying attention you'd know that."
  "That's the second time you've said that.  Just what is that supposed to 
mean?" Apollo ignored Tigh's attempts to get him off the line. Apparantly 
the Colonel had just realized that, given everything that was going on, 
Apollo wasn't the best choice of people to talk to Starbuck.
  "It means that for you to imply that I am the only person who could 
possibly be responsible for your sister's condition is insulting not only 
to me but to your sister.  I happen to know that she's been seen socially 
with several people within the relevant timeframe including, but not 
limited to, Bojay, Omega, Boomer, Giles, Jolly, and Greenbean."
  "For someone who's supposedly no longer interested in Athena you 
certainly seem to know an awful lot about her doings," Apollo retorted 
after shooting an accusatory look at Boomer.  Boomer just shrugged in 
reply.
  "Oh, for Sagan's sake, Apollo, it's no big secret.  For your 
information, I saw her several times while I was with Cassiopeia.
Let's face it, sometimes you get a bit too wrapped up in your work 
to even pay attention to your own family."
  "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
  "Oh?  Then where's Boxey?"
  "What?"
  "Boxey. Can you tell me where he is right now?"
  Apollo was speechless...horrified, he realized that he didn't have a 
clue as to where his son was.  In all the confusion, it had completely 
slipped his mind. Tigh took the opportunity to regain control of the comline.
  "Enough!  Lieutenant, if you're not back on board this ship in twenty 
centons, I'll..."
  "Oh, frak!" Starbuck suddenly said. "Ah, I think I _may_ be in trouble 
here..." suddenly there was the sound of laser fire, then static, then 
nothing.
  "Starbuck?  Starbuck!!" Tigh yelled into the com. There was no reply.
  
  Adama had been listening to the whole exchange between Starbuck and the 
auxiliary bridge, courtesy of the P.L.O.T. device, with growing 
consternation.  Not only were Borellian Nomen running amok in the fleet, 
but it also seemed that Athena had been seeing almost every available 
bachelor on the Galactica.  The father could be _anybody_, except, 
apparantly, the one person he'd been sure it had been.  To top it off, 
Starbuck may have been captured or killed and no one seemed to know where 
Boxey was.  He groaned to himself. Well, at least things couldn't 
possibly get worse.

  Baltar, having recently been rescued by his Cylon "friends" and 
fortunately (for him) able to convince them of his undying loyalty to 
their cause, had just been informed that the Galactica and her fleet had 
finally been located again. He was about to that things could indeed get 
worse.  Much, much worse.

***************************************************************************

.....characters from books, on the other hand, are an entirely different 
matter :) . Sorry, Adam, it was just too good to pass up.  Don't worry, I 
don't think they'll get too involved in the major plot....

You're up, Liz.

From: LizBeth258@aol.com
Subject: Group Story Project, pt. 4-1

It was a little longer than I expected, but Michele _did_ inspire 
me...

	Starbuck was thrown from his cockpit as the laser boll 
exploded. *Ooooh. Ow. I think I hurt myself.* He forced open his 
eyes and saw Dor and Bink tugging at him. "You two better get out 
of here, I think I'm really..."
	"There isn't a scratch on you," Dor interrupted. 
	Starbuck sat up and saw a few Nomen closing in on 
their position. The sight of the drawn laser bolls was enough to 
inspire the lieutenant to advance _very_ fast in the opposite 
direction, following Dor as closely as possible. To his surprise, 
the older man turned into an almost invisible alcove. Starbuck 
stopped, unsure that the cubby hole could do more than hold the 
councilor. 
	"Get in. It'll fit all three of us," Bink hissed.
	Starbuck complied and found that it _was_ larger than 
it appeared. The trio crouched in the alcove as a several Nomen 
shot by them, speaking excitedly in their dialect. When all was 
quiet, Starbuck checked himself to make sure that the adrenalin 
rush wasn't disguising a serious injury. "I don't believe it!" he 
whispered. "Not a scratch."
	"Lucky break, yes?" Dor asked with a bit of amusement.
	"Oh, now don't you two go on about how you carry luck 
in your back pocket," Starbuck muttered. "Then again, considering I 
should be dead, you might be right there." His head snapped up. "I 
don't suppose you two would like to go with me on a trip to the 
Rising Star?"
	"It isn't _that_ kind of luck," Bink muttered. "Shhhhh. 
I'm trying to find out what's going on. You sure?"
	"Am I sure what?" Starbuck asked.
	"He's talking to the wall," Dor clarified.
	Bink then looked at Starbuck in what the lieutenant 
thought was the oddest way before turning to face the wall. "Well, 
you're the third source, so it _must_ be true." He sighed before 
turning to face Starbuck again. "They're not after Chameleon."
	"Why would they be after my wife?" Dor asked.
	"Not _your_ Chameleon. _His_ Chameleon," Bink nodded 
at Starbuck.
	"Kamilion? Ohhhh, you mean Chameleon." To Bink and 
Dor, it sounded like Shamilion and they looked at him in surprise. 
Starbuck shrugged and explained, "It's the Caprican pronunciation 
for the same name."
	Bink nodded. "Your Chameleon isn't here anyway. He left 
yesterday for the Orphan Ship. Something about him doing 
community service as part of his rehabilitation?"
	"I know what that's about," Starbuck nodded. "What a 
relief. Chances are he's out of harm's way. Thankfully our big, dark 
and hairy friends didn't know that."
	"Weren't you listening to what I said?" Bink asked, 
frustration edged in his voice. He wasn't sure how the lieutenant 
was going to take this news. Frankly, he wasn't taking it too well 
himself since _he_ was in a rotten situation because this 
_mundane_ decided to play hero and fall into the Nomens' trap. 
	"What are you talking about?" Starbuck asked.
	"They're _not_ after Chameleon," Bink said. "This whole 
takeover of the Retiree Ship is a trap. They're out to get _you_."	
	Starbuck digested this information before issuing a 
carefully worded, "What?"
	"According to my sources," and here Bink nodded at the 
wall, "The bloodhunt is off on Chameleon. However, they called one 
on _you_."
	Starbuck looked at the ceiling. "Terrific. Just great. 
First, terrorists take over the bridge. Then, we find out Athena's 
pregnant. _Then_ everyone blames yours truly, even through I 
hadn't even so much as pecked her on the cheek during the relevant 
time frame. And _now_ you tell me that the reason why the Nomen 
are running amok is because they want to skin me and nail my hide 
to a wall." He looked back at Bink. "Did anyone ever tell you that 
you have an incredible talent?"	
		  "All the time," Dor said.
	"I'm not talking about _that_. I'm talking about his 
talent for pouring water on a drowning man," Starbuck said sourly.
	"Well, there's a bright side," Dor said cheerfully.
	"Bright side?" Starbuck asked. "_Where_ is the bright 
side?" 
	"At least you're beginning to believe the walls have 
ears," Dor said.
	Starbuck looked at the two of them. He still thought 
they'd been sniffing too many plant vapors, but..."Given the day I'm 
having, I'm prepared to believe _anything_."

	Back on the Auxiliary Bridge, everyone was pretty 
convinced nothing _else_ could go wrong.
	Wrong.
	Actually, the wrong thing disguised itself as a _right_ 
thing. At first.
	"Colonel?" 
	Tigh ran over to the communications console. "Bojay! 
Thank the Lords! What's going on over there?"
	Bojay's voice sounded puzzled. "The Nomen just up and 
left."
	"What? Why?"
	"Unknown. They basically fought a rear-guard action to 
make sure we all stayed put while they cleared out. And before you 
ask, no, I don't know where they went," Bojay said.
	"Curiouser and curiouser," Tigh muttered before 
addressing the intercom. "I want you to stay over there and find 
out what's going on. Send Sheba over here right now so she can 
land a hand at this end."
	"Sorry. We can't do that."
	Tigh sighed. He knew it was going to bad news. "Why 
not?" He sounded resigned.
	"The Nomen destroyed every single ship on the Star. 
There's simply no way to leave, unless someone can come over 
here and shuttle us off," Bojay said.
	"Are you telling me that they smashed up every single 
ship capable of flight? Did I just hear you right?" Tigh asked 
incredulously.
	"Let me put it to you this way...it looks like a used 
shuttle dealer is holding a fire sale for damaged equipment," Sheba 
said in the background.
	Tigh stifled a nervous laugh. "I heard Sheba. So I take it 
the situation is bad?"
	"Very."
	"Can't you cobble together at least _one_ ship capable 
of getting Sheba and whatever other warriors are over there off 
the Star?" Tigh asked.
	"Maybe," Bojay sounded doubtful. Another bad sign. "It's 
going to take awhile. I'll let you know if we can put something 
together."
	"Bojay, normally I'd say do the best you can, but..."   
	"But I better do better than my best. Got you, sir. Bojay 
out."
	Tigh turned around, acutely aware that everyone in the 
room had heard the latest situation. He was going to say 
something, but Cassiopea's pale face caught his eyes. She wasn't 
just pale, she was dead white. Well, actually, it looked like all the 
blood had been sucked out of her body. 
	Cassiopea had figured out what else had gone wrong. 
What went wrong was her memory. Or more precisely, Cassiopea 
just remembered what was wrong with the Nomen situation. And it 
was _all_ her fault.
	"Cassiopea?" Tigh tentatively asked.
	When she turned to face him, her eyes seemed hollow. 
"I think I know where the Nomen went," her voice sounded dead.
	"How would you know?" Apollo demanded.
	She turned to look at the captain. "They went to 
wherever Starbuck is."
	"The Retiree Ship?" Tigh asked. "Why? Is it because of 
Chameleon?"
	"No. They're after Starbuck." Cassiopea let the news 
sink in a few microns before adding. "At least I'd bet a secton's 
pay on it and we all know I'm not a betting woman _despite_ my 
association with a notorious gambler."
	"Why would you say..." Apollo never got to finish his 
choked question.
	"Right after the incident with Chameleon, Adama sent 
me over to the Nomen to negotiate their calling off the bloodhunt 
on him," Cassiopea explained.
	"Why would he do that?" Tigh asked.
	Cassiopea shrugged. "I was the only one he knew on the 
Galactica that could speak their dialect _and_ I have experience in 
mediating feuds. What can I say, being an ex-socialator has its 
uses."
	"Cass..." Apollo said.
	"Well, anyway, I was able to successfully negotiate the 
end of the bloodhunt on Chameleon and for the return of hoarded 
electronic parts and other assorted hardware. In exchange, they 
called off the hunt and got to keep the hoarded food," Cassiopea 
said.
	"So _that's_ why no charges were ever filed," Tigh 
said. "I always wondered why we never heard anything more about 
it."
	Cassiopea nodded. "It was all done _very_ hush-hush so 
no one else would get the idea that they could bargain their way 
out of trouble and come out better off than they were before." She 
bowed her head like a defeated woman. "And like an _idiot_ I 
forgot to negotiate for Starbuck's safety. I should have _realized_ 
they would eventually go after him."
	"But why?" Apollo asked.
	"Because he was the one ultimately responsible for 
them getting caught in the first place," Cassiopea explained. "If 
Starbuck hadn't interfered with the bloodhunt against Chameleon, 
we would've never found out about the hoarding." She slumped. 
"Starbuck's facing down an entire army of angry Nomen on a 
bloodhunt. He's probably going to die and it's all my fault."

