Chapter Text
I was not going to do this, but as these stories took on a life of their own, I realized I was using Terminology and Expressions not only from the Show, but from the Renaissance Faire as well.
Let me just say this. I'm here to help! Here is a Red Tall Comet Decoder. You should know I have tweaked some of the words to fit in my stories. Now, I don't want to get any E Mails from you telling me, I did not use a word in the right context. Hey! It's my Universe. There's a bridge. Get over it!
The Red Tail Comet, Decoder
Jar my chips = "Shake me up."
Billets = Living Quarters
Power Cell = Battery
I think may haps not = I don't think so
To be Starbucked = You had allowed yourself to be maneuvered into a situation in which your defeat was inevitable. Or, you let yourself get so screwed!!
Well and now = Okay
Sniffing Plant vapors = Taking Drugs
Scared the pogees out of me = Scared the ??? out of me
Grog = alcohol
Kinsman = Relative or Family
Safe Home = Good bye
Summary: You don't get one. You should know what's going on by now. After all, this is part 3!!!
The first story ever told
Athena decided she was going to take Boxey on a shopping trip with her. After all, Apollo was on the Rising Star with Boomer and his grandfather had a party to attend. So why couldn't Boxey have something fun to do as well. And what could be more fun for a boy, than going shopping with his favorite aunt?
The flight to the merchant ship should have been a pleasant experience for the boy, because Boxey loved going on the Shuttles. His favorite pastime would be to peek out one of the windows and steer out at the stars. Boxey liked to pretend he was a Great Viper Pilot, just like his Dad and Uncle Starbuck. But this time he didn't peek out at all. Boxey figured that as long as he didn't peek out the window, he couldn't be disappointed in NOT seeing his Uncle Starbuck's Viper returning to the Galactica.
Athena could not help but notice how quietly the boy sat. The only noise that was coming from his direction was the concerned whimpers of a robot Dagit.
********
The shopping turned out to be a bigger disappointment than the Shuttle fight was. The merchant's stands and carts were far and few in between. Things were still going bad for the fleet. What little merchandise the boy did see, reminded him of his Uncle Starbuck. The boy had a sad expression on his face, as the two of them walked up and down the aisles. Athena stopped and knelt in front of the boy.
"Hey Boxey, why are you so sad?"
"I'm just thinking about Uncle Starbuck, that's all. Everywhere I look, I see something that reminds me of him."
"Know what you mean." Athena sighed "All I see are Pyramid desk, Fumaroles and Ambrosa glasses."
"No, not things like that."
"Oh. What other type of things remind you of Starbuck then?"
Boxey walked over to a table at a stand. It was the most stocked stand in the market place.
"Thing like this." He pointed to some old toys on the table.
"How can toys remind you of Starbuck?"
"He collects them."
"Starbuck collects TOYS!"
"For some time now. Uncle Starbuck said he never had real toys when he was a kid. The once he did have, he made out of mud. He could not bring them into the orphanage with him at night. So he would have to leave them outside. He said he would cry when it rained, because his toys would get washed away."
"That is so sad Boxey. Does your father know Starbuck collects toys?'
"Of course he does. He was the one who suggested it when he saw the Viper and Raiders game Uncle Starbuck gave me last Yuletide. Uncle Starbuck said that was a great idea, but only if he and I played with the toys. After all, what fun is it to have toys and not play with them."
"Starbuck said that?"
"Yup, sometimes Uncle Starbuck takes old toys to the Orphan's ship." Boxey looked at a toy Viper as he spoke.
The more Athena thought about it, the more it steard to make sense. But Collecting Toys! That was the last thing she would have ever imaged Starbuck doing. Now her curiosity, in what else she did not know about her former boyfriend got the best of her. "So, is there anything else that reminds you of Starbuck?"
"Yes, those cooking supplies on the other side of the table, they also remind me of him too. I miss his cooking."
"HE COOKS!"
"All the time. Nothing pleases a women more than a man who can cook a decent meal. And the way to a man's heart is thru his stomach. Well, that's what Uncle Starbuck would to say to me. But I never really understood what he meant by that."
"Don't worry about it Boxey. I'm sure you'll figure it out when you're older." ("Who the Frack is this man anyway! He never cooked for me, when we were together. But then, I never gave him much of a chance. After all, I kept boasting about what a Great Cook I was. He probably figured it wasn't a good idea to show me up. Not that he could have anyway. But how can I find out now. Man! Apollo is so lucky.") "Boxey I was...Boxey? Boxey where are you?!"
"Over here."
Athena breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Boxey had only moved into the stand to look at some books on the back shelf. The books must have also reminded the boy of his Uncle as well. Starbuck liked to read a lot, that one she knew. Athena moved closer to get a better look at the book for herself. She was shocked to see that the books were very rare Books on the History of The Lords of Kobol.
"He has that one." The boy pointed to the rarest history book of them all.
"Your father has that book?" She asked the boy, unsure of what he meant by that last statement.
"No, Uncle Starbuck does."
"You're kidding right?" Athena knew her father had that very same book in his own personal collection. Once he had even admitted to her, that the book was hard for even him to understand.
The boy shook his head. "No I'm not, Uncle Starbuck likes to read it when he is looking for a little light reading."
"His probably just looking for loopholes." She said under her breath.
Well, now it was official, Athena was depressed! How could she have let a catch like Starbuck slip right thru her fingers? What could make her do something so crazy as that...
All of sudden, part of the answer to that very question was looking up at her.
"Now why do you look so sad?" Boxey asked.
She sad nothing at first. How could she tell the boy she was so sad because she gave up her boyfriend for her brother's happiness? Love just never seemed to work out for Apollo, until she pushed him in the right direction. So, Athena came up with a half truth.
"I was thinking about the red dress I saw earlier. I wish we could go back and get it, but it's too far to walk for Muffit."
Now that part was true. Muffit seemed to be slowing down. His power cells were going bad. Boxey tried to get them replaced. But Dr. Wilker said that with all the things breaking down throughout the ship he just didn't have the time to work on the dagit right now, even thought it was a quick fix.
But new power cells were becoming very hard to come by nowadays.
The last thing Athena needed was to carry a heavily muscled Dagit back to the shuttle bay.
"Besides," she continued, "it cost 35 cubits. Although I could probably talk him down to 25. But it's alright, Boxey, I can live without the dress."
Boxey imitated Starbuck's smile, as he said. "You can be upset with yourself that you did not buy the dress or, you can be upset with yourself that you did buy the dress. Which one would you rather have?"
She ruffled the boy's hair. "You've been hanging around Starbuck too much."
"He made me the boy you see today!"
"I'll bet he did, Boxey.' She laughed. "But that still leaves us with the problem of what to do with Muffit."
**"The boy and the Dagit can stay with me, young one."**
Athena turned and saw an old lady smiling back at her. She must have been the owner of the stand.
"Oh, I could not ask you to do something like that."
**"It would be my pleasure. After all, it would be nice to have a talk, with business being as slow as it has been. Go on, young one, the boy will be right here when you get back."**
This time Athena was torn. She really did not want the dress, but now that she had put the idea into her own head, she could not help but think that she did want the dress after all. The dress was red and red looks so good on her dark skin. Athena looked at her for a moment; the feeling of trust over took her. ("Oh, what harm could it be to treat myself to something special.") "Well, if you sure it won't be any trouble."
**Now how much trouble can this little boy be?"**
Athena was not sure how to answer that without getting the old lady to change her mind.
Boxey spoke up.
"It's all right Aunty Athena I want to stay hear. Grandfather gave me some Cubits. I think I can find something for Uncle Starbuck here."
Athena looked at the boy then the old lady. "All right if you're sure it's okay with you."
** "Of course it is. Now go get the red dress; before someone ell does."**
"All right then." She looked back at the boy. "Now Boxey, stay right hear promise. I wont be gone for more than a few centons."
"Okay, I promise."
She looked back at the old women. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."
She smiled. ** Go now. The boy has shopping to do.**
Just before Athena turned to walk out of the stand, she thought she saw little sparks in the old lady's eyes. But they were too small for her to tell if she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. She assumed it was the lighting on the ship.
("I don't recall telling her it was a red dress.) Athena thought to herself as she waked out of the stand.
The old lady looked back at the boy. **Now, what is it I can help you find young man? I have anything here you could possibly imagine, here.**
"Right," the boy said with a smirk on his face; sometimes grownups had away of stretching the truth.
**"You don't believe this old lady. Come on Boxey. Give me your best shot."** She smiled.
The boy looked down at his Dagit. Then he said, "Well, Muffit needs some new power cells."
**"You mean like the ones hanging over your head."**
Boxey looked up. Sure enough, there were the power calls Muffit needed, hanging from a beam just over his head. "Those are the ones!" the boy cried out.
The old lady took them down and gave them to the boy.
"How much are they?" Boxey hoped they did not cost too much. After all, he still needed to get something for his Uncle.
**Three Cubits."**
"Is that all?! Are you sure?
**"Yes, Very sure."**
Boxey could not believe his luck. If his uncle, Starbuck was with him he would told him to keep his mouth shut.
Even though Apollo was not the boy's biological father, the boy had the Captain's honesty and integrity. Starbuck was going to have to work on that when he got back. The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out three cubits.
