for Karl

[daredevildaring]

It wasn't like Kara had expected a warm welcome when she got back to Equus; hell, she'd hoped she wouldn't see a soul she knew, just to avoid the cold shoulder she knew she was going to get from most of her old friends. It was funny in that way that wasn't funny at all, that it had only occurred to her as they were entering Equus' orbit that half of them probably thought she was dead.

Nothing she'd done or thought had really prepared her for being back home. It felt surreal, coming to it as an outsider, seeing Delphi rear up at her from the observation bridge of the Argo. Even worse was being out and about in the city, half of it still in ruins from the Cylon attacks, half of it so painfully familiar she didn't know if she could stand it. It would be so much easier to pretend it wasn't home if Roslin weren't with her, but she could tell every time she looked at the President that she was sharing Kara's feelings about being back in their home city.

But as unprepared as Kara had been for being back at home, she found the rug completely torn from beneath her when the delegation from Galactica came on board the Argo. She'd expected Gaeta, she'd expected Dee; she hadn't expected Helo, wearing major's pins on his collar and speaking as Commander Adama's second in command. A few minutes later, when she realized that 'Commander' was Apollo, that the man she'd known as Commander Adama was now Admiral Adama, it was all she could do to keep staring ahead and holding her composure together. Being smacked in the face with everything she'd missed, everything she should have been a part of... it made her ache, and she hoped the meeting would be over quickly so she could escape to her rack and have some peace.

Comments

[kalonkagathon.livejournal.com]

Helo hid his feeling of anxious anticipation well. Walking a half-step behind Commander Adama, that had taken getting used to, he held his head up and eyes straight. It was hard not to look at Kara, if he looked at her he'd laugh so he kept his eyes forward, only giving a slight nod in difference to Roslin and the Captains of the ship who looked far too young to be anything of the sort. Then again, their were pilots on Gallactica who would never had been close to having their wings were it not this time and place.

He listened with half an ear to Lee and kept half an eye on Kara's face until the man was finished.

"...So say we all"

"So say we all," Karl echoed.

[daredevildaring.livejournal.com]

Kara couldn't get out of there fast enough. It was hard enough bearing Dee's insolent eyes on hers (and impossible to miss the way she snuck her hand into Apollo's as they turned to go; that hadn't taken long, and while Kara wasn't surprised, she couldn't say she was happy about it either) but the way Lee looked right through her like she didn't exist, and Helo wouldn't even really meet her eye-- it was unbearable. Gods, she knew she'd left without a word, but the whole point of this meeting was that she'd left for a damn good reason, even if the rest of them had been too frakking stupid at the time to realize it. Still, when the formalities were done and the milling around began, Kara made quickly for the nearest exit, hoping to make it back to her rack before anyone even realized she'd gone.

[kalonkagathon.livejournal.com]

Karl quickly walked through the formalities, complimented the young captains, and gave his respects to the president. Being the Commander's second, he couldn't quite just run off, but he did his best to slip out quickly. Only his height had let him see what direction Kara had bolted in.

He extracted himself politely, annoyed that she would make him follow her onto someone else's ship to find her, and followed her. He felt a qualm in leaving Rosilin, his position and hers demanded that he respect her, but they'd never quite seen eye to eye on things.

He rushed through the door and saw her disappearing around a corner. "Kara." He called, loud enough for her to hear. He called again. Finally, "Starbuck, will you wait a second?"

[daredevildaring.livejournal.com]

Damn. She stopped and took a second to settle her stomach, which had lurched at hearing the name she hadn't gone by in almost a year. Turning, she gave Karl a deceptively bright smile.

"Nobody calls me that anymore, Karl. It's just Kara now." Shoving her hands in her pockets, she swallowed and tried to look confident and at ease-- difficult when that was the exact opposite of what she was feeling. "How've you been? Pretty well, right? Major Agathon?" That it was easy to smile at, 'cause he'd had it coming a long time, and she could at least remember what it was like to be proud that a friend had finally got the recognition he deserved.

[kalonkagathon.livejournal.com]

As she turned around he stopped gratefully, tired of chasing her when he didn't know why she was running again.

"Old habits Kara." He smiled a little at that but was puzzled by her attitude, the set of her shoulders, and the hands in her pockets. "I've done well for myself I guess," he had to smile at that too, but it faded. "How are you? It's been awhile." He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, looking at her as if he could see the answer before he heard it.

