AFTERMATH : THE JOURNEY BEGINS

         He woke early, the excitement that they were going to begin exploring Carrilon beginning to thrum through him.  He lay on his side, the feel of Rabastan's arm wrapped around his waist, his face pressed into the nape of his neck, his breathing steady told Harry his husband was still asleep.

           Opening his eyes to see that it was barely five hundred, he rolled slowly, carefully to his back, hoping to not disturb the sleeping man at his back.  Usually a deep sleeper, nothing short of an explosion would wake Rabastan, but that was not to be the case this morning.

          "Um...mm," he murmured his eyes blinking open to sleepily met sparkling emerald.  "Morning, darling," came his sleepy greeting.

          "Good morning," he said, leaning in to kiss him.  "Today's the day.  We head down to Carrilon to start exploring."

          A groan.  "Harry," he began, rolling to his back and stretching, "it's barely five hundred, we don't leave til nearly nine hundred.  Go back to sleep."

          "Can't.  I'm awake, and once I'm awake," he rolled into him, pressing his lips to his beard stubbed jaw.  "I can think of one very pleasurable way to pass the time," he murmured as he moved over him, earning himself a groan when naked cocks rubbed together.

          A rough chuckle sounded, only to end in yet another groan as Harry slowly began to kiss his way down his chest, his abs, a hand wrapping around his hard cock, lifting it, began to stroke.  

          "Harry," hands lifted, threading through sleep mussed midnight hair as Harry lowered his head, licked over the head of his cock before taking him deep into his mouth.  "OH...HH, FUCK!" he gasped.  "Oh, yes, so...oo good."

          It was only a few centons later that Rabastan pulled Harry up to him, kissing his deeply as he rolled him onto his back, settling easily between parted legs.  "Bas," he breathed, reaching between them to coat Rabastan's cock with the lubricant they always kept handy.  "Rabastan...PLEASE!"

          He thrust, filling him completely, capturing his gasp when he took his lips, Harry arching tightly up into him as he began to move in and out.  Lifting his head, he looked down into passion dazed emerald eyes.  "Harry...Gods, HARRY!"

          "Yes...yes, Bas, right there...oh yes," he moaned as he moved with him, lifting his hips with every inward thrust, "so good."

          His thrusts began to shorten, to come harder, faster, pushing them toward orgasm, and when it finally hit, they both exploded with cries, Rabastan's release filling Harry.

                                             cccVccc                                                       

          The six shuttles, two from each Battlestar, landed on Carrilon, and after offloading the land rams, began their search for not only the rich fuel source know as Tylium, but for the caretaker facilities that were said to have been left behind. 

          "You're all clear, Cap," came the voice over the intercom.  "Reports coming in say there's no sign of Cylon persuit.  Continuing on this vector should bring you to the rich source of Tylium deposits they picked up on scanner's just after we launched."

          "Alright, Giles.  Go on back home, we have it from here."

          "Copy that, good luck.  Giles returning to the Galactica."

          Rodolphus reached out, flipped a switch.  "Land ram party one, all Landrams check in with your current locations and status."

          One by one they checked in, the last to radio call, "Lt. Starbuck, with Lt. Boomer, Land ram party six, course vector 447, heading south, southwest.  Report has the caretaker facility somewhere in this direction."

          "Copy, Land ram six.  All parties are to check in with us every centar, mark time on your chronometer."

          "Time marked," they all said together.

          "Land ram one out."

          Roark turned his head.  "What's wrong, Dolph?" he asked as he pressed a couple of buttons.  "Something is bothering you?"

          "This whole fucking situation is bothering me," he growled as he picked up the notebook, began to write in it, making time, cordinance, and which way they were going.  "We know the Cylons are back there, following us, so why are they hanging back?"

          "Perhaps they just haven't found us yet?  We did try our best to conceal which way we went."

          "You no more believe that than I do."

          He shook his head.  "You're right, I don't," he said softly, looking out the front window at the red surface of Carrilon.  "Baltar," he said suddenly.

          "What about him?"

          "I sometimes find myself wondering what happened to him.  As fixated as the Cylons are on destroying us, did they kill him, or have they decided to let him live?"

          "More likely he made it where they would think they still had need of him.  He wouldn't have told them everything right away.  He's have kept something back, something he thought they may be interested in."

          Roark shrugged.  "Either way there's no real way to know.  Not yet anyway."

          Rodolphus' head turned.  "You've been dreaming again."

          "Yes," he answered slowly, "but nothing on Baltar..  Most of what I'm seeing is having to do with Carrilon."

          Their Tylium counter began to go off, and when they looked at it, saw a reading of twelve.  Roark gave a whistle.  "That's a really strong reading."

          "Then let's take a look.  "Landram one.  We have a really strong reading on a Tylium deposit.  We're checking it out."