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bantha_fodderAcknowledge No Frontier, by Pen.
BSG/Stealth, rated PG.
I do not own any of these characters.
This was written for the BSG crossover ficathon. With thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
zeplum.
The funny thing about this is the way I was waiting for it to come back from beta when Fahye wrote the other thing.
***
She concentrates on the schematics for the new bird; bites her thumbnail as she learns its weaknesses. There's a knock at her door and she looks up.
"You ready?" Ben asks, duffle slung over his shoulder.
Kara shakes her head. "You know, I've been thinking. I don't think I'll go."
Ben sighs; rolls his eyes and flops down on her bunk. "Don't be a wall flower, chica," he says. "The weather on Cloud Nine is beautiful this time of year.
She laughs, and gestures at her laptop screen. "There's just so much to learn about the new plane," she tries to explain, but Ben shakes his head and won't let her finish.
"And there's plenty of time to learn it. We'll come back early." He drops to one knee beside her. "Please," he begs, and his grin is so wide, and so beautiful, and her stomach lurches.
"Okay," she says, and closes her laptop. "But we're coming back early."
He bounces to his feet. "Great! I'll grab Henry. Meet you on deck in five, Lieutenant." Ben dashes out the door, leaving his duffle behind. She grins a little to herself as she throws a couple of things into her own duffle, picks up his, and walks out of her room.
She'll buy the rest on Cloud Nine. If she's going to spend time on a pleasure ship, she may as well look forward to some pleasures.
She closes the door.
*
The sun is bright on Cloud Nine. When they disembark they pause to soak the sun; breathe deep and laugh. "At least we don't have to worry about sunscreen," says Kara.
"Some of us never worry about sunscreen," says Henry. He drops his duffle and does a little dance on the spot.
Ben laughs again as he picks up Henry's duffle and throws it at Henry's head. "Come on, dumbass. Let's go find our berths."
"I'm sure as hell not berthing with you," says Henry. "You snore."
"Yeah, well, you bring home loose women," says Ben, and it's then that Henry leaps at him, cuffing him about the shoulders and protesting.
Kara shakes her head, and wanders off without them.
They'll follow soon enough.
*
In a random bar on Cloud Nine, Kara watches as a redhead rests her hand on Henry's arm, and a blonde bites Ben's ear. She sighs.
"I'm gonna go," she says, and Henry frowns.
"But Kara," he protests. "The night is still young."
"And I have better things to do than watch you two canoodling in port." She pushes away from the bar, and the two girls exchange glances.
"It's okay," says the blonde. "You're welcome to join us."
The redhead nods. "Pilot chicks are dykes, right?"
She's so earnest, and Kara laughs.
"Thanks for the offer, guys, but maybe next time." She waves, and Ben gives her a little grin.
"Mañana, chica." He tilts his glass at her; she nods and smiles.
"See you tomorrow, Kara," calls Henry, and she backs away but turns as the bartender raises the volume on the television in the corner.
"Reports are coming in that the attack on Geminon was carried out by Cylo-" Static breaks in, and the television is turned off.
In her handbag, her pager buzzes.
*
"Do you think they're serious?" asks Henry as they run.
"About the Cylons?"
Henry breathes out and nods.
"Statement designed to incite panic," Ben replies. "It's either a plot or true."
Kara sighs. "Shut it and run," she snaps, and they fall silent behind her.
*
When they arrive, the port is in chaos. "We need to get back to the Theseus!" yells Ben over the noise, and the guy behind the counter shakes his head.
"Sorry, mate," he says, "No one on or off Cloud Nine in an emergency. It's the law."
"How can we protect your sorry ass if we can't get in the air?" Ben leans over the counter and makes to grab the guy's shirt. Kara wraps her hand around Ben's arm and pulls him back.
"Ben," she says quietly.
"Come on, man," says Henry. He slaps a hand down once on Ben's shoulder. "The three of us can wait it out. They'll send someone for us."
*
Kara peers out into space, as Henry sprawls on the bunk.
"I don't think they're coming, guys."
Behind her, Ben kicks the door.
*
After they jump away from Ragnor Anchorage in a hail of fire, Henry reaches for his duffle. "Well, let's go get our orders," he says.
