What If?

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

Yesterday's DPP was amazing. Thank you all for the contributions, both hilarious and touching. Pilot love runs strong in our shipper family. <3<3<3

Today, we have a series of What If scenarios? So many fics have changed one small detail that has in turn, changed the dynamics between Kara and Lee, and sometimes the entire fate of the human race. Some of these have been done before - but what say YOU? How would you envision the changes?

What if...

Pre-Mini: Lee and Zak did NOT get along as brothers. Zak, the older brother, left the family when he turned eighteen. Lee stayed with his alcoholic mother for three years before he joined the service. He meets Kara for the first time during the mini. She used to date Zak.

Pegasus: Lee transfers to serve with Admiral Cain. He sends a scrambled message to Kara about Cain's brutality.

Home: Adama does not put the fleet back together after his discussion with Dee. He leaves Roslin, Zarek, Lee, Kara, Sharon and Helo and part of the fleet at Kobol for months before finally going back for them.

AU: Kara knows Baltar from Caprica. They had a one night stand after she attended one of his lectures.

Occupation: Lee is on NC with Kara, Leoben finds her during the occupation and takes her away. Lee helps with the resistance and tries to find Kara.

Colonial Day: Kara does not frak Baltar on Cloud Nine. She fraks Crashdown instead and everyone knows.

Blood on the Scales: Sam dies from his bullet wound.

Eye of Jupiter: Dee follows Lee to the raptor and catches Lee with Kara.

He That Believeth in Me: Lee takes his father's offer to stay on Galactica.

YCGHA: Lee refuses to leave Kara on the planet. He waits for her in a raptor while the fleet jumps away.

Sacrifice: Kara gets shot instead of Lee.

The Mini: Kara's the CAG when Lee comes on board. Zak never existed. They DON'T get along.

AU: Alpha!Lee shows up on Galactica. He works his way through the female crew. Kara holds out.



Any ficlets coming to mind? Meta on how any of these would have played out? What ifs of your own? Assume any backstory you like - these are just snippets. I've assumed nothing. :)

Comments

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

Ooh I like a lot of these.

Pre-Mini: My first reaction is...they wouldn't be half as interesting without that backstory and UST and tension. It would be something like Billy and Dee I guess. Meh.

Pegasus: Interesting, though I'm not sure what she could do. Do they still have same backstory? If Kara told Bill...would he try to intervene. Hmm.

Home: I love "stranded!" stories. I would've liked to see that play out. What would they do on Kobol? Would they stay there or just leave?

AU: Hmm, I guess it depends on if she liked it enough to have another one-night-stand. I doubt Kara double dips so probably not. Which may lead to the Colonial Day Scenario...

Colonial Day: Would Kara have still called out the wrong name with Crashdown? Does everyone know that happened too?

New Caprica: We got to see so little of the resistance but I would have liked to see more Kara Thrace rescue missions happening.

Blood on the Scales: We killed him off in the Smutstrav. Nice and tidy.

Eye of Jupiter: I think...nothing would change. I can't see her confronting them even when viewing proof (since, hi there UB!).

He that Believeth: I wish he had. But would he have stayed on Galactica as CAG or insisted he go with Kara on the Demetrius?

YCGHA: I think she'd be shocked. And honestly, it was too soon in the series (and their relationship) for that I think. It wouldn't have made sense since he was the CAG and she was the most senior pilot/instructor. Adama wouldn't have let him.

Sacrifice: Interesting. This one might have the most possibilities.

The Mini: This reminds me of ninety6tears' bigbang--although Zak might have existed. I can't recall.

AU: Oh and this reminds me of Elzed's story about Lee with the Dying of the Light quote in the title. He has the Colonial Day sleeps with someone else moment.

These are so fun. I'm sorry I can't stick around and play more!

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

Hee. The backstory is all up to you, bb. I hope one of these tickles some fic from your fantastic brain. :)

Sacrifice snippets

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Hee! I have an old outline and a few snippets on my computer for the "Kara gets shot during Sacrifice" story. I've been trying to write it for a long time but I keep getting distracted. Here are some snippets:

Lee and Kara are both hostages. Lee has been attempting some negotiation with Sasha, and doing a decent job, but he's kept his identity secret because he doesn't want them to know they have such a valuable hostage. However, things are turning bad and Sasha is getting ready to shoot a hostage. Kara and Lee put themselves forward because they don't want any civilians to get hurt, but they also don't want to see each other get shot. Kara tries to tell them who Lee is, Lee manages to stop her. So she comes up with a different strategy:)

For the second time in as many weeks she kissed him.

