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A Shadow on the Pattern
Battlestar Galactica/Babylon 5 Crossover
Characters: Kara, Sam, Barolay, S.1 B5 (Sinclair, Ivanova, Garibaldi, etc), the rest of BSG (though not in this part)
Pairings: Kara/Sam, Agathons
Continuity: Set after BSG: Taking a Break... and after B5: Quality of Mercy . And then goes AU to both. This uses a very different BSG backstory to the Cylons/Kobol/etc.
Previous parts:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Note: This is sort of a catch up chapter, since it's been an ETERNITY since I posted this. I've posted part of it in a comment before, if it seems familiar at first. Part Six (all new!) will come after the holiday.
Kara did external pre-flight checks with Hotdog, not because he needed her help but because she hated waiting around. The Raptor was in good condition and everything checked out as expected.
Security sergeant Allan and two others had brought them to the docking bay, explaining that the station officers would meet them shortly. When she glanced over, Sam and Gaeta were talking to Allan, while Jean lingered at the edge of the platform looking around curiously.
The doors hissed open. Ivanova entered, beside Garibaldi and a second man, who had to be the commander, since he was carrying a shoulder bag as if he intended to go somewhere. Both men were wearing what looked like flight suits, including their helmets under their arms.
Sinclair strode up to Sam with a smile. "Sorry we're late. Last minute instructions from EarthDome. I hope you weren't waiting long."
Kara couldn't get over how casually all these people talked about Earth. There was a part of her still convinced it was just a trick, and there was no such place.
Sinclair shook hands with Sam, who answered, "No, not at all. Flight suits?"
"We thought we should bring our own," Sinclair explained and hoisted the shoulder bag with a shrug. "Dress uniform's in here."
"Better you than me, Commander," Ivanova teased.
He shot her a bemused glance, then turned his attention to Kara. "I haven't been introduced to the rest of your crew, Mister Anders."
Sam looked chagrined at the subtle reminder of manners, and Kara grinned as he hastened to introduce everyone, "Commander Sinclair, this is Captain Kara Thrace, Lieutenant Felix Gaeta and Lieutenant Brendan Costanza. Jean Barolay, who's a civilian like me. Kara and Jean are going to stay here."
"Captain Thrace," Sinclair shook her hand with a warm smile. "I hope you won't be our guest for too long."
"Of course not, sir. I hope Barolay and I can look around while you're gone?"
"Certainly," he answered. "Lieutenant Commander Ivanova already volunteered to give you the tour."
Ivanova's suddenly neutral expression suggested "volunteer" wasn't exactly the right word, but Kara answered, "That would be great. This is a big place. Very impressive."
"It certainly seems enormous on some days," Sinclair agreed with a rueful look. He shook hands with the rest of the team and then looked to Sam. "We're ready whenever you are."
Sam glanced at her. "Pre-flight?"
"External complete," she answered, "Hot Dog and Gaeta can do the rest inside."
"Station's yours, Lieutenant Commander," Sinclair told Ivanova. "Try to keep it in one piece."
"Will do, Commander. Good luck," Ivanova nodded to him. "Garibaldi..." she said to him in a faintly warning tone.
"I know, I know," he answered with a grimace. "I'll do my best, Lieutenant Commander."
Sinclair and Garibaldi followed Gaeta and Hot Dog up to the hatch.
Sam looked at Jean and with that old camaraderie Kara envied, he just smiled at her and said, "C-Bucs rule."
"Damn straight, Anders."
He tapped his fist against hers once, and then turned to Kara. "We'll be back as soon as we can. A couple of days, maybe."
"We'll manage." She couldn't help a taunt, "Mister Secretary."
He rolled his eyes at her. "Try not to get in trouble."
"Oh, you know me," she shrugged carelessly and tried to look innocent.
"I do," he answered, with a snort, and took a step toward her as if to kiss or hug her goodbye, but then he stopped, and his face flickered with uncertainty. Then he added, teasing with a bit of forced cheer, "The station better be here when we come back."
"Aye, sir." She gave a casual salute and waited until he turned to go, before calling after him, "Hey, is that any way to say goodbye?"
