02x17 - The Captain's Hand

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Battlestar Galactica...

Lee, you can't leave.

You have to stay.

You have to really stay.

You must betray Roslin and run for president in the upcoming election.

I know it's hard, but it's the only way.

Word of Fisk's m*rder has spread out through the entire fleet.

Crew can fall apart when their commander is k*lled.

Pegasus lost two in a matter of weeks.

I'm putting Garner in command.

But he's an engineer, not a command officer.

He's the best they've got.

Pegasus, Buster.

Dradis intercept training birds are away.

Buster, Peg... Roger that, take station...

Be advised, communications will suffer sporadic interruptions due to stellar EMI activity. Acknowledge?

Pegasus, Buster, acknowledge.

Our communications suck!

Is it gonna be like this all day?

Big time.

Those binaries are putting out so much EMI, even the Dradis is barely working.

Well, I'm gonna a little distance between us and the fleet.

Get us out of the soup.

See if we can get a cleaner Dradis picture.

Hey!

Whoever's in there, time's up!

Let's go, come on!

Gotta a couple of tired Viper jockeys out here wanna sleep.

Go hit the showers dock!

We'll be gone by the time you get back.

U-uh.

How you feel?

Mm, not great.

But Cottle's given me the thumbs-up and it's been almost a month, so I guess it's back to work.

So you ready to go into the belly of the Beast?

The Beast? Yeah.

That's what they call the Pegasus now.

Galactica's the Bucket.

The Bucket and the Beast.

Huh. Don't we make a pair?

Come on.

No, you come on. Come on, come on, go.

Oh...

Okay.

Anyway, it's only a temporary assignment.

I should be back again in a couple of weeks.

Why'd the old man pick you?

One word. Starbuck.

Is she in hack again?

Not yet.

But apparently, she's been driving Commander Garner up one bulkhead and down the other ever since she took over flight training on... what'd you call it?

The Beast?

And since I won't be flying combat for a while, I...

Mm.

Were you going to mention these?

Oh, yeah. Got promoted to Major.

Well, don't sound so happy!

It doesn't mean much.

I think it means a lot.

Oh, well, if yousay so, then it must be true.

Mm. Mm.

Callie, what's going on?

We were unloading one of the containers and then one of the crates shifted.

So, we looked inside, and saw that something was moving.

Did you call it in?

Yeah, we shut door, and the Marines are on their way.

Give me a light.

Chief, we don't know what we're dealing with here.

Don't you think we should wait?

Chief!

Is this the Galactica?

Yeah.

Are you Dr. Cottle?

What the hell was that?

I don't know.

We should call it in.

All right if you can.

I gonna spin up the FTL drive just in case.

Pegasus, this is Raptor 718.

Emergency. Request instructions.

Say again, Shark.

Pegasus... distress.

Shark, repeat your last.

Did you declare an emergency?

Buster, Shark, do you read?

Shark, repeat your last. Did you declare an emergency?

Commander Garner on deck.

Buster, Shark, do you read?

What have you got, Mr. Hoshi?

I'm not sure, sir.

I think Buster and Shark are declaring an emergency, but their transmission's garbled.

We've lost them, sir.

Welcome aboard, Major.

I didn't expect a welcoming committee.

Don't flatter yourself. I was in the neighborhood.

Major Adama, sir.

Major Adama.

Commander Garner.

Glad to see you, Major.

Although I wish it was under better circumstances.

We have just lost contact with two of our Raptors out on a training mission.

What? When did that happen?

Captain Thrace.

Perhaps if you were actually down on the flight deck and monitoring your Raptors the way any training officer worth a damn would have done, you would know that four of our pilots were missing.

Major?

You with me, Major?

Yes, sir.

The disappeared from the Dradis about an hour ago.

They're gone.

Shut the hell up!

We lose two Raptors in a training mission, and I only find out when the Commander throws it in my face.

Don't all speak at once.

Sir, it's been made clear that discussing flight deck situations with anyone outside Pegasus crew is not allowed.

Sorry, sir.

And whose frakkin' bright idea was that?

It was Garner, wasn't it?

Of course it was.

So barely competent andparanoid.

Huh, there's a hell of a combination.

I have a problem.

That problem's name is Kara Thrace.

I-I know to handle her, sir.

And for the record, she is one hell of a Viper pilot.

What?