He thoughtlessly matched his breath to hers, but he kept his hands low and loose, waiting for the weapon or the signal he expected her to pass.

She caught his fingers in one hand and ran her other set of nails in a gentle starburst along the nape of his neck. His breath stuttered against her mouth and he tried to pull back to meet her eyes. She pressed him, told him in every silent way she knew to stop thinking, and then his hands were in her hair.

The awful, soldierly fraction of her that remembered the plan fumbled at his collar. Her thumb slipped over the hollow of his throat, and the flutter of his eyelids hit her hard. For the second time in as many weeks she was going to abuse this trust, and she didn’t think he’d give her a third opportunity.

She softened against him in mute apology, and his instant reaction – tender and confused – forced her eyes closed. Not looking at him, she caught the dogtags beneath his shirt. He jerked against the sting as the chain snapped and had time for nothing more than a half-smothered “no!” before she broke away and tossed his ID across the table.

“He’s the Admiral’s son. The most valuable hostage you’ve got.”

Things get very bad very quickly, and Kara is shot in the same place Lee was, upper right chest.

“I have to save the fleet from the Cylons,” Sasha repeated, sinking into her chair.

“You just shot our best pilot. You’ve done more for the Cylons in the last five minutes than that thing in our brig ever has!”

Kara’s face was wet. They were both in shock, he didn’t realize at first that his tears were dropping down to her cheeks. It was odd; he never cried.

He couldn’t stop the bleeding.

And when things get even worse, Lee and Billy both get ahold of guns (there is a plot there, trust me) and start shooting.

He rolled on top of Kara, wrapping his free arm around to shield her head. He heard her weak scream as she took his weight across her wounded chest, and then he was firing, firing. He had no cover and he couldn’t move without leaving her wide open; he was going to get shot. He aimed for the goon nearest the bar, saw the kick of blood erupt from his stomach and shifted his arm toward the last man standing. He was too late. With a flash of instinctive panic he braced against Kara; if there was any justice in this life the bullet that killed him would lodge in his body without cutting through to hers.

It hurt so much more than he’d expected.

He looked up to see Dee, running full tilt for the bar. Bullets shattered shelves full of glass in her wake, but she didn’t slow down. Lee expected her to go for Billy’s gun, but she never paused, flying from one end of the bar to the other and onward. The gunman took a two-handed grip and centered his aim, and Lee did the only thing he could. He shouted a battle yell at the top of his lungs.

It was the oldest trick in the book, but this had been an amateur operation from start to finish and their last assailant wheeled toward him in panic, firing blindly towards the implied threat.

The bullet winged the bottom of his earlobe and scratched a razor line across the side of his neck. Gasping, he dropped his head.

The last thing he saw was Dee throwing herself at the far wall, stabbing at the controls for the blast shield guarding the door.

He let his eyes fall shut, and savored Kara’s labored breaths against his cheek.

Part the First

[reginaspina.livejournal.com]

#1. Pre-Mini: Lee and Zak did NOT get along as brothers. Zak, the older brother, left the family when he turned eighteen. Lee stayed with his alcoholic mother for three years before he joined the service. He meets Kara for the first time during the mini. She used to date Zak. I think this might change the Lee/Kara dynamic in a very interesting way. One of the reasons, I think, that Lee never acts on his attraction to Kara in season 1 is because he is so protective of Zak and Zak's memory etc. And Kara feels the same way. But there's a huge difference if he's the younger brother who feels that Zak abandoned him and if Kara only dated Zak and didn't serve as his flight instructor. They would, I think, have felt a lot less guilt. (Though they still would've had those chain-of-command issues that the show forgot about later :P)

#2: Pegasus: Lee transfers to serve with Admiral Cain. He sends a scrambled message to Kara about Cain's brutality.
Ha! You know I have this entire alternate Pegasus thing worked out in my head, although there is the butterfly wing problem because although in later seasons, Lee became sort of marginal to the main story, in the miniseries, Lee actually DID a bunch of stuff that affected the story. But in a nutshell, I decided that Lee is more Machiavellian and engineers a coup that puts Fisk in charge and removes Cain from command due to The Crazy (as happens with JB's character in "Hornblower".) BUT this necessitates that Kara doesn't jump to Kobol (because she'd have to be the CAG if Lee were never on Galactica.) Or are you talking about Lee initially being on the G and transferring afterwards? Hmmmm!