Damn, he moved fast when he wanted to -- in a flash he'd turned back and grabbed her in his arms. "No, it's not," he murmured, right before his mouth came down on hers.
She tried to tell him everything in her kiss that she found so hard to say and then when they pulled back, she muttered, "You better frakking come back."
His fingers traced down her cheek. "Always." His hand fell down to the tag hanging at his chest, that matched the one at hers, as if it were an idol to seal his promise.
Then without another word, he followed the others inside the Raptor and the ramp sealed up after him. She watched, licking lips made tender from his stubble, and tried to ignore how one word had made her feel all warm inside and she couldn't stop smiling.
"That... was some kiss," Ivanova observed. "You're close?"
Kara felt very smug. "He's my husband." It still felt a little surreal to say the words, but good as well, as though the gods were reminding her of what she had almost forgotten. She laughed at Ivanova's surprise, and headed for the door. "Come on, we need to get clear or they can't go."
Out in the corridor, Ivanova passed on word from the wireless device on her hand when the Raptor had cleared the station. "Ready for the tour?"
By lunchtime Kara was more than ready for a break. The station was large and the aliens were many, and it was hard to grasp them all.
Once, when Ivanova was talking over her link to CIC in a crowded corridor full of aliens, Barolay leaned closer to Kara and muttered, "Makes the skinjobs suddenly seem a whole lot more human, doesn't it?"
Kara snorted, but she had to agree. After seeing creatures that looked like walking fish, lizards, and walruses, Cylons didn't seem too different.
The three women ate at a small restaurant with a view of the Core. Like Cloud Nine, there was a hollow space in the center which gave the illusion of openness. It was still odd, because the core was cylindrical and there were buildings on the opposite side, kept there by the centrifugal force of the spinning station, but by the time she dug into the real food, she forgot about the buildings about to fall on her head.
"What do you think?" Ivanova asked.
"It's big," Kara answered. "So many aliens."
Barolay shrugged. "My brain got stuck way back at Earth being real. The rest of it doesn't seem to matter."
Ivanova made a thoughtful sound and drank a little from her glass, before saying, "Earth is crowded. Dirty. If you're looking for some kind of sacred place, I think it's going to be a big disappointment."
"It exists, and there are humans who live there," Kara answered softly. "It doesn't have to be perfect."
Ivanova nodded. "Okay. I don't know if your people will be able to settle there, though. There's a ..." her mouth twisted in a expression of disgust, "feeling of isolationism growing on Earth at the moment And even though you're humans, the commander and I worry that certain politicians are going to pander to that fear and restrict your settlement. President Santiago at least should be friendly, and he'll listen to the commander's recommendation."
Kara nodded and snorted, "Politics. That would be why I like being a pilot. At least you get to shoot things."
Ivanova huffed a laugh of rueful agreement. "And then they promote you right out of it." Then her expression faltered and she muttered, "Oh great, here we go," right before fixing a determinedly neutral expression on her face.
Seconds later, a man who looked human but with the most ridiculous vertical hair style she'd ever seen, came up to the table. "Lieutenant Commander Ivanova!" he exclaimed with an unknown accent. "How are you this lovely afternoon!"
Kara saw that his teeth seemed pointed and revised her idea that he was human. Human-like, but maybe not human, confirmed when Ivanova greeted him politely, "Ambassador Mollari."
He turned eagerly to face her and Jean. "And these must be your newly arrived guests. Ambassador Londo Mollari of the Centauri Republic," he introduced himself, with a flamboyant sort of bow.
"Ambassador, Captain Kara Thrace and Jean Barolay of the lost Earth colony of Kobol," Ivanova introduced.
"Yes, fascinating," Mollari said. "A real lost Earth colony. You know, we Centauri joked that we were a lost Earth colony some years ago. The humans didn't take the joke especially well, but it made us friends."
"Ambassador..." Ivanova complained.
"What? Are we not friends?" he retorted lightly, but didn't take his eyes off Kara and Jean. "I've heard the commander has gone off to meet your people."
