Disclaimers: Battlestar Galactica is not owned by me and infringement is intended. This story is only for the enjoyment of the readers.

Placing Pieces

By

AJ Marks

Crystal awoke in a breathless sweat. She felt cold even though the temperature of the room was quite warm and she was under her blankets. She shivered a bit as she wondered what to make of what had awoken her. It was not something she had ever felt before and was not sure what to make of it.

She tried to make sense of what had just happened. The one thing that she hoped was she just had had a bad dream. That did not seem to comfort her that much as a feeling that it meant so much more almost overwhelmed her. Something had happened that she was not sure what. Deciding that sleep was no longer going to be an option she got up and quickly dressed.

The crew of the Galactica had actually been quite kind to her and she found them to be a caring to others. No one had looked down on her because she did not know anything. She had been able to read a lot of their minds and found most wanting to help her out. It was a distraction that they welcomed from their normal lives. They also loved hearing about her myths and legends and her stories had become quite popular among the other ships as well.

Crystal had learned that the fleet had been on the run from a group called Cylons for a while now. Their enemies had destroyed their homes and forced them to flee. Many held a deep hatred for their enemies and the betrayal they had suffered. It was something that they did have in common. She had not told them about what had happened to her yet, but she knew that the one person that she probably could talk to was Aaron. He would be there she knew but she still had to work though the fact that Apollo was not the Emperor.

She walked over to the sink, another convenience she found most useful. It supplied water to everyone without her having to go to a central water well for water. A wave her of hand under the tap and warm water came out filling the sink. She splashed water on her face in an attempt to make herself appear more presentable. After that was done she brushed her hair using the mirror which was much better than the reflective glass she had used before. Once she was ready she made her way to the cafeteria for something to eat. That was the one thing that she was not sure she liked as much. The food was not as fresh as what she had been used to, but it was defiantly more plentiful even though everyone was rationing it.

Crystal went though the line and grabbed something called sweet rolls and a juice product. Sitting down at a lone table away from everyone else she thought about what had happened to her. Her thoughts however keep going back to what had awakened her. If only she could remember more of what she had dreamed it might help.

Aaron and Cronus were making their way down the hallway. They had just gotten off duty and were looking to eat before retiring to get some sleep. That was the one thing aboard a ship this size. It never slept, and it could not afford to either. There were round the clock shifts for all positions. Since Aaron had switched rotations on a full time basis he did not see much of Crystal in the past couple of days. At least not as much as he would have liked to.

Walking into the cafeteria he was surprised to see Crystal sitting alone at a table off to the side. Cronus seeing where Aaron was looking gave him an elbow to the ribs. Aaron glared at Cronus but the smirk on his friend's face along with his eyes darting to Crystal took some of the sting off it.

"Why don't we sit with her," Cronus said. He knew that his friend was attracted to the small blonde. He also did not quite understand why she did not like to be touched. Even Aaron who he had the strong feeling that she was attracted to him as well did not touch much.

"I don't know Cronus," Aaron replied as he grabbed a tray of food.

"Oh, come on," Cronus said picking up his tray then began heading towards Crystal.

"Cronus," Aaron said but not wanting to raise his voice too much. The last thing he wanted to do was attract a crowd. Knowing that Cronus was ignoring him he quickly set off after his friend.

Aaron reluctantly followed his friend to the small woman who was eating by herself. Cronus quickly asked if anyone was sitting at the table then joined the woman while waving Aaron over to sit down. Aaron could tell that his friend was having a good time with this by the small smirk that played on the corner of his mouth. With a shake of his head he sat down next to Crystal.

"Hey, how are you doing," Aaron asked her.

"Still trying to adjust," Crystal replied honestly. There were many things that she did not understand and was now taking classes with the kids to learn everything. It was a bit hard for her being in a class full of six year olds and she was close to twenty.

"You'll get it," he said placing a hand on her shoulder before taking it off. Crystal could feel the warm and genuine thoughts coming from Aaron. It was the one thing that she actually liked. He did not judge her in any way and was always encouraging her to do more.

"I guess," she replied with a shrug.

