Previously: Baltar learned that sex with robots was more common than people think; the Cylons attacked; Helo gave his seat to Baltar.
We begin with a shot of Baltar's closed eyes. A clock ticks. Any second now, Morley Safer will introduce himself.
The ticking gets echoey and distant as we see Baltar standing in his domicylon. For Season 2, I'm gonna try to come up with a better name for Baltar's imaginary house, but you're kind of stuck with it for the first season. Sorry. Wow, his hair's so much shorter. Were we ever so young?
Vipers are launched from the Galactica. Apollo does a Spockish eyebrow-raise and announces, "One minute to mark." In her own ship, Starbuck does a full-body shiver. Around them, the fleet begins to jump FTL.
Baltar stares out the window of the domicylon.
CIC. Adama stares up at the clock, which shows forty-four seconds left. Until...something. Tigh strolls past and thwaps a crewman on the arm, waking him. Dualla looks about ready to drop.
The camera pans away from Baltar over to Six, who's sitting on the couch. She says, "God has a plan for you, Gaius. He has a plan for everything and everyone." She asks if he's listening.
Colonial One. We see a clock with a paper tag identifying the thirty-three-minute mark. The Prez is going over papers with her staff. Baltar shifts in his seat, trying to sleep.
Six stands up and wheedles, "You have to believe in something." Baltar says that he believes in a rational universe. Six nibbles his ear and says, "I love you. That's not rational." Baltar chuckles and replies, "No, but you're not rational. You're also not really here. Neither am I."
On the Colonial One, there's an announcement over the PA that their thirty-three minutes are almost up. Baltar opens his eyes and peers around as the passengers are instructed to prepare for the FTL jump. The Prez tells Billy that they're "cutting it a little close this time." Billy explains that the FTL drive had to be rebooted.
Flight deck. Cally eyes another clock and asks, "Why do the Cylons come every thirty-three minutes? Why isn't it thirty-four, thirty-five?" Tyrol tells her to shut up. Heh.
CIC. Gaeta says that there're fifteen seconds left. Dualla reports: "Jump 237 underway. Fifty-three ships have jumped. Ten still reporting trouble with their FTL drives, including Colonial One. Adama tells a scruffy Tigh that they're getting slower. They stare up at the clock as Tigh mutters, "Maybe this time..."
Montage of the clocks hitting zero. And whoosh, a Basestar winks into view. Alarms sound. Tigh curses, and Adama says, "Not this time. Maybe the ." He adds that he's got an idea for the cycle.
Colonial One. The captain announces that the Cylons have arrived, but their FTL drive is working so they'll jump in a moment. Baltar cringes and reaches out to grab the arm of the empty seat to him. And then he's holding Six's hand as he grumbles, "Five days now." He says that there are limits to what the human body can take. Six strokes his forehead and an older couple looks at him curiously as Baltar adds, "Those are facts. Provable facts." Baltar pulls his feet up into his seat as he tells anyone who cares, "Everyone has their limit."
Apollo reminds the pilots, "Scatter formation. Keep 'em off the civvies and don't stray beyond the recovery line." The Galactica fires some missiles.
CIC. Tigh snaps at someone who isn't paying attention to a warning light on his controls. The ship shakes a little, and there's a quick shot of a cup of coffee on the main console. Dualla says they were hit on the starboard bow, and sends damage control teams in. Gaeta says that the Basestar has launched Raiders. A whole hell of a lot of Raiders, too. Wowie. They swarm toward the fleet. The Vipers move to intercept. The Basestar launches some missiles, too. Dualla reports that Colonial One is ready to jump. We see it sitting to the Galactica, and then it winks out as a missile passes through the space it was just occupying. Gaeta adds that all civilian ships have jumped. Adama orders the Vipers back. Apollo announces, "Combat landings," as the Vipers whoosh into the Galactica and slide to a halt. Dualla says that all fighters are aboard. Adama says, "Execute jump." More Raiders and missiles zoom in, and then the Galactica jumps. The Galactica pops into space with the rest of the fleet. Dualla says that all of the civilian ships are accounted for. Adama says they should start the clock. Tigh adds, "And let's start prepping for the jump." Gaeta starts the clock at thirty-three minutes. Ugh. I think the worst part is they don't even have time to bitch. They should set aside one minute every other jump to say, "Man, oh man, this sure sucks."
