CHAPTER 24—THE ORBITAL PLATFORM

[LucianG]

Kiwi
Ike had not walked far when a voice behind him said, "Ensign, do you have a centon?".
Ike turned around to see an officer approach him. This one was not a warrior, he noticed. This person wore the blue uniform of an administrative type. Somehow, he took an instant dislike to this person.
"My name is Hoxha", the officer said when he walked up to him, "I'm a flight officer assigned to the Core Command Staff".
So, a real chair-warmer, Ike thought to himself. He quickly looked around and saw that they were alone.
"How can I help you, Flight Officer?", Ike asked.
"We have a mutual 'interest' in one officer", Hoxha said with a smile on his face.
"Who?", Ike asked.
"Kiwi", Hoxha replied, "I had heard that you and another ensign had a run-in with that individual earlier".
"So?", Ike replied irritably. The smirk briefly turned into a sneer.
"That's 'So, Sir!', Ensign", Hoxha spat out, then smiled again.
Ike remembered that Kiwi had gotten into a lot of trouble earlier when he had told a senior officer what he had thought of him. Could this person be the one?
"All it would take to get him removed from operational duties permanently is to push him a little further. Kiwi's a hard-head and I don't think he deserves to be an officer, let alone a warrior. So....do we understand each other?", Hoxha asked with a nasty smile.
* * *
Logan
Logan walked purposefully through the corridors towards the duty room. Her outer appearance gave no clue to the thoughts tumbling through her mind. She still couldn't believe Wraith was here. Transferred to the Callisto. She hadn't expected to see him again, not so soon at least. It had only been a few months, but it had seemed like much longer. The moment he reached out and took her hand, time had fallen away. All her carefully sculpted excuses and rationalizations had crumbled. 'Well, if he's here, I'm going to have to keep my distance, that's all," she tried to convince herself.
The duty room door opened as she approached and a tall lieutenant backed up to allow her to enter. "Lt.," Logan nodded her head in greeting.
"Come to check the duty roster?", he asked, looking down at her, which was impressive considering how tall Logan was herself. "You must be the Lt. Logan that Captain Skyler mentioned. I'm Lt. Brik."
Logan chuckled lightly to herself because his name so fit his appearance."Good to meet you, Lt. I'm anxious to get back in the cockpit, so I've come to check on assignments."
Brik inclined his head towards the far wall, "Posted over there, Lt. Welcome aboard."
Logan walked to the wall where the patrol assignments were posted and scanned the list to find her name. She saw that Lt. Brik had Ike as his wingman and thought that the two of them were a good match. Below their names, she found her own...
"No," she barely breathed.
Wraith was her wingman.
In that moment, she felt as if the deck had melted beneath her boots. She had transferred from the Galactica to get away from the very situation she now faced.
Wraith and Logan had met when both were freshly minted Ensigns assigned as pilots to the Galactica from the training academy. Their squadron had been like a family, something Logan had needed to feel a part of, since she had lost her own. Her parents had been killed in a Cylon raid and her sister had died later. She and Wraith had been friends and fellow Warriors and before either of them realized what was happening, their relationship had grown into much more. She had never felt like that before, the way Wraith made her feel. She had never allowed anyone in that close behind the wall she had erected around herself. She had always prided herself on being a loner, not a person who wanted or needed romantic entanglements. After her family was gone, she steered clear of those volatile emotions and kept everyone at arm's length. Until Wraith...
Then, she was promoted to Lt. and a fateful mission changed everything. The squadron was to take out a small Cylon outpost the Fleet had discovered. It turned out the Cylons had more firepower than anticipated and several Vipers were destroyed in the first melee, including their Captain's.
Logan, the new Lt., had assumed command. Instead of retreating or regrouping, she had given the order to continue the attack. The squadron accomplished their task and destroyed the outpost, but with heavy losses. Wraith had taken a hit and a fire broke out in his cockpit, severely burning his leg. He hung on to conciousness long enough to get his Viper back to the Galactica. Logan stayed at his side until he came to again. But she battled with guilt over her decision in combat that had caused Wraith's injury. She blamed herself. She didn't know for sure if Wraith blamed her or not. She couldn't bring herself to ask, afraid of the answer. All he had said on awakening was, "I'd have done the same thing."
But how could she be sure he wasn't just telling her what he thought she needed to hear. She'd lost so many people she'd cared about, she didn't believe she could live with the pain of losing Wraith, especially because of a command decision.
As soon as Wraith had fully recovered, she put in for the transfer to the Callisto. She immediately sought out Wraith and told him it was over, that she had to put her duty to the Fleet as a Warrior first. He tried to stop her, but she refused to listen. Logan avoided him until she left the ship.
Now he was back...and her wingman.
"Lt. Logan?"
Logan realized Lt. brik was speaking to her. She came to her senses and looked at him. "Yes, Lt.?"
"Is something wrong?", Brik asked, a concerned look on his face.
logan drew herself up and casually laid her hand on her blaster. "No, Lt. I'm fine," she lied.
She turned and exited the duty room, her feet automatically finding the way to the lauch bay. She needed to think.
As she entered the bay, she took note that only two techs were there, going over a Viper on the far side of the bay. She turned her back on them and marched across to her own Viper. She reached out and stroked the wing and whispered, "How're they treating you, old friend?'
Logan leaned against the side of the ship and tried to come to terms with this unexpected situation.
* * *
IkeRapier
As Lt. Logan leaned on the edge of her Viper, she heared footsteps and a light and steady "cla-clang" sound between the steps. She looked up, still hearing the rhythm, but not yet seeing the source. She realized it was an echo. Turning her head slightly she saw Ike walking towards a dimly lit area by the Scarlet Class Vipers, tossing a cubit in one hand and reaching for the nose of his fighter with the other.

