Previously on Battlestar Galactica. (WIND HOWLS) (METALLIC CLUNK) Frakk me. Are you... alive? It's probably a cylon itself. More of an animal, maybe, than the human models. Maybe they genetically design it for a task. To be a fighter. (BOTH ARGUE) Knock it off! Get the hell outta here, now! I'm SO sick of her. What happened?! Kat's made the trap a hundred times! Oh, my God! What's this? Stims. By the look of her she's been taking them by the handful. I was burnt out. I was taking stims. I'm so stupid. Once I get back to Galactica I'll send a rescue party. Yeah, right. If I say I'm gonna do something, I do it. Count on it. My kinda woman. The resistance base camp's here, 300 clicks north of the only cylon air base around. I respect what you're trying to do, however... We have a duty to the people left behind. We understand. We must find a way to jump back to Caprica and get them. Kara! "Entering sector 259. Keep your eyes open, Kat." "This is where BB and Jo-Jo bought it." Come on out, Scar, you son of a bitch. Let's party! "Yeah, I don't think he's gonna RSVP." He prefers surprise parties. "He'll be surprised when I blow his ass apart." That'll be the day. Cassie. Cassie, wasn't that her name? "Whose name?" Reilly's girlfriend. I told you I have no idea, so give it rest, alright? Reilly's dead for one simple reason. He couldn't control his fear. Yup, poor idiot cut and ran. Gave the toaster a free shot up his ass. Scar spooked him. He saw that motherfrakker's red eye coming straight for him, and he panicked. Reilly was a good stick. A little short on guts, but a good stick. Beano had plenty. Took Cally an hour to clean out his cockpit. Hey, does anybody remember the name of Reilly's girlfriend? No. Karen, I think. Died on Picon. Karen. No, was it Kathy? You guys, what does it matter? Gonna hold a little prayer circle? Good cry? The whole thing? Actually, it does matter. Hi. Hey, this is Ensign Baxton. Ensign Clark. And I guess we're your new bunk mates. Welcome. We just finished viper training on Pegasus. Ready to kick some cylon butt. So was Beano. Who's, uh, Beano? Right here. Ooh, Scar's gonna smoke you like a fine cigar, my man. Who's Scar? Not who. What. Toaster's top gun. Deadliest raider in the cylon fleet. Give me a break. They're machines. One's the same as the next. That's what we thought till Captain Thrace cut the brain out of one. Scar's the best they got. Lotta pilots die going after that bastard. Why do they call him Scar? You'll find out soon enough. He's got a taste for nuggets. Easy pickings. Hold that, Starbuck. I got something. Big spud, lower rim. You see that? "Negative." There was a time you'd have noticed that before me. Fine, you're the shooter. "Try to keep up!" Yeah, just don't screw up. So, how does Scar take out an experienced pilot like Beano? He hides... He hides behind an asteroid. Or the debris field that you've ignored because it looked like a bunch of harmless rocks. You see, Scar doesn't like to fight until the odds are on his side. And then, suddenly out of nowhere, bam. He pops out, blows you to pieces. Then jumps away before you can return fire. If you ask me, I think Scar's a coward. Ha! This isn't duelling pistols at dawn, this is war. You never wanna fight fair. You wanna sneak up behind your enemy and club 'em over the head. You see, Scar understands that. And so do I. So that's why I'm gonna kill him. You? Starbuck, you can barely walk. Look who's talking, stim junkie. (ALL) Ooh! I wouldn't be calling anybody a junkie if I were you, Starbuck. Not the way you been pounding back that booze lately. One Tigh on the ship's enough. Uh, I got... I got 200 here says I nail Scar's chrome-plated ass. When I do, hand that top gun over to me and pour me my first drink. Your lips'll never touch the rim, little girl. We'll see. (MEN CHANT) Starbuck! Starbuck! Starbuck! Maybe you should slow down. Maybe. Maybe not. (CONTINUE CHANTING) Starbuck! Starbuck! Comin' in hot! Checker's green. (LAUGHS DRUNKENLY) It's gotta be Scar. Found your hiding place, you little frakker. Starbuck, kiss your 200 goodbye. This guy's mine. Something's definitely wrong. That can't be Scar. He should be jumping, or wheeling a gun at us. I'll check our tails. Frakk! (WARNING BUZZER) Frakk, I'm hit! I'm hit, I'm hit, I'm hit! See, Beano opened fire too early. You've gotta fill the windscreen with the sucker or you're not gonna hit him. See, look. He's still not close enough. Beano's already dead, he just doesn't know it yet. Do any of you guys see where he went wrong? There, you see that glint? There. That's a raider. If Beano hadn't fixated on his target, he'd have seen that. Was it Scar? There he is, boys and girls. There's the motherfrakker I'm gonna kill. I'm afraid this is one of those good news, bad news conversations. Bad news first. The mining chip's broken another drill bit. We need to extend again. Another eight days. Eight more days. Son of a bitch. They've just discovered an incredibly rich vein of ore. Enough to build two entire squadrons of vipers. I can't walk away from that. What's the good news? The Pegasus production team has just turned out its first combat-ready viper. We're beginning to replace our losses. Hmm. Will they be able to replace pilots as well? Let's review the tactical situation. Four weeks ago, our mining ships struck pay dirt on this asteroid. A pile of metals that we need to build new ships. Since we're sitting ducks until the miners finish the job, the old man has sent the fleet out of harm's way under Pegasus's protection. Our job's to stay behind and protect the miners. Unfortunately, this star system's full of rocks and dust. Dradis cannot tell the rocks from the bad guys, so our only reliable system of detection is - Our eyeballs. Which means we have to put those eyeballs way out there. Split up, cover a huge perimeter. We'll be patrolling the area in divisions of four at these picket points. We're going in sections of twos. Are you planning the ops for me now, too? (MURMURINGS) CAG wants us to spread out to control a larger area. It's right here in the briefings. Alright. So, we do go in twos. (GENERAL WHISPERS) Scar and his buddies are out there looking for easy kills. Let's not give him any. This operation is vital to the long-term survival of this fleet. Yes, it is. And we'll continue to support it. They're grinding us down, viper by viper. Why'd they stop coming at us en masse? Is it because we destroyed the resurrection ship? Starbuck's working on that. This guy's probably died and been reborn a dozen times. You may have faced him before. So, what, raiders reincarnate just like you? Yeah, just like me. Great. What a frakkin' world. A raider's much like a trained animal, with the basic consciousness and survival instincts. But with the destruction of the resurrection ship, when they die, they're really dead. So, they're not gonna mount mass attacks where they could have major casualties. Raiders reincarnate? Makes sense, doesn't it? It takes months for you to train a nugget into an effective viper pilot, and then they get killed, then use their experience, their knowledge, their skill sets, it's gone forever. So if you could put 'em in a new body, wouldn't you do it? Cos death then becomes a learning experience. How, uh, how many pilots have we lost? I mean, have you lost? You know, there are times when I look at you that I forget what you are. All I see is that kid that spooched her landings day after day. The kid that was frakkin' the chief and thinking she was getting away with it. Yeah, I remember. You were like a big sister to... (COCKS GUN) Kara, um, be careful of Scar, OK? He's filled with rage. About what? Dying's a painful and traumatic experience. Every time he's reborn he's filled with more bitter memories. Scar hates you every bit as much as you hate him. A raider's a squirmy son of a bitch. You won't be able to keep him in your sights for more than two seconds. You have to deliver a killing burst within that time or he will turn and nail you. All that yanking and banking gives you one helluva case of vertigo. And that is what this chair simulates. Alright, Jo-Jo! Let's go! Hang in there. Hit him. Go! Hey, hey, hey! Up, up, up! Time! (BUZZER) Not bad. At least you hit the target. Better than I did the first time. I took out that clock over there. What's the all-time record? Four hits on the x-ring. Are you kidding? Who did that? I did. Mind if I give it a shot, for old times' sake? Be my guest. Come on now, Kat. Two seconds. Go, Kat! Get 'em! Time! Five. Yes! Whoo! Frakk! I'm hit, I'm hit! Scar got me! I'm hit, I'm hit, I'm hit. Kat, Starbuck. Where the hell are you? Starbuck, I lost visual on you. "Starbuck, what's your position?" Primary and secondary hydraulics are bent. I can deal with it. I got no visual on you. Where you at? Forget it, Kat. Scar's mine. "Don't be an idiot, Starbuck! What's your position?" Now you remember me, don't you? You want my ass so bad you can taste it. Well, keep