Tyrol resets the clock on the flight deck and says, "You have thirty-two minutes, people." Aw, Cally looks rough.
Baltar squirms in his seat and pulls his jacket tightly around him. Then he's unfastening Six's dress in the domicylon. On Colonial One, he nods to himself vigorously and closes his eyes as he goes back to undressing Six. Six says, "You know you're not safe." Baltar calmly agrees. He and Six start pulling the bed open as he says, "The Cylons will follow us again, as they have the last 237 times." Six says that eventually the humans will make a mistake, as she climbs onto the bed. Baltar unbuttons his shirt and says, "Yes, I know, but not for another thirty-three minutes." They kiss. On Colonial One, Baltar opens his eyes and looks around as a clock ticks loudly.
Credits. That was a long, long teaser. Nine minutes, counting the "previously"s. Which, if you assume the episode is the standard forty-two minutes long, means the rest of the episode is...they're cute bastards, aren't they?
A caption informs us: "Battlestar Galactica crew. 130.35 hours without sleep." Adama is shaving in his quarters as he says that he wants to try something new on the jump. Tigh is sitting in the armchair, holding a drink, and has clearly zoned out. Adama starts to explain that they'll divide the fleet into six groups. Then he nicks himself with the razor, and his grunt of pain wakes Tigh up. Adama continues, "They jump two more times, and on the fourth jump we rendezvous at a common set of coordinates." Don't be common. Tigh notes that they'll have to plot twenty-four separate jumps for this scheme, and they can barely plot one out in thirty-three minutes. He munches on some noodles while Adama finishes shaving and pulls his jacket out from behind Tigh.
Ready Room. The pilots loll about in chairs, and lean on each other's shoulders, as Apollo tells them to check their ship's undercarriages since they'll be doing combat landings. He trails off and finally says, "You know what to do. No mistakes, and let's make it to 238. And good luck, and be careful out there." He exits, and Starbuck makes a grumpy "He's not doing this the way I would, and therefore he's doing it wrong" face. As the pilots clear out, they press their hands against a photo taped to the wall by the door. It looks like it's of a soldier kneeling on the tarmac as Caprica is nuked. I think that in one of the podcasts, Moore explains that this is meant to be the iconic image of the attack for them. As always with these kinds of photos, I worry about the photographer.
Flight deck. Crewmen make repairs to a Viper as Tyrol snarks, "Tell Captain Apollo he owes me one wing." Cally shows Tyrol some kind of readout that he disagrees with. As they cross the deck, Tyrol tells some crewmen, "We'll sleep when we're dead. C'mon." Tyrol's gonna be Tigh when he grows up.
Boomer and Crashdown are prepping their Raptor. Crashdown asks if Boomer's heard that the Cylons look like humans now. Tyrol strolls into the ship as Crashdown gossips that Leisure Suit Larry was left at the Ragnar depot because Adama thought that he was a Cylon. Boomer suddenly snaps, "I don't give a frack!" She tells a boggled Crashdown to go check something outside the ship. He exits, and Tyrol leans forward to ask, "Little rough on the new ECO, don't you think?" Boomer grumps that Crashdown is a "refugee from Triton" that she didn't ask for, not her ECO. Tyrol ahems, "Helo's gone, Sharon." Boomer growls, "I didn't ask you that, either!" Tyrol nods a little and exits as Boomer calls, "Sorry..."
Dualla comes to the head of a line and hands some paperwork to Socinus. He asks what colony she's from, and Dualla says, "Sagitarron," and starts to ask a question. Socinus interrupts to say that there are 5,271 Sagitarrons in the fleet. Dualla starts to offer him a photograph of a group of people, but Socinus says that they can't transmit photos yet. He says, "If you want, you can leave it here with us, or you can put it on the board outside." He offers a quiet "Sorry," and Dualla nods and exits as another crewman steps up to the desk carrying a binder.