#3: Home: Adama does not put the fleet back together after his discussion with Dee. He leaves Roslin, Zarek, Lee, Kara, Sharon and Helo and part of the fleet at Kobol for months before finally going back for them. I suspect that in this scenario, Zarek and Meier would have found a way to kill Lee because of his access to Roslin. (Or maybe Kara would have found a way to thwart them.) Either way, they would certainly have found the route to Earth because Adama's presence doesn't actually make any difference to that - but he wouldn't have been one of the people standing in that circle and seeing the star map, so it's possible he wouldn't believe Roslin.

#4- AU: Kara knows Baltar from Caprica. They had a one night stand after she attended one of his lectures. Hmm, I feel like it's more likely they'd meet at a Pyramid game :P But anyway ... again, I don't think this makes much of a difference to how things play out. Unless we posit that it's Lee's jealousy that makes Kara follow Roslin's offer and not the fact that she realizes Adama has betrayed her trust.

#5 - Occupation: Lee is on NC with Kara, Leoben finds her during the occupation and takes her away. Lee helps with the resistance and tries to find Kara. Again, this one I think probably plays out exactly how it did onscreen in terms of Kara's story, though I like to think that Lee and Sam are probably working together to help Kara. And Lee doesn't approve of suicide bombings!! (I think maybe he would be one of the "important" prisoners - and he would have stayed close to Roslin during this time as well.) OTOH, I suspect that Adama's rescue plan would have failed without Lee's actions on Pegasus so ... maybe they're all stuck on NC forever and ever?

[ddt73.livejournal.com]

Pre-Mini: Interesting scenario, is Zak alive or dead? Also how long did Zak and Kara go out, was they were serious as they were in cannon or was it just dating? How casual or not K&Z were, would make all the difference. For example if the breakup wasn't mutual, the potential for drama is there. If Zak is alive, his interaction with K&L would make for lots of drama.

Pegasus: Lee would quickly regret the move, and would wind up stuck there. Imagine the Peggy crew trying to break him. Kara would try to help him but there wouldn't be much she can do on Galactica. Eventually the issue would be forced by Adama with Kara getting through to him about what kind of danger Lee is in.

Home: In this version, if they stuck around Cylons would show up and I imagine them taking losses. Eventually they would have to hole up until help came. Lee and Kara facing what appears to be almost certain death stop resisting and become a couple. This would be an angsty tale I think.

AU: Not sure what the big deal would be here. Baltar and Kara are known for alot of one night stands, not sure it would be a big deal in and of itself. The details of it may be. Perhaps Baltar was smitten and didn't get over her (they suggested in cannon he was, till they dropped that thread in season2), and he attempts to sabotage any kind of relationship between L&K. Eventually they'd figure out what Baltar was trying to do, but the angst up till then could be interesting.

Occupation: I've seen this done in fic a few times. The question is what's the status of L&K's ship at this point? Did UB happen, is Kara married to Sam, and Lee to Dee? If L&D are married are they both on NC or is Dee on the Pegasus? Was there some resolution to L&K's issues? There are many potential stories here depending on the details.

Colonial Day: Hmmm, not sure what would be so different if it was Crashdown and not Baltar. Does it make any difference who Kara slept with? The issue is that Kara wanted Lee, but Lee left her and didn't go back for some reason. When Lee finds out he gets incredibly jealous, and Kara feels guilt about the whole thing. The irony is they both want Lee to be the other guy, whether it would be Baltar, Crashdown or whoever.

Better scenario would be if Adama agrees to send people back for the arrow, so Kara doesn't go off solo. This way L&K play out the drama of what happened, instead of it being ignored.

