Prologue: Chapter 7
May. 8th, 2011 08:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
embolaliaTitle: Prologue (chapter 7)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance/Angst
Pairing: Kara/Zak and Kara/Lee
Disclaimer: Not mine!
Summary: Daybreak flashbacks, extended edition. Zak's flight test.
Chapter 7
Starbuck tries not to fidget as Major Marshall goes over the parameters for the Basic Flight evaluations. If he had more of a sense of humor, or less, she'd point out that it's been less than two years since she took the damn test herself, but he's a singularly colorless man, never letting her bait him. She glances around at the other Viper instructors, but they're all considerably older and seem to be paying attention. Pearson, who is proud to have trained Starbuck himself not so long ago, gives her a brief reproving look when she catches his eye.
"So here are your assignments," Marshall finally says, beginning to distribute a stack of papers. "The cadets were randomized, so you'll have taught some of them and not others. Remember," he pauses, "Our Fleet is in your hands. Dismissed."
Kara doesn't stand with the others. There he is on her sheet, right after Melody Abrams: Zakary Adama. She clenches the page as she looks quickly at Marshall, weighing the options. If he finds out about their engagement after she's done Zak's eval, there might be consequences. But if she comes out about it now there will definitely be trouble.
Marshall raises an eyebrow at her from the entrance of the room as the other instructors trickle out. "Problem, Thrace?"
"No, sir," she answers, and swallows hard. There's really no reason it should be.
The others are already halfway to the landing field, and Starbuck jogs to catch up but doesn't join in their chatter. When the six of them reach the field the cadets salute sharply. Marshall begins to shout, giving an address about skill and service that she tunes out altogether. Instead her eyes search out Zak's. He's focused on the Major, just like he should be. She nods to herself. There's no reason to think he won't pass.
And then Marshall's done and each of the instructors call out their list of pilots. Zak's eyes widen a touch when she says his name, but he simply nods.
Starbuck's first eval candidate, Abrams, is practically shaking as she approaches her Viper, but she does the pre-flight check-list without a hitch and seems to settle down. Starbuck climbs in her own bird and they're quickly above the clouds. Abrams runs through the sequence of maneuvers efficiently.
"Watch it!" Starbuck barks as Abrams' wing jerks in a sudden gust of wind and the woman overcompensates.
"Sorry, sir," Abrams says quickly, adjusting.
Starbuck nods to herself. That's one point down out of the ten on the eval. Below an eight is failing. But Abrams makes it back to the ground and through the check-out without further error, and Kara gives her a brief nod of approval as she sends her off.
Next is Zak, and he grins privately at Kara as he plucks the pre-flight clipboard from her hands.
"Did Melly do alright?" he asks as he does a quick check of the fuselage, then the tylium levels.
"I can't talk about that yet," Starbuck says tightly, glancing across the field to where the Major is supervising.
Zak glances up. "Okay, sure."
She narrows her eyes. He still hasn't checked the coolant, and the Vipers are sometimes deliberately mis-prepped to keep the cadets on their toes. "Don't forget-" she starts, and then stops herself. Kara bites her lip. Would she have told Abrams?
Zak looks up at her, waiting. Then he reads over the clipboard again, muttering the list out loud. "Oh, coolant!" he finally says, and ducks down to check.
Starbuck is still pursing her lips in sudden nervousness. He might have caught it on his own. She doesn't have to take a point off yet, does she? And anyway, if he only gets a nine, that's still fine. She swallows hard.
"Ready?" Zak asks, grinning at her.
"Always." She watches him climb up into the Viper, then turns to her own.
Zak makes it off the ground with no problem, and Kara's just glad to have one point assured. He makes it through the first handful of maneuvers without a flaw, too, and she starts to relax. She grins as she imagines what Lee would say: it proves she's a good instructor if she could get Zak to pass.
And just like that, things go wrong.
"Executing port barrel roll," Zak says, but instead of tipping left, he tips right, and Starbuck darts away only seconds before their wings collide. "Sorry!" he cries out.
She looks over at him, sees how wide his eyes are. "Be careful," she growls. He flinches and her heart lurches. Tension is building in the pit of her stomach. She might have to fail him. Zak is different than her, different than Lee. He's never been damaged the way they are. How can she be the one to crush him? She already nearly did once. "Head for home," she finally says into the comm. "Run through the port barrel roll again on the way."