Dualla walks down a corridor and slows as she reaches a wall papered over with photos of people. There are also stuffed animals, and handmade cards, and candles burning on top of crates. She walks on past more walls covered with letters and photos, and we see that this entire section of hallway is wallpapered with more photos. I think it's wise that they don't just dwell on the images forever, and show Dualla bursting into tears, and rely on the obvious associations to tug on the audience. Instead, we see Dualla from a distance as she just stares around.
Billy sits with the Prez and gives her an updated head count of survivors on a strip of octagonal paper. Her desk is covered with piles of folders and envelopes. The Prez stares at the paper for a minute and then covers her mouth as she asks, "How did we lose 300?" Billy blearily reports that there were overcounts, and a few people died from their injuries. He adds that a few went missing during the last attack. That's...odd. It doesn't seem as if he means pilots were lost in battle -- maybe he does, but it sounds more like civilians went missing. Where can they go? Did they step outside for a cigarette? The Prez gets up and staggers slightly as she goes to the Whiteboard of Extinction and changes the number from 50,298 to 49,998.
Baltar looks around as the other passengers doze. Six leans toward him and cheerily asks, "Do you want children, Gaius?" Baltar looks back and forth from her to the front of the ship as he says, "Let me think about that for a minute. No." Six looks puzzled as she notes that "procreation is one of God's commandments." Baltar continues staring straight ahead as he suggests, "I'm sure someday, if you're a good Cylon, he'll reward you with a lovely little walking toaster of your very own." Six harrumphs that she wants to have a child with Baltar. Baltar says that she can't be serious. At the front of the ship, Billy tells the Prez, "It's Dr. Amarak." Baltar immediately asks, "What was that?" He looks around, and Six is gone. Baltar apologizes for interrupting and wanders up to the Prez's desk. Billy, bemused, says that a Dr. Amarak has asked to speak with the Prez. Off Baltar's reaction, the Prez asks if he knows Amarak. Six asks, "Have you always been able to multitask like this?" Hee. Baltar says "Yes," to Six, and then turns to the Prez to add, "I used to work with him at the Ministry of Defense." Small end-of-the-world. Billy consults his notes and says that Amarak claims to have uncovered important information about how the Cylons defeated their defense systems. I still think it's a little weird that this guy called, said, "I've got important information about security," and they basically filled out a little "While you were out" note and said they'd be in touch. I know they're busy, but still. Ah well. Six tells Baltar, "I was always a little worried he was on to us." Baltar says, "Were you?" Then, to the Prez: "...going to speak to him?" He offers to chat with Amarak if the Prez is too busy, but the Prez makes some "whoa" gestures as Billy says that Amarak asked to speak directly to the Prez. Six plants the seed of a paranoia from which a mighty oak will grow, and suggests that Amarak might want to tell the Prez about "a certain traitor in the President's inner circle?" Baltar blinks nervously and rubs his throat. The Prez says that she'd like Amarak to come over for a chat after the jump. She adds a little thank-you to Baltar, presumably to dismiss him. Baltar nods like a bobble-head as Six says, "I'd say you have a serious problem." Baltar nods a little more and mutters, "If I can help...," and then does a double-take and follows Six out the compartment. The Prez says, "He's a strange one, isn't he?" Billy coo-coos in response. Heh.
It's Helo's sixth day on Caprica, and it's raining, because that's what it does on Caprica. He's scampering through the woods. Behind him, metal feet go bonk-bonk-bonk. A couple of shiny Cylon robots are chasing him. Helo ducks behind a tree where he's got some supplies stashed and grabs a remote of some kind. The Cylons slow down and flick out their little gun-nozzle fingers. Helo presses a button, and a mine blows up the Cylons. Helo grabs his gun and edges up to the pile of flaming metal. Aw! One of the Cylons is just a torso with one arm flailing around. But it doesn't even have a mouth, so it can't threaten to bite Helo's knees off. Helo shoots it a few times and roars, because I guess he needs to vent. One shot hits it in the head, and it collapses. Even more.
Commercials. Boy, the Sci-Fi channel is getting goofier and goofier with the movies. Giant snakes with five heads are one thing, but locusts? Wait a minute, the VCR is stopped -- this is an ad on CBS. All righty.
