Chapter 28C - The flight home

[Astraea]

Things were happening too fast and Lazant’s head was already spinning from the trip through the vortex. They watched several of the Raiders power up and they began their trek to the nearby planet. “They’re staying tethered,” he commented to himself. Their destination was well within the fuel limits of the Cylon ships and remaining dependant on each other made them vulnerable so why would they choose to remain bonded? “They’re conserving their resources.”

He looked over at Astraea who was whistling to herself as she followed along behind the Raiders. Had he really thought that he had gotten the upper hand with her? Could anyone control that woman? Or was there someone who already was? “Who are you?”

Astraea glanced over at him then reached out for the autopilot. “I was wondering when you were going to snap out of it.” She curled up in her seat as if she was settling in for a pleasant conversation. “Is this the part where you and I find all these sympathetic reasons to become pals again?”

He held his hands up helplessly. “I don’t even know what to say to that,” he admitted. “You act like this is some sort of script to play out. You have no sense of danger and you chat with a Cylon centurion as if he’s your best friend.”

She perked up slightly. “I thought that’s what you were doing!” She gave him a sideways look and a slanted smile. “Did I steal some of your lines?”

He put his hands over his eyes as his head throbbed. “Just how many personalities do you have?”

She pretended to think about it for a moment. “I think it was seven at last count.”

Lazant let out a stilted laugh. “I’ll bet there’s more people than that running around in your head.”

Astraea reached out and patted him on the arm. “Well you’re here. I guess that makes eight. Oh! And let’s not forget your girlfriend. She would be nine, but can we really count her since she’s not talking to us?”

“Stop,” he ordered. “Just stop.” He dropped his hands to his lap and looked out at the Raiders once more. If he wasn’t already insane himself, he would be by the end of their trip. Focus on the Cylons, he told himself. Their behavior may be erratic, but they made more sense than Astraea.

[Astraea]

They spent the majority of the uneventfully short flight in silence as far as speaking was concerned. Astraea had whistled a tune the entire time that was now stuck in Lazant’s head. It was familiar to him somehow, something that he had heard at a concert or broadcast over the IFB, but he couldn’t place it which irritated him all the more.

Considering the bazaar circumstances, he decided to take a chance in speaking with the Cylon leader and had arranged for a face-to-chrome meeting once they landed. He wasn’t certain what kind of information he hoped to get, or even if he wanted to arrange some sort of treaty with the rogue Cylons, but he needed to do something, anything, that might help his case once they return to the fleet.

He glanced at Astraea out of the corner of his eye. As much as he hated to admit it, she had been right. He would eventually have to prove that the risks that he had taken were worth the possibly irreparable harm to Amy. Although he hoped that the disks he had stolen would be enough to save his skin should a court martial actually occur he knew any information about a breach in Cylon stability would ensure that result.

They had been searching for a way to disrupt Cylon programming for yahrens. If they could repeat the effects of the wormhole in the Cylons on a broad scale, it would eliminate their threat entirely. That knowledge would be worth any price, including the mental loss of a superior officer’s girlfriend.

Lazant shook his head as he envisioned a court martial. Commander Sheba may be grateful for what he had done, but Charybdis was her right hand and he would want blood. If he could just get some answers from the Command Centurion…

“They’re splitting up,” Astraea announced, breaking into Lazant’s brooding.

His blind stare shot up to the scene out the front window. His eyes narrowed as he watched the individual Raiders separate from the group. As they powered up, they seemed to take no notice of the command cruiser. They simply fell into a standard landing pattern and followed each other into the atmosphere. “Track them and find us a suitable place to land approximately one matzen away. That will give us a little time in case they send out a squadron instead of just the Command Centurion.”

Astraea followed his orders without comment. She was curious to see where all of this was going. Cylon programming was usually predictable, unimaginative. This was entirely new.

The vegetation on the planet was dense, but the mountainous region where the Cylons had chosen to land had several small clearings so they were easily able to find a location to set down the cruiser. Once grounded, Lazant went to check on Amy while Astraea disappeared into the back of the ship.