I should cut her some slack because she's good in the cockpit.

Is that what you're saying?

Because nobody ever cut us any slack in the engine room.

I could tell you that right now.

But then, uh, I don't know, maybe being a snipe is different than being a Viper jockey.

No flashy stunts for us.

No flying by the seat of our pants down there!

The engine room is like a finely tuned watch, and everything in it needs to be monitored and maintained in a very precise fashion.

Nobody freelances.

Everything is done in the proper way at the proper time in the proper order!

Or there'd be no power.

No lights.

No hot showers for your flyboys.

You know, Major, I think some of the people around here could learn a thing or two from the snipes.

I'm sorry, Madame President.

But it's that time.

Oh. Campaign meeting.

Mm-hmm, we've been putting it off for weeks.

And we do have a presidential election coming up unless you've decided not to run.

Yeah, and to be perfectly honest with you, Tori, I've thought about it a few times.

But, um, no, I'm still here.

There's so much to do.

So...

Let's talk politics.

Great.

Here are the results from our first fleet-wide poll.

How did you manage this?

I was precinct captain for the Federalist party in Delphi for five years.

We did polls to see what the mayor should have for lunch.

For what it's worth, you've managed to walk a very fine line.

You're presidential bid has the support of both the m*llitary and the civilian fleet, and you've received enthusiastic endorsements from the Gemenese religious leaders.

Well, it helps when your only real rival is a convicted t*rror1st.

Am I capable of leading this fleet?

Absolutely.

And for a time, I almost had a chance.

Until Laura Roslin ascended from politician to prophet.

The truth is I can't win.

But youcould.

You flatter me, Mr. Zarek. Really.

But I'm not sure I'm cut out for a life in politics as I find the vice presidency and everything to do with it very tedious.

I would imagine carrying water for Roslin would get old after a time.

But it's the office that makes you the perfect candidate, Doctor.

You're pre-sold.

Really? To whom?

You'd be surprised how many people crave the assurances of cold science as opposed to the superstitious ravings of the Gemenese.

As a scientist, you offer hope.

Think about it.

And you, Tom.

You'll just step aside... will you?

I'm just happy to back a man of true conviction.

A man... who remembers his friends.

Attention on deck.

At ease.

Where's Stinger?

He's in hack for mouthing off to Garner.

Stepped on his precious little toes.

Frakking Garner.

He's such an idiot.

All right, lock that up!

Get something straight.

We got two missing Raptor crews who are gonna be out of oxygen in 36 hours.

That's all that matters.

So, everyone knock off the schoolyard crap and start doing your frakkin' jobs.

Now... we need to start thinking outside the box.

Which is supposed to be what youdo best.

Sorry, Major.

All right.

I wanna know everything there is to know about these missing Raptors andtheir crews.

I wanna know personal quirks, aircraft squawks, wireless transmissions, anything that might help.

Good. Get to it.

How is she?

Rya's four months pregnant and doesn't want to be.

I understand the Gemenese have a problem with women terminating their pregnancies.

Tyrol said that she asked for you by name.

Do you want to tell me what that's really all about?

Pretty straightforward, really.

I get a note that a girl's on the way.

She arrives. I do my work.

And then she leaves.

I don't ask a lot of questions.

You're gonna start.

I wanna talk to her.

I'm Admiral Adama.

Don't worry, I've just come to talk.

It doesn't matter what you say.

I'm not gonna change my mind.

Your parents are a little worried about you.

They've contacted me through the Gemenon representative.

My parents. Gods.

Do you have any idea what they would do to me?

Please, do not send me back.

You're a stowaway.

Aboard a m*llitary ship.

Some people might say she was a victim of political persecution.

Hell. She could apply for asylum.

Asylum. That's it.

I want asylum.

Under Gemenon law, the girl is still the property of her parents.

And they can deal with her once she's safely back on her ship.

To be honest, I'm more concerned with the broader implications of this matter.

Sarah.

I know you don't want to hear this.

But my people, my voters are demanding action on this issue.

We have been through this.

Abortion was legal under colonial law before the att*cks, and so it is still legal today.

It's obscene.

The scriptures view abortion as an abomination in the eyes of the gods.

You cannot equivocate on this point if want our support in the coming election.

Rya Kibby's petition for asylum is under review.

Thank you, Sarah, very much for coming in.