CIC. Dualla hands Adama some paperwork, and he reads that they've got a grand total of sixty-one cases of nervous exhaustion so far. Adama tells Dualla and Tigh, "Have the doc start pumping 'em up with stimulants. Get 'em back on the line. Pilots too." Tigh says that this'll "bite [them] in the ass later," but Adama shrugs that off: "We have too much work and not enough people to do it." Dualla gives Adama a fuel report, and he ahems that he already signed it. Dualla grabs it back and apologizes, and then gives him a different bit of paperwork. Adama asks Tigh, "Is this my ten minutes or is this yours?" Tigh says it's Adama's turn, so he gratefully strolls away. Dualla quietly says that she's pretty sure it's Tigh's turn to rest. Tigh says, "The Old Man's so tired, he can't remember that it's his turn."
Flight deck. Starbuck and Apollo are eying one of the Vipers as Apollo asks if she saw Tigh's note. Starbuck grumps that she did, but she won't take stims: "They blunt your reflexes, your reaction time." Cally lurks nearby as Apollo whines that Starbuck has to take the stims, 'cause everyone else is doing it, and doesn't Starbuck wanna be cool like the other kids? Starbuck snaps, "Why are we arguing about this?" Apollo chuckles and says that he doesn't know. Starbuck, more enraged, tells Apollo to act like the CAG. She gets up in his face and growls that he's trying to be everyone's friend, and criticizes his "Be careful" in the Ready Room. She says, "Our job isn't to be careful, it's to shoot Cylons out of the frackin' sky. 'Good hunting' is what you say." Apollo looks around uncomfortably as Starbuck continues, "And now one of your idiot pilots is acting like a child and refusing to take her pills." She tells him that she should either say 'Yes, Sir," or he should smack her in the mouth, drag her to sick bay, and force her to take the stims. They stare at each other for a minute, and then Starbuck loses it and starts giggling, and Apollo smirks, "I'm glad I'm not working for you." Starbuck goes on laughing as Apollo rather seductively asks, "So, do I have to smack you in the mouth, Lieutenant?" Not yet. Starbuck agrees to take the stims, and Apollo helpfully doles out a few from a canister he's carrying. She pops them into her mouth and salutes as she crunches them. Shouldn't you swallow them whole? Or are they like caffeinated mints? Apollo exits, and we see Tyrol staring at Starbuck with an expression of...not quite annoyance, but the same look you give to a kid who's being way too loud in the supermarket. I guess it's a look that means, "I'm sure you don't mean to be a pain in the ass, but good lord." Starbuck sees Tyrol and says, "What?" and Tyrol shruggingly turns away. Heh. That's why I love Tyrol.
Caprica. Helo sits by a tree as he injects himself with some anti-radiation goo. Then he turns and spots Six, standing in the woods nearby, watching him. Helo jumps up and grabs his gun. Six just stands there in her white lab coat, with her hair that mere acid rain cannot muss. Helo aims at her for a minute, then turns around to see that one of the hulking robots is right behind him. Oops. It flicks out its gun barrel at him. Helo holds his hands up and sighs wetly.
The Galactica fires as we see several Basestars nearby. The Cylon missiles approach, and the Galactica winks out before they hit.
CIC. Gaeta reports that jump #238 is complete. Tigh tells him to restart the clock, and leans wearily on the console. Dualla starts to report that all civilian ships are accounted for, and then takes it back. One ship is missing: the Olympic Carrier. Adama asks whether the Carrier was left behind when the fleet jumped. Dualla says, "I think I accounted for all civilian ships before we left --" "You think?" Tigh interrupts. "Did you or didn't you?" Dualla checks her monitors and admits that the ship may be been left behind. Adama asks how many people were aboard, and Dualla says, "1,345 souls, Sir." Tigh gets irate, but Gaeta smoothly suggests that there could have been a navigational error aboard the Carrier, or the ship may have been destroyed by the Cylons. Tigh grrs that they don't know what happened. He loudly declares, "Yes, we're tired. Yes, there's no relief. Yes, the Cylons keep coming after us, time after time, after time. And yes, we are still expected to do our jobs!" I like him with a beard. I mean, he's just got scruff right now, but he'd look good with a beard. And an eyepatch. And maybe a hook. What? The crewmen look abashed for a moment, and Adama more quietly says, "We make mistakes, people die. There aren't many of us left." With that, he tells Dualla to carry on.