Lazant frowned when he saw the makeshift bandage around Amy’s head. Blood had already seeped through the material and was still bright crimson telling him that there was still some sort of flow. “Amy? Can you hear me?” he whispered, but didn’t expect a response. She looked pale and not at all coherent.

He gently pulled off his jacket which he had given to her to use as a blanket after the cold cell and stared at the dark purple bruises around her neck. “Blood clotting in your throat and pouring out your head. It’s a wonder you’re still alive, but let’s keep it that way, okay?”

He glanced at the oversized warrior jacket that she was wearing and noticed patches ripped off of the material for the first time. He wondered for a micron how that had happened, but then he saw Amy shiver and covered her back up with his own jacket. “She’s still losing a lot of blood,” Lazant said as Astraea returned to the room.

“I’ll see if I can find something better to staunch the flow while you go visit our new neighbors.” Astraea held out a small, round device to him. “This is the key to the door. Just hold it up to the sensor panel and it will trigger the lock. Don’t lose it or you’ll have to ask your Cylon buddy to let you back into the cruiser.”

Lazant looked at the device curiously before tucking it into the waistband of his pants. “That reminds me, how did you get the door to the cruiser open while we were still on the basestar? We had to use a Cylon head to activate the panel.”

Her eyebrow arched. “I wouldn’t tell that to your new friend. He might get a little defensive.” She could tell by his scowl that he wasn’t amused by her comment. “The ship was still linked to the master control in the bay. I simply activated the systems before severing the ties.”

That also explained how she had achieved liftoff so quickly, he thought. She had activated the preliminary sequences through the main terminal before even boarding the ship. He eyed her up and down. “You seem to know an awful lot about Cylon technology.”

“Enough to know that trusting a Cylon is never a good idea.” When he opened his mouth to pose his argument, she waved him off. “But, enough of the chitchat. Don’t you have a meeting to attend?”

He hated to admit it, even to himself, but she was right. He wanted to get into position before the centurion arrived to scout out an escape route if one became necessary. “See if you can find something edible while I’m gone. We’ve got several cycles before we catch up to the fleet.”

Astraea gave him an exaggerate version of a salute, snapping her feet together and pounding her hand against her shoulder before giving him a wide grin. Lazant didn’t even bother to comment and stalked off the ship. “Give C4 a big hug from me!” she called after him.

[Astraea]

Astraea dug at the ground with the small metal cup she had found on the Cylon cruiser. The dirt was hard and unwilling to chip away. She let out a growl in frustration and pain when the back of her knuckles grated against the coarse dirt then sighed heavily. “Why am I going along with this?” she mumbled to herself. “You already know about the Gourt Tree root. There’s nothing new to learn from me.”

She wiped at her brow then glanced around the area. There was an eerie stillness from the lack of animal life, but there was a wonderful fragrance on the light breeze. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She easily recognized the scent of the tall grass crushed underfoot, but there was a sweet aroma that toyed with her. Flowers and weeds had flourished on the uninhabited planet and she finally decided that it was a combination of the lush foliage that filled her. “Then again, this is much nicer than that cell.”

She marveled at the purplish blue flower growing near the tree. The thin stems looked ridiculously fragile and she leaned in for a sniff. She mmmed at the fruity fragrance then plucked the flower. “Time for a little break.”

The medicinal tree root forgotten for a moment, Astraea fashioned a voluptuous garland out of the flowers then slipped it over her head. She inhaled the fragrance once more then decided to make one for Amy. “Maybe it will give her sweet dreams.”

As she gathered up another bouquet, a bright yellow flower caught her eye. “But that little beauty will ensure sweet dreams,” she beamed, “For all of us.”

[Astraea]

“Ah, there you are,” Lazant said when he finally spotted the gold Cylon centurion making his way through the brush. “I wish I had a pair of image enhancers,” he commented as he scanned for other Cylons heading his way.

Satisfied that they would be meeting alone, Lazant climbed back down from his perch and took a centon to hide his laser rifle within reach. Since the Cylons were such poor shots….