The queue at the port is just as long, and just as loud. "My brother!" yells one guy. "I can't find my daughter," cries another, and Kara wants to help, she does, but instead she pushes through the crowd behind Ben and Henry.
"We're military," says Henry.
"We're pilots," elaborates Ben, and someone yells, "Who cares?"
Kara grabs Ben before he can bounce off, and she keeps on walking. "I'm sorry," says the guy behind the counter. "I can't help you find anyone."
"I need," Kara begins, but what she needs is drowned out by the PA overhead.
"All military personnel as yet unaccounted for are to make themselves known to staff. By order the President of the Colonies."
The hush that falls for the announcement drops away at the word President. Adar, they whisper, like the familiar will save them. Kara hopes they're right.
"Like he said," she says instead. "We're military."
They take a seat at the head of the queue, and her boys are so close but so far away and they wait until a raptor pulls up for them, ten minutes after the third jump.
*
"Okay," says Apollo, his hands curling around the podium. "We've got three new ring-ins. From the Theseus. I hope you'll make them welcome." Polite applause, and Henry rolls his eyes.
"Thank you, Sir," says Kara as she nudges Henry with her elbow.
"This jump, we're going to try for a Lutzow as the first wave of ships depart," Apollo begins, and he fades out as Kara focusses on Ben's arm beside her hand and the casual stares of the pilots around her.
"Hey, Wade," Ben says, after Apollo dismisses them. "Gotta pay attention in class if you want to make it."
She should have known he'd notice, and she smiles before she looks away.
*
"We gotta fly in fours?" Henry frowns
Ben makes a thoughtful noise. "We have a problem. Four's not a prime number."
"I'm glad you can count, Ben," says Kara, and they laugh.
*
They're pilots, and the disorientation and the little tingle low in her belly is familiar, but the constant jumping makes her want to vomit. She stares at herself in the mirror.
"We should have stayed on Cloud Nine," complains Henry.
"With the girls who thought I was a lesbian?" asks Kara.
Ben washes his face. "It's okay," he says, and in the mirror, he meets her eyes. "I would protect your honour."
She looks away first.
*
"Hey," protests Henry, later. "I'd protect your honour, too."
"Would you protect mine?" asks Ben, and bats his eyelashes.
Kara laughs.
*
Her name is Kara, but she's not going to call her that, so it's Starbuck this and Starbuck that and she doesn't think about how they share a name.
"Your wingman," says Starbuck in the messhall, as she slides onto the bench opposite Kara. "Gannon. What's his deal?"
Kara's grip tightens around her fork, and she keeps her voice light. "He's a fantastic pilot," she says, and Starbuck laughs, a short, bitter laugh, and Kara knows what that means.
"Okay," Starbuck says, "I get it." A hand claps on Starbuck's shoulder as two pilots walk past, and she looks up. Kara watches as Starbuck meets Apollo's eyes, and then pushes to her feet with a clatter of silverware. "Best to have a good time, Lieutenant," Starbuck says, and she taps two fingers on the table. "No time to waste, here at the end of the worlds."
Kara closes her eyes.
*
The birds are old and unfamiliar, and for a brief moment she misses the things they left behind. She misses the potential of EDI, the ship she never got to fly with. She misses the smell of her bird after coming in to land, and the electronics under her hands. She misses grape popsicles and the dry desert air, and she hates herself but she misses the top secret missions.
"Hey there, Chica," says Ben, crouched beside where she lies under a viper. She looks up at him. She asks him a question with a tilt of her head, and he smiles at her. "Time for CAP," he says, and offers her his hand.
She clasps it, and his skin is warm beneath her own.
*
Henry sings over the sideband, and Ben laughs. "It's no good," he says, "You're gonna kill us."
"It'll take more than Henry's bad singing to get rid of me," Kara says, and Ben hums in agreement.
"Yeah, but you're tougher than we are," he says.
"I am plenty tough," Henry protests.
"Do you guys ever shut up?" snaps Joker. Kara looks out through the glass; Ben shrugs at her, and on her wing, Henry's bird waves.