Colonial One. Billy updates the Whiteboard of Extinction to 47,972. I keep wishing he'd put a smiley face in the circle of the 9 or something. Just to lighten things up a little. Billy sits down at the desk, and the Prez mopes at the Whiteboard briefly before asking what the crisis is. Billy says, "List of calls." The Prez asks what happened to her meeting with Dr. Amarak. Back at his seat, Baltar pretends to be deeply interested in reading some octagonal paper as he turns sideways in his seat to eavesdrop. Billy looks at some paperwork of his own and, after a moment, tells the Prez that Amarak was aboard the Carrier.
Baltar's head falls back and thumps into the patio furniture he's sitting in at the domicylon. Six strolls past and says, "God is watching out for you, Gaius." Baltar huffs that the universal is so complicated that "coincidental, serendipitous events are bound to occur. Indeed, they're to be expected." Six argues, "Dr. Amarak posed a threat to you. Now he's gone. Logic says there's a connection." No it doesn't! Especially if the person who conveniently disappears is doing something dangerous like, y'know, fleeing from implacable robot enemies. Baltar, unfortunately, skips that point and simply argues that even if there is a connection, that doesn't prove that God exists: "There are no large, invisible men -- or women, for that matter -- in the sky, taking a personal interest in the fortunes of Gaius Baltar." Hey, he's a Carlin fan. That's cool. Six harrumphs, "Be careful. That which God gives, He can also take away." Baltar stares at her.
CIC. The thirty-three minutes are nearly up again. Tigh and Adama stare at the clock. Once again,Tigh says, "Maybe this time..." The clock blinks at zero, and Adama asks what's on the scanners. Gaeta turns and reports that nobody's appeared. Adama tells him to keep the clock running as Tigh continues staring up hopefully. Tigh quietly asks, "What do you think?" Adama answers, "I think we wait." He looks around skeptically.
Commercials. This is the interesting question to me: when do you decide you're safe? Because once you start letting people go to sleep, I'm thinking that you're not going to be able to wake them up again, y'know? So in a way, the fact that the attacks have stopped just creates more problems.
The captions inform us that the crew has now gone 132.15 hours without sleep. I love the precision there. In CIC, the digital clock shows that forty-five minutes passed during the commercial break. Adama's still waiting. Some of the crewmen appear to be dozing on their hands. Adama rolls his head around a little like his neck is stiff, and finally asks to speak to the Prez.
The Prez is on the phone as Billy sleeps in a chair in the background. She asks Adama, "Why this time? Was it something that you did?" Heh. "Did you say something to offend the Cylons? Why don't they call? Why don't they write?" Adama tells her that he had a new plan, but didn't have time to try it out. They wonder if the lack of Cylons is connected to losing the Carrier. There's a long beat and then the Prez asks, "Are you there?" I kinda want Adama to say, "Yes, but it was your turn to talk." Adama finally says that he's lowering the alert level to "Condition Two" so that people can get some rest. She asks how long that'll last, and Adama says that they'll stay there until he's satisfied that the Cylons won't turn up. He throws in, "It's a military decision," and the Prez kind of winces like, "I'm not arguing, it was just a question!" and agrees that it's up to Adama. She tries to placate him by adding, "Let your men and women know how grateful I am for the job that they are doing. Please, thank them for me." Adama rather nicely thanks her and hangs up. Then Tigh gets on the PA and announces that they're at Condition Two. Adama tells Dualla to tell Apollo to set up a combat patrol around the fleet, and order all other pilots to land.
