Previously on Battlestar Galactica... The raiders are sending a signal to activate the virus. On my mark, initiate the computer wipe. I'm connecting to the network now. Congratulations, Commander. I'm leaving Galactica, not you. I'm coming back. I said it. I meant it. I understand what it's like to lose someone that you care about. You're not lost. Not yet. We have to go back to Caprica. Given the current situation, I have no alternative but to announce that I am now a candidate for the presidency. (ALL FIRE QUESTIONS) I'm going to lose. (MUTTERS) (KNOCK ON DOOR) Yes, come in. One minute, Madam President. Thank you, Tory. No one should be under any illusions about what we're going to face here. Our final jump will take us intra-atmosphere less than two klicks above the surface. We're also expecting to take heavy fire. Simulations indicate losses of up to 20% can be expected. That's why this mission is designated as 2-alpha by the command authority. It's volunteer only. You want out... now's the time. It's hard to believe now, but if you have faith, everything will turn out exactly as it should. I don't like to lose. Have faith. I am about to face public humiliation. And you are singing the same old song. I'm a little tired of the melody. Um... sorry about the mess. It's, um... bit of a ritual superstition, really. I used to do this before testifying at committee hearings. I take... memorise a talking point, then tear the card... ..let the pieces fall as they may. It helps. My father used to break pencils before he went into court, then borrow one from the clerk. Break preconceptions, work with what you have. You know, I like that. Let me see. I like it. It's good. Feel better? Yeah. But what happens if the, uh, moderator doesn't have a pencil? Then you're pretty screwed. (CHOKES BACK LAUGHTER) Oh, no. (STIFLES GIGGLES) Oh, no! I used to get the giggles before debating... in high school. (KNOCK ON DOOR) Yes. It's time, Madam President. Thank you, Tory. (SHRIEK OF LAUGHTER) The captured Cylon Heavy Raider is capable of much longer jumps than our Raptors. If we could install a Heavy Raider navigational system aboard one of our Raptors, a strike team could make the entire trip back to Caprica in less than ten jumps. Now, the limiting factor up until now has been our inability in install the Cylon computer with our computer. That obstacle has now been overcome. She's here to help us. She's gonna lay out our navigational markers and update our jump coordinates. Anyone have a problem with that? You've been chosen to lead these people by Almighty God. It will happen. Like the baby happened? The one I was destined to protect? Don't let your anger drive you into blasphemy, Gaius. The election's still two weeks away. Get your act together. You ready? Yeah, I was just taking a little nap. Chief? (LOUD CLANG) This is our mission. It's our duty to the people we left behind. And if we need to use a Cylon to get them back, so be it. This is about trying to get as many survivors off Caprica as we can. Even so, it's still 2-alpha. Anyone want to eject? Commander on deck. Don't worry. I won't be long. I want to hear it too. You just have to try to think about something serious. It always helps. Right? Like what? Well, like, uh... (THEY LAUGH) Great. No one has ever attempted a rescue mission from this distance, much less behind enemy lines. You'll be making history just by making the attempt. But bring these people back from Caprica... ..and you'll be making part of the future. Questions. If you guys find Earth before we get back, will you save us a few seats? Earth? If we find any rock with food and water, I'll build you a bar! Alright. I told you I wouldn't be long. Mr Gaeta, turn on the wireless Let these people hear what fun they'll miss for the next five days. 'We are just minutes from the start of the first presidential debate... You OK? ..Roslin and Vice President Giaus Baltar...' Can I go now? Corporal Masters. 'All questions were submitted by members of the civilian fleet, so please stay tuned as we get set for the first presidential debate.' 'The atmosphere is tense as we await the two candidates and their aides.' 