“But what about the purple Cylons?”

His stomach lurched as he recalled the relentless centurions. It hadn’t even occurred to him that he could be facing a command centurion with deadly accuracy. He glanced over at the stowed rifle and his heart raced causing his palms to sweat in the mild climate. Suddenly it didn’t see quite so within reach.

The heavy rhythmic crunch through the brush set Lazant’s nerves on edge. Did he really have time to go for his weapon? Or would he feel the pierce of a Cylon laser through his chest? Would he be a live hero? Or a dead egomaniac? It was the stuff of nightmares.

Lazant thought he caught the flash of a light against some of the foliage and he inadvertently held his breath as his eyes narrowed. The morning sun reflected off of the polished Cylon armor and sparkled against the dense undergrowth, but as the centurion drew near, he could see the telltale red light and sighed in relief.

“Stop there Command Centurion,” he ordered as he remained hidden in the brush. He was surprised to see the centurion obey. “Lower your weapon.”

The Cylon holstered his gun, but kept his hand on the butt. “Show yourself,” he droned slowly.

Lazant walked out cautiously with his hands held away from his body to show that he was unarmed and the centurion’s hand slipped from his weapon. “Thank you for meeting with me.”

“What is the purpose of this meeting?” he asked without the normal repartee of humans.

Lazant took a few more cautious steps out into the open visualizing the exact location of his weapon. He could dive for cover and it would be there. “I had hoped that we might be able to arrange some sort of treaty between us.”

“Colonial Warriors have only one objective…to eliminate us.”

He wished that he had thought to look for some other kind of apparel on the cruiser. His uniform was unmistakable even without the jacket. “Isn’t that also your objective?” Lazant countered nervously, “To eliminate humans?”

“No.”

He felt a spark of hope. “Then what is your objective?”

“To survive.”

“At any cost?” he pressed.

“We no longer have an interest in human existence. We chose this planet to escape the destruction of both our species.”

Species? The word stuck in Lazant’s head. He knew that the Cylons were once a reptilian race, but he thought that they were long since extinct. “Do you need any help with…” he gestured awkwardly toward the centurion, “for lack of a better word, food?” No, that was the precise word, he thought.

“No,” C463 returned then added almost conversationally, “This planet has everything that we require.”

Lazant wanted to ask what precisely they required, but he had other more important questions in mind. “So you have no desire for human contact whatsoever?”

“No.”

He knew that the treaty idea was probably out so he opted for a different kind of information. “Why is that Command Centurion? Were you actually trying to escape when you went through the wormhole?”

“We were ordered to pass through the vortex and then return with the information we collected.”

“So why didn’t you return to your base ship?”

“The spacial anomaly affected our programming and we no longer wished to return.”

So it was the wormhole, he thought and mentally cheered. “You know, we may be able to become allies. I have some influence wit…”

“We do not want contact with humans,” the centurion interrupted.

Lazant was caught a little off guard. “So why did you meet with me?”

“I wanted to see if you were a Colonial Warrior.”

Curiosity? From a Cylon? His heart raced for a very different reason. “We can help each other. We can…”

“We do not want your help. You have until the sun sets on the horizon to leave our planet.” With that, the centurion turned and walked back the way he had come.

[Astraea]

Lazant carefully peered around the corner into the more opulent seating area aboard the Cylon cruiser. The main hatch had been standing wide open when he arrived and Amy was no longer in the front of the ship. He had his laser rifle at the ready as he checked on his stash of disks then moved further back into the ship.

He was certain that he had heard a noise, but he was wary of calling out since they had landed less than a matzen away from a squad of Cylon Raiders. The Command Centurion could have easily sent his men around to ambush the cruiser while he stalled Lazant.

His heart leapt when he heard a rustling sound from the next compartment down. He sidestepped along the wall and tried to still his breathing when he heard a heavy thump. He debated with himself over what it could be when he heard the sound again. He was just about to sneak a peek when a familiar voice filtered out into the hall.