He does, and this time it's good enough. He's got two more points to earn-landing and check-out-and as long as they go well it won't matter that he's missed two. Kara sends up a quick prayer.
Zak hits the ground so hard there are sparks. Pilots and instructors all over the landing field turn to look.
Kara sets down beside him, catches Marshall's concerned glance as she gets out and watches Zak complete his check-out. He keeps his head down, not meeting her eyes. Finally he's finished.
"I'll be in my bunk," he says softly, already so disappointed Kara aches for him.
"Don't worry," she promises him, trying to smile. She wants to give him a hug, but can't. "I'll see you later," she murmurs.
Zak nods and heads off.
"Lieutenant Thrace?" Major Marshall says from behind her.
Kara twirls. "Sir?"
"That was Adama's son?"
She nods once. "Yes, sir."
He frowns at Zak's receding form. "What was his score?"
She opens her mouth. Does the check-in count? It's a split second decision. "Eight," she announces firmly. "He rolled the wrong direction, and you saw his landing, but everything else was fine."
Marshall glances back to her. "Good." He gestures to the next nugget waiting for her. "Round three."
Kara nods, breathing again once he walks away. Then she starts to smile. He passed. "Cordova!" she shouts. "Let's go!"
It takes two hours to get through the rest of the pilots she's evaluating. Only two of them fail outright, and to Kara's relief they're not from her squadron. As she turns in her write-ups with the other instructors, Crawley even claps her on the back and tells her he's impressed with her bunch, that all of her nuggets that he tested got tens. Kara walks away grinning.
Most of the nuggets have gathered on the main quad to celebrate their completion of the test, whether they've passed or not. It takes no more than a glance for Kara to see that Zak isn't with them. A few look at her askance, and she remembers that they saw Zak's landing, but she smiles and shrugs and moves on.
He's in his bunk like he said he'd be, and Kara locks the door as she enters.
Zak's laying on his back in bed, reading something.
"What's up?" Kara asks lightly, sitting beside him and pulling off her boots.
He frowns at the paper. "My dad wrote back."
She grins. "I can't believe you guys still send letters."
Zak smiles sheepishly. "Hey, he's a traditionalist. Anyway, he's coming. For graduation." Now he looks nervously at Kara. "Assuming I'm graduating."
She gives him her most sultry look. "Oh, you're graduating."
"What?" His face lights up and he grabs her arm. "Really?"
Kara laughs. "I'm a better instructor than you give me credit for, it turns out. And you didn't mess up so bad." She snatches the letter out of his hand lets it drift to the ground as she pounces on Zak, kissing him hard.
He fumbles with her tanks, then glances away toward the door.
"I locked it," Kara mumbles, pulling at Zak's clothes in turn.
"Good." He flips her over as she squeals, and smiles down at her.
Kara pulls her bra off and flings it to the floor. "What?" she asks when she sees Zak watching her.
His eyes are soft. "My father's coming. So he can meet you, mostly. Because you're going to be my wife." Zak shakes his head. "It just got real all of a sudden."
Kara's face falters. "Do you still want to?"
"Yes." He's beatific in his surety. Zak lies down against her, running a finger around Kara's lips, tracing the curve of her ear. She squirms, trying to get her pants off, until Zak finally grabs her hand to still her and kisses each fingertip. "I love you, Kara Thrace." And for once she lets him make love to her as slowly and completely as he wants.
Afterward, Kara slips out of bed, gathering her scattered clothes as Zak follows her with his eyes. She bends down to pick up her underwear and comes up staring at the picture in Zak's locker, the picture from last weekend. The look in Lee's eyes catches her off guard and she remembers with a sharp twinge the moment before, the way she'd fought back the desire to have Lee's arm around her. Her husband's brother. Gods.
"I sent Dad a copy, too," Zak says from his bed. "It came out well, don't you think?"
"Mmm." She tears her eyes away.
Zak looks at her nervously as she turns to him. "I want you to tell me the truth about something."
For a moment she thinks he's talking about Lee and her heart leaps into her throat. But then she sees the nature of his concern in his eyes and knows she's just projecting. "You passed," she says firmly. "By the skin of your teeth, but you passed."
She assures him until she thinks he believes her, and then, as if it proves her point, she kisses him again. Because how could she love anyone who couldn't fly?