Cronus watched the two of them while eating. The conversation was light and it was not long before he finished his meal. Knowing that Aaron and Crystal were not finished he quickly said a good-bye and left them alone. Aaron was not sure if he was angry or relieved by what Cronus did. He could almost tell by how Crystal was acting that something was bothering her.

"So, what's wrong," he finally asked her after a few minutes of silence.

Crystal looked up and for a moment hesitated in telling Aaron what was really wrong. But she was wondering how to tell someone something when she did not even know what was wrong. Pushing some of his hair back out his eyes it was a gesture that she was not even aware she made until she felt the intense concern coming from him. With a sigh she looked down then back up at him into patient eyes.

"I, well, I had a dream," Crystal said. "It was the strangest dream I've ever had."

"Perhaps if you talked about it you would feel better about it all," Aaron asked wondering if Crystal would open up to him.

"Well, I had a dream about my planet," Crystal said then proceeded to tell him all about her dream. It was like once she started talking she just could not stop until she had finished. Once she had stopped she held her breath waiting for what Aaron would say.

Apollo hit his thrusters as his viper shot out of the launch tube and into space. Starbuck pulled up beside him a short time later as they headed out on their patrol. Apollo was looking forward to this patrol. He had not seen much of Starbuck lately with everything that was going on. It seemed that things were settling down with the three battlestars. The crews were becoming accustomed to working together and the viper squads of each ship were melding quite well.

"Have you and Cassie decide on a date yet," he asked as they turned their vipers towards the first part of their patrol.

"Cassie wants to have it soon. With everything getting smoothed with the three battlestars she's getting anxious to have the ceremony before everyone heads to other ships," Starbuck replied.

Apollo knew what he meant. A few people that they considered family were going to be heading over to their battlestars. Sheba had recently returned to the Galactica for which Apollo was glad. He enjoyed spending time with her. Perhaps he was finally over Sernia. That time of his life had some of the lowest and highest points of his life.

The high point had been marrying Sernia. It had been a high point in a sea of low points. He thought that perhaps the universe had lined up against him that yehren. He had lost his brother and mother, the colonies had been destroyed, the fleet had also been destroyed, and at the end he had lost his wife.

Looking around the pilot's quarters earlier he had noticed that his life had changed quite a bit. There were several new faces mixed in with the old. Starbuck was back aboard the Galactica, which was serving as the fleet flagship. The fleet now had three battlestars to protect it and the fuel tanks were full. He had been mistaken for an emperor and had helped find out who had tried to kill his father. He also had a strengthening relationship with Sheba. Boxey seemed to like her as well which helped out quite a bit.

"Hey Apollo," he heard Starbuck's voice say. He turned to see his friend looking at him.

"What's going on Starbuck," Apollo asked wondering how long he had been standing there.

"Well nothing, but I was about to ask you the same thing. You seem to be a bit quiet," Starbuck said looked at Apollo. His friend looked really out of it there.

"Nothing much Starbuck," Apollo said.

"Right," Starbuck replied knowing that they both knew that Starbuck was not buying it.

"I was just thinking of everything that has happened over the last year," Apollo said.

"We've had a lot happen in the last year," Starbuck said agreeing with Apollo. "We found the battlestars Hyperion and Agamemnon. Found the person who was responsible for trying to kill your father, I've finally proposed to Cassie. In all it’s been a good year."

"Yes it has. I'm hoping that our next year will be just as good." Apollo said.

"I'm for that, but there is little that could do that, besides us finding Earth," Starbuck replied.

"Well, you never know these days," Apollo stated. "We could run across Earth at any time."

"You're right, but I doubt it," Starbuck said. "I just hope that we don't have to worry about the Cylons any time soon."

"That I don't know. They seem to be all over the galaxy," Apollo said.

"Well if they do find us again they will be in for quite a fight this time," Starbuck said.

"Let's just concentrate on this patrol for now," Apollo said.

Aaron was not that sure about what Crystal had said. It was definitely out of his league. He knew very little about telepaths and their types. He did know one person that might be able to help her out.

"Have you thought about talking to the Commander," Aaron asked.

