Title:
„A Love Beyond the Stars – In the Beginning”

Author:
Dax

Über Category:
Battlestar Galactica

Ratting:
PG

Disclaimer:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all related characters are registered trademarks of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation.
Battlestar Galactica – The 2003 Mini Series, written by Ronald D. Moore and Christopher Eric James. Based upon a teleplay written by Glen A. Larson. Copyright 2003 USA Cable Entertainment Inc.

Authors Note:
The quotes preceding the chapter titles are excerpts from the Battlestar Galactica Miniseries.

Summary:
Life is good on the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. And aboard the Battlestar Galactica, Viper pilot Lieutenant Willow ‘Red’ Rosenberg looks forward to the forthcoming decommissioning ceremonies for the famous Battlestar and her upcoming next assignment, onboard another Battlestar.
Little does Lt. Rosenberg know, that her life is about to be turned upside down. Not only by the return of humanity’s most deadly of enemies, but also by the arrival of a beautiful blond stranger onboard Galactica.




Cylons where created by man.
They where created to make life easer on the Twelve Colonies.
And then the day came, when the Cylons decided to kill their masters.
After a long and bloody struggle, an armistice was declared.
The Cylons left for another world to call their own.
A remote space station was build,
where human and Cylon could meet and maintain diplomatic relations.
Every year the Colonials send an officer. The Cylons send no one.
No one has seen or heard from the Cylons in over forty years.



“Viper 1701; this is Galactica. Approach port landing bay. Hands on. Speed 106. Checkers red. Call the ball,” came the voice of Captain Campion, Glactica’s flight officer into Lieutenant Willow Rosenberg’s helm speaker, informing her that she was cleared to land her fighter.
“Copy that Galactica. Port landing bay. Hands on speed 106. Checkers red. I have the ball,” she reported back and started her approach.

As she directed her Viper into Glactica’s enormous landing bay, she was as usually, impressed by the shear size of Galactica’s landing facilities. Of course she knew that this landing bay wasn’t the biggest in the fleet and hadn’t been for a long time.
For example the landing facilities at the colonial fleets flagship, the only recently launched Battlestar Atlantia, where almost twice as large.
Still a space of this size compelled you to pay some respect to this grand old Battlestar, or as an Admiral of the fleets medical department had ones said: “You have a fine ship and she got the right name. You treat her like a lady and she’ll always bring you home.”
Wise words indeed, granted, he had been talking about the new Battlestar Enterprise, but that didn’t mean that dose words wouldn’t apply to a grand old lady like the Galactica too.

In the meantime, Willow had broad her Viper to a complete standstill, exactly over the landing position and all she needed to do was to give a little power on the thrusters to bring her to the ground, for yet another perfect landing, when suddenly:
“Viper 1701! There’s an energy build-up within your main engine!” called Captain Campion right into Willow’s Helm speaker and at the same time she heart the muffled sound of an explosion from right behind her. All kind of warning lights and signals flashed up on Willow’s main control panel. “Cut all power and stand by for low pressure eject!” She was ordered
“Copy that!” Willow responded and instantaneously pulled the master breaker out of it’s socket, while with the other hand, holding on to the release to her ejector seat and stood by to eject herself out of her Viper.
Luckily all systems except life-support went dead immediately.
“Every thing’s clear ‘Red’, stand down low pressure eject,” Capt. Campion informed her, calling her by her call sign. Willow sighted relived, because to eject out of a fighter was dangerous enough. But doing so within the ‘confines’ of the landing bay was even more hazardous.

Now, on the plus side, there was no immediate danger that any remaining rest motion would carry her out of the Galactica again since she had been virtually standing still.
Unfortunately, on the other hand, she was still hanging about 30cm’s above ground, to far for the magnetic locks to “grab her bird” and pull her down.
“Ok ‘Red’ the chief is getting some of his people ready to bring you back to the ground. Won’t take long, so don’t go anywhere.”
“Funny Campion. Very funny,” Willow replied dryly and made herself comfortable.
And that meant, that she kept on sitting exactly the way she was. After all the cockpit of a Viper wasn’t designed too be comfy. There was at least no need to worry. She had enough oxygen to last for several hours.
All she had left to do was to wait for Chief Tyrol to get some of his people suited up, get them out and then literally pull her down. She only hoped that it wouldn’t take too long. She hated being forced into doing nothing when she could instead use her time doing something useful.

“Oh, frak!” it suddenly burst out of Willow, for she just remembered that this would’ve been her fifth hundred hands on landing since graduating flight school. Five hundred times without accident or making a major mistake and now this!
She would never come close to this number again. Not hands on, for Galactica was the last ship in the entire fleet with no automatic landing system. But then this Battlestar was still very much the way it had been, when it had been commissioned more then fifty years ago, during the early days of the Cylon Wars. And that meant things like phones on cords, no auto landing and most of all no networked computers.
And as long as Commander William Adama was Galactica’s commanding officer, there wouldn’t be any changes to that rule.

Personally, even though she would never have thought it possible, when she had gotten her transfer order to report aboard Galactica as her next assignment, Willow would miss this more basic kind of work.
Landing a Viper with the help of the auto landing system soon became so much of a routine; it was already close to being dull. She learned that already on her first assignment, after graduating from flight school, aboard the Battlestar Orion VII under Commander Cliff Allister McLane, and then another six months aboard the Battlestar Titan and Commander Benjamin Sisko.

“’Red?” Came Chief Tyrol’s voice true the intercom.
“Yes chief?”
“Harris and Cally are in the airlock with a team right now. We have you down in no time.”
“I really appreciate that chief,” Willow assured him. So Xander would come to help her out. Good old Xander Harris.
Both born and raised in Sunnydale, a suburb to Caprica’s ever growing planetary capital of Caprica City, they had been friends since they where swollen infants. They went together from kindergarten until high school, where they met and soon became best friends with Buffy Summers.

But as life is, following graduation they parted ways, Willow and Buffy went to college, while Xander, without really having any particular plan, went from one odd job to another.
And so Willow and Buffy where both very, very surprised when they reported aboard Galactica to find Xander working there as part of Chief Tyrol’s deck gang.
Of course Xander had been surprised too, for one, there are about one hundred and twenty Battlestars in the fleet and so the chances of all three of them being assigned to the same one where quiet slim.
But he was even more surprised to see Willow being a fighter pilot. After all, the last time they had actually discussed Willow’s plans, they had been slightly different.

Willow always had wanted to work with computers, as a programmer, software developer or something like that, to that effect she had chosen her courses at the University of Caprica - Sunnydale or U.C. Sunnydale. She had travelled twice to Caprica City to hear lectures of the famous Dr. Gaius Baltar. He was a genius when it came to computers and advanced computer networks and Willow found his work in this field extraordinary, however she did not agree on his promotion to drop the ban on further research into artificial intelligence.
That went totally wrong the last time and especially since, even forty years later, they still didn’t know why the Cylons had started to kill their masters, to try a new approach, in Willow’s opinion was completely foolish.

As it turned out, the best opportunities to work with these kinds of sophisticated computer systems, was not so much in the private sector, but with the colonial forces. And so, following graduation from college, Buffy and Willow entered into military service together.
Unlike Buffy who from the beginning had been aiming for a career as a Viper pilot, Willow had thought of becoming involved in flight operations. Imaging her surprise, when learned that according to her test results following basic training, she was of the right stuff to wear the wings of a Viper pilot.
Willow and Buffy both entered flight school, where Willow became a good pilot in her own right. Even though if not as good as Buffy, who soon earned herself the call sign ‘Slayer’ and quickly was counted among the very best pilots in the fleet

It was during flight school that Willow fell in love with fellow pilot Oz - call sign ‘Wolf’. They soon entered into a relationship that turned out rather sadly. Following flight school, they had been fortunate enough to be both assigned to serve aboard Battlestar Orion VII. ‘Wolf’ with the Gamma- and ‘Red’ with the Beta-Squadron, and things had been going well.
Or at least that’s what Willow had been believing, not seeing the little red warning flags going up left and right of her. So she one day found out the hard way that‚ Wolf’ was more then just a call sign to Oz.
When she found out that he was having an affair with the Raptor pilot of his squadron, call sign: ‘Veruca’. He had put an end to this affair right away and had apologized many times, promised that it would never happen again, but it was too late.
Feeling that she could never trust him again, Willow dumped him and put in request for a transfer. It was granted and Willow was send to serve aboard the Battlestar Titan. Here she was reunited her with her best friend Buffy ‘Slayer’ Summers as her wingmen.
When six months later the Titan was decommissioned, like the Galactica she was one of the original twelve Battlestars, instead of being transferred to the succeeding new Titan, Buffy and Willow where assigned to serve with Galactica’s Alpha-squadron.

This was almost twelve months ago and soon this chapter in their military career would come to an end and their ways would part again. It was to lead Buffy to command the new Delta-squadron aboard the Atlantia and Willow would leave the Galactica for a seat in Pegasus’ Alpha-squadron.
Here she would be serving again under her old XO from her days aboard the Titan, Colonel Rupert Giles.
And Xander? He didn’t know yet whether he was to stay with the “Museum - Galactica” or be transferred to another Battlestar or planetary base. But that was life in the fleet, you never knew where you would end up and with whom you would be serving the next time.

Now the prospect of serving under Col. Giles again, was something Willow was actually looking forward to. Off all the XO’s she knew (Executive Officer or First Officer if you like), Rupert Giles had been the most agreeable one to work with.
On duty, Willow had found him to be an hard but fair superior and off duty fun to hang around, especially on a more intellectual level.
He certainly would made a fine Commander as well. But unlike many officers for whom the post of XO was a mere step towards their own command, for Giles it was the right place to be, the place where he could do his best.
To that end he had actually once turned down the promotion to Commander and the command of the Starquest, the prototype of the new ‘Ripper Class’ heavy cruiser.
With Col. Giles Willow knew there would be at least one familiar face with her new assignment. Who knew which other former comrade she might meet again. She also knew who would not be aboard the Pegasus: Oz, her ex.
The last she’d heard from him, he’d switched the seat of a Viper with the one of a ‘Galaxy Class’ troop transporter and was stationed at the planetary base near Sunnydale. Of course Willow had forgiven him in the meantime, but the prospect of serving with him again still made her feel very uneasy.

“Hey ‘Red’, your still in there?” a familiar voice called Willow out of her memories.
“Yes Xander I’m still here”, she assured her best friend.
“What is with you Willow? First you break your yellow crayon in kindergarten and now you break your Viper?”
Willow looked onto her Com display. Good, Xander was on the private frequency, only used by him, Buffy and Willow, so no one had heard his little comment. However, before Willow could think of a proper remark, Cally cut in on the open channel. “Ok Lieutenant lets bring your feet back to the ground.”
From that moment, it didn’t take long until Capt. Campion could finally report:
“Skits down. Mag lock secured. Welcome back aboard Galactica ‘Red’.”

“Well. Looks like you completely burned out your main engine Lieutenant,” explained specialist first class Xander Harris. He was standing on the starboard wing and continued to stare into the burned-out innards of Willow’s Viper. He grinned, because he knew only to well how much Willow disliked it when he spoke “Official” with her.
“I realised that during the fifty minutes, I had been hanging dead in space, Xander!” Willow said, annoyed by the Lieutenant thingy. “Tell me, can you fix it?”
Xander jumped down to join Willow on the ground. “I’m afraid not. You see, your secondary flow regulator blew and that coursed the energy build up you experienced out there and to make it short, you need a completely new engine. Unfortunately, we no longer have a spare, for the Mark VII on board anymore. We’ve got tons of stuff for our museum collection of Mark II’s but for the more current models…”

He hadn’t to talk on. Willow understood how he felt. Like any other crewmember aboard, he didn’t like the idea of the Galactica becoming a museum, parked in geostationary orbit right above Caprica City.
At least there was a small comforting thought for him, that there where talks about the possibility of using the port landing and launch facilities for an onboard flight school. Training new pilots landing ‘hands on’ or even train future specialists here. But still, this all would only be but a poor substitute for the grant Battlestar Galactica remaining in active service.

“And that means what exactly?” Willow demanded to know.
“That you are properly going to lose your spot in the closing ceremonies,” Xander concluded his explanations.
‘Frak,’ Willow thought, of course she didn’t say it out aloud, she didn’t like coursing in front of her friends. Now she would be watching the others fly during the ceremony. She wouldn’t be the only one though. She now would be joining Buffy, who because she only recently reconvert from the flu, had no flight status right now.
“Look at the bright side Will,” said Xander and he smiled knowingly for his best friend.
“You mean there’s actually a bright side?” Willow wondered.
“Yea! Well not if it comes to you flying. But I think you might be glad to know, that we got you down just in time. Otherwise you and you alone would’ve been responsible for delaying the arrival of our VIP’s.“ He pointed to the sealing.
And just in that moment a deep rumpling noise informed them, that a heavy passenger liner had just touched down in the landing pod above them. It would unload his passengers and then fly out again, to fly side by side with the Galactica.

“Well I better get to the CAG, debriefing. He won’t be thrilled,” Willow said worryingly.
“Could be worse,” Xander assured her. “You could talk to the chief about it.”
He pointed towards the opposite bay, where Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol, was arguing loudly with another Viper pilot.
“Perhaps you’re right. See you later,” Willow agreed and left to meet with the Commander Air Group (CAG) of her squadron, Captain William Jackson Spencer, call sign ‘Spike’.

Following a not too unpleasant debriefing with ‘Spike’, which confirmed Xander’s assumption about her not flying during the ceremony, Willow was on her way towards the washroom to freshen up.
She was walking around a corner, when she spotted Alan Doral, the PR guy that had been driving them all nuts these last days.
He was standing together with Commander Adama, who was just making himself very clear to the Secretary of Education, Laura Roslin, that he would not allow any network-computerised system aboard this ship, as long he was in command.
With that, he excused himself and walked away. In doing so he revealed another person standing right next to the secretary. Willow stopped dead in her steps and stared towards the beautiful stranger.

5’ 4”, with a breathtaking figure, the most beautiful face, framed by long blond hair and deep, ocean blue eyes. Then their eyes met, and when that happened, Willow was so completely overwhelmed; she almost forgot to salute her commanding officer, as he walked past her.