***********
Chapter 8
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance/Angst
Pairing: Kara/Zak and Kara/Lee
Disclaimer: Not mine!
Summary: Daybreak flashbacks, extended edition. Zak's flight test.
Chapter 7
Starbuck tries not to fidget as Major Marshall goes over the parameters for the Basic Flight evaluations. If he had more of a sense of humor, or less, she'd point out that it's been less than two years since she took the damn test herself, but he's a singularly colorless man, never letting her bait him. She glances around at the other Viper instructors, but they're all considerably older and seem to be paying attention. Pearson, who is proud to have trained Starbuck himself not so long ago, gives her a brief reproving look when she catches his eye.
"So here are your assignments," Marshall finally says, beginning to distribute a stack of papers. "The cadets were randomized, so you'll have taught some of them and not others. Remember," he pauses, "Our Fleet is in your hands. Dismissed."
Kara doesn't stand with the others. There he is on her sheet, right after Melody Abrams: Zakary Adama. She clenches the page as she looks quickly at Marshall, weighing the options. If he finds out about their engagement after she's done Zak's eval, there might be consequences. But if she comes out about it now there will definitely be trouble.
Marshall raises an eyebrow at her from the entrance of the room as the other instructors trickle out. "Problem, Thrace?"
"No, sir," she answers, and swallows hard. There's really no reason it should be.
The others are already halfway to the landing field, and Starbuck jogs to catch up but doesn't join in their chatter. When the six of them reach the field the cadets salute sharply. Marshall begins to shout, giving an address about skill and service that she tunes out altogether. Instead her eyes search out Zak's. He's focused on the Major, just like he should be. She nods to herself. There's no reason to think he won't pass.
And then Marshall's done and each of the instructors call out their list of pilots. Zak's eyes widen a touch when she says his name, but he simply nods.
Starbuck's first eval candidate, Abrams, is practically shaking as she approaches her Viper, but she does the pre-flight check-list without a hitch and seems to settle down. Starbuck climbs in her own bird and they're quickly above the clouds. Abrams runs through the sequence of maneuvers efficiently.
"Watch it!" Starbuck barks as Abrams' wing jerks in a sudden gust of wind and the woman overcompensates.
"Sorry, sir," Abrams says quickly, adjusting.
Starbuck nods to herself. That's one point down out of the ten on the eval. Below an eight is failing. But Abrams makes it back to the ground and through the check-out without further error, and Kara gives her a brief nod of approval as she sends her off.
Next is Zak, and he grins privately at Kara as he plucks the pre-flight clipboard from her hands.
"Did Melly do alright?" he asks as he does a quick check of the fuselage, then the tylium levels.
"I can't talk about that yet," Starbuck says tightly, glancing across the field to where the Major is supervising.
Zak glances up. "Okay, sure."
She narrows her eyes. He still hasn't checked the coolant, and the Vipers are sometimes deliberately mis-prepped to keep the cadets on their toes. "Don't forget-" she starts, and then stops herself. Kara bites her lip. Would she have told Abrams?
Zak looks up at her, waiting. Then he reads over the clipboard again, muttering the list out loud. "Oh, coolant!" he finally says, and ducks down to check.
Starbuck is still pursing her lips in sudden nervousness. He might have caught it on his own. She doesn't have to take a point off yet, does she? And anyway, if he only gets a nine, that's still fine. She swallows hard.
"Ready?" Zak asks, grinning at her.
"Always." She watches him climb up into the Viper, then turns to her own.
Zak makes it off the ground with no problem, and Kara's just glad to have one point assured. He makes it through the first handful of maneuvers without a flaw, too, and she starts to relax. She grins as she imagines what Lee would say: it proves she's a good instructor if she could get Zak to pass.
And just like that, things go wrong.
"Executing port barrel roll," Zak says, but instead of tipping left, he tips right, and Starbuck darts away only seconds before their wings collide. "Sorry!" he cries out.
She looks over at him, sees how wide his eyes are. "Be careful," she growls. He flinches and her heart lurches. Tension is building in the pit of her stomach. She might have to fail him. Zak is different than her, different than Lee. He's never been damaged the way they are. How can she be the one to crush him? She already nearly did once. "Head for home," she finally says into the comm. "Run through the port barrel roll again on the way."