I'm not turning that girl over.

I'm certainly not banning abortion.

Then don't.

But we have to move aggressively on this thing.

I'm arranging a conference call with you and the Quorum.

This is gonna get out of hand fast.

She's not Billy.

No, she's not.

What?

I hate to say this.

Because I know that this is a political issue.

The fact is that that number doesn't go up very often.

I fought for a woman's right to control her body my entire career.

No.

No.

I'm just remembering what yousaid.

Right after the Cylon att*ck.

That if we really want to save the human race, we'd better start having babies.

Nothing, nothing, and more nothing.

Where... is Shark's last transmission?

Well... there's not much there.

"...eve... distress... bearing.. reek... shuns... emerge...

Read."

They were in distress.

They... give a bearing requesting instructions... it's an emergency...

Can you read?

Maybe, but what's this "eve" fragment here?

...eve... distress.

Eve... distress.

Eve.

Recei-received?

Received distress call.

Okay. From who?

I don't know.

But maybe that's where they went.

To go find out.

Commander, Captain Thrace has a theory about our missing Raptors, sir.

That's good considering shelost them.

Excuse me?

Well, they were out on one of your so-called training missions.

Weren't they, Captain?

My "so-called" training missions.

Okay, let's just take this easy.

That's when you're not boozing or sowing mutiny amongst the crew.

Mutiny?

Commander, we should take this to a private place.

Don't you think I know what's happening on my own ship?

Barely competent? And paranoid?

That was off the record.

I was just venting.

Accurately.

I'll have you court-martialled.

Commander.

I'm not defending Captain Thrace's behavior.

Thanks, Major.

Captain Thrace, you're restricted to quarters.

Until I can ship you back to Galactica.

You're Adama's pet.

Let him deal with you.

Gentlemen.

Major? Yes, sir.

You've been on board less than four days, and you're already facing charges.

You don't waste any time, do you?

Neither do you, Lee.

How's it feel being Garner's new playmate?

I'm here to do a job!

Yeah.

Keep a loudmouth, disobedient frak of Kara Thrace in line.

Not doing such a good job, are ya?

Evidently not.

We don't have much time.

Those guys are running out of air.

Yeah, well, I tried. All right?

All I have done since I got to the Beast is try and help, and all I've gotten is Garner's foot in my ass.

Well, maybe you need a kick in the ass!

All right.

Here we go. Finally.

What is your problem anyway?

What's my problem?

What's my problem?

Well Kara, my problem is you.

You keep frakking up, and I keep having to clean it up, and I am officially... sick of it.

Poor Lee, your life is so hard, isn't it?

You mean, since I got sh*t.

You wanna hear what I think happened to Buster, or not?

Pegasus, Red Devil.

I'm nearing the last coordinates where our Raptors went missing.

Emergency... distress.

Buster, is that you?

Buster, this is Red Devil, man.

Is that you, buddy? Come back to me.

Power failure... oxygen's almost out... help us.

For love of the gods, help.

Sir!

One of our search Raptors just picked up a possible distress signal from near where Pegasus lost communications with Buster's ship.

Finally.

Possibledistress signal.

There's a theory that Buster himself might have Jumped away to run down a phony distress call.

It could be a trap.

A theory?

Is this yourtheory, Major?

This is Captain Thrace's theory, is it not?

Mr. Thornton.

Can you give us a fix on where this distress signal is coming from?

Yes, sir, it's long range, over 40 SU away.

Then spin up the FTL drive, and prepare to Jump the ship.

Yes, sir.

Sir!

This isn't just Captain Thrace's theory.

I think this is a Cylon trap, and...

And Idisagree.

Now get Admiral Adama on the line.

I'm going to get our men.

Admiral, we finally got the break we've been looking for bearing on the distress signal.

I can Jump there inside of two minutes.

Commander, believe me, I understand how you feel.

But the Cylons have been known to lure ships into traps.

Using fake distressed calls.

Have you considered that?

We have, sir.

It's a scenario we don't think likely.

We?

Major Adama, do you concur?

Sir...

Captain Thrace and I are of the opinion that the first two Raptors may very well have been lured away by just such a trick.

An opinion I do not share, sir.

We'll send a recon mission in full force.

Five Raptors.

Three escort, two rescue.

You have your orders, Commander.

Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Major.

I'm sure your expertise is needed elsewhere.