Continued....
From LizBeth258@aol.com Fri Jun 23 07:30:02 1995
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 1995 20:56:26 -0400
From: LizBeth258@aol.com
Reply to: star-l@netcom.com
To: star-l@netcom.com
Subject: Group story project, pt. 4-2

Part 4-2, continued...

	*And mine,* Adama thought to himself as he heard 
Cassiopea through the listening device installed on the Bridge. 
*We _both_ should've thought of that, but we didn't think...*
	No, that was the problem. He didn't think. It appeared 
he didn't think many times. In a way, he agreed with Sargon. 
Wandering through unknown space in search of the mythical Earth 
was probably not the best thing to do. But given the situation on 
the Colonies, it seemed like it was the _only_ thing to do. Now 
that they had started the course, there was no turning back. If 
Adama gave in to Sargon, the Fleet would crumble into so many 
specks of dust. 
	It wasn't that Adama _wanted_ to force everyone to go 
to Earth. That _wasn't_ the point. The _point_ was that there 
_wasn't_ enough resources to go around to allow every group who 
wanted to leave to set up a colony and give the settlers an even 
shot at survival. Even though he agreed, in theory, with Sargon's 
sentiment, that everyone who wanted to leave _should_ be allowed 
to leave, in practice it was simply impossible.
	The end result: Adama becomes military dictator. 
*Terrific. Now _I'm_ turning revolutionary,* the commander 
thought dejectedly. *I just wish I knew how Sargon managed to 
take over the bridge so easily in the first place.*
	A low moan caught Adama's attention. No mistaking 
that voice. It was Athena. "The least you could do is allow me to go 
to my daughter," he said.
	"Sorry, commander. But we have _special_ plans for 
you," here Sargon nodded to one of his men. "Take him to the 
storage closet, you know the one I mean, and leave him there with 
a guard until he's ready to accept a free and open exchange of 
ideas."
	Two men sprung forward and grabbed Adama by either 
arm. A third nonchalantly pointed a laser rifle in Athena's general 
direction, just to let the commander know what might happen if he 
chose to make life tough for himself.

	Sargon's face suddenly appeared on the Auxiliary 
Bridge's scanner. *That man is as cool as quava fruit,* Tigh 
thought. *You would swear that he's holding all the cards.*
	"I think it's time for you to make a decision, colonel. 
You know our demands," Sargon said.
	"You heard the commander. What makes you think..." 
Tigh began.
	"What makes me think that you are the man to talk to 
is because we have special plans for Adama," Sargon said.
	Apollo exploded. "If you've hurt him..."
	"Don't worry, captain. He's fine. It's just that the 
situation has forced us to go to Plan B. You see, colonel, we've 
thought of _every_ possibility," Sargon said.
	Tigh decided to try something that he'd never done 
before. Bluff. "_Except_ for one thing."
	"And what would that be?"
	"Athena getting injured." Tigh fought very hard to keep 
his voice cool.
	The response took Sargon off guard. "What does that 
have to do..."
	"You see, I'm not just second-in-command of this Fleet, 
I'm also like this," here Tigh crossed two fingers in a graphic 
illustration, "With her Commander. One thing we've talked about is 
what he would do _if_ someone hurt his children." Tigh let this 
thought sink in before adding more fuel to the fire. "Now, you're 
talking about a man with _absolute_ power. This man would use 
_all_ of his resources to go after the party responsible for them 
even being _hurt_. Now, one of his children is on that bridge with 
serious, and I mean _serious_ injuries. If she dies, we're going to 
assault the bridge with everything we have. I mean _everything_."
	"You wouldn't dare," Sargon said. His eyes narrowed. 
"You're bluffing, colonel."
	Tigh fought to control his voice. "No. I'm not. The 
commander lost _everything_ during the Destruction."
	Sargon sniffed. "So did everyone else."
	"Yes, but he's got two children left. They are 
_everything_ to him. If she dies and you're responsible...let me put 
it to you this way, I'm under orders to hunt down whomever is 
responsible with _extreme_ prejudice. In short, we'll go in with 
lasers blazing and let the Lords of Kobol sort the sorry lot of you 
out."
	"Then he should be inspired to..." Sargon began.
	"Give in to your demands? No. But let me put it to you 
this way, if you give him nothing to loose, you're in for a whole lot 
more trouble than you ever bargained for."
	Sargon thought about it for a moment before saying. 
"What are you asking for?"
	"I want our medtech allowed back on the bridge, once 
every half-centar, to monitor Athena's health and to make sure 
she's stabilized," Tigh said. He fought the urge to scratch the 
trickle of sweat working its way down his back.
	Sargon digested the request. It didn't _seem_ extreme, 
but...on the other hand, the medtech could serve as a _very_ useful 
messenger and, given her lover's current situation, probably 
wouldn't put up much of a fight if they "needed" her. "Very well." 
He looked at his chronometer. "Starting now." Then he cut the 
connection.
	Cassiopea immediately protested. "But..."
	"No, buts," Tigh said as he firmly grabbed her by the 
elbow and dragged her into the hallway outside. Apollo followed 
close behind. When the door closed behind them, he turned to 
Cassiopea and said, "Look, I want this plan to be just between the 
three of us."
	"_What_ plan?" Cassiopea asked.
	"We need _someone_ to keep their eyes and ears open 
on the bridge. Now, they've already let you in once, so I knew they'd 
be more inclined to let you in again," Tigh said.
	"So you _don't_ want her checking on my sister?" 
Apollo asked.
	"I do," Tigh said. "But, while you're there, just keep 
your eyes and ears open and report directly to me or Apollo. Also, 
make sure that you do it _privately_."
	"Why?" Cassiopea sounded suspicious.
	"Those revolutionaries did _not_ get onto the bridge 
_without_ some inside help. We don't know _who_ is responsible, 
but until we do, I say let's keep your little mission just between 
the three of us," Tigh said. "Are you ready?"
	Cassiopea looked angry for a moment, but sunk in 
defeat. "No. I'm not. But I can't help Starbuck, so maybe this'll 
make me feel useful. Maybe."

		  After entering the captured area under heavy guard, and
after enduring yet _another_ body search by one of the female
terrorists, Cassiopea was _finally_ allowed on the Bridge. 
However, instead of letting her go to Athena directly, the let her 
cool her heals at the entrance (under guard, of course) while 
Sargon consulted with a few of his followers. Cassiopea fought
the helpless fury building up in stomach. It wouldn't do for anyone
on this Bridge to see _any_ expression on her face, let alone an
anger that clearly telegraphed that she no longer cared what 
happened to her, just so long as she could lash out at _someone_.
She hoped the fury would die down with any further visits because
she knew if she lost control of her temper she, and probably one or
two others, would find themselves _very_ dead.
		   Instead, she focused on the task at hand. To drink in
_everything_ she could with her eyes and ears. There was sweet-
natured Jolly, hovering protectively over Athena. There was 
Sargon, whispering to his people. Oddly enough, there was a guard
standing outside of a door near corner opposite her. She wasn't
sure where the door went, maybe it was an entrance? She couldn't
remember. What was even _more_ odd was that she couldn't
see Omega. She'd subconsciously noted his absence on the command
console, but had been too busy with Athena to really notice it. 
Now that she was here in her role as combination spy/medtech,
Omega's absence practically screamed at her. Where was he?
		    She tried to fix the bored, impatient look of a medical
professional who'd been kept waiting too long on her face as she
glanced around the Bridge, hoping against hope that it would be
enough to fool everyone. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she
saw a movement in an alcove. She tried to study it without 
studying it. Could it be another terrorists, or could it be...
		    "All right, you can see her now."
		    Cassiopea jumped slightly. She'd been so intent on
studying the movement that she hadn't noticed her female guard
standing in front of her. Why didn't anyone see the movement?
Could they all be that blind? Or was whoever in there someone 
working with them?   

Okay next?

From: Sea Witch <mlchilds@naz.edu>
Subject: Round Robin #1 - Chapter 5

Okay...here it is!  Remember, be kind, it is my very first fanfic
story ever!