I read this story (and its sequel) when it was up on Extra Flamey, and was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to keep reading it when EF went up in smoke. Glad to see it here.

_________________
Avatar Images Courtesy of Kirari-PGSM.net
The Star Witches Saga | Under the Sea | The Moonlight Densetsu Chronicles | Going the Distance | Slippery When Wet | Short Fics by Sith

Your welcome.
Always good to find out that there are people out there who liked this story, when it was up on Extra Flamey and missed it.
You might be interested to learn, that right I’m now working on the third instalment.

Hi Dax,

it's good to see you finally post your story here. I'm sorry, I never answered your Mail before - maybe you remember. But it took me a long time to read the beginning. And what can I say? I loved it. Just like the sequel. And I'm thrilled to hear you are writing a prequel. Or did I get that wrong? I really missed your Willow and Tara centered Buffystar-Verse.

And I promise I will try and leave more and proper feedback to your updates. Thanks for the gift your stories are.

P.S. Is it possible that you are german, too? Or are you just located at Germany at the moment?

_________________
She's not drivin stick anymore?

Hey
that was wonderful. plz keep them coming you are a good writer can't wait for some captin willow action.

Whoo-Hoo! Glad to hear it. Hope you post the second story here, too. I never managed to finish that before EF went up.

_________________
Avatar Images Courtesy of Kirari-PGSM.net
The Star Witches Saga | Under the Sea | The Moonlight Densetsu Chronicles | Going the Distance | Slippery When Wet | Short Fics by Sith

Dax glad to have you on board finally now the kittens will know what some of us have know all along you are Great!!!!!!!

_________________
Dia the spelunker
Never underestimate the powerful love of a good woman
If you were a cave what kind of cave would you be

Just one big hello and welcome back, to all those of you, who read and liked “A Love Beyond the Stars” back on the late “Extra Flamey”. And who are glad to see the story of Willow and Tara resurface.
It really feels good to know that some people really missed this series.

I too, have been looking for this story on other sites, it is wonderful to see it posted here. You are a very talented writer and I look forward to the third installment.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. Welcome aboard.
We are on route to Galactica and our estimated flight time is approximately five and a halve hours. Please sit back and enjoy your flight.”
‘Captain - Colonial Heavy 798.’




Dr. Tara Maclay made sure that her ‘special’ onboard luggage was safely stored away under her seat, before she made herself comfortable for the more then five hour long trip to the Battlestar Galactica.

Tara still wondered why off all people, President Adar had send Laura Roslin, the Secretary of Education, to represent the colonial government of the Twelve Colonies at the decommissioning ceremonies for the Battlestar. After all this was a military vessel. So why not send the secretary of defence to deliver the speech?
Maybe he was otherwise occupied, Tara considered or maybe they send Laura because following the decommission, the Galactica would be “parked” in a geo synchronic orbit right above Caprica City and become a museum.
That museum would also host facilities to educate school classes and thus would become the responsibility of the ministry of education.
Teaching children aboard a Battlestar, was a concept Tara still found hart to get use to.
On one hand, the historian within her understood the significance of teaching children and students about the most darkest chapter in Colonial history — the Cylon Wars, aboard such a historic ground.
But on the other hand, the sheer destructive power of this ‘war machine’ made her feel very uneasy, especially when she thought about children onboard this Battlestar.

There also was still the yet undecided proposal of letting part of the launch and landing facilities be used by the fleets flight school, what would make these parts of the Galactica the responsibility of the ministry of defence again, this would guarantee for all kind of conflicts in matter of jurisdiction between the two ministry’s.
“Politics!” Tara sighted to herself, wondering for the about thousands time, what had broad her into these treacherous waters called politics. Trying to get some sleep, Tara closed her eyes, but kept thinking of what led to her, not completely involuntary stint into politics.

In the end it all began when then sixteen year old Tara realized that she was paying far more attention to girls, then to boys.
To come out gay on Planet Gemenon wasn’t the easiest thing to do, since from all the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, Gemenon was the most conservative planet of them all.
So while on one side of the political spectrum, planet Caprica planned to legalize the same sex marriage within the next month, on the other side Gemenon was still years, if not decades away from doing so.
Unfortunately these things still where within the jurisdiction of the individual planetary government. Herself, Tara had been ok with her homosexuality from the start. She loved girls, so what? This was what she was and always would be.

Looking back today, Tara only regretted that she’d never told her mother. Unlike her father, she knew, her mother would not have rejected her daughter for being gay, but would have continued to love and support her as she had always done. But sadly she died only shortly after Tara found out herself.

Tara came out to her father right after her high school graduation. It was during one of these big ugly fights, they’d had ever since her mother, the mediator of the family, had died.
To say that he didn’t take it well, would have been an galactic understatement. He accused her of practically all that was in the book .
That she would only say such a thing to hurt him, that she was a pervert and a abomination, a sinner and most of all: “You are no longer my daughter!” That said, he turn his back and never spoke to his daughter again.
A terrible loss, no doubt.
But if he could not except that his daughter as the person she was, regardless of whom she loved, the loss was on his side and his side alone.
Still there wasn’t a day that Tara did not wish that her father would turn around again and except his lesbian daughter into his life again. Not because she was gay or despite her being gay, but simply because she was his daughter.

Life had to go on for Tara, and with a full sponsorship, a job to pay for her living Tara entered college without her family. At least she had but a view friends to keep her company.
Tara didn’t make friend easy, never did. When it came to her private life she always had been kinda shy and insecure, unlike with her studies or work.
On college where she earned her masters degrees in Colonial History, English Literature and Math, when it came to reading a paper in front of the class or holding her ground during an discussion, nothing could discourage her, but back then she always failed to use this stamina when it came to her virtually non existent love life.

She stayed single and closeted during her entire college time and the year she taught history and English Literature on a small high school in Gemenon City. It was only until she enrolled at Gemenon University to earn herself a doctor title in Colonial History and English Literature, that she finally went out into Gemenon ’ s small, but fashionable lesbian scene.

Here she found new friends, friends that played the same league then herself and here she met Rene and fell in love with her. Rene was three years her senior and as much out as Tara wanted to be. They soon entered into a relationship that lasted during Tara’s entire time at Gemenon University.
But Tara started to realize that this wasn’t turning out to be the kind of relationship she’d been dreaming of as a young closeted lesbian.
Back then she had been dominated by her father and now it had been Rene who controlled much of her life.
Rene turned out to be unfaithful as well and always after she’d had one of her little affairs she kept on promising that it would not happen again, until the next one, that was.
So one day Tara finally drew the line and broke it of with Rene, she moved out and once again started her life all over again.

Unfortunately Rene wasn’t the one to go quietly and so it came that halve a year after Tara, now officially Dr. Maclay, had taken over as faculty head of Colonial History at St. Cedd’s College, Oxbridge University Geminon, that Rene stormed onto the campus and made a huge scene and in due course outed Tara as being gay.
It didn’t take the ultra conservative directorate long to fire Tara, stating all kinds of reasons, except the only true one, which was that they didn’t want a queer teacher at their university.

But for the first time in her life, Tara didn’t simply gave up and did what other people expected of her. She told Rene in no nonsense words to get out of her life and she had not heard from her ever since.
Then she took on the real enemy the board of governors of the university, or more to the point the system that even though the law on all the twelve colonial planets outlawed any kind of discrimination, fired her because she was gay, even though they claimed she wasn’t doing a proper job, when there wasn’t a single peace of evidence to support their claim.

And so Tara took the fight back to them, she wanted more then to just to be reemployed, she wanted them to admit the truce, that they fired her because of her sexual orientation and not because of the way she did her job.
Tara took her case to the court and to the public as well. She sued the university for discrimination, and won in the first instance. But of course the university appealed the judgment and so they went into the next round and the next after that.

At the same time Tara made her case public, by going to talk shows and giving her very first press conference. She even made it into the most prestige’s show in all of the Twelve Colonies: “The Spotlight ” an interview program devoted to people making news on Caprica (!), just shortly before her case was to come in front of the Gemenon supreme court.
But the chances to win her case there were slim to none, Tara knew.
It was at that point that Laura Roslin, the Secretary of Education, got involved in the matter. She couldn’t order the university, but she tried to mediate.
With partial success, the university agreed to reemploy Tara, but would not admit that they had fired her because she was gay and they wanted Tara to stop talking about her case in public. But Tara didn’t want to shut up and so she could ether accept this offer and go back to work, knowing that they still wouldn’t accept her as the person she was and might still be looking for another way to get rid of her after all.

Understanding Tara’s position, Laura Roslin made her an offer she couldn’t refuse, to leave Gemenon for Caprica and become a staff member of her ministry. Thus trying to effect change from within the system, not only on Gemenon but on all the twelve colonial planets.
When Tara had accepted the job, it seamed like a good opportunity and in a way it really was. She wrote several of the laws Laura had successfully broad through the colonial senate and thus had implemented improvements in many levels of the colonial educational system, from elementary school, over high school to universities.
She had also helped to further increase the general authority of the colonial ministry of education over the individual planetary ministries.

But at the same time she hadn’t made much progress when it came to keep ultra conservative schools or universities to unfairly treat gay and lesbian members within the body of teachers. And that was mostly because working politics always meant, that in order to get one bill passed, you had to make compromises on others.
That had always been the one thing Tara had despised more then anything else. She had not joined the ministry of education to “scratch backs ” and get frustrated by all this political compromises, but to really work for the people and change things for the better.

At least she wouldn’t have to deal with those frustrating aspects of politics for very much longer. Not longer then eight more month to be exact. Then President Adar’s second and last term as President of the Twelve Colonies, and together with him, Laura Roslin and most of his cabinet, Tara would leave politics for good.
She didn’t know what Laura had in mind for her future, herself Tara would get back into teaching. Only yesterday she’d been offered the chair of Colonial History on one of Caprica’s most prestigious universities – starting next fall. And they didn’t care one bit, that she was gay!

Of course she would always continue to rally support to get gays and lesbians equal rights on all of the Twelve Colonies. No longer anyone should be discriminated or fired only because of his or hers sexual orientation. And also that the same sex marriage would be aloud on others planets besides Caprica and Picon.
Yes Tara certainly had her work cut out for her, if only she could get some new drive into her love life as well.
She hadn’t been in a long-term relationship ever since she had dumped Rene.
She’d been out dating, meeting other woman. She even had been going steady for almost two years with a young aspiring journalist named Faith. Until they both realized that they could ether have a bad relationship or split and become best of friends. They decided on the later one and had been close friends ever since. And so Tara kept going out, looking for her true love, the one person she had been dreaming of all her life.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. If you lock out the starboard window, you will have a grant view of Battlestar Galactica, as we flight by, before making our final approach. We will be touching down onboard Galactica within the next fifteen minutes, thank you.”
On hearing the captain, Tara slowly opened her eyes, to realize that she’d actually slept during the entire five hour flight.
“Didn’t know I was that tired”, she mumbled to herself, before she looked out the window to see the biggest spaceship she’d ever seen before in her life. Looking at the enormous Galactica, Tara found it hart to believe that there where Battlestar’s actually larger then this one.

Tara left the ship together with Laura Roslin and her personal assistant Billy Keikeya. They were welcomed, by Alan Doral from public relations, who took them on their first meeting with Commander Adama, the commanding officer of the Galactica.
As they kept walking through the sheer endless hallways, Tara was soon convinced that any civilian could easily get lost around here and so she made sure she never let Laura Roslin and Alan Doral out of her side.
Doral then introduced them to Commander Adama, who soon entered into a discussion with Laura about not having any kind of intergraded computer networks aboard his ship. Tara didn’t pay much attention to it. She felt a little groggy from sleeping in the seat and she knew other people who still felt very like the commander who’d actually fought during the Cylon War forty years ago.

“Let me make one thing clear,” Adama said to Laura. “Many good men and woman lost their lives aboard this ship, because someone wanted a faster computer to make life easer. I’m sorry that I’m inconveniencing you or the teachers, but I will not allow a network computerized system to be place on this ship while I’m in command. Is that clear? ”
“Yes Sir ” , Laura assured him and Tara too nodded in agreement.
“Thank you. Excuse me,” the commander said and walked away.
It was in that moment that Tara realized that somewhere along the way they’d lost Billy.
‘He’d properly been distracted when this female petty officer had walked by,’ a small voice within Tara’s mind suggested. Of course she’d noticed this rather sexy woman herself too.

Tara was just about to tell Laura and Mr. Doral, when she spotted Billy and the very same woman walking towards them.
Looking past the two, Tara spotted another woman standing at the corner, judging by the uniform a viper pilot.
Right away Tara’s eyes where fixated upon this lovely creature with short red hair, a face full of the most likable freckles and dark green eyes, that where looking right back to her.

As their eyes met, Tara knew she was in trouble, because from that moment, she felt so very much drawn towards this beautiful stranger.

Authors note:
The title of this chapter, as well as the following once all come courtesy of the SiFi series Babylon 5, created by J. Michael Strazynski (Copyright 1997 Warner Bros. PAY TV). And even though there’s no further connection towards B5, I do like to give credit to the real writers behind these great titles.






“The Cylon War is long over, yet we must not forget the reasons why so many sacrificed so much in the course of freedom. The cost of wearing the uniform can be high, but…
Sometimes It’s too high.

You know when we fought the Cylons we did it to save our selves from extinction. But we never answered the question why. Why are we as a people worse saving?
We still commit murder because of greed, spite, jealousy. And we still visit all of our sins upon our children.
We refuse to accept responsibility for anything that we’ve done. Like we did with the Cylons. We decided to play God. Create life and when this life turned against us, we comforted our self in the knowledge that it wasn’t really our fault. Not really. That it was the Cylons that where flawed. But the truce is, we are the flawed creation.
You can not play God and then wash your hands from the things that you’ve created. Sooner or later the day comes, when you can’t hide from the things that you’ve done anymore. “
‘Commander William Adama.’




“What’s wrong ‘Red’? Having some trouble with your uniform?” Lt. Sharon Valerii asked curiously, while Willow was checking the fit of her dress uniform, for the tenth time.
“Well, if you have to ask ‘Boomer’,” Willow said and gave Buffy a warning look not to join their comrade in her mocking. “This is only the third time I’m actually got to wear dress uniform and to be honest It’s still a little itchy.”