Ike had not known about the realationship she and Wraith had, which was not at all odd in the midst of so many faces, training, missions, and assignments. Ike led a dual life, between Recon and pilot training. Not finding it hard to get along with either role, he was always serious when the orders were given and always full of laughter and fun when the rare down time came along. Just as Ike's touch met the Viper, Logan spoke out, "Ike!"

Catching the cubit and turning about-face with military precision, Ike turned to see Logan... his face quickly going from a serious look to an expression of friendship... "You scared the pogees out of me," Ike responded with a smile to his old acquaintance.

As he walked towards her he noticed that she had a solemn look on her face. "You all right?" Ike asked with a voice of concern. "I'm always all right, Ike. You know that," replied Logan. "What's got you all alone? That's not usual for you."

"Well, seems some Lt. K... something or 'nother... got a little arrogant, wordy and full of himself while we were in sim training. Not sure how we got in sim training, as I remember you guys were in the o-club and I was at rest period. Anyway..." Ike left the conversation open as he stretched out his arms above his head, then hands came down and locked behind his head...
* * *
Brik
Lt. Brik was walking the corridors of his "Battle-Home" Callisto and having heavy thoughts...he had the feeling that he wasn't the only one. It's funny...whether you have people on a wide open planet or crammed aboard space ships the business and attendant felgercarb of living seemed to remain healthy and abundant. For him, the change back to Active Flight Status from admin was welcome because one mans tonic is another mans torture! Just ran into Lt...LOGAN, I believe was her name. She looked like she was thinking something "weighty" as well, and Lords only know how Skyler is doing. I guess I'll go find Ensign Wraith and do the "Welcome Aboard" thing and find this Ensign...IKE and get things started!

[LucianG]