Melyssa

********************************************************************

	"Things just _can't_ get any worse!" Starbuck thought to 
himself.
	He was crouched behind a storage crate in the corner of the 
Retiree Ship's landing bay.  Next to him were Bink and Dor.  As they
watched, yet another shuttle landed and began offloading its passengers.
	"How many Nomen are there???" he asked.
	Dor answered, "Well, Lieutenant, so far we have seen five 
shuttles land, each with ten or so passengers...so that's....."
	"Never mind, I don't want to know!"  He was trapped on a 
ship full of retirees, being hunted by ever increasing numbers of 
Borellian Nomen, his only assistance two strangers, one of whom
liked to talk to walls....  "Nope, it can't get any worse."  he sighed.

	"What _else_ could go wrong?" Apollo asked himself.
	He watched the screen as Cassie was searched and made to wait.
She was angry and upset, which was completely understandable.  Apollo
was feeling the same, with the added burden of confusion.  Athena
was pregnant?  Apollo didn't know what to think.  He was happy at
the thought that there would be a new family member, but it hurt
that she hadn't confided in him.  "Too wrapped up in your work to
even pay attention to your own family!" Starbuck had said.  Was
he right?  Apollo knew that he tended to be introspective, but he
had always thought he made sufficient time for his family.  But
the list of men Athena had been seeing had taken the Captain by
surprise.
	Apollo's attention was suddenly jarred from his thoughts
by the expression on Cassie's face.  "Colonel!  Did you see that?"
	Tigh came over to the monitor.  "See what, Apollo?"
	"Ensign Incidental, replay the last couple of microns 
on the secondary screen, tight on Cassiopiea's face."
	"Yes, sir.  It's coming up now."
	Tigh and Apollo watched as the renegades searched the
medtech and left her to wait.  "There!" exclaimed Apollo.  "Did
you see her face?"
	"She looked like she was studying something...but what?" mused
Tigh.
	"Ensign, widen the focus of that camera.  See if you can 
find what she was looking at."
	Slowly the view expanded.  Nothing looked unusual, the bridge
showed fire damage.  There was a console that looked like it had
exploded, a fire extinguisher leaned against it.
	"Wait!  There!  What's that dark space behind the blown out
panel?"  
	"That's just a service alcove, Apollo.  There isn't any
access to it except from the bridge.  It won't do us any good." Tigh
answered as he turned away.
	Apollo leaned closer to the monitor.  He thought he saw
something moving in the alcove.  "Can we get a closer shot of that
alcove?"  The camera tightened in.  Tigh turned back at Apollo's 
gasp.
	"That's where Omega went...."

	Athena felt like she was fighting her way out of a deep
well.  Pain throbbed through her body, pulsing in a regular rhythm.
She made the mistake of moving her head and instantly regretted it.
"Ooohhh....that hurt..."
	"Athena?  Can you hear me?"  It sounded like Cassie's voice,
but it was coming from far away.
	"Cassiopiea?"
	"Just lie still, Athena.  You've been hurt.  You have a
cracked vertebrae and several burns and cuts.  I've gotten you 
stabilized but we can't move you to the Life Center just yet."
	Athena felt Cassie's hand against her cheek.  "Father?
Is he all right?  There was an explosion....and people breaking
onto the bridge....Jolly?!!  He hit Jolly!"  She tried to
sit up again and felt the pain go shooting through her back.
	"It's all right, Athena, I'm here and they didn't hurt
me."  Jolly's face moved into her line of sight.  "You have
to stay lying down.  You will only make yourself worse if you
keep moving around like this."
	"So....our little damsel in distress is awake.  You can
leave now medtech, your time is up!"  Sargon was standing over 
them.  "I think that your father would be interested in hearing
the medtech's diagnosis, don't you?" he smirked.  He signalled
two of his people who then pulled Adama back out onto the 
bridge and led him over to the little group.  
	"Your daughter is awake again, Commander, and is in 
great pain.  Her vertebrae is cracked and she needs to get
to the Life Center.  Of course, all that you have to do is 
give us what we ask, we will leave and you can get her 
treated in time to recover fully.  If you delay her injuries
may get worse, and you will only have yourself to blame."
	"NO Father!  Don't give in!"  Athena gasped as the
pain washed over her again.  
	"Athena" Adama knelt next to her. "Why didn't you tell
me you were pregnant?"
	Her eyes widened.  "How do you know?" she whispered.
	"Cassiopiea told us.  She assumed that you already had."
	"Oh Father, I wanted to tell you, but I knew that you 
would insist on knowing who the father was....and I dreaded 
your reaction when you found out it was him..."

	"By your command..." the centurion's tinny voice echoed through
the chamber.
	"Speak, Centurion."  Baltar's chair turned and he winced inwardly
as that frakking spotlight shone in his eyes again.  By the Lords he 
hated it!  
	"Our long range patrol has picked up transmissions from the
human fleet on a frequency not normally used.  It appears to be
originating from the bridge of the Galactica itself.  It appears as
though human rebels have taken over the bridge and taken Commander
Adama hostage."
	Baltar's eyes widened.  It was a _perfect_ opportunity! "Launch
all fighters.  Commence a full scale attack."  With the bridge in
enemy hands the Galactica would not be able to defend it's fleet.
	"Transfer the transmission up here.  I want to see Adama
squirming."  Evil laughter rang out as the centurion acknowledged
it's orders and left.

	Sargon turned away for a moment as Commander Adama knelt by
his injured daughter.  He wasn't a cruel man by nature, but strange
circumstances make for strange changes.  His own daughter had died
in the Cylon attack on their homeworld.  He and his wife had made
it to the transports with only the clothes on their backs.  Now his
wife was pregnant again and Sargon could not stand the thought that
his new child would grow up knowing only metal and the coldness of
space.  A child needs grass, and sunlight....

	"Him?  Him, who?  Why should you dread my reaction to such
news?  I love you Athena, and nothing will ever change that.  Now,
who is the father?  You can tell me..."  Adama knelt next to her.
His face furrowed with concern and love.

	Apollo leaned forward, wondering why Athena would be so 
concerned about their father's reaction.  He had his own general 
suspicions about the identity of the father.  He remembered a
trip to the prison barge to interview the Nomen involved in the
blood hunt on Chameleon.  Athena had piloted the shuttle for him
because she had some other errand there.  When he had gotten back
she was not there.  Later she had returned to the shuttle out
of breath and disheveled.  Apollo wondered which of the prison
guards it was...

	Athena felt tears welling up in her eyes.  Her father and
brother were so important to her.  But, what she was about to say
could cause her to lose them forever.  Her feelings were torn, her
heart hurt so badly that it made her injured back feel like nothing.
Her family had never known about her relationship with the father
of her child.  They had not know about it the first time, before
the attack on the Colonies, nor about it's brief renewal when
she and Starbuck had broken up for good.
	"Father....just remember, I love you."  It seemed like the
entire universe suspended motion waiting for her next words.  "The
father of my child is....Baltar."