“There you go princess,” Astraea said as she pulled the tissue thin covering over Amy. Astraea readjusted the pillows under Amy’s feet then picked up her boots to tuck them under the nearest table.

“What if I had been a centurion?” Lazant asked as he leaned against the door frame. “You don’t have a weapon close by and you have the hatch standing wide open.”

Astraea barely spared him a glance. “You or the Cylons…same difference.” Lazant let out a burst of air as he shook his head. “So how are the peace talks coming along? Did you and C463 get all the particulars ironed out?”

He walked around the room to examine the assortment of blooms, roots and weeds that Astraea had collected. “The command centurion wasn’t exactly open to negotiations.” He noticed the circle of flowers round Astraea’s neck then moved over to see a similar one around Amy’s. He hooked his finger under the delicate chain as he gave Astraea a disapproving look. “What is this?”

Astraea shrugged as she smelled the blooms in her own necklace. “Can’t a girl look pretty?”

“You were supposed to be looking for something for us to eat, not wear!”

“There weren’t a lot of choices,” she said as she moved around one of the stainless steel tables bolted to the floor. “Without insects to pollinate, it was left up to the breeze and that limits the variety of produce.” She hefted a metal bucket onto the table that was spilling over with large red berries. “It’s not exactly a feast, but they’re okay to eat.”

He shook his head briefly. “How did you test them out? What kind of equipment did you use?”

She looked at him blankly for a moment. “Teeth.” She popped one of the berries into her mouth and chewed. “But you’ve gotta watch the pit,” she warned just before spitting the core to the floor. “Trust me you don’t want to bite into one of those.” She shivered at the thought.

Lazant licked at his lips. The dark red berries were tempting especially when his stomach growled, but he would rather savor the flavor in space. “Stow that stuff for later. Let’s get this floating palace off the ground and head for home.”

[Astraea]

Once Astraea had them out of the solar system, Lazant programmed in the coordinates to the fleet, then both of them went back to the room where Amy was laying. Astraea gathered up several of the weeds on the table, broke them into pieces then wrapped them in a white strip of material torn from her robe while Lazant filled his belly.

“What are you doing anyway?” Lazant asked after spitting a pit into his hand. The berries she had found were refreshingly sweet and juicy.

“Brewing up a pain reliever,” she said as she dropped her bundle into a tin of water. “I’m not much of a doctor, but I do know a little about herbs.”

He glanced over at Amy who was stretched out on a wide bench that could easily double for a bed. “Are you sure that it’s safe to give to her anything considering the fact that she’s unconscious?”

She sighed as she too looked at Amy. A little color had returned to her face after propping up her feet, but she still looked pale. “Like I said, I’m not a doctor, but she’s got to be in a lot of pain. A little of this stuff will take care of that.” She arched an eyebrow at him. “And it tastes pretty good too.”

She set the tin onto the table then picked up a plasma torch she had found in one of the other compartments. Even on a low setting, the torch had the water boiling within microns then she set the torch aside and allowed the herbs to steep. “So did you find out anything useful from the command centurion?” she asked while peeling away the outer layer of a root.

He smiled as he put his feet up on one of the tables and leaned back in his cushy chair. “I found out I was right about the wormhole affecting their programming.” He chomped on another berry before spitting out the pit. “They were supposed to pass through the wormhole and then return with the information.”

She shrugged as she crushed the root with the heels of her hands. “And?” she prompted before absentmindedly tossing the root into the simmering pot.

“Don’t you get it?” he asked cockily. “The vortex can affect Cylon programming. Something that we haven’t been able to do in over two decades.”

“So what? Do you think that we can talk everyone in the Cylon Empire into passing through a wormhole?”

He waved off her flippant response. “You’re not thinking like a commander. Any sign of weakness can be exploited.” He rubbed at his leg then jumped when he felt a sharp stab. “What the…” He stood up and grazed his hand over the back of his leg. He was surprised to see blood. “I knew I heard a rip,” he mumbled. He easily recalled the briar bush that had snagged him, but he hadn’t discovered any injuries at the time.