“Doesn’t look like ‘itchy’ to me”, ‘Slayer’ observed, ignoring the murderess looks on her best friends face. “More like someone’s trying to look extra presentable. Wouldn’t you agree ‘Boomer’?” Buffy turned around to Sharon, who wasn’t paying much attention.
“Excuse me ladies, but I think I have another word with the Chief, about the broken gimble of my Raptors”, she said and started to make her way through the crowd of the decommissioning reception.
Willow and Buffy exchanged a knowing look. It wasn’t exactly a secret among Galactica’s pilot’s that there was something more going on between Chief Tyrol and ‘Boomer’.

Willow, in the mean time, was once more brushing down upon her dress uniform skirt.
Unlike Buffy, Kara ‘Starbuck’ Trace, ‘Boomer’ and the other female pilot’s, when it came to wearing dress uniform, she preferred skirt over trouser.
She liked wearing dresses and skirts, but of course aboard a Battlestar she was wearing her flight suit or working uniform all the time.
So apart from shore leaf, when she would wear nothing else but dresses and blouses or shirts with skirts. Official occasions like these where the only opportunity to wear a skirt on board the Galactica. Besides, her legs where shapely and good looking. And she knew that she looked rather sexie in a uniform.
“Mind if I abandon you too, Will?” ‘Slayer’ asked. “I just spotted ‘Terra’ and he still owns me some money from our last game of cards.”
‘Red’ didn’t mind and so her best friend went to have a word with Lt. Rooper, a fellow Viper pilot and Willow checked the fit of her uniform once again.

‘You know she’s right,’ the little voice in Willow’s mind observed. ‘You do try to look extra good. And we both do know for whom.’
‘But we don’t know why,’ Willow thought and her mind went back to that very moment in the corridor, when she had seen her for the first time.
Only a very short moment though, because she had to salute her commanding officer who, even though he was about to retire soon – together with the Galactica, one might say – still expected everyone aboard to comply with military protocol.

Unfortunately, when she had turned back, Secretary Roslin, her aide and the beautiful blonde had been dragged away by this PR pest. Even though Willow had seen her for less then a minute, she remembered each and every feature of this woman.
The elegant costume, the long blond hair, but most of all Willow remembered her face and those deep blue eyes. What was in these eyes that drew her towards this beautiful woman? Willow couldn’t tell, but the first thing she did, was to look up her name in the visitors manifest:
Maclay, T. Dr. - Staff member to the Secretary of education, Laura Roslin.

Willow eyes kept scanning the crowd, while she pondered what the T mid be standing for. Tamara? No, doesn’t look like one. Tiffany? Please, she isn’t a fourteen year old teenager. Teresa? Nope. Trudy? More of a granny name.
Out of the blue Willow spotted her, far across the room.
Room of course was one hell of an understatement, for this space was formally known as the starboard landing bay. Once open to space, until it had been closed of with these huge panorama windows to form the space that now housed the exhibition that included an entire squadron of Mark II Vipers and some other planes. As well as this space, that now served as a huge ballroom.

Lt. Rosenberg slowly made her way through the crowd towards Dr. Maclay. ‘Tammy? – I won’t even bother to comment that one.’
She was standing right in front of the enormous windows, looking out. From her liquid reflection Willow could see the dreamy as well as respectful look in her deep blue eyes.
“It’s like all you need to do is to reach out and you could touch the stars. Wouldn’t you agree?” Doctor Maclay observed, before Willow had the chance to address her. And without turning around she continued, “this is certainly the best place on the entire ship.”
“Well it certainly is, but it’s still only second best, when it comes to being close to the stars,” Willow answered, smiling knowingly.
“So?” the blond woman wondered.
Why hasn’t she turned around jet? Willow wondered in her mind and said out aloud, “Yes. Had you ever experienced space from within the cockpit a Viper you would agree with me.”

“Does that mean you’re offering me a flight with your Viper, Captain…?”
Finally she turned around facing Willow, who struggled to remember her own name right now.
“Rosenberg Dr. Maclay and it’s Lieutenant, Lieutenant Willow Rosenberg. I’m still somewhat away from making Captain. Not that I’m not sure of making Captain sometime… You have to forgive me Dr. Maclay, sometimes I tend to babble, actually that might eventually end my military career rather sooner then later I’m afraid… And still I’m not shutting up, sorry Dr. Maclay.”

Then the fragile blond started to smile and that finally broad an end to Willow’s babbling, because in that moment her brain completely emptied and her legs turn into pudding.
“Please Lt. Rosenberg call me Tara. Sorry, did I say something funny?” Tara wondered, for there was a big smile upon Willow’s face.
“No, no not funny, well at least not knowingly so,” the redhead hurried to assure her, “but please let me explain. Now your name is spelled T-A-R-A right? ” Tara nodded.
“Now see this really big guy over there, right next to the blond pilot? ” Tara nodded again.
“Now that’s Lt. Garry Rooper and his call sign is Terra, spelled T-E-R-R-A.”

“That certainly explains something,” Tara giggled. “ And how did he get this unique call sign?”
“I have absolutely no idea,” Willow laughed.
“And what would your call sign be? ”
“Mine is without the need for any explanation, I assure you,” Willow said, pointing at her short red hair, “it’s ‘Red’.”
Tara agreed and then she turned around towards the window, for another look at the stars. “That was quite a speech your commander gave,” she said and turned back again making Willow feel weak again. “I must say he’s quiet a person, service is going to miss him when he retires.”
Willow tried to remember the speech in question. What she eventually did.
“Yea, it’s a shame the old men is going to retire,” she agreed. “But as you might have noticed, he doesn’t like integrated computer networks and thus would never serve on a Battlestar or Base with these kind of systems and the Galactica is the last ship in service, until we reach Caprica that is, that still operates on the standards of fifty years ago.
“Hell, even the basic Mark VII Viper I’m flying has more of that build in as he likes. And if it had been in his power he would have rejected theses fighters aboard the Galactica as well.”

“So what’s your opinion, in these matters and the whole discussion on going back into researching artificial intelligence?” Tara wondered.
And so the historian and the soldier entered into a spirited discussion over the history of the Cylon war, the pros and cons of advanced computer systems and networks in modern life. And many, many other subjects that came to there mind.

During the course of their conversation Willow and Tara completely lost track of time, until they realized that the reception was over by now and all but a view - hundred - people had left.
“I’m afraid it’s time to call it the night,” Willow said to Tara after a quick glance at her watch. “Even though my Viper is broke, I still have to report for duty tomorrow morning. Maybe we will meet again, tomorrow?”
Tara nodded, “I still be aboard till 17:00h tomorrow, inspecting the rooms that will be modified to host the schooling facilities. So who knows.”
So they parted, both hopping that they would meet at least once more, before Tara would return to Caprica.

But a Battlestar is a very big place and so it happened, that Tara left the Galactica together with Laura Roslin and Billy Keikeya, without Willow having had the chance to meet her once again.

Willow lay on her bunk and stared at the sealing.
She thought about the last two days and she thought about Tara. She remembered each and every detail, from the first time she saw her in the hallway, to the exciting conversation with her at the reception.
And Willow remembered how Tara had looked, the scent of her perfume, the Goosebumps she had when Tara’s blond hair had grazed her, because she had whispered into her ear.
But most of all, Tara’s smile and her eye’s came back into Willow’s mind again and again.

What was it with this woman that made think of her in every waking moment, when her mind wasn’t occupied with her work? And even then she was always present in the back of her head.
Willow finally closed her eyes, ready to get some sleep and no doubt to have some more dreams of Tara, when the ships alarm made her open up her eyes again. And she heard Lt. Gaeta’s voice echoed throughout the entire ship, announcing the impossible:

“Action stations, action stations! Set condition one throughout ship. This is not a drill. I repeat. Action stations, action stations! Set condition one throughout ship. This is not a drill. I repeat…”

Hello my friend sorry for the lateness of this I dident see the update keep it going it is wonderful as always

_________________
Dia the spelunker
Never underestimate the powerful love of a good woman
If you were a cave what kind of cave would you be

Just had to stop by and tell you, that I really love this story. The way Willow tried to figure out the prename T. stands for. Priceless. And really Willow-like. I know I said I would leave proper FB the next time I stopped by but just wanted to tell you that. Thanks. And I so can't wait to read the conclusion of the sequel and to read the third installment.

_________________
She's not drivin stick anymore?

Hi sacinema,
don’t know about you, but I would certainly call this proper feedback!

_________________
Today my friend, your diary entry will read: Took a […] hostage and got shoot by three armed bastards.”
Gene Hunt – Ashes to Ashes
“A Love Beyond the Stars”
“What Dreams may Come”

“Colonial Heavy 798, this is Viper 7242.
My call sigh is ‘Apollo’. I’ll be your escort back to Caprica.”
‘Captain Lee Adama.’

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are now on rout back to Caprica.
If you lock out the starboard window, you might be able to see one of Galactica’s old Mark II Vipers. Witch will be escorting us back home. ”
‘Captain - Colonial Heavy 798.’




Only briefly Tara looked out of the window in order to catch a short glimpse of this almost fifty-year-old fighter. Even though it was astonishing to think that this very model had flown and fought in the Cylon Wars more then forty years ago was astonishing, her mind was far to occupied with this cute little Viper pilot, Willow Rosenberg – ‘Red’ and the way she made her feel. Tara vividly remembered the long and interesting conversation yesterday, not so much the conversation though; even Tara had found it intellectual stimulating, but more what had happened between the lines, in the subtext so to speak.

And subtext wise Tara had been flirting quit subtly. Because from the first moment she had laid eyes on this young attractive Viper Pilot she had been drawn to her.
And so Tara had continued to flirt discretely, in order to find out if the cute little redhead was indeed playing the same ‘team’ like herself.

Much like Lyrai, her best friend and now the fiancé of her ex Faith, had once put it: “It’s like flirting in code, it’s using body language, and laughing at the right jokes. And looking into her eyes and knowing she’s still whispering to you, even though she’s not saying a word. And that sense that if you can just touch her, just ones, everything will be okay. For both of you.” (Pause) “Or if she’s really hot. You get her drunk and see if she comes on to you.”

Tara of course rather went with the former then with the later way. Mostly because it was far more romantic, and she’d always been a big romantic, and secondly because the later involved alcohol and Tara never drank this stuff before and certainly wouldn’t start now, not even for this lovely lieutenant.
Ether way, after an evening of coded flirting, Tara was fairly certain that Willow was the one. The one girl she had been dreaming of for all of her gay life.
‘Why not call it by name?’ Tara thought, ‘it’s love, even though you spent only a handful of hours with her, you’re already head over heals in love with her.’
Literally love on first sight, one could say. ‘She’s the one you’ve been looking for all your life- she’s your soul maid.’

But where do we go from here? Tara wondered.
She was working in a ministerial office in Caprica City and Willow aboard the Galactica. They had promised each other to stay in contact, via Email and phone if they where within voice range, and after Galactica’s return to Caprica, Willow wanted to spent some of her extended shore leave, of three month with Tara in Caprica City.
But after that Willow would leave for the Battlestar Pegasus.
So even if Willow felt the same way towards her then she did, how much chance for survival could such a long distance relationship ever have?
Tara sighted, wasn’t that typical for herself. She didn’t even know for sure if Willow loved her too and she already looked for excuses to back out again.
But why should it not work? Many members of the colonial forces where married, with only one of them being with the service.

She also knew that Willow didn’t plan to be a pilot forever. But within the next five years or less, she wanted to secure an assignment to the fleets department for advance computer technologies at fleet headquarter on Picon. No doubt Tara could get a job at the University of Picon City, literally right around the corner of Fleet HQ and then…
A sudden movement interrupted Tara’s train of thought, it was Laura who stood up and rushed towards the cabins bathroom. She wasn’t well Tara could tell, and remembering her own mother, Tara suspected that her boss was seriously ill. Maybe cancer – like her mother.

Tara’s wireless phone rang and she answered it, “Hello?”
“Tara is that you?” a familiar voice filled with panic and terror cried into her ear.
“Lyrai?” Tara asked, feeling right away that something terrible was happening.
“Yes… didn’t know whom to call… there are explosions… in the distance! All to clear to see!”
“What kind of explosions?” Tara wanted to know, fighting hart not to panic.
“Nuclear Explosions! The Cylons… I think. I’m sure they bombarding… Fleet Headquarters! If not the entire planet. I can’t find Faith, she left just moments ag…”
The line went dead and Tara’s face as white as a sheet of paper.

Nukes!
Lyrai was working as a freelance journalist and right now she was in Picon City, preparing to travel to Fleet HQ the next day. She was working on a report about how, following the implementation of new laws, things had slowly started to improve for gays and lesbians within the military services.
But now the line was dead and this could only mean one thing: not only the fleet headquarter had been destroyed, but Picon City too. Lyrai was dead and Faith, of course Faith, she too a journalist, had accompanied her fiancé and so her ex girlfriend was dead too.
Tara felt completely numb; certainly the Cylons wouldn’t attack merely one of the Twelve Colonies, but all of them.
Tears dwelled in Tara’s eyes, but right now wasn’t the time she knew and when she saw Laura return to her place, Tara went over to tell her what she’d just learned – that they where at war with the Cylons again.

The next hours, Tara literally watched herself as she went over to Billy and Laura and told them about Lyrai’s call. Laura went directly to see the captain and returned with an official colonial communiqué confirming what Tara had been dreaded all along, not only Picon had been nuked, but there where reports of nuclear explosions on Caprica, Arilon, Sagitarion, Trevor, Tauron and Gemenon.
Even though there hadn’t been any further reports, it was clear to the most of them that the other five planets must have been attacked too.
Laura then did the only possible thing she could do and that was to give anyone something to do, and to get the ship ready to pick up people stranded here among the stars, since President Adar suspended all kinds of civilian flights between the colonies.