"I don't know," Crystal said. She had been unable to feel the man's emotions as he was able to block her. That made her a bit nervous about him. The other side of her felt like she had found a long lost father. One that would be there for her as long as she wanted. "What is you're view on Adama?"

"He's done more for this fleet than anyone else," Aaron said. "If it wasn't for his leadership we would all be dead by now. He thinks ahead of what is going on now and listens to all sides before making a decision."

"Traits of a good commander," Crystal said.

"Yes, but he will also make the hard decision if he has to. He will stand up for what he believes in and has passed that on to his son," Aaron said. "It’s all of these qualities that make him a good man for many of us."

"I think that I might take you're suggestion," Crystal said thinking about it. "It’s strange to be able to talk about these taboo things out in the open like this."

"Perhaps if we had had someone like you in our council we would never have been defeated in the first place," Aaron said.

"You are still alive are you not," Crystal asked. "You have suffered a defeat, yes, totally defeated, no."

Aaron wanted to argue at first. They were defeated but as he looked at her thinking he realized that in a way she was right. They were on the run sure, but they were alive and there was always the hope that they might return one day. They still did have a slight bit of hope no matter how small, they were still alive.

"You have a point," Aaron admitted finally. "But I still think you should talk to him. He might be able to help you in ways that no one else can."

"I will try to talk to him," Crystal finally said.

"Report centurion," Baltar said from his chair. He had forgotten how much he had enjoyed sitting up here. It was a place of power. He had an entire basestar under his command something no other human had ever had.

"By your command," the centurion said. "We have reexamined the asteroid field. There are signs of a recent explosion."

"Cause," Baltar asked sharply.

"Unknown," the centurion said.

"The Galactica," Baltar said to himself. "There was something there that Adama did not want us to find. Was there anything in the wreckage of the asteroids?"

"Our scanners were not able to pick anything up," the centurion said.

"Have our scouts go into the asteroid belt to find out," Baltar said.

"By you command," the centurion said and walked out.

"We have them Lucifer, we have them this time," Baltar said looking over to where the IL series Cylon was standing.

"A deserted asteroid belt and a planet of less than intelligent humans, I think you've finally snap Baltar," Lucifer said.

"What did you say Lucifer," Baltar said leveling a glare at Lucifer.

"That you are indeed most wise," Lucifer replied.

"Yes, I am," Baltar said with a smile. "I want to know what forces would be available to me when we find the Galactica. Find out and report back to me."

"By your command," Lucifer said leaving Baltar alone to his own thoughts.

Baltar was sure that the Galactica had had been by the asteroid belt and with the recent encounter on the planet he now had a course that the Colonial fleet was headed in. Baltar was sure that this time he would have the Galactica for sure.

Jason walked up to his viper and went thought the check with the flight crew. He had the next patrol and he wanted to be sure that everything was working just fine. He was sure that there would not be a whole lot to see on the patrol but the whole reason to have a patrol was to make sure that they were not surprised by anything. The last thing the fleet needed was to be ambushed by another race or by the Cylons again.

Boomer walked up next to him giving Jason a slap on the shoulder. "Are you ready for this," Boomer asked him.

"Yeah, I think so," Jason replied. It was the first patrol that he would be heading up by himself. His wing mate was another recruit who was also new but would be his first patrol. In a strange way Jason was to be the veteran while the other pilot was the rookie. It was a strange experience for him.

"You'll do fine," Boomer said. "You are one of the better pilots of your class. If we didn't think you were ready we would not have asked you to do this."

"Glad that you have such confidence in my abilities," Jason said hoping that he could live up to such high expatiations. He climbed up into his viper as Boomer walked over to where the other pilot was to give him a few last second pointers.

"Agamemnon command, this is Gold patrol," Jason said waiting to hear the familiar voice give him the coordinates of their patrol.

"Gold patrol stand by to receive patrol coordinates," Athena's voice said over the intercom.

"Transfer complete," Jason said as his onboard computer blinked that it had finished the transfer.

"Gold patrol, you may launch when ready," Athena said.

"Acknowledged Agamemnon control," Jason said. With a deep breath he activated all three of the viper's engines before pushing on the turbo button. He was pushed back into his seat by the acceleration of the viper. His viper shot out of the Agamemnon's launch tubes within a few moments and he found himself in the vacuum of space. A few microns later he was joined by his wing mate.