Blood on the Scales:

Eye of Jupiter: Interesting, would have been one way to get them un-trapped, because if Dee catches them together she would have an angry reaction which others would certainly notice and Sam would have to find out also. The raptor make-out sessions mixed with what they saw at the dance, could certainly be the push Dee and Sam need to leave their spouses. This scenario would be interesting for L&K, because they get what they want, but not in the way they wanted it. Also word would get out on their affair. Adama would find out and that would be a touchy situation. How does this affect their relationship? This story would be chocked full of angst lol.

He That Believeth in Me: I would assume Lee would go with Kara on the Demetrius mission or what would be the point? ;) If Lee went I tend to think he may have been able to focus Kara better. He seems to be able to do that for her, especially in the 2nd half of the series. Also the eventual Lee and Leoben scene would be intense.

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Better scenario would be if Adama agrees to send people back for the arrow, so Kara doesn't go off solo. This way L&K play out the drama of what happened, instead of it being ignored.

This is nice twist. Especially if a group was sent back not just Lee and Kara, because that would probably not happen. I'm not even sure that both Kara and Lee would be sent under any circumstance, but Kara with back up, with permission would change her desperation level on Caprica which could be interesting.

Eye of Jupiter: Interesting, would have been one way to get them un-trapped, because if Dee catches them together she would have an angry reaction which others would certainly notice and Sam would have to find out also. The raptor make-out sessions mixed with what they saw at the dance, could certainly be the push Dee and Sam need to leave their spouses. This scenario would be interesting for L&K, because they get what they want, but not in the way they wanted it. Also word would get out on their affair. Adama would find out and that would be a touchy situation. How does this affect their relationship? This story would be chocked full of angst lol.

What would have happened if Dee and Sam left is fascinating to me. I honestly don't think Lee and Kara would know what to do with each other if it were easy. Adama knowing, is one of my favorite what if's. He would be soooo angry with his son, and I think less angry with Kara in many ways which would make for some interesting interplay.

Part 2 of my post

[ddt73.livejournal.com]

YCGHA: In this scenario Lee doing something so crazy would anger Kara cause she wouldn't want him risking his life for her, but yet it would mean alot to her too, but she'd never admit that. It would have forced them to face their feelings much sooner and the ramifications of that would be interesting to play.

Sacrifice: I assume you mean Lee shoots Kara right? Not sure how Lee would handle the guilt of shooting Kara. Would he handle it better then she did? I could see him being mother hen like to Kara overdoing it cause of his guilt, or him avoiding her like she did to him for same reason. Playing both scenarios could be intriguing.

The Mini: Well I hope they get along eventually. I would play this as the ultimate role reversal, Kara as CAG having to be a bit of a hard ass and Lee being a bit of a smart ass to Kara. Lee would see that Kara has a better relationship with his dad then he does, which would be why he gives her a hard time. Kara on the other hand would try to keep him in line, but would hold back a bit cause he is the old man's son.

AU: I imagine as this plays out Lee finds himself more and more attracted to Kara, and Kara getting increasingly jealous (though she wouldn't admit it, but her actions and reactions give her away). Would be a fun story and underplayed angst.

Part the Second ...

[reginaspina.livejournal.com]

#6: Kara does not frak Baltar on Cloud Nine. She fraks Crashdown instead and everyone knows. Kara and Crashdown, huh? Oh dear! I think this would have wounded Lee even more than the Baltar thing, because Crashdown's one of his pilots. And then he would have been even more furious about Kara's rescue plans with the nukes? But would she have jumped away to Kobol if she felt some sort of guilt regarding the young man she'd just slept with - because Kara and guilt and s3x seem to go together. (Although I'm also sure Crashdown wouldn't have kept "Lee, OH LEEE!" to himself, would he?)

#7: Blood on the Scales: Sam dies from his bullet wound. Again, I think this wouldn't have changed too much that followed later (at least in terms of Lee/kara stuff, though obviously Sam's role as the Hybrid is important for how things develop with everyone else. To paraphrase Cookie Monster, though, who cares about everyone else? :P) I suspect Kara would have felt MAJOR guilt about Sam and I don't think she would've fallen into Lee's arms or anything, so ... we probably still would have had that lovely scene in "Islanded" and the poof >:|

#8: Eye of Jupiter: Dee follows Lee to the raptor and catches Lee with Kara. The fight in UB was enough to have Dee know what was going on; however, maybe actual physical evidence of tongues in mouths and hands on other boobs would have resulted in a confrontation rather than the kind of weird passive aggressive jealousy that was going on. Perhaps Lee would have been more vehement in saying that he needed to divorce Dee if he was caught in flagrante?