'The real pressure will be on Vice President Baltar tonight.' Chief? Now here comes Vice President Gaius Baltar into the room, uh, as we, uh, we await Madam President. Laura Roslin is very much ahead in the polls at this point. We believe that, uh... she's entering shortly, but still waiting for her. ..Baltar blindsighted her when he launched his candidacy a month ago. Dr Baltar, one of the most brilliant scientific minds of his generation and played a critical role in saving the human race from the Cylon threat. Yes, here comes the President now. Laura Roslin has entered the room. I'm going to wipe the floor with you, Gaius. You must be losing your mind again. If that's the best you can do you're in a lot of trouble. Good luck. How you doing? You OK? Sharon. Don't shut me out. Not now. Something dark is coming, Helo. I can feel it. I can feel it lurking out there, waiting. What do you mean? Back on Caprica? No. Not on the mission. Not any... specific thing. It's more like a dark time. Chief? Aaaah! (SCREAMING AND THUMPING) HELP!! (THUNDER RUMBLES) - Brrrrr. There's COVID and other nasties out this winter, so mask up. If you're sick, get tested and rug up at home, Chief Tyrol, I am Brother Cavill. I understand you've asked for religious counselling. I never really believed in psych therapy. My father was a priest. You thought you'd have an easier time with a priest than a doctor. OK. I pray to the gods... every night. But I don't think they listen to me. Do you know how useless prayer is? Chanting and singing and mucking about with old half-remembered lines of bad poetry. And you know what it gets you? Exactly nothing. Are you sure you're a priest? I've been preaching longer than you've been sucking down oxygen. And in that time, I've learned enough to know that the gods don't answer prayers. We're here on our own. That's the way they set things up. We have to find our own answers, our own way out of the wilderness without a nice little sunny path all laid out in front of us in advance. That's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to find my way. It won't get better until you see the problem. And the problem is, you're screwed up, heart and mind. You. Not the gods or fate or the universe. You. Thanks for the pep talk. Hey. Hey. Um... I just wanted to say, um... Good hunting. Thank you, sir. Yeah, it's a good plan. It's a good plan. Sharon should be able to jump you into the atmosphere a couple of klicks above the surface. Below the Cylon Dradis. I know the plan, Lee. I wrote it. I-I gotta go. I hope you find him, Kara. I really do. So do I. From the Colonial Dispatch ` "Last night's debate only solidified the perception that Dr Baltar, for all his charm, is essentially an empty suit when it comes to matters of policy." The press is getting it right for a change. Don't forget, the radical religious charge is dangerous. It may be a low blow, but it's the only issue he's got any traction on. He'll keep exploiting it. He needs something bigger than that. If he wants to make it central to his campaign, it's not going to work You gotta keep hitting her on the religious thing. Every time we go there, you score points and we move the polls in our direction. I'm not sure if you're aware, Tom, but the mob isn't usually in the habit of electing ungodly apostates who denigrate people of faith. Things are gonna turn around. You'll see. He's right. Listen to him. Of course! Of course, how blind I'm being. Thank you. Yes. "Things are going to turn around, you'll see." What is that, advice? Well, thank you. Thank for your keen insight, your astounding political acumen. I'm so assured, Tom, I'm just going to sit back and wait for the hand of God to reach down and change my political fortunes. How about that? 'Galactica, Starbuck.' Squadron confirms readiness check. We are ready for the first jump. 'You are go for the jump, Starbuck.' Roger that. Jump in ten minutes. Mark. Galactica, I'd like to speak with Actual. Sir? Actual. Go. Did I ever say thank you? No. Then again, that would be a first, wouldn't it? (LAUGHS) Thank you. Just come back in one piece. That'll be thank you enough. Good hunting. Actual out. Sar team, Starbuck. Set navcon inputs to coordinate recheck. Standby for stabilisation routines. Let's do a final check, people. 'Headcase, check. Swordsman, check.' I still can't believe you talked me into this. It's important. And I'll be with you there and back. It's you and me from now on, no matter what. Just like we agreed. I know. I know. I really appreciate it, Helo, I really do. (NAME CHECK CONTINUES IN BACKGROUND) I just can't get her out of my head. Our little girl. Is there a problem? (CHECK CONTINUES) Racetrack, check. 'Callon, check.' Wireless check complete. Board is green and we are set. Sharon, you're on. Ready. Sar team, Starbuck. Standby to jump on my mark. Five... Here we go. Four, three, two, one. Commence the first jump. This doesn't look right. No other contacts on Dradis. What? Oh, man! We're at the wrong jump coordinates. