Title:
„A Love Beyond the Stars – Love on the Run”

Author:
Dax

Über Category:
Battlestar Galactica

Ratting:
PG

Disclaimer:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all related characters are registered trademarks of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation.
Battlestar Galactica, created by Ronald D. Moore. Based upon the 1978 Series Battlestar Galactica created by Glen A. Larson.
Copyright 2004 USA Cable Entertainment Inc.

Chapter titles come courtesy of Babylon 5, created by J. Michaels Strazynski. Copyright 1997 Warner Bros. PAY TV.
Authors Note:

The quotes preceding the chapter titles are taken directly out of the new Battlestar Galactica TV Series.

The story begins shortly before the events within the first Season Episode “Colonial Day”.

This is the sequel to “A Love Beyond the Stars – In the Beginning”. It's advisable to read this first.

Summary:
Despite all the darkness and despair around them, aboard the Battlestar Galactica Willow and Tara try their best to protect their young blossoming love from harm. But as Lt. Rosenberg is about to find out, there are other threats to their relationship, then the ever-impending Cylon threat.




We have no place left to run, there are less the fifty thousand of us left.
But our enemy won’t stop, until the human race is gone.
We’re struggling to hold it together, but every small victory keeps us going.
It’s going to take everything we got to survive.

The world is over, the fight is just beginning.




“’Red’ this is ‘Shooter’, I have control standby. Viper 1701 clear forward. Nav-con green. Interval check. Thrusters positive. Mag-cap ready. Gap door open. Thrust positive and good luck.”
Lieutenant Willow Rosenberg, call sign ‘Red’, was shot out of Galactica’s launch tube and into empty space. Ready to begin yet another five hour patrol around the rag tack fleet of civilian vessels, the last best hope for the survival of the twelve Colonies of Kobol.

Less then fifty thousand people, on the run from the Cylons, humanities own creation that turned against their masters more than fifty years ago and who forty six days ago had returned with a vengeance.
‘And now they even looked human’, Willow thought, remembering how President Laura Roslin had disclosed this information in a press conference not long ago.

“Ok, Ladies! Lets bring this patrol on the road!” ‘Red’ called out to the other two Viper’s that made up her patrol unit, “‘Mouse’, ‘Rogue’ follow my lead.”
“Copy that ‘Red’ leader”, came the unanimous reply, from the two other pilots.

‘What a team,’ Willow thought.
Ever since a freak accident had killed thirteen of her fellow pilots, they had recruited everybody, who could at least fly in a straight line – so to speak.
Trained by ‘Starbuck’, the best of them, like ‘Hotdog’ for example, had already been taken into regular duty. Herself, Willow was quiet satisfied with the two pilots she’d got.

‘Rogue’ wasn’t even a ‘Nugget’, as ‘Starbuck’ called them.
Lt. JG Eliza F. Davis had been fresh out of flight school and on her way to Picon and the Battlestar Perseus as her first assignment, when the Cylons had attacked.
Even though she was still a little ‘wet’ behind the ears and in need of adjusting with flying the unfamiliar Mark II Viper, she had all the potential to become a great fighter pilot.

Now ‘Mouse’ was the exact opposite of ‘Rogue’ and with forty five years of age undoubtedly the most senior active fighter pilot in the history of the fleet.
Interestingly enough Ludimila Barkas had started out as a Viper pilot, twenty five years ago, but had given up her carrier, in order to raise a family. And for the past ten years she had been piloting a commuter shuttle from Saggitaron to Picon, a four day round trip twice a week, every week. Luckily her sixteen year old daughter had been accompanying her, when the Cylons had returned.
Katharina and her mother now lived together aboard the Galactica.
And despite her age – speaking strictly of that of an Viper pilot – when it came to fitness, reaction time and flying combat manoeuvres, ‘Mouse’ was as tough and competent as her younger comrades. It was only because of her height of 5’ 4” – one inch less and she wouldn’t have been aloud into flight school, that she had earned herself the call sign ‘Mouse’.

So from all the new pilots, recruited to ensure the safety of the Galactica, as well as the entire fleet, Willow Rosenberg flew with to of the two more experienced ones.
A Rookie, a Senior and a Queer, truly a rather unique team, Willow thought to herself.

While Willow was flying patrol around the fleet, her best friend Buffy ‘Slayer’ Summers was busy teaching basic flight to a group of recruits who never had sat in any kind of cockpit before, but had the general qualification that would have aloud them entrance to the flight school of the Colonial Forces, back in more civilized days.
Since they had no flight simulator available, Buffy took her ‘Potentials’ – as she called them, one by one out to their first flights using the old Mark V Training Viper they had on board as part of the museum the Galactica had planed to become.

Right now Buffy was certainly one of the happiest people aboard the Galactica. Because right after the day when ‘Apollo’, ‘Starbuck’ and ‘Red’ had to shoot down the Olympic Carrier, Buffy had been reunited with her younger sister Dawn, who she’d believed killed during the nuclear attack upon Caprica City.
But luckily, as well as unknowingly to her big sister, Dawn Summers had been on her way to Aquaria, for a job interview as an elementary school teacher.
Buffy and Willow still didn’t know why the young university graduate had planned to leave not only Sunnydale, but Planet Caprica as well.
But then things like that no longer mattered, as long as the only remaining family member of Buffy was alive and well. Ever since their mother Joyce had died from cancer, it had been only the two Summer’s sisters.
Dawn was now living aboard the Cloud Nine, the most luxurious ship in the entire fleet, working as a elementary school teacher. She had been sent there, by the new secretary of education Doctor Tara Maclay.

The mere thought of her blond soft spoken girlfriend, send a warm smile over Willow’s face. Never before in her life, had Willow been so much in love with anybody else.
Looking back today, Willow knew she’d only believed that she had been in love with Oz, when it had merely been a deep felt friendship, with some casual sex thrown in. And even though the sex had been, well – stimulating, it had been just that – sex.

Whereas, after she had slept with Tara for the first time, Willow understood why it was also known as making love.
With Tara it was so much more than merely being together physically, but a spiritual joining as well. Even when they didn’t make love, when they were simply sleeping together without sleeping together, just lying cuddled together in the nude, covered with a warm and cozy blanket. It was all Willow needed to bring even the hardest of days to a good end.
Of course she couldn’t spend every night, not even all of a night together with Tara, without causing suspicion among her comrades. Especially since a Cylon suicide bomber blew himself up, on his way to the laboratory of Dr. Gaius Baltar.

In fact no one knew that she and Tara where a couple, not even Buffy. She only suspected that her best friend was in love again and probably involved in a blossoming relationship, but she hadn’t pressed Willow into revealing whom she was seeing.
Sometimes it troubled Willow that she could not come out to her best friend, that she couldn’t tell her about how happy she was with Tara.
But Tara had made her promise, that for the time being she would not come out. She had said that given the low number of people that where left and thus creating the need to ‘start having baby’s – according to Tara Laura Roslin’s very own words - even people who usually didn’t have anything particular against gay’s and lesbian’s, might turn homophobic, if not hostile against them.
And after all of the negative experiences Tara had gone through back on Gemenon, she wanted to protect her girlfriend for as long as possible from those kinds of negative attention.
Willow tried her best to understand Tara’s motives and so she had promised her: “I’m keeping you a secrete.”

“Galactica ‘Red’, coming up on Astral Queen,” Willow reported to the CIC.
“Copy that ‘Red’, proceed on your own discretion,” came the immediate reply from petty officer ‘D’ Dualla, back on Battlestar Galactica.
“I’m going in. Ladies cover me.”
“Copy that ‘Red’ leader.”
And so Willow started her flyby, looking for any kind of trouble onboard the prisoner ship.
Ever since a prisoner revolt, lead by the legendary Sagittarian extremist Tom Zarek – ether a freedom fighter or an terrorist depending how you’re looking upon the actions that lead to his imprisonment twenty years ago – the ship had been cleared from all weapons and left in control of it’s former inhabitants.

This was only one of the many troubling things that had happened since they where on the run. Like a sleeper agent setting up a series of explosions ripping through Galactica’s hull and thus venting much of the fleets water supplies into space. Luckily they had been able to replenish the water again.
And then of course, there was the Cylon Raider brought back from ‘Starbuck’, that showed that the Cylons had not only developed into human form, but that the Raider had “living innards” as well. ‘Kinnda freaking’, Willow thought. But at the same time she couldn’t fail to notice that she hadn’t been to far off, when she had assumed that these fighters where piloted directly by an artificial intelligence. Still, it felt like totally freaky.

“Galactica ‘Red’, visually all clear and peaceful aboard Astral Queen,” she reported to the CIC and then ‘Red’, ‘Mouse’ and ‘Rogue’ went on to complete their patrol.

Several hours later, an luckily uneventful patrol drew to a close, and Willow closed in on the Galactica, to return from the emptiness of dark space, back to the light of her life.
“Ok ladies,” she called out to her patrol, “it’s been a lovely time flying with you. And now lets bring this show to a perfect ending, by performing a perfect formation landing, agreed?”

“What ever you’re saying ‘Red’,” replied ‘Mouse’ and ‘Rogue’ answered with her usual: “Five by Five, ‘Red’.” Willow made contact with Galactica and requested permission for a formation landing from flight officer Capt. Kelly.

“Viper 1701; this is Galactica, permission for formation landing. Approach port landing bay. Hands on. Speed 106. Checkers red. Call the ball.”
“Copy that Galactica. Port landing bay. Hands on speed 106. Checkers red. We have the ball. – ‘Mouse’, ‘Rogue’ follow my lead!”
Leading a perfect V formation, Willow flew her Viper into the landing bay and concluded her patrol with the intended perfect formation landing.

“So you think, you’re gonna be part of the security detail over at the Cloud Nine, during the conference on Colonial Day?” Luidmila wanted to know from Willow, as they sat together in the pilots ready room, following their debriefing with their CAG, Captain Lee Adama.

“Still don’t know”, Willow answered, “but I would rather not. You know babysitting for a bunch of VIP’s and even worse politicians? I can think of more entertaining things to do.”
She shook her head. Plus the prospect of being near Tara – who as the secretary of education would be there too – without being able to be together with her was to much to bare right now, she didn’t say, but instead she said: “and also someone has to keep an eye on the Galactica. Can’t let a couple of rookie’s and nuggets be in charge alone here.”
“Well, be that as it may”, Luidmila said and stood up, “I better get going. I promised my daughter I would be home in time, so we could spend some time together. See you tomorrow ‘Red’. ‘Rogue’”. With that she left the room and Willow also stood up, “Well, I still have some other things to do, before I can call it a night. So if you would excuse me Eliza.”
“Have a nice evening red”, ‘Rogue’ called after her, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

Pretending she hadn’t heard Willow left the ready room. Why would Eliza say such a thing, she wondered. Could she know? Know about her and Tara and their secrete relationship?
‘Stop second guessing each and every word that other people say’, she ordered herself.
It was no use, she knew. Ever since she had made her promise to Tara, since she and Tara had entered into their relationship, she started to second guess everything, from casual statements to body language. And the longer it kept going, the harder it became.
At least she didn’t have to pretend that she didn’t know Tara at all. Everybody knew that they were good friends.
And until Buffy had started training the potentials, Willow had flown Tara with the Mark V Viper over to Colonial One and around the fleet, to her various official duties within the fleet. Nowadays Tara was flown by a ether ‘Boomer’ or ‘Tap-dog’ onboard a Raptor.

Willow looked up to see Tara coming around the corner. On her way to the port hangar bay no doubt, Willow thought, remembering that Raptor 359 was scheduled to fly Tara over to Colonial One for her meeting with President Roslin, in preparation for the first meeting of the interim Quorum of 12, on Colonial Day.

Tara looked rather blue, Willow could see, but her features lightened up considerably when she spotted her pilot girlfriend.
“Hey you”, was all Willow was able to say before Tara hurriedly as well as forcefully pulled her around the next two corners and into an empty side hallway.
“I missed you so much Willow”, Tara whispered and pulled Willow into a tight embrace.

Her kiss was rough and hungry. Willow revelled in it until their lips parted. They both breathed heavily and eyed each other.
Willow gasped for breath through a delighted smile, completely forgetting where she was standing at that moment. “You’re surprising me, my love.”
Saying nothing Tara sealed her lips with yet another kiss.
Willow blissfully surrendered into her lover’s embrace, until she felt her girlfriend stiffen in her arms. She felt Tara break free of their devouring kiss and withdraw from her embrace.

Opening her eyes Willow saw Tara staring right past her, at the corner they had just come around, looking like she had seen someone or something.

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

Oh the plot thickens drum roll please .......................... you are a stinker for leaving us hanging there wondering

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

Dax,
I really love that you're writing this so quickly and thouroughly. The description of Willow's thoughts on making love with Tara are quite lovely. They're not detailed at all (in a NC-17 type way, you know?) but they are very sensual. She really gets the connection in her love with Tara. But then the closeting and particularly Tara being the one who wants to push Willow into the closet is just of the yucky. I don't like it at all. I would hope that a society with so much to fear and fight would not feel the need to fight people who are different but it's entirely likely that like Tara said, they would see it as two people who won't reproduce. Blah that.

Great chapter.

_________________
Menorah Tales | Working It Out | Random Bits

Cylons where created by men. They revolted. They evolved. They look and feel human.
Some are programmed to think they human. There are many copies. And they have a plan.

The world is over, the fight is just beginning.



“Things fall apart. They fall apart so hard, you can never put them back the way they were”, Tara sorrowfully spoke to Miss Kitty Fantastico, stroking her gently.
Right now the tiny kitten was doubling as a paperweight, lying on a pile of papers that occupied a great corner of Tara’s undersized desk.

Only five days ago, Tara had been moved into a somewhat bigger quarter.
So instead of one small room, she now had two small rooms. She used one as her living room slash study and the other one as her bedroom.
She had done the best she could to make these rooms as friendly as possible, by hanging up some of her favourite pictures, printouts of files out of her laptop; which luckily contained an almost inexhaustible supply of favourite pictures, movies and music.
Willow had organized a broken parachute; from which they had made a tester-bed, making the bedroom the most comfortable one.
Still they were only windowless rooms within the endless ‘innards’ of a Battlestar on the run.

Tara let out a heart felt sigh, there just were some days she felt like crying all the time, with the weight of the current situation lying heavy on her soul.
Of course not all days were so horrid; today for example had in fact started quite wonderfully. She had spent most of the night together with Willow, simply sleeping cuddled into each others arms. Early this morning Willow had left for her bunk and they had managed to ‘meet’ again, for breakfast in the officers’ mess, where Tara had been aloud to take her meals.

They had been known to be friends ever since Tara had come onboard for the first time, without anybody knowing about the real depth of their relationship.
“No one knows”, Tara told Miss Kitty, who didn’t seem to take much interest.
There was no one who knew that she and the young Viper pilot had been in a steady relationship ever since the fleet had made it safely out of Ragnar.
And with the exception of Billy and President Roslin, properly no one even knew she was gay in the first place.
All right, like back on Caprica, she had neither made it a secrete nor had she broadcast it all around. And even though in the mean time she’d talked to many people, officers, crewmen and civilians alike, the conversations had never come to a point where this particular subject might have presented itself.
‘Oh you’re lying’, Tara thought angrily to herself, ‘you’ve been avoiding this as much as possible. You even made Willow promise:’
“I’m keeping you a secrete”, Tara spoke out aloud.
Was that wrong? Tara wondered.

All she ever wanted was to protect Willow from possibly bad homophobic reactions of her comrades, as well as other people.
Especially given the fact that with only fifty thousand of them left, even some of the more open-minded people might have no sympathies at all for two women living together without having a baby, you know in order to sustain the human race.
Tara let out a sarcastic laugh. Just because the two of them would be living together, did not mean that they would not start a family. As a matter of fact, Tara always wanted to have children, two or three perhaps.
As long as Tara could think, she had always dreamt of it, the fact that she had come out gay hadn’t changed that dream at all.
Meeting Willow had merely intensified her wish to become pregnant someday in the future.

‘I think you’re getting off topic here’, the little voice in the back of her head reminded her. ‘Let’s come back to the true reason why you made Willow promise.’
“I don’t want Willow to be hurt”, Tara whispered, actually starting a discussion with herself. ‘Right, but only partially so, because more then anything else you not want to go to a difficult and possibly upsetting coming out all over again.’
Why come out again? She had been out and proud ever since she had been outed by Rene.

‘Yes, but that was before the world ended’, pointed her inner voice out to her, referring to the attack of the Cylons. ‘But as you already said yourself, except for Billy and Laura nobody knows any more. Only Billy and Roslin …’
“And that’s it”, Tara whispered, absentmindedly stroking Miss Kitty.

Nobody else really knew that she was gay. And their was only a very slim chance, that somebody within the entire fleet might actually remember her from she short stint in the media spotlight during her fight with the board of trustees of her university. But then there was nothing as old, as yesterday’s news, and so as a matter of fact, coming out around here would mean to come out all over again.
Tara took of her glasses and placed them at the desk, only to vividly remember all the bad things that had happened to her when Rene had outed her so prematurely. Of course there had been almost equally as much positive feedback as bad.
Nevertheless Tara had to admit to herself, that she feared going through all of that once again, all over again. And so making Willow promise not to come out yet, had truly been motivated more by the wish to protect herself then her girlfriend.
‘What as selfish bitch you’ve been’, Tara thought. ‘You even kept Willow from telling her one and only best friend – Buffy.

Tara shook her head, it was wrong of her to keep Willow from telling Buffy. From the very first moment Tara had met Buffy, she had felt that she was like a sister to Willow.
And now with her family killed on Caprica and her oldest childhood friend Xander killed by a fire aboard the Galactica, during the Cylons first attack on the Battlestar, Buffy was all the family Willow had left
And you should never have any secrets from your best friend, Tara knew.

Absentmindedly Tara rubbed the bridge of her nose.
She had to release Willow from her promise and she could help her find the right way for her to tell Buffy. After all Tara had collected some experiences in this matter. Right after starting working at the ministry of education, she had joined a gay and lesbian centre in downtown Caprice City, as a councillor, helping especially young teenage girls finding their way through their coming out to their friends and family.

A knocking at the bulkhead brought Tara’s thoughts back to the reality of the day.
Tara keyed her laptops media player mute, but not without listening to the lyrics of the song playing, Caprican rock group ‘Queen’, for a moment:

“It’s a hard life, to be true lover together.
To love and live forever, in each others hearts.
It’s a long hard fight, to learn to care for each other.
To trust in one another right from the start.
When you’re in love.”

Tara rolled her eyes at her laptop, which always seamed to play just the song that reflected her present frame of mind. She ‘plucked’ Miss Kitty from the desk and against her most sincere protest, sent her flying upon her bed.
Leaving the bed room door closed behind her, Tara went to answer the bulkhead.

It was Yeoman Alyson Benson from Communications.
“Good afternoon, Madam Secretary”, she said cheerfully, knowing only to well how much Tara hated being addressed so formally and consequently earned herself a murderous look as the secretary of education invited her into her ‘office’.
“Very well yeoman”, Tara said and took her seat again. “Let’s have it.”
Yeoman Benson opened the folder she had broad with her and got out a small pile of papers. “There you go,” she said, “new dispatches from Colonial One, mostly concerning the upcoming Colonial Day and the interim quorum of the twelve. Then there are some requests from the Cloud Nine, as well as Serenity and Farscape. Oh and a rather harsh reply from the White Star.” She handed the papers to Tara, who took them with a wry smile, “thanks Ally.”

“You’re welcome Tara. Any messages you want me to send? Ah!”, she took the papers Tara handed her and put them into her folder. “I’ll see to it. Anything else I can get you?”
Tara smiled at the young yeoman, who was always so kind and helpful. She had liked her from the start, “Maybe some chocolate chips cookies?” she asked innocently.
“I’ll see what I can do”, Allyson returned the smile. “One of the cooks still owes me a favour.”
“Oh and maybe he would have something too for…” Tara pointed at the bedroom door
“He’ll certainly have something for her, I’m sure”, answered yeoman Benson.
Ally was the only person besides Willow who knew about the presence of the little kitten aboard the mighty Battlestar.

She had found out about Miss Kitty, when water had to be rationed, because the Galactica had lost more then sixty percent of the fleets’ water supplies, due to sabotage.
During that time Tara had shared what little water she had with her cat. However one day Miss Kitty had skipped out of the bedroom while Ally had been bringing messages for Tara.
Ally had promised not to tell anyone and had also helped Tara care for Miss Kitty ever since, especially by organizing food for her from the kitchen, in exchange for playing time with the tiny feline. She also looked in on Miss Kitty whenever Tara was away.

“Well, it’s time for me to return to the CIC”, said the young Yeoman and Tara accompanied her to the bulkhead, “see you tomorrow Madame Secretary.”
“See you tomorrow Yeoman”, Tara answered, but then remembered something, “no you won’t Ally. I’m leaving today for Colonial One. And from there I will go strait to Cloud Nine. So if you would be so nice and look in on Miss Kitty for me? Only once during the day, Willow Rosenberg will visit her later in the day.”
“Of course I will”, Ally assured her, “I’m looking forward to it. You know how much I like her. So see you after your return.”
She left the room and Tara closed the bulkhead after her.
After opening the bedroom door, with Miss Kitty not coming back again, Tara sat back down at her desk and went through the messages Ally had brought her.

As expected, the communiqués from Colonial One were confirming timetables and proposed agendas for the quorum.
Oh and there was a personal message form Billy, reminding her that she should not forget her meeting with the president today.
Tara rolled her eyes upon the underlying tease in Billy’s message. After all, she had never forgotten an appointment with the president, at least not directly so. Only one time she had forgotten to confirm the necessary Raptor Flight with the CIC – which then had been cancelled – because a short afternoon visit of Willow had gotten slightly out of control and had turned into a rather memorable quickie.

‘But now on to other matters’, Tara commanded herself and turned the pages to the requests sent to her from other ships in the fleet.
Serenity and Farscape both asked for teaching materials, Tara saw.
Which meant, that before she left the Galactica, she would have to go down to the one sublevel computer centers, that previously had been filled with gigabits of data, for the future use of the Battlestar as a museum and schooling facility. This database now provided Tara with almost all the necessary materials to enable her teachers to teach.
So Tara drew up a list of the required materials, which she would have downloaded to portable data modules and send to these ships.

Last Tara took up the message from the White Star which sent her relatively better mood crashing back to the ground again.
The people responsible onboard this luxury liner, from Gemenon refused to let Delenn Sheridan, a high school teacher with majors in Math, Physic and English, transfer to the Cloud Nine unless they would get a bigger share in food, fuel and other supplies.

Tara let out a very frustrated sigh and let her head sink heavily upon her desk. “Fraking politics”, she sighted in utter frustration.
Even though they were on the run from the Cylons, with their futures looking bleak at best, there were still people who acted like they were back on the colonies.
And that meant, in this special case that a Luxury Liner, the White Star, with five hundred business women and men and their partners, would refuse to let go of the only teacher aboard, unless they’d be compensated for it.
Originally they had been on a pleasure cruise throughout the solar system when the world had ended.
They didn’t even need a teacher, since there where no children aboard. Ms Sheridan had made the trip, taking the place of her brother, who had to stay back at Caprica with the flu.

Tara sighed again: Delenn was the last teacher she needed to get transferred to Cloud Nine in order to finally have everything in place.
She’d successfully created something she could call a working school system. It hadn’t been as difficult as she had expected when taking on the job.
Only five families had to be relocated, and that was almost no trouble at all.
The same had been true for moving Buffy’s sister Dawn as a elementary school teacher from the Light-Space Express 8, to Cloud Nine.

There were now four children living aboard the Galactica. Boxey a boy brought aboard by Lt. Valerie. Katharina, the daughter of one of the senior Viper pilots. And Emma & Hermione, twin daughters of a Galactica flight officer.
Luckily all around the same age and were now taught by one of the cooks. He’d originally worked as a teacher, but then had given up this career in order to pursue his real passions: space travelling and cooking – despite its reputation, the “catering”, at least here aboard the Galactica wasn’t as bad as some claimed it to be.

Now if she could only find a way to get the White Star people to let go of Ms Sheridan. Of course she couldn’t give in to their demands, that would mean giving in to blackmail, but could she simply order them?
Her alarm clock went off, reminding her of her soon departing flight over to Colonial One and she would have to go right now, since she had to stop by at the computer centre on her way down to the port hangar bay.
Tara once more shook her head. Sometimes it became just too frustrating, all of it. The overall situation, the promise she had Willow make, and the need to actually get all involved into fraking politics, it made Tara feel like she was just sitting there waiting…

“While we waiting for the hammer to fall.”

It sounded out of her laptop’s speakers.
Somewhat annoyed Tara looked at her laptop. Hitting hard on the keyboard, she keyed off the media player before she shut down the laptop all together. She then went into her bedroom, where she packed the laptop into the small travel pack she had already packed before.
After she had said good bye to Miss Kitty and promised her that Willow and Ally would be looking in on her, she left her quarter feeling rather down and blue.

Coming down from the computer centre and heading for the port hangar bay, walking Galactica’s sheer endless hallways did not help to brighten Tara depressed mood. And Tara felt rather proud of herself, for no longer getting lost around here. Today all it did was to darken her mood even further. Made her feel rather small, insignificant and lonely.
How much she yearned for Willow, to hold and embrace her. How much she wanted to kiss her right now. How much she needed Willow to feel alive and loved.
“Oh please Lords”, she whispered pleadingly to herself, “let me be loved.”

Walking around a corner, her heart started to beat faster as she spotted her girlfriend walking straight towards her. ‘How beautiful she looks’, Tara thought, even though she wore that somewhat bulky flight suit.
Come to think of it, this uniform too made her look rather sexy.
“Hey you”, Willow said smiling brightly. This was all she could say, before without thinking, Tara took her by the hand and led her around a corner and another into an empty hallway.

“I missed you so much Willow”, Tara whispered and giving in to her immanent need, she pulled Willow into a tight embraced and kissed her hard and hungry until they had to part in order for them to breath.
Gasping for breath through a delighted smile, Willow said something, but Tara didn’t hear the words she spoke. Instead she pulled Willow’s head close again for another and even more passionate kiss.
During this second kiss, Tara slowly opened her eyes and smiled in her mind, for she saw that Willow’s eyes where still closed, as she was lost in her lovers kiss.
Tara was just about to close her eyes again when; from the corner of her eye she thought she saw some movement.
She froze and pulling away from Willow she starred towards the corner of the hallway she had just come around together with Willow. It was empty.
Ignoring Willow’s questioning look, thoughts went spinning around inside Tara’s head.

Had someone seen them kissing? If yes would he or she be telling anyone else? Or was she just imagining things out of guilt for keeping Willow from coming out on her own terms?

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

Wow
good fic i just spent the last couple of hours reading both fics and i love the idea of the whole thing especially since i am a fan of BG. I can't wait to see what happens next

HI there. This is a really good update. It's almost all internal dialog but it really moves the plot along very well. We are up to date on the progress on the ship and in the fleet as well as the different sabotages that have been performed. I have to say that I was in Willow's position in college with a girlfriend who wanted us in the college and it was a terrible situation. I've never done it since and never will. I'm glad that Tara has decided to relieve Willow of the promise.

_________________
Menorah Tales | Working It Out | Random Bits

We have to make choices. Every order we give, every shot we take, could mean the difference between survival and extinction.
Each small victory gives us a little hope that the decisions we’re making are the right ones.

The world is over, the fight is just beginning.



‘What the frack!’ Willow thought as she stared unbelievingly at her Viper, or more to the point, she stared at the new plaque beneath her cockpit window.
And as she kept staring at her Viper, her mind went back three days and the last time she’d been together with Tara.

They’d been kissing passionately when Tara had very abruptly ended the kiss. Willow still remembered this kiss as one of the most passionate kisses she and Tara had ever shared with each other – outside Tara’s quarters that is.

“What is it baby?” Willow asked her still frozen in place girlfriend and she turned around to see for herself if there was something or someone that would explain the unexpected change in Tara’s demeanour. But there was nothing to see, nothing but an empty hallway.
Willow turned back to Tara, who had taken a step away, her arms automatically folding around her torso, a protective motion of Tara’s Willow knew.

“What was it Tara?” Willow asked again when her girlfriend didn’t answer right away.
“Oh, probably nothing”, Tara answered evasively, unsuccessfully trying to hide how very nervous she really was.
“Tara”, Willow said carefully, trying not to take a step towards Tara, who she felt would only shy way from her now, “we’ve been honest with each other until now. Please don’t change that when I can clearly see that something has frightened you.” Slowly the young Viper pilot advanced upon Tara, who hesitated but didn’t step back. She reached for Tara’s hands, untangling them from in front her chest. Holding Tara’s hands gently in her own she asked: “You saw something or someone right?”

“I’m not sure”, Tara whispered, moving Willow deeper into the dead end hallway. “When I opened my eyes.”
“Like you always do first when we’re kissing”, Willow observed teasingly, but Tara spoke on, like she hadn’t heard or had chosen not to hear her lover’s remark.
“I thought I saw, no it was more like I caught the gimps of a movement from the corner of my eye. But when I looked closer there was no one there.”

“You think that someone might have seen us kissing?” Willow asked sceptically.
She couldn’t believe that anybody would remain silent when spotting two woman kissing they way they had been.
Or maybe they had been seen by somebody who did not mind. After all, Willow wanted to believe that not everybody aboard this Battlestar was like completely homophobic.

For some time now Willow thought that she and Tara should no longer hide their feelings for each other. After all they were just two people who’d fallen deeply in love with each other. – They were in love!
What could possibly be wrong about that?
Still Tara seamed utterly terrified by the thought that Willow should go through the same awful experiences, like she had on Gemenon.
But this wasn’t Gemenon or any other of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, this was one Battlestar – if not the only Battlestar - still in existence and a bunch of ships harbouring what was left of humanity.
‘We should no longer hide.’ Willow thought defiantly, ‘there will never be the perfect time to come out, so why not come out here and now? Why not release me from my promise?’
Just as she wanted to voice her thoughts to Tara, the PA system cut into the ever growing silence between them by announcing:
“Secretary Maclay, Secretary Maclay! Please report to the port hangar bay, section BA 19 immediately. I say again…”

“I’ve got to go”, Tara said rather hastily, “I’m sure I’ve only imagined things.”
Willow nodded slowly and just wanted to kiss Tara goodbye, but the hurrying secretary of education just shook her hand and in walking away she said. “See you when I return after Colonial Day, don’t do anything rush while I’m gone.”
And gone she was, leaving behind a completely bewildered Willow asking herself what the hell had just happened.

The following uneventful next days, convinced Willow that Tara had really only imagined someone seeing them. Still she felt that even if they hadn’t been seen, they should rather come out by themselves then being spotted in the open.
All this need for hiding what she was feeling for this gently blond girl, was starting to take it’s toll, made her feel like she and Tara really were doing something forbidden, unnatural, dirty.
And then there was the lying, and if not lying then not exactly telling the truth, especially keeping Buffy from knowing how much she loved Tara.

Then suddenly, everybody knew, or at least to Willow it felt like they did.
Nobody actually confronted her, or said anything. But when she walked down Galactica’s hallways, it felt to her as if people could see it on her – like a brand, or a flashing “L” on her chest. Willow felt eyes that lingered a little too long, judging her, maybe even casting her out.
With all that going on around her, Willow no longer felt that coming out would be as easy as she might have imagined it, at least not if it came to coming out aboard this Battlestar.
She even started to get afraid that if Buffy found out she would not only freak, but maybe even denounce their friendship, and so to her own shame Willow started to avoid her friend and former wingman as much as possible. ‘Better not seeing her at all’, she thought, ‘for as long as we don’t meet, I don’t have to lie to her anymore.’

Of course this wasn’t an solution either and so, while on her way down to the hangar bay for today’s patrol together with ‘Rogue’ and ‘Night-stalker’ – ‘Mouse’ had the day off - Willow considered that despite the promise she made to Tara, she should tell Buffy as soon as possible:
‘After all, if you can’t trust your best friend, whom can you trust?’, she thought as she came close to her Viper.

“Specialist!” Willow called out to the technician standing right next to her Viper’s starboard wing taking notes on a clipboard. He didn’t react and so Willow called him once again, a little bit louder this time.
There was no way he hadn’t heard her this time, and when he still did not turn around it became obvious to Willow that he was deliberately ignoring her – an officer!

Willow had never been the person to insist on titles and military protocol, when it came to dealing with crew members or non-enlisted officers like Chief Tyrol; but only as long as the respect was mutual on both sides which was clearly not the case with this particular specialist.

“Specialist!” Willow yelled, remembering all of her command training from way back at war college and putting all of it into her ‘command voice’. And with even some of the other people in the vicinity turning around, there was now no way for this specialist to carry on ignoring her.
Knowing that himself he turned around, but in doing so he displayed a rather bored, if not disrespectful look on his face.
“Yes”, he said, sounding even more bored then he looked.

‘Only yes,’ Willow thought. Not ‘Yes Sir,’ as protocol would’ve required him to say. Ignoring this for the moment, Willow waited until he had come over to her.
“Would you be so nice to explain to me what happened here?” she neutrally asked.

“Happened what?” he returned the question, his voice dripping with hidden disrespect.
Who did this guy think he was, Willow asked herself while trying to remember his name, so she could address him properly.
Warren something she knew, for she remembered Xander telling her about him. A genius when it came to working with machines and computers, but otherwise a total Frack.

“About this!” Willow said impatiently and pointed to the newly replaced name plaque under her Viper’s cockpit, that stated the Viper’s pilot being:
Lt. Willow Rosenberg
“Red-Dyke”
“It’s the same as ever.”
The sheer tone of voice with that he uttered his opinion made Willow’s blood boiled. “No it’s not! cause until yesterday it used to say ‘Red’!”
“You sure about that?”
“Are you telling me, I’m not remembering my own call sign?”
He didn’t answer and Willow took a closer look upon the plaque, and saw that someone, presumably this Warren fellow, had gone through the trouble of fabricating two entirely new and genuine plaque’s and then replaced the old ones. It was unbelievable.
She just wanted to ask him once again; when, on turning her head back she realized that Warren had used the time she’d been observing the plaque to turn his back on her.

“I asked you a question!” Willow bellowed after him, enraged by his undisciplined behaviour.
“Well then I say you have to answer it yourself, Lt. Lezzy”, he replied and started walking away. Now that was a verbal blow Willow had not seen coming and it took her a long moment to realize what she’d heard this little frack calling her.
And even though he’d been walking away from her, he’d been loud and clear not only for her but for almost anybody in the landing bay to hear.

True she was a lesbian or Lezzy as he phrased it, but that didn’t mean that he had the right to insult her like that. Not her as another human being and certainly not as a superior officer!
Willow was just about to shred this ignorant little ‘screw driver’ to pieces, when a sharp and ice-cold voice cut through the impending silence of the hangar bay.

“Hold it right there, Mister Meers!”
This sharp and authority filled voice cut through the silence of the hangar bay, and made all the others in the bay turn their attention back to their respective works and brought Warren Meers to a dead stop. He slowly started to turn around.
He still had this smug smirk on his face, but that soon vanished as he saw the person, who’d addressed him.
As did Willow and upon turning around herself she found an infuriated Specialist Jessica Cally!

It was Specialist Cally all right, in her usual orange jumpsuit, her brunette hair put up into her typically ponytail and her beautiful face as always slightly mucky. Even before Willow had come out to herself she had found Cally a beautiful woman – in a cute kind of way.

This however was not the skilled, soft spoken specialist Willow knew, for the woman that stood right in front of her was tense like an electric current was surging through her body and her usually warm dark blue eyes were as cold as ice, ready to freeze hell itself.
Warren Meers however, Willow could see, wasn’t completely intimidated just yet, a mere hint of a selfish grin was still visible on his face as he responded: “Yes.”
“Yes what?” Cally asked sharply and Willow felt completely startled by the sheer un-Cally like force of authority in her voice, as was Warren.
“Yes Sir”, he answered his voice more neutral this time.
Willow’s mind paused for a moment.
Yes sir?

There were no ranks among the specialists down here.
Only Chief Galen Tyrol held the rank of chief petty officer and his deputy, or second-in-command, was a petty officer second class.
But then neither Tyrol nor his deputy Prosna were around…
`Prosna’s dead`, Willow thought and remembered he was alongside Xander and the others killed in the fire aboard Galactica. Xander would’ve been next in line to succeed Prosna.
And with both of them gone Tyrol had to choose a new deputy.

Willow's eyes darted to the collar of Cally’s jumpsuit and there she spotted the obviously, because still shiny, and newly replaced rank insignias of petty officer 2nd class.
So Jessica Cally was now a non-enlisted officer and thus the superior off this little frack named Warren Meers.

“So what’s the matter here?” The petty officer demanded to know, directing her question to Meers, while at the same time wordlessly indicating to Willow, that with her permission, she would handle the matter.
Willow nodded her approval, and turned around as Cally walked passed her and repeated her question, even more commandingly this time: “I asked you what’s the matter here Mr Meers!” “She wanted me to explain the changed name plaque upon her Viper.”

Her not Lt. Rosenberg, Willow noticed and her blood began to boil again, but she restrained herself from interfering right now, not wanting to undermine Cally’s position of authority in front of Meers.
“And did you?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Since it’s the explanation in itself.”
“Because she’s a Dyke?” Cally asked, her voice so completely neutral, that it made Willow wonder about which side she was actually on.

“Yes, because she’s a Dyke”, the specialist answered, his voice so oily it made Willow sick. He obviously believed he had the situation under control.
“And I suppose that’s why you called her Lt. Lezzy as well?”
“Yes.”
“And you have a problem with dyke’s or lezzy’s?”
Willow’s eyes keep switching between Cally and Meers, the later one now having regained his self-rightness again as he sarcastically answered: “Yes I have, because this is a Battlestar and not a fracking gay bar! And they shouldn’t be aloud around here!”

In that moment something deep within Willow wanted to pull her sidearm and shoot this son of a bitch right into his ugly head, while another – the more reasonable part of herself – asked: ‘Why do they hate us so much?’
And at the same time in her mind she began to see were Cally was leading him, or so she thought.

“So it seams to me Mister Meers”, Jessica Cally said, her voice getting dangerously calm, “that you have a problem with me too, right?”
Confused Warren blinked, “Not with you sir, just with this dammed dirty dyke over there.” He pointed at Willow, obviously not realizing that he was just putting himself straight in line for an immediate court-martial for offending a superior officer.
“Because she’s a dyke”, Cally repeated calmly.
“Yes sir.”
‘Now you tell him’, Willow thought grimly. ‘Tell him how much he’s out of line here.’

Telling him she did, not just exactly what Willow had thought petty officer 2nd class Jessica Cally would tell him.
“Well guess what Meers”, she whispered serenely, “I’m a dyke too.”
Warrens jaw dropped to his breast and Willow’s mouth too stood wide open. But she soon closed it again, as she noticed how Jessica, unlike Warren, had spoken the word Dyke with pride and dignity.

Warren however hadn’t recovered from this disclosure and was still staring disbelievingly at the out and proud petty officer. “I tell you what Meers”, she told him calmly and more loudly again, “I will not report this to the Chief and you know that if I did, he would hang your sorry ass out to dry in space; but only if you apologize to the Lieutenant right here and right now. And then I will think of an appropriate penalty for you too.”
She turned around to Willow, “only, of course, if the Lieutenant concurs that is.”

Willow thought of it for a while and then nodded. “What ever you think appropriate will be fine with me, petty officer”, she said. She was quiet sure that, what ever sort of penalty she could think of right now, was nothing compared to what Cally probably already had in mind for him.

Warren Meers took the hint and stepping in front of Willow he stood to attention and formerly said: “Lt. Rosenberg I apologize for my inappropriate behaviour to you earlier and I assure you I will not call you names again.”
“I take your apology to notice Mr. Meers and if you keep to your word, I won’t take this to the Chief either”, Willow said then handed the matter back to Cally.
“I will take it from here Specialist”, Cally informed Meers, “Dismissed!”
Meers saluted briskly, turned around and walked away, while Willow asked herself, ‘did I make an enemy today?’

Stepping to Willow’s side, Cally seamed to pick up on Willow’s thoughts, “I wouldn’t worry to much about Meers, Sir”, she said in a sisterly warm voice, “I know guys like him. They always tend to react insecurely when confronted with people like us, and rather then dealing with us they prefer to insult us all together. However I assure you I can handle Mr. Meers and he will not trouble you again.”

Willow was quiet amazed how easily Jessica Cally spoke about ‘them’ and ‘us’, after all herself she was still getting use to thinking of herself as a lesbian or being gay.
Of course she had no problem being gay, just the merely, from outside opposed need to labelling herself as being gay, was beyond her.
After all no one expected heterosexuals to go out telling people: “Hi, I’m hetero!”

“If I may say so Sir”, Cally broke Willow’s train of thought, “you’re very lucky to be with someone like Dr. Maclay.”
“You know?”, Willow asked, wondering that of all people Cally should know who her girlfriend was, “since when?”
“Way back when you took Dr. Maclay for a ride with our Mark V”, Cally answered, referring to Willow and Tara’s first trip with Galactica’s training Viper. “I could clearly see”, she went on, “how much in love the two of you were.”

“May ask you something Jessica?” Willow asked, choosing to call Cally by her given name to make clear that this was to be a private conversation.
“Sure Sir.”
“Please Willow, at least as long as we among us.”
“Sure Willow”, Cally said with a smile.
“How long have you been out?”
“Since age fifteen I think”, Cally answered openly if not proudly. “At home everybody knew, whereas here only Xander and Prosna knew. Not that I deliberately stayed in the closed though, the others just never exactly asked me.”
She paused for a moment to remember her fallen comrades.
“Oh and of course the chief knows too”, she added with a grin, “but that’s only after the last shortleaf when he and me, accidentally hit on the same girl.”
“Really?” Willow asked unbelievingly , “who won?”
“Who’d you think?” Cally answered and suggestively wiggled her eyebrows.

“So you have a girlfriend?” Willow asked carefully, since there was a good chance that she might have lost her back on the colonies.
“Not now”, Cally said, “my last girlfriend and split like a year ago, just a month after I got transferred to the Galactica. It was kinda hard anyway keeping a relationship while with the service and galloping around the solar system. But then,” Cally added thoughtfully, “now everything has changed anyway hasn’t it?”
Cally took up Meers’s clipboard and started going through the pre start checklist while she continued talking to Willow. “But that doesn’t mean that I have to give up on my hope of ever finding my special someone. After all you, me and the doctor can’t be the only dykes in the fleet now can we? What?”

Willow had started looking rather questioning at the young petty officer, “Nothing Jessica. It’s just, you speak a name like Dyke with so much pride and confidence, it’s amazing”, Willow said in honest admiration.
“Well, it’s what I am”, Cally answered with open pride and added with a sisterly voice, “As are you and Tara, granted in the ‘dark days’ dyke was used to offend us. But in the meantime we have claimed these names back and so you too should be taking pride in being a Dyke.”

Willow thought about Jessica Cally’s words, she certainly hadn’t looked upon the matter like this and the petty officer slash dyke really had a point.
“I’m sure”, Cally said, sounding more official now, “I know where Meers might have hidden your original plaques, shall I go and fetch them Sir?”
“No that won’t be necessary”, Lt. Rosenberg said, “its a good and proud call sign indeed.”
“I already thought so Sir”, Cally replied and smiled, before she went on to complete the pre start check up for Willow’s Viper, while Willow went to change her call sign within the pilots manifest.

Following a short briefing with her fellow patrol pilots, ‘Red-Dyke’, ‘Rogue’ and ‘Night-stalker’ started to a luckily eventless patrol around the fleet.

“See you later in the officer’s mess”, ‘Red-Dyke’ called after the other two pilots. “But first I have to finish today’s paperwork.” And in her mind she added, ‘and pay a short visit to an particular nice cat.’
‘Red-Dyke’ then handed the clipboard, with the first part of the mentioned paperwork back to Cally, and after she thanked the petty officer once more for her help and the meaningful conversation earlier, then she turned around to make her way to the briefing room.

Willow was just about to leave the hangar bay, when she spotted Buffy walking towards her own Viper – today the first two of her ‘Potential’s’ would be making their premiere solo flights.
“Good hunting ‘Slayer’”, ‘Red-Dyke’ called over towards her best friend and was just about to say something else, when she caught the look upon her former wingman’s face, that made her stop dead in her tracks.
It was a look that made Willow’s heart freeze and told her that Buffy already knew, knew the secret she’d been keeping from her ever since Ragnar.

There didn’t seam to be any particular sign that Buffy was freaked about Willow’s newly disclosed homosexuality.
But even if there had been it wouldn’t have been as heart wrenching as the look of disappointment… of utter disappointment that made Willow fear for their friendship – a friendship that had connected them throughout all those many years, as well as the very darkness of the past month.

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

I am glad Willow came out to Buffy and how she took it is still up in the air because what we see on the outside is not always what we see on the inside. I love the update and I love your writing style as always.

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

Woo
Another update. Excelent as always and
YAY Cally is gay I was so hoping she would be.
I can't wait for the next part

Hi and thank you to everyone who up until now commented so nicely about my work. It really feels good to see that some many people read and like my writing.



Well Willow did not exactly come out to Buffy – she was outed by Warren and the new plaque he made.
The two friends will certainly have to have a talk about it.



Well, I certainly thought so the first time I saw her in the mini series.
[The license plate on her car certainly read 2Q 2B Str8 !]
And that’s why I’m certainly going to ignore the developments in her character that we had to see during the final episodes of Galactica season 2!

That’s all for today. Hope you find the following chapters to your liking.

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

Politics. As exiting as war. Definitely as dangerous.
Though in war you only lose your life once. In politics it can happen over and over.

The world is over, the fight is just beginning.



Doctor Tara Maclay, Secretary of Education looked bored out of the window of Colonial One, trying to spot the Galactica flying several miles behind them and asking herself with every Viper flying by, if it might have her girlfriend with it.
How much she yearned for laying in Willow’s soft arms right now, instead of sitting through yet another boring meeting.

Ever since she’d arrived from the Galactica two days ago, she'd spent endless hours in meetings with President Rosin; her political spin doctor Wallace Gray, Billy Keikeya and countless representatives from various colonial groups around the fleet.
They’d spent less then three hours on matters actually concerning the Secretary of Education. For most of the time they talked about subjects, that in no way needed Tara’s presence at all. Making her wonder why she’d been ordered in so early, when she could’ve stayed another day aboard Galactica, and gotten some real work done.
Nevertheless she was here and so for most of the time Tara kept sitting quietly by herself working at her laptop, or daydreaming of Willow; and trying not to continue pondering about whether or not they had been seen kissing in the hallway.

Of course that didn’t exactly work out and so eventually her thoughts did return to that very moment, though the bigger part of herself – the out and proud one – refused to be worried at all.
Someone might have seen two grown woman kissing.
So what?

After all it wasn’t like she was ashamed for loving Willow or for being gay, now was she?
Of course she was not.
Even as a still closeted lesbian back on Gemenon, there had never been a time that she’d been ashamed because she was gay, so why should she start now?

So she thought, but at the same time, some other part of her actually started pondering about what coming out again would mean for the upcoming Colonial Day. Especially with the more conservative fractions among the Twelve Colonies.
Gemenon as it was, already caused much trouble, by demanding an ever bigger share in food supplies and fuel quota. So this group within the fleet already posed a considerable threat to Laura’s authority as President of the Colonies.

‘Tara Maclay, since when are you thinking like an politician, rather then as a human being!’ Tara scolded herself harshly.
Granted, being on the run from the Cylons, they more then ever needed the governmental system to maintain order and their civilization.
But shouldn’t love always be more important than mere political considerations?
Well if this wasn’t a truly philosophical question.
‘But what ever you do’, Tara advised herself, ‘better not ask a full blooded politician like Laura Roslin for advice. Better dream of Willow instead.’
And so Tara closed her eyes for a bit, to remember the last night that she spent together with Willow. A night though in which they didn’t get much sleep.

“Madam President, excuse me”, Billy Keikeya interrupted the meeting between Laura and Wallace Gray, “you’re going to want to hear this.” He keyed on the speaker upon Laura’s desk and stepping back he turned to Tara and said quietly, “Oh and Tara – you’re snoring.”

Snoring?! That couldn’t be true, after all she only closed her eyes for – Tara glanced upon her watch and her eyes went wide – half an hour?
Unbelievingly Tara shook her head and then turned her attention to the speaker and the fleet wide news service reporting: “…Saggitaron have chosen their delegate for the Quorum Twelve, who would’ve guessed it? Tom Zarek.”

That of course was news meant to provoke some pretty diverse reactions throughout the entire fleet, but especially here aboard Colonial One.
Ever since he’d led a prisoner revolt about the prison ship Astral Queen, Tom Zarek had become an enormous political factor again.
Not bad for a man who had spent twenty years locked away in a prison for blowing up a government building on Saggitaron. Not that Tara agreed with his methods at all, she had to admit that some of his political theories and goals had been intriguing and provocative, that was until he resorted to violence to enforce them.
As for the political thesis Tom Zarek was promoting nowadays, even though some made sense, others were quite too radical for Tara.
Tara also had trouble imagining that Tom Zarek; coming from Saggitaron, a colonial planet almost as conservative as Gemenon; would take much liking into her way of living – and loving.

In the mean time Laura was conferencing with Commander Adama on the phone, who of course didn’t warm to the idea of an convicted terrorist attending the quorum at all, and thus offered to ban Tom Zarek from travelling within the fleet, because in his opinion he represented a threat to the entire fleet.
That started a heated discussion between Laura Roslin, Wallace Gray, Commander Adama and even Billy Keikeya.
But as so often before, the others simply seemed to forget that Tara was still in the room and so nobody bothered to ask Tara for her opinion. And when she tried to voice her thoughts anyway, she got dismissed right away.

All in all it made Tara once again wonder why she hadn’t quit this job all together. She could be working as a teacher aboard the Galactica instead, so why was she still here?
The answer of course always came down to the same thing: her sense of duty.
Tara hadn’t taken on the position as Secretary of Education (Sec Ed for short) for the sake of later prestige of having restored the educational system.
No, the one and only reason she had taken on the task was, because it had to be done and she had been and still was the most qualified person to do it.

Everything the Colonies once had been was gone, destroyed by the Cylons or left behind. And now more then ever they needed to build a foundation for the survival of their civilization, by preserving the past, as well as by preparing for the future. For Tara that meant more than to simply teach children how to read, to write and so on.
For example, throughout the fleet there were less then eighty physicians – two of them aboard the Galactica, and all in all only ten dentists.
And so as her next project, Tara wanted to bring the medical students they had within the fleets population to the attending physicians, so they could learn the practical side of their profession, and thus might one day be qualified to further secure the medical care within the fleet.
Now that was a goal worth taking up with all the fracking politics that came with the job.

In the mean time a young woman entered the room, a communication technician from the Galactica, now stationed aboard Colonial One, Tara knew and tried to remember her name.
‘Specialist Jordan’ she thought, ‘no that would be her given name. Merklinger! That’s it, Specialist Jordan Merklinger.’
Quite pleased with herself, Tara watched the specialist hand Billy a sheet of paper, then leave the room again.

After having scanned over it briefly, Billy handed the message to the president. He did so while casting an odd look at Tara, making her wonder what this message was all about.
‘Probably has something to do with the Secretary of Education’, she thought and considered that maybe the people of the passenger liner White Star had come up with a way to cause some additional trouble about Delenn Sheridan after all.
Concerning the Sec Ed the message was, but about the White Star or Delenn? Far from it.
Tara found that out the moment Laura Roslin had finished reading.
“Well isn’t that great”, President Roslin muttered under her breath, and with a louder voice asked everybody except Billy and Tara to leave the room.

After Billy had closed the door, Laura Roslin turned around and waving the sheet of paper in her hand angrily in front of Tara's face she said: “this will be all over the fleet within the next hours.” Obviously the President was quite furious over whatever was in this news bulletin.
“So what’s the matter ?” Tara asked bewildered.
“What’s the matter?” Laura literally exploded. “You ask me what’s the matter!”
In all the years that she‘d worked with the then Secretary of Education, Tara had never seen her this angry. And since she now even more wanted to know what was making Laura so furious, Tara grasped the piece of paper, the president was still waving in front of her face.
But Laura Roslin snatched it right back again and handed it to Billy. “Here, you read it”, she said and took a step behind, looking out of the window – not at Tara, while Billy started to read the bulletin.

“According to a well informed source; a high-ranking person within Laura Rosin’s illegitimate regime, is currently involved in a homosexual affair with a member of Galactica’s military personnel.
Though at this point we can neither name the cabinet member, nor the military personnel, we do know that both persons involved in this matter are of the female sex. We hope to get further information…”

‘So someone really did see Willow and me kissing’, Tara thought and another voice inside her head said, ‘probably it’s better this way, cause now the hiding is over.’
‘Maybe it is,’ Tara answered herself. But that was as far as she got, for in that moment Laura furiously ripped the paper from Billy’s hands, almost tearing it apart in the process.

“Do you know what this means?” she asked Tara brusquely and accusingly pointed at her with the paper.
“That you have a gay person working for you?” Tara returned the question helpfully.
“Don’t you get funny with me Lady!” the President yelled. “This is serious. They know exactly that it is you. First of all, I don’t have that many women working in my administration”, she paused dramatically for the moment. “And secondly you are the only high-ranking woman I’ve employed. Besides, if it were just on of the secretaries they certainly wouldn’t even bother spreading that rumour in the first place!”
She paused again and taking off her glasses, started rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“This is a catastrophe”, she eventually went on. “First Tom Zarek and now my Sec Ed is not only close to being denounced, but she’s also having an affair with someone within Galactica’s military personnel.”
“Affair?” Tara said agitated, “who’s having an affair? I’m not! I’m in a devoted relationship with the woman I love, and we…”
“That’s not the point!” Laura viciously cut her off. “In case you haven’t noticed, this administration is under considerable pressure. Even before Tom Zarek and his little prison revolt, people have been questioning the legitimacy of my presidency.”
“So?” Tara asked defiantly, not just now did she see where this discussion – if you wanted to call it that – was heading.
But she refused to give the enraged president any avoidable help.

“Can you imagine what Tom Zarek will make of this, when word comes out that I appointed a… appointed you Secretary of Education?” Laura asked.
‘Nicely saved’, Tara thought sarcastically, ‘you were just about to call the matter by name.’
She remained silent though, since it was obviously that this was more of an rhetorical question and Laura was far from over and indeed without waiting for an answer she went on.

“Now that Tom Zarek is representing Saggitaron he’s become even more dangerous. Not to mention other planets that are as conservative as Saggitaron. Gemenon for one, they’ve been acting up for sometime already with their ever increasing demands and… Well great”, Laura stopped, suddenly remembering something else.
“And there’s of course this ship full of people from Gemenon, whom, you had to bully into getting this precious teacher of yours!”

“Now wait minute!” Tara cried out, clearly she had allowed this to go much too long already, but she certainly wasn’t about to let Laura Roslin trash her work too.
“Who’s this playmate of yours anyway?” the president asked rather crossly. Ignoring what Tara had said completely. “Perhaps this communication gal – this Merklinger?”
“Not my type”, Tara replied sarcastically. “And I won’t tell you who she is anyway. Lest you should attack her too, like you attacking me!”
“I am not attacking anyone! I’m just trying to… – what?” she snapped at Billy who, in the meantime, had answered a phone call.
“Excuse me Madam President”, Billy said, “but your transport to Cloud Nine is ready to depart.”

Laura Roslin took a deep breath before she spoke to Tara again. “Okay”, she said. “We will talk about this later. I will discuss it with Wally. See if we can manage some sort of damage control, before things come out.”
She took the suitcase Billy was handing her and started to make her way to the door, when she casually added: “In the meantime I would advise you to keep your hormones under control – you Lezzy.”
With that last verbal punch President Roslin hit home hard and a single tear ran down Tara’s cheek. Luckily the president didn’t see it as she stormed out of the room.
Billy however had seen it and not agreeing with his boss attacking Tara for her sexual orientation, he stood there clearly torn in his divided loyalties between his boss and his colleague and friend.

“It is okay”, Tara lied and they both knew it, “I’ll manage, Laura is waiting for you anyway. See you tomorrow.”
Thus excused, Billy said his goodbyes and hurried after his enraged boss.
Finally alone, Tara no longer resisted and the tears ran freely down her face, ‘til she was all weeping in misery and disappointment. She couldn’t believe what just had happened.
That of all people, Laura Roslin, with whom she’d worked for so many years should be the one to turn against her and above all call her names, hurt beyond belief.

It hurt her as much as it had hurt when her father had rejected her for being gay; or Rene’s unfaithfulness, or when Faith…
Actually it hurt even more. Because Laura hadn’t just suddenly turned from understanding to homophobic, no. Her bad reaction had strictly been prompted by political circumstances.
Obviously Tara’s premature coming out (again) was simply one big inconvenience, that Laura considered a danger to her presidency.

All those years that Tara had watched Laura work with Adar. She’d been so quiet, polite and dignified. And never seamed to fit in with the bare-knuckled, backstabbing politicians.
“Guess I was wrong”, Tara whispered to herself as she fetched a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. “But let’s not lose faith in her just now”, Tara advised herself. Maybe when she calmed down, Laura would see that Tara's outing wasn’t the end of the world.
Tomorrow Tara would be travelling from Colonial One to the White Star to get Delenn Sheridan and from there they would go to the Cloud Nine. And then she would know if the President really had calmed down.

“Dr Tara Maclay, Secretary of Education, pleasure to meet you”, Tara said for what felt the thousandth time, as she greeted yet another of the delegates to the Quorum of the Twelve. Standing under the open simulated sky in front of the Congress Centre where the quorum was to be held, Tara knew she ought to feel good about having the bogus sun shine upon her, but instead she felt as miserable as ever.
She’d been aboard the Cloud Nine, for half a day now, but despite Tara’s hopes, Laura Roslin had neither calmed down, nor was she even willing to talk more then absolutely necessary with her secretary of education.

As a matter of fact, following one very short briefing about today’s agenda, Laura had gone to considerable trouble of not being seen with Tara at all – without making it look like she was avoiding her on purpose, of course.
Tara now stood some places down the line from the president, greeting the arriving delegates. ‘Politics’ all over again’, Tara thought bitterly, as she greeted the next delegate that came down the long line, that began with Col. Tigh representing the Galactica.

Suddenly there was some commotion further up the line and Tara could see strait away who was causing it – Tom Zarek the representative for Saggitaron.
Some people like Col. Tigh ignored the hand Zarek offered for greeting. The President, Tara could see, not only shook his hand, but kissed him on the cheeks in greeting too.
Not having made up her mind whether or not to except Zarek’s hand, Tara found herself caught off guard as he suddenly stood in front of her.
“Secretary of Education”, she began mixing up what she’d said for the past half hour.
“Dr. Tara Maclay”, Tom Zarek completed her greeting. “Pleasure to meet you at last. I’ve heard so much about you”, he added with a charismatic smile.

Tara’s own smile froze. Would Laura be right, would he now try to make a scene? Try to win some political advantage over the President, by publicly attacking the Sec Ed?
“You have?” she asked, keeping her voice level.
“Of course”, Zarek said friendly, “I followed your fight with the board of governors of your university as closely as I could.”
Tara found herself quiet startled. She would never have thought that anyone would remember her from that time, least of all a man like Tom Zarek.
“So you don’t object to me as the Secretary of Education?” Tara asked openly, knowing very well that she might be pushing the envelope to far.
“Of course not”, Zarek answered dismissively, “from what I remember you already did an excellent job, as staff member in the ministry of education. And from what I can see now, you’re doing a rather outstanding job in creating an working educational system from scrap. So why should I have anything against you?”
To be honest, after all he said, Tara could not think of anything to respond to this.

“Besides”, Tom Zarek went on, and lowered his voice. “I think that humanity has more important issues to deal with, then to worry about the sexual orientation of any particular secretary, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I suppose so”, Tara said thoughtfully.
“I better move on, lest I should be holding up the line too long”, Tom Zarek said and with one finale squeeze let go of Tara’s hand.

‘Well that was unexpected. Who would’ve thought that Tom Zarek would be rendering the sexual orientation of the Sec Ed as non important’, Tara thought while she greeted the next delegate and ignored Laura’s questioning look form above the line.
Better to remain cautious though, she knew. Even though probably sincere on his opinion, Tom Zarek could still be tempted to use his knowledge against her, and the president.
Still Tara knew, that if this was all that would come out of the spreading rumours, she could call herself lucky. Plus there ought to be more important issues for the press to cover, she hoped.

In the following Quorum it then really became apparent that the press indeed would have more important things to report about.
Especially since, right at the beginning of the Quorum, Tom Zarek made good on his promise that there would be far more important issues, when he moved to put on the agenda the election of a Vice-President!
With Tom Zarek promptly being nominated, and Laura nominating her dear friend and political adviser Wallace Gray hours later, the various campaigns got right under way.
And Tara was quite sure that the press would no longer be interested in investigating the sexual orientation of the “high-ranking cabinet member”.

Or at least Tara believed it ‘til the first press conference of the Quorum, when Laura and her cabinet answered the questions of the gathered press.
For the first hour things went well. Most of the questions were directed to Laura and her candidate for vice presidency Wallace Gray, and of course mostly concerned his campaign.
The few questions Tara was asked, actually concerned her work, and thus really gave her the opportunity to talk about what she had accomplished so far and she even managed to outline her plans for the future.
However the press conference was just about to come to a close, when somewhat unexpectedly, one of the more Roslin critical reporters from Saggitaron popped “the question”.
“Secretary Maclay, what do you say to the rumours concerning a homosexual affair between a member of the Roslin administration and a member of Galactica’s military personnel?”

From the very way the question was presented, Tara could see that he had no doubt about asking one of the persons involved in that ‘affair’. She also was sure, that at least for now, it still hadn’t been figured out who the military was. Otherwise he surely would have spoken of an officer or right away a Viper pilot.
Even though Tara was immediately agitated by the way this guy had managed to make the ‘homosexual affair’ (That word again!) sound like the most disgusting thing possible, she had been ready the answer this, with a well prepared statement.
But before she could even say a word, Laura cut her of by announcing: “This administration will not comment on rumours of any kind.”

Having been prepared to handle such inquires herself, Tara found herself annoyed by the President cutting her off.
Apparently with no success, since another reporter, formerly of some cheesy tabloid back on Gemenon Tara remembered, repeated the question once again, getting more clear on what he meant and wanted to know:
“Secretary Maclay, do you think a gay person is qualified for any position within the colonial government?”

Again Tara wanted to answer him accordingly, without confirming or denying the rumours, but again Laura cut her off.
“Ladies and Gentlemen”, she said, “I think we are getting off topic here. Time is of the essence and I think we should concentrate on the more important subjects.”

Feeling completely embarrassed by the President’s behaviour; but not wanting to create a huge scene, Tara decided for the small one. “Would you please excuse me”, she said and left the podium right away.

“Thank you Lt. de Monti, I will be down in the hangar bay at fifteen hundred hours”, Tara replaced the receiver of the phone. She had just arranged for an early return to the Galactica, though she still would have to spend the rest of the day aboard this luxury liner.
Besides, as far as the Sec Ed was concerned the Quorum was over anyway. Except for more of the usually boring administration points of the agenda, all that was left was the election of the Vice President in two days and the closing banquet on the following evening.
And since Tara was neither in the mood for hanging around another day with Laura Roslin, nor for dancing – not without Willow anyway, she’d called the Galactica and soon one of their Raptors would be on the way to pick her up.

“Would you mind telling me, what the hell this exit of yours was supposed to be?” The very angry voice of Laura Roslin demanded to know, as the President stood in the door of the little office at the Congress Centre, that Tara had been using during her stay at Cloud Nine.
Without turning around Tara continued packing some documents into her suitcase. “It became absolutely clear to me”, she answered, “that I was neither needed nor wanted anymore and that’s why I left. I think you will be glad to know that I’ll be leaving for the Galactica before the end of the day. And I will be staying at my quarters until the Raptor arrives, so you no longer need to worry about me getting into contact with any other member of the press.”

“Don’t you get smart with me!” Laura now literally exploded, as she slammed the door behind her shut. “You…” Again she stopped herself in time, or so she thought
“I think the word you are searching for”, Tara said, hurrying around facing her boss, “is Dyke. Although the name you ought to be looking for is Doctor Maclay!” She took a step closer, “You know I worked hard to earn this title. And unlike with some other people, my Doctor title is not an honorary one. Furthermore I have done a good job and you owe me some goddamned respect! And by shutting me up like a child in front of the press, you showed no respect at all.”

“You were just about to confirm your affair with that woman to the press”, Laura insisted. “In case you’ve forgotten, we’re in the middle of an election campaign and Tom Zarek is winning ground as we speak.”
Tara took another step forward and fixated on her boss with her eyes as she slowly explained it one more time: “it’s not an affair it’s a relationship. And she’s not ‘that woman’, she’s my girlfriend. And even if I were to come out – again, it would be my and only my decision. Cause if your government is truly based upon the article of colonization, as you claim, then you know that it’s illegal to discriminate against me for being gay. And by trying to force me to stay closeted you’re doing just that.”

“I don’t want to keep you in the closet”, Laura insisted, “it’s just, now would be an inconvenient time for you to come out, don’t you see?”
A short and bitter laugh escaped Tara lips, Laura just wasn’t getting it she could see. “Inconvenient time? Do you really want me to believe that there would ever be a convenient time?”
“Yes!” Laura answered almost sounding it. “after we defeated Tom Zarek.”
“Or maybe once you’ve been re-elected in six month’s time?” Tara offered helpfully.

“It’s not just about my election”, Laura said, “I’m also afraid that the press might turn against you if you came out right now.”
“Of course”, Tara said not even trying to hide her disappointment, that her boss would now try to present herself as a protector of the poor lesbian. “You know I’m quite sure that they wouldn’t all turn against me. Certainly not Cordelia Chase from ‘Caprica Today’.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because I know for a fact that she’s gay herself! She used to work as an editor for ‘Cure’ the bestselling lesbian magazine on Caprica. I think I even dated her once. Or was it for an interview” Tara added jokingly.

Laura Roslin however was not amused. She slowly shook her head and said, “I don’t believe this is working. I’m afraid Dr. Maclay, I will have to ask you for your resignation as Secretary of Education, as well as my liaison to the Galactica.”

Tara swallowed hard upon the president making this unexpected suggestion. No, not entirely unexpected. Deep down Tara had to admit that she knew Laura Roslin could been tempted to simply avoid the problem by making her step down.
However, if Laura Roslin actually believed that Tara would simply lay down and obey, especially after all she’d been through back on Gemenon, then she didn’t really know her Sec Ed at all.
“Hold it right there Madam President”, Tara said in her no-nonsense voice, “you know it takes two to tango, and if you really believe that I’m going to commit political suicide on your behalf then you are greatly mistaken.”
“Now what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means Madam President”, Tara went on, her voice as cold as ice, “that you can have the ‘Liaison to Galactica’. You hardly ever needed me in this capacity – not since you made Captain Adama your military adviser anyway.”
She made her voice even sharper as she cut to the chase. “But if you think, that I’m going to hand you my resignation on a silver tablet, then you are a fool! I have done exemplary work rebuilding a working school system out of nothing. Not to mention that it was I who had all these teaching material transferred to the Galactica well in advance; thus laying the foundation for what we now can work with.”

Tara paused for a moment giving her words time to sink in, before she continued: “This is what I’m going to do. I will not resign my position, but will return to the Galactica and continue with my work. And if you want me out of my job, then I’m afraid you will have to fire me. And we both know that you will not do that.”
“Shall I not?” Laura asked calmly, though quietly surprised by Tara’s unexpectedly and forcefully displayed strength.

“Because you know”, Tara coolly explained, “that in the moment you fire me, I will be giving a press conference myself and tell them, in detail about your true motives. And this truce would be more damaging to your position then a hundred Tom Zarek’s.
“But if you let me go on doing the job you hired me for, I will be doing just that. Since I’m doing most of my work from aboard the Galactica, I will not meet with any reporters there for at least another two weeks. Also, once these elections are over, I’m sure the interest in my sexual orientation will be subsiding as well. So either way, I’m sure you can see that firing me will be creating more problems for you that it seemingly would solve.”

“Are you threatening me?” Laura Roslin asked.
“I don’t have to”; Tara answered, closed her suitcase and started to walk toward the office doors, where the president’s bodyguards were standing guard.
But just before she reached the door, Tara turned around once again and said: “Anyway, just that we understand each other. If anybody should ask me, be it press or anybody else, I will not lie about my gay type lesbian relationship.”

With that Tara Maclay left the room and a rather baffled President Laura Roslin.
However on her way to her quarters, Tara did ask herself if she might have overplayed her hand.

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

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH I dont like that woman and Tara should really worry I know I am .

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

Hey, Bernd!

I love what you've done with this story so far. And I'd like to commend you for your english. You're doing better and better.
Take care, my friend. And I hope to read more soon.

K.

_________________
Old Fire
Palme d'Or

Hey Dax

Now I am hooked... thanks. lol

I love the political aspect here.

Now I am waiting to see how Sec Ed Sorceress and Red Dyke will deal...

Talk to you soon.

Julia

_________________
Broken Dolls |The Stadium's Goddesses | Seeds Of Beauty

"Joie est mon caractère, C'est la faute à Voltaire; Misère est mon trousseau, C'est la faute à Rousseau." Gavroche. Victor Hugo, Les Misérables (chap. XV)

Authors note:
Unlike with the previous chapters, this time both the title and the pre chapter quote come courtesy of the Babylon 5 episode of the same name, written by J. Michael Strazynski and edited by David W. Foster. Copyright 1996 Warner Bros. PAY TV.




“Do you heard of the hour of the wolf? […] It’s the time between three and four in the morning, you can’t sleep. And all you can see are the troubles and the problems, and all the ways your life should have gone but didn’t. And all you can hear is the sound of your own heart.
I’ve been living in the hour of the wolf for seven days now.”
‘Commander Susan Ivanova – Babylon 5’



Three hundred fifteen hours ships time, or 3:15 am Caprica Central Time:
And with the third night in the row with less to no sleep – of living in the hour of the wolf, as her father had called it – Willow felt like completely wasted, worn-out and tired.
But not only felt she physically tired, but even more so emotionally the past three days were beginning to take it’s toll.
What had began shortly after Tara had left, became worse after Warren Meers had felt obligated to replace her Viper’s name plaque with new ones.
Following her talk with fellow lesbian Jessica Cally, Willow had taken the name he had chosen to insult her, as her new call sign – a out and proud display of who she was.

The reactions that came from her spontaneous outing slash coming out, were mixed at best. Some of her comrades, mostly her fellow pilots excepted and supported her in her new way of life, with a friendly word, or a slap on her back.
With Eliza ‘Rogue’ Jones, it was a sort of welcoming “Five by Five ‘Red-Dyke’!“ followed by a bone cracking slap upon Willow’s poor back.
At the hangar bay things were quite neutral, since none of the technicians wanted to get on the bad side of petty officer second class Jessica Cally.
And most of the other people Willow encountered didn’t seem to care one way or the other.

There were also those reactions from the other side of the spectrum. Walking the hallways or sitting in the mess hall, Willow could feel the prolonged judgmental stares; Willow could feel the judgements; she felt the lingering stares, heard the whispers ‘lesbo’, ‘dyke,’ ‘lezzy’, ‘queer’, and a number of other names she didn’t know were associated with being a lesbian, like tom and Kesser Vater?
What hurt more then them calling her names, was that most of those people didn’t know Willow at all, yet still considered themselves justified passing judgment over her and whom she was loving.

And then there were those people that Willow thought she knew who disappointed her even more. Like ‘Mouse’, who on seeing her come down the hallway, turned around and hurried her teenage daughter into the opposite direction.
Like she needed to protect her from the influence of the “bad lesbian”. Of course later in the pre-flight briefing she kept on pretending like all of this had never happened.

But in the end, nothing of this was the reason for her sleepless nights, she had known before that sadly there was a price to pay for coming out in these times.
Now that she’d made the step out, she knew there was no turning back, and she certainly didn’t want to either. She was in love with the most wonderful woman and nothing in the worlds could ever make her feel ashamed for her feelings.

What kept her awake, had kept her living in the hour of the wolf for the past three days, was her best friend Buffy Summers, and the look of utter disappointment in her eyes, when Willow had seen her after returning from her first patrol as ‘Red-Dyke’.
To tell the truth, she no longer wasn’t entirely sure what it was she’d seen in Buffy’s eyes, disappointment, disapproval or even disgust; she couldn’t tell.
Until to today, all of Willow’s attempts to talk to Buffy had been in vain.
They had been seeing little of each other already after Buffy had started training the ‘Potentials’, but now it was like they hardly met at all.
The only time they eventually had met, Buffy had made up some flimsy excuse and walked out on her.
Her best friend either didn’t want to talk about ‘it’, or worse, might even no longer want to talk with her at all.

It was this thought that troubled Willow the most. Ever since they’d first met at high school, an eternity ago, they’d been talking about everything, they had trusted each other with everything. But now the trust between them was broken and if she was to be honest with herself, Willow had to admit that it had been her who broke it in the first place.
She should have told Buffy about Tara and herself from the start, from when she knew it to be serious between herself and the gentle blond woman. But instead she had made the promise, she’d made an excuse to not tell Buffy at all.
To blame it all on the promise she made, Willow knew wasn’t right.
It was like she was blaming Tara for all that had happened.
Instead of just making that promise, she should have convinced Tara that Buffy could’ve been trusted – that she should not make Willow promise to let her best friend completely out of the loop.

No, Tara was not to blame. Besides, the Secretary of Education had problems of her own now, with all the rumours of the homosexual affair of the high-ranking governmental executive making the rounds.
At least Willow knew Tara to have the support of the President. She still didn’t know what her superiors would make of all of this. Eventually people would figure out she was the ‘military’ person of those news.
Willow opened her eyes and looked at her watch – 4 o’clock!
She no longer believed that she should get any sleep tonight, which meant that in order to function later today, she should drink some extra strong coffee at breakfast.
She didn’t exactly like what the mess people claimed to be coffee.

Switching on the light over her bunk Willow looked up to the pictures pinned to the sealing. Pictures of her loved ones; pictures of home.
Her parents, her granny; a picture of herself Xander and Buffy during their first year together at Sunnydale High.
‘All too many of them gone’, Willow thought sadly. Killed on Caprica by the Cylons, or like Xander burned to death in the fire aboard the Galactica.
There was a picture of her parents in front of their house where Willow had lived in a small flat over the garage.
With her spending most of her time away in space, there had been no need for Willow yet, to have an apartment of her own.
Willow’s eyes returned to the picture of herself, Xander and Buffy laughing into the camera. Things seamed so perfect then; and now one of her two closest friends was dead and the other no longer talking to her.
Something needed to done in order to save this friendship. Willow knew it. She decided. Today she would do it.
Willow reached for the paperback novel she hid under her pillow, not to read, but for the picture of Tara made at her quarter some weeks ago.

“I’m sorry Tara,” Willow whispered to the woman in the picture, gently touching Tara’s blond hair with the tip of her finger. “But I have to break my promise to you, not all of it though. I will be telling Buffy about you. And as far as the others are concerned, I’m the dyke around here anyway. But they won’t have to know that it’s you I’m in love with.”
She tenderly kissed the portrait. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “But I can’t go on like this. Lying about who I am and whom I love.” And with that she put the picture back in to the book and placed it under her pillow again – much like a love sick teenager, she noticed.
Since she was too tired to sleep anyway, Willow decided to go for a walk.

It was officially ‘night’ aboard the Galactica, and so the lights in the hallways were partly dimmed down, and only but a few people were moving around.
Walking around a corner, Willow saw a specialist standing there, who upon taking note of her presence looked on her in a peculiar kind of way.
Still feeling completely worn-out and tired, this short specialist’s stare annoyed Willow beyond belief. Not caring if anybody might be around to hear her, the entire frustration that had built up inside her within the past days exploded upon this poor specialist.
“What’s there to stare at Mister!” she yelled. “Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I’m the ship’s walking freak show, for every Tom, Dick or Harry to stare at!”
Willow as well as her mouth came to a complete standstill a few centimetres from the young man, who looked like completely embarrassed over Willow’s unbelievable outburst.

“Sorry Sir,” he said apologetic. “But I wasn’t staring at you because you are… you know. But because I didn’t know how to tell you that… your flap's open.” Still looking into her face, he casually pointed down to Willow’s uniform trouser, and following his glance, she saw her zipper wide open and her white snickers making a prominent appearance.
‘Why of all days did I choose this one for wearing my private white and against regulation, underwear?’ Willow thought and half consciously zipped her pants shut. Then she gasped and her hand went up to cover her wide open mouth.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered and let her hand fall to her side again. “I’m so… so sorry.” Her voice failed her and tears dwelled in her eyes.
She felt so humiliated for having jumped to conclusions, and letting all of her rage out upon this poor man like he was a Cylon, like he was the source of all her misery. ‘And so you let him have it,’ Willow thought bitterly.

“I’m so terribly sorry,” Willow started again. “You did absolutely nothing to provoke or to justify these verbal attacks of mine, Mister…?”
“Levinson Sir,” the specialist said. “Jonathan Levinson.”
“Mister Levinson, it’s just since my coming out slash outing everything has been so weird,” it began to spill out of her. She couldn’t help it, but she just desperately needed to explain herself to him, to tell her story to someone – anyone. “People started to act differently around me and then there’s my best friend and she’s…”
“Oh so you are ‘Red-Dyke’?” Jonathan interrupted her babbling monologue and more quietly added to himself, “so that’s what Dyke means.
“You see I’m working down in the engine room. And having less to nothing to do with you pilots, I only heard that some pilot had changed her call sign form ‘Red’ to ‘Red-Dyke’, but didn’t get the special significance of this change that others made of it. Then you, a pilot walk around the corner, and with your short red hair I thought that you might be said ‘Red’, and then I noticed your pants and then you…”

“And I’m really sorry about it all. Of course you’re welcome to press charges, for I was completely out of line,” Willow said hastily, her babble fuelled by her overwhelming guild guilt.
“Wow slow down,” Jonathan said, “no need to get all official here. First of all we are both off duty. Secondly you didn’t offend me, after all one could say that I was kinda staring at you. And certainly you would never have physically assaulted me, right?”

“Right.”
“But most of all,” he said friendly, “I do understand you.”
“You do? Willow asked puzzled.
“Really I do,” Jonathan assured her. “I mean I’m not gay or anything like that. But as you might have noticed, I’m rather short. I also belong to one of the more – how should I put it? – well let’s say, more unpopular religious groups. And thus I’m quite used to people starring at me or whispering behind my back.”

“Is it that bad?” Willow asked.
“Yea. Believe me being a Hebrew on Tauron, it’s no picnic.”
So they both stood together silent for a while until Willow said: “Tell you what, Mr. Levinson.”
“Jonathan, please. At least as long as we are still off duty.”
“Willow. Well Jonathan, how about I’m buying you a cup of coffee?”
“Given that’s not exactly coffee they serve and it’s free of charge anyway, I say why not,” Jonathan answered with a light smile.
“Ok, and while we at it, let’s throw in some breakfast as well,” Willow added and so they started to make their way towards the officer’s mess hall, where breakfast was already served.
And with it being still quite early, Willow knew it to be safe to bring a crewman into this officer’s domain.

Another two hours later, Willow woke by the alarm of her wrist watch. She’d been dozing in a quieter corner of the mess hall. Jonathan had left her earlier, having to get down to the engine room to start his shift. Willow actually only had wanted to finish her coffee before she left too. ‘Who would have thought you could sleep in these hard and uncomfortable chairs after all’, she thought and rubbed her sore back as she stood up.

In order to freshen up, Willow walked to the washing room near her quarters, when on her way she spotted Buffy, a clipboard full of notes in her hands, early on her way to prepare for today’s training rounds with her ‘Potentials’.
With the hallway being somewhat crowed already, ‘Slayer’ hurried past passed her, seemingly without noticing her. Willow however knew better, for Buffy was the master of multitasking and so reading while walking along and recognizing her former wingman shouldn’t prove to difficult for her.
Having already made up her mind that she needed to talk with Buffy, Willow hurried after her. “Morning Lieutenant,” she said briskly, before she grabbed ‘Slayer’ by her arm and manoeuvred her through the next open bulkhead.

“What the hell is wrong with you!” Buffy cried out, as she swirled around to face her friend.
“We need to talk,” Willow explained straightforwardly.
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“Here?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Because it’s the men’s room?” Buffy answered, pointing at those particular accessories, usually not common in the ladies rooms.

And like to prove her point, a somewhat bewildered looking Ensign Andrew Wells stepped out of the only occupied stall, quickly washed his hands and without saying another word left the now, except for the two woman, empty men’s room.
Locking the bulkhead behind Wells, Willow stepped back to Buffy. “We need to talk”, she said once again.
“We?” Buffy inquired, raising an questioning eyebrow.
“I need to talk,” Willow admitted, “but I need you to listen.” She took a deep breath and waited, however when Buffy didn’t make any attempt to leave, Willow went on.
“It’s our friendship that’s on the line here, with the worlds gone down to hell in a hand basket. With all that we lost, including Xander, we mustn’t jeopardize our friendship… No that’s not true,” she said ashamed lowering her head.
“It was I who actually jeopardized our friendship in the first place, by lying to you.”

“You did not lie to me Willow,” Buffy interposed forthcoming.
“No not lying”, Willow whispered, still staring at her boots.
“But withholding the truth is almost as bad as telling a lie. No it’s actually worse.” Tears started to dwelled in her eyes, “not telling my best friend is much worse then telling a lie.”
Buffy wanted to say something, but right now her former wingman wasn’t to be stopped and so Willow talked on about what was resting heavily upon her soul.
“I wanted to tell you so many times. But I made this…”
Promise. Willow wanted to say, but stopped herself, knowing this wasn’t true ether. Not the whole truth anyway.

“The truth is,” Willow said slowly, “I was afraid.” A soft chuckle from her best friend made her look up again.
“Afraid?” Buffy asked surprised, “Willow Rosenberg, whom our instructor at flight school dubbed the ‘Red Battle-Ant’? What could you possibly be afraid of?”
“I was afraid,” Willow said quietly, “I am afraid that you could not handle it.”
“Handle what?”
Willow took another deep breath before she finally put her biggest fear into words. “I’m afraid you can’t handle Tara being my girlfriend.” Having said it at last, it felt to Willow like a big relief. “It’s true Buffy, I’m in love with Tara. In love with another girl, I’m gay Buffy.”
‘You know’, her little voice told Willow, ‘I doubt that you could not have made this more clear then you just did. Except maybe kissing Tara right in front of Buffy that is.’ Willow ignored her own sarcastic thought and instead anxiously asked: “So are you freaked?”

“About you being in love with another woman?”
Willow nodded.
“No, absolutely not. Tara is a great girl. I like her and I’m happy that despite all the chaos and horror around us, you have found love,” Buffy said with a smile upon her face.
This however subsided when she added, “but I’m hurt Willow, utterly hurt that you didn’t know me enough to know that I love you the way you are. That I would never judge you by whom you’re loving or sleeping with.”
Buffy’s voice became sadder, “and why I had to hear about all of this by the ship’s great-wine and this fleet wide broadcast rumour? Why didn’t you trust me? Remember we used to trust each other. In combat I even trusted you with my life and vice versa.”

By now Willow was all in tears, but Buffy too had tears in her eyes.
“I don’t know,” Willow said weakly. “I met Tara at the reception, and from the beginning there was something between us. It wasn’t something I was looking for, but it’s powerful. And I only realized it when I thought she was killed, when the cylons destroyed Colonial One. But she wasn’t. and I got her back and I… I fell in love like I never thought possible.

“Everything changed, I changed and it’s so wonderful. I’ve never been so much in love before, it almost frightens me. And then there are all the other fears that came down on me, what about all those people who won’t tolerate two woman living together. You know they are out there. I mean Tara told me about what she’d been through after she’d been outed by her ex-girlfriend. And with all but 50,000 people left, what to become of humanity?”

Willow thoughts started to blur into another made her babble uncontrolled as it seemed. “…’Get the hell out of here and start having baby’s’ the President is rumoured to have said…”
“Willow,” Buffy said softly, trying to calm the babbling redhead down. But Willow still wasn’t finished, and with tears running down her face, she gathered all of her remaining courage to utter the question all of her misery was coming down to.
“Did I do it Buffy?”, she asked, “did I destroy our friendship out of fear…” Her voice failed her and so Willow simply looked questioningly out of red puffy eyes, at her hopefully still best friend.

Buffy, crying herself, slowly shook her head. “No you haven’t,” she said, “but if anybody jeopardized our friendship, then it was the both of us.”
“But you didn’t do anything wrong,” Willow opposed, feeling rather surprised by Buffy’s sudden self accusation.
“Yes I have,” ‘Slayer’ said vehemently. “I mean yes I felt and still feel hurt, that you did not tell me. But until now I didn’t realize how much you have gone through since you fell in love with Tara. I mean all those fears and uncertainties, I would never have imagined how lonely you must have felt, Will.”
Giving in to what she’d wanted to do, ever since Willow had started crying, Buffy opened her arms and took Willow into a much needed ‘I’m still your best friend and I love you, no matter what‘ embrace.’

“But I tell you what,” Buffy said after a while. “You better not keep such secrets – past or present – from me again, or I might really stop talking to you.”
Willow took a step back again before she said, “You mean I should tell you that when we first meet, I had like a huge crush on you?”
“You had?”
“Think so.”
“And you never acted on it? I’m hurt again,” Buffy teased her. “But seriously. Back then did you already know that you’re gay?”
“Of course not,” Willow assured her. “But all the time I did know that I was different. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I mean I had had crushes on girls before, but thought it to be a phase that everybody eventually got through. And then there was Oz and I no longer thought about it. Only when I fell for Tara I really knew. She opened my eyes – woke me up.”

“Still you never came on to me,” Buffy repeated giving a mock pout.
“Will you give it a rest?” Willow laughed. “Only looking back on it now, I know it to be a crush. Back then I was much to involved in my crush on Xander to notice anyway. And when I finally overcame my addiction to Xander you were already safe and sound in the best friends corner.”

Willow gave Buffy another hug before she returned to the more mundane matters of the day. “And now I think it’s time for us to return to our duties,” she said an straightened her flight suit.
“Even more so, I need to get out of this sanctuary of manhood,” Buffy said and as if to underline her words, they heard the sound of a fist hammering against the bulkhead, followed by a voice demanding this fracking bulkhead to be opened at once!

“Hope this isn’t the old man,” Willow said weary and wiped away the last tears before she released the lock.
Luckily for the both of them, the man outside wasn’t Commander Adama, but Captain Kelly. Who, in return, was much to astonished by two female pilots coming out of the men’s room whispering “Sorry Sir,” while giving him their best ‘innocent puppy looks’, that he actually forgot to rebuke them for locking the bulkhead in the first place. Much to the relief of the two Viper pilots who hurriedly walked away.

“So you and Tara huh?” Buffy asked curiously, while they walked slowly towards their respective briefing rooms.
“Yea,” Willow said gladly, feeling all content on being able to simply talk with Buffy again.
“Sounds serious to me,” Buffy observed, feeling the tiniest bit jealous.
“It is,” Willow assured her best friend. “I’ve never been so much in love before in my life. She’s my soul mate, my special someone.
“It’s amazing how little it takes to remind me. Like sometimes, there are moments – just moments, when Tara looks at me and I’m wonderful. I’m telling you my heart is ready to burst each and every time she looks at me like that.”

“You know Willow,” Buffy said and put her arm around Willow’s waist. “I’m really happy for you. And I hope that someday I will find someone, who will love me as much as Tara loves you.”
“I’m sure you will,” Willow said and added in a whisper. “But I’m afraid that if we keep walking like this, people might think you’re playing the other side… are you?”
“No I’m not,” Buffy laughed and let her arm fall to her side again. “Though why should I care about what people might think? After all we are friends since high school.”
“I was more thinking about what one particular person might think,” Willow said conspicuously.
“Don’t follow.”
“Come on Buffy. I’m gay, that doesn’t mean I’m blind. I’ve seen how he’s looking at you!” “Who?” Buffy said, turning considerably red around her cheeks.
“Finn? Lieutenant Riley Finn from the Marines!” Willow said a little impatiently.

“Okay you’re right!” Buffy finally abided. “Though I’m not sure if he’s really, as you put it – the one. I mean I like him very much, maybe I even love him. But beyond that who knows?”
“Why are you so nervous,” Willow asked helpfully. “If you think you love him, I say: go for it!” She punched Buffy cheerfully in her side.
“Perhaps you’re right,” Buffy said with a laugh, but soon got serious again. “Maybe it’s just, with all those people, like Xander that we lost; I’m afraid that if I give into my feelings and then… What if he doesn’t love me. Or it doesn’t work out between us?”
“I can’t answer that,” Willow replied. “All I can say is; that if you think you love him, then give it a try. You might be surprised. And if it doesn’t work out? Well, someone once said: ‘It's better to have loved and lost; the never to have loved at all.’ Either way, you too deserve to be happy.”

“Sounds like a reasonable advice from Doctor Love,” Buffy joked and then stopped near the pilot’s briefing rooms, to give her best friend another friendly hug.
“I’m glad the two of us got to talk”, she said.
“Me too”, Willow answered and gladly returned the hug.
Pleased to have saved and strengthen her friendship with Buffy, Willow swiftly entered the briefing room for the pre-patrol briefing with the pilots ‘Mouse’ and Rogue’.

“Good hunting ‘Slayer’.”
“Good hunting ‘Red-Dyke’.”

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

Hey Dax,

what can I say: I really love this story and it's getting better and better with every update. Aren't they both brave? Wonderful how Tara managed to make Laura Roslin look lke the homophob for political reasons she is. And also a bravo to the courageous way Willow managed to keep her dignity. I hope this asshole Warren will not be the cause for trouble in the future.

And thanks to the prophets of Kobol Willow is back on good terms with Buffy. Dragging her friend into the men's room showed how naive Willow still is with the whole gay issue. And that's a good thing. Otherwise she may have had second thoughts about dragging a female into this special surroundings. Maybe some of their comrades will now have something else to talk about.

Cool how Jessica went to Willow's defence and how she handeld the inappropriate way of acting by this scum of a homophob. Maybe Willow and her can reastall some gay movement group. Hehe.

Can't wait for reading more. Thanks for sharing.

greetings sacinema
p.s. wrote a PM to you some days ago. I hope you got it.

_________________
She's not drivin stick anymore?

Hey Bernd The Bread

I definitely love this fic now.

Want more more more.

Please?

_________________
Broken Dolls |The Stadium's Goddesses | Seeds Of Beauty

"Joie est mon caractère, C'est la faute à Voltaire; Misère est mon trousseau, C'est la faute à Rousseau." Gavroche. Victor Hugo, Les Misérables (chap. XV)

Wow Awesome story. Update-y goodness soon-ish?

_________________
We few, we happy few. We band of buggered.

Posting While Nude Improves Your Mood.

Bernd my friend I am entranced as always

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

Authors note:
The pre-chapter quote to this chapter, comes from the movie “Sophie School, The Final Day’s.”
This movie chronicles the last days of student Sophie School who together with her brother Hans distributed leaflets calling for an end to the Second World War and was arrested and interrogated by the GESTAPO.
As a members of the resistance group known as the White Rose, she was executed only days later, at age twenty one, in February 1943.




„Die Liebe die einfach umsonst ist, ist was wunderbares.”
“The Love that’s simply for free, is something wonderful.”

Sophie School, February 1943.

“Believe me or not Tara, but I really believe that you did the right thing,” Wallace Gray said with an assuring voice.
“By resorting to political blackmail?” Tara asked sourly, only bit by bit it began to dawn to her, that she’d done exactly what she used to despise most of all about politics.

“No, by standing up to the President;” Wallace answered sincerely. “She was wrong to shut you up like this, right in front of the journalist’s at the press conference. And she was certainly wrong to attack you the way she did afterwards, and that only because of these rumours.”
He took Tara’s hand, “up until now you did an excellent job. And following your presentation at the Quorum, I would say that most – if not all – of the delegates agree with me.
“And if anyone of them still has a problem with the way you live; it is their problem and their problem alone. Because the articles of colonisation say that you can’t discriminate anyone because of either gender, skin colour, faith or sexual orientation.”

“But certainly the result cannot justify the means,” Tara replied weakly.
“I’m afraid Laura didn’t leave you with much of a choice. For the way she has changed since she came to power, I’m sure that if you hadn’t threatened her with going public, she would have fired you, since you refused to resign on your own.”
“There isn’t much comfort in what you’re telling me is there?”
“No there isn’t,” Wally agreed and added teasingly. “But therwise you acted like a proper politician – and to that I’d like to welcome you to the club!”
“You know if you weren’t like my best friend, I mean colleague wise, I should be very angry with you right now.” Tara said with a weak smile.

“I’m your best colleague friend?” Wally asked surprised. “I can’t help it but I feel touched.”
“You know you are,” Tara laughed and felt the relief of a good and simple heartfelt laugh. “Even more than that, Wally. I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but I always used to see you as a sort of fatherly friend. After all you supported me like my father never did. You never judged me for being gay, but for my actions.
“And of course you helped me many times with the laws that were of particularly importance to me, by ‘persuading’ some important people in those kind of ways I would never have resolved to. Until today that is.” Tara paused for a moment and then warmly said: “I was very glad to learn that you tried to keep Laura from ‘coming after me’ like she eventually did anyway.”

“Sadly I wasn’t successful,” Wallace Gray said ruefully, “otherwise I should have managed to keep her from shutting you up like that during the press conference. I’m afraid I’m no longer in the position where Laura would listen to my advice.” He let out a hard laugh.
“And now it seems to me,” he said sarcastically, “we are both ‘out’ in a way. You are an out and proud lesbian. Whereas I’m out of the race for the vice-presidency.”

“I’m very sorry about that,” Tara said warmly. It was only when her flight back to Galactica had been delayed in order for Gray to return to the Colonial One, that she had learned how Laura Roslin had sacrificed Wallace Gray in favour of the ever more popular Dr. Gaius Baltar.
“Don’t be,” Wallace assured her. “I mean sure, the way she dumped me really hurt. But otherwise I’ve been in politics long enough, to know that I could no longer compete with Tom Zarek’s growing popularity, unlike a rising star like Dr. Baltar.”
“He bothers me,” Tara said spontaneously. “I don’t know why, but he bothers me. And it’s not just because of his strange behaviour. Did you notice that he sometimes seems to be talking to himself?”
“I know what you mean,” Wallace agreed. “Let’s hope that he is really just very eccentric and less of an unreliability as Tom Zarek. After all he’s supposed to be a genius.”
“You know what they say, about the thin line between genius and madness.”
“Yea I know,” Wallace agreed once again, showing his own doubts in Laura’s choice.
“He just bothers me,” Tara repeated into the growing silence.

“So that’s how you travel all the time?” Wally said after a while, looking curiously around the technical interior of the Raptor they were travelling with.
Unlike Tara, he and the President as well as her personal staff travelled with a civilian shuttle that was stationed aboard Colonial One.
Tara nodded briefly.
“Don’t think I could ever get use to flying with these Raptors.” Wally said doubtfully. “It reminds me to much of my time flying helicopters for the costal guard on Aquaria.”
“You did?” Tara wondered. “Why, you never told me before. I always thought you never did anything else other than working in politics.”
“Nice,” Wally answered with a wry smile.
“You’re welcome,” the Sec Ed answered. “The first few times I even got flown around with Galactica’s only two seat training Viper.”

“You mean a real Viper, with catapult start and all?” Wallace asked, much more curious then surprised.
“Launch, flight suit and all,” Tara assured him, “I even have my very own call sign.”
“And that is?”
“Sorceress.”
“Suits you,” Wallace said and casually added, “so back then you got flown around the fleet by your girlfriend – ‘Red’?”
Tara’s turned around, much to her own dismay, to see if the pilot might have overheard what Wally had just said. He hadn’t, she could see, for ‘Sledgehammer’ had his headset on, and seemed to listen to some rock music.
She turned back again, “How come you know that? I mean since when…?”
“Never under estimate my sources ‘Sorceress’,” Wally laughed at Tara’s unbelieving face.
“Thanks for not telling Laura,” Tara said quietly.
“You’re welcome,” Wally responded. “It’s none of her business and as long as you want, I won’t tell anyone else. As I said, it’s your privacy.”

“‘Sorceress,’ Mr. Gray, we are coming up to Colonial One. We should be docking within the next ten minutes,” their pilot informed them without turning around.
“That would be my stop,” Wallace Gray said and started to gather his stuff. He then fetched a piece of paper out of his suitcase and closed it. “Before we part however, I have a confession to make,” he said meaningful. “Before I came down to meet you in the hangar bay, I took the liberty to give this to two of my reliable reporter friends.
“You know River Tam and Cordelia Chase?
Tara nodded wordlessly.
“Here, hope you don’t mind.” He handed the paper to Tara, who quietly began to read it.

“In a statement released earlier this day, by presidential adviser and former vice-presidential candidate Wallace Gray; Secretary of Education, Doctor Tara Maclay acknowledge that, quote: ‘I’m as gay as ever’, unquote.
But otherwise she pointed out, that her sexual orientation never had, and never will in any way interfere with her service to the people of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol.
Except that more then ever, she will be using her position to fight discrimination of any kind.
Furthermore Mr. Gray said that, Dr. Maclay still has the full trust and support of President Laura Roslin.”

Tara slowly handed the sheet of paper back to Wallace Gray.
“Tell me you didn’t do this,” she whispered unbelievingly.
“Why?” Wally asked, “is there anything wrong with what I said you said? You are still gay or aren’t you?”
“Well yes, but…”
“Did the fact that you are gay ever impact your work, or will it ever?”
“No of course not, but…”
“And it is also true that you will not stop fighting against discrimination? So what’s the problem?”

“The problem is,” Tara said slowly, “that I’m pretty sure that Laura never said anything about her continuing supporting me or did she?”
“Well no,” Wally admitted, with a big grin in his face. “But in the good old days, I know she would have said exactly that.”
“You’re in big trouble you know that, once she finds out about this, you know that don’t you?” Tara asked, feeling all warm and safe, knowing that she still had a friend like Wallace Gray to protect her from treacherous politicians.
“What she’s going do? It’s a little too late, to throw me off the campaign wagon. And if she no longer wants me as her political adviser too? Fine by me. Captain Reynolds from the Serenity always said I could return if I should ever grow tired of politics.”

“So you have it all neatly covered, I see,” Tara said with admiration.
Wallace nodded, “Yep this old dog still has some tricks up his sleeves.”
“So is this already released?” Tara pointed at the paper.
“Not now, Cordelia and River will wait until the election is over,” Wallace said, “which I know Baltar will win. And that should help me from keeping Laura getting too mad. Of course I could still ask my reporter friends to not run with this bulletin – if that’s what you want.”
Tara thought about it, for about two seconds and then shook her head. ‘This was much to good, to stop it’, a mischievous voice inside her mind thought.
“Wally, you’re a pearl you know that?” Tara beamed and hugged him to her heart’s content.

Then it really was time for them to say their goodbyes, as Raptor 605 entered the shuttle bay of Colonial One. And moments later the bay was pressurised and Wallace stepped out of the plane. “Take care Tara,” he said and walked away from the Raptor. Tara kept looking after him until the hatch was closed again. How lucky she was to have a friend like Wallace Gray.

“Home?” ‘Sledgehammer’ then asked, as the Raptor took off.
“Home,” ‘Sorceress’ answered, strapping herself into the co-pilot seat right next to him.

‘Strange that a Battlestar could ever really feel like home,’ Tara thought, and stepped out of the Raptor and into the busy hangar bay.
Finding her way through the familiar hangar bay – familiar meaning that Tara knew how to get to and fro the Raptor without getting lost – she was greeted by some familiar faces.
She also noticed some rather inquiring looks, that told her that the ‘Rumour’ had found the way down here already.

In a small corner of the hangar bay, Tara spotted Jessica Cally; or rather the lower half of her, since the rest of her lay under the Viper she was working on.
Wanting to say hello to the petty officer, Tara crossed over to her, when upon coming closer she recognized the Viper to be Willow’s Mark VII-X.
She recognized the fighter even before she read the plaque itself.
“Oh hi, Doctor Maclay!” Cally said merrily, as she rolled out from under the Viper.
Tara however didn’t hear, her eyes still affixed upon the plaque. ‘Lt. Willow Rosenberg’, she read, ‘Red-Dyke’.
A rather complex set of emotions started to brew inside her mind, as she kept reading and rereading the changed plaque.

Soon a variety of very different voices started talking all together inside Tara’s head.
‘So Willow has come out on her own’, one voice said.
‘She broke her promise’, another countered.
‘But you yourself knew this promise to be wrong. And you know why you made her make this promise in the first place. – Because I’m a coward’ Tara flinched on thinking this truth.

Seeing the like total confusion within Tara’s features, Cally got up to her feet and stepped up to her side. “Don’t be mad at your girlfriend Tara,” Jessica said quietly, “it was a specialist who originally changed the name plaque.”
“A specialist?” Tara asked, not quiet sure what Cally was talking about.
“Yes a male specialist to be exact. He even called Lt. Rosenberg a… Lezzy. I think he must have seen the two of you holding hands or… kissing?” Cally told Tara, and her crimson colouring cheeks told the petty officer the answer to her question.
Jessica Cally then briefly told Tara all about Willow’s encounter with Warren Meers and how Willow decided to claim the changed call sign for herself.

“So this Warren chap, did all of this?” Tara asked horrified.
“Yes,” Cally told her and added, “but don’t you worry. I took care of him.” The sheer tone of satisfaction in her voice made Tara curious.
“What did you do to him Jessica?”
“Well there was an opening an board the oar refining ship. And lets say, he’s much too busy, as well as much too dirty now himself to have any more time for dirty thoughts about lesbian pilots like your girlfriend.”
Tara nodded, feeling strangely satisfied. Then suddenly her eyes went wide, as only now she fully realized the full extend of what Cally had said.
“You know that she’s my girlfriend?” Tara asked unbelievingly and pointed at the name plaque of ‘Red-Dyke’. “Have you too seen us kissing?”
“Relax Tara,” Cally said fighting hard not to laugh. “You did not make an display of yourself and the Lieutenant if that’s what you afraid of. I knew that the two of you were sweethearts, ever since you first came down here together. Plus,” she added with a wigged grin. “I thought that you of all people should know, that a good lesbian always recognizes their peers.”
“Of course we do,” Tara chuckled. “After all, my gaydar told me about you all along.”
“Gaydar?”
“Well that’s what I call it, you know when I like instinctively know if another woman is gay or not,” Tara explained. “And my friend Lyari liked to call it coded flirting. How did she put it? Yes. ‘It’s like flirting in code, it’s using body language, and laughing at the right jokes. And looking into her eyes and knowing she’s still whispering to you, even though she’s not saying a word. And that sense that if you can just touch her, just once, everything will be okay. For both of you.’ Then she used to pause for a bit, before she added:
‘Or if she’s really hot. You get her drunk and see if she comes on to you.’” Tara smiled thoughtfully upon remembering her best friend.

“So was she your friend or your girlfriend?” Jessica asked.
“Best friend. And she was betrothed to my ex-girlfriend. They were both in Picon City when the Cylons nuked the Fleet Headquarters there.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Cally said, obviously sharing Tara's pain. Like everybody else, she’d lost loved ones and relatives back at the Colonies too.
“Thank you. I really miss them very much, especially Lyari. But now tell me, Jessica, how is Willow coping with all of this?” Tara asked and pointed once again at the Viper.

“I’d say she’s doing very well,” Jessica Cally said. “For a day or two she seemed to be a bit little down. But in the mean time, she had a lengthy talk with ‘Slayer’ – in one of the men’s rooms, she’s much better ever since.”
“Well that is good to hear... Wait a minute! The men’s room?” Tara asked, much more puzzled by the men’s room, then the fact that Cally knew about the talk between Willow and Buffy too.
“I think it’s better if you ask the Lieutenant about that one,” Cally said diplomatically, but with a laugh as well. “But rest assured, that it’s only because of them talking in the men’s room, that I know of them… you know talking. Ships grapevine, you understand.”
Tara nodded, how very well she understood.

“Seems to me that Willow and I really have something to talk about,” Tara said running her fingers through her hair. “Is she around?”
“She will be,” Jessica Cally said and began making some notes on a clipboard, she’d picked up while talking with Tara. “But she won’t have much time. She and her patrol group are to be launching with the next ten minutes.”
“Hope I didn’t keep you from doing your job – did I?”
“Not to worry Tara. I’d just finished when I rolled out from under this bird,” Cally assured her and gave the Viper a slap upon its wing.
“That’s good,” Tara sighed. “Jessica, would you be so kind and give Willow a message?
“Always.”
“Would you please tell her to meet me after her shift.” A sudden idea hit Tara’s mind. “But not at my place. But where we really meet for the first time. Willow will understand.”
“I will tell her as soon as she returns,” Cally said and pointed at the clipboard to tell Tara when this would be. “Thank you Jessica.”
“You’re welcome Tara.”

“So, now I better hurry and pay a long over due visit to one particular…” Tara hurriedly covered her mouth, to prevent herself from spilling out any more secrets.
“Cat,” Cally whispered completing Tara’s sentence. “But don’t ask me how I know that.”
“Then I shan’t. Believe me I shan’t wonder at all,” Tara laughed, knowing this secret was safe with the young petty officer too. “But thank you anyway. Maybe you like to visit us sometime tomorrow?”
“I shall like that very much,” Cally smiled.
“And now I better leave, before I spill even more secrets. Bye Jessica:”
“Have a nice day Madam Secretary.”
“You too Petty Officer, you too.”

Tara’s steps echoed throughout starboard landing bay.
Like an eternity ago, this space had been housing the great exhibition, concerning the Cylon Wars and the history of this very Battlestar and the role it had played in this war fifty years ago.
Now however all of this was gone, stored away in one of Galactica’s big – and luckily empty – storage compartments.
Soon the giant windows on both sides would be gone too and then it would be open to space. Making it again available for the Vipers as a landing bay.
Tara slowly stepped up to the enormous window.
During the past month, ever since she had taken up residence aboard the Galactica again, Tara had felt herself drawn to this place.
Standing but the depth of the glass away from the stars was a breathtaking experience that never seamed to lose it’s appeal to Tara.
Today however, would be the last time she would be standing here, Tara knew.

For tomorrow, according to Wesley Wyndam-Pryce the civilian engineer in charge of dismantling the windows, they would start lowering the air pressure, before specialist in space suits would at last dismantle the windows and then…
The sound of heavy combat boats upon the flight deck echoed throughout the landing pod brought Tara’s thoughts out of her daydreams. Without turning around, Tara could see Willow crossing over from the airlock towards her.
Beautiful Willow. What she had to go through and all because of that promise Tara had her make. Tears stung in Tara’s eyes, as her girlfriend stepped up behind her.

“It’s like all you need to do is to reach out and you could touch the stars. Wouldn’t you agree?” Tara said, like she had when she’d met Willow for the first time. “This certainly is the best place on the entire ship.”
Getting in to the game, Willow too repeated what she’d said that evening, “Well it certainly is, but still only second best, when it comes to being close to the stars.”
“So?”
“Had you ever experienced space from within the cockpit a Viper you would agree with me.”
“Does that mean you’re offering me a flight with your Viper, Cap.. Captain…” Tara’s voice failed her and even though she fought to keep them back, tears started to dwell in her eyes, and soon they made their way down her cheeks.

“Tara?” a very worried Willow asked, “what’s wrong baby?” She reached out to comfortingly touch her girlfriend’s shoulder. But on the touch Tara flinched like she’d been burned or something. The hurt look in Willow’s reflection sent another wave of guilt flowing throughout Tara’s body and she burst fully into tears.
Swirling around she cried out: “I’m so sorry Willow!” Again she shied away from Willow’s touch.
“Sorry for what?” the redhead asked getting ever more worried.
“The promise I had you make,” Tara whispered desperately.
“But I’m the one who broke it,” Willow said remorseful, “why should you be sorry about it?” Once more she tried to reach out for Tara and again the blond shied away.
Feeling the ever growing burden of her guilt and sorrow, Tara’s legs gave way beneath her, and she sat down in front of the windows resting her back heavily against it. Willow kneeled down in front of her, still looking very bewildered and troubled.

“I should never have made you make that promise,” Tara explained, “but I was a coward and selfish and…” Her voice failed her again as she started to cry harder.
Now Willow looked truly alarmed, and once again she reached out for her girlfriend. When Tara did not shy away Willow gently pulled Tara into her arms, and they keep sitting in an loving embrace for a while.
Sitting down beside Tara Willow asked carefully: “why do you think yourself selfish, for wanting to protect me from the homophonic bigotry around us?”
“Protect you,” Tara cried out, surprising Willow with her rather sarcastic tone of voice. “If it had been just that, but even then this promise would have been wrong.” Tara paused as she felt Willow stiffen on her words.
“What do you mean, ‘if it had been just that?” Willow asked carefully.

Letting go of Willow’s hand, Tara drew up her legs and flung her arms around them. “You have to believe me,” she pleaded, “when I tell you, that I really wanted to protect you from all of this. But at the same time I knew it to be wrong, keeping both of us in the closet. To keep you from coming out on your own.

“You see, back on Caprica I volunteered with the LBGT Centre in down town Caprica City. I helped girls and young woman coping with their own sexual identity and their coming out – to themselves, as well as to others. You know, friends, colleagues and especially parents. I helped so many girls to except themselves the way they are. To not let themselves be frightened by what other people think about them. And to be prepared, that even though some people might turn away from them, other’s might surprise them as well.
“You see the best thing about coming out is, that it’s totally liberating, you feel like you’ve made this incredible discovery about yourself and you want to share it and be honest and open and not spend all your time wondering how some people might react and so on.” Tara paused for a bit, “I knew all of this, still I made you keep us a secret.”

Tara felt Willow put her arm around her shoulder, but fought the yearning to rest her head upon the redhead’s shoulder. She knew that if she did that she might no longer be able to tell her girlfriend the whole truth. And if she didn’t do that, she knew their relationship would suffer in the end. Because love needs honesty and honesty needs trust.
“Willow,” she said slowly, “there’s another reason why I did not want you to come out. It’s really ridiculous, but also selfish and I fear you might despise me for it.”
“Despise you?” Willow exclaimed softly. “I could never do that.”
“Please hear me out,” Tara pleaded and when Willow nodded in agreement, she spoke on.
She talked about what she hadn’t even allowed herself to think about in the past years

“I had no right to tell you not to come out. No right. I wasn’t trying to protect you. This whole keep-it-a-secret-thing? It was all about me. Me.” She slapped her chest, “I’m a selfish bitch.”
Now Willow looked completely confused, and seemed to ask herself what Tara was talking about.
“I’ve almost ruined your life!” Tara cried out. “I’ve almost ruined your life by not letting you come out. You should never have had to make this terrible promise.”
“This isn’t true,” Willow said, “you didn’t ruin my life.”
“But I almost did,” Tara repeated. “I kept you from coming out on your own turns. Even kept you from telling your best friend and that all because of…
“You remember Faith?”

Willow nodded, “she was your girlfriend back in Caprica City. You’ve told me that you two decided that you would rather have a good friendship, then a bad relationship.”
“That’s what I told you,” Tara said gloomily, “in fact that’s what I’ve been telling myself for the past years.”
“What are you talking about?” Willow asked worryingly.

“I meet Faith shortly after I moved to Caprica City and started working at the Ministry of Education. Faith had moved to Caprica from Saggitaron only one month earlier. Her parents had died when she was little, with no other relatives she’d been raised in one of those particularly conservative orphanage.
“You can imagine that they did not exactly promote things like homosexual lifestyle, or even mixed race marriages for that matter.”
“Sounds pretty medieval to me,” Willow said doubtfully.
“Yea, doesn’t it?” Tara agreed. “However, you can’t imagine how afraid Faith was even to come out to herself. And only after we fell in love she eventually opened up to me. But she still remained afraid of going out with me into the Scene. I loved her so much Willow. I won’t lie to you Willow, I would’ve been with her forever, if I could have.”

“What happened?”
Tara let out a heartfelt sight. “Faith and I met at a street fair in Downtown Caprica City. I was working at an info stand of the LBGT Centre. Faith was collecting signatures for I don’t remember what cause, I think it was legislation on gun control or something like that.
“We fell in love very fast… I don’t say this to hurt you.”
“No, it’s ok, I understand,” Willow said and so Tara went on.
“As I said, Faith was raised in very repressive surroundings, she was incredible shy and insecure. Not only when it came to her sexual orientation.”

Tara paused for a bit then spoke more to herself then to Willow when she said, “yea, hard to believe that this bold self-assured and strong woman I know, was once so shy and insecure… The woman I knew,” Tara corrected herself – remembering that Faith had been killed together with Lyari way back when the Cylons had nuked Picon City.
She then went back to tell Willow her and Faith’s story.

“So when we started dating,” Tara explained, “Faith was still very closed up. But at the same time she desperately wanted to come out. And so I helped her. You know long talks, books and step by step Faith stepped out of her closet.
Believe me this was a wonderful time. Finally I had a girlfriend I could go out with, hold hand with in public.. And then at the LBGT Centre we throw another big coming out party. Which was what we did when a new person joined the community.
“And Faith was like ‘This is great. Why didn’t I come out before? Let’s tell all the world’s I’m gay!’ It was awesome. Faith felt so included and accepted. Everybody loved Faith and Faith loved everybody.” Tara's eyes went blank. ”Especially Lyari.”

“Lords no, don’t tell me” Willow gasped.
“I’m telling you,” Tara said flatly. “Faith loved Lyari, loved her more then she loved me.”
Again tears started dwelling in Tara’s eyes.
“I found her,” she whimpered and Willow carefully hugged her. “I loved her, she was mine.” Tears streamed down her face, “it should have lasted forever.”
“Still you stayed friends with her,” Willow said, when Tara paused in her recitation, “but didn’t that hurt?”
“Oh it did hurt, I can’t tell you how much.”
“But then why didn’t you end your relationship with Faith completely, when it hurt so much?” Willow wondered.
“What could I do,” Tara asked weakly. “Faith wanted to stay friends, and Lyari was my best friend. I mean she was really my best friend, much like you and Buffy. Faith took her love away from me and I couldn’t allow her to take my best friend from me as well.
“And after a while I started telling myself about us breaking up and become friends instead.”

“But what has this all to do with the promise?” Willow asked perplexed.
“Don’t you see?” Tara cried out, “I didn’t just make you promise to protect you, but to protect me! From coming out all over again… even more to keep you from them.”
“From whom?”
”Other women,” Tara whimpered.
At first Willow didn’t understand what Tara told her, then her features began to lighten up.
“You were afraid I might leave you for another woman, like Faith did after she came out?”
Tara nodded, “I know its’ stupid, but I couldn’t bear the thought that you could leave me for Cally or any other woman on this ship.”
“You see that’s where you’re a dummy,” Willow said warmly. “Don’t you know that I’ve waited for you my whole life? Don’t you know that I have been incomplete until I meet you and fell in love with you?”
Tara said that she knew, of course she knew, how could it be otherwise? And so she did what she’d been longing to these past days she’d been separated from. Willow and so she pulled Willow on to her lap to kiss those wonderful red lips.
And when they finally kissed, it was like when they had kissed for the first time, when Tara had known at once, that she never wanted to kiss any other lips again in her life.

Resting their foreheads together, it was Willow who spoke first, “so you’re not angry with me for breaking my promise?”
“Of course not, I’m glad you did. But then come to think of it, we both broke it by fooling around in the hallways for everyone to see.” Tara smiled, then seriously added, “so you’re really not mad at me, for having you make this stupid promise?”
“I’m really not,” Willow assured her once again. “After all I could have argued with you about it, at least as far as Buffy was concerned and…”

Willow paused for a moment and looked deeply into Tara’s eyes, and just as Tara was about to lose herself inside these deep green soulful eyes Willow whispered quietly. “I tell you what. Let’s forget who made a promise and who broke it… Let’s forget we are here, let’s pretend we are at Aquaria with it’s tropical beaches; and you’re teaching children about Shakespeare and I’m renting sailboats to tourists. And no one’s a politician and no one’s a soldier and we are just us. “
‘What do you say?’, Willow’s green eyes asked as she flung her arms around her girlfriend again. Tara nodded quietly, then kissed her girlfriend to her heart’s content.

They’d been smooching around for some time, when suddenly a very familiar voice echoed throughout the empty landing pot.
”Get a room!”

Staggering to their feet Willow and Tara saw it to be Buffy, who was crossing over from the nearest airlock.
“Hi Buffy,” Willow said with a blush, “we were just…”
“I saw it Will, believe me I saw it – all,” Buffy said with a big grin on her face, “that’s why I suggested for you two to get a room.”
“Actually Buffy has a point,” Tara said sheepishly and straightened her blouse, for Willow’s hands had been rather busy. “I mean the view from here is quiet spectacular, but it’s not exactly comfortable. Plus I’m afraid I’m getting frostbites on my ass.”
That remark earned Tara some surprising and unbelieving looks from both Buffy and Willow.
It made her blush substantially and she hastily explained,
“I thought I give a try with the spicy talk.”

“Don’t get me wrong Tara,” Buffy said laughingly, “ but you are simply to sweet for spicy talk.”
“I know,” Tara admitted and gave a pout. She turned to Willow and asked, “So what you say ‘Red-Dyke’, your place or my place?”
Willow thought about it for a short while, then laughingly answered, “even though we would be causing quiet a sensation if I took you to my bunk, I have to say no. It’s much to small for the two of us anyway. So I say your place.”
She kissed Tara upon her cheek, then turned to Buffy. “Goodnight Buffy,” Willow said and took Tara by the hand and walked with her towards the nearest exit.

Half the way she looked back to Buffy who had been following them and said proudly, “oh and if anybody’s looking for me. I’m with my girlfriend.”

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

Excellent update. are good

_________________
We few, we happy few. We band of buggered.

Posting While Nude Improves Your Mood.

Hey Dax,
I like the way this is going and particularly that Tara realized the error of her ways in attempting to limit Willow's coming out. It was really unfair.

_________________
Menorah Tales | Working It Out | Random Bits

Yay Dax!!

My little bread!!

You posted an excellent update while I was gone... !!!

Wow...

Hehehe so now the chapter 7?
thanks,

Julia

p;s;: I like the reference... your quoting I mean.

_________________
Broken Dolls |The Stadium's Goddesses | Seeds Of Beauty

"Joie est mon caractère, C'est la faute à Voltaire; Misère est mon trousseau, C'est la faute à Rousseau." Gavroche. Victor Hugo, Les Misérables (chap. XV)

A Love Beyond the Stars – Love on the Run

A dying leader will lead the people to Kobol, which will lead the way to the promised land; but will not live to enter the new land.

The world is over; the fight is just beginning.



“Everybody hit the deck!” Lt. Rosenberg yelled as she watched in horror the spider web of cracks spread further throughout the Raptors windshield.
Just in the nick of time Willow protectively brought up her arm to cover her face, before the windshield literally imploded into the Raptor. Feeling fragments of glass blast past her arms and head cutting her; Willow fought desperately to blindly keep control over the dying plane.

Grabbing the controlling joystick of the Raptor with both of her hands again and ignoring the cries and shouting coming from behind her, Willow braced herself against the sharp cutting winds that hurt her face and eyes, she kept struggling with the Raptor’s controls as the ship plunged towards the planets surface.

With the wind blasting into the Raptor like a thunderstorm and cutting into her face like a knife, Willow thought:
‘How did I get here – how the hell?’



“When did morning happen?” Willow asked, as the set alarm switched on the bedrooms lights. “When the moon went down,” Tara said while she silenced the alarm clock standing on her nightstand.
“Huh?” The redhead lying in the crutch of her arm asked puzzled and shifted her head upon Tara’s shoulder so she could kiss her.
“It’s something my mother used to answer, in order to get me out of bed,” Tara answered. They kissed again, but then Miss Kitty jumped onto the bed, took up position upon Tara tummy, and looked like she wanted to say: ‘you two snuggled enough. Now’s my turn!’

Eventually they both had to get up.
“So we’ll be going to breakfast together?” Tara asked, while going through her rather limited collection of outfits.
“Sure why not. Have you seen my bra?” Willow asked, sitting up and suddenly Tara had to concentrate hard because the blanket had slipped from Willow’s bare breasts.
“On the nightstand,” Tara answered and blushed considerably as she spotted the bruise where she had kissed Willow to hard. “It’s just a big step and if you’re not sure we can wait.”
“Why wait – my socks?”
“Under the bed.”
“Thanks, I mean, what did we talk about last night?” Willow bent under the bed to discover both of her socks and her panties.
“We talked last night?” Tara asked, looking in the mirror and combing her long blond hair, while Willow kept hunting for her clothes.
“Shirts?”
”Couch.”
“Of course we talked Tara – not much though I admit. Anyway, you told me about coming out and how liberating it is. So why keep hiding – trousers?”
“Sideboard,” Tara said and followed her girlfriend into the living room, while she in turns was followed by Miss Kitty, who loudly demanded to be fed at once.
“I’m also fairly convinced that most of the talk will be going away, once we’re going, you know out and proud,” Willow said while she fashioned and zipped her trousers and collected her uniform jacket, witch she found on the floor somewhere between the outer bulkhead and the bedroom door.
Before reporting for duty though she would have to freshen up and change into her flight suit, she knew.
“After all,” she went on, “it’s only ‘fun’ talking behind other peoples backs as long as they try to hide something like this.”

Willow turned around to Tara who had been preparing Miss Kitty’s dish, “so Tara, are you ready for some out and proud breakfast?”
“Sure, but are you positive you’re not forgetting something?” Tara quizzed her girlfriend with a really big grin on her face.
“What?”, Willow asked and followed Tara’s glance towards the desk and her boots, that were standing right in the middle of it.
“Now how did they get there?”, the redhead wondered and retrieved them at once.
“Don’t ask me”, Tara laughed, as she watched her girlfriend put on her boots.

Willow’s theory turned out to be fairly accurate, for when she and Tara walked hand in hand to the officer’s mess, no one seemed to pay any special attention to them. They were greeted by people like on any other day.
Some smiled warmly at them, and only some looked like they actually disapproved of the sight of two woman holding hands in public, but being alone they didn’t seam to have the courage to say anything about it.
In order for Willow to salute any superior officer she might encounter – without having to let go of Tara’s hand first – Tara walked on Willow’s left side and Willow could feel how proud she was for walking so openly with her.
Or perhaps even showing off for having an officer and Viper pilot for a girlfriend.

Over a fantastic breakfast – though when you’re in love even the worst breakfast is fantastic – Willow and Tara talked about their respective plans slash duties for the day.
“So what are you up to?”, Tara asked while drowning her funny shaped pancakes in syrup. “More patrolling around the fleet I assume?”
“Absolutely,” Willow answered enthusiastically.
“You really love flying don’t you?”
“Yea, there’s absolutely nothing like flying through space in a Viper.” She smiled seductively, “except of course when I’m with you. You make me fly and I love it more then anything.”
Willow lowered her voice, so that Tara had to lean closer in order catch the last words her girlfriend was whispering: “I love you, you know that?”
“I know,” Tara whispered back.

“And you?”, Willow asked while munching away on her pancakes. “More governmental duties?”
“No absolutely not,” Tara laughed, “today I’m going to do what I’m best at and what I love the most.”
“Pleasure me?”, Willow asked and seductively let the tip of her tongue move over her lips.
“Well yes – tonight,” Tara said blushing considerably on the thought, “before that however I will be teaching again.”
“Where?”
“Here aboard Galactica of course,” Tara explained, “the Ministry of Education thing is running smoothly and so I decided to take some time off and teach the kids here a little bit of my favourite play from my favourite playwright.”
“Richard III.”
“That’s right and I hope those kids will like this play as much as I do.”
“I’m sure they will, if you tell them about it”, Willow said and remembered when Tara had read this play to her; using different voices for the different characters.

“But now I’m afraid we’ve got to break it up. Before I can report for duty I have to get a shower and change into my flight suit,” Willow said with a rueful smile.
Tara nodded and finished up her tea. “Let’s head out into the day,” she said cheerfully, then more gloomily added, “ever noticed how ridiculous such phrases sound nowadays?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean like I just said, ‘head out into the day’, ‘or good morning‘. When at the same time we’re travelling through eternal darkness. And our clocks are tuned to a planet that’s lost to us.”
“Hey,” Willow said softly and gently caressed Tara’s cheek, not paying any attention to the few raised eyebrows around them. “Don’t you go all blue on me. Look Tara maybe I can pull some strings and get us a day or two at the Cloud Nine. I mean it’s only a fake simulated sky, but as you know it’s quiet realistic – so what you say?”

Tara opened her eyes again, which she had closed on feeling Willow’s touch. “That would certainly be nice,” she said warmly and then added, “but I think as the Sec Ed I might have a bigger cloud to get us this short vacation.” She smiled thoughtfully, “even when I’m at my worse – you always make me feel special, how do you do that?”
“Magic.”
“You know, this magic of yours it’s really working. I’m all better now,” Tara said gladly. “It was properly just a phase I went through.”
That made Willow laugh, “you know that’s what some people say about us girl loving girls.”

Hand in hand, Willow and Tara left the mess hall. Having to go into different directions from there, they said their good byes right in the halls.
“So have a nice day,” Tara said and kissed Willow on her cheek, “love you.”
“Love you too. See you tonight,” Willow answered and returned the kiss.
Only reluctantly she let go of Tara’s hand and walked away, but not without turning around for one last yearning look upon her girlfriend.

On turning back Willow spotted fellow pilot ‘Mouse’ coming to a dead stop just a few meter’s away from her. Obviously, she had been heading for the mess hall together with her daughter, who was looking curiously at her mother.
Willow was just about to open her mouth to greet mother and daughter Barkas, when ‘Mouse’ suddenly turned around and dragging her daughter behind her hurried away – away as it seemed from that Lezzy.
It was in that moment that Willow decided that enough was enough.
“Ludimila,” she said, but her comrade was obviously ignoring her, as she kept walking away from.

Knowing that as a lieutenant she outranked ‘Mouse’, who was ‘only’ a lieutenant of the reserve, Willow reluctantly decided to play the ‘rank card’.
Stepping up besides her, Willow addressed the fleeing mother once again. “On a word Lieutenant,” she said officially and when ‘Mouse’ still didn’t stop, she added, more formally this time: “Lieutenant Barkas attention.”
This too was of no effect and so Willow speed up her pace and stepping right in front of her, she brought ‘Mouse’ to a full stop. “Lieutenant Barkas as your superior officer I gave you an direct order and you will obey – so ATTENION!” Willow bellowed.

With an ill will, Ludimila Barkas let go of her daughter’s hand – who looked somewhat bewildered by what was happening before her eyes – stood to attention and saluted her superior officer Lt. Rosenberg.
Willow returned the salute briskly: “At ease,” before she turned to Ludimila’s daughter Katharina. “Would you please excuse us,” she said, “your mother and I have something to talk about. Why don’t you go ahead to the mess hall. The pancakes are really excellent this morning, even though they’re funny shaped.” Following a short wordless exchange with her mother Katharina left, while Willow asked her mother to follow her to the nearest empty briefing room.

“Please have a seat,” Willow said and pointed to one of the chairs.
“If you don’t mind I would rather stand, sir,” Lt. Barkas answered coolly.
‘Well that had to be expected,’ Willow thought bitterly, when you call upon your higher rank. A lesson to be remembered if you should ever make CAG.’
Loud she said, “Ok, have it your way ‘Mouse’. But I’m telling you, this whole ‘attention thing’, would not have been necessary, if you had just talked to me, instead of turning around and running away.”
“I did not run away!” ‘Mouse’ protested.
“Do you think I’m stupid, Ludimila?” Willow said calmly. “For the second time, since the change was made to my name plaque, since word went out that I’m gay.”
Ludimila flinched on hearing Willow saying it out aloud. “You turned and hurried away with your daughter when you saw me coming. So don’t tell me you just happened to change your mind about having breakfast with your daughter, just when I came your way.”

Willow waited for ‘Mouse’ to reply, but when none was forth coming she went on. “Look Ludimila, I’m not contagious. It’s not an illness. It is just the way I am. I have not changed. I’m still the same Willow Rosenberg you’ve met when you first reported to me for duty.”
“But back then I did not know that you were a…” ‘Mouse’ stopped, unwilling to call it by name. Also unable to look her in the eyes, as Willow noticed miserably.
“What Ludimila ? A lesbian? A Queer?” Willow paused before she quietly added, “a pervert – a abomination?”
“The scriptures say, it’s not supposed to be,” ‘Mouse’ said weakly.
“So it says,” Willow replied dryly. She felt rather disappointed that the older comrade should play the religious – if not bigots – card.
“But this particular part of the scrolls also tells us not to cut our beards, not wear linen and wool together nor eat crayfish or frogs or snails. And I’m afraid if we adhered to that then many people from Saggitaron would be an abomination in the eyes of the Lords.”
Knowing that Ludimila was divorced, Willow added: “The scrolls also say that marriage should be for life.”
“That’s different!” ‘Mouse’ protested weakly.

“Is it?” Willow asked in return, “Once it was believed that a marriage should not be divorced and that homosexuality was offensive and morally wrong.
“But people changed… learned that sometimes it’s better to end a bad marriage, then to continue it until it gets really bad. And the same is true for gays and lesbians. So I love a woman. She’s my soul mate, she completes me. How can this be wrong?”
She paused for a bit, “in the end it all comes down to love. And the most important message of the Sacred Scrolls is love isn’t it?”

There was another painful silence, and Willow could see that she could not get through.
“Listen Ludimila,” she said, “I’m not seeking your approval – I don’t have too. You just have to understand you’re hurting me when you hurry away from me with your daughter, like I would harass her or something.
“Can’t we be civilised about this? You see I can’t and I won’t change who I am. But at the same time I’m also not of the ‘all in your face kinda way’. My girlfriend and I are more private, nothing more then holding hands or a kiss on the cheeks in public,” Willow said trying a bit of humour. “After all, as part of my patrol group you have to get along with me – trust me. Trust is essential when you want to survive in combat. Like when we took the asteroid from the Cylons? I trusted you with my life and during that mission you even saved my life…
“You no longer want to fly with me do you?” Willow finally understood the mixed signals she was getting from ‘Mouse’.

“No,” Ludimila Barkas answered flatly, still avoiding Willow’s look. “I can’t handle flying with someone like you.”
“So it is,” Willow said, trying not to show her hurt. “You’ve already filed for a transfer with Captain Adama I gather?”
“Not yet, but I will be shortly.”
“Well until then, like it or not, you will be flying patrol with me today. For regulations state that requests for transverse have to filed at least one day in advance and it might take ‘Apollo’ some time until he decides about it.
“But in the meantime, unless you’re planning on leaving, service and the Galactica all together, I expect you to behave yourself when around me, whether or not your with your daughter or not. Or believe me I will be pressing charges against you for disrespectful behaviour towards your superior officer – dismissed Lieutenant.”

Sitting down heavily in a chair, Willow let out a heartfelt sight. ‘Well that could’ve gone better,’ she thought sadly.
But for that, it needed two people and sadly to say that Ludimila Barkas was not one of them.
Granted she obviously only wanted to protect her daughter – but from what?
Homosexuals? Life?
She seemed to be literally afraid of gays. Afraid because people like Jessica, herself and Tara were different from what people once considered ‘the norm’.
How ridiculous it was though, here they were, diminished to less then fifty thousand people and pursued mercilessly by the Cylons; not to mention the threat of Cylon sleeper agents living among them, and this mother was afraid that her daughter might ‘turn’ gay, when she got into close contact with a lesbian.
She’d tried her best, Willow was sure, and now all that was left for her was to hope and pray that Katharina would not take on the homophobic attitude of her mother, but would turn out to be open-minded toward alternate forms of life.
“And now you better get going if you want to take a shower, before changing into your flight-suit,” Willow advised herself, and left the room.

Following a (very) quick, but nonetheless refreshing shower, Willow put on a new flight-suit and made her way to the pilot’s briefing room.
She was just about to enter, when a familiar voice called her back, “Lt. Rosenberg?”
“Captain Adama,” Willow said saluting her CAG.
“On a word Lieutenant,” ‘Apollo’ said and led ‘Red-Dyke’ to a quiet corner, while her thoughts went into overdrive. Had ‘Mouse’ gone strait to ‘Apollo’ for a immediate transfer? Had she protested for the way Willow had talked to her earlier? Would he agree with the way she had handled the situation.
‘Just play it cool,’ her voice of reason, advised Willow.

“Is this about Lt. Barkas?” it burst out of Willow and onto a obviously unprepared Lee Adama.
‘I think you somewhat missed the playing cool mark,’ her inner voice commented dryly.
“What about Lt. Barkas?” ‘Apollo’ asked puzzled.
Nothing, Willow wanted to say, but realizing that once she had started she couldn’t back out again, she explained. “Lt. Barkas might address you about a transfer from my patrol group.”
“And why is that?”
“Well it seams that she has a problem with my personal leanings.”
“Leanings?”
Kicking herself mentally in the butt for not saying it, Willow remembered all of her out and proud talk and said, “she seems to have a problem with me being gay, sir.”

“You know Lt. If you’re old enough to do it, you’re old enough to say it.”
Willow flinched on hearing the captain repeat what Xander had told her once before – a long time ago.
“Anyway,” ‘Apollo’ said cutting to the chase, “the sexual orientation of my pilots is of no concern of mine.” And more to himself he added, “As long as they don’t shack the vice-president.”
“Sir?”
“Never mind – or any other politician.”
“It’s the Secretary of Education sir,” Willow said weakly, feeling like the ground may give way beneath her any second.
“What?”
“My girlfriend – it’s Dr. Tara Maclay the Secretary of Education,” Willow explained.
“Education? Well I don’t see any conflicts of interest here. Unless she’s promoted to Secretary of Defence that is, wouldn’t you agree?” ‘Apollo asked. Willow nodded and her CAG added confidentially, “and please forget the whole vice-president, politician thing okay?”
“Already have,” Willow assured him and so Lee Adama returned to the subject at hand.

“Your up to a eleven hour patrol right now right?” he asked.
“Yes, that’s twice a week.”
“Well you know, we’re spread pretty thin pilot wise, and not that much pilots to follow. It still will take some time until we can add any of ‘Slayers’ Potentials onto the duty raster. Anyway, report to me after your patrol. I need you for a special assignment tomorrow,” ‘Apollo’ explained.
“Yes sir,” Willow answered and then curiously asked: “can you already tell me what this assignment will be all about?”

“You ‘Crashdown’, and ‘Cardman’, together with two other Raptors will be part of a ground survey mission,” Adama explained
Willow interest into mission peaked at once. Had they found Earth, was their quest over at last? “This planet we’re to survey,” she asked keenly, “is it Earth?”
“No it Isn’t,” ‘Apollo answered and stepping closer her lowered his voice. “Listen, it’s not yet spread around and we don’t want the get the hopes up just yet. But we are pretty sure that this planet is Kobol.”
Willow eyes went wide. “Kobol? You mean Kobol like Kobol? Like the Lords of Kobol – Kobol? That Kobol?” she babbled away, taking her CAG quietly by surprise.
“Yes Lieutenant, Kobol,” he hastily confirmed. “Lords, if we could pluck this mouth of yours into a Viper, it would have FTL capability.”
“Sorry,” Willow said with a guilty smile.
“Never mind, just give me a short warning before you do that again. And remember this ought to be confidential for the time being.”
“Yes sir. Can I tell my girlfriend sir?” Willow asked before she could stop herself.
“Given that as a member of Laura Roslyn’s cabinet she probably knows already, yes. But no one besides that. Not even your patrol group understood,” ‘Apollo’ clarified once more.
“Understood sir,” Willow acknowledged.
“Good, now get to your patrol ‘Red-Dyke’ – good hunting.”

Kobol, legendary planet from which the twelve tribes had started out countless centuries ago, to find the Twelve Colonies, and home to the mysterious thirteenth tribe who travelled far and wide to settle on a planet called Earth.
Kobol.
Now no longer a myth but a real planet, and if Kobol was real – then Earth could be real too, couldn’t it?
Commander Adama did not know the true location of Earth, Willow had no doubt about it, for how could’ve such a secret ever be kept.
But with Kobol now being a reality, maybe the prophesy could become true – that Kobol would lead the way to the promised land – Earth.

Of course, there was also the possibility of settling permanently on Kobol, provided the planet was still hospitable.
But then, what about those Cylon sleeper agents, they might still be hiding out within the fleet? The sleepers could lead the Cylons to them once they settled. Could they seriously risk settling on Kobol? How could they know for sure the Cylons would not come after them? And if they settled, they would be sitting relatively defenceless upon the planet’s surface.
And what if, on the other hand, Kobol would lead them to Earth – what moral right had they to go to Earth under these circumstances?
Cylons were created by the men of the Twelve Colonies. What right had they to bring their demons upon the innocent people of Earth?
Quite the big philosophical question, but during long eventless patrols like these Willow liked pondering about such heavy subjects – even though she wouldn’t have the answer to them.

The patrol itself went by pretty smoothly; ‘Rogue’ was all ‘Five by Five’, as usual and ‘Mouse’ a little more friendly as during the previous patrols since Willow’s coming out.
Perhaps the seemingly fruitless talk might have nudged her into some kind of understanding.
Willow didn’t know, but certainly she hoped so, ‘cause she really respected Ludimila as a comrade and would like to have her as a friend too

Armed with a stag of preliminary – as well as highly classified – topographical charts, and first survey pictures of Kobol, Willow headed towards the visitor quarters and her girlfriend.
She was to make herself familiar with these materials prior to the planetary survey mission to Kobol tomorrow morning.
While ‘Cartman’ was to lead the planetary survey team, ‘Red-Dyke’ and ‘Crashdown’ would conduct further mapping flights over the main continent.
Willow had come aboard this mission as a replacement for ‘Boomer’, who accidentally had shot herself while cleaning her gun.
Luckily though it was just a scratch and she would be alright soon.
Odd though that an experienced soldier like Sharon should forget to check the chamber of her pistol before cleaning it.

“Hello Lt. Rosenberg!” Willow turned around to see young Katharina Barkas coming up right behind her, smiling uneasily.
“Oh hello,” Willow greeted the adolescent warmly “you’re looking for your mother? Because I haven’t seen her for the past hour, I’ve been in a special meeting.”
“Not at all,” Katharina said hurriedly, “I was looking for you, because I wanted to give you this.” She handed Willow an envelope. “Now I’ve got to get back, or my mother will be wondering were I am. Bye!”
“Bye,” was all Willow was able to say before the young girl had run away again. ‘Nice Kid,’ Willow thought and looked at the envelope she was holding in her hands.
Ms. Rosenberg, Battlestar Galactica, read.
It wasn’t written by ‘Mouse’ Willow could tell, but suspected it to be written by her daughter. Pausing at a corner, Willow opened extracted the one sheet letter and began to read it.


Dear Ms. Rosenberg,

I’m writing you because I want to say how sorry I am for how my mother reacted the past two times we meet you in the halls.
You have to believe me when I’m telling you that this isn’t what she’s like.
I mean, usually she’s quite cool – for a woman her age that is.
It is just when it comes to homosexual people like yourself, that she can’t really help herself.
My grandparents were all conservative, old fashioned and very religious.
You know like fundamental religious, like only fish on Fridays and so on.
I think you can imagine what their stand on homosexuality or even mixed raced marriage was.

However, my mother never taught me to be disrespectful towards people of different race, gender, religious beliefs or even gays and lesbians.
It’s just herself, even though she tries to get off the tracks her parents forced her into, she can’t help it but to be caught by the teachings of her parents.
Of course, there’s also the problem that with so many people dead and killed, including my father – whom she still loved despite them being divorced – that she really wants to protect me from harm. Even though there’s, of course, nothing to protect me from when it comes to people like you and your girlfriend.

Anyway, I fully intend to talk to my mother about this and hopefully I will be able to make her see that we can meet you in the hallways, without walking away from you again.
I also hope that she will keep flying with you, because she really respects and admires you as a fellow pilot and comrade in arms. (her words not mine.)

Sincerely
Katharina Barkas

PS: Would you send my regards to Dr. Maclay? As a teacher, she really rocks and I hope to become as good a teacher as she is. No offence to you and your line of work.

‘Nice Kid,’ Willow thought once again. ‘And bright too,’ she recognized.
After all old habits really do die hard, as the old proverb says and maybe Katharina could help her mother break out of the religious bigot mould of hers. “Can’t wait to tell Tara about this,” Willow whispered to herself and started walking again.

Honey, I’m home, Willow had wanted to call upon letting herself into Tara’s quarter, but only got as far as “Honey…” as she was greeted by a scarcely lit room and Miss Kitty sitting right in front of the bulkhead, looking at Willow like she wanted to say: Stop calling. Your Honey ain’t here, just me. So pick me up and cuddle me instead!”
Switching on the light, Willow absentmindedly picked up Miss Kitty Fantastico and looked around the room, Tara should have been here by now she knew.
The laptop was missing, she saw. Tara must have been called away on some governmental business or something like that.
In that moment, Miss Kitty jumped of her arm and onto the living room table, like she wanted to turn Willow’s attention to the envelope lying on top of it.
Taking Miss Kitty up again, Willow sat down on the couch put the mission documents on the table and took up the letter. With Miss Kitty sitting comfortably in her lap, she read letter left to her by her girlfriend.

Dear Willow,

I’m sorry to not be here to greet you upon your return today.
Due to some unexpected problems aboard the Vanguard, I will not be able to read to you this evening as I promised.
Of course, this also means that I will miss the feet and other parts massage you’ve promised me in return.
You know, of course, that you wont get of the hook so easily, or don’t you?

I shan’t be gone long, just until tomorrow, probably around lunch time. We then could meet for a romantic dinner at my place – I will be cooking. That’s right, me!
Jessica Cally promised to lend me a hotplate and I organized some food supplies, and from that I will cook you… mustn’t tell you yet, it’s to be a surprise.

I’ve got to hurry, my flight will be ready soon, so I have to leave for the shuttle bay and I have to leave you.
I will be counting the hours ‘till we’re back together again.

I am yours. Love Tara

PS. Would you please look in on Miss Kitty for me?
You could also sleep here if you like. Unless you feel the necessity to prove to your bunk mates that you’re not completely fed up with sharing a room with them.
See you tomorrow my Love.
Kisses Tara.

“See you tomorrow,” Willow repeated the last words written by her lover. But more likely the day after tomorrow. Her part of the ground survey mission, with Raptor One was to take one day for starters – setting the ground work for further missions.
Pre flight briefing together at six hundred hours, with a return scheduled for around twenty three hundred hours, but as missions go, it might as well get later then that. Willow wasn’t sure if she wanted to disturb Tara at so late an hour.
But then the thought of sleeping under the covers next to sleeping Tara, made Willow feel all warm and tingly – so it was settled.

After playing with Miss Kitty, and looking through her papers, Willow sat down at Tara’s desk to write a letter for Tara to find upon her return tomorrow.
Sealing the letter with a kiss, Willow placed it on the table, right were Tara had placed her letter. Following a short stop at the washroom, Willow then changed into her nightshirt and slipped under the covers that still held the scent of her girlfriend.
Despite Miss Kitty taking up sleeping position right in the middle of her tummy, Willow went to sleep as soon as she put out the lights.

“Ok, ok cut the chatter down,” ‘Crashdown’ ordered the crews of the other two Raptors. “Spin up FTL drives.” he went on, while ‘Red-Dyke’ tried to make herself comfortable, as comfortable as you could be sitting on the floor of a cramped Raptor. Ten people including their pilot ‘Cartman’, ‘Crashdown’ at the dradis consol, and Vice-President Baltar slept on the seat right next to ‘Cardman’.
“Cally hold on to your lunch,” ‘Crashdown’ mockingly advised the young petty officer sitting right in front of Willow, who responded with a equally mock salute.
“Still haven’t got used to it?” Willow asked.
“Nope, still gives me butterflies in my tummy,” Jessica Cally answered, lowering her voice she added just for Willow to hear, “and I’m not talking about the good kind of butterflies, if you catch my meaning, though some of them are present as well.”
“I guess so,” Willow whispered back, but something in the young dyke’s face made her take a closer look into Cally’s face. There certainly was a particular gleam in her eyes.

“So, are there two kinds of Butterflies coming along?” Willow asked whisperingly.
“Reasonable well sir,” Cally said with a wry smile, “though right now the ‘I hate flying’ butterflies are in the majority.”
“And for whom would the others be flying?” Willow asked even more quietly, “if you don’t mind me asking.”
“I don’t mind, but I better tell you later,” Cally answered, turning a little bit green around her pretty nose as ‘Crashdown’ started to count down the seconds to jump.
“.. three, two, one – Jump!”

Then there was the familiar flash and without actually moving, they had travelled from where the fleet was to Kobol and the many possibilities it held for the people of the Twelve Colonies.
“Jump complete,” ‘Crashdown’ reported and over the wireless Willow could hear ’Elo’ advise the Pilot of Raptor 2 – ‘Shadow’ to bring down the nose in order to see the planet.
There was this short moment of peace when Willow bent her head in order to catch a first glimpse of planet Kobol.

Then all hell broke lose.
Everything happened at once, the moment ‘Cartman’ brought down the nose of Raptor 1 the Dradis Consol went wild, reporting multiple enemy contacts all over the planet. An uncountable number of Raiders and one Basestar, Willow could make out on the screen.
“What the hell?” ‘Cartman’ cried out and in that very same moment, Willow could here a desperate ‘Shadow’ cry: “Hell no!”
Then there was a sudden fireball to their right and Raptor 2 vanished from the telemetry-screen, as he’d virtually been run over by a Cylon Raider – blown to peaces and all ten souls aboard instantly killed.
With enemy fire all around them, and the Raptor only equipped with defensive potential, all was in complete chaos. With people crying or yelling all around her, Willow tried to get a grip on the situation – in that moment the Raptor was hit.
“Fire in the turbine shutting it down!” ‘Cartman’ yelled and right in front of Willow something blasted through the floor, exploded at the back of ‘Cartman’s seat; and send the pilots head rocking forward – blood spieled on the windscreen and a crack damaged it’s integrity.

“Pilot down! Pilot down!”, Baltar yelled in panic, stating the obvious, while Tyrol sealed the breach in the floor.
Staggering to her feet, Willow yanked the panicking Vice-President roughly out of his seat and sat down in front of the controls.
Taking a quick inventory of the instruments, ‘Red-Dyke’ saw they could only go into one direction – down. She had to bring this bird down, or they would all be dead.
In the mounting chaos behind her, Tyrol yelled at ‘Crashdown’ to order the remaining Raptor to get the hell out of here.
“Oh no!” Willow gasped as the windshield further dissolved. ‘At least we’re already inside the planet’s atmosphere,’ she thought before she yelled: “Everybody hit the deck!”

“Watch that mountain!” Tyrol yelled into Willow’s ear, meaning the huge rock formation right in front of them. “Thanks for watching!” ‘Red-Dyke’ yelled back.
“I love you Tara,” Willow whispered with tears in her eyes.
Loudly she yelled out: “All hands brace for impact!”

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

DIBS! Ok I will let a feedback tomorrow my little bread because I am too much tired

hey, time for some feedbacking don't you think little bread?


you can't leave us like that. You can't. We all know you will not kill Willow, even if your introduction said blah blah blah dead blah blah blah... and your end looks like Willow's death. You're on the kitten board afterall.
And don't forget thank to TGV Est, I am sure I can come in Germany, take some other trains if needed and kick your ass myself.
I need more. Soon. Very soon. lol

Keep writing like that my friend.

Captain Bernd The Bread.

Thanks,

Julia.

P.S.: Ratatouille your avatar will be in the theater this wednesday... Yeah!! a rat cooking in Paris... it must be a sort of a "special movie for Julia, the queen of Nutland" made by Pixar. lol

_________________
Broken Dolls |The Stadium's Goddesses | Seeds Of Beauty

"Joie est mon caractère, C'est la faute à Voltaire; Misère est mon trousseau, C'est la faute à Rousseau." Gavroche. Victor Hugo, Les Misérables (chap. XV)

Update-y goodness to this excellent story... thanks for that... more soon? Pleaase

_________________
We few, we happy few. We band of buggered.

Posting While Nude Improves Your Mood.

They say the Cylons look like us now.
They say we need to be strong. They say, we need to stay focused.
But I’m struggling to do both. I’ve got to get in control, the enemy must not win.

The world is over, the fight is just beginning.



Dear Tara,

My love, it seems like we’re ‘missing’ each other big time.
You’ve been away when I returned from patrol, and now upon returning you find me gone on a planetary survey mission to Kobol.
Isn’t it amazing that this planet out of the sacred scrolls should actually exist?
And what if Kobol should really lead the way to Earth as it was foretold in the prophesy of
Pythia, thousand of years ago?

You know I would love to live with on a planet – not necessary Kobol or Earth, any planet would do. A planet where we could live together in a little house.
That is my dream you know, a house with a garden. An open fireplace in the living room and Miss Kitty sleeping right in front of it.
I’m even dreaming of two kids – two girls: Elizabeth and Lillian, you know Liz and Lilly for short and…

Babbling, babbling it seams even when writing I can’t keep myself from babbling away without being able to stop myself.

Maybe this will remain a dream, but I certainly hope that it will come true someday.
But before that, let’s see what new knowledge I can bring with me from Kobol when I return to you tomorrow – I mean today when you’re reading this letter upon your return.

Yes my love, I’m afraid we will be separated that long. Maybe even longer. You see we’re scheduled to return from this mission tomorrow (I mean today) around twenty-three hundred hours ships time. But as missions go, together with debriefing, it should be somewhat later till I’m really back.
So don’t wait for me, but be prepared to find me at your side when you awake in the morning, for I’ll will be coming back to you – promised.

Miss Kitty is demanding my attention now, as well as something to eat I suppose, so goodbye my love. In two days time we will be reunited again.

I love you.

Yours always
Willow

P.S.: I will hold you on your promise for….

Tara couldn’t read the last words, for her vision became blurred by her tears again and tears had also started to wash away part of the ink from Willow’s first ever love letter to her.
Maybe even the last love letter, for Willow was – what was the military term? ‘Missing in Action’.
And not only her, but their new friend Jessica too, along with the other nine people aboard this ill-fated Raptor.
One of the three Raptor’s she’d seen depart from the Galactica. Only one had returned, another had been destroyed and the Raptor with her girlfriend aboard had last been seen going down towards the planet’s surface.
No telling if Willow and the others even survived the crash. No telling if there was to be a rescue attempt.

Three Raptors that went out to explore a possible new home for humanity…

Earlier that day.

“Raptor two o six stand by. You will be cleared for landing once the port landing port is free.”
“Copy that Galactica. Remaining in waiting position until cleared for landing,” ‘Rice-Pattie’ reported back and turning around to Tara, sitting right next to her she added, “since we’re stuck out here for the time being. We may as well enjoy the view, don’t you agree Tara?”
“Absolutely Dana,” Tara agreed.
Lt. Kim brought the Raptor up from behind the Galactica, flew alongside the landing pod.
Coming to a stop, Tara could see three Raptors emerge from the Galactica.
Swiftly they moved away and only moments later vanished in the familiar flash of a FTL jump.

“Any idea where they’re heading?” Tara asked, feeling the peculiar need to do so.
“Why? To Kobol of course, haven’t you heard that it had been found?” ‘Rice-Pattie’ answered sounding genuinely surprised.
“Of course I know that Kobol has been found,” Tara said and gave a pout. “I mean ever since Colonial Day, I’m probably no longer on the best terms with the president, but I’m not completely out of the loop here. It’s just I didn’t know about any mission to Kobol yet.”
“Wow, stand down,” ‘Rice-Pattie’ said, “didn’t mean to offend you.”
“Believe me you didn’t,” Tara said.

“So what happened?” Dana asked while she started to bring the Raptor around towards the landing bay.
“Remember the rumours about the cabinet member and the Galactica military personnel?”
“Yea.”
Pointing at herself, Tara went on: “I’m that cabinet member and ‘Red-Dyke’, she’s my girlfriend. And because these rumours started just the day Tom Zarek started campaigning for the vice-presidency, Laura Roslin thought a gay Sec Ed a danger to her position.”
“So you and Rosenberg huh?” ‘Rice-Pattie’ asked while she manoeuvred the Raptor into the port landing bay.
“That’s right.”
“Cool.”

As the Raptor was lowered down from the landing bay to the hangar, Tara said to ‘Rice-Pattie’: “Thank you Dana for bringing me back to Galactica so early.”
“You’re welcome Tara,” ‘Rice-Pattie’ answered, “just out of shear curiosity, why the rush?”
“Oh I want to surprise my girlfriend with breakfast in bed,” Tara explained with a big happy smile on her face.
“Well that’s sweet. Though, you’re sure she will be still in bed? I mean it’s half past eight,” Dana said pointing at the chronometer right in the middle of the dashboard.
I know she is,” Tara said. “Today she’s on the late shift and thus bound to be sleeping late after yesterday’s eleven hour patrol.”
“I see. Well then have a nice breakfast,” ‘Rice-Pattie’ said and opened the Raptor’s hatch for Tara to leave the craft.