"What's the point?" she asks. "We have to enjoy ourselves. What else is left?"
In the silence of her cockpit, her breathing is loud.
"Besides," says Henry over the sideband. "We've never shut up before. Why start now?" Ben laughs again, and Henry resumes his singing.
Kara flies.
*
Beside her, Crashdown folds. Kara nods at Henry, who slowly deals her two cards. "You sure?" he asks. She wraps her hands around the cards and peers at the corners.
She breathes in and stares at Ben, who takes two cards and blinks at her.
"You guys play so slow," says Starbuck. "I'll take mine."
"Force of habit," explains Henry as he deals. "It's hard to read minds if you play too fast.
Starbuck laughs, and Kara drops her gaze from Ben down to her cards. "I fold," she says.
"Starbuck, are you cheating?" asks Apollo from the door.
Starbuck tilts her head at Apollo, and Kara bites her lip. "Apollo, I would never," Starbuck says, hand clasped to her chest, and Apollo smiles at her, and Kara breathes in, breath sharp and sudden.
She smiles at Henry, and he folds.
"Gannon," says Starbuck, leaning on the table. Behind her shoulder, Apollo peers at her cards, and now that Kara thinks about it, he's always that little bit too close. "Just you and me," Starbuck says, and Ben shakes his head.
"No," he says, "It's just me." He calls and flips his cards, and the full colours Kara knew he had beats Starbuck's hand, and Starbuck hisses.
"You distracted me, Apollo," she says, "But you're good, Gannon." She leaves the room without looking back.
"I want that chocolate," says Kara.
Ben divides the pot three ways.
*
The mission is a simple in and out. It calls for two but Ben smiles and charms because they're three, so all three fly away from the Galactica.
They maintain radio silence as they approach the moon, because they're professionals, but when Kara looks across Henry waves at her, and she laughs and turns; passes the wave on to Ben and watches him grin across the silence between them.
On the other side of the moon, a basestar looms where none should have been and she banks hard left, and Ben banks hard right, and Henry banks down low and yells.
His yell, sudden in the silence they have maintained, makes her jump in her seat and bite her lip. She makes it to the moon, Ben flying hard and Henry, slowly drifting, her distraction, and flies hard and fast to make it home again.
She looks up as she flies: Henry salutes her, and she blinks, and when she comes in towards Galactica Ben is on her left but Henry isn't there.
Kara keeps flying.
*
Kara sits, her head on the bar. Ben slips onto the seat beside her. "Hey," he says. She looks up at him.
"I keep thinking," she says, and Ben slides a drink into her hand.
"Don't think," he says, and she smiles at him, a sad little smile. "Drink," they finish together.
She lifts her glass into the air. "Henry," she whispers, and they drink together.
He buys her another.
*
They draw the curtain closed, and Kara bites back her moans, but these are the only concessions they make as Ben trails his fingers down her body.
"Ben," she breathes, "We shouldn't."
"I know," he says, and kisses her collarbone.
*
Later, he won't meet her eyes. "We've got CAP," he says, and the silence stretches between them.
"No," she says, the answer to a question he'll never ask out loud. "It's okay."
He shakes his head. "It's not," he says. "Henry. The Commander. There are-" He cuts off, and shakes his head again.
"That doesn't matter," she says, "Not now."
"Just because it's the end of the world is no reason," he says, and the smile he gives her is one she's never seen before.
Her stomach drops.
*
CAP is boring, and they maintain radio silence.
They have nothing left to say.
*
In the bunk room, Kara lies back in her rack. "Ben," she says, and he pauses at the door, two fingers resting on the frame.
"We're two," she says, "That's a prime number." He smiles at her.
"Mañana," he says; taps the frame once and disappears around the corner.
She closes her eyes.
END
Okay and now to work.
BSG/Stealth, rated PG.
I do not own any of these characters.
This was written for the BSG crossover ficathon. With thanks to
zeplum.The funny thing about this is the way I was waiting for it to come back from beta when Fahye wrote the other thing.
***
She concentrates on the schematics for the new bird; bites her thumbnail as she learns its weaknesses. There's a knock at her door and she looks up.
"You ready?" Ben asks, duffle slung over his shoulder.