***********************************************************************

There you go boys!  Have fun!  <evil laughter>

From: All these worlds are yours <awdowiak@eecs.uic.edu>
Subject: Round Robin #6

   To describe everyone's reaction to what Athena said as shock would be a
cruel understatement. Adama was different, however. He suddenly felt very
old and tired - not wanting to involve himself in yet another crisis, for
he'd been fighting too long to let something like THIS ruin everything. He
really wanted to get away from all of this, even envying Ilia and how she
was able to escape the brunt of new problems he had to face daily as
commander of a rag-tag fleet.. 
   Balter? No, that's not right! Athena couldn't believe what she just
said. "No, It's not Baltar.  It's...Jolly!" she corrected. Shock now
became confusion. Adama looked at Jolly, who now looked very sick. OF ALL
THE PEOPLE thought Adama. Jolly of course didn't understand, because even
though he knew Athena for some time, they have never gotten THAT close! It
was common knowledge that NOTHING had ever happened between them. 
   Jolly STILL didn't sound. In addition, why was it getting so cold, and
why was the bridge starting to spin? She began to shiver and clutched at
her tunic. No, it couldn't be Jolly! Her vision was blurring and she was
beginning to feel very sleepy. In s spite of that, she managed to remember
who it was: "No, it's not Jolly either. It's Apollo! Yes, Apollo is the
one! I'm sorry father!" Her voice indicated pain, and her last statement
was more than enough to convince everyone that something was terribly wr
ong. Adama tried to go to her but was stopped by Sargon's guards. "Let me
go to her!" he demanded. 
   "Not so fast Adama. You will stay separated from your crew." answered
Sargon calmly, although visibly nervous. 
   "She needs medical attention now!" exclaimed Adama. 
   As if on cue, Athena began saying meaningless words, mentioning
something about being surrounded by monsters. While loosening her clothing
Jolly noticed several dark patches on her abdomen and was now suspecting
the worst. 
   "Commander, Athena's going into shock and is bleeding internally! We
need to get her to life center now!" he yelled. 
   Athena was no longer conscious of the world around her. She was now
surrounded by faceless monsters trying to grab her. But she wouldn't let
them! She ki ked and screamed as hard as she could to try and keep them
off, to no avail. 
   "Rigel, help me restrain her!" ordered Jolly. Rigel took Athena's arms
and tried to ease her fears, but Athena kept on fighting. "Hold on Athena!
Hold on!" Jolly was trying to say amid the chaos. 
   "Sargon, let us take her to Life Center! She's not involved in this!"
pleaded Adama. 
   Sargon looked at Adama for a moment. 'So, he's finally losing 
control of the situation' thought Adama. 
   "Sargon, remember what I told you." said Tigh over the communications
channel. Sargon looked at the screen, then at Adama, then back at Athena.
Finally he conceded: "All right. Signal for two medics to take her to 
Life Center. No tricks Tigh. They will be thoroughly checked.". 
   Tigh began issuing orders without bothering to respond. "Tell 
Cassiopea to to prepare to receive her patient!" he ordered. 
   It didn't take long for two med-techs armed with emergency medical
equipment and a hover-stretcher to arrive at the entrance to the bridge.
The short hallway leading to the Galactica's primary command center now
looked like a border between two warring nations: one side of the 
corridor was swamped with Galactica security, while the other was 
covered by Sargon's men. After being given some quick instructions from 
security, the two med-techs were thoroughly inspected by Sargon's 
men. Satisfied that they weren't carrying anything suspicious, the 
guards let them pass. The med-techs immediately rushed towards Athena. 
   "What's her condition?" asked Hatspauth, one of the med-techs.
   "Internal bleeding, several fractures including the spine, 
lacerations, shock and delirium!" answered Jolly. 
   "Let's stabilize her and get her on the hover-stretcher" ordered
Hatspauth to his aide. He pulled out his hypo-injector, fitted it with a
stabilizer, and injected Athena. Almost instantaneously, she began
stopping her struggle, which greatly relieved Jolly and Rigel although she
continued to mouth incomprehensible words. They applied some antiseptics
to her open wounds, gave her oxygen, put her on the hover-stretcher, and 
whisked her off the bridge. 
   Strangely, Adama wasn't very worried about Athena. In spite of her
injuries, he felt confident that Doctor Salik would be able to make her 
well again, and remove one of Sargon's bargaining chips in the process. 
   'Very well Adama, so your daughter is no longer involved in this
struggle. But don't think that I will back down on my demands." said 
Sargon calmly. " Stroth!" 
   "Yes Sargon" answered one of his henchmen. 
   "We are now proceeding with Plan C." he ordered, pointing towards Rigel.
   "Yes Sargon". Stroth walked over to a tired Rigel, grabbed her by her
left armpit with his free hand, and raised roughly her to her feet. 
Jolly tried to protest but was forced to remain where he was
by a guard aiming a laser at his head. Stroth took Rigel away from the 
other bridge crew and to the front of the command pedestal - where
he had cover from 2 guards standing on it. 
   "What is the meaning of this?" demanded Adama angrily. 
   "You have one Centaur to comply with our demands Adama. After that, I
will be forced to kill her." responded Sargon. 
   Adama clenched his fists. By the Lords, if so many people's lives had 
not been in danger, he would have charged Sargon right now and ended all 
this. But Sargon had the upper hand once again. 
   "Adama, please understand. I have no intention of killing your bridge
officer, but we have to keep the threat alive to get your cooperation." 
   "I see" answered Adama coldly. "I will listen for now. But that's all." 
   "That's better". Sargon motioned for Adama to sit at one of the 
consoles. He refused. "Fine, stand if you prefer. " He began to tell 
Adama exactly what he and his people wanted. 

   "That's it! We have a capstone of our own Colonel!" exclaimed Apollo,
sitting in Tigh's cabin. In all his yahrens of service, he had never been 
in Tigh's quarters. A sense of satisfaction, but it would have been sweeter 
if under more joyous conditions. Tigh himself sat across from him on his 
desk chair. Boomer was right next to Apollo. It was the safest place 
Tigh thought where they could discuss their plans. No doubt Adama's cabin 
had unwanted ears who reported to Sargon and Lord knew who else.
   "Not so fast Apollo. Sure Omega managed to avoid capture, but that's
not very useful unless we figure out how we can use him" 
   "Or Omega himself comes up with a scheme." added Boomer. 
   "But it's clear that no one has noticed him?" asked Apollo. 
   "Sargon's would have done something drastic if they did." said Tigh. 
   "What exactly is that thing where Omega is hiding?" asked Boomer.
   "It's a service crawlway used for repairing some of the bridge
equipment that's too bulky to remove easily, like the power, function, and
command distribution buses, communications, and environmental systems." 
Apollo's and Boomer's eyes shot up wildly. "It can reasonably fit 4
technicians on hands and knees, but it can only be accessed from the bridge." 
   "Colonel, that's perfect!" exclaimed Apollo. "We can completely cut off
the bridge from the rest of the ship so that Sargon won't be able to do 
anything catastrophic, then make conditions unbearable inside so that 
they'll HAVE to leave!". 
   "It's not that easy Apollo. First of all, we have no way of
communicating with Omega. Second, Omega isn't an electronics technician. 
It would take him a long time to do some of the things you propose, and 
such actions would anger Sargon. Who knows how Sargon would react?". 
   "What about something simple like killing the lights? We know
exactly where everybody is, and if we were to black out the bride,
couldn't we have security rush in with visibility-enhancing sensors and
clean up the mess?" suggested Boomer. 
   "Too risky. The situation would get out of hand. The last thing we want
is a firefight in total darkness. Besides, we would still need to tell 
Omega what to do." 
   "He's not wearing his headset, is he?" asked Apollo. 
   "No. He wouldn't take it with him if he left his post anyways." 
replied Tigh. 
   "I take it there's no intercom in the crawlway?" asked Boomer. 
   "Unfortunately no". 
   Apollo sat thinking to himself for a few moments. Suddenly, he had an 
idea. "Colonel, doesn't he crawlway have its own lighting system?" he asked. 
   Tigh thought about this one. "Why, yes it does. Why?" By the Lords, he
didn't even need to ask! "That's perfect Apollo! By applying and removing 
power from them we could use the flash code send simple messages!" 
   "Sure, those terrorists aren't paying any attention to that crawlway,
so they probably wouldn't even notice the flashes" added Boomer. 
   "But what do we tell him?" asked Apollo. He was interrupted by an
intercom beeping at Tigh's desk. The colonel answered it, spoke for
a few moments, then came back looking frightened. 
   "The situation has grown worse. Sargon is going to kill Rigel in less
than a Centaur unless Adama complies with his demands. Whatever we do, we
have to do it fast." The three officers began planning their next move. 

   Meanwhile, in his lonely hiding place, Omega was finishing his repairs.
He sat back satisfied, looking at a mess of wires and circuit boards of
the repaired communications bus.  Sure, it was ugly, but it would work.
Although he was relatively well hidden from view, he had to duck on the
floor a couple of times when a guard got too close. He also had to hold
back an incredible urge to sneeze. 
   Unfortunately, the situation had worsened. Rigel was now standing with
Stroth about 3 metrons in front of the crawlway. He could tell she was
terrified, because they had worked together long enough to recognize each
other's body language. Stroth's back was to the crawlway, so Omega badly
wanted to give her some kind of sign that he was all right, that she
wasn't alone, and that he was ready to jump that monster the instant he
tried something. But Omega decided against it. There was no telling how
Rigel would react to his presence. Any sudden sign of surprise would alert
the guards ruining everything. While exploring his little hole, Omega
realized that with some  tinkering he could make conditions aboard the
bridge unbearable, or he could effectively cut them off from the rest of
the ship. The only trouble was he didn't know what course to pursue. 
   Before he had a chance to duck, he realized that Rigel was looking in
his direction and had noticed him, for her face radiated surprise and even
some relief! He immediately put his index finger to his lips. So, the
guards weren't alerted after all. For now, all he could do was a thumbs-up
to show that he was there for her if she needed him. Rigel acknowledged
with a nod. 

   Finally, after a centaur of frenzied activity, the last Borellian Nomen
got of his shuttle and joined his buddies in their blood-trail on Starbuck.
Starbuck cautiously stuck his head above the storage crate to make sure
that no one was left. There wasn't. Good. They heard alot of noise,
shouting, and other activity reverberating from the access corridors. 
   He checked his laser blaster's power meter. Almost fully charged. Not
that it would help in a firefight where he was outnumbered 20 to 1, but at
least he could still do alot of damage. OK then, let's start damaging a
few things he thought to himself. 
   "Are you familiar this landing bay?" he asked Bink and Dor.
   The two looked at each other, then Dor responded "I have spent a few
Yahrens here. Why?" 
   "Great! How many entrances does this place have?" asked Starbuck.
   "Three. One large set of double-doors across from here leading to the
Hangar area, plus two on that wall." he answered
   "Bink, are the Nomen looking for Chameleon?" asked Starbuck again.
   "No. My sources tell me that the invaders have not paid any attention
to him. In fact, the Nomen have even caught up with him and let him be.
Apparently, they are only after you and are demanding to know where you are
from whoever they run into." answered the resourceful Bink. 
   Starbuck's eyes lit up. "Are you SURE they're not after Chameleon?"
   "I'm sure. My sources do not lie."
   Starbuck ignored that statement. This was perfect! So a suicide attempt
to rescue Chameleon was no longer necessary! "OK, we have 5 Borellian
shuttles here. It shouldn't take me more than 7 or 8 centons." he was
going to make it very difficult for the Nomen to follow him. 
   "You two stay here. I'm going to trash  their shuttles." he ordered.
   "Lieutenant, I strongly urge you to take my father with you." pleaded
Bink while nodding at Dor. His tone was insistent enough that Starbuck
found it difficult to refuse. Plus as crazy as it seemed, Starbuck was
starting to believe what the old man could do. "All right, but stay behind
me and watch your back." 
   The warrior and retiree began running towards the closet Borellian 
shuttle.