Balancing a tray with breakfast for two in one hand and holding on to her suitcase under her arm, Tara tried to let herself into her quarter as quietly as possible.
Looking around the dimmed living room, Tara was once again amazed by how much more these walls – without undergoing any real change – felt like home now. And only because she was sharing them now with Willow.
The living room was empty though, and so without looking Tara placed the tray on the table and quietly made her way into the bedroom.
Lit only by the light poring in through the open door, Tara could see the bed to be empty. Except for Miss Kitty of course, who was sitting right in the middle of the sleeping place.

Tara sat down on the bed and Miss Kitty right away strolled over and took up seat upon her lap. “Willow ain’t here, is she?” she asked the little feline, who responded by purring loudly.
‘Willow probably slept in her bunk,’ Tara thought and absent mindedly stroked Miss Kitty.
After she’d fixed the breakfast for her cat, Tara left her quarter again, leaving her own breakfast untouched on the living room table.

Wandering through the halls towards the officer’s quarters, Tara noticed the mood around the corridors to be somewhat strange, but could not put the finger on why it was this way.
Reaching the officer’s quarters, Tara saw a female pilot leave the accommodation where she knew Willow’s bunk to be.
“Excuse me,” Tara said, “but is Lt. Rosenberg still in there?”
The pilot, ‘Lt. Ayelet Quast’ Tara could read on the name tag on the flight suit, looked somewhat insecure for a moment before she answered: “Sorry Ma'am but she isn’t. Lt. Rosenberg is on a survey mission… Maybe she left message at your quarter?”
“I’m just coming from my place,” Tara said, more to herself then to the lieutenant, “maybe I’ve over looked it.”
“Sorry Ma'am, but if you will excuse me, I have to report for duty,” Lt. Quast said and hastily walked away. Leaving Tara with the distinct feeling that something just wasn’t right.

Walking back through the seemingly endless corridors of the mighty Battlestar, the feeling became more like a nagging angst that something really terrible had happened.
Almost running, Tara reached her quarters and keyed on the lights. At once she spotted the envelope laying half covered by the tray with the neglected breakfast.
Sitting down on the coach and with Miss Kitty playing around her feet, Tara stated to read the first love letter from her girlfriend Willow.

The Raptor’s!
Willow was with the Raptor’s she’d seen depart from the Galactica upon her own arrival.
Tara let her hand with the letter sink upon her side, now she knew why Willow hadn’t been here.
Yet this new found knowledge only further fuelled the dread in Tara that something terrible had indeed happened to her beloved girlfriend.
Unable to concentrate on her work or anything else for that matter, Tara kept sitting on her couch and stared on the printout of her favourite Adriana Richardson painting, without really seeing it at all.

A knock upon her bulkhead brought Tara out of her dull stare. Sending a quite annoyed Miss Kitty flying onto her bed and closing the door, Tara went to get the bulkhead.
Not really expecting it to be Willow, Tara found herself surprised to find a very worn-out looking Buffy Summers standing at her doorstep.
Her ever mounting fears pressing her even closer to the edge of panic, Tara wordlessly led Buffy into her quarter
Folding her arms protectively around her torso, Tara waited for Buffy to say something.

“It’s about Willow,” Buffy said, her voice sounding strangely calm. “She’s been part of a survey mission to Kobol.”
“I know, she wrote me in a letter about it.” Tara said, showing her friend the letter, that she still held in her hand. Her hand started shaking for she had noticed that Buffy had said ‘she’s been’ and not ‘She is’.
‘Slayer’ hesitated and Tara could feel Buffy’s rising desperation.
“What happened Buffy?” she asked quietly.
“The Cylons!” Buffy whispered, tears dwelling in her eyes, “they were there – at Kobol when they arrived, one Basestar and Raiders. One of the Raptors got destroyed the moment they entered normal space.”
A distressed cry escaped Tara’s lips and she covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide with terror.
“No, no, no!” Buffy cried out, grapping Tara by her shoulders, “she’s wasn’t aboard that Raptor!”
“But she isn’t here either.”

“Raptor One with Willow on board was last seen heading towards the planet’s surface without power,” Buffy explained.
“So there’s a chance she’s still alive?” Tara asked, feeling like she would faint any moment.
“Yes there’s a good chance that they made it safely to the planet’s surface,” Buffy answered.
“Will there be a rescue attempt?” Tara wanted to know, “Will they save my Willow?”
Desperation started to freeze Tara's heart, for how could she ever live on, if Willow should not return from Kobol. But was there a real chance for success?
“There will be a rescue attempt,” Buffy finally said, “but the Basestar will have to be taken out before that.”

This sounded awfully dangerous, if not impossible to Tara. “Is that possible?” she asked sceptically though she welcomed any hope for seeing Willow again.
“Speaking strictly from the military textbook, no,” Buffy admitted, “but right now ‘Starbuck’ is working a plan to defeat this Basestar anyway. Believe me she is thinking so far out of the box, one could almost call her crazy. But until now these plans of her have worked.
“So I’m optimistic that if any plan should ever have a chance to succeed then it’s hers.”

Buffy fell silent for a moment before she added, “I really believe that we will get Willow back. I can’t stand the thought of loosing my best friend too.” She had said this more to herself then to Tara, and her tone of voice told her that Buffy wasn’t only referring to Xander or her comrades on the destroyed Raptor.
“Who was on the destroyed Raptor?” Tara asked cautiously.
With tears dwelling in her eyes, Buffy shook her head like she wanted to dismiss this question, to hide away from the truth that was lurking behind these words. Eventually a heart-wrenching sob escaped her lips and she cried out, “Reilly Finn!”
‘Oh no – not Reilly Finn!’ Tara thought in horror. Loudly she asked, “from the marines?”
“You knew him?”
“I talked with him on the Quorum – he was part of my security detail,” Tara said, remembering one of the more content moments of these days aboard Cloud Nine. “He talked a lot about you.”
“He did?”
“Yes. I think he was…”
“I know,” Buffy admitted, “I believe I was in love with him too. But I didn’t let him come close enough find out for sure. I was too afraid that if I let him in my heart I might lose him afterwards. And now I have lost him only to discover that he has been in my heart all the time…”
Her voice failed her and ‘Slayer’ started crying harder.

Crying herself Tara took Buffy in her arms and they both cried holding each other comfortingly. ‘Poor Buffy,’ Tara thought, ‘at least I still have even if only the slightest hope that Willow could still be alive and might even return to me, but Buffy?’
“What time is it?” Buffy asked after a while. Letting go of each other, Tara showed the young pilot her wristwatch.
“Frak!” ‘Slayer’ exclaimed, “I have to report for duty in less then ten minutes!”
“More training flights with your ‘Potentials’?” Tara asked, just to get Buffy’s thoughts a little bit distracted from her dead boyfriend.
“Nope, normal patrol duty for a change,” Buffy said and started to dry her tears. “As a matter of fact, I will be replacing Willow in her patrol group with ‘Rogue’ and ‘Mouse’” She took the tissue offered by Tara to further dry her tears and blow her nose.
“It’s good to have a good cry once in a while isn’t it,” Buffy said, “so you’ll be all right, Tara?”
“I’ll manage,” Tara assured her friend.

“I’m sure Willow is going to be all right,” Buffy said, to assure herself as much as her best friend’s girlfriend.
“I know she is,” Tara said softly, “she has to be. I also believe that if she wasn’t alive any longer I would have felt it.”
“Lover’s intuition?”
“Something like that.”
“Well take care, Tara,” Buffy said fondly and for the first time kissed Tara goodbye on her check. “I will do my best to keep you informed on the entire situation.”
“Thank you Buffy,” Tara said, and then, as an afterthought, added, “good hunting ‘Slayer’
Sitting down on the couch after Buffy had left, Tara forced herself to eat something. “You won’t help Willow by starving yourself,” she advised herself. “You have to stay strong, for Willow.”
Several hours later, Tara’s nerves were strained to the max, since she’d learned – through one of her more ‘unofficial’ contacts (Not Buffy who was still on patrol) of the plan that was to be put in motion to destroy the Cylon Basestar over Kobol.

Even though her contact had been vague on the details, Tara understood that it involved a captured Cylon Raider and a nuke, to blew up this ship full of toasters [Nickname for the robot Centurions] and these sort of human Cylons clones.
A crazy plan, to phrase it politely.
But Tara knew that ‘crazy’ held the best chances for success, and for Willow and Jessica to return safely to Galactica.
So all depended on ‘Starbuck’s’ plan to succeed. Tara hadn’t meet Kara ‘Starbuck’ Trace yet, but from what Willow had told her, Kara seemed crazy enough to really pull this stunt off.
‘If only someone would tell me if this mission is underway by now,’ Tara thought nervously.

Another hour later, Tara couldn’t stand it any longer. She needed to know how things were going. And on a more reasonable level she started to wonder why Yeoman Alyson Benson hadn’t come around with the communications from ‘Colonial One’ by now.
During all those past weeks, these communiqués had always come at the same time – give or take ten minutes. And even if there were no messages for Tara, Alyson had come in order to get any communiqués Tara had to send to ‘Colonial One’ or other ships.
“Well at least now I have a reason to go to the CIC,” Tara said to Miss Kitty, who was sleeping right next to her on the couch and left her quarter right away.

Her most important question Tara got answered as soon as she stepped into the busy hallways leading to the CIC. For all the officers and crewmembers she encountered talked about how ‘Boomer’ successfully blew up the Cylon Basestar above Kobol.
Even though she wondered briefly why it was ‘Boomer’ instead of ‘Starbuck’ Tara was as happy as any other person aboard the Battlestar upon hearing the good news.
Tara knew this to be the biggest military success, ever since they took the tylium asteroid from the Cylons. She also found her hopes of meeting Willow again raised considerably.

Feeling more relaxed Tara slowed her steps, and was passed by two marines escorting a handcuffed Captain Adama!
Tara had a very bad feeling about what she was seeing.
‘Something really bad must have happened,’ she thought. But she couldn’t think of a reason that a man like Lee Adama – son of the Galactica’s commander and according to Willow an excellent CAG – should end up in handcuffs.
Tara realised how bad things were, when on looking back she saw another person being lead in handcuffs into a different direction down the corridor – President Laura Roslin!

Tara hurried after her. “Madam President what’s going on here?” she asked, but got no answer from her boss. Instead, a third marine Tara hadn’t noticed before stepped up from behind her, and without stop walking said to her, “I’m sorry, but Ms Roslin is under arrest and I’m under strict orders that no one shall have private conference of what degree so ever with the prisoner.”
Prisoner? Ms Roslin?

“Then you tell me what’s going on!” Tara demanded, stepping up her pace in order to keep up with the marines and their prisoner.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that either Ma'am,” the marine retorted briskly.
“Do you know who I am?” Tara insistently asked. “I’m a member of the government and as such I demand to know why you are taking the President of the Twelve Colonies away like a ordinary criminal!”
The marine, one Lt. Anderson Tara could now read on his combat suit, stopped, while his comrades continued escorting the president away. “I know who you are Dr. Maclay,” he said, “but I have my orders. You’ll have to go to Commander Adama for answers.”
“Believe me I will!” Tara answered furiously.
“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me Madam Secretary,” he saluted Tara briskly, then walked away joining his comrades who had already walked around the next corner heading for the brig.

Tara kept standing where Anderson had left her, trying sort out what she had just learned
The president was under arrest and on her way to the brig.
Was this a military coupe? Had Commander Adama declared martial law?
He didn’t seem the type. From what she knew of him, he was someone who believed in the articles of colonization he had sworn to protect and defend. He had made this clear when he had objected to Laura Roslin’s request to have marines take over policing duties.
“So what has happened here?” Tara asked herself again.
Only one place to find out what happened, Tara knew and so she started to walk again to the CIC, where Commander was likely to be found. In about ten minutes, she should have her answers – she hoped.

It took Tara thirty minutes to get anywhere near the command and control center, because she had been so exhausted first by worrying about Willow (still doing so) and then by the whole new situation that she’d just encountered, that she had completely lost her way. Embarrassingly she had to ask a crew member for directions.
More determined then ever to get answers Tara marched towards the bulkhead leading to the CIC, only to find both Commander William Adama and Col. Saul Tigh coming her way.

‘They probably have been with the president,’ Tara thought and stepped right up right in front of them, and without any preamble came right to the point.
“Commander Adama,” she said, but got cut off right away.
“Madam Secretary, I’m rather busy right now. So if you would please excuse me.”
“No I wouldn’t,” Tara said briskly, “I demand to know why the President of the Twelve Colonies has been arrested!”
Tara was determined to stand her ground, she was part of the democratic government and she wouldn’t move until she got the answers she was entitled to.
“Is this a military coupe? Did you declare martial law?” she demanded to know.
William Adama wasn’t exactly intimidated by her demeanor, she could see, but he answered her anyway.
“Dr. Maclay,” he said calmly, “President Roslin, deliberately took away a vital military asset, by persuading one of my pilots to go on a wild ghost chase against orders. And therefore she left me with no other choice but to release her of her office.”

“She took away a military what?” Tara asked puzzled.
“A military asset doctor, a Cylon Raider we captured some time ago, and that was to be used in a assignment to destroy the Cylon Basestar.”
“But the mission was a success, I heard people talk about it!”
“We managed to accomplish the task by other means,” Adama clarified Tara’s confusion.
“So you didn’t need this Raider after all. So one could say Laura Roslin made a terrible misjudgment, but in the end she did not endanger the mission,” Tara concluded weakly, but knowing very well that Laura had made a dreadful mistake.
“It’s much more then that Dr. Maclay and you know it,” Adama clarified. “This was to be a military decision and thus not one to made by President Roslin. And now, if you don’t mind, I do have to commence a search and rescue operation. So I have to ask you to return to your quarter for the time being.”

“Are you putting me under arrest too now, Commander Adama?” Tara inquired.
“If you like to call it that way,” Col. Tigh mockingly told her, but Adama cut him off.
“I’d rather like you to remain in your quarters until this crisis has been resolved.” He turned to the marine that had been following him and the colonel. “Corporal, escort Dr. Maclay to her quarters.”
“Yes sir.”
Commander Adama then excused himself and the colonel once again and entered the CIC. He was followed by two female pilots, one of whom Tara recognized as Sharon Valerii – ‘Boomer’.
Sharon Valerii had flown Tara several times and she had found her to be sympatric and likable character.
Tara noticed her wearing a Band-Aid on her face, and she wondered what had happened to the young lieutenant.
She also noticed a somewhat peculiar look in her eyes. Tara couldn’t tell why but something bothered her about what she was seeing in the woman’s eyes.
”If you would please come this way Madam Secretary,” the marine said politely.
“Lead on corporal – lead on,” Tara said weakly and started moving.

They had just walked but a few meters and around the next corner, when Tara heard, even if only faintly, shots fired from within the CIC.
‘Gun fire – here?’ Tara thought terrified and in the same instant she heard cries, saying that Commander Adama had been shot by ‘Boomer’!
While one part of Tara was horrified, another concluded that even though it seemed utterly impossible at first, and completely unlike the ‘Boomer’ she’d known, there could only be one possible explanation: Sharon ‘Boomer’ Valerii had to be a Cylon sleeper agent programmed to shoot Commander Adama.

Unbelievable. All this time ‘Boomer’ had been serving in the fleets best interest, found them water and fuel and even just blew up a Cylon Basestar.
But then some preprogramming took over and she shot the man that was so essential for the survival of the human race.

However, right before the shoots had been fired Cpl Bruce O’Reilly called out to another pilot, that was coming their way, “Hello ‘Rogue’ how was today’s patrol?”
Tara hadn’t paid any attention to this pilot, but that changed rather drastically when the woman cheerfully replied: “Five by five!”

Tara stopped dead in her steps and in her mind she cried from the top of her lungs: ‘no it can’t be – she’s dead!’
Yet there she stood. The same features so fondly remembered by Tara. Her face, the eyes, the hair – much shorter now, but still…

All around Tara the world came to a complete stand still.

With Commander Adama lying mortally wounded on table of the Dradis consol and with his son and Col. Tigh desperately trying to stop the blood flowing from the two gun shoot wounds inflicted by ‘Boomer’.
With Willow sitting injured, within the burning wreckage of the Raptor she’d brought down hard to the ground – saving most of her comrades.

With all inside her going blank, Tara could do nothing then stare upon the person standing but a meter away from her.
The person she knew to have died when Picon City had been nuked and completely destroyed by the Cylons, but nevertheless stood right in front of her.
Tara’s eyes darted to the nametag on the pilot’s flight suit: Lt. JG Eliza F. Davis, she read.

The same name, only a different given name. No – exactly the same name!
Just when she was with Tara she’d preferred her middle name and only much later Tara learned her first name after all.
So it really was her – there could be absolutely no doubt about it.
Only very reluctantly Tara’s mind succumbed to the truth she was facing right now, that she was standing face to face with a identical copy – a clone of the person she once knew – she once and still loved, that she was standing in front of a Cylon!

The lips upon this Cylon Avatar’s face turned into a cold sardonic smile when she said, “Hi Tara – no hello, or don’t you recognize your ex-girlfriend?”

Following a long and disbelieving stare, Tara finally regained control over her vocal cords, though what escaped her lips hardly sounded like her own voice to her, when she stuttered:
“F… Faith!?”

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

DIBS ^^

You're kidding right? You must be kidding me! >___<

Ok, I have to say that is a great update. Definitely hooked for the next Part of A Love Beyond the Stars. Part 3... >___<
And I am not saying this because of the germano-french friendship!

First of all, I was smiling. Reading Willow's letter. Hope Hope Hope
Nice wink to "What Dream May Come" with Lizzy

Now about when my smile fade:
Riley is dead. Don't like him very much but still. He's dead. Not so nice of you
But, I have to admit that the most important is that Willow, Tara and Miss Kitty are ok. Lol

Speaking of that. You didn't give us an hint of how Willow is doing on Kobol. I have to say, well done. We so want to know now, that we will wait... You must be happy!

And then... so much things happening! I wonder, is the President a Cylon too? That would be very.... ironical! But you already had you way with the irony and 'Boomer' destroying a Cylon thing while being herself a cylon...

But must of all? Faith. Oh and by the way, once again nice wink to the actress/character/other character name
I am so afraid for Tara! It wasn't enough to let us being worried for Willow, you had to put a cylon near Tara. Don't forget to not touch an hair of Tara!

oh did I read somewhere Alyson and Benson about the same person? mmmm thanks! lol

Wonderful update. Now I hope you'll put the Part 3 of this soon. But I know that there are delays in regards of another part ^^
You still can update What Dream May Come for the while being...

Thanks very much my friend.

In the name of the germano-french friendship, I tell you Bravo! Lol
(Sorry I don't know while I am so fixed on this germano-french friendship... but I so much prefer french and germans friends than enemies as they udsed to be! )

Julia

_________________
Broken Dolls |The Stadium's Goddesses | Seeds Of Beauty

"Joie est mon caractère, C'est la faute à Voltaire; Misère est mon trousseau, C'est la faute à Rousseau." Gavroche. Victor Hugo, Les Misérables (chap. XV)

Dax old friend we have been together through thick and thin. You are a brilliant writer I love how your brain works this story is so correct to the show it is authentic. I know you have been nominated for an award and trust me you deserve it. we will all be waiting for the next part of the saga with sweet anticipation. you friend always Cheryl

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

Acknowledgments

I like to make the following acknowledgements about the second part of “A Love Beyond the Stars – Love on the Run”.

The mayor plotline of this story: “the secrete” if you will, is inspired by the novel “Keeping You a Secrete” by Julie Anne Peters – copyright 2003 by Julie Anne Peters.

I also borrowed some very cute lines from the movie D.B.B.S, written and directed by Angela Robinson – copyright 2005 Destination Film Distribution Company Inc.
You may want to watch the movie yourself though, if you want to know which lines I mean.

The mayor plot points of the final two chapters come from the Season One finale of Battlestar Galactica: “Kobol’s Last Gleaming 1&2”, written by Ron Moor; story by David Eick.
Oh and there’s one funny scene in chapter seven, that I first saw on BBC’s “Coupling”.


Special thanks go to Ayelet and Dana for beta reading various parts of “A Love Beyond the Stars”, without getting desperate or barmy.
I also thank my friend and colleague Liudimila M., who like the character in this story has a daughter named Katharina, but unlike her name cousin is not homophobic at all.
She also listened patiently to all the newest developments of my various stories, without complaining or hitting me.

I also like to thank “Rob”, who over at (the late) Extra Flamey unintentionally suggested Laura Roslin to be the one to turn against Tara for being gay.
And “dalammadt” for equally unintentionally giving me the idea for the second cliff-hanger of “Love on the Run”.


Finally I like to pay some special respects to those three man, without who’s work there would not have been “A Love Beyond the Stars” in the first place.

Joss Whedon – of course – for creating with “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, a series that was not merely about demons and slaying vampires, but about people going through growing pains while slaying vampires.
More even though, for creating Willow & Tara and thus the sadly still longest running lesbian relationship on American network television.

Ron Moore, for taking on the mediocre SiFi show Battlestar Galactica from the seventies, keeping only the very core story idea and most of the names and creating upon this foundation the best written, best acted and generally best SiFi show on television today.
In essence real human drama that just happened to play in space.

Third but in no way last J. Michael Straczynski, who back in the nineteen ninety’s created the first SiFi show that was so very different and better, from what was SiFi at the time and to a certain extend still is today.
Of course. Michael Straczynski’s “Babylon 5” provided me with the majority of the necessary chapter titles for “A Love Beyond the Stars”.

A big thank you very much to all of you who read my story, liked it and commended so usefully upon it.
It is for you that I write these stories.

And of course one special warm thank you for Cheryl and Julia, for all your kind words and the hours we use to chat – it is my privilege to call you two my friends.
Thank you, the two of you mean the world to me.

Dax
Germany

PS: Always welcoming feedback on this instalments double cliff-hangar, as well the previous instalment.

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