coming. Cos I guaran-frakkin-tee you, I'll put you down this time for good! One more. Come on, Starbuck, let's go. Get it up there. Why are you pushing so hard? Kat's just another hotshot kid out to make her bones. Like you were before you met Anders. You ever think about him? What's the point? He's dead. Kara, if you didn't think he had a chance of surviving, why'd you promise to return with a rescue party? I thought I was... I don't know what I thought. Captain Thrace. If Scar jumps us out there - Keep your eyes open so he can't. OK. But, if I screw up and he bushwacks me, what do I do then? Come on! They drilled this into you over and over again at basic air combat. I know, but he's something - He's no different than any other attacker. He comes at you, turn into him, get closer, pull the trigger. Turn into him, get closer, pull the trigger. Thank you. Don't run or you'll die. Right. What are you waiting for? Nothing, sir. Come here. Come here, I wanna talk to you. Now listen me, you're flying Duck's wing today. Baxton, right? Call sign BB. That's one of our best pilots that we got. Do what he says and you'll be fine. Just don't let the raiders get anywhere near the miners. OK. Yeah. Thank you, sir. Go get 'em, tiger. Starbuck. That kid needs more than a pat on the ass and a textbook quote about tactics, OK? You wanna be his wet nurse, be my guest. His jacket says he's a qualified viper jock. So, I either fly him, or I ground him and we go up short. What's it gonna be? Your call, Kat. "Galactica, Starbuck. Wilco return to base." Roger that, Starbuck. "BB, Duck." "Four raiders from behind the rocket at left ten." "Coming hard. Looks like Scar." "What do we do?" "We don't have enough fuel to mix it up." "We bug out." "Let our relief deal with 'em. We're going home." "Negative! Starbuck said to turn into any attack. Weapons hot!" You're bingo fuel. Don't attack, you idiot. "Goddamn it, BB. This is the exception. Abort and reform." "Duck, Starbuck. Position?" "4-2 alpha. Behind the big spud." "We need a hand right frakkin' now." You're on your own, Duck. Everybody's way out of range. "Duck, be there in six minutes." "Duck, Kat. Eight minutes out." "Duck, they're on my six. Oh, my god. (GUNFIRE) Aargh!" It's alright, Jo-Jo. Verify pc-2 pressure zero, throttles closed, oxygen, generator, master switches off. Check. Shutdown complete. Nothing you could do, Captain. Too far away. Nice work, Starbuck. What the hell happened to BB? What happened? He did exactly what you told him to do, Captain. Him and Duck had bingo fuel and a head start home, but instead the FNG turned and attacked. And Scar lit him up like a pinwheel. Why'd he try to take on Scar by himself? Stupid idiot. "Try to run and you're dead." I heard you. You drilled that into that poor moron's head. You know what? We both know that 99% of the time that is the right move. Hmm, not this time. You know what gets me? I know that in two weeks I won't remember his face. I can't remember any of their faces after they're killed. No matter how hard I try, they just fade. I don't even remember their names. Names. Oh, let's see, there was... there was Flattop. Who bought it on his thousandth landing. There was Chuckles. Stop it, already. Please, it's not funny. Alright. It's not funny. It is funny. You know, the President says that we're saving humanity for a bright, shiny future on Earth. That you and I are never gonna see. We're not. Because we go out over and over again until someday some metal motherfrakker is gonna catch us on a bad day and just blow us away. Bright, shiny futures are overrated anyway. (COUGHS) That's why we gotta get what we can right now. I'll drink to that. To right now. So, why don't we? Why don't we what? Hey, wait a minute. What? Wait a minute. Ow. Hey, slow down! Whoa, this isn't a race. Kara, what's going on? What's wrong with you, alright? OK, you know what? I don't wanna know. I don't wanna know! Hey. Hey! What about us? There is no us, alright? I just wanted a good lay. There is nothing here. D'you get that? Nothing! Sure. My gods! Hey. Well, that's just great. Frakk or fight, huh? Maybe I am just a quick lay but I'm also your friend. I am hung up on a dead guy, OK? And it is pissing me off. And I don't know what I'm doing. Anders, right? On Caprica, the resistance fighter. Samuel's dead, so what does it matter? Oh, please. I don't need your pity! You haven't got my pity! You're fine with the dead guys. It's the living ones you can't deal with. (WHOOSH!) (POP!) There you are. Got visual on you, Starbuck. I'm inbound about 15 out. Now! Scar, let's see how much you like playing chicken when you come down. One of us has to break away first and it isn't gonna be me! "Starbuck, wake up! He's a machine, he's not gonna break!" "You're committing suicide, Starbuck!" 