#9: He That Believeth in Me: Lee takes his father's offer to stay on Galactica.
I think he would have gone on the Demetrius with Kara if he'd stayed in the military. But then I suspect he wouldn't have been in a position to make the deal with the Cylons that took everyone to the ruined earth. (OTOH, err, that didn't work out so well anyway, did it?)

#10 - YCGHA: Lee refuses to leave Kara on the planet. He waits for her in a raptor while the fleet jumps away.

Honestly, I can't see this happening because Lee's not a selfish git his father and after Roslin's "come to Jesus" talk with the two Adamas, I doubt Lee would have felt he could abandon his comrades/the Fleet like that.

#11 - Sacrifice: Kara gets shot instead of Lee.
Oooh, mega-angst for Lee. I think he never goes any further with Dee, because he realizes that Kara's the sine qua non for him (see what I did there?) OTOH, Billy probably wouldn't get killed trying to be a hero, because there wouldn't be such a big threat to Dee, since the hostage-takers would realize that Lee was really interested in Kara.

#12: The Mini: Kara's the CAG when Lee comes on board. Zak never existed. They DON'T get along. Do you mean Kara is CAG before the attacks? I seriously don't see that at all. In fact, I don't want to think about this scenario because it would deprive us of the awesome scene when I became a shipper - the whole Lee visits Kara in the brig bit. :P However, if we're talking after the attacks, then I think it would be really interesting to see Kara in Lee's position where she has to tone down some of her impulses. If they dont' get along, does that mean she doesn't risk her life to save him in teh mini? So ... Lee dies? Waaaah!

#13: AU: Alpha!Lee shows up on Galactica. He works his way through the female crew. Kara holds out. OK, I don't even know! Lee as the Galactica manh0r, huh? Well, it would be interesting, albeit so different that I'm not sure I'd even like him :P (though naturally I would appreciate the aesthetic of frequently-unclothed Lee!) Also, I think it would be even more fun if he worked his way through the ENTIRE crew (excepting his father, because ewwwwww!) For those of you who've read the Hunger Games books, i guess Lee would be Finnick Odair :P

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Pre-Mini: Lee and Zak did NOT get along as brothers. Zak, the older brother, left the family when he turned eighteen. Lee stayed with his alcoholic mother for three years before he joined the service. He meets Kara for the first time during the mini. She used to date Zak.

This really intrigues me. I'm not entirely sure what changes from any other scenerio where Lee and Kara haven't met before the Decommissioning, but I have a feeling I'm going to think about it for awhile. I feel like it changes the relationship between Lee and his father, and maybe Adama and Kara quite a bit.

Home: Adama does not put the fleet back together after his discussion with Dee. He leaves Roslin, Zarek, Lee, Kara, Sharon and Helo and part of the fleet at Kobol for months before finally going back for them.

I really wish they'd done more with the fleet in general and splitting the fleet would have been an interesting way to explore.

Occupation: Lee is on NC with Kara, Leoben finds her during the occupation and takes her away. Lee helps with the resistance and tries to find Kara.

I found the Occupation/Resisance story on New Caprica less engaging than I should have. I wish someone in the resistance really held my interest and that Lee had been used more effectively in this arc. I see a lot of possibility in this. Hmm.

Colonial Day: Kara does not frak Baltar on Cloud Nine. She fraks Crashdown instead and everyone knows.

This one just makes me giggle. I do wonder how it would have changed things if Kara had slept with one of the pilots instead of Baltar. I don't know that it would have bothered Lee quite the same way. Although I can't explain exactly why. I love the idea that Kara would still shout out Lee's name and everyone would know that too. I can see Lee blushing from here. ;)

YCGHA: Lee refuses to leave Kara on the planet. He waits for her in a raptor while the fleet jumps away.

There's something so sweet and romantic about this, and I have a feeling that Kara would be really mad at Lee for doing it. I think it would change the whole tone of the over-all canon arc, because I wouldn't like forced angst if Lee and Kara happened to get together at this point. Although I'm not sure they have to get together.

Sacrifice: Kara gets shot instead of Lee.