[daredevildaring.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, it has," she said evenly, taking up a similar posture against the wall. "I.. it's been fine," she said, feigning unconcern. "You know. As fine as deserting your post and chasing a prophecy back and forth around the galaxy can go." One shoulder hitched up and she dropped her gaze to her feet. "How's the old man?" She almost didn't want to ask. She could only guess why he'd sent Apollo instead of coming himself.... what could be worse for him than facing her and the President together, his two betrayers, Kara couldn't imagine.

[kalonkagathon.livejournal.com]

"He's fit as can be after...well you know, it happened before you left, just before I came back." He paused, "He can't be here because of the President. Politics. Lee's been her aide in the past." He shrugged not really having much more of an answer for her than that and not enjoying the weirdness that was suddenly between them.

He suddenly wished she were acting mad, or silly, or anything but aloof. "What the frak Kara?"

[daredevildaring.livejournal.com]

She spread her hands, offended and exasperated. "What do you want from me, Karl? You want me to pretend like it's been a week since I left instead of almost a year? You want me to pretend I didn't just abandon my post? The old man? I did, Karl, I chose to leave knowing-- gods, for all most of you knew I could've died. And it's obvious that to Apollo I may as well have, for all the notice he's about to give me. Why should I expect that to be different with you?"

Her arms crossed over her chest, her glare was equal parts furious and petulant, sprung from her wish not to be forced to say outright that she did want it to be different with him; that she hoped and half expected that it would be, but she didn't want to be proven wrong, which would hurt a hell of a lot more than just finding out he hated her.

[kalonkagathon.livejournal.com]

He changed his posture, standing up straighter, aggressively approaching her. "You think just because you left I stopped caring? Any of us stopped caring." He pointed down the hall, "Apollo is an arrogant, prideful, ass especially when it comes to you. It's not the first time Kara."

He came closer and put his hands on her arms just below the shoulder expecting her to shrug them off in the next moment. "There's a lot more going on here Kara. And I don't know if you and the president are right, and right now I don't fraking care. We're running out of options here, so if your plan B works, then we'll all thank you later, but stay alive okay?"

[daredevildaring.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, that's part of the plan," she returned with an expression that added duh, you moron to her words, though she had a little smile lurking at the corners of her mouth. She was quiet for a minute, just standing there letting him sort of hug her, and then she moved forward and put her arms around his shoulders. "It's good to see you," she said, stepping back after a second and offering a slightly wider smile. "And good to know I'm not the only one who thinks Apollo's an ass," she added, smirking.

[kalonkagathon.livejournal.com]

She wasn't going to get away with that. He reached out and pulled her back into a big bear hug intended to make her laugh and rough her up a bit, punch him in the shoulder maybe. "It's good to see you too Kara. Full colors just isn't the same without that mouth of yours," he released her, laughing.

[daredevildaring.livejournal.com]

"Ah, alright, alright," she protested, but his charm had worked on her like it always did, disarming her annoyance with the world and forcing her into laughter whether she liked it or not. "Yeah, what's it like now you're not all getting fleeced every night of the week?" she added, whacking him in the stomach with a grin. "Must be nice to actually see some of that paycheck."

[kalonkagathon.livejournal.com]

He barely flinched at the attack, "Bit more of a paycheck these days too." He grinned. "Next time we play you're going to have to try a little harder." He took a playful swipe at her hair. "Which is going to be when exactly? Here you are off on some crazy quest none of the rest of us understand, with the President. How long are you even here?"

[daredevildaring.livejournal.com]

She shrugged, looking bemused at her own helplessness. "I... really have no idea," she said, not as reluctant to admit it as she thought she was. "I mean... I guess I'm serving her now, soo... long as she needs me, I guess." The words felt funny coming out of her mouth; for a second she'd forgotten what she was really doing here.

But Kara wasn't going to waste what little time she had here talking about the machinations ordering her and Karl's lives around-- she was going to take her friend out and get them both piss-up-the-wall drunk. "So come on then, we haven't got all week," she said, elbowing him good-naturedly in the side. "Let me get out of these grays and you're taking me out drinking! You know how long it's been since I had ambrosia?"