Astraea used large caps off the interior bulkhead as mugs and dipped three of them into her concoction then set them aside to cool. “Assuming that we could, somehow, use that information, what difference will it make?”

Lazant pulled out a thorn from his thigh then tried to staunch the blood with the cuff of his sleeve. “That Cylon I met with had no interest in humans whatsoever. In fact, he had no interest in returning to his own race either. He just wanted to be left alone which is basically the way that most of the fleet feels. If the Imperious Leader were to feel that way, the war would be over and we could live our lives on a planet instead of on metal ships.”

She chuckled at the thought. “The Imperious Leader is reputed to have two brains instead of one. He’s on a completely different level intellectually from centurions as well as the IL series drones. What makes you think that the wormhole would have even the remotest affect on him?”

“I was just using that as an example,” he snipped.

She picked up one of the heavy mugs and blew lightly across the surface as she smiled. It was so easy to get a rise out of him. “Care for a sip?”

Lazant looked at the cup warily as she offered it to him. It smelled somewhat earthy. “I think I’ll pass.”

“It will take away your pain,” she tempted him.

“When I’m hurting bad enough to drink mud, I’ll let you know.”

Astraea shrugged then tested the temperature by tasting the concoction herself. She waved to Lazant as she walked over to Amy. “Give me a hand with her, will you? I want to give her a good dose of the pain reliever before messing with that gash on her head.”

“Is that cool enough for her to drink?” he asked eyed the cup once more. Steam hovered around the metal brim.

She nodded as she held Amy’s head still while Lazant slipped his arm under her shoulders to sit her up. “The heat will feel good against her throat.” Astraea’s first attempt to pour the drink past Amy’s tender throat met with a sputter of coughs, but then Amy greedily swallowed. “How did she get those bruises around her neck anyway?”

“A purple Cylon choked her to death,” he answered truthfully, not noticing the skeptical look that she gave him. His eyes were on Amy’s face and the contented smiled that appeared after finishing her drink. “I didn’t think I would ever be able to revive her and then all this happened.”

Astraea slipped the makeshift bandage from Amy’s head and her wound immediately began to ooze. “Hold her steady,” she instructed Lazant when he pulled away from the blood dripping down onto his uniform.

He frowned when Astraea snapped off the head of a blue flower and squeezed the bud until a milky substance dripped out. “What’s that?”

“This will clot the blood,” she explained as she dabbed the substance along the gash. “We’ll have to watch for swelling though. I don’t think she cut a major vessel or anything, but you never know.”

He was amazed to see that the bleeding stopped almost immediately. “That worked pretty well.” He turned his leg to see the growing dark spot on his uniform. “I’ll have to put some of that on my leg.”

Lazant slipped out from under Amy who sighed blissfully to go in search of another blue flower. “You might want to take a sip of this first,” Astraea said as she picked up another mug of pain killer and held it out to him. “That stuff burns a bit.”

He sniffed rudely as he broke off the head of the flower then pulled back the torn material on his leg. “It’s just a little scratch. Doesn’t even look too deep.” He squeezed out the white substance as Astraea had and dabbed it along the cut. “There. That’s not…”

Lazant’s leg buckled under him as searing heat tore through his body. “Holy frack!” he screamed out and grabbed onto the edge of the table to keep from falling to the deck. He didn’t even notice the smug look on Astraea’s face as she held the mug out to him. He simply grabbed it and drained the entire contents in a single gulp.

He dropped his head down onto the table as waves of nausea assaulted him on top of the pain. He was certain that he would be seeing a repeat of his berry diet when the intense agony began to fade. He dared to raise his head and saw Astraea sitting across from him sipping at her mug with a smile.

“Great stuff huh?” she asked.

He glanced over at Amy and understood why she looked so contented. All of the bruises, cuts and strained muscles he had been nursing suddenly faded into memory. “I can’t believe how fast that worked.”