She took the gold coins and handed him the power cells.
Boxey removed the old power cells and put in the new ones.
As the boy worked on the Dagit, the old lady went behind the counter. **"I think I have something your Uncle would like. It's very old."**
As the boy made the last connections, Muffit the dagit, came to life with new power. The old lady brought out large blue crystal goblet. The goblet came in two pieces. You could drink out of either one. She told Boxey it's called a Soul Cup. Two pieces joined together to make it complete. The designs on the glass was something like small galaxies. It was very beautiful. Boxey knew his uncle would fall in love with it the micron he saw it.
Boxey heard his Uncle's voice in his mind. ("The older something is, the higher the price is going to be. The trick is not to look too interested in it. ") But Starbuck had collected some very nice goblets over the past two yahrens. ("This one would be the best one of them all.") How much is it!!! ("Way to go, Kid.") Starbuck's voice came back to him. ("Sorry.") The boy thought.
**"Well like I said before it's very old. But I think I can let it go for, let's just say..."**
She looked at it.
The boy held his breath.
**"Four Cubits."**
Luck was still with him. His grandfather gave him twenty cubits to spend on his shopping trip. This meant he could get some sweets for himself and his father too. Very few people knew that Apollo loved sweets as much as his son did. Once again Boxey put his hand into his pocket and pulled out four cubits. He looked at the coins for a moment.
** '"What's wrong child?'' **
Here comes that honesty and integrity again.
"Why are you selling everything so cheap?" he asked, looking right at her.
**"Believe it or not, Boxey, inanimate objects have an energy of their own. The older the object gets, the stronger its energy becomes. Most people believe they were the ones who found a treasure in a market like this one. But in truth, it's the object that found them. For you see, the objects call out to their new owners. This goblet is calling to you and Starbuck. So how can I make profit on something that wants to or needs to be with the two of you."**
Boxey did not need any further explanations. That what was one of the great things about being a child, you can see thing just as they are, without further explanations.
He handed over the four cubits. The old lady placed the goblet in a box and gave it to him. Boxey had a big smile on his face as he peeked into the box.
**"I have something else. It's also very, very old. But it can never be sold to anyone. Nor can it be taken. It can only be given as a gift."**
The old lady walked over to the bookshelves and took down the oldest book. Then she gave it to the boy.
"Is that for Uncle Starbuck?" he asked.
She smiled. **"This book is for the both of you. I'm sure you and your Uncle Starbuck will love it as well. This book has many forgotten stories in it. These stories were the first stories ever told to little boys like yourself. It's said to think that no one has heard these stories in a very long time. The book is called, Stores of Life, Love and Magic."**
Boxey flipped thru the pages. It was filled with colorful pictures of magical creatures of every kind. Some he knew from myths and legends he learned about in instructional period. Others he knew from stories his father and grandfather had told him at night. And some, well he had no idea what they were.
On one of the last full pages of the book was a picture of a Colonial Warrior with blond hair, walking on a path towards a very strange house. The sky was dark. The rain fell from the sky and lighting could be seen the distance. Boxey thought that the Warrior looked like his Uncle Starbuck, but he could not be sure. After all, he could only see the back of the Warrior. The boy also noticed that there were no words on any of the last pages.
"Why are there no words to this story?" he asked.
The old lady just smiled at him. **"That story not finished yet."**
"So the story doesn't have a name either?"
**"Oh, it has a name."**
"What is it?"
**"It's called, The Red Tail Comet."**
"What's a red tail comet?"
She looked at the boy and sad with little sparks in her eyes. **"When all hope is lost. And the Gods don't hear your cry. Wish on a red tail comet. As it flies across the night sky.**
The boy smiled.
********
On the shuttle, returning back to the Galactica. Athena was looking over her new dress. Boxey was busy counting the cubits he had left.
"This can't be right?"
"What can't be right, Boxey?"
The boy just looked up at her. "I have too many cubits."
"You do."
"Yes, I gave three cubits to the old lady for Muffit's power cells and four cubits for Uncle Starbuck's gift. Then I bought the tin of sweets for five cubits."
"How many cubits did you start with?"
"Twenty."
"That would leave you with eight cubits."
"Right, but I have fifteen, not eight."
"Well maybe the old lady put them back into your pocket when you weren't looking."
"Why would she do something like that?"
"I don't know Boxey. Who knows why old ladies do anything"
Boxey looked back down at the cubits. Here we go again with the honesty and integrity. Starbuck had a lot of work ahead of him. "It's not right. She should have kept the cubits."
"Well Boxey I'll tell you what. If it bothers you that much I will take the cubits back to her tomorrow."
"You will!"
"Sure thing, Tiger."
The boy smiled at her. Which made it all worth the trouble.