I think this changes so much. It should be it's own discussion. :D

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Eye of Jupiter: Dee follows Lee to the raptor and catches Lee with Kara.

I think that Dee overhearing the fight between Lee and Sam over going to rescue Kara would be really interesting too. Hearing Lee admit his feelings for Kara while at the same time acknowledging that they might have to sacrifice her might have an effect.

[thegreenkitty.livejournal.com]

Hey bb, I am not ignoring this post...am just letting the thinky!thoughts and the crack settle in my head prior to posting. I love your scenarios!!

Maelstrom

[amaliak.livejournal.com]

Kara sits in her cockpit, her breaths shallow and ragged. Her helmet is cracked, and somewhere in the back of her mind she knows it's a miracle her bird landed on the deck and didn't just disintegrate into a thousand pieces....

The explosion flashes behind her eyes and she knows she's going to be sick. She barely manages to take off her helmet before emptying the contents of her stomach all over the controls. She thinks she's still gagging, but realizes that she's in fact sobbing as some lifts her out of the mess of her cockpit. She continues to gasp for air as the silent (too silent, why is it so damn QUIET?) hangar desk materializes beneath her.

Someone else (Cally, maybe?) helps her to her feet and she into the nearest head. Carefully, Kara washes off her flight suit, not daring to look up into the mirror. The scene plays again in her mind and she collapses to her knees again. She wonders for a minute how she can still hear his screams when she realizes that she's the one that's screaming, the sound echoing back at her accusingly.

You did this.

You denied destiny.

This is your fault.

Leoben (not Leoben?) glares at her from the darkened corner.

There are consequences.

Kara had listened to Lee out there. She'd pulled back at the last minute, her bird wrenching by some miracle (curse) out of the swirling mandala.

Lee hadn't.

He'd been following her. And she'd watched in horror as his bird exploded into a million brilliant pieces.

She was going to be sick again, but there wasn't anything in her. So she sat, gasping on the floor for who knows how long, alone with the knowledge of what she'd done.

She didn't notice when he'd come in. But he sat beside her, pulled her into his arms and cried on her neck. The Admiral's only son was dead. She wanted to push him away, didn't want him to touch her.

She'd rebelled against her destiny. She'd wanted to live, thought she couldn't leave Lee and the Old Man and the little she still had in her life.

There was a price for her disobedience.

This was her fault.

Now, she wanted nothing more than to be dead.

Now, it wouldn't change a thing.

***END**

Re: Maelstrom

[damao2010.livejournal.com]

OMG! That is gutting. So heartbreaking. It is the first time I didn't consider the original scene the worst the writers could have come up with (except for the poof, that is).

Re: Maelstrom

[ninjamonkey73.livejournal.com]

This could have happened just like this. So viceral. My poor, poor Leland...

Re: Maelstrom

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Beautiful and heartbreaking.



(This would be a million times except the I've been working one something really similar.)

Re: Maelstrom

[ddt73.livejournal.com]

Wow what a heart wrenching story.

There would be no consoling Kara if this happened. :(

Re: Maelstrom

[nazkey.livejournal.com]

Wow. That is so, so, so heartbreaking. Great job Lex!

[ninjamonkey73.livejournal.com]

So many interesting things to think about! I only have a few minutes, so I'll pick one:

Colonial Day: I don't know what exactly it is about Colonial Day, but I sometimes obsess over this one part of their story (bleeding into the after-fight in KLG1). All the what-ifs... I've "studied" the very end of that episode, and it looks to me like Lee walks away dejected while Kara throws herself all over Baltar, which I've always taken to mean she ran and grabbed the first warm body.

So, what if it was Crashdown? There's no way he would have kept quiet about a) banging Starbuck, or b) her calling out the CAG's name in bed. No matter how embarrassing it may be for the woman you're in bed with to yell out someone else's name, the mileage he could get out of her calling out Lee's name would be worth socks and cigars and chocolates galore.

And Lee? He took the indignant "is he a better man than me" tact in KLG1 about Baltar. If it were Crashdown... Oh, God, I want him to get angry and handsy with her. After all, Lee knows she deflected him and blew off "their" steam with Crashdown. Alpha!Lee corners Kara somewhere and traps her to prevent another runner, and my brain just exploded. :)

[ddt73.livejournal.com]

Ahh Colonial Day, I've always wondered why Lee didn't go back for Kara? I've always felt Lee ran from Kara in this scenario, not the other way around. He let Baltar cut in and didn't try and go back for her. I've spent years speculating on this episode and still haven't come up with anything that works for me.

Okay I can see why Crashdown would be different then Baltar, and another pilot sleeping with Starbuck is a different dynamic. However I just don't think it would be that big of a difference. Crashdown dies shortly after Colonial Day, the next day he crashes on Kobol, and never makes it back.

I just think the Colonial Day and KLG aftermath is more about their issues then the other guy.

[eridani8.livejournal.com]

I think you've hit on the the key difference this scenario creates- and that's Crashdown not keeping his mouth shut about her calling out Lee's name! If word got back to Lee about what happened before Kara took off to Caprica, things could have gone very differently in that conversation on the hanger deck. I think Lee having that knowledge would have allowed him to see there was something deeper going on with Kara that night, than just a simple matter of frakking just because she could.

And I'm pretty sure that Starbuck's attempts to avoid, brush off, make light of the whole situation if Lee ever questioned her on it would probably do a bit of damage, before she eventually gave in to the semi-humiliation of it all.

Six of One

[amaliak.livejournal.com]

Lee shifted from one foot to another nervously.

It wasn't anything he hadn't done before. Hell, the time before it had been more of a long shot, with much much steeper repercussions.

This should be cake. Easy.

His hands were sweating annoying, so he shoved them into he pockets of his pants, trying to remain as casual as possible. maybe this was the problem. Whatever his feelings were towards the service now, there was something about the uniform that made him confident, let him really believe that he was doing the right thing for the right reasons.

Maybe the problem was that the uniform he wore now was full of doubt.

He strolled as casually as he could into the cell, somewhat alarmed that the guard hadn't checked him for any weapons.

The cell door closed behind him, but didn't lock.

Interesting.

This might be easier than he thought.

Kara looked up at him from her position on the other side of the cell. She smiled sadly. "Hey."

It brought a lump to his throat to hear her voice again. "Hey," he managed, returning her smile.

She'd been crying. He could tell by her red rimmed eyes and the shakiness of her breathing, but he didn't come any closer to her. There she was, back from the dead, real, alive, and he couldn't come any closer. He can't do anything but stare at the floor.

"So, I...I heard that you were leaving," she breaks the silence in a soft voice. She's looking right at him, he knows, but he still can't meet her gaze.

"Ummm, yeah. Yeah, I am," he chuckles a bit, taking advantage of the akwardness to glance at the rest of their surroundings. Only one guard in the cell. One outside.

"You're going to be Zarek's wingman," she teases, and he looks at her then, her smile real and genuine.

He wants to kiss her.

"Stow it, ok," he says with a laugh. "I've gotten enough from everyone else."

They go silent again, and his shoes scuff the floor. This is it. He's got to let her in on it.

"You know, I think I understand what you mean now," he starts, catching and holding her gaze. She head tilts quizzically. The soft smile hasn't left her face, but he can see her pushing back tears. "About having a destiny."

She lets out a short laugh. "Yeah, well," she lifts her hands to her surroundings. "It's a glamorous gig."

He remains serious. "This is something I have to do."

Her eyes are back to his and her smile has dissolved and she sits up a little straighter. She's reading him again, and her eyes slightly widen.

Slowly and deliberately, she stands up, closing the space between them as she extends her hand. "Good luck, Lee Adama." She thinks he's crazy. He might be.

He doesn't care.

He places her hand in hers, holding it firmly. "You too, Kara Thrace."

She holds his eyes and for a split second he thinks that she might back out. But she gives his hand a squeeze and he knows she'll follow where he leads.

It's ironic.

He lets go of her and turns to the guard, who moves to open the (unlocked) cell door. In a flash, the man on the ground at his feet, and Kara was stepping over the unconscious man.

Before he knows it, he's pulled Kara in close, kissing her full on and she's clinging to him, pent up longing unfurling in a rush of relief and adrenaline.

"You are beyond insane, you know that, right," she breathes as he continues to kiss her forehead, her cheeks, her neck.