Yes, sir.

Yes, I am curious.

Why the sudden interest in the fleet's demographic projections?

An issue has emerged that may prove divisive to our administration.

I would like all the facts in hand before making my decision.

So, now it's ouradministration?

She must be desperate.

Well, I'm a very busy man.

Luckily, I made an initial calculation on these figures over seven months ago when nobody seemed interested or concerned.

All I had to do was factor in the numbers from the Pegasus crew.

It took me hardly any time at all, and I didn't mind.

Look, I'll save you the bother, you needn't read the report.

If we continue on our present course, within the next 18 years, the human race will simply be... extinct.

Since assuming the presidency, I've made it my mission to maintain the rights and freedoms we so enjoyed prior to the att*ck.

One of these rights has now come into direct conflict with the survival of the species.

And I find myself forced to make a very difficult decision.

The issue is stark.

The fact is that if the civilization is to survive, we must, must repopulate this fleet.

Therefore, I'm issuing an executive order.

From this day forward, anyone seeking to interfere with a birth of child, whether it be the mother... or a medical practitioner... shall be subject to criminal penalty.

Thank you.

All flight deck personnel, please report to stations.

All right, come on, let's go, let's go!

Captain Case, what's going on?

We've been ordered to scramble, condition one.

Ship's getting ready to Jump.

We're gonna launch on the other side.

Get down to the hangar deck!

What?

Look.

You're the best pilot we've got.

So, get down there. Find a Viper.

It's about time you admitted that!

Commander, what's our sitrep?

This is a rescue mission, Major.

On whose authority? Mine.

I'm bringing my pilots home.

With all due respect, sir.

But if this is a Cylon trap, then we are entering blind!

We should send a force recon...

My pilots are dying down there, Major!

I'm going in, I'm not waiting on recon!

Commander, this is in direct violation of the Admiral's orders.

Major. Leave Combat.

Making this an illegal action on your part, sir!

You are relieved, Major! Sergeant of the Guard.

I am forced to take command of this vessel!

This man is in direct disobedience of an order...

Under federal regulations I want him under arrest! I place you under arrest!

Sergeant.

Take him below.

Sergeant, the Commander's been properly relieved.

Escort him to his quarters.

This man is not a member of this crew, and you will obey a direct order that you have been given by me, and you will do it now.

Major. You'll come with me.

Admiral! The Pegasus has Jumped.

They're gone.

Dradis signal's clean.

Jump put is clear of any interference.

Sir, I show two Raptors.

Transponder codes match. They're ours.

Mr. Hoshi.

Tell the CAG to launch our recovery team, and let's bring our people home.

Aye, sir.

Pegasus, Red Devil.

Our two birds look intact.

Can't quite see inside yet.

Commander, we're unable to raise the Raptors on wireless.

Oh, my gods.

Pegasus, both Raptor crews are dead.

I repeat. They're all dead.

Sir, three Cylon base ships just Jumped into weapons range.

Oh, my gods.

They're launching nukes!

Brace for impact.

Damage report?

Two... two nuclear detonations in the stern, sir.

FTL drive inoperative, sir.

We're stuck here, sir.

All right, Showboat.

You take Red Squadron. Hit 'em on the right.

Catbird, you take Green. Hit 'em on the left.

The rest of you, follow me.

We're going straight up the gut.

Sergeant, I think you have better things to do.

Oh, then the Spinner's fine?

It's gotta be a sensor. Just pull it.

No, no, listen to me.

Listen to me. Just pull it, pull it!

Nuclear detonation.

We have structural damage along the topside heat exchanger.

We can't take much more of this.

How long before those drives are back up?

I don't know. They don't seem to understand.

I need to go down there.

You have the con.

Yes, sir.

I have the con.

Make for the nearest base ship.

And roll us over to keep our top side out of their line of fire.

Hoshi, contact Starbuck in case...

Tell them I've assumed command.

And to concentrate on protecting our top side.

Aye, sir.

Wilco, Pegasus. We got your back.

Mr. Gaeda, any contact?

Negative, sir.

Can I get through there?

Base ship dead ahead, we're closing rapidly!

We can't keep taking hits like this, Major.

Helm.

Steady as you go.

Have the bow battery stand by for a salvo fire.

Target their center axis. Yes, sir.

See if we can't cut down the odds.