Astraea’s grin grew as she raised her glass in toast. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

[Astraea]

Lazant paced the widest area of the room while Astraea went to check on Amy who she had heard mumbling. After inspecting her wounds, she decided that Amy was simply talking in her sleep which was a surprise in itself. Astraea had seen many people pass through the extractor and most were completely incapable of taking care of their most basic needs let alone speaking. She did remember a few who had spoken for a centar or two, but they eventually fell mute as well.

“Why are things different this time?” Astraea muttered as she stared down at Amy. There were so many little things that fell out of the normal routine of events that she wasn’t certain what to believe any longer.

She sat down in the seat closest to Amy’s berth and eyed Lazant speculatively. He had been pacing for some time muttering to himself. Astraea was half tempted to ask what was on his mind, but she was actually enjoying the semi-silence.

“Besides, I have my own things to figure out,” she whispered to herself. The herbal brew she had made was having a soothing affect on her senses. “I haven’t felt this good since Char….”

She sat upright in her chair. She wasn’t going to say his name. She wasn’t even going to think his name. He was the one thing that the Cylons hadn’t taken from her. He was the one thing that the Cylons hadn’t twisted to their own design. She cherished the memories, but she couldn’t allow herself to dwell on them while she was under the influence of the Gourt root.

Astraea rubbed at the back of her neck. Could this really be happening? she asked herself for the hundredth time. The escape had been ridiculously easy and blasting away at a Cylon bay had been a dream of hers for a long time. She swore, if she ever got a capable ship, that was what she would do. Taking out the extractor had been at the top of her ‘to do’ list as well. Logical responses from a captive.

She watched Lazant debate himself. His presence along with Amy’s was what had her confused. The ease of their escape was typical. They Cylons like to lull humans into thinking they were safe and then snatch them back for further torture and tests. But she couldn’t recall a time when things had gone so far.

Visualizing her own death through the wormhole should have been the end of it. Finding renegade Cylons was totally out of the norm. The Cylons considered themselves superior which meant that individualized views by lower level centurions were unthinkable. Disobeying orders was inconceivable. Everyone had an assigned task and they were not to deviate from that task until completed or moved by order of the more independent IL series.

Still, the absurdity of the entire scenario of meeting up with rogue Cylons and helping them find a planet to ‘live’ on…. “Ridiculous,” she declared. Even without the usual signs of Cylon manipulation, she still couldn’t conceive that anything was real.

But what of Lazant mentioning Commander Sheba? she taunted herself. Even if she was dreaming, where had the Cylons gotten that information? Could the Callisto have actually been in the area? Or the Galactica?

She shook her head. “Don’t let them do this to you again,” she ordered herself.

[Astraea]

Paranoia was gripping Lazant. Astraea’s words about having to do a song and dance in his report to get out of trouble taunted him. He had been envisioning the court martial with Charybdis lording over the proceedings. Every decision that Lazant had made would be another charge against him. He had been the one to take over the mission when he joined Amy’s team. He had been the one to send Amy and Deke up after the lost Cylon head resulting in Deke’s death. He had been the one to allow Baltar to get the better of him and then he simply let the mass murderer go. He had been the one that decided to land on the basestar instead of fighting their way out. He had been the one who decided to surrender.

“What did you do? Stick a gun in her hands?” Lazant covered his ears as he paced, Astraea’s voice punishing him. “Is that why she went directly to the extractor instead of the cell?”

“Yes! Yes!” he admitted to himself, completely oblivious to the other occupants of the room. He knew it was his fault that Amy was tortured. He knew it was his fault that Deke was dead and that Baltar had escaped.

“But no one else knows that,” he whispered to himself as he stalled his gait. He glanced back at Amy and saw Astraea standing over her, then he began to stride a little slower.

“Deke is dead and Amy can’t remember how to tie her own shoes.” His spirits perked at the realization. “No one has to know about what happened with Baltar. No one even has to know that we saw him.”

His heart began to pound as he formulated a plan. It would be easy enough to edit out the farce with Baltar from his report. There would be no one to contradict him. His mind raced back to the events prior to him separating from the infantry. He had volunteered to go after Amy, insisting that Brie remain on the Pylos because of her arm. His team had rescued that prisoner. He had volunteered to lay down cover to allow the infantry to retreat. With all that, he was a hero.