The two of them turned their vipers away from the fleet towards their patrol area. Jason settled back into what probably would be a boring patrol except for the fact that the pilot next to him had not been on a patrol before. Jason became nervous every time he thought about that. Taking a calming breath he forced himself to relax. If he got unsettled it would do nothing if they did get in trouble.

"I'm not too close am I sir," the rookie's voice said over the intercom causing Jason to turn to see where his wingman was.

"No Larzus, you're doing just fine," Jason replied after seeing where Larzus was.

The two continued on their patrol heading out to their assigned patrol area.

The shuttle landed on the Galactica allowing its passengers to get out. Adama was waiting there for the passengers. He had been told that Crystal had wanted to talk to him about something. He was not sure what that could be. Ever since the council meeting he had been thinking about the young woman and her abilities. Several people before the destruction of the Colonies had been known to have even more advanced abilities.

It was one such class that Adama had taken that had allowed him to move objects with his mind and even learned how to block telepaths. He had put up shields when he was younger and it was secondary nature to him. Powerful being such as Count Ilbis could overpower such shielding easily but that was because of how powerful they were. If he had mental abilities closer to Ilbis he would have been able to block him.

He watched as the dark haired young woman walked out of the shuttle. Aaron was with her and they made their way on over to where he was standing.

"Hello Crystal," Adama said to the woman.

"Greetings Adama," Crystal replied to the older man.

"So what bring you out here to the Galactica," Adama asked.

"Well, I'm not sure that it's that important," Crystal said.

"I do, I don't know anyone else who might be able to help her out," Aaron said.

"Perhaps we should talk in my office," Adama said then lowering his voice. "Where there are not as many ears to listen in."

Aaron and Crystal nodded their heads in agreement with what Adama had just said. The recent mutiny might be over but the people who participated in it were still there. Crystal's abilities were still held in secret and no one had any desire to bring them out into the open right now.

"Now what can I do for you," Adama asked once they were in his office.

"It’s nothing really," Crystal said not feeling too comfortable about giving too much importance to a dream that she had.

"And it might be important," Aaron said. "She had a dream, well it might be more than a dream."

"A vision," Adama said watching Aaron nod his head. Adama thought about what all he had been trained about. A person who had some abilities might have other abilities as well. He would not dismiss such a claim lightly without more evidence. "Have you ever had something like this before?"

"No," Crystal replied honestly. She was sure that Adama would dismiss the entire thing as her still trying to get used to her new surroundings.

"What did you see," Adama asked her instead surprising her.

"More what I felt," Crystal replied. "I was sleeping when I had a deep feeling of dread, suffering and agony."

"Hmm," Adama said musing over what he had just heard. "Is that all?"

"Yes, well no," Crystal said.

"Crystal, in dealing with such things sometimes its better to tell everything than to leave something out," Adama said to her.

"Well its just it all seemed to end quite suddenly," Crystal said. "What do you think?"

"It might be nothing," Adama said. "Let me think about it for a little while and see what I can come up with. I also want to talk to a couple of old academy friends who might know something as well."

"All right," Crystal said as the two of them got up to leave. Aaron was disappointed by Adama's advice but let it go for now.

Once the two were out of the room Adama went to the com channel. "Commander Tigh," Adama said.

"Commander, what's wrong," Tigh said from the bridge of the Agamemnon.

"I want you to double the patrols and have them report anything that remotely looks suspicious," Adama said.

"Yes sir, but may I ask why," Tigh asked.

"We might have to deal with the Cylons real soon," Adama said.

He did not want to tell her that what she had probably felt was her world being destroyed. Adama knew that when people with abilities like Crystal who stays around the same people for years develop a bond to them. When that person dies the person can feel it. Crystal had obviously felt a mass of death. Adama could only think of one thing, or race that could do that, the Cylons.

Jason banked his fighter a bit to continue on the patrol course. So far they had come across anything but a few stray asteroids. He now understood why many pilots considered patrols to be a boring yet exciting endeavor. For the most part it was boring with many pilots hoping that nothing would happen. When something happened that is when things get exciting or even deadly.