Kiwi
Lt. Kiwi nearly bumped into Brik as he walked down to the tubes.
"Sorry, Lieutenant", Kiwi muttered, "I didn't see you".
"You had your mind on something else, Lieutenant", Brik replied, "You're Kiwi, aren't you?", he asked. Kiwi nodded.
"I thought all warriors had to be on immediate readiness, given the alert", Brik said.
"I'm just wanting to take some time to check over my ship", Kiwi explained, recognizing this officer as the one who did the fighter assignments "Is it still the one in tube seven?".
"Yes, Lieutenant", Brik replied. He looked closely at Kiwi.
"Is everything all right?", he asked.
"I'm all right, Lieutenant", Kiwi replied, not directly looking at him, "but thanks for asking all the same".
Nodding to him, Kiwi walked away and headed down to the launch tubes. Brik watched him go. He had read reports on Kiwi's project with improving the avionics of the basic starhound-class viper in order to create the provisionally-named 'K'-series viper. He knew also that Kiwi had recently been detached from training and research in order to return to operational duties. By all means, he was a competant warrior, but there was definitely something gnawing at him. Brik hoped it was something that he would quickly get over.
* * *
Brik
"Lt. Kiwi..."
Brik thought that he'd been brooding about getting back in the swing of things long enough, time to just DO it.
"...Hey, we haven't TRULY met. I'm Lt. Brik"
He held out a hand.
"If it's just the same to you, I thought that you might give me some catch-up type info on the squad. I know that we're on alert but I believe that there's no time like the present and we don't have a lot of time to waste. So...a milk on me?" along with a collaborative grin. "Besides, I like getting to know the people that my life will depend on, eh?"
* * *
Kiwi
Brik's invitation stopped Kiwi in his tracks.
"Milk?", he asked, certain that he had not heard correctly.
"We got in a new supply of the fresh stuff. Didn't you know?", Brik asked.
"I've been busy getting things in order.....Brik", Kiwi replied, "What with the simulators and all".
"So, do you want some of the cold white stuff?", Brik asked.
"Maybe later", Kiwi replied, "after all, the squadron is on standby alert and if our esteemed X.O. Captain Skyler saw my gulping milk while waiting for deployment orders, he would personally kick my backide up and down the entire length of the port landing bay....THEN send me to the brig in irons".
Brik saw that the pall of gloom that Kiwi had when he bumped into him had lifted some. Good, he thought. He was a sympathetic type of person.
"So you want to know about the upgrades?", Kiwi asked. Brik nodded.
"Let's go down to my fighter and I'll fill you in. You should also find time to try the sim out", Kiwi said as they headed down.
Down in Tube Seven, Brik looked critically at the viper.
"It's new", he commented, "but I can't see any real diffrence between this and the classic starhound-type viper".
"The HEPHAESTUS did a good job of making these fighters", Kiwi gently admonished, "but beauty is only skin-deep. Hop into the cockpit and I'll give you a quick once-over".
As Brik did so, Kiwi pointed out the new enhancements. The enhanced scanner array tied into the warbook which would make for far more definitive identification of ships at a greater distance, and the tieing in of the turbo generators to the laser generators, which not only would provide a greater 'punch' from the weapons, but would also increase the recycling time for the weapons. Plus, a simple switch reversing the tie-in would provide more power to the turboes, making the viper faster.
"Theoretically, the upgrades should make these vipers a match for the new Scarlet-type that's now being deployed", Kiwi concluded.
"And you were behind this avionics upgrade?", Brik asked, "No wonder it's called the 'K'-series", he concluded, drawing the reference to the letter from Kiwi's name.
"It will be given a permanent name soon; probably something like 'Super-Starhound', or something lame like that", Kiwi replied, "And by the way, thanks, Brik. Thanks for getting me distracted from what I was thinking about earlier. We'd better get back up to the Ready Room. Skyler will be expecting his pilots to be there".
* * *
Wraith
After splitting with Ike to stop briefly at his quarters, Wraith continued to the duty room, his mind in disarray. He'd half expected, or hoped, that Kiwi would have reacted in SOME form or fashion, if for no other reason, to lay a few cards on the table, and reveal, at least to a point, what he was really about. Oh well, the hell with it...he'd figure it out later. Right now, he had something more pressing to attend to.

"Finally," he muttered, as he arrived at the duty room. As he strode through the door, his thoughts turned toward the one person on the Callisto that could ever get the best of him emotionally, or bring his mind to the state of turmoil it was now in...Logan. He couldn't get her out of his mind, or shake the memory of what they once had back on the Gallactica.

Though she'd put up a convincing front in explaining her reasons for wanting to leave the Gallactica--and their relationship behind her, citing her need to put her duty to the Fleet first, Wraith had known her too long, and too well, to believe that. He'd always suspected that Logan had felt responsible for the incident at the Cylon outpost, and it was misplaced feelings of guilt that ultimately motivated her decision to leave. He wondered
if he'd ever be able to finally put those feelings to rest...

He suddenly realised that he'd covered the length of the room and was at the assignment roster. Quickly coming back to here and now, he searched intently for his name.
As he scrolled down the list, his eyes widened in disbelief, hardly able to comprehend this twist of fate.

He could feel the veins pulsing in his temple, as he raced out of the duty room and headed for the launch bay.

"...please let her be there...," he wispered, breathing heavily as he continued to run, still faster, 'til he finally he found imself at the entrance to the huge bay.