He does, and this time it's good enough. He's got two more points to earn-landing and check-out-and as long as they go well it won't matter that he's missed two. Kara sends up a quick prayer.
Zak hits the ground so hard there are sparks. Pilots and instructors all over the landing field turn to look.
Kara sets down beside him, catches Marshall's concerned glance as she gets out and watches Zak complete his check-out. He keeps his head down, not meeting her eyes. Finally he's finished.
"I'll be in my bunk," he says softly, already so disappointed Kara aches for him.
"Don't worry," she promises him, trying to smile. She wants to give him a hug, but can't. "I'll see you later," she murmurs.
Zak nods and heads off.
"Lieutenant Thrace?" Major Marshall says from behind her.
Kara twirls. "Sir?"
"That was Adama's son?"
She nods once. "Yes, sir."
He frowns at Zak's receding form. "What was his score?"
She opens her mouth. Does the check-in count? It's a split second decision. "Eight," she announces firmly. "He rolled the wrong direction, and you saw his landing, but everything else was fine."
Marshall glances back to her. "Good." He gestures to the next nugget waiting for her. "Round three."
Kara nods, breathing again once he walks away. Then she starts to smile. He passed. "Cordova!" she shouts. "Let's go!"
***
It takes two hours to get through the rest of the pilots she's evaluating. Only two of them fail outright, and to Kara's relief they're not from her squadron. As she turns in her write-ups with the other instructors, Crawley even claps her on the back and tells her he's impressed with her bunch, that all of her nuggets that he tested got tens. Kara walks away grinning.
Most of the nuggets have gathered on the main quad to celebrate their completion of the test, whether they've passed or not. It takes no more than a glance for Kara to see that Zak isn't with them. A few look at her askance, and she remembers that they saw Zak's landing, but she smiles and shrugs and moves on.
He's in his bunk like he said he'd be, and Kara locks the door as she enters.
Zak's laying on his back in bed, reading something.
"What's up?" Kara asks lightly, sitting beside him and pulling off her boots.
He frowns at the paper. "My dad wrote back."
She grins. "I can't believe you guys still send letters."
Zak smiles sheepishly. "Hey, he's a traditionalist. Anyway, he's coming. For graduation." Now he looks nervously at Kara. "Assuming I'm graduating."
She gives him her most sultry look. "Oh, you're graduating."
"What?" His face lights up and he grabs her arm. "Really?"
Kara laughs. "I'm a better instructor than you give me credit for, it turns out. And you didn't mess up so bad." She snatches the letter out of his hand lets it drift to the ground as she pounces on Zak, kissing him hard.
He fumbles with her tanks, then glances away toward the door.
"I locked it," Kara mumbles, pulling at Zak's clothes in turn.
"Good." He flips her over as she squeals, and smiles down at her.
Kara pulls her bra off and flings it to the floor. "What?" she asks when she sees Zak watching her.
His eyes are soft. "My father's coming. So he can meet you, mostly. Because you're going to be my wife." Zak shakes his head. "It just got real all of a sudden."
Kara's face falters. "Do you still want to?"
"Yes." He's beatific in his surety. Zak lies down against her, running a finger around Kara's lips, tracing the curve of her ear. She squirms, trying to get her pants off, until Zak finally grabs her hand to still her and kisses each fingertip. "I love you, Kara Thrace." And for once she lets him make love to her as slowly and completely as he wants.
Afterward, Kara slips out of bed, gathering her scattered clothes as Zak follows her with his eyes. She bends down to pick up her underwear and comes up staring at the picture in Zak's locker, the picture from last weekend. The look in Lee's eyes catches her off guard and she remembers with a sharp twinge the moment before, the way she'd fought back the desire to have Lee's arm around her. Her husband's brother. Gods.
"I sent Dad a copy, too," Zak says from his bed. "It came out well, don't you think?"
"Mmm." She tears her eyes away.
Zak looks at her nervously as she turns to him. "I want you to tell me the truth about something."
For a moment she thinks he's talking about Lee and her heart leaps into her throat. But then she sees the nature of his concern in his eyes and knows she's just projecting. "You passed," she says firmly. "By the skin of your teeth, but you passed."
She assures him until she thinks he believes her, and then, as if it proves her point, she kisses him again. Because how could she love anyone who couldn't fly?
***********
Chapter 8
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-05-10 01:20 pm (UTC)