   "No! Absolutely not!" answered Adama in what he hoped was a tone that
said his answer was final with no arguments accepted. 
   "Come now Commander, you can't mean that our demands are unreasonable.
We're really doing you a favor! We want to relieve you of the burden of
watching after us!" answered Sargon. 
   "Sargon, we have barely enough supplies to keep the fleet alive! In
order to accommodate your needs, we would have to the ship around, and
leave you behind with badly needed equipment and perishables." 
   "But you would only have to supply us ONCE!"
   "Other people would follow. That planet we passed 20 Centaurs ago is
nearly on the edge of our star charts. The fleet has now entered unknown
territory with no idea of what's out there. You're forcing us to abandon
our efforts!" 
   "Anything is better than spending our lives trying to find a planet no
one can prove even exists COMMANDER!" hissed Sargon. 
   Adama was growing tired of this conversation. Was Sargon mad? "Do you
recall WHY we left in the first place? Our home worlds were destroyed by
the Cylons. Whoever survived was to be finished off by ground forces. None
of us even want to think about what has happened to those not able to
escape!" shouted the commander. "The fleet is being FOLLOWED Sargon.  We
can't possibly survive a full Cylon onslaught. The only reason why we're
still alive is because we're constantly moving and confusing them. No
doubt they check every planet they come across. They would kill you all the
minute they caught up with you." Adama stressed that last sentence by 
making eye contact with Sargon's men. 
   "Let us worry about that Adama. Remember Serenity and Terra? I don't
recall the Cylons committing any massacres there!" 
   "That's because we eluded them long enough to allow the fleet to leave
the area safely." 
   "So you could do that again."
   "Hardly. We risked our lives to save Terra from a nuclear holocaust,
and ended up using alot of fuel. We would have to do the same just for
you, and would deplete our fuel supply even more. The fleet would be left
vulnerable to attack. I am not prepared to take that risk and neither are
YOU Sargon if your values as a leader as the same as mine." 
   Sargon thought for a moment. He next words ruined all the progress
Adama thought he was making. "Adama, you're forgetting about your bridge
officer. We have spent half a Centaur arguing about the subject and you
haven't made any provisions to accommodate our demands. Don't be foolish
and sacrifice her because of your stubbornness!" 
   Adama's next words were even more shocking and insane than Sargon's:
"Go ahead. Kill her. What will THAT accomplish? And what after that? Will
you just pick another target? How many will it take? Look around you
Sargon! They have taken an oath to defend the Colonies and would give
their lives for them!" Sargon was taken aback by this outburst. "And what
happens when you run out of hostages? I could end all this NOW just by
self-destructing my battlestar." 
   "Commander!" pleaded Rigel in disbelief.
   "That's an order Sergeant!" answered her Commander angrily.
   She composed herself and answered with a disciplined "Yes Commander!"
   "Don't worry. I will not let them harm you." soothed  Adama.
   Sargon was speechless. Did Adama mean what he just said? If so, then
all the Sectaries of preparations he and his people have made would be
useless. 
   Adama now knew that Sargon's confidence was slowly falling apart, as
well as his people's. Perhaps this wouldn't have to end tragically after
all, as long as nothing else-
   The tension was suddenly interrupted by a beeping from one of the
forward monitoring consoles. Everyone's heads turned in the direction of
that sound. Sargon's men were clearly confused but the bridge crew, having
heard that sound many times before, felt a terrifying chill. 
   "May the Lords protect us." said Adama, helpless aboard his own bridge. 

   Starbuck cautiously approached a Borellian shuttle, being careful not
to make any unnecessary noise. Dor was right behind him. He came up to one
of the shuttle's entry doors. They didn't even bother to lock it up! 
   "Dor, stay here and watch out for any surprises." he ordered.
   Starbuck quickly boarded the shuttle and went over to the control area.
Sure, it was the fleet's standard policy to keep every possible piece of
machinery in working condition, but this was a unique exception.  Starbuck
stood back about 3 metrons from the forward control console, raised his
laser, and squeezed the trigger. A white bolt of energy emanated from the
barrel with a high-pitched noise, hit the console, and turned it into an
eruption of sparks and shrapnel. Starbuck covered his face and stopped for
a micron to examine it. By the time those Nomen figured out where he was
he would be long gone and they would be stuck with a bunch of retirees! 
   "Starbuck, I hear 2 Nomen approaching!" shouted Dor. Starbuck heard the
familiar sound of laser boles energizing and footsteps approaching fast. 
   "Get out of the way Dor!" shouted Starbuck as he dove out the door. 
Dor ducked to the right, Starbuck sailed above him and landed heavily on
his hands and knees. He turned to his left just in time to see one of the
Nomen throwing the laser bole at him!!! With the twin glowing balls of
death flying towards him, Starbuck summoned all his speed and rolled
sharply to the right. The bole struck harmlessly not more than 2 metrons
behind him. He stopped rolling and swiftly got up on one knee, raised his
laser, and fired expertly at the Nomen. Two shots connected and one Nomen 
fell to the ground, the others exploding against the shuttle's hull. 
   "Watch out!" cried Dor, running towards Starbuck as the other Nomen
prepared to release his bole. 
   "What are you doing?!?!?" cried Starbuck in disbelief. "Run AWAY from
here, not TOWARDS-" But before he could finish Dor was at his side and all
Starbuck could do was watch another bole approaching them.
   OR WAS IT??? NO, IT WASN"T!!! the second bole sailed passed them and
missed them by over 2 metrons! But Starbuck didn't wait. He was already
aiming his laser at the other Nomen, fired, and dropped him before he
could energize another bole. 
   "ARE YOU ALL RIGHT??" asked Starbuck, breathing heavily. He couldn't
believe what just happened - AGAIN. 
   "Very much so Lieutenant." answered Dor.
   "All right then. Let's take care of those other shuttles". 

   Colonel Tigh, Apollo, and Boomer rushed into the auxiliary bridge the
moment they learned of the approaching danger. 
   "Status report!" demanded Tigh as soon as he stepped through the doors.
   "Approximately 200 Cylon Raiders on an intercept course with the
Galactica, sir." answered Ensign Aetna hysterically. "ETA: 30 centons." 
   Stay calm Tigh.  Don't lose it now after all you've managed to
accomplish since this situation started' the Colonel thought to himself.
We still have the auxiliary bridge. You've survived battle countless
times. The only difference is you don't have full control of the ship. 
   "Have internal communications been restored yet?" he inquired.
   "It appears so Sir. Someone must have repaired the system in the last
centaur." answered Ensign Incidental. 
   "Omega did it!" cried Apollo.
   "Thank you Lord." said Tigh looking up at the ceiling. "Battle-stations!
Launch all available vipers and recall all pilots from furlon!"
   The auxiliary bridge became a flurry of activity as the replacement
crew frantically made preparations for the upcoming battle. "I'll contact
the main bridge and see if THIS changes Sargon's mind about surrendering."
said Tigh to Apollo. 
   "It's definitely something he didn't expect Colonel." replied Apollo,
getting ready to leave with Boomer. 
   "Get the squadrons flying Captain and good hunting." replied Tigh.
    Apollo and Boomer replied with a sharp "Yes sir!", then turned around
and ran out the nearest door. 

   "That's it! I think we're finished Sheba!" cried Bojay triumphantly
from under the cockpit's center console. "Now help pull me out!". 
   Bojay was under the console head-first with his feet on the back of the
pilot's seat. Sheba took his hand and pulled him out slowly. Bojay managed
to grab the sides of the cockpit, lifted himself up, and climbed down. 
   Sheba examined her friend with amusement. His jacket was on the floor
nearby and was his only clothing still intact. Bojay's flight suit was now
a grimy, oily, torn mess. His hair was a tangled mess, and his hands and
face were covered in grime and a few substances Sheba didn't want to
identify. He was also exhausted and sweating violently. 
   The finished Viper didn't look much better either. Even though the two
had help from Rising Star technicians, it looked like a collection of
spare parts, each a different color. The cockpit was a heap of exposed
panels and circuitry. So it wouldn't pass Colonel Tigh's rigorous
inspections the two thought, but it would fly. Maybe. 
   "Let's give everyone the good news." said Sheba as she reached into the
cockpit for a headset. She adjusted some controls and put it on. 
  "Sheba to Galactica, do you read? This is Sheba, do you read Galactica?"
she said hopefully. There was silence for a few tense moments, then Tigh's
voice boomed in loud and clear over the cockpit speaker. 
   "We read you Sheba. What is your condition?"
   Something was wrong. Tigh was shouting, and his voice was trembling. 
   "We've managed to put together ONE Viper down here Colonel. We're not
exactly sure whether it will fly, but at least we have something." 
answered Sheba. 
   "IS IT COMBAT READY??" demanded Tigh.
   Combat? Did things really get THAT bad? wondered Sheba. "Well
Colonel, the diagnostics indicate we hooked everything up correctly, but 
there really is no way to tell." 
   "Not good!" replied Tigh. "Listen up you two. Long-range scanners have
picked up a wave of 200 Cylon raiders from an unknown base-star on an
intercept course with the Galactica. ETA approximately 20 centons. We need
to get every available Viper flying NOW. If you can fly, we need you!" 
   "Yes sir! Sheba out."
   Sheba looked at Bojay. "How do we do this?" she asked. 
   "You go Sheba. I'll try and see if I can fix that one over there" he
pointed at another Viper, almost intact except for no engines." 
   "No Bojay! You can handle yourself better in a firefight! I won't be
able to get a feel for this viper as fast as you can." 
   "But I can't fly. Look at my G-suit. This thing is useless now.  I'll
have to find another one even if I manage to put together another viper." 
   She knew he was right. One look at his suit killed any arguments. 
   "C'mon, let's get you flying!" he said before Sheba could protest. 
   Sheba climbed in and Bojay helped secure her to the Viper. "Prepare for
launch!' he shouted to the other technicians. They began setting up the
bay systems for a Viper launch. Bojay gave Sheba her helmet, and flipped
switches for her, silently praying that the frakking thing would work. He
flipped the switches that controlled internal power. The indicator lights
came on, then went out. Not wanting to rip them out again, Bojay banged
them as hard as he could. They came back on, and the engines began
humming. Bojay hoped Sheba didn't notice that. It would really ruin her
confidence he thought. 
   "OK, you're all set! Happy hunting, and make your father proud!" he
said as he tapped her helmet. Sheba smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Bojay
jumped off as she closed her canopy. The technicians turned the viper
around so it faced the open end of the landing bay showing interstellar
space, the atmosphere held inside by a tuned force field. Sheba did one
more quick check of the flight systems, made sure that all indicators were
green, waited for her permission to launch, and eagerly hit the three
TURBO switches. 
   The soft hum of the engines turned into a booming whine that grew in
pitch and the Viper began to vibrate. Sheba tensed the muscles in her neck
and pushed the center button on her control stick. 
   Her body was thrown against the cushions, the Viper roared with power,
and she was catapulted out of the landing bay into deep space. She
retracted her landing gear, and was greeted by a series of alarms warning
her about engine 1. `No time to worry about that now' she thought and set
a course for the Galactica. 