Wraith forced himself to calm down.
"Get a grip, man...you can't go barreling in here like a short-circuiting daggit." With that, he straightened up and continued into the bay. Taking a few steps, he slowed his pace, almost stopping as he began to scan the section where their Scarlet Class Vipers sat, and then he saw her...standing near the foward landing gear, her back to him,,facing the other way.

Still unaware of his presence, he walked toward her, intently...fairly clear on what he wanted to say to her. As
he drew near to Lt. Logan, her keen hearing detected the faintest sound of his approach. Her perception, keener still, made her aware of who it was.

"...You've seen the assignment roster, I assume," she spoke finally as she turned her head slightly toward his direction.

"Yes," Wraith replied gently, "I just came from there." He drew even closer to her now, and placing his hand on her shoulder, he began to speak softly, "There's something I nee..."

Without warning, Lt. Logan turned on her heel to face him--
he could see she had been crying--and as she struggled to clear her face of emotion, spoke in a brittle tone, "I want you to know, Ensign, that first thing tomorrow, I'm requesting re-assignment with another pilot...don't worry
I'll take ca..." Wraith cut her off, placing his hands firmly on her arms and speaking ernestly, in an elevated voice.

"There's something I have to say to you, Logan! Please...just hear me out!

"Now I know you've always blamed yourself for what happened
at the cylon outpost...for what happened to me, for the friends we lost that day...I know what you've lost, the pain you feel...the anger that wells inside you...I feel it too, believe me, It's a struggle we ALL have to cope with to some extent. But I know this, too: we have some-
thing strong between us...something special. And it began on the Gallactica. You love me, Logan," Wraith looked deeply into her eyes now, "I know you do, as much as I love you."

Logan was quickly becoming overwhelmed by the flood of emotions that now assailed her. Her mind was racing as she desperately tried to resist his voice, while fighting off her own feelings as they too, welled up inside her.

"We can't DO this, Wraith Please!!!" Her voice beginning to break...

Wraith interjected: "If you completelely disconnect from what I KNOW is in your heart, Logan...if we completely deny ourselves the capacity to love, and feel affection for each other...then WHAT do we have left, except fighting, killing and dying??? It is true...we ARE soldiers; we ARE officers...But most importantly, Logan, we are human..." He then pulled her tightly to him, enveloping her in his warm embrace...and kissed her deeply.

[LucianG]

Kiwi
Kiwi and Brik were heading towards the exit from the launch bay when he noticed Lt. Logan and Ensign Wraith talking beside another viper. He turned to Brik.
"Please wait here for a centon or two, there's something I have to do", Kiwi said. Brik nodded, rightly thinking that this had something to do with Kiwi's intiial melancholic mood.
As Kiwi walked up to the pair, he noticed Wraith embrace Logoan and kiss her. Wraith was still at it when Kiwi came up to them and lightly coughed. Wraith broke the kiss, looked at Kiwi, then turned to face him with an unfriendly look.
"This won't take long", Kiwi said, "Lt. Logan, please stay. This does concern you too".
"What we were doing here is really none of your business....LIEUTENANT", Wraith said.
"In a way, it is. PDA while on standby alert really isn't to be encouraged, but that's not what I came to talk to you about".
Wraith looked at Kiwi with some suprise. He had Kiwi pegged as an arrogant stuffed-shirt, but Kiwi didn't sound like it now.
"So what's on your mind?", Wraith wanted to know.
"Ensign Ike earlier came to me to apologize for the actions of both of you earlier in the sim room", Kiwi explained, "But I told him - in public - that neither of you owed me anything. I was the one out of line".
"What?", Wraith asked incredulously. He did not expect to hear these words coming from this officer.
"Earier, in the O-club, I noticed Logan here being very uncomfortable around you. It looked to me as you were trying to impose yourself on her, and Ike was tacitly supporting it by not interfering", Kiwi explained, "I viewed it as conduct against the Code. If Skyler had not entered the o-club, I probably would have intervened. Then, when I saw you both in the sim room, I unreasonably expected way too much from you both. You are both talented pilots, and you picked up on how the 'K'-series viper handles very quickly. But I wanted to take the opportunity to use my rank and familarity on the 'K' to cut you both down to size. I told myself that the Code demanded it as warriors had to behave according to the Code at all times, but later, I realized that the Code has to be enforced fairly on all, especially myself. I wanted to let you know this.....and I apologize for my thinking that you were not worthy to wear the uniform of a warrior".
With that, Kiwi turned and walked away from both Logan and Ike.
* * *
Logan
Logan hadn't heard a word Lt. Kiwi had said. All she could hear was her heart pounding in her ears. Her first instinct was to run, fast, away from the launch bay and Wraith. His kiss had awakened feelings in her she had worked hard to ignore. But her feet wouldn't obey. Of course, she should have known Wraith knew why she had really left the Galactica. And right now, with his kiss still warm on her lips, she wanted, no, she needed to believe him.
She noticed Kiwi walking away and realized Wraith had turned back to her. He looked shocked and annoyed briefly, but then met her eyes. He was breathing heavily, but she couldn't tell if it was anger or passion that caused it. He walked closer to her and reached out his hand, brushing the hair out of her eyes slowly. He moved closer still and took her face in his hands, gently brushing the still-drying tears she had already forgotten from her face with his thumbs. "I meant every word I said.", he whispered. He moved his hands behind her neck and stroked her hair . "Can you look at me now and honestly tell me its really over?"
She couldn't. She couldn't lie to him, or to herself anymore. She felt the warmth of his hands on her neck, that warmth spreading throughout her body. She was on fire. She looked into his eyes and saw her own desire mirrored there.
She knew the wall she had put up was gone, but she didn't care. All she cared about now was his touch. Logan's hand came up to touch his face. He turned his head slightly and kissed her hand. She slowly moved closer until her lips were on his. Her kiss spoke more than any words he was looking for. Wraith let his hand drop from her neck to the small of her back and he pulled her against him. She didn't resist this time as her body was pressed into his. She was exactly where she wanted to be.
* * *
IkeRapier
Ike had placed his memorials, charms if you like, in the cockpit of his Viper. It always impressed him to she her standing ready at the tubes. So far, the sleek craft had proved itself for him and his wing-mates. As he exited, he had to turn slightly one more time to check... as if anything had changed.