"Ah, sir," Larzus said breaking Jason's concentration. "I thought I picked up something on my scanner."

"Where," Jason said as Larzus replied where he had seen something on his scanner. Jason looked at that spot for a few seconds. Nothing happened making Jason think that perhaps it was just an asteroid skirting the outer edge of the vipers scanners when a slight blip appeared.

"There it is again," Larzus said.

"I see it," Jason said. This is where things could get exciting for anyone on patrol. Jason just wished it was not on his first patrol as a commander. "Agamemnon command, this is gold patrol, we're turning to investigate something in quadrant seventeen dash sixteen."

"Acknowledge gold patrol," the Agamemnon controller replied.

The two vipers continued on their course but did not really find anything that would be the cause of the blip on the scanner. After a bit longer Jason decided to head back to the patrol then head back to the Agamemnon. He figured that it was probably an asteroid that had skirted the edge of their scanning range.

"Commander Adama," Tigh said waiting a few seconds until the commander appeared on the screen.

"Tigh, what's wrong," Adama asked. He long ago automatically assumed that if he assumed the worst then he would never be caught unaware.

"One of our patrols encountered a strange blip," Tigh said. "They went to investigate but found nothing."

"Could have been an asteroid Tigh," Adama asked. They had several pilots who had such encounters.

"I know, but they went to investigate but didn't find any asteroid," Tigh replied.

"New pilots," Adama asked watching as Tigh nodded his head.

"It might of been something then. Have at least one experienced pilot patrolling that sector and the surrounding sectors from now on then," Adama said.

"Yes sir," Tigh said. Normally Tigh would not have mentioned it to Adama except for the fact that Adama seemed to think that the Cylons were right behind them again. Tigh did not know what had happened to make Adama think that but he had learned to trust Adama's decisions.

Adama watched as Tigh signed off and wondered what the Cylons had planned. He had a feeling that they were not that far behind them. He turned to look at the map ahead of them. He noticed a couple of areas that might be possible traps and an idea came to him.

"Get me Tigh and Omega on the line and put it though to my quarters," Adama said.

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said.

"One of our recent patrols encountered what appeared to be two colonial vipers," Lucifer said.

"The Galactica," Baltar replied with a smile. He knew that he had been right. This would be the end of the Galactica once and for all. "Tell our scouts to patrol that area even more. The Galactica has to be nearby."

"As you wish Baltar," Lucifer said.

"What Cylon forces are in the quadrant," Baltar asked wondering what type of firepower he could call upon for the upcoming battle.

"We have three basestars and one Hades class basestar," Lucifer said. "They could arrive and meet up with us in three days."

"Excellent," Baltar said. "I have a plan," he said jumping down from his chair and walking over to the map. "Tell the Hades class basestar to wait here," Baltar said pointing to a place on the map.

"An asteroid belt," Lucifer said. "You're assuming that the Galactica is headed that way."

"It makes perfect sense. Its on almost a straight line from the other two places that the Galactica visited," Baltar said. "Have the other three basestars meet up with us. With the four basestars we will launch a frontal assault on the Galactica. With her fighters turned our way the Hades basestar will come in from behind and destroy the Galactica and her fleet once and for all."

"By your command," Lucifer said still not sure about it. But he would do what Baltar wished. One day the Imperious Commander would tire of Baltar and then he would be in charge of the basestar again.

Adama watched as the Hyperion left the fleet. It was something of a risk to take with the fleet. He did think that it was a perfect opportunity to catch the Cylons by surprise. Omega was to take the Hyperion to a nearby asteroid field and power down. The ship would use only bare minimum power to scan for Cylons. Then once the basestar was discovered with the help of the Agamemnon and the Galactica they would destroy the basestar.

If the Hyperion did not discover anything then it was to head back to the fleet and Adama would look for another place to hide a battlestar. They would alternate between the Agamemnon and Hyperion to hide. The Galactica would stay in the fleet in case the Cylons did attack. That way they would not know that other battlestars existed.

Now the only thing that Adama could do was wait. His plan would either succeed or fail.

End of Placing Pieces

Go on to Strike

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