Together with other passengers Tara moved boxes of cargo from one cargo compartment to another, in order to clear space to accommodate as much fugitives as possible, who couldn’t stay upon their own ships.
Moving heavy containers around without the help of dock loaders helped Tara not to think all the time about what was happening at the Twelve Colonies.
It didn’t work completely though. One part of Tara’s mind always returned back.
Back to Gemenon and her father and brother and Rene.
Tara assumed that in their first waves of attack, the Cylons would primarily target military installations, but major cities as well, like the capitols.
Living in the country her family might still be alive. But beyond that, who could tell what the Cylons actually where up to. If they wanted to enslave humanity as humans had enslaved them, or if the simply wanted to wipe them out completely. So her father and brother might already be dead as well.
Rene on the other hand being a city girl, she and the eight million other people in Gemenon City where certainly dead.

She and Tara hadn’t parted on the best of terms; they both had said some unkind things. But even though Tara had wanted more then ones to call Rene and clear things up between them, so they could at least meet in the streets and have a word or two, the hurt she still felt, because of the way Rene had behaved after she’d broke up with her, had kept Tara from contacting her ex ever again. Now it was to late, now her entire world seamed to be coming to an end.

Suddenly an even more alarming thought entered Tara’s mind. The Cylons would certainly not only assault planet bound military installations, but the fleet as well!
“Willow!” Tara cried out, not caring for the puzzled looks from the people around her, she ran towards the nearest restroom. After she had looked herself in Tara let herself go, she sat down on the floor and started to cry. She cried for her father and brother, Rene, JFK and her ex Faith, but most of all she cried for Willow.

‘Calm down,’ her mind tried too reason with her, ‘you do not know if she’s really dead, so don’t you give up hope yet.’
“But the Galactica is old”, Tara whispered to herself, tears running freely down her face. “What chance does a fifty year old Battlestar have against what ever the Cylons put up against her, or Willow in her single Viper? And if she’s dead I missed my chance to tell her how much I love her. She might have died without knowing about my feelings toward her.” Her voice broke and she started to cry harder.
‘Call me crazy,’ her mind said, ‘but I think she knows. Maybe not in her mind, but in her heart I’m certain she already knows. There was definitely some chemistry between the two of us. So don’t give up hope, don’t give her up until you know she’s dead.’
Tara graciously rose and splashed some water into her face and stared into the mirror.

“Don’t give up hope”, she told her reflection. “You know, the Galactica is old, but maybe that’s her chance. Maybe the Cylons don’t consider her a threat, it’s easy to overlook a single Battlestar.”
“Maclay you’re in there?“ It was Billy, Laura’s personal aid, knocking at the door.
Tara quickly cleaned her tears away and then opened the door. “What is it Billy?” she asked as she stepped out of the restroom.
“You have to come up stairs. Laura is about to be sworn in.”
“Sworn in, as what?” Tara asked not understanding what Billy was saying.
“You haven’t heard?” Billy asked, as the two of them made their way towards the upper passenger compartment. “President Adar and most of the cabinet are dead. Laura is sworn in as the new President of the Twelve Colonies.”

Several hours later, “Colonial One” – formally known as “Colonial Heavy 798”, approached the Gemenon Liner 1701, who had been hanging dead in space for some time. The first of many ships President Roslin hoped to find. She wanted to gather as much ships as possible, form a convoy and then leave the star system never to return. “The war,” she said. “Is over. We lost.”

Tara was just on her way to the ships cockpit, when Billy joined her to fill her in with the latest news.
“The Battlestar Atlantia, the fleets flagship, is destroyed. Admiral Nagala is dead. Commander Adama has taken command of the fleet. Right now he and Laura are…”
Tara didn’t hear any more of what Billy was telling her. Adama had taken over the fleet. That meant that the Galactica was still operational and that meant that there was the chance that Willow was still alive. There’s still a chance, she thought, as she arrived at the cockpit.

“Inbound Enemy fighters!”
These words, uttered by Colonial One’s captain, made Tara’s hopes crash down right to the ground again.

“How long till they get here?” Laura wanted to know.
“E.T.A. 2 minutes,” the captain said.
“We must leave”, Captain Lee Adama – ‘Apollo’ advised.
‘Why wasn’t he outside in his Viper?’ Tara wondered.
“We can’t defend this ship,” he argued, but Laura objected. “We’re not going to abandon these people.”
‘Apollo’ wasn’t about to give up yet: “But Sir we…”
“I made my decision,” the president cut him off, making absolutely clear who was in charge. “You’re the president,” ‘Apollo’ said, before he asked permission to go down below. Not waiting for the president approval he left.

In the meantime Tara simply stood there and tried to understand what was happening around her. The Cylons had found them, but Laura refused to abandon the civilians over there onboard that other ship, and so she might have doomed them all together.
Could it be that just in the very moment she had learned that her beloved Willow might still be alive, that she herself was about to be blown apart by some Cylon Raiders? Could the Lords of Kobol really be that cynical?

“Colonial One, this is Galactica,” the voice of Commander Adama coming from the speaker, got Tara attention. It was the commander crying out for his son, who was no longer listening. ”Apollo you have inbound enemy fighters coming towards you. Get out of there! Apollo! Apollo! Lee, get… Lee!”

The ground beneath her feet gave way and Tara felt herself hurling towards the floor. ‘Is this the end?’, she thought sadly.
She hit something. “I love you Willow,” Tara sighed, before she lost consciences and an ever growing darkness took her into it’s deep embrace.

_________________
Today my friend, your diary entry will read: Took a […] hostage and got shoot by three armed bastards.”
Gene Hunt – Ashes to Ashes
“A Love Beyond the Stars”
“What Dreams may Come”

waaaaaaaaaaaaw that was wonderful and amazing can't wait to see what will happened next. plz update soon

As always Dax wonderful and I will be here for more myfriend. D

_________________
Dia the spelunker
Never underestimate the powerful love of a good woman
If you were a cave what kind of cave would you be

“This is the Commander.
Moments ago this ship received word that a Cylon attack upon our home worlds is under way. We do not know the size or the disposition or the strength of the enemy forces. But all indications point to a massive assault against colonial defences.
"Admiral Nagala has taken personally command of the fleet aboard the Battlestar Atlantia, following complete destruction of Picon fleet headquarter in the first wave of the attack.
"How, why doesn’t really matter now. What does matter is, that as of this moment we are at war.
"You’ve trained for this. You’re ready for this. Stand to your duties. Trust your fellow shipmates and we will all get thru this. Further updates as we get them. Thank you.”
‘Commander William Adama.’




Willow’s mind ran total on automatic. Her military training taking over, she put on her flight suit and only moments later was on her way towards the pilots ready room.
Halfway she was joined by her wingman Buffy, who looked as puzzled and determent as herself. “Can you believe this?” ‘Slayer’ wanted to know from ‘Red’ and Willow only shook her head. No she couldn’t believe this.

After all, no one had seen or heard from the Cylons in the last forty years. And even though a remote space station had been build, where human and Cylon could meet and maintain diplomatic relations, unlike the Colonials the Cylons had never send an representative.
But now the Cylons where back, back with a vengeance.
“And I have an even worth feeling about this”, Buffy went on.
“Rightly so Buff”, Willow said as they where about to enter the ready room, “after all, the last time we didn’t exactly beat them. They only excepted our desperate offer for an armistice after they lost the advantage of infiltrating and disrupting even our most basic computer systems, when we broad the Galactica Class Battlestar’s into to the war. And they started to take the same losses as we.”

Entering the ready room, pilot’s ‘Red’ and ‘Slayer’ joined their fellow comrades. There where about twenty of them, all angry, ready and eager to fight.
There was however one slight problem – Fighters. They didn’t have any, some of theirs where bust like Willow’s and the others Vipers simply were no longer aboard. And they all felt rather frustrated, they where in a shooting war with the Cylons, aboard a Battlestar that had no ammunition and pilots without fighters.

While the others speculate about what was going on, Willow’s mind went back again to the beautiful blond woman and how she made her feel. ‘Could it be? Willow thought, that maybe, just maybe, I’m in…’
“OK Ladies! Lets kick some Cylon ass!” Lieutenant Kara Thrace – ‘Starbuck’ yelled, standing in the open ready room door.
‘Damned – lost it again,’ Willow though annoyed. ’And I was that close.’
She then turned her attention back to ‘Starbuck’, who was still standing in the door, challenging them with what she’d just said.
‘Why was She no longer in the brig?’ Willow wondered, after all ‘Starbuck’ had been thrown in there for striking Col. Tigh.
This really showed how serious the situation was, for ‘Starbuck’ was the best pilot in the fleet. Even better then ‘Slayer’ and weren’t it for her lack of discipline, especially towards Col. Thigh, it would have been her not Buffy, to become the youngest Captain in fleet history.

“And how do you suggest we do that? We have no fighters!” ‘Terra’ shoot back, asking what every body else was thinking.
“The old fashioned way”, ‘Starbuck’ said with a full-size smirk on her face. “With the old Mark II Viper’s standing in the starboard landing bay. So come on girls!”

“Will they fly?” Willow asked Xander, as they both stood in front of one of the exhibition Viper’s. “Well the reactor is still hot,” Xander explained kindda proud – and rightfully so, after all he had helped to refurbish some of these grant (and really) old birds. “The only thing we got to do, is to pull the red buffers from the engine. Refuel it, load the ordnance and you’re good to go. The only problem is to get them over to the port launch.”
“Why can’t we use the starboard launch?” Buffy wanted to know, she stood right behind them by the next Viper, together with Cally, a rather cute brunet specialist, who answered Buffy’s question before Xander could. “It’s a gift shop now.”
“Frack me!”

Together they all took up the birds and moved them across the ship and into the port hangar bays.
Willow worked together with Xander at the Viper assigned to her, while Cally helped Buffy getting her fighter ready to launch.
Then the voice of Commander Adama, coming over the P.A. speakers made them all stop.
“Preliminary reports indicate that, a thermo nuclear device in the fifty megaton range has been detonated over Caprica City thirty minutes ago. Nuclear detonations have been reported on planets Arilon, Picon, Sagitarion and Gemenon. No words on casualties, but they will be high.”

“How many people on Caprica City alone?” Cally asked uneasily.
“Seven million”, Willow answered, feeling completely numb.
“Mourn the dead later”, Adama advised, “right now, the best that you can do is to get this ship into the fight.”
Caprica City destroyed. And with an fifty megaton nuclear explosion the surrounding suburbs would be destroyed too. Suburbs like Sunnydale.
Her parents, her grandmother where dead, together with her schoolmates and old friends who still lived in Sunnydale.
But the old men was right, there was no time to mourn them right now and so they all silently went back to work, getting the old Vipers ready for action.

“Attention! Inbound Dradis contact, rated highly possible enemy fighters. All hands stand by for battle manoeuvres”, echoed Col. Saul Tigh’s voce all over the ship, followed shortly by the voice of Petty Officer Dualla ordering: “Viper’s clear to launch!”

Only moments later, following ‘Slayer’, it was ‘Red’s’ turn to prepare for immediate launch. Her Viper was moved into the launch tube and the door closed behind her.
“’Red’ this is ‘Shooter’, I have control standby”, Capt. Campion informed her and then went through the launch check list.
“Viper 1968 clear forward. Nav-con green. Interval check. Thrusters positive.”
Willow checked her instruments and signalled with a ‘thumps up’ that every think was in order. “Mag-cap ready.” This would propel her Viper out of the ship.
“Gap door open.”
The door right in front of Willow opened and the rest of air that hadn’t been pumped out before evaporated into space – only seconds left.
“Thrust positive and good luck.”
With a force of almost three G’s, Willow was pressed her into her seat as she was literally shoot out of the Battlestar. As soon as she had cleared the ship she activated her thrusters and next to Buffy joined the battle against two attacking Cylon Raiders.

Those weren’t only very agile and hart to get into shooting range, but also didn’t seam to have a cockpit. ‘No one’s flying these things,’ Willow thought, as they moved their Viper’s into attack positions again and again.
‘They are a artificial intelligence after all,’ she thought. ‘Maybe they had found a way to directly transfer such a artificial consciousness directly into the machine.’
In that moment something in the front of the enemy fighter opened and a red flashing light started to emanate towards her. But nothing was happening.

“The Cylons are radiating some weapon at me, but it doesn‘t seem to have any effect,” she reported to her comrades, as well as the Combat Information Center – the CIC.
‘Maybe they trying to infiltrate the Viper’s systems,’ Willow pondered while she opened fire on the Cylon Raider, who didn’t seam to anticipate any kind of resistance from her whatsoever.
The enemy fighter exploded into a small sun. “All Viper’s systems are go!” she cried out. And now it was time for some payback.

Willow and the others went after the remaining Cylon fighter. But not without losses. ‘Terra’ and ‘Shadow’ had already been shoot down before Willow had joined the battle. Her comrades ‘Bruiser’ and ‘Angel’ too would never return.
Finally they where getting the upper hand, but before ’Starbuck’ was able to destroy the last Cylon fighter, it launched three missiles armed with nuclear warheads towards the Galactica. Willow and the others turned their Viper’s around and hurried after the missiles and their deadly freight. ‘Slayer’ and ‘Red’ destroyed the first one, ‘Starbuck’ got the second, the last one however – “Galactica, you’ve got an inbound nuke! All Viper’s break, break, break!” – got thru.
Unable to stop it, Willow horridly watched the missile impact and a nuclear sun rising over the Galactica.

“Galactica, ‘Red’, the forward section of the port flight section has sustained heavy damage. Galactica, you got violent decompressions all along the port flight pod. Do you read Galactica?” Willow reported the damage she could see from the nuclear explosion, not knowing anyone at the CIC would actually be able to hear her.
She knew, fire was to worst thing that could ever happen aboard a spaceship. If it reached the port fuel cells, the fuel would ignite and blow the Galactica to peaces.

Minutes passed by, until Willow saw the flames burst into space and die, because of lack of oxygen. But the fire wasn’t the only thing that had been vented into space. Floating away from the ship, Willow could make out some human body’s too.
There was a point, Willow knew, when saving the ship meant sacrificing some life’s.
No doubt that was exactly what had just been happening aboard the Galactica. The chances to fighting such a big fire with the fire suppression systems where slime to none.
Maybe the system had been damaged itself and so the only way to get the fire out was to seal up the sections in question and vent the entire air out into space. Since it wasn’t possible to get all of members of the damage control teams out in time, some of them had been sucked out into space – and to certain death.
Casualties of war.

Willow returned to the Galactica. Down in the hangar bay she found everybody working quietly on restoring the damaged Viper’s. Some of the technicians weren’t present though, Willow noticed, but then most of them also worked as part of the DC Teams.
Like Xander, who wasn’t present ether
Willow spotted Buffy standing next to her Viper, together with Cally, who was weeping quietly while pulling some component out of the main engine. Buffy and Willow’s eyes met and without having to say the word, ‘Slayer’ told her what she didn’t dare ask.

Xander Harris, her best friend, whom she had known ever since they had been swollen infants, was dead. She would later learn that he had been among the eighty-six, that had not walked out of the fire again.
That he had been caught and killed in the fire.
More then ever, Willow wished she would be able to shed some tears over her best friend. Only yesterday, he had told her and Buffy, that he had put in a request to be transferred to the planetary base near Sunnydale, because he wanted to patch things up with his former fiancé Anya again. Now in death, they both where reunited again.

Willow made her way towards the CIC, to deliver her final report about the outside damage.
Before she had left the hangar bay, Buffy had brought her up to speed with the latest developments. Admiral Nagala was dead, Battlestar’s Atlantia, Titan, Orion VII, Columbia, Enterprise and many more destroyed.
Commander Adama had personally taken command of the fleet and ordered all military units to regroup at Ragnar anchorage, for a regrouping and immediate counter attack.
To him the war wasn’t over.
With all the reports of destroyed Battlestar’s and military basses, nuclear explosions over all of the Twelve Colonies, Willow didn’t share his judgment. Maybe this war was already over and all left to do was to gather as much survivors as possible, run like hell and hope that they could find a save heaven to start all over again.
However, the commander was in charge and Lt. Willow Rosenberg would always follow his orders.

Arriving at the CIC, Willow overheard Lt. Gaeta reporting to Commander Adama and Col. Tigh: “Sir, we have a remote sensor reading on Captain ‘Apollo’s’ location and two enemy’s closing in on these coordinates.”
Willow heart and mind turned to ice, as the information started to sink in. ‘Apollo’s’ location! He was the escort to the ship of Laura Roslin – Tara! She too was aboard this ship!
Suddenly the last peace of the puzzle fell in place, and everything made sense.
Now Willow understood why she had kept thinking, dreaming of Tara, why she had been drawn towards her from the first time she had laid eyes on her.
She was in love, in love with this beautiful, soft-spoken woman – Tara.
Who was aboard a civilian ship about to be attacked – no, destroyed – by two Cylon fighters.

It was almost to much to bear, her parents, her family and friends, Xander, Galactica’s entire Alpha Squadron and now Tara too. Just in the very moment that she realised that she was in love with Tara, Willow was about to lose her again.

Only her military training kept Willow from fainting, as she helplessly watched the Dradis telemetry screen, where the two dot’s marking the enemy, closed in on the location of ‘Colonial One’. Only from the distance she heard Commander Adama yell into the COM link: ”Apollo you have inbound enemy fighters coming towards you. Get out of there! Apollo! Apollo! Lee, get… Lee!”

The screen went black and moments later Lt. Gaeta reported: “ Fifty megaton nuclear detonation. The Cylons moving of sir.”

_________________
Today my friend, your diary entry will read: Took a […] hostage and got shoot by three armed bastards.”
Gene Hunt – Ashes to Ashes
“A Love Beyond the Stars”
“What Dreams may Come”

Dax,

I really like how you have imersed the characters from Buffy into the Battlestar universe. This is really getting me interested. It makes me want to rewatch season one. Unfortunately, I have loaned it out. Bah, that teaches me to be nice.

I love Tara's history. I can tell why Willow was instantly attracted to her.

Everyone's call sign was amusing.

Thanks for posting the story.

-Brea

_________________
"You are an octagon of evil. That is eight sides of badness."

“I basically just used the hyper drive to manipulated the energy coils. I put out a big pulse of electro magnetic energy that must have disabled the warhead. I’m hopping it looked like a nuclear explosion.”
‘Apollo.’
“Did it fool the Cylons?”
‘Laura Roslin.’
“I don’t know. But if they weren’t fooled, then they’d be on top of us now. […] Now if I mid suggest...”
‘Apollo.’
“Evacuate the passenger liner and get the hell out of here before the Cylons realise their mistake. I’m right with you Captain.”
‘Laura Roslin.’




“Great! My first hangover and I didn’t even have one single drink,” Tara mumbled to herself. Slowly and very carefully she opened her eyes, to find herself lying on her seat in the passenger compartment. But as far as she could remember, given the enormous headache she was experiencing right now; this was not the place where she had lost consciences. She’d been standing in the cockpit when… Oh, her head was splitting.

“I would take it slow if I where you”; a familiar voice said and Tara slowly turned her head to see Billy sitting right opposite her.
“What happened?” Tara asked groggily.
“Well you fainted, like everybody else,” Billy explained, “but by going down you hit your head on the doorframe. You hit it pretty hart, if I mid add.”
“So that’s why the lights went out,” Tara said and carefully reached for the back of her head and found a nice little bruise. She smiled weakly and then tried to sit herself up, but a sharp wave of dizziness send her right back again.

At once Billy was at her side and helped her up. “You really should tack it slow Tara,” he said politely and handed her a class of water, with a pill to treat her headache.
“Thank you Billy,” Tara said, swallowed the pill and took a sip of water to wash it down. She handed the glass back to Billy and smiled weakly, “you know Billy. It’s really a shame you’re not a girl. Otherwise you me in such a situation…” She wiggled suggestively with her eyebrows.
“You know what they say, nobody’s perfect.”
Tara smiled again and then returned to the more serious aspects of the day. “Any idea why we all lost consciences? And why are we still alive anyway? Didn’t the Cylons attack us?”

“They did”, Billy told his wobbly colleague. “But ‘Apollo’ - Captain Adama our escort, setup some sort of a electro magnetic impulse and with that he not only disabled the warheads the Cylons fired at us, but also managed to fool them.”
“What ever,” Tara sighed, her headache kept her from completely understanding Billy’s explanation. “As long as we are still alive. What’s our status?”

“Well, after all of us – except you – regained consciousness again, we evacuated the passenger liner and made the FTL jump – that means travelling faster then light.”
This remark brought Billy a very annoyed look from his gay colleague and so he hastily went on. “During the last hours we have gathered something around forty ships. And ‘Boomer’ - Lt. Valerii, from the Galactica is out there looking for other refugees. Oh and ‘Boomer’ also brought us some extra hope, one might say.”
He pointed towards the other side of the cabin and a man sitting over a stack of papers.

“And he is?” Tara wondered.
“Doctor Tara Maclay are you actually asking me who this is?”
”Yes?”
“That’s Doctor Gaius Baltar, winner of three Mangnate Awards.”
“Don’t follow”, Tara said and kept staring at the stranger across the cabin. At least her head slowly started to clear.
“He’s a authority in matters of advanced computer networks and stuff,” Billy explained, “and now he’s Laura’s consultant concerning the Cylons and their technology.”
“Now I remember!” Tara said. “He’s the one who said, that the ban on researching artificial intelligence should be lifted. He said that, yes the Cylons where a mistake, but that was more then fifty years ago…blah, blah, blah. Wonder if he still stands to his opinion.”

She continued to stare at Dr. Baltar. “You’re right Billy, if nothing else we will need some smart people if we really going to start our civilisation all over again.” That is, if we can really escape the Cylons and their deadly revenge, she didn’t at.
Billy stood up. “Ok Tara I have to get back to Laura and you should wait at least another thirty minutes before you try standing up. You know, give the pills some time to take an effect.”
“Yes Dad”, Tara said obediently and closed her eyes. She indented to rest for another fifteen minutes or so, but instate she fell asleep upon the instant.

One hour later, Tara woke up refreshed enough to go down below, where she helped the others with the arriving refugees.
Another six hours later, their convoy consisted off sixty-three ships. However twenty of them had no FTL capability and so they had to evacuate the people from board the sub light ships, before they could the jump to Ragnar in order to rendezvous with the Galactica.

Tara just entered the forward passenger compartment, to witness a discussion between Captain Adama, Laura Roslin and Alan Doral.
It seemed that a Cylon scout had spotted them and would certainly return very soon with reinforcements. A decision had to be made and even before ‘Apollo’ said what had to be done, Tara already knew.
In order for the majority of the people to survive, the ones on the twenty sub lights had to be abandoned, for there was no time to evacuate these ships before the Cylons would return. They had to sacrifice the about thousand human beings in order to save the fifty thousand on the FTL callable ships.

Tara’s heart turned to ice, as she remembered a little girl, Cami, whom she had met only an hour ago. She was travelling on this botanical ship – basically a big flying greenhouse – which Tara had visited together with Laura and Billy.
While Laura had talked to captain of this ship, Tara had been chatting with Cami, who had been looking forward to meet her parents back home at the spaceport of Caprica City. Of course her grandmother hadn’t told her about what had happened. How could she ever understand that her parents where no longer alive?
Tara had found Cami a cute innocent little girl, much like the daughter she dreamed of to be raising herself some day in the future.
But for Cami there would be no future, because the agriculture ship she was travelling with, was one of the ships that had to be left behind.

“…I’m sorry to make it a numbers game, but we’re talking about the survival of our race here. And we don’t have the luxury of taking chances and hope for the best, because if we lose, we lose it all and Madam President this decision has to be made now.” ‘Apollo’ just said and all eye’s turned towards the President.
Tara could see the pain in Laura’s eyes, could see how the responsibility to sacrifice those thousand souls was coming down resting heavily upon her shoulders.
But there was no other possible position and so Laura Roslin made the decision, “Order the fleet jump to Ragnar Captain Adama.”
‘Apollo’ and the ships captain, ‘I don’t even know his name’, Tara thought miserably, left the cabin to prepare Colonial One for an immediate FTL jump and Alan Doral too left, leaving Tara Maclay alone with the President, who sat down on a nearby seat resting her head in the hands.

Knowing that Laura would rather be left alone right now, Tara withdrew to the opposite side of the cabin to her seat. She warped herself up in it and reached under the seat for some comfort. Closing her eye’s, Tara began to cry, began to shed silent tears for the pour souls they where about to leave behind, undoubtedly to be killed by the Cylons within the next minutes to come. And she prayed.
Prayed to the Lords of Kobol to take the souls of those people into their loving hands, especially the one of little Cami.

As the ship made the jump, Tara’s mind reached out to little Cami, whom she now saw in her mind, sitting on a bench playing with her dolly, while behind her Tara could see the flashes of the other ships jumping away.
With her thoughts Tara reached out to her, “I’m with you,” she whispered. “You are not alone.” And Cami kept playing, as Tara horribly watched the lighting trails of the approaching Cylon missiles approaching the ship. It was an image that was to stay with Tara for the rest of her life. But so would Cami, for Tara promised herself that she would never ever allow herself to forget this gentle little girl. For she represented the entire holocaust that had come down upon the people of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol today.
Tara started to cry harder, until the fatigue of the long hours working down below, the overwhelming experiences of the last days and the sorrow that rested upon her soul, made her fall asleep. She didn’t even notice Laura Roslin covering her with a blanket.

About halve an hour after Colonial One had rendezvoused with Galactica, Tara woke up to learn that Laura Roslin, Billy had already gone from board.
She also was told by a flight attendance that the President had given orders not to wake her.
Tara gratefully gathered her stuff and left the passenger liner too.

Aboard Galactica she got assigned the same quarters as on her previous stint, an eternity ago, as it seamed now.
But unlike then, this time it was to become her home, for who knew how long.
After all who could tell how long it would take for them all to find a save place to call home, if they ever made it out of this system alive in the first place, outrunning the Cylons and their deadly artificial intelligence.

Standing in the middle of the tiny windowless cabin, Tara looked upon the bed and her but few worldly possessions that she’d left. Change of cloth for three days. The usual necessities, her favourite Teddy bear, three books, her personal laptop computer and of course…
“This is all”, she whispered. This was all that was left of her previous life.
Tara put every thing away and then decided to look for Laura and Billy. Maybe there was something she could do, something to keep her mind busy.

Tara had now been aboard Galactica for almost an hour, but still she hadn’t found the courage to find out whether or not Lt. Rosenberg – Willow was still alive, to afraid that the answer might be no.
Upon arriving on board, she had learned of all the casualties the Galactica had suffered, since the Cylons had first attacked.
Like the entire Alpha Squadron, that she’d watched at the decommissioning ceremony.
Other pilots that where killed later, defending the Galactica with these old Vipers she’d seen on display in the exhibition. Viper pilots like Willow Rosenberg.

Of course Tara knew all to well, that it was cowardly of her not to ask the next best officer if Lt. Rosenberg was still alive.
And maybe, she decided, now was the time to do something about it. For in her mind and soul she knew that she needed clarity in order to go on. Even if it meant, she had to except that the love of her life was no longer with her.

Closing the bulkhead to her quarter behind her, Tara turned around to see the most beautiful sight she could’ve dreamed of.
A redheaded woman wearing a flight suit, standing but one meter away from her.

Willow – looking very much like she’d just seen a ghost, but otherwise very much alive.

_________________
Today my friend, your diary entry will read: Took a […] hostage and got shoot by three armed bastards.”
Gene Hunt – Ashes to Ashes
“A Love Beyond the Stars”
“What Dreams may Come”

Oh, cliffhanger..evil. This was a great chapter. I loved Tara's turmoil about the thousand left behind. You wrote it beautifully. Glad to see Tara was rewarded for her resolve to find out if Willow was still alive. This is getting good..... woo. I can't wait for more. Sorry, for the short feedback but I am in a bit of a hurry. I will have to think on it and give you more complete feedback later. Great work Dax!

Brea

_________________
"You are an octagon of evil. That is eight sides of badness."

“Okay, we’re taking the civilians with us. We’re going to leave this solar system and we’re not gonna come back. […] This war is over. We lost. […]
This is a bad tactical position. We pull the Galactica out five clicks. The civilians will come out behind us, cross the threshold make the jump while we hold of the Cylons.
Once the civilians have made the jump, every fighter is to make an immediate combat landing. We don’t have much time. […] I want all my pilots to return. Do you understand?”
‘Commander William Adama.’




‘It’s better to have loved and lost, then never to have loved at all.’
This long gone playwright surly had never found love in one moment, only to have it taken from him the very next, Willow thought bitterly.

And that was precisely what had happened to Willow. She had been falling head over heals in love with the beautiful blond. Only the fact that, until now she’d never thought that she could actually fall in love with another woman, had kept her from realising it right away, when she had seen her for the first time in the hallway.
But then the moment she finally realised that she was in love with Tara, turned out to be the same one, that the Cylons brutally took her from her again. Now she would never have the chance to see her again and tell her. Deep inside her she knew that Tara had been feeling the same way.
Looking back at the evening of the reception, it was obvious to her, Tara had that been flirting with her the entire evening.
And she knew that, even if only subconsciously, she had been flirting back.

More then ever Willow wished she’d be able to cry, to grief for all the people that she had lost during these last days. But her eyes where as try as the desert. Not a single tear for her parents, her granny, her Sunnydale friends, Xander and Tara too.
Why couldn’t she cry?
Not even for Xander, as long as she could remember there had always been Xander Harris. They even had been going steady for some time. That was until he stole her dolly, ok back then they had been only five years old.
Until halve an hour ago, Willow had been recovering the body’s of the seventy nine members of the DC units, except for the seven souls that had been sucked out into space, that had been killed by the fire and move them into the prepared morgue in Hangar Deck B.

Seventy nine, including Xander Harries.
He’d been burned so badly – beyond recognition, she had to check his identity disks in order to make sure that it was really him.
Now he lay together with his comrades in Hangar Deck B, until they could find time to give them a proper funeral service.

Willow blindly walked down Galactica’s cheer endless hallways. Right now there wasn’t much to do for her. The Galactica was docked to the Ragnar Anchorage ammunitions depot and the crew was busy loading every peace of ammunition they could get into the Galactica’s storage compartments. They even had been fortunate enough to find ten brand new Mark VII Vipers stored at Ragnar. Witch was lucky for them, because with only the old Mark II they where bound to running short of Viper’s at some point and now they even had some spare machines.
Luckily there still where outpost, like Ragnar Anchorage. Stations like this had originally been established during the Cylon war. Not only to provide Battlestar’s with the necessary ammunition, but replacement fighters as well.

Willow would be flying her next combat assignment in her very own Viper again. Because soon after her unfortunate ‘burnout’, Xander had modified one of the Mark II spare engines and had started to fit it into her Mark VII. It had been a completely unorthodox procedure and Chief Tyrol had been furious when he’d found out. But following the fire he’d allowed Cally to complete Xander’s work.

Now her Viper stood in the starboard hangar bay, side by side with the old Mark II’s, as well as the brand new Mark VII’s, while each available specialist was busy erasing the CMP navigational program from the Viper’s memory banks.
Dr. Baltar had discovered, that the Cylons had somehow found a way to use the CMP, in order to infiltrate every computer system that had this program installed on its mainframe.
This way the CMP had provided the Cylons with a backdoor to enter the system of the Viper’s of Galactica’s Alpha Squadron, order it to shut down and then wipe them out without any resistance. Even the most advanced ship in the fleet, the Battlestar Atlantia had posed no threat at all to the Cylons.
In retrospect all the man and woman aboard the Galactica, had been saved by Commander Adama’s strict refusal to allow any kind of network-computerised system aboard this Battlestar. Still so countless many people had been lost and all that was left of Willow’s friends and family was her best friend Buffy Summers, Buffy who had always been there for her.

‘Let’s see how Buffy is doing,’ she thought and turned her steps towards the hangar bay again, where ‘Slayer’ possibly was still busy working on her Viper. ‘There’s certainly something do for me as well,’ Willow thought.
Something that would keep her from going crazy from all the sorrow in her heart.
Most of all she needed to distract herself from the sorrow that hurt the most. The sorrow of having lost the love of her life – Tara.

Willow stopped and looked around. “Well isn’t that something,” she said to herself. “I lost my way. I’m no way even near the starboard hangar bay.” She shook her read haired head.
‘I must be getting old and these are the visitors quarters,’ she thought and was just about to turn around, when she saw a young blond woman coming out of her quarter right in front of her. She then closed the bulkhead behind her and turned around.
Willow stopped dead in her steps, her mouth dropped open and her eyes went larger then life, for she could not believe whom she was seeing standing right in front of her – Tara!

‘That’s Tara! And she’s alive!’ Her heart screamed. But her mind wasn’t willing to accept this so easily. ‘Look,’ it said, ‘you just lost your way on a Battlestar you’ve been serving on for the past year. And now you’re so desperate that you start imagining that the woman you fell in love with is not dead, but standing right in front of you.’
‘That’s crazy, I know,’ Willow thought to herself, ‘I’m going slightly mad.’
“Fifty thousand megaton nuclear explosion. The Cylons are moving of.” Echoed Lt. Gaeta’s voice thru her mind.
‘You’ve been there, you saw it.’ Her mind went on. ‘You have to except that she’s gone.’
Even though some part of her was about to give in to reason, the far larger part of her could not. This seamed far to real to be a mere desperate illusion.
The face she was looking at, framed by golden blond hair, the disbelieving smile on these perfect red lips. She could even smell Tara’s all to familiar perfume.
‘And even if this is just an illusion’, her heart said, ‘let it be and let’s embrace it for what it might be, even though it can’t be more then an illusion.’
But then, with tears in her eyes, this wonderful illusion reached out and took Willow’s hand into her own and the moment their fingers touched, all doubts was washed away by a title wave of happiness.
Tara Maclay it is you, it is you! Willow’s heart sang. This was real, she wasn’t dreaming.

Willow met Tara’s gaze again, and suddenly it all started to overwhelm her, and silent tears started to ran freely down Willow’s face. Oblivious to her surroundings, she cried harder, until her small body was racked with sobs.
Tara didn’t say a word, but instead took Willow by the hand, and lead her into her quarter. She directed her to sit down on her bed.

Sitting down next to her, Tara reached out to put her arm around the young woman. At first she shied away from her, but then turned and buried her face in her chest. For a moment Tara just sat there rocking her, letting her get it all out.
Willow continued to cry, to shed tears for all the people, friends and family she lost. But she also cried tears of happiness, for having the love of her life returned to her safely.
Eventually her tears stopped, but Willow remained in this loving embrace of Tara, feeling warm and protected, while Tara’s hands softly moved comforting over her back.

They kept sitting in this loving embrace for she didn’t knew how long, until something tiny, warm and rather fury tried to make it’s way onto her lap.
Willow leaned back a little and looked down to be surprised by a little black & white cat looking back up to her. After she had successfully made her way onto her lap, that is.
Slightly puzzled, Willow looked at Tara, who in return looked a little uncomfortable.
“That’s Miss Kitty Fantastico”, she explained shyly. “My cat. I smuggled her aboard.” She handed Willow a tissue from her nightstand.

Willow dried her tears and out of puffy red eyes she asked: “You smuggled a cat … onboard a Battlestar? When?” Willow felt somewhat confused as she started to gently stroke the tiny creature in her lap, who responded by purring loudly.
“Of course I already broad her with me when I arrived two…” Tara glanced on her watch, “three nights ago.”
“So what you’re saying is, you brought your cat, on a three day trip on to a military installation?” Willow could not help but smile, this kind of behaviour was simply to cute to be true.
Tara on the other hand looked slightly embarrassed, “Well I had no one to look after her, and I don’t like to be separated from her anyway. And so I simply broad her with me.”
“As simple as that, but how?”
“Now, I have this special transport coffer”, Tara pointed to the floor and a what looked like a normal small travel pack, but the down zipped front revealed it to be very cat-comfortable transport box, that even included a litter box .
“It’s inconspicuous, and it fits exactly under the seat.”
“But what about the controls?”
“Diplomatic immunity.”

Willow smile grew ever brighter and she felt even more drawn towards this woman, who cared so much for her tiny cat. Out of an spontaneous impulse, Willow leaned forward to kiss Tara upon her soft lips. Quiet surprising herself, she would never have thought herself to be that bold. But that soon was forgotten, when their lips finally touched.
Even though they barley touched, and the kiss only lasted for a short breathtaking moment, it was enough to blow Willow’s mind away.
Even the most passionate kisses, she had ever exchanged with Oz, where but a tiny candle in the darkness, compared to the huge fire this supper soft and supper tender kiss was setting ablaze inside her.

Willow slowly opened her eyes, only now realising she had closed them in the first place, and looked into Tara’s just opening deep blue eyes. I’m lost in your eyes, Willow wanted to say, but she was able to get out was: “Wow, that was.. wow.”
Tara didn’t answerer to that babble, but instead she leaned in for another kiss. Like the first one it was soft and tender at first, but soon it became more passionate. Forgetting everything around them the two woman started to make out carefully.
Right now all that existed where Willow and Tara and nothing else. Not the devastated Colonies, neither the Cylon threat was on their minds. Not even tiny Miss Kitty, who was playing with Willow’s identity disks, dangling freely between the two lovers.

“So this is ok?” Tara asked after a while.
“Oh very ok,” Willow assured her, and to prove it she leaned forward again for another kiss and so they both happily started another make out session and this time Tara started to kiss not only Willow’s lips but her face and her neck as well.
‘Funny,’ Willow thought, ‘when Oz had kissed me upon my neck it had felt only funny, but now with Tara forming little flowers out of kisses upon my neck it is… wow!’
In return she kissed Tara’s delicate formed ears, her hands kept moving true the soft blonde hair that smelt so good, like spring flowers and apple blossoms.

Lying arm in arm, on the bed they continued to hold and kiss each other, until reality caught up with them again. Bursting their little bubble of happiness when Lt. Gaeta’s voice echoed throughout the ship:
“Action stations, action stations! Set condition one throughout ship. This is not a drill. I repeat. Action stations, action stations! Set condition one throughout ship. This is not a drill. I repeat…”

Only reluctantly Willow separated herself from Tara. “That’s my call,” she sighted. “Guess the Cylons have found us as last.” She took up Miss Kitty, who just tried to make her way back on to her lap again and placed her carefully next to the teddy, sitting at the top of the bed.
Together the two woman stood up, holding Tara’s hand Willow looked into her eyes, “Listen,” she said, “if we make it thru the night there’s something I want to tell you. Will you wait for me?” Tara gently got hold of Willow’s hand, rose it to her mouth and gently kissed her fingertips, sending small shivers throughout Willow’s entire body.
“Of course I wait,” she said. “Don’t you know? I waited my whole life to be with you. I’ll always be waiting for you.”
She kissed Willow one last time goodbye upon her lips and then the young Viper pilot left the quarter to report to the pilots briefing room.

In the squadrons briefing room, Willow sat next to her wing men Buffy, who right away noticed a certain glow emanating from her best friend and quiet correctly concluded, that despite all the horrible things happening around them, Willow had found love.

Unfortunately, there was no time for personal questions and so they turned their attention towards their new CAG, Captain Lee Adama – ‘Apollo’, the successor of ‘Spike’ – the late Captain William Jackson Spencer, who just called the meeting to order.
He soon cut to the chase, confirming what Willow had already concluded herself:
“The war is over. We lost and we’re running.”
He then briefed them about the tactical situation, from a recon mission flown just an hour ago by ‘Starbuck’. Just outside the magnetic storm of Ragnar Anchorage, where two Cylon Basestar’s, with ten squadrons of Raiders and two recon drones attachment waiting for them to come out.
After he had given them their instructions for the upcoming battle, they went to the hangar bay, ready for action.
“Good hunting ‘Red’,“ Buffy said and climbed aboard her Mark II Viper.

“Good hunting ‘Slayer’,” Willow answered and made her way towards the Viper, that had been with her, ever since she had reported for her first assignment aboard the Battlestar Orion VII, and where Specialist Cally just completed the last check on the newly installed engine.
Stepping right beside her, Willow had a close look upon her old/new Viper.
“Good work Cally. Good work,” she said and gave the young specialist a friendly slap on her shoulder.
“I didn’t do that much,” Cally said a little uncomfortable. “The X-Man had already done most of the work. I merely finished it.”
“Oh you did much more then that,” Willow said facing the specialist at her side, and noticing how very cute the young woman was.

‘Stop it! You have a girlfriend now!’ A small voice inside her mind ordered, bringing Willow to focus again on the matter at hand. “I know that it was you, who convinced the Chief to let you complete Xander’s work and for that I thank you.”
Willow gave her another slap on her shoulder and then climbed into the cockpit, to make herself ready for launch.
As Cally handed her the checklist, Willow could see that the young specialist was fighting hart not to cry, as she said: “I only did what was the right way to honour a good comrade.”
“And a good friend, Cally”, Willow said with a warm smile, signet and handed her back the checklist. Cally then helped her to put on her helmet and connect it to the Viper’s life-support system. Following a final check Willow yelled: “Set!” and closed the cockpit, while Cally removed the ladder.
Moments later the order to launch Viper’s came, and again following ‘Slayer’, ‘Red’ was shoot out of the Galactica to hold of the Cylons, so the civilian ships could make the jump.

“Open formation. Razzle dazzle. Don’t let them use their targeting computers and for Frak sake keep out of Galactica’s firing solution!” Apollo ordered as they advanced towards the enemy.
It was quiet site to see, wave after wave of approaching Cylon Raiders, the two Basestar’s firing missiles, while at the same time the Galactica fired the enemy suppression barrage, creating a perimeter in witch they had to keep the Cylon Raiders from going after the civilian ships.
But ‘Red’ didn’t only fight, to ensure the civilians save escape, but also to keep her love alive and well aboard Galactica.
And every single Raider she shoot down, was payback, payback for her mother and father, her granny and for Xander.

They did well, even though they lost another three pilots of their own, but they destroyed more enemy fighters in return. Then, after the last civilian ship had made the jump, Dualla ordered them all back: “Break of pursuit. Come on home. Repeat, come on home.”
‘Red’, ‘Slayer’ and the other returned to Galactica for an immediate combat landing. Meaning they broad their fighters as fast as they could down at the port landing bay and out of the way of the next following Viper.
All that was left to do for Willow, was to wait until the Galactica had retracted and secured the landing port’s and – hopefully – jumped to safety.

After that they would start bringing the Viper’s back down in the star board hangar bays again. The pot was almost completely retracted, when Willow saw the Viper’s of ‘Apollo’ and ‘Starbuck’ literally wedged tight into each other, coming in hot for what properly was the worst landing in the history of the Colonial Forces. But at least the two had made it too, Willow thought. As well as Buffy and myself. And Tara.

Now of course they where on the run and the Cylons would certainly keep on perusing them without mercy. After all they where machines – cold, passionless and able to hunt them forever if necessary.
This wasn’t the most comforting thought, Willow knew. But then there hadn’t been much good and positive happening during the last three nights.

Except one thing of course – Tara.
Not only had she found her and fallen in love with her, but the Lords of Kobol had also returned Tara safely back to her, when it had seamed that all and everything had been lost forever.
And with Tara at her side, Willow was certain, it could never be completely dark and hopeless.

The Galactica made the jump and with the help of her FTL drive broad them way beyond the red-line and to the Proma-sector and hopefully some safety.

_________________
Today my friend, your diary entry will read: Took a […] hostage and got shoot by three armed bastards.”
Gene Hunt – Ashes to Ashes
“A Love Beyond the Stars”
“What Dreams may Come”

Dibs Things are heating up with our girls and I love it this was a sweet update I like this part




wonderful want more please

_________________
Dia the spelunker
Never underestimate the powerful love of a good woman
If you were a cave what kind of cave would you be

Hi there,
I've been reading this and enjoying it quite a bit. You portray their discovery of each other and of the tragedy quite well. I'll admit that I've been a little afraid of finding out spoilers because I'm a year behind. (I've seen through 2.5). But I'm enjoying this quite a bit.

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Menorah Tales | Working It Out | Random Bits

“To find the enemy. We are at war. That’s my mission”
‘Commander William Adama.’

“I honestly don’t know why I have to keep telling you this. But the war is over.”
‘Laura Roslin’

“It hasn’t begun jet”
‘Commander William Adama.’

“That’s insane.”
‘Laura Roslin’

“You would rather that we run?”
‘Commander William Adama.’

“Yes absolutely. That’s the only sane thing to do. Exactly that run. We leave this solar system and don’t back.”
‘Laura Roslin’

[…]

“You can run if you like. This ship will stand and it will fight”
‘Commander William Adama.’

“I’m gone be strait with you here. The human race is to be wiped out. We have 50000 people left and that’s it. Now, if we are going to survive as a species, then we need to get the hell out of here and start having babies.”
‘Laura Roslin’




“Cry havoc and lets slip the dogs of war!” Tara whispered to herself, quoting her favourite playwright. She was still staring at the bulkhead that Willow had gone thru halve an hour ago, but it already felt like an eternity to Tara.

Her mind was racing. The Cylons had found them, so much was clear to Tara. She wasn’t really surprised, of course she was surprised that the Cylons had found them so fast, but not that they had kept looking for possible survivors. And especially for the Galactica
They hadn’t been able to destroy this old Battlestar in the first place and so it was only logical for these machines to try again. This time they would certainly throw much more against them, then the two raiders they had sent the last time.
Properly at least one Cylon Basestar, with all the Raiders such a big ship had onboard.

By now Willow would be out there with her comrades defending the civilian ships as well as the Battlestar. “And me,” Tara told Miss Kitty Fantastico, who in return, looked from Tara’s lap up to her as if she wanted to ask: and what about me?
“Of course you too Miss Kitty,” she told her cat and softly stroke her soft fur and Kitty obviously satisfied with this answer, rolled herself up and dozed of. Tara smiled again, only cats and crazy people could sleep in a situation like that.

Tara’s thoughts return to Willow and the way she had looked at her, when she had spotted her coming out of her quarter. She had looked like she had seen a ghost, Tara thought and then suddenly she remembered how Billy had told her, what ‘Apollo’ had done to save their life’s, by disabling the warheads and making the Cylons belief that they had been destroyed by a nuclear explosion.
Since that Galactica had been in voice range, it might also have had some sensor reading on their location as well and theses had told the Galactica the same as the Cylons, that Colonial One had been destroyed by a nuclear explosion. Now if Willow and been at the CIC by the time of the ‘explosion’…
“Poor girl,” Tara whispered to herself.
Willow, she had really believe that she was dead. She certainly had been at the CIC, by the time of the Cylon attack on Colonial One, and thus had observed their “destruction”.
So while back then, Tara still had the hope that Willow might still be alive, the redhead on the other side had been convinced that Tara had indeed been killed.

“Be safe,” Tara said towards the sealing and at the same time prayed to the Lords of Kobol that they would return Willow safely back to her. That’s possibly the downside of being the wife of an Viper pilot, Tara thought and wondered about her particular choice of words.

“Incoming ordnance! All hands brace for impact!” Echoed an male voice throughout the ship. Instinctively Tara took Miss Kitty firmly but carefully into her arm. Then the Galactica was hit and the entire room around Tara shook violently, almost sending her of the bed.
Miss Kitty only took a short look around, before she rolled herself up into Tara’s arm again and continued her nap. Unlike Tara she didn’t seam to be worried at all.
Tara took her favourite cushion – part of her travel necessities – placed it in the corner of her quarter, and with Miss Kitty in her arm, she sat down in that corner, and waited for the next blast, witch promptly came, making the entire room shake like she was in the middle of an severe earthquake. But in her corner Tara felt fairly sheltered and Miss Kitty didn’t even raise her head this time. “You really a fascinating cat,” Tara told her pet and closed her eyes. This would soon be coming to an end, she knew, one way or the other.

Following another not so violent blast, the lights went out and within the darkness Tara felt this surreal sensation, like the room was closing in on her. She had experienced this only once before in her life, not so long ago, when Colonial One had made the FTL jump to the Ragnar Anchorage – leaving so many people behind.

So Galactica had successfully held of the Cylons and after the civilian ships had made their jump, had jumped away too, hopefully toward some safety. Nevertheless Tara felt relived, now if she only knew if Willow had made it too.
Well, she would have to wait to be sure, but at the same time, in her heart she already felt that the love of her life had safely returned aboard Galactica.
With that comforting certainty masking her feel all warm and save, Tara closed her eyes and fell asleep upon the instance. Right there, sitting on her favourite cushion, in the corner with Miss Kitty Fantastico sleeping soundly in her lap.

Later in the ‘night’, Tara woke up to find herself, no longer in the corner on the floor, but lying in her bed, covet with a blanket and Miss Kitty sleeping right next on her feet.
Tara switched on the light and found a note on her nightstand. A note from Willow.

Dear Tara,
I stopped by to let you know that I’m still alive. But you where soundly asleep and I didn’t want to wake you up.
You looked kinnda uncomfortable on the floor though, and so I took the liberty, to get you into your bed.
You know, your lucky you have your own room. I have to chare quarter with five other female pilots, including my best friend Buffy.
But at least I no longer have to chare quarters with Starbuck, she used to bunk under me, and she likes to smoke cigars!
Anyway. See you as soon as possible.

Love Willow

PS. I didn’t look. (to much)

First Tara wondered about the last line, but only until she saw her shirt and skirt, as well as her socks and shoos neatly placed upon the nearby chair.
A short glance under her blanket confirmed, that she indeed was wearing only bra and panty. Tara smiled knowingly and looked upon her wristwatch, 5:15h Caprica City standard time, witch was also ships-time aboard Galactica.

So she still had some time until she had to get up, in order to get some breakfast and then she would ask Laura for something to work around here.
But more then anything else she would see Willow again, she knew.
With this quite happy thought, Tara switched of the light again and went back to sleep again, and dreamed of being happily together with Willow.

_________________
Today my friend, your diary entry will read: Took a […] hostage and got shoot by three armed bastards.”
Gene Hunt – Ashes to Ashes
“A Love Beyond the Stars”
“What Dreams may Come”

Dax you know how much I love your writing so keep it coming. I thought it was sweet that Willow put Tara in her bunk and only peeked

_________________
Dia the spelunker
Never underestimate the powerful love of a good woman
If you were a cave what kind of cave would you be

I really like Tara's pov here. It's something we rarely get on the series: a pov from someone who is not military. We don't often see the civilians kind of bunkering down and hiding out. So it's nice (if nervewracking) to see that here.

The note to Tara from Willow is quite adorable. Why do I think that Tara may be able to offer Willow a more spacious sleeping quarter? I'm sure that will come.

I'm somewhat curious what society's attitude to a relationship between the two of them will be. I guess part of that is that historically in societies that need to focus on reproduction, there is great liberal attitude toward premarital sex. That is appropriate in the case of BG also as they want to have babies and don't really care if people are married. But what about a couple of women? Their relationship won't be seen as adding to procreation. But will it be seen as even more taboo than usual just because of the not procreation factor?

Well done.

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Menorah Tales | Working It Out | Random Bits

“So say we all!
Are they the lucky ones? That’s what you thinking, isn’t it?
We’re a long way from home. We jumped way beyond the redline, into uncharted space.
Limited supplies, limited fuel, no allies and now, no hope?
Maybe it would have been better for us to have died quickly back home at the colonies with our families, instead of dying slowly in the emptiness of dark space.
Where shall we go? What shall we do?
‘Life here began out there’. These are the first words of the scared scroll and they where told to us by the Lords of Kobol many countless centuries ago. And they made it perfectly clear that we are not alone in the universe.
Elosha, there’s a thirteen’s colony of mankind, is there not?”
‘Commander William Adama.’

“Yes the scrolls tell us a thirteen’s tribe left Kobol in the early days. They travelled far and made their home upon a planet called Earth, witch circled a distant and unknown star.”
Priestess Elosha

“It’s not unknown. I know where it is!
Earth, the most guarded secret we have. The location was only known by the senior commanders of the fleet and we dared not to share it with the public. Not while there was a Cylon threat upon us. For now we have a refuge to go to, a refuge the Cylons know nothing about.
It wont be an easy journey. It will be long and arduous.
But I promise you one thing. On the memory of those lying here before you, we shall find it. And Earth will become our new home.
So say we all!”
‘Commander William Adama.’




Doctor Tara Maclay took of the glasses she needed for reading and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She felt awfully tired and groggy from the past week.
And the past seven days had literally been hell – in Colour! (‘Bernd das Brot’, anyone?).

Merely one day after they had successfully jumped from Ragnar and only maybe three hours after the funeral service aboard Galactica, the Cylons had caught up with them.
They managed to jump away again all right, but then the real nightmare begun. Because exactly thirty three minutes after they’d completed a jump, the Cylons caught up with them again and again. Over a series of 238 jumps – a number Tara only later learned from Willow, for she completely lost count after the first fifty or so – the Cylons where right behind them thirty three minutes later.
Thirty three minutes, not thirty two, not thirty four, but exactly thirty three minutes.

After the first hundred or so jumps, Tara felt completely devastated, even though, or maybe because she had nothing to do but sit around and wait for the things to come. Unlike Willow, who flew one combat mission after the other, with little to no sleep in between and later even had been forced to take stimulants.
Herself Tara had been unable to get more then a short catnap here and there. Even Miss Kitty had started to show signs of fatigue.

But then, following the two-hundred and thirty sevenths jump, the attacks simply stopped.
There wasn’t another jump after thirty three minutes. Another hour later, with no new jump, Tara collapsed onto her bed and slept for almost half a day, until she was wakened by a rather beaten looking Lt. Rosenberg.
Willow had only wanted to stop by briefly, to assure her girlfriend that she was still alive. But she then stayed for another hour, since she so desperately needed to talk to someone, about what had happened out there.

During the last jump – number two three seven – the fleet had lost one civilian ship, the Olympic Carrier, with 1342 civilians onboard. After the Cylons didn’t show up for another forty five minutes, ‘Apollo’, ‘Starbuck’ and ‘Red’ took up the first regular patrol together with ‘Boomer’ & ‘Crashdown’, aboard Raptor 478.
All the other pilots where send back to Galactica and ordered to get some very necessary sleep.

Then right after the others had just returned to Galactica, the Olympic Carrier reappeared. They claimed that engine problems had kept them from following the fleet right away, but they were unable to give any plausible explanation on why the Cylons had sparred them.
It was at that point that ‘Galactica Actual’ – Commander Adama, ordered all communication from and to the Olympic Carrier to be jammed and he ordered ‘Apollo’ and his patrol to stop the Olympic Carrier from closing in on the fleet.

But the Olympic Carrier did not stop, and did no longer respond to any form of communication ether. Not to the visual signals of Raptor 478, nor to ‘Apollo’, breaking radio silence, ordering them to stand down or be stopped by force if necessary. To that effect he let ‘Starbuck’ fire a round across there bow, with no response ether.
On flying by, they couldn’t see no people thru the windows of the luxury passenger-liner and when then Galactica’s sensors picked up a radio electrical signal from the ship, there was only one conclusion left. The Olympic Carrier must have been infiltrated by the Cylons and with a nuclear device on board, it was on a attack run for the Galactica – the fleets only protection.

And thirty three minutes after the Olympic Carrier had reappeared, and right in the same moment that the Cylons reappeared yet again, the order came from the Galactica and backed by the president, to eliminate that threat to the fleets safety.
‘Apollo’, ‘Starbuck’ and ‘Red’ opened fire and destroyed the ship that hadn’t even slowed down.

Even though they had most probably saved the entire fleet, and the civilians of the Olympic Carrier had possibly already been killed by the Cylons anyway, the responsibility of having carried out the order to shoot down one of their own ships, weighted heavy on Willow’s shoulders.
It was a weight, Tara knew she couldn’t take of Willow, but she could at least help her by offering her a shoulder to cry on.
And crying Willow did, while Tara held her in a loving embrace, until her tears eventually stopped running down her face.
Then it was time for Willow to return to her quarter, to get some sleep before her next duty circle the next morning.

That had been two days ago and Tara hadn’t been able to spend much time together with Willow. Every now and then, when they managed to meet in a hallway, they would happily sneak a kiss in a empty corner or yesterday morning, they had a short but intense make out session before Willow had to report for duty.

Otherwise they both had their work cut out for them. Willow with flying patrols around the ragtag fleet and Tara with her new job.
Right after the funeral service, Laura Roslin had taken Tara aside and asked her to serve as her liaison between Colonial One and the Galactica.
She also asked Tara to take over the post of the Secretary of Education, within the new provisional Colonial Government that she was building up, in order to maintain the democratic traditions of the Twelve Colonies.
Tara gratefully accepted both jobs offered to her and soon found herself very busy trying to rebuild something of an educational system throughout the fleet.

Tara put her glasses, back on and continued to read through the papers send to her from Colonial One, through Galactica’s CIC.
These lists and reports, gave her an first estimate of the school aged children and students living throughout the fleet. There was also a list of people who ether where teachers or at least partially qualified to teach.
Now she only needed to find a way to get the teachers to the children they where supposed to be teaching. Some of the largest groups of the especially younger children, where living on a small number of ships and so she merely needed to find some teachers willing to be relocated to those ships. Others, especially young students, would have to learn by correspondence courses and wireless radio. Of course there where also problems, like teaching materials and facilities…

It knocked upon the door (bulkhead or whatsoever) of Tara’s cabin.
Tara stood up and after she’d made sure that Miss Kitty, who had been busy shooting through the room like a fury black & white cannonball, chasing a red gummy ball, would not shoot out of the quarter, she opened the bulkhead and found herself surprised, by standing face to face with her girlfriend Willow Rosenberg.
She was even more surprised, when she realised that it was in the middle of the ‘day’ and Willow still supposed to be on duty. Willow was indeed wearing her flight suit and had, as Tara recognised, brought another one complete with gloves and boots with her.
“May I come in?” Lieutenant Rosenberg ask sincerely .
“Of course,” Tara replied rather confused, moved aside so Willow could enter and closed the bulkhead behind her. She then turned around to face her girlfriend again.

Willow, in the meantime, had placed flight suite and gloves on and the boots in front of the bed. At first Tara had wanted to give Willow a ‘hello how nice to see you at this time of day welcome kiss’, but something in the way Willow was standing in the middle of the room – something like the military at ease stand, she figured – kept her from doing so.
“So, Madame Secretary”, the Lieutenant in front of Dr Maclay said, in her official voice, that Tara had never heard before, “I’ve been told, you would like to participate in a Viper flight.” She continued, while Tara seriously considered that she might have been fallen asleep over her work and all of this was just the most craziest dream she’d ever had.

It was the completely confused look on her face, that made Willow crack and burst into laugh.
“Tara!” she giggled helplessly holding her side, “you should see your face. Oh goddess, I had never dreamed of fooling you so completely.”
She continued to laugh excitedly and soon Tara joined in, but only briefly before she took Willow by her hips and drew her into her own arms and started to kiss her passionately, witch was just the thing Willow needed, to bring her laughter to an end.

After a short and happy moment of making out, Willow returned to her grounds for showing up during her duty circle. But before that she shortly held her side again and said “Oh, I think I actually pulled a muscle, I haven’t laughed so hart in a long time. Anyway.” She straitened herself up again. “Remember the evening we first met , I mean really met, at the reception?”
Tara nodded, only vaguely pondering what Willow might be up to.
“Well after I told you, that the best place of being between the stars was in the seat of a Viper, you asked me…”
“Does that mean you’re offering me a flight with your Viper, Captain…?” Tara completed Willow sentence. Of course she remembered. She remembered each and every detail of this evening. As did Willow, she could tell from the short dreamy look within the redheads eyes, before she said, “now I’ve gotten the permission from my new CAG – Captain Adama, and Col. Tigh to take you on a flight with the only two seat Viper aboard.
“It’s a Mark V Training Viper. You know one of these planes where the trainee sits in front of the instructor, on their first flights outside the simulator, with the instructor able to intervene if necessary.”

She caught the somewhat alarmed look on Tara’s face and hurried to calm her obvious fears. “Don’t you worry Tara. It is completely impossible for you to push the wrong button. Because the controls of the cockpit your sitting in – the trainee cockpit if you will – will be locked out. I will be in control of the Viper,” she explained and added with some extra warmth in her voice, “you’re save with me, promised.”
“Of course I am,” Tara said softly and kissed her girlfriend once more, before it was time for her to change into her flight suit.

As Tara stood in front of the closet, wearing nothing more then panty and bra,
[Socks too of course. But that kinnda ruins the romantic image I’m trying to created here.]
Willow said dreamy, “did I ever tell you how rather sexie you look in your undies?”
“Yes you have”, Tara assured her, glad she was wearing her private white underwear right now, instead of the “military green and grey” ones Willow had brought her yesterday for change.
‘But you haven’t seen the best of me,’ she added in her mind. ‘Wit until tonight my precious.’
Something within Willow’s looks, told Tara that her girlfriends thoughts where driving in a very similar direction.

With Tara suited up and her hair put up to a nice pony tale, in order to fit it under the helmed, Willow lead her towards the port hangar bay and with every step she got closer to the parts of the ship that where off-limits to civilians as herself, Tara got more exited.
Not only because of her very first Viper flight, but for the prospect of being together with Willow in a way she would never ever have dreamed of.

Arriving at the landing bay, the two woman where awaited by Jessica Cally, the cute specialist Tara had already noticed during the decommissioning ceremony – an eternity ago.
Cally first saluted to Willow, then nodded her greeting to Tara. She then started to make some notes on her clipboard before she looked up again. “Ok Sir,” she said to Willow, “now lets get you and ‘Sorceress’ into space.”
With that she turned around and led Willow and Tara through the hangar and towards the bay where their Viper was waiting for them.
Not paying much attention to all the new and unfamiliar sites within the hangar, Tara turned to Willow and whispered: “Sorceress?”
“You know,” ‘Red’ explained to her, “even though you’re a civilian, when aboard a military vehicle like a Viper, you do need to have a call sign of your own and so I took the liberty to pick one for you. Hope you like it.”
“It’s wonderful,” Tara whispered. How much she wanted to kiss Willow right now. But since this was hardly the time or the place, she told her: “it would have been quiet right for you too, you know. Because I’m under your spell.”

There was so much more Tara wanted to tell her right now – no, there was only one thing she wanted to tell. But just as she was about to whisper the most important three words into Willow’s ear, they had reached the Viper and Cally turned around towards Tara.

“Madam Secretary,” she said, “if you would please come with me. I will help you get into your seat.” But at first she helped Tara to correctly put on the gloves.
After that, Tara climbed the ladder up to the cockpit, took her seat, and got strapped in. Right behind her Willow did the same. She was sitting a little bit elevated, what enabled her to pilot the Viper from there.
“Ma'am, if you would please lean forward a bit,” Cally asked her respectfully.
Tara did as she was asked and the young specialist attached the collar around her neck and connected it with the life-support system. Next she helped Tara put on the helmed and pressurized it, what made Tara gulp in order to get her ears cleared again. The last thing Cally did, was to show her how to work the suit controls for air regulation and communication.

“There you go, Ma'am,” she said and gave the nervous Secretary of Education the thumps up.
“Thank you,” Tara said, “but please, as long as it’s just the two of us, call me Tara.”
She could tell that Cally felt a little bit uneasy, calling an ‘Official person’ like herself by the first name. But when Tara gave her a friendly smile, Cally returned it shyly. “Maybe next time, Madame Secretary,” she said. “Maybe next time.”
‘She’s cute,’ Tara thought watching the young specialist clime down the ladder again. At the same time her ‘Gaydar’ told her, she was definitely as gay as Willow and herself.
‘Out and proud one could say,’ Tara thought, even though properly not around here. The military only slowly adjusted positively towards gays and lesbians, and that despite the new laws, she knew.

“So you’re ready ‘Sorceress’?” came Willow’s voice right into Tara’s ears, like she was sitting right next to her, instead of behind her.
“As ready as I can be ‘Red’,” Tara assured her pilot slash girlfriend. “Considering, I’m about to be shoot out of a Battlestar, strapped to a rocket.”
“You know what?” Willow whispered directly into her ear, “you stick with me, I guaranty you safety and fun.”
“Of course I know that I’m save with you”, Tara assured Willow and smiled happily. ‘And I’m yours,’ she added in her mind.

While Willow was completing the pre launch procedure, Tara’s mind went back to the memorial service and what Commander Adama had told them about the mystical 13th tribe of Kobol and the planet they had settle on – Earth and the distant and unknown star it circled.
He had said that he knew where it is.
But even though in her heart, Tara more then everything wanted to believe that he really did, and that Earth could become their new home, the historian inside her mind had serious doubts. For how could such an enormous secrete be kept?
Maybe Commander Adama had told the truce, but even if Adama had lied to them, Tara understood the possible reasons behind his lie. For with the hope of a new home, Adama had given them, what they all needed more then anything else, a reason to live. Because to simply exist, was not enough.

The Viper started moving, Tara looked up. Willow had completed the pre launch procedure and the cockpit had been closed. When did that happen? Tara wondered, as she watched the Viper being moved into the claustrophobic launch tube.

Fascinated Tara listen to the dialog exchanged between Willow and one Capt. Dax.
“’Red’ this is ‘Shooter’, I have control standby. Viper 1061 clear forward. Nav-con green. Interval check. Thrusters positive. Mag-cap ready. Gap door open.” The door right in front of Tara opened, and revealed a long tunnel, at witch end Tara could make out some stars.
“Thrust positive and good luck.”
With that Tara was slammed hart into her seat and for a short moment it felt to her, like a very heavy person had taken seat upon her chest. And within seconds they had cleared the Galactica and where between the stars.

Tara was absolutely overwhelmed. Unlike the countless hours she had spent on passenger liners, ever since she’d started working for Laura Roslin, this time she really felt like she was moving right between the stars. Felt like she was part of the universe.
Like a Princess of the Universe, with Willow as her gay Knight in a shinning amour.
It clicked in her helm speaker and then Willow warm voice came right into her ears. ”So, did I promise to much?” she asked.
It was so much like she was sitting right next to her, instead of one seat behind her. What made for a kind of intimate conversation.
“It’s absolutely beautiful Willow… I mean `Red`, Sir.” Tara said not sure if regulations aloud her to call her pilot by the first name.
“Relax Tara,” Willow laughed. “We’re on a protected channel. No one onboard the Galactica can hear what we are talking here. While CIC still be able to reach me if necessary.”
“That’s good,” ‘Sorceress’ sighted and return her attention to what was outside the cockpit window. Willow was flying a view hundred meters ‘above’ the fleet, and so Tara had a clear impression of the fleet. Of that what was the last best hope for the survival of the people of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol.

“Tara?” came Willow’s voice into her ear again, but this time Tara noticed it to be lacking the confidence it had displayed before. Feeling that Willow gathering all of her courage to say what Tara had wanted to say in the hangar bay. As the silence continued, without Willow saying it, she said it herself: “I love you too Willow.”

Willow didn’t answer right away, but Tara could hear her letting out a short sight off relive that made her smile to herself.
Because to say these three little words was never easy, she knew. Because the weight of these words was quiet heavy indeed. You just didn’t say them without meaning it.
“And I love you”, Willow finally broke this happy silence. “I... I already wanted to tell you after Ragnar.” she went on. “But you where asleep and then everything got so busy and… and…” Her voice trailed of.
“I know what you mean,” Tara assured her girlfriend softly, wishing that right now she could take her into her arms. For several minutes they remained silent, but kept whispering to each other, even though they didn’t say a word.

This happy silence continued, until Willow pointed something out to Tara, “Oh look Tara! To your left, there’s Buffy, she’s our escort. You know, watching out for us, since this is a flight with an government official.”
Tara watched fascinated, as Buffy matched them in speed an altitude. She was flying one of the old Mark II Vipers, she could tell and since Buffy flew fairly close, Tara could also examine the plaque on the side of the Viper. It read: Lt. Buffy Summers “Slayer”.
“How did Buffy come to be called ‘Slayer’?” she asked Willow, while she kept watching the other Viper flying side by side with them.
“That’s a long and rather interesting story,” ‘Red’ answered. “But you should ask Buffy yourself. You see, she loves to tell this story about how she’s the chosen one and she doesn’t like anyone but herself telling it.”
“Maybe I will,” Tara giggled. “But not today, for I have special plans for the two of us tonight.“
“And what would that be?” Willow asked, her tone of voice already telling Tara that she very well knew what her girlfriend was hinting at.
“You’ll find out,” Tara laughed and turned her attention back to the incredible view ahead of her.

Later it was time to return and so, flying a wide curve, Willow broad the Viper around and followed by ‘Slayer’ they flew back to the Battlestar Galactica, this flying peace of armoured metal, that was now their home in the emptiness of dark space.
But Tara knew that despite all the darkness and despair around them – on the run from the Cylons and in search for a new home and a new beginning – she would always be living, and sleeping in light, for Willow Rosenberg was the light of her life, her true love and soul mate.

Closing in on Galactica, Tara listened to Capt. Kelly, another of Galactica’s flight officer’s give Willow clearance for her final approach. “Viper 1061; this is Galactica. Approach port landing bay. Hands on. Speed 106. Checkers red. Call the ball.”
“Copy that Galactica. Port landing bay. Hands on. Speed 106. Checkers red. I have the ball,” Willow reported back and flew the Viper into the enormous landing bay.
Only moments later Willow broad them gently down to the ground and Tara could hear Captain Kelly speaking once more right into her ear:
“Skits down. Mag lock secured. On behave of Galactica: Welcome home ‘Red’; ‘Sorceress’.”

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Today my friend, your diary entry will read: Took a […] hostage and got shoot by three armed bastards.”
Gene Hunt – Ashes to Ashes
“A Love Beyond the Stars”
“What Dreams may Come”

This is so powerful Dax my friend I love this and them coming to gether in the ship was truly sweet cant wait for the next part this is wonderful

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Dia the spelunker
Never underestimate the powerful love of a good woman
If you were a cave what kind of cave would you be

Dax - that was really really sweet. I like that Willow is able to share this incredible experience with Tara and that you turned around the "safety and fun" line. The I love yous were adorable.

I'm enjoying this much.

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