He headed in to check the roster for duty assignments, seeing first that Logan and Wraith were listed together. He immediately hoped that both his friends would benefit from this, as emotions were clear. Emotions often overshadow reason, he thought. He had been there for his friends separately, and nothing would change that. He saw that another Ensign was assigned as his wingman, of which his name brought no recollection. The office was empty, so there was no one to inquire with. So, he headed out to find his wingman and get acquainted.

As he went to walk out of the office, Flight Officer Hoxha walked in. Ike recognized him as one of the 'spectators' in the ready room earlier. First thought... "Frack! Bad enough I would've had so many witnesses, even worse with a Flight Officer present." But, Ike kept his cool, this time.

"Sir!" Ike snapped, and attempted to proceed out to the corridor. "Not so fast, Ensign." Hoxha stated with determination. "It looks like we're alone and that's good because I wanted a moment to, shall we say, welcome you to the Callisto and talk a little about pushing buttons." Hoxha said, with a clear undertone, as he gestured for Ike to take a seat by the counter.

"Buttons, Sir?"
* * *
Kiwi
This person was obviously not a warrior, he noticed. This person wore the blue uniform of an administrative type: almost as despised as the black-clad internal security goons. He took an instant dislike to this person.
"My name is Hoxha, in case you didn't know", the officer said when he walked up to him, "I'm one of the flight officers assigned to the Core Command Staff".
So, a real chair-warmer, Ike thought to himself. He quickly looked around and saw that they were alone.
"How can I help you, Flight Officer?", Ike asked.
"We have a mutual 'interest' in one officer", Hoxha said with a smile on his face.
"Who?", Ike asked.
"Kiwi", Hoxha replied, "I had heard that you and another ensign had a run-in with that individual earlier".
"So?", Ike replied irritably, as that was something between Kiwi and himself . The smirk briefly turned into a sneer.
"That's 'So, Sir!', Ensign", Hoxha spat out, then smiled again.
Ike suddenly remembered that Kiwi had gotten into a lot of trouble quite a while earlier when he had told a senior officer what he had thought of him. Could this person be the one? Judging from Hoxha's demeanor, that was more than possible.
"Kiwi has a lot of buttons that can be pushed. All it would take to get him removed from operational duties permanently is to push him a little further - if it occured in front of witnesses. As far as I'm concerned, Kiwi's a hard-head and I don't think he deserves to be an officer, let alone a warrior. So....do we understand each other?", Hoxha asked with a nasty smile.
This officer obviously had no sense of honor, Ike thought.
* * *
Just then, Kiwi and Brik walked up the corridor. Hoxha quickly looked, whispered "forget what I said", then he headed back up to the bridge.
"Hi", Kiwi said to Ike, "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything".
"No, Lieutenant", Ike replied.
Kiwi didn't see Hoxha's face, so he didn't know what had happened.
"We'd better get back to the Ready Room", Brik said. Nodding, Kiwi walked on, with Brik and Ike following.
"I spoke to Ensign Wraith a little earlier", Kiwi said as they walked back up to the ready room.
"What about?", Ike asked.
"The same thing I said to you earlier. I'm not an easy person to get along with, but I was in the wrong and I had to make ammends", Kiwi explained.
From a corner of the corridor, Hoxha heard the exchange. He knew now that he could not employ those tow against Kiwi. That person's honor code had cost him a chance to clip his wings!