In his Viper, Apollo calls for Boomer and Starbuck to patrol with him, and sends everyone else home for naps in three-hour rotations. As most of the Vipers head for the Galactica, Starbuck says, "Not that I'm not honored by being chosen to sit in my cockpit for the three hours, but --" Apollo tells her to guess why he picked her. Starbuck says, "'Cause I'm on drugs?" Apollo says that "this patrol is 100% stimulated." Hello, nurse. Aboard the Raptor, Crashdown asks if anyone feels like there are ants crawling behind their eyes. Ew. Someone pitch that idea to CBS. Tellingly, nobody answers, but Apollo asks Boomer how she's feeling. He adds, "Doc tells me you're holding up better than anybody in the squadron." Boom says that she's tired, but Apollo says that she never seems like she's tired. Starbuck chimes in, "'Cause she's a Cylon." Boomer smirks, "You're just gonna make me come over there and kick your ass, aren't you?" I'd like to see that. No, I really would. I can't get enough of seeing Starbuck get pummeled. Apollo intervenes and says that he's going to "set up a patrol here before somebody gets hurt." Spoilsport.
CIC. Tigh and Adama are heading for the door as Tigh sighs that a few hours of sleep sounds pretty nice. I imagine so. Adama says that Tigh deserves it, which is slightly weird because, "Great job: you deserve sleep. Woohoo!" That's right up there with offering people oxygen as a reward. Tigh scoffs, but then admits, "All this has me feeling...well, more alive than I have in years." Adama says that Tigh looks more alive, and adds that it's nice to see him "without that cup in [his] hand." Tigh grumps, "Don't start," and they go on with their old-married-couple shtick for a minute. Tigh winds things up by saying, "If the crew doesn't hate the XO, then he's not doing his job. Besides, gotta make the Old Man look good." Adama firmly notes, "I always look good." Heh. Tigh tells him to check a mirror, and starts to exit. Double hee. Adama tries to give Tigh a final appreciative word about how he pushed the crew without breaking them, but then Gaeta announces that a ship has appeared. Tigh and Adama head for Gaeta's console as Gaeta reports that it's not the Cylons but the Olympic Carrier. Dualla confirms that it's their missing ship, and Tigh relaxes. Until Adama orders everyone to action stations. He puts the fleet at "Condition One," which means that I start making "aooogah" siren noises because I make my own fun. Adama adds that he wants the Vipers ready to launch, and asks Gaeta to reset the clock to the thirty-three-minute countdown. Tigh says, "I hope you're wrong," and Adama does that "So do I. So. Do. I" thing, although he tries to breeze past it lightly.
Domicylon. Baltar tells Six that this is all wrong. "If they were left behind, why didn't the Cylons destroy them? Why are they showing up now?" Six says it's God's punishment for Baltar's lack of faith. Baltar huffs that he'd like a more logical explanation, and smokes a cigarette weirdly as Six tries a different theory: "The Olympic Carrier's been infiltrated by Cylon agents. They've been tracking the ship all along." Baltar thinks about that for a second, but doesn't like the implications. Which Six helpfully fills in for us: "Logically, in order for you to survive, the Olympic Carrier should be destroyed." Dun dun dunn.
Commercials. I think it's interesting that it's there's no plot conflict between the characters until the last act. I mean, for most of the hour they've got this massive external problem, but they aren't trying to solve it, they're just trying to survive it. Adama has that one plan, but instead of them doing a "It's crazy, but it just might work" thing and triumphing, they never get around to it because other stuff happens. So at this point there's about eleven minutes left in the show, and they're only now faced with a decision. And it totally works, and lets them establish the characters in a dramatic situation without having to really spend a lot of time on plot.