Kara shakes her head. "You know, I've been thinking. I don't think I'll go."
Ben sighs; rolls his eyes and flops down on her bunk. "Don't be a wall flower, chica," he says. "The weather on Cloud Nine is beautiful this time of year.
She laughs, and gestures at her laptop screen. "There's just so much to learn about the new plane," she tries to explain, but Ben shakes his head and won't let her finish.
"And there's plenty of time to learn it. We'll come back early." He drops to one knee beside her. "Please," he begs, and his grin is so wide, and so beautiful, and her stomach lurches.
"Okay," she says, and closes her laptop. "But we're coming back early."
He bounces to his feet. "Great! I'll grab Henry. Meet you on deck in five, Lieutenant." Ben dashes out the door, leaving his duffle behind. She grins a little to herself as she throws a couple of things into her own duffle, picks up his, and walks out of her room.
She'll buy the rest on Cloud Nine. If she's going to spend time on a pleasure ship, she may as well look forward to some pleasures.
She closes the door.
*
The sun is bright on Cloud Nine. When they disembark they pause to soak the sun; breathe deep and laugh. "At least we don't have to worry about sunscreen," says Kara.
"Some of us never worry about sunscreen," says Henry. He drops his duffle and does a little dance on the spot.
Ben laughs again as he picks up Henry's duffle and throws it at Henry's head. "Come on, dumbass. Let's go find our berths."
"I'm sure as hell not berthing with you," says Henry. "You snore."
"Yeah, well, you bring home loose women," says Ben, and it's then that Henry leaps at him, cuffing him about the shoulders and protesting.
Kara shakes her head, and wanders off without them.
They'll follow soon enough.
*
In a random bar on Cloud Nine, Kara watches as a redhead rests her hand on Henry's arm, and a blonde bites Ben's ear. She sighs.
"I'm gonna go," she says, and Henry frowns.
"But Kara," he protests. "The night is still young."
"And I have better things to do than watch you two canoodling in port." She pushes away from the bar, and the two girls exchange glances.
"It's okay," says the blonde. "You're welcome to join us."
The redhead nods. "Pilot chicks are dykes, right?"
She's so earnest, and Kara laughs.
"Thanks for the offer, guys, but maybe next time." She waves, and Ben gives her a little grin.
"Mañana, chica." He tilts his glass at her; she nods and smiles.
"See you tomorrow, Kara," calls Henry, and she backs away but turns as the bartender raises the volume on the television in the corner.
"Reports are coming in that the attack on Geminon was carried out by Cylo-" Static breaks in, and the television is turned off.
In her handbag, her pager buzzes.
*
"Do you think they're serious?" asks Henry as they run.
"About the Cylons?"
Henry breathes out and nods.
"Statement designed to incite panic," Ben replies. "It's either a plot or true."
Kara sighs. "Shut it and run," she snaps, and they fall silent behind her.
*
When they arrive, the port is in chaos. "We need to get back to the Theseus!" yells Ben over the noise, and the guy behind the counter shakes his head.
"Sorry, mate," he says, "No one on or off Cloud Nine in an emergency. It's the law."
"How can we protect your sorry ass if we can't get in the air?" Ben leans over the counter and makes to grab the guy's shirt. Kara wraps her hand around Ben's arm and pulls him back.
"Ben," she says quietly.
"Come on, man," says Henry. He slaps a hand down once on Ben's shoulder. "The three of us can wait it out. They'll send someone for us."
*
Kara peers out into space, as Henry sprawls on the bunk.
"I don't think they're coming, guys."
Behind her, Ben kicks the door.
*
After they jump away from Ragnor Anchorage in a hail of fire, Henry reaches for his duffle. "Well, let's go get our orders," he says.
The queue at the port is just as long, and just as loud. "My brother!" yells one guy. "I can't find my daughter," cries another, and Kara wants to help, she does, but instead she pushes through the crowd behind Ben and Henry.
"We're military," says Henry.
"We're pilots," elaborates Ben, and someone yells, "Who cares?"
Kara grabs Ben before he can bounce off, and she keeps on walking. "I'm sorry," says the guy behind the counter. "I can't help you find anyone."