"You forget, I've done this before," he whispers against her skin before pulling back to give her a grin. "Breaking people out of the brig has become a nasty habit."

She shakes her head at him in disbelief as he handed her the guard's weapon.

"Lee Adama, mutinying at inappropriate times," she says as the walk towards the door.

"Kara," he stops to catch her gaze, making sure she understands what he's doing. "I believe you."

She sobers and swallows thickly, nearly holding her breath.

"He's going to believe you too," Lee goes on. "We're going to show him."

She blinks away more tears and nods curtly, gripping the gun in her hands tighter. "I'll cover your six, Apollo."

His mouth quirks into a smile. "Missed you, Starbuck."

***END***

Re: Six of One

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Yay! But is there an appropriately times mutiny?

Three are too Many

[kag523.livejournal.com]

Dee knows, the second Lee walks out of the quonset and into the heavy blanket of heat that coats this gods-forsaken planet, where he’s going. Apollo is going to see Starbuck. There’s no question about it at all. Kara’s been flying the doughnut runs for days, something she’d never tolerate if there wasn’t something in it for her. Dee’s learned to let a lot of things go in her marriage. The fact that she’ll never be the first person Lee asks about when there’s been some accident on a ship. Never the one whose eyes he’ll seek out in a crowd. Not the one who drives him practically mad for both love and hate. (And what’s the difference between those, really?) Most days it’s enough to have him next to her. To share that name. The bed. To take the happiness where she can.

But most days aren’t today.

Dropping her supply lists, she follows him to where she can hear the raptor slowly cooling down. The steady tick, tick, tick, of the engine. She stops in the doorway, eyes wide, suddenly understanding. A voyeur into all the things she’s feared, but never really known.

It’s the way Lee touches her when he holds her; one hand in her hair, the other on her jaw. More than kissing... almost consuming her. His whole body melting into hers, alight with the fire that is Kara Thrace. The flame that burns all who touch it.

There’s half a second, where she considers turning away. She knew Lee loved Kara when she agreed to marry him. But seeing this here... the truth unveiled... has shredded any last bit of hope she had to sway him. (For though she has pretended – to herself and others – that she’s taking happiness where she can find it, his love is what she’s hoped for all along.) No, she can’t hide from this any longer. So Dee takes a deep breath, says goodbye to the broken dreams, and then steps into the raptor.

Three are too many people in a marriage.

Re: Three are too Many

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

But now what happens? Huh? Huh?

And because it needed a manip...

[kag523.livejournal.com]

(http://s931.photobucket.com/albums/ad159/kag523/No%20Takebacks/?action=view&current=ThreeInARaptor.jpg)

Re: And because it needed a manip...

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

That's perfect! LOL Kara so above this, of all things, Dee glaring because she knows she won't win a cat fight and Lee defensive and relieved all at the same time.

Sacrifice

[mserrada.livejournal.com]

Starbuck grimaced, eyes closing briefly as she realized her cover was blown. With a blink and a breath she frees the two weapons and spins, firing at the nearest target just beyond the bar.

Screams and gunfire ricochet in the enclosed space as the first terrorist drops to the floor with two holes perfectly center over his breastbone.

"Down! Get the frak down!" Starbuck bellows as she throws herself to the side, the heat of return fire tracing her path.

Movement to the left brings her sights around and her finger's already responding as the second man jams a reload home and raises his weapon.

A flash of pale fabric and a body falls.

Kara freezes as Dee sprawls flat, chestnut eyes locked heavenward and a neat hole just above one temple.

More shouts break her paralysis and Kara scrambles to relocate her mark. Hers is not the first to sight, though, and darkness follows the blinding pain in her shoulder.

Re: Sacrifice

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Wow, great action! Did Kara shoot Dee? And then get shot? Ooh.

[eridani8.livejournal.com]

Re Sacrifice:

I'd like to see Kara not only take the bullet in a fit of bad-assery, but to also then have potential complications in her rehab process. Getting shot in the shoulder is a pretty big freaking deal when your day job relies on ultra fast reflexes and superb fine motor control (they seem to have glossed over this in Lee's case). Would she fly again? And what would she do if she did lose her wings?

And I'm thinking that if Kara were stuck in a hospital bed (and potentially on Cottle's good stuff), Lee might be able to force some honest post-Scar conversation out of her.