"Yes, the commander should be back in a day or two," Ivanova answered.
"I hope your people will also keep the Centauri in mind," Mollari said to Kara. "We have all the glories of the Republic to offer you - thousands of years of history and culture. Open worlds that are ripe for settlement."
Kara was suddenly very glad that she hadn't been picked as the leader of the mission. Politics. This was supposed to be Sam's frakking job - she should have made him stay and been the one going back to the ship. "I have no authority to negotiate for the fleet, Ambassador. I'm just a pilot. But if you wait a few days, Secretary of State Anders will come back with Commander Sinclair, and you can talk to him then."
Jean gave her a look, but Kara refused to feel guilty about siccing the ambassador on Sam. If he didn't want to deal, he could always pass it off to Roslin, who'd chew up this guy for lunch. Besides, she didn't want to get involved in any of this.
Mollari nodded his head to her. "Very well, Captain, I will do that. Thank you. Ladies." He bustled off, and in his wake, Jean snorted a laugh.
"Sam had no idea what he was getting into when he agreed to Roslin's plan, did he?"
"He's not your secretary of state?" Ivanova asked.
"He is," Kara said, "as of two days ago. President Roslin wanted a civilian in charge of our mission, and since we don't have any ambassadors, she picked Sam."
"I see," Ivanova said, while clearly not understanding at all, but she didn't ask. "Well, Mollari's fairly harmless and the Centauri Republic's in decline, but still, he's canny when he wants to be. So don't take him lightly."
"We'll pass that on." Jean returned to her lunch, eating everything on her plate and sat back with a satisfied sigh. "Gods, real food. I may never go back to the fleet."
"Real food?" Ivanova repeated curiously.
"All we have is processed algae," Kara explained. "And a tiny bit of fresh food we can grow on a few of the ships, but there's a strict rotation for that."
"Algae?" Ivanova wrinkled her nose in horror. "Then I invite both of you over to my quarters for dinner tonight. I can do better than algae."
They accepted gratefully and Ivanova got the check, so they could continue the tour.
tbc...
PART SIX
Battlestar Galactica/Babylon 5 Crossover
Characters: Kara, Sam, Barolay, S.1 B5 (Sinclair, Ivanova, Garibaldi, etc), the rest of BSG (though not in this part)
Pairings: Kara/Sam, Agathons
Continuity: Set after BSG: Taking a Break... and after B5: Quality of Mercy . And then goes AU to both. This uses a very different BSG backstory to the Cylons/Kobol/etc.
Previous parts:
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Note: This is sort of a catch up chapter, since it's been an ETERNITY since I posted this. I've posted part of it in a comment before, if it seems familiar at first. Part Six (all new!) will come after the holiday.
Kara did external pre-flight checks with Hotdog, not because he needed her help but because she hated waiting around. The Raptor was in good condition and everything checked out as expected.
Security sergeant Allan and two others had brought them to the docking bay, explaining that the station officers would meet them shortly. When she glanced over, Sam and Gaeta were talking to Allan, while Jean lingered at the edge of the platform looking around curiously.
The doors hissed open. Ivanova entered, beside Garibaldi and a second man, who had to be the commander, since he was carrying a shoulder bag as if he intended to go somewhere. Both men were wearing what looked like flight suits, including their helmets under their arms.
Sinclair strode up to Sam with a smile. "Sorry we're late. Last minute instructions from EarthDome. I hope you weren't waiting long."
Kara couldn't get over how casually all these people talked about Earth. There was a part of her still convinced it was just a trick, and there was no such place.
Sinclair shook hands with Sam, who answered, "No, not at all. Flight suits?"
"We thought we should bring our own," Sinclair explained and hoisted the shoulder bag with a shrug. "Dress uniform's in here."
"Better you than me, Commander," Ivanova teased.
He shot her a bemused glance, then turned his attention to Kara. "I haven't been introduced to the rest of your crew, Mister Anders."
Sam looked chagrined at the subtle reminder of manners, and Kara grinned as he hastened to introduce everyone, "Commander Sinclair, this is Captain Kara Thrace, Lieutenant Felix Gaeta and Lieutenant Brendan Costanza. Jean Barolay, who's a civilian like me. Kara and Jean are going to stay here."