[LucianG]

Brie
"Major," Captain Massy called to Brie, "we're receiving a transmission from the ground team. It's not a great signal." Brie rushed to the shuttle cockpit, as fast as someone could rush while wearing part of an envirosuit.

"Lucian to Brie. We had a bit of a problem, but thanks to Major Justin and Lieutenant Droidarr, it's been rectified. The nonessential parts available on this Frodarian shuttle don't exactly match those used in our comm units, so I'm sorry if this is tough to hear. The big T looks like its checking out, so have your folks prepared to board in 15 centons."

"Alert the other two shuttles," Brie told Massy.
* * *
Lucian
While the pilot was returning the Frodarian “rescue shuttle” to the landing area on the orbital platform, Lucian had checked the engineering repair kit. Not finding exactly what he needed, he had tried to improvise a repair to his comm unit. When the broken parts were removed and replaced, he tapped the control, and was able to link to Justin’s unit.

“Testing, one two three. Come in Justin,” said Lucian.

“Got you. Are you, okay?” Justin asked.

Lucian grinned at his friend and former squadron mate. “I’m temporarily a little worse for the wear, but I’ll get over it, thanks to you and our pilot…who is?”

“Lieutenant Droidarr.”

“I’ll have to put in an accommodation for excellent flying for him, considering that he’s never actually flown one of these ships, to my knowledge,” said Lucian, recalling Droidarr’s personnel file from his experience as Senior Flight Officer. “For now….”

He clasped arms with Justin and then pulled him close in a hug. “Thank you, my friend. And please, when we find Earth, don’t EVER invite me to go skydiving with you!”

Immediately thereafter, he put in calls to Fallel and Captain Stadia to learn the status of the repairs. He went over a couple of problems with Fallel, who immediately began the fixes. With the news, he’d called to Major Brie in the command shuttle, giving her the word, concluding with “The big T looks like its checking out, so have your folks prepared to board in 15 centons."

When the shuttle landed, he shook hands with Droidarr and thanked him, put on a new safety harness, and then went to check with Gataren and Gruber. As he went, he passed a couple of the Troopers, and said, “Trooper Tkacs’s body needs to be recovered. Please collect it and place it in the shuttle. We will not leave him to rest on this forsaken place.”

A few minutes later, seeing everything appearing to function properly, he sent another message to Major Brie….
* * *
Brie
Twelve centons after Major Lucian's first message he sent a second message:

"sscian to Brie. Big T has clean bill ozzzzzth. Board at will. Falzzzz zzzl go over the controzzzztem with you when you arzzzzzzzzzish you the best, my friezzzzzzzzzzzzee you back aboard the Callistzzzzz."

Brie shook her head, trying to decipher what she had just heard. "Inform the other two shuttles," she instructed Captain Massy, "that it's time to board."

Captain Massy, who had been barely civil to Brie the entire trip, put a hand on Brie's arm. "May the Lords of Kobol be with you."

"Thank you."

"Major, when you return the first round for you and your team is on me," Massy continued.

Brie grinned and nodded to him. As she prepared to exit the shuttle she started to laugh, realizing that if she had a drink with everyone who promised her one when she returned she would never be sober again.
* * *
Stepping out of the shuttle, Brie saw the Cylon tanker for the first time. It was smaller than she had envisioned. She was looking forward to landing on the Cylon base, but dreaded the cycle sealed inside that tanker.