   Starbuck fired another shot, and his efforts were rewarded with another
fiery eruption. It'll take those Borellian Nomen a long time before
they'll be able to catch up with Starbuck he thought. But then again if
they do, Starbuck worried that not even the Ship of Lights would be able
to protect him! Still, they definitely picked the wrong target for a
blood-trail, and Starbuck would let them know in his own special way. 
   Bink ran up to them just as Starbuck stepped out. "I'm glad you're here
Bink." said Starbuck. "I'm needed elsewhere and have to leave. I want you
to take your father to safety where the Nomen won't find you."
   "Very well Starbuck. Will you come see us again?"
   "After all we've been through? the next time I'm on furlon and not
being hunted down by hoardes of monsters, I promise to treat the two of
you to a time on the Rising Star you'll never forget!" he said smiling. 
   "It's been YAHRENS since I've been there!" exclaimed Dor.
   "You have alot to catch up on then." answered Starbuck.
   The three shook hands, and Starbuck prodded Bink to get going. "And be
careful!" he shouted after them.
   "Don't worry! My father's been in worse situations!" yelled back Bink. 
   "I don't doubt that" said Starbuck to himself. Back to business. 
There's work to be done. Starbuck climbed back into his Viper and prepared
to launch. Those Nomen wanted him so badly they didn't even think about
sabotaging his primary means of escape. HE didn't miss such details,
however. The sound of laser boles and shouting from a corridor brought his
mind back to reality. He hurriedly flipped switches aboard his Viper and
taxied to a launch position.
   "Starbuck to Galactica, do you read Galactica? he said into his headset."
   "This is the Galactica, are you all right Starbuck?" asked Tigh excitedly.
   "Yes sir, the situation with the Borellian Nomen is under control. I
was just getting ready to-" 
   "Never mind Lieutenant! We're about to be bombarded by a major Cylon
raid in about 14 centons! If your Viper is operational, I want you to get
over here and join your squadron as soon as possible! This is a major
emergency! 
   Starbuck couldn't believe what he was hearing. Just when he thought the
worst was over. "Yes sir, I'm on my way. Starbuck out." was all he said as
he mentally prepared for what lay ahead. He hit the TURBO buttons, waited
for his engines to build up their power, and blasted out of the ship,
anxious to put as much distance between himself and the Nomen as 
possible. At least Cylons didn't hold grudges.. 

   Baltar was silently contemplating the expected battle on his pedestal.
Finally, after all these annoying yahrens of embarrassing defeats victory
would be his! Soon, the Galactica would be a collection of glowing debree
silently drifting in the endless void of space, and Adama would be part of
it. THEN WHY WASN'T HE OVERJOYED? Perhaps was it because trying to destroy
that little battlestar gave him a purpose in life, an excuse to stay
alive?  And what would happen to him should he succeed? Even if Imperious
Leader decided to keep him he would still be left with nothing to do, save
talk day and night with Lucifer. He shook his head. 'I need a vacation' he
thought, 'this line of work is too stressful'. 

   Omega finished working on another panel. After finishing repairs on the
communications router, he began devising little schemes of his own to
somehow regain control of the bridge. He exposed the light-control relays
and rigged them in such a way that with the pull of one connector he could
black out the bridge. Once he did that, he knew whatever advantage the
darkness would give anyone it would be over in approximately 5 microns
when the emergency lights took over and there was no way to stop them.
Still, if something drastic was to occur he could at least cause a
diversion. He took another look at Rigel. She was silent and calm, but
Adama was running out of time. Omega swore that her guard would never be
able to chew his food with his own teeth ever again! 

   "Sargon, the Galactica crew has  been telling the truth! According to
these scanners, there are approximately 200 Cylon raiders approaching us!"
cried Krista while peering down at the bridge tactical station. 
   Adama could not stand it any longer. He was ready to leap at Sargon. 
"Sargon, I demand that you release the bridge!" he cried while taking
several steps towards him. "This is beyond madness! Face it! You've lost
control of the situation! End this now or we'll all die!" Two guards
rushed up to block him with their lasers. But Adama still kept walking,
and one of them was ready to hit Adama on the back of the neck.
   "Let him be!" shouted Sargon angrily to the guard. "Adama, I will not
relinquish control until you agree to our demands!" 
   `So he really was mad!' thought Adama. Sargon was so determined to get
what he wanted he would risk the lives of every soul in the fleet!
How come none of his people ever protested?
   Jolly noticed that his guard put his laser away, no doubt believing
there was no need to keep it pointed at his head. He could just
reach it...NO! Not yet! Rigel and Adama were still in a direct line of
fire. One wrong move and it was all over for them. No, he had to wait for
another opportunity. 
   "Sargon, you know that what you're asking for CANNOT be accomplished in
a centaur! Even if we could put together all the supplies necessary for
just your group we would still have to spend dozens of sectars searching
for a suitable planet!" Adama tried to reason. "Don't force this upon us!
If you want to get off the fleet so badly I can understand, but I refuse
to deal with anyone who would put the lives of so many people in danger!" 
   Sargon's chronograph began beeping. He looked at it, pushed a button,
and covered it with his sleeve. He actually had the look of regret as
he faced Adama and uttered his next words: "I'm afraid your centaur is up
Adama, and you failed to comply with our demands or at least make
arrangements. You know what this means." 
   Cold sweat began trickling down Adama's back. His knees buckled and he
was doing his best to fight for control over himself. Perhaps he DID have
nothing to lose after all. Athena was being taken care of in Life Center.
Maybe he should just end it all and rush Sargon now, if it would only save
Rigel! 
   "Stroth, do your duty." ordered Sargon. "I regret it had to come to
this Adama." 
   "Sargon, you will burn for this!" Adama yelled, helpless.
   Rigel began to weep but stood her ground bravely. Stroth adjusted his 
laser and raised it- 
   But his concentration was broken as the lights changed from their
normal hue to combat red and the battlestation klaxons began screaming.
The positive shield came down to protect the bridge from attack and bridge
station controls indicated they they were being operated from the
auxiliary bridge. 
   "Sargon!" exclaimed one of the technicians monitoring the P.I.L.O.T.
"It appears that internal communications have been restored!" 
   "WHAT???" Sargon was dumbfounded. "Are you sure about that??" he walked
up to the technician's station. 
   "Affirmative! The ship is preparing for battle and all personnel are
being directed to their posts! Even the Vipers are being launched.
According to what they're saying, most of the fighters have already been
deployed and some have already engaged the enemy!" 
   "But! But ship-wide communications were supposed to have been disabled
with the charge that was set in that service crawlway!" Sargon was saying
in disbelief. "Go over there and take a look right now!" he ordered. 
   The technician got up and headed for the crawlway. 
   The situation on the bridge was on the brink of collapsing. Jolly was
more than ready to grab that laser and shoot every one of Sargon's men,
and Adama was standing within punching distance of Sargon. They both
looked at each other. All they needed now was a diversion. 

   Kill Rigel? NO! He would not let it happen! Omega sweated heavily as he
watched Stroth near the crawlway's entrance. He positioned his body so
that he would be able to leap out, and put one hand on the hook-up that
would kill the bridge lights. Steady...steady...he only had one chance to
hurl himself at Stroth, grab the laser, and turn it against its owner,
while at the same tie throwing Rigel down to the floor (into the crawlway
if possible), and blast the guards on the command pedestal. He was
rocking back and forth to stay aimed at a moving Stroth. 
   Then he heard the commotion at the side of the bride where the hostages
were being kept, saw the bridge lights change to red and the klaxons
sound, and heard the order Sargon gave to one of his technicians to check
the sabotage they did to the crawlway. 
   Now he KNEW he would have to go through with this! Nothing else mattered
anymore, as he was certain he would not survive; so he prayed that the
others would take his lead and help turn the tables on Sargon. 
   Omega swallowed hard and tensed his muscles. The technician was less
than 4 metrons away, and Stroth was taking aim again. Another step, then 3
metrons, another step, then 2 metrons. 
   THIS IS IT!!! NOW!!! Omega pulled the cable as hard as he could and
felt the connectors come out of the panel. The lights went out and the
bridge became pitch-black He didn't even wait to hear the gasps of
surprise that everyone took, nor did he pay any attention to the loud
commotion that started from the area where the hostages were kept. Omega
locked into his mind Stroth's last known position, and with all his
might pushed against the ground with his feet, helped guide himself out
of the crawlway with his arms, and launched himself into the darkness... 



   OK, the torch is being passed to the next lucky guy who gets to write 
Chapter 7. Actually, in spite of all the difficulties that I experienced 
with this, it was a joy to write. One of my first fan-fic attempt, so 
please take it easy with the pitchforks and flame-throwers guys.

   I know it's a little long, but I was left wiht quite a mess. [:) I had 
quite a bit of things that I wanted to address, as well as writing it in 
a way that everyone would be able to experience the world in the 
character's eyes, as well as their feelings and conflicts.