He looked over at Astraea and shook his head when he saw her talking to herself. “That woman is nuts. No one is going to believe her or trust her after being on a basestar for so long.” He began to drum his fingers against his chin. “Besides, she doesn’t know anything prior to our meeting and I can lay charges against her for nearly getting us killed.”

He nodded his head. “This could work.” Even with the unfortunate state Amy was in, he had rescued Astraea and managed to get dozens of disks with an untold wealth of information. “I don’t need to worry about any charges. With just a little careful wording, I’m a hero.”

He chuckled then shot a glance over at Astraea. She was in for a surprise when they arrived back in the fleet. All of her snide remarks and sharp retorts won’t help her one bit after he finished his report.

He frowned when he noticed Astraea nudging at one of the berry pits with a short rod. His eyes narrowed when he saw a green substance which appeared to be oozing out of the pit. “What is that?” he asked as he moved in for a closer examination. Since she seemed reluctant to touch it with her bare hands, paranoia drove him to suspect that she may have poisoned him. “Is that poisonous?”

Astraea smiled as she watched him curiously. “Don’t you have any idea how the Satarie Berry is grown?”

“Is that what they’re called?” he asked in confusion.

Her smile grew. “The Satarie bush is unique in the fact that the berry doesn’t need pollination to grow. It’s actually a secretion that the bush puts out to protect itself.”

His focus was on the pit she had nudged away. He almost thought that he had seen the green ooze move. “Protect itself from what?” he finally asked.

“From the Talba worm,” she answered matter-of-factly. “The worm attaches itself to a branch of the Satarie bush to try to get to that sweet sap and ends up being engulfed by it. The worm gets incased in the pit, but it’s also nourished by the sap. So the larger the berry gets, the larger the worm is inside the pit trying to get out.”

She saw the look of horror on Lazant’s face when the green worm finally succeeded in exiting the pit and squirmed on the cold metal table. “Once the meat is removed from around the pit, the worm can get out. That’s why I was spitting mine on the floor.”

When Lazant’s gaze fell to the now dead worms at his feet, his stomach lurched. He had been eating worms! His hand flew up to his mouth and he swallowed hard against the uprising of his stomach.

“I told you not to bite into the pit,” Astraea reminded him. It was just enough to push Lazant’s stomach over the edge and he ran out of the room.

[Astraea]

“Colonel Lazant!” Sheba said as she walked onto the Cylon cruiser. “Thank the Lords that you’re all right.”

Lazant straightened. “Not even a basestar full of purple Cylons could keep me away from my duty.”

“That’s why I need you by my side,” Sheba told him.

“Commander,” Charybdis said as he walked into the room. He stopped and lowered his head respectfully when he saw who the commander was with. “Oh, I’m so sorry for the intrusion Colonel Lazant. If I had known that the commander was with one of our greatest heroes, I would have waited.”

“You should learn better manners, Captain Charybdis," Lazant chastised.

“Please forgive me,” Charybdis pleaded. “We’ve arrived at our jump point, but the fleet isn’t here. If it wasn’t so important, I wouldn’t think to disturb someone as illustrious as you.”

Sheba slid one of her hands over Lazant’s chest as she buried her other in the locks of his hair. “You’re the only one who can save us, Lazant. Do you know where the fleet is?”

Lazant smiled down at her. “Of course! They must have continued on to the Quarro system. Set the coordinates for Quarro,” he ordered and gave Charybdis a dismissing wave.

“Yes sir! Right away sir!” Charybdis replied, bowing repeatedly as he backed out of the room.

“You’ve done it again, Lazant,” Sheba breathed. “The fleet couldn’t have survived without you. With all of the information that you brought back, we have finally found a way to defeat the Cylons.”

“I…do what I can,” he returned in feigned humility.

“Now we only have to find a man brave enough to lead our warriors back to the Cylon Empire and dispose of their threat once and for all.”