Boomer radios to the Olympic Carrier and identifies herself. We hear the captain (I assume) respond, "Thank the Lords of Kobol -- you don't know how relieved we are to see you." Boomer asks what happened to them as Tigh and Adama listen in to the transmissions. The captain says that it took them three hours to get their FTL drive working. Adama asks Dualla to ask Boomer to ask the pilot how they evaded the Cylons. Oh my lord, I really need to think of a shorthand term for these transitive conversations. The captain's response is: "You got me! They were closing in on us when the rest of you were jumping; I thought we were goners, and they just broke off. Someone must've been watching out for us." The passengers aboard the Colonial One are also listening to all this with great interest. Billy and the Prez look pensive. Baltar looks tense. So it's status quo over there. The Carrier's captain adds that there's a guy named Amarak on board who's very eager to talk to the Prez. Baltar's head pops up and he looks like he's about to chew on his own teeth. Boomer asks what Amarak's deal is, and the captain reports that Amarak "knows something about a traitor in our midst, and he's unwilling to share any more than that." Baltar ponders that for a second and then jumps up and tells the Prez that she should end all communication with the Carrier immediately. The Prez is all "Huh? Why?" and Baltar says, "Forgive me for being rude, but --" and then slams his hands on her desk as he concludes, "-- wake up, all right?" Hee. Baltar, in full, blustery panic, says that the Cylons must have let the Carrier go intentionally, which means they're tracking it. He turns and loudly tells everyone aboard that there's probably a Cylon agent aboard the Carrier. What's great is that his reasons here are good ones, but he probably doesn't mean them. The Prez tries to calm Baltar down and rather hoarsely asks him to start over. Baltar presses his palms together in front of his chest pleadingly and completely fails to hide his frustration as he asks the Prez to listen to him. He comes up with another scare tactic, and suggests that the Carrier could broadcast a signal containing another computer virus that would disable their own ships. The Prez asks Adama if he's heard all this. Adama picks up a phone and says that he agrees with Baltar. So does the Prez. Billy looks at Baltar and says, "Thank the gods you're with us." Hee. Baltar looks slightly sick as he assures Billy, "God's got nothing to do with this." Tee hee hee. Loved that.
There are about two minutes on the clock. Boomer is ordered to end all voice contact with the Carrier and jam any of its transmissions. She's given a message to transmit by signal light to the Carrier, ordering it to maintain its position away from the fleet until further notice. Aw, they're shunning it. How sad. We get a quick shot of Boomer's Raptor some distance in front of the Carrier, flashing its high beams rapidly. I kinda like that.
The Prez says she has a bad feeling about what's going to happen. Adama does too, and adds that if the Carrier is a threat, they'll have to destroy it.
The Raptor swings out of the way as the Carrier continues on its course toward the fleet. Apollo tells Boomer to end radio silence on his authority, and to warn the Carrier again to stop where it is.
Adama suggests evacuating the Carrier's passengers and destroying the ship. The Prez says, "That solves the problem if they're tracking the ship. What if they're tracking one of the passengers?" Consider that the first hint that the Prez is a lot more cynical than Adama.
Boomer orders the Carrier to stop as the Vipers fly past. She gets no response Apollo tells Starbuck to fire a warning shot across the Carrier's bow. Starbuck flips her Viper around and almost drunkenly chuckles, "Copy that," as she fires a burst of shots just past the Carrier. It doesn't stop. Apollo tells Boomer to let the Galactica know what's going on. Dualla tells Adama that the Carrier is headed right for them. I think she means the fleet in general, and not the Galactica, given what Adama says in a minute. There are now thirteen seconds on the clock. Adama orders the fleet to jump, adding, "Get us between that ship and the fleet." As the clock blinks at zero, Gaeta reports that the Cylons have returned.
A Basestar appears, and look at all the pretty Raiders swooping out! Crashdown checks his scanners and says that the Raiders will be in weapons range in two minutes. An alarm goes off and he gasps, "Radiological alarm!" Dualla passes on the news at CIC, and adds that the source of the radiation is the Carrier: "They've got nukes onboard." Adama tells the Prez that they have to take out the Carrier. The Prez, whose voice is making me sad because she sounds so ill, says, "There are 1,300 people on that ship." Adama points out that the passengers may not have already been captured by the Cylons. Baltar is lurking behind as bulkhead to eavesdrop on the conversation. He blearily tells Six, "She's not gonna do it. She has to do it!" Do you think he's more worried about dying or about Amarak turning him in as a traitor? Six leans in close and says that it's not up to the Prez: "It's God's choice. He wants you to repent." Baltar rolls his eyes up and there are tear stains smearing down his cheek. Meanwhile, Adama tells the Prez, "It's either them or us." Six tells Baltar that if he repents and accepts God's love, he'll be saved. Adama waits for the Prez's answer. Baltar snivels, "I repent. Then I repent!" Six looks at him intently, and Baltar even more intently insists, "I. Repent." And then the Prez harshly tells Adama, "Do it!"