'In two-on-two engagements, cylon raiders like to isolate individual vipers, and then gang up on one, hoping to kill it before his wingman has a chance to protect him. Captain. Which is what happened to Jo-Jo 20 minutes ago. Frakk me! Was it Scar? Bastard smoked Jo-Jo and jumped away in less than 15 seconds before his wingman could get a shot off. And... where were you? What? Flight schedule had you flying lead for Jo-Jo on that patrol, so why'd you assign Snake to take your place? Was it too early in the morning for you, Starbuck? What exactly are you trying to say, Lieutenant? What I'm trying to say, Captain, is maybe if you weren't up all night drinking, Jo-Jo would've still been here. Mm. (CLEARS THROAT) Give us the room. What is it with you, Katraine? Ever since I got back, you have been on my ass like a bad rash. Being late for a briefing cos you're hung over, that's bad enough. But when you back out on a mission? I put Snake in my place because I was in no condition to fly. I knew that. You see, unlike you, I don't take a bunch of pills and then climb into my cockpit so wired that I can't land the ship. Starbuck, you're an embarrassment. You used to be the hottest stick on the fleet, and now you're just a reckless drunk that sends other people out to get killed. What're you gonna do, hmm? What are you gonna do, you gonna hit me? It scares you, does it? Actually, no. You're afraid most of the time, Kat. You're afraid you're gonna end up like that picture of Reilly's girlfriend. Some little, forgotten picture that nobody really remembers. You see, that's why you're riding my ass so hard. So no one will notice that Scar scares the living crap out of you. Uh! Ten-hut! What's going on? A little tactical discussion, sir. Well, it must have been lively. Right, I'm pairing you two up. Kat, fly Starbuck's wing out by the big spud. Sir, I - I got a hunch two raiders are gonna sneak through that sector. So, I want my heavy hitters out there to greet 'em. Skid's up in 49 minutes. Sir. Starbuck. Are you OK? (ENGINE FIRES UP) "Entering sector 259. Keep your eyes open, Kat." "This is where BB and Jo-Jo bought it." Cassie! Maybe that was her name. I told you I have no idea, so give it a rest. "Hold up." Did you see that? Oh, yeah! It's gotta be Scar. "Something's definitely wrong. That can't be Scar." Frakk! I'm hit, Scar got me. I'm hit, I'm hit! Don't be an idiot, Starbuck. What's your position? Now, you remember me, don't you? There you are. Got visual on you. I'm inbound about 15 out. Let's see how much you like playing chicken when you come down. One of us is gonna have to break away first and it isn't gonna be me! I'm inbound on your starboard. Seven high at ten. Starbuck, wake up! "He's a machine, he's not gonna break!" "He's a machine, he's not gonna break!" I got nothing to lose. You're committing suicide, Starbuck! I'm coming back. I said it. I meant it. Yeah, OK. Gods damn it! I'm gonna put him right in front of you. Do not miss him, you frakkin' stim junkie. Whoo! Whoo-hoo! Whoo! That's the way it's done! Yeah, let's go home, skipper! (WILD CHEERING) Yo, Starbuck! Hey, Starbuck, my cup runneth dry. Seems I recall someone boasting that my lips would never touch this rim. You earned it. To BB, Jo-Jo, Reilly, Beano, Dipper, Flattop, Chuckles, Jolly, Crashdown, Sheppard, Dash, Flyboy, Stepchild, Puppet, Fireball. To all of 'em. So say we all. (ALL) So say we all. So say we all. I could've done it, you know. Could have taken out Scar. Head on pass. Straight for him. Just needed to get a little closer. So, why didn't you do it? Probably would've died in the process. The bastard was too good. Two months ago, I wouldn't have even thought about that. Would've just gone for the glory hoping I could pull it out of the fire. Quit kicking yourself. You did the right thing and called in your wingman. OK? Scar's dead. You and Kat came back alive. It's not why I did it though. I can't get Anders out of my head. Can't get over this insane hope that maybe he's alive. You got something to live for now, not just die for. Ho, hey, ho. Ooh! (GROANS) He's down for the count. (GROANS) IMS Subtitles Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air.