"I need," Kara begins, but what she needs is drowned out by the PA overhead.
"All military personnel as yet unaccounted for are to make themselves known to staff. By order the President of the Colonies."
The hush that falls for the announcement drops away at the word President. Adar, they whisper, like the familiar will save them. Kara hopes they're right.
"Like he said," she says instead. "We're military."
They take a seat at the head of the queue, and her boys are so close but so far away and they wait until a raptor pulls up for them, ten minutes after the third jump.
*
"Okay," says Apollo, his hands curling around the podium. "We've got three new ring-ins. From the Theseus. I hope you'll make them welcome." Polite applause, and Henry rolls his eyes.
"Thank you, Sir," says Kara as she nudges Henry with her elbow.
"This jump, we're going to try for a Lutzow as the first wave of ships depart," Apollo begins, and he fades out as Kara focusses on Ben's arm beside her hand and the casual stares of the pilots around her.
"Hey, Wade," Ben says, after Apollo dismisses them. "Gotta pay attention in class if you want to make it."
She should have known he'd notice, and she smiles before she looks away.
*
"We gotta fly in fours?" Henry frowns
Ben makes a thoughtful noise. "We have a problem. Four's not a prime number."
"I'm glad you can count, Ben," says Kara, and they laugh.
*
They're pilots, and the disorientation and the little tingle low in her belly is familiar, but the constant jumping makes her want to vomit. She stares at herself in the mirror.
"We should have stayed on Cloud Nine," complains Henry.
"With the girls who thought I was a lesbian?" asks Kara.
Ben washes his face. "It's okay," he says, and in the mirror, he meets her eyes. "I would protect your honour."
She looks away first.
*
"Hey," protests Henry, later. "I'd protect your honour, too."
"Would you protect mine?" asks Ben, and bats his eyelashes.
Kara laughs.
*
Her name is Kara, but she's not going to call her that, so it's Starbuck this and Starbuck that and she doesn't think about how they share a name.
"Your wingman," says Starbuck in the messhall, as she slides onto the bench opposite Kara. "Gannon. What's his deal?"
Kara's grip tightens around her fork, and she keeps her voice light. "He's a fantastic pilot," she says, and Starbuck laughs, a short, bitter laugh, and Kara knows what that means.
"Okay," Starbuck says, "I get it." A hand claps on Starbuck's shoulder as two pilots walk past, and she looks up. Kara watches as Starbuck meets Apollo's eyes, and then pushes to her feet with a clatter of silverware. "Best to have a good time, Lieutenant," Starbuck says, and she taps two fingers on the table. "No time to waste, here at the end of the worlds."
Kara closes her eyes.
*
The birds are old and unfamiliar, and for a brief moment she misses the things they left behind. She misses the potential of EDI, the ship she never got to fly with. She misses the smell of her bird after coming in to land, and the electronics under her hands. She misses grape popsicles and the dry desert air, and she hates herself but she misses the top secret missions.
"Hey there, Chica," says Ben, crouched beside where she lies under a viper. She looks up at him. She asks him a question with a tilt of her head, and he smiles at her. "Time for CAP," he says, and offers her his hand.
She clasps it, and his skin is warm beneath her own.
*
Henry sings over the sideband, and Ben laughs. "It's no good," he says, "You're gonna kill us."
"It'll take more than Henry's bad singing to get rid of me," Kara says, and Ben hums in agreement.
"Yeah, but you're tougher than we are," he says.
"I am plenty tough," Henry protests.
"Do you guys ever shut up?" snaps Joker. Kara looks out through the glass; Ben shrugs at her, and on her wing, Henry's bird waves.
"What's the point?" she asks. "We have to enjoy ourselves. What else is left?"
In the silence of her cockpit, her breathing is loud.
"Besides," says Henry over the sideband. "We've never shut up before. Why start now?" Ben laughs again, and Henry resumes his singing.
Kara flies.
*
Beside her, Crashdown folds. Kara nods at Henry, who slowly deals her two cards. "You sure?" he asks. She wraps her hands around the cards and peers at the corners.
She breathes in and stares at Ben, who takes two cards and blinks at her.