Boomer tells the others that they've got new orders. She hesitates briefly before passing on the news that they're supposed to destroy the Carrier. Crashdown leans forward like he can't believe it, and Starbuck immediately argues that it's a civilian ship. Crashdown points out, "A civilian ship with nukes." They're still moving toward the fleet, and we see some bright flashes among the ships that are presumably long-range weapons being fired at the Cylons. Apollo flies alongside the Carrier and looks at all the empty windows as Crashdown adds, "I don't see anybody in there, do you?" Apollo says that the Cylons are nearly on them, so they'd better just do it. Starbuck whines, "Lee, what if you're wrong?," even as she and Apollo slow their Vipers so that the Carrier pulls in front of them. There's a brief but very pretty shot through one of the Viper's windshields, swing the Carrier directly ahead, and the fleet scattered through the rest of the frame. Apollo takes aim at the Carrier's engines as Starbuck continues pleading for him to wait. He tells her to fire on his mark. She snaps, "No frackin' way, Lee!" Apollo says, "Mark," and fires. Starbuck does, too. A few shots hit the side of the Carrier, and then the engines explode. The stabilizer fins break off, and then the whole ship goes boom. Lee closes his eyes and files this away for when he needs a good angsting. Fade out.
Caprica. Helo's arms and legs are manacled, and there's a trusty burlap sack over his head. You'd think the Cylons would have found something better than burlap. Six pulls the bag off and -- hey, her hair actually looks slightly mussed. Spooky. Helo stares at her, and she asks, "Are you alive?" Helo pants at her for a minute and then starts reciting his name, rank, and serial number. Six starts to unfasten his chains and insists, "I know who you are, Helo. It's all right, I'm a friend." To prove it, she kisses him. Then there's a noise, and she gasps and twitches backward. Don't worry, Helo, it happens to every guy. Blood trickles out of her mouth and Helo looks properly disgusted as she collapses onto him. As she falls, we see Boomer approach with her gun drawn. Helo shoves Six's body away and gasps, "Sharon?" I watched this the first time with my family at my mom's house. At this point, my mom and I cracked up. My brother and sister-in-law had been distracted by my nephew and didn't understand what was so funny. Helo's all, "Fancy meeting you here!" while Boomer asks if he's okay. She helps him up, and he starts to ask what she's doing back on Caprica but Boomer insists, "Just move, Mister." They hurry off into the woods. We pan up from Six's body to a Cylon robot and Six, who watch Helo "escape." Tee hee. Six looks down at her body sort of curiously. I still think this is a parallel to the problem with the Carrier, and that just like with Helo, the fleet was given an obvious target so they wouldn't look too closely anywhere else. Like, Adama's scheme might have actually worked, so they did something to keep him from trying it.
Ready room. Apollo's busily fussing over the flight assignments board as Adama enters. Adama looks at Apollo for a minute and finally sighs, "I gave the order. It was my responsibility." Apollo looks down and finally says, "I pulled the trigger. That's mine."
The Prez is staring into space. Literally, even. Through a window. She slowly turns as Billy tries to get her attention, and apologetically asks what he was saying. Billy reports that it's been twenty-four hours without any more Cylon attacks. He adds, "At least you know it was the right choice." The Prez repeats, "The right choice..." She tells him she'd like some time alone, and Billy starts to leave, then hesitates. The Prez asks what's up. Billy glances at the Whiteboard of Extinction and says that he's got an update for it. The Prez calmly asks how many to subtract, but Billy smiles, "Actually, you can add one. A baby was born this morning on the Rising Star. A boy." The Prez asks, "A baby?" No, a puppy. What did he just say? The Prez doesn't change expression, but thanks Billy, who exits.
Cut to the Prez changing the count to 47,973. She turns and this smile slowly spreads across her face like she's fighting to hold it back, and she's almost crying, and just adorable. Fade out.
Production card: Moore starts to make a suggestion, and Eick beats his face in with a baseball bat. It was a simpler time.