			ENJOY!!!

From: kxbyrnes@sescva.esc.edu
Subject: Round Robin Story Part Seven

	Omega's aim was unerring, and within a moment, he had knocked Stroth
down, and, it had seemed, incapacitated him.  Now, however, he was on the
bridge, with no idea of where he was or had been going, and, even worse, there
were a couple of lunatics on the bridge with him that weren't so pleased with
this new developement. To his left and right, he could make out faint shapes,
but, Omega wondered, were they real, or just my imagination?  "Well," he said,
only faintly aware that he had been talking aloud, "I'll take my chances with
trying to get out of their way." Seconds after he had moved, a laser bolt shot
across the room, in the space that had previously been occupied by his head.
The situation had become far more dire than he had realized.
	Tentatively, Adama tried to move to the last known position of Rigel,
hoping that she was still there.  It had been no use though, the lighting on
the bridge was gone completely, and Adama's own eyesight was deteriorating.
With Sargon's men scattered throughout the room, there was no way that he could
be sure who he was approaching.  Adama's last hope remained in the fact that 
they had appeared to have been equally disabled by the situation.  He sighed 
heavily, hoping that with enough luck, they could be rescued  before Sargon's
men could lay their hands on them again.  With that, he started to silently 
creep in the direction of the bridge doors.  Then, an all too familiar voice
wispered, "Thought we were blinded too, huh Adama?"
	Between the situation on the bridge, and the approaching fleet of
Cylons, Tigh's mind was wracked.  He  needed as many free personelle as he 
could ou there fighting the Cylons.  But, that would also mean leaving those who
stuck on the bridge to fare for themselves, and if they lost Adama, the 
consequensces would be too grisly to bare.  He knew that he had to clear his
mind, and fast. Which, is why the last thing that he had needed was to have
gone down to the medical center to visit Athena.  Then something struck Tigh
as odd, it seemed that down the corridor, towards the bridge, there seemed to
be less light.  Was it an optical illusion, Tigh reflected, or was it something
else? Still, with some of Sargon's men guarding the entrance to the bridge, 
there was no way that he could know for sure.  Unless, he thought, I went to
one of the subdecks,and checked which circutry was operational, Tigh clung 
his hope, that there was a miniscule chance that Omega had struck again!
There was no time for doubt now, Tigh decided to waylay his trip to see Athena
in oreder to check out what was going on on the bridge. If hope really did
still exist on the bridge, maybe it did in battle too.
	Apollo had become worried, he had already lost a brother, and now he
stod to lose his sister, father, and the nephew he might not even get a chance
to meet.  This waws definately the kind of situation that Apollo had wanted to
go into battle with, unforunately, he didn't seem to have much of a choice, and
he tried desperately to stay focused, both for himself, and those who the 
Cylons would endanger, which were basically, the entire remnants of the 
colonies. He promised himself, that if he couldn't help the situation on the
bridge, the, by the Lords of Kobol, that he would fight the Cylons, so that 
someone else could, or, at the very leaqst, he could prolong their lives and 
not let them be blown to pieces by the very same enemy who had already done it
once before.
	Cassiopea felt extremely unsure of herself as Athena began to regain
consciousness, first she had stolen her boyfriend, and now, she had revealed
that Athena was pregnant, much to the shock and surprise of her family. So,
it came as no surprise to her that when she awoke, Athena looked as if she
were ready to kill Cassie then and there.  However, it had almost given Cassie
a stroke to find out that Athena was in fact grateful for not only Cassie's
saving her life, but also for her revealing her secret.  "Cassie, I really owe
you one, you saved our lives," Athena said, looking down at her midsection,
"and, thank you for helping me tell them, I couldn't have done it without you
and, Cassie, I really mean that."  Cassie was taken back, and wished that after
having gotten Athena's forgivness, that she could have said , or asked
something more tactful than the question that had been on all their minds since
they had been informed of Athena's condition.  But, she couldn't, and before
she had known what she had said, she blurted out, "Athena, who IS the father?"
	Tigh was filled when he had seen that itb was no coincidence that the
power had gone out on the bridge, that it was in fact, most probably Omega's
doing.  With Sargon and his men blinded, we can get them out of there, he
dared to have let himself think.  All we need, he thought, is some kind of
infa-red vision, but where?  Just then, almost as to have answered Tigh's
question on cue, cxame a small whimper from a storage closet.  Tigh opened 
the door, only to find Boxey, and his mechanical buddy, Muffit.  "What's
wrong Boxey?" Tigh asked.  Boxey managed to choke out, "Grandpa's in trouble,
he might be killed."  A simpathetic beep came from Muffit.  That's it, Tigh
thought to himself.  "Boxey, with Muffit's help, we just might be able to
save your grandapa after all."  Tigh quickly explained the basic premisis of
his plan to Boxey, and they began to look for an air duct to load Muffit in 
that would lead to the bridge.  "Maybe there is hope after all," Tigh said
silently.
	Meanwhile, back aboard the bridge, Adama, Jolly, Rigel, and Omega had
made the unpleaseant discovery of knowing that Sargon's men had been prepared
for a loss of power, and had brought Infa-red sensors with them.  The 
situation had just gon efrom bad, to worse, to damn near impossible now! That,
was when they had heard a clanking noise coming from the air duct, and a
robotic "Woof", this just might save us after all, the captives thought. 
Muffit's barking alerted them to where Sargon and his men were, and had give
them the chance they needed.  Then, with the fire of a laser, Muffit's
barking was cut short, the daggit was dead.  However, Adama now had the chance
that he needed to go free...
	"Cassie," Athena faintly said to the Meditech, "the father is really
Omega, and this time it's no hallucination."

Okay, now let's see someone come up with part eight!
See you later,
Kevin

From: Bruce.Pardy@vuw.ac.nz
Subject: Round Robin #1 Chapter 8

Okay, kids, here's part 8.  I was faster than I expected.  Hope you like it!
Bruce

******************************************************
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
ROUND ROBIN STORY #1

CHAPTER 8

	Around the Galactica, the battle raged.  In her makeshift Viper,
Sheba bravely struggled to keep up.  Her top engine was still producing
alarm signals, and the fighter simply would not respond to her commands the
way she was used to.  Trying to ignore the explosions around her, she
trailed a trio of Cylon fighters heading for the Battlestar, lined up the
rear one in her attack scanner, and blew it to pieces.  "At least that much
works," she muttered to herself.
	The two remaining Cylons in the formation spun in opposite
directions, one left, one right.  Sheba knew if she went after one, the
other would try to get behind her.  Their predictability was her advantage.
 She banked to follow the one on the right, inviting the other to follow. 
She had a little surprise planned.
	Unfortunately, two of her three thrusters chose that moment to cut
out completely.  "Oh please, not now," she pleaded.  The Cylon was quickly
on her tail.  With little manuevering capability, she was in trouble and
she knew it.  She turned away as fast she could on her one remaining
thruster, both Cylons now close behind, firing.
	"Keep diving, keep diving!" Apollo's voice came over her headset. 
A viper fired from somewhere above her, and one Cylon was destroyed.
	"I can't lose the other one" Sheba cried as she twisted downwards.
	"I'm coming, hang on!"  Apollo and the Cylon fired at the same
moment.  Apollo's blast turned the target into a fiery nothing.  The shot
from the Cylon caught Sheba's right laser turret which sparked and blew. 
Apollo heard her cry out.
	"Sheba!  Sheba!  Talk to me!"
	She moaned.  "I'm hit Apollo..ow..I'm burned but...I'm still here."
	"I'll lead you in.  Can you follow?  Apollo to Galactica, medical
emergency, landing bay stand by for injured pilot!"

	The diversion created on the blacked out bridge by the mechanical
daggit, now expired, gave them a few precious seconds.  During his time in
the service alcove, Omega had observed that no guard had been placed by the
ladder leading down to the repair tube underneath the main bank of bridge
stations.  At the other end of the tube there was a hatch which opened to
more service crawlways, and eventually back to main corridors. It was a
narrow opening, and would be a hopeless entrance for a rescue invasion. 
But as an escape route, it had potential.  
	Omega had served on the bridge of the Battlestar for eight years
and knew it as well as anyone, even in the dark.  He had found Rigel in the
darkness and had given her enough quick body signals to let her know, he
hoped, what he planned.  When he heard the daggit's bark and the ensuing
commotion, he pushed her in the direction of the ladder, only a couple of
steps away.  First Rigel and then Omega plunged into more darkness, riding
the rails rather than taking the rungs one at a time. Shots exploded over
Omega's head as he disappeared beneath the floor, and then scrambled on his
hands and knees towards Rigel and the hatch which she had managed to open. 
They were out!

	Sheba's landing was wobbly, but successful.  She was whisked away
in a medbed, Apollo following closely behind.  Apollo's viper was quickly
set for relaunch by one of the pilots waiting impatiently for a ship.
	Although the attending medtechs had assurred him Sheba's injuries
were not critical, Apollo felt sick at the sight of her lying there.  It
reminded him of the only other time Sheba had been taken on a medbed, back
on the Pegasus shortly before her father had attacked three baseships and
then disappeared.  Maybe it also reminded him of his last centons with
Serina.  He pushed that thought away.