"You guys play so slow," says Starbuck. "I'll take mine."
"Force of habit," explains Henry as he deals. "It's hard to read minds if you play too fast.
Starbuck laughs, and Kara drops her gaze from Ben down to her cards. "I fold," she says.
"Starbuck, are you cheating?" asks Apollo from the door.
Starbuck tilts her head at Apollo, and Kara bites her lip. "Apollo, I would never," Starbuck says, hand clasped to her chest, and Apollo smiles at her, and Kara breathes in, breath sharp and sudden.
She smiles at Henry, and he folds.
"Gannon," says Starbuck, leaning on the table. Behind her shoulder, Apollo peers at her cards, and now that Kara thinks about it, he's always that little bit too close. "Just you and me," Starbuck says, and Ben shakes his head.
"No," he says, "It's just me." He calls and flips his cards, and the full colours Kara knew he had beats Starbuck's hand, and Starbuck hisses.
"You distracted me, Apollo," she says, "But you're good, Gannon." She leaves the room without looking back.
"I want that chocolate," says Kara.
Ben divides the pot three ways.
*
The mission is a simple in and out. It calls for two but Ben smiles and charms because they're three, so all three fly away from the Galactica.
They maintain radio silence as they approach the moon, because they're professionals, but when Kara looks across Henry waves at her, and she laughs and turns; passes the wave on to Ben and watches him grin across the silence between them.
On the other side of the moon, a basestar looms where none should have been and she banks hard left, and Ben banks hard right, and Henry banks down low and yells.
His yell, sudden in the silence they have maintained, makes her jump in her seat and bite her lip. She makes it to the moon, Ben flying hard and Henry, slowly drifting, her distraction, and flies hard and fast to make it home again.
She looks up as she flies: Henry salutes her, and she blinks, and when she comes in towards Galactica Ben is on her left but Henry isn't there.
Kara keeps flying.
*
Kara sits, her head on the bar. Ben slips onto the seat beside her. "Hey," he says. She looks up at him.
"I keep thinking," she says, and Ben slides a drink into her hand.
"Don't think," he says, and she smiles at him, a sad little smile. "Drink," they finish together.
She lifts her glass into the air. "Henry," she whispers, and they drink together.
He buys her another.
*
They draw the curtain closed, and Kara bites back her moans, but these are the only concessions they make as Ben trails his fingers down her body.
"Ben," she breathes, "We shouldn't."
"I know," he says, and kisses her collarbone.
*
Later, he won't meet her eyes. "We've got CAP," he says, and the silence stretches between them.
"No," she says, the answer to a question he'll never ask out loud. "It's okay."
He shakes his head. "It's not," he says. "Henry. The Commander. There are-" He cuts off, and shakes his head again.
"That doesn't matter," she says, "Not now."
"Just because it's the end of the world is no reason," he says, and the smile he gives her is one she's never seen before.
Her stomach drops.
*
CAP is boring, and they maintain radio silence.
They have nothing left to say.
*
In the bunk room, Kara lies back in her rack. "Ben," she says, and he pauses at the door, two fingers resting on the frame.
"We're two," she says, "That's a prime number." He smiles at her.
"Mañana," he says; taps the frame once and disappears around the corner.
She closes her eyes.
END
Okay and now to work.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-08-20 10:15 pm (UTC)Well, that's only the most perfect thing one could hope to wake up to on a Monday morning. Pilots-as-seen-from-the-outside and lots of little parallels. I LOVE IT. AND YOU.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-08-21 07:38 am (UTC)SEE HOW I POSTED IT AT HALF FIVE? OH YEAH.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-08-20 10:17 pm (UTC)GAH. I love them so. YAY!
(no subject)
Date: 2006-08-21 07:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-08-20 10:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-08-21 07:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-08-21 06:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-08-22 03:01 pm (UTC)http://nyuszi.livejournal.com/118437.html
thanx. :)
ps. promise to come back and actually comment on the fic on saturday. am looking forward to reading all the entries. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-08-23 02:37 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-08-26 04:04 pm (UTC)Lightwild
Date: 2009-05-10 11:57 am (UTC)http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4733146/1/Again_together