"Captain Thrace," Sinclair shook her hand with a warm smile. "I hope you won't be our guest for too long."
"Of course not, sir. I hope Barolay and I can look around while you're gone?"
"Certainly," he answered. "Lieutenant Commander Ivanova already volunteered to give you the tour."
Ivanova's suddenly neutral expression suggested "volunteer" wasn't exactly the right word, but Kara answered, "That would be great. This is a big place. Very impressive."
"It certainly seems enormous on some days," Sinclair agreed with a rueful look. He shook hands with the rest of the team and then looked to Sam. "We're ready whenever you are."
Sam glanced at her. "Pre-flight?"
"External complete," she answered, "Hot Dog and Gaeta can do the rest inside."
"Station's yours, Lieutenant Commander," Sinclair told Ivanova. "Try to keep it in one piece."
"Will do, Commander. Good luck," Ivanova nodded to him. "Garibaldi..." she said to him in a faintly warning tone.
"I know, I know," he answered with a grimace. "I'll do my best, Lieutenant Commander."
Sinclair and Garibaldi followed Gaeta and Hot Dog up to the hatch.
Sam looked at Jean and with that old camaraderie Kara envied, he just smiled at her and said, "C-Bucs rule."
"Damn straight, Anders."
He tapped his fist against hers once, and then turned to Kara. "We'll be back as soon as we can. A couple of days, maybe."
"We'll manage." She couldn't help a taunt, "Mister Secretary."
He rolled his eyes at her. "Try not to get in trouble."
"Oh, you know me," she shrugged carelessly and tried to look innocent.
"I do," he answered, with a snort, and took a step toward her as if to kiss or hug her goodbye, but then he stopped, and his face flickered with uncertainty. Then he added, teasing with a bit of forced cheer, "The station better be here when we come back."
"Aye, sir." She gave a casual salute and waited until he turned to go, before calling after him, "Hey, is that any way to say goodbye?"
Damn, he moved fast when he wanted to -- in a flash he'd turned back and grabbed her in his arms. "No, it's not," he murmured, right before his mouth came down on hers.
She tried to tell him everything in her kiss that she found so hard to say and then when they pulled back, she muttered, "You better frakking come back."
His fingers traced down her cheek. "Always." His hand fell down to the tag hanging at his chest, that matched the one at hers, as if it were an idol to seal his promise.
Then without another word, he followed the others inside the Raptor and the ramp sealed up after him. She watched, licking lips made tender from his stubble, and tried to ignore how one word had made her feel all warm inside and she couldn't stop smiling.
"That... was some kiss," Ivanova observed. "You're close?"
Kara felt very smug. "He's my husband." It still felt a little surreal to say the words, but good as well, as though the gods were reminding her of what she had almost forgotten. She laughed at Ivanova's surprise, and headed for the door. "Come on, we need to get clear or they can't go."
Out in the corridor, Ivanova passed on word from the wireless device on her hand when the Raptor had cleared the station. "Ready for the tour?"
By lunchtime Kara was more than ready for a break. The station was large and the aliens were many, and it was hard to grasp them all.
Once, when Ivanova was talking over her link to CIC in a crowded corridor full of aliens, Barolay leaned closer to Kara and muttered, "Makes the skinjobs suddenly seem a whole lot more human, doesn't it?"
Kara snorted, but she had to agree. After seeing creatures that looked like walking fish, lizards, and walruses, Cylons didn't seem too different.
The three women ate at a small restaurant with a view of the Core. Like Cloud Nine, there was a hollow space in the center which gave the illusion of openness. It was still odd, because the core was cylindrical and there were buildings on the opposite side, kept there by the centrifugal force of the spinning station, but by the time she dug into the real food, she forgot about the buildings about to fall on her head.
"What do you think?" Ivanova asked.
"It's big," Kara answered. "So many aliens."
Barolay shrugged. "My brain got stuck way back at Earth being real. The rest of it doesn't seem to matter."