       A medtech gave them a check in the corridor. Omega had twisted his
ankle at the bottom of the tube, but insisted he was fine.  Rigel seemed to
be as well, in spite of her harrowing experience.  "By the way,
congratulations, Omega," said the medtech, Thrax, patting him on the
shoulder.  Omega wondered how anyone but Rigel could know about his actions
in the darkness.
	"Thanks.  It was nothing really."
	Thrax chuckled.  "Okay, if you say so.  I wasn't talking about the
performance, but only Athena would know about that, right?"
	Athena?  Omega didn't understand.  "What are you talking about?"
	Thrax began to feel embarrassed.  "Your child...Athena...You and
Athena,"
	Rigel's eyes fell.  It was Omega's child?  She was stung by the
discovery, and surprised that she was stung.  She knew she liked Omega, and
they worked well together.  But there had been nothing romantic in it.  So
why did she not relish the news?
	"I don't understand," Omega said,  "Go to the Auxiliary Bridge," he
told Rigel, "Tell Tigh that Sargon is able to listen in on every internal
communication we make.  All strategic messages should be made in person.
I'll be there in a centon."  He turned and hobbled as fast as he could in
the direction of the Life Centre.

	"On your tail, Starbuck!" Boomer warned him, "Move it!  Bring him
this way!"
	"Frak!" Starbuck swore, as Cylon blasts came close.
	"Steady..." 
	"Hurry up, Boomer!"  Starbuck pleaded, and then relaxed when his
pursuer exploded into little pieces.  "Thanks, but you can be the bait next
time.  I hate that feeling."
	They banked and flew over the Galactica bridge area, in pursuit of
more targets.  "Boomer, what do you think would happen on the bridge if a
Cylon got a hit up there?"
	Starbuck couldn't see the expression on Boomer's face.  "It's
called serious damage, Starbuck. Are you all right?"
	"No, Boomer, I mean with the hostage situation.  It would throw it
into chaos, right?  They'd lose control, right? How many Cylons have you
picked up heading for a run at the Galactica bridge?" 
	"Actually, none."
	"I haven't seen any either.  A full scale Cylon attack, and no runs
at the bridge area? Boomer, that doesn't make any sense."
	"Talk about it later, Starbuck!" Boomer suggested, as they engaged
another incoming Cylon squadron.

	Apollo came over to him as he entered the Life Centre.  "Hey,
congratulations, but you should've..."  He stopped as Omega shook his head.
	"It's not what you think, Captain" he said, and walked past him to
Athena's medbed.
	"Is she all right?" he asked Cassie.
	"Stable for now, but she has internal injuries we're still worried
about."
	Omega sat on the edge of the bed.  "Athena," he said gently.  But
Athena would not look at him.  "Athena," he said again.
	"Athena?" Cassie said.  Something was not right.
	Athena burst into tears.  "I'm sorry, Omega, I didn't mean to get
you mixed up in this!  I wasn't thinking.  I'm sorry."
	"You're not the father, are you?" Apollo said to Omega.  "Athena,
what is going on?  Why did you lie to Cass?"
	"Oh, God help me, I'm so sorry," she sniffed,  "Apollo, please help
me."  She looked at Cassie.  "Back on the bridge, I wasn't delirious - at
least, not until after I told the truth.  It was just too horrible," she
whispered, "I know lying about Omega would only delay things, but I
couldn't bear it.  I'm sorry," she said again.
	"By the Lords of Kobol, no," said Apollo, "It is Baltar, isn't it?"
 Athena nodded.  Cassiopiea watched Apollo's face change.  "Athena, are you
out of your mind! " Apollo shouted, "How could you?!  That man has done
unspeakable things!  He is responsible for everything we lost!"  
	Cassie put her hand on his shoulder.  "Take it easy, Apollo, she's
not well."
	He took a breath. "When?" he demanded.
	"It was longer ago than Cassiopiea first thought.  It was a little
while after he surrendered to us."  Apollo looked at her carefully and for
the first time noticed that her belly was definitely larger than normal. 
He immediately felt guilty for not noticing before.  Starbuck had been
right.  He didn't pay any attention to his family.
	Athena continued to sob quietly.  "I don't know why.  It's like it
wasn't me. Someone else was in control and I was powerless to stop it."
	"I was so tired.  I'd lost Mother and Zac.  I'd lost Starbuck.  You
and I had never been good at talking, Apollo.  I felt lonely and worthless.
 I didn't want to make decisions any more.  He offered me comfort, and
release, no responsibility."
	"Baltar offered you those things?"  Apollo demanded.
	Athena looked startled.  "No..."
	"No."  Sheba interrupted from the next bed, freshly treated and
bandaged.  She looked at the trio, and then at Athena.  "Iblis did."

	"We ALL die unless you stop this NOW!" Adama bellowed, "Look at it,
man!" he gestured at screens displaying scenes of the battle taking place
around the Galactica.
	"No!  Not until you promise our freedom!" Sargon growled, "If you
don't, you'll be the one who lets us die!"
	"Fire in the left landing bay!" one of the captured bridge officers
called out, watching his monitor from a distance.
	"This man is suicidal," Adama said to Sargon's troops, "If you want
to die, follow him.  We are about to be destroyed."

	"What?!" Apollo said.
	"Balter may be the father, but it was Iblis, wasn't it?" Sheba repeated.
	Athena nodded, choking back more tears.  "I didn't fall in love
with Baltar.  I knew him years ago, but that was a different lifetime. 
Something happened to him.  Such a horrible man now, I didn't even like
him, wasn't attracted to him.  It was Iblis, he said Baltar had been
misunderstood, that I should try to understand him, be kind to him.  And
then I lost my sense of myself."  The dam burst and the tears flowed again.
 "How can I explain it to you when I can't even explain it to myself?!"
	Apollo looked at Sheba.  "How do you know this?"
	"Apollo, think. You watched it happen to me.  Remember the time
when Iblis was there and we were dancing on the Rising Star and you were
jealous..."
	"I wasn't jealous..."
	"...about the fact that I'd been taken under his spell.  I had. 
It's the same pattern - I felt that you hated me then, rejected me.  I had
lost my father.  I was vulnerable, alone.  I needed you, Apollo.   And he
was there, casting this kind of spell, offering me a place if I would stop
struggling.  And then..."  her brow furrowed. 
	"No one can be forced to do anything they don't decide to do," 
Apollo glared.
	Cass sighed.  "Apollo, not all of us are like that."     
	Sheba ignored him, "Wait.  There are parts of this I don't
remember.  That's odd."  She looked at Apollo.  "But I do know it was your
fault I got away."  She smiled.
	Apollo sat next to his sister.  "I'm sorry.  I wish you'd come to me."
	Athena smiled through her tears.  "For God's sake, Apollo, not
everything that goes wrong is your fault, you know,"  she shook her head,
"How am I going to tell Father?"
	"We have to survive first, and get the bridge back,"  he turned to
Omega and Sheba, "We haven't seen Cylons for sectons.  Then they attack
just when terrorists take over the bridge."
	"Either Baltar's incredibly lucky, or he's had inside help," Sheba said.
	"Or..."  Omega said thoughtfully, "the PLOT device!  Apollo, Sargon
has a communications device on the bridge which allows him to intercept and
transmit all of our internal signals.  What if..."
       He was interrupted by Athena, who shrieked with pain and clutched
her abdomen.
	"Athena!" Cass lept to her side, and took readings.  "Doctor Salik,
I need your help immediately!"  Two more medtechs rushed to Athena and
Salik hurried over, glancing at the equipment.  
	"Two mcs of droxine," he ordered.
	"What is it?!" Apollo demanded, "Is she giving birth?"
	"Not even close!  The baby's in trouble!  Apollo, leave!" Cass
ordered.  Omega pulled him away.

*********************************************************

Okay, there you are!  Next!
Bruce

From: HomyakChik@aol.com
Subject: RR Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 - Davey 

  Rigel wasn't the first one to reach the aux bridge. She pounded down the 
corridor, dodging personnel who were likewise performing acrobatics
on their way to their duty stations. The lights in the corridor flickered,
began to strobe in a pattern she had seen seldom, but had learned to dread. 
Red Four. The Galactica itself was now in serious danger. The terrorists had 
succeeded in dooming not only themselves but, by theiractions, everyone in 
the fleet.
  The girl skidded around the corner, sprinted toward the guards at the end
of the corridor. Before they could notice and stop her, however, another 
figure, garbed in full-armor combat gear, emerged from another side corridor. 
Rigel managed to bring herself to a stop, more angry than anything. About to 
give the normal down on deck! command that _had_ to be obeyed in alert 
situations, she stopped, startled. The combat arms tech simply stepped up to 
the guards, handed over a record crystal, and turned away again. Rigel, her 
own business temporarily forgotten, took note that the armor was already 
linked  and switched on; she could see nothing of the trooper at all. She 
felt the static build as the man clumped past her, his rad-and-light shield 
reacting to her own presence.  Then he disappeared back down the corridor he
had come from, and she was left alone.
   She shook her head, stepped up to the door. "Corporal Rigel, bridge tech. 
I have urgent information for Colonel Tigh, _right now._"
   The guards looked at each other.
  "I was one of the hostages on the bridge. _Please!_ I've got to speak to 
Colonel Tigh!"
  The second one nodded to the crystal in the first one's hand. "Call it in. 
This is too weird."
   The first one rolled his eyes but held his wristcom up. "Sergeant Hiksos, 
post one."
   "_What is it?_," a nondescript voice asked.
   "I've got a record crystal from combat arms, with instructions to give it
to Colonel Tigh, and I've got a bridge tech here who says she escaped the 
bridge."
  Three michrons later the door hissed open. A noncom glanced at the guards,
then at Rigel,then nodded. The guard with the crystal entered after Rigel.
  The auxilliary bridge was redly lit, the only greens and blues those of the
screens the techs were huddled around. Rigel and the guard paused, getting 
accustomed to the illumination, and a tall form closed on them. 
   "Corporal!"
   "Sir!" Rigel was so relieved she almost broke rank and hugged the man.  
   "Sir," the guard interjected quickly, "I was given this crystal to give to
you."
   Tigh t