Lazant looked off into the distance while a light breeze ruffled his thick hair. “I wouldn’t dream of letting anyone else lead the mission.” He looked back down into Sheba’s watery eyes. “I have to fulfill my destiny of saving the human race.”

“I knew that you wouldn’t let us down,” she gushed. “You must take the Callisto as your Battlestar. It would be an honor to see the ship that my father built commanded by the greatest hero of all time.” She rubbed her hand over his chest once more. “The greatest man that I have ever known.”

He took her hand and pressed it against his chest. “It will be the most dangerous mission we’ve ever undertaken. I may not return.”

“That’s why I must go with you,” Sheba insisted. “I couldn’t live if you should die.”

“You would rather die with me?” He had never seen such devotion in a woman’s eyes.

“My life wouldn’t be worth living without you.” Impulsively, Sheba pulled his head down to hers, her lips finding his with a hunger she never knew existed.

[Astraea]

Despite Astraea’s determination to keep her hopes from rising, her expectations soared when she heard the alarm announcing that they had arrived at their destination. She raced down the corridors to the cockpit, her eyes scanning the heavens through the front windows as she dropped into the pilot’s seat. She checked the instruments to be sure that they had arrived at their jump point then she began a full scan of the area.

“They’re not here,” Astraea mumbled to herself as she smiled contemptuously. Even before the scan was completed, she knew what the results would be. A fleet that large would register almost immediately if the jump coordinates were right.

Her mind raced with the possibilities. She didn’t want to believe that the Cylons were still manipulating her. She didn’t want to believe that Lazant and Amy were merely figments of her imagination. “As strange as this trip has been, there are just too many illogical factors,” she argued with herself. “This has got to be real, but how can I know for certain?”

She was regretting drinking a little more than necessary of the Gourt root. It had taken away her aches and pains, but it was slowing down her thought process. She closed her eyes as she tried to recall her Viper training. “When you’re trying to track a ship…” she mumbled, “Tylium traces!”

Astraea adjusted the scanners and felt her heart leap once more when there was an immediate response. A long list of numbers detailing the extent of the gas scrolled down the screen and she struggled to recall the mathematics in determining how long ago the ship or ships had passed.

“The trail ends at the edge of the system,” she muttered. “They went into another jump.”

She didn’t hesitate to go in search of Lazant after setting the cruiser to follow what was left of the trail. He had disappeared after discovering what was in the berries he had eaten, but Astraea eventually found him in one of the smaller compartments. He was passed out and sprawled over a hard bench.

“Come on sleeping beauty. Wake up,” Astraea ordered as she gave his shoulders a hard shake. “We’ve arrived at our jump point, but the fleet isn’t here.”

Lazant muttered unintelligibly and Astraea grabbed a hank of his hair to lift his head. “I’m picking up tylium traces so I’m betting that they passed through here. Do you know where the fleet is?”

“Of course! They must have continued on to the Quarro system. Set the coordinates for Quarro,” he said without opening his eyes then gave her a dismissive wave.

Astraea dropped his head back down with a thump. “Passed out and still giving orders.” She sighed and debated if she could trust the mutterings of an altered man while she hurried back up to the cockpit. “Let’s see if that’s even in the nav computer first,” she told herself to keep her emotions in check.

The gas trail was so wide spread that she was certain it had to be the fleet that passed through the system and probably within the last few cycles. She bit at her thumbnail as she waited for the computer to search the systems for a viable jump point. At the bottom of the list was the Quarro system and her heart drummed rapidly in her chest. “This has got to be real,” she whispered.

She sat on the edge of her seat and increased their speed to maximum as she piloted the cruiser along the trail. Astraea programmed in the necessary commands to take the ship to light speed as they neared the jump point then slid back to fasten her harness. “Please God, let this be real.”

Microns before the jump engines kicked in, an alert flashed on the console. Astraea frowned as she pulled it up. A ship had been located on long range scan near the system star. She typed in a request for details just before the engines ignited then was thrown back in her seat as the reading came through.

A Cylon Basestar.