Ivanova made a thoughtful sound and drank a little from her glass, before saying, "Earth is crowded. Dirty. If you're looking for some kind of sacred place, I think it's going to be a big disappointment."
"It exists, and there are humans who live there," Kara answered softly. "It doesn't have to be perfect."
Ivanova nodded. "Okay. I don't know if your people will be able to settle there, though. There's a ..." her mouth twisted in a expression of disgust, "feeling of isolationism growing on Earth at the moment And even though you're humans, the commander and I worry that certain politicians are going to pander to that fear and restrict your settlement. President Santiago at least should be friendly, and he'll listen to the commander's recommendation."
Kara nodded and snorted, "Politics. That would be why I like being a pilot. At least you get to shoot things."
Ivanova huffed a laugh of rueful agreement. "And then they promote you right out of it." Then her expression faltered and she muttered, "Oh great, here we go," right before fixing a determinedly neutral expression on her face.
Seconds later, a man who looked human but with the most ridiculous vertical hair style she'd ever seen, came up to the table. "Lieutenant Commander Ivanova!" he exclaimed with an unknown accent. "How are you this lovely afternoon!"
Kara saw that his teeth seemed pointed and revised her idea that he was human. Human-like, but maybe not human, confirmed when Ivanova greeted him politely, "Ambassador Mollari."
He turned eagerly to face her and Jean. "And these must be your newly arrived guests. Ambassador Londo Mollari of the Centauri Republic," he introduced himself, with a flamboyant sort of bow.
"Ambassador, Captain Kara Thrace and Jean Barolay of the lost Earth colony of Kobol," Ivanova introduced.
"Yes, fascinating," Mollari said. "A real lost Earth colony. You know, we Centauri joked that we were a lost Earth colony some years ago. The humans didn't take the joke especially well, but it made us friends."
"Ambassador..." Ivanova complained.
"What? Are we not friends?" he retorted lightly, but didn't take his eyes off Kara and Jean. "I've heard the commander has gone off to meet your people."
"Yes, the commander should be back in a day or two," Ivanova answered.
"I hope your people will also keep the Centauri in mind," Mollari said to Kara. "We have all the glories of the Republic to offer you - thousands of years of history and culture. Open worlds that are ripe for settlement."
Kara was suddenly very glad that she hadn't been picked as the leader of the mission. Politics. This was supposed to be Sam's frakking job - she should have made him stay and been the one going back to the ship. "I have no authority to negotiate for the fleet, Ambassador. I'm just a pilot. But if you wait a few days, Secretary of State Anders will come back with Commander Sinclair, and you can talk to him then."
Jean gave her a look, but Kara refused to feel guilty about siccing the ambassador on Sam. If he didn't want to deal, he could always pass it off to Roslin, who'd chew up this guy for lunch. Besides, she didn't want to get involved in any of this.
Mollari nodded his head to her. "Very well, Captain, I will do that. Thank you. Ladies." He bustled off, and in his wake, Jean snorted a laugh.
"Sam had no idea what he was getting into when he agreed to Roslin's plan, did he?"
"He's not your secretary of state?" Ivanova asked.
"He is," Kara said, "as of two days ago. President Roslin wanted a civilian in charge of our mission, and since we don't have any ambassadors, she picked Sam."
"I see," Ivanova said, while clearly not understanding at all, but she didn't ask. "Well, Mollari's fairly harmless and the Centauri Republic's in decline, but still, he's canny when he wants to be. So don't take him lightly."
"We'll pass that on." Jean returned to her lunch, eating everything on her plate and sat back with a satisfied sigh. "Gods, real food. I may never go back to the fleet."
"Real food?" Ivanova repeated curiously.
"All we have is processed algae," Kara explained. "And a tiny bit of fresh food we can grow on a few of the ships, but there's a strict rotation for that."
"Algae?" Ivanova wrinkled her nose in horror. "Then I invite both of you over to my quarters for dinner tonight. I can do better than algae."
They accepted gratefully and Ivanova got the check, so they could continue the tour.
tbc...
PART SIX
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