We need those FTLs fixed soon.

Or we're dead.

Twenty-two hundred.

Main battery has a f*ring solution.

And fire.

Coolant pressure's off-scale low.

Primary inlet's choked.

Pressure's dropping.

We gotta hull breach in there somewhere.

Well, we gotta get in there, and open the auxiliary valve!

We can't do that, sir!

We have to!

Sir, that breach can vent all our oxygen into space.

We don't have a choice.

Now, open the hatch.

Breathing gear?

We used it all up fighting the fires, sir.

Give me sledge and a number 12 spanner.

All right.

Now close this hatch behind me.

We're losing air, close the gods damn hatch.

Close it!

Base ship's turning away.

He's... he's frakkin' running, Major!

But the other two aren't.

They're coming hard.

Helm...

Left, full.

I'm at the manifold.

I'm gonna see if I can turn them.

Yes!

There's definitely air escaping.

Through a cr*ck, over. SVC relay.

The breach is behind that.

Starbuck reports Vipers are skosh a*mo, Major.

We're down to throwing rocks at the bastards.

We gotta haul ass outta here now, sir!

Sir!

Come on, Garner.

O2's in the red, Skipper. You're almost out of air.

You got it!

The pressure's coming back up.

Now get the frak outta there, come on!

You're air is gone, skipper! Get outta there!

Skipper? Skipper?

Engineering's reporting a green board.

FTL drive online and ready.

Okay, commence Jump Prep.

Bring our birds home.

Pegasus, Starbuck.

Nobody behind me but toasters.

Now get us outta here!

Air wing's back on board.

Landing bays secure.

Jump!

You give Garner a lot of credit.

Well, it's all true.

He gave his life to save the ship.

Starbuck's report wasn't so kind.

Well, she had her perspective.

And I had mine.

In your opinion, off the record... what was Garner's flaw?

He was used to working with machines.

Command is about people.

Remember that.

I want you to take command... of the Beast.

Garner was my decision.

His failure's my responsibility.

Don't let me fail a second time.

Congratulations, Commander.

Madame President?

Word has it that you do not intend to prosecute the Gemenese girl on Galactica.

She has a name, Sarah.

I think that Rya has suffered enough.

She's just been through an abortion.

I've granted her asylum aboard Galactica.

This is in total violation of the law.

My order came after she sought her procedure.

No laws have been broken.

The girl belongs at home, with her parents.

I insist.

You have your pound of flesh.

And I suggest you take your victory, and you move on.

Ma'am?

You realize you're screwed, right?

All the pressure, the responsibility, the sleepless nights, all the officers giving you a hard time.

Yeah, well, it could be worse. You could be my CAG.

I'm gonna stay here and be Galactica's CAG.

Something about wanting to keep an eye on me.

Well, you and Colonel Tigh have a lot of fun at those early morning briefings.

'Cause the XO's a lot of fun first thing.

Mm, great.

Congratulations.

Really.

Congratulations.

You deserve it.

I know why I was mad at you, Kara.

A simple thank you would have been sufficient.

'Cause you were doing what you always did.

Buck authority, and get away with it.

I bucked authority once.

And I almost lost everything.

So I guess when I showed up on Pegasus, and there you were doing it all over again...

I don't know.

Pissed me off.

Doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?

You should hear the way mybrain works sometimes.

Are we okay?

You have a brain?

Yeah.

Yeah, we're okay.

Madame President, your decision to criminalize abortion has created a furor.

Do you think that's hurt your standing in the polls?

Absolutely.

If I may, Madame President.

It is true in the light of recent events, the president may have lost support in some quarters.

I would ask the people to understand that if this is an extreme decision, we live in extreme times.

The decision has been made with good faith.

I, however, cannot with good conscience support it.

I am so sorry, Madame President.

But the Cylon have no understanding of the meaning of the word freedom.

How could they?

They're programmed.

Machines.

Every time you take away one of our freedoms, Every time you restrict or curtail one of our rights, we become one step closer to being like them.

As the Vice President, I am bound to follow the administration's lead.

As President...

I should have no such strictures.

Given the current situation, I'm afraid that I have no alternative but to announce that I am, as of now, a candidate for the presidency.

Are you you resigning the Vice Presidency?

Are you a one-issue candidate?

Are you being disloyal to the president?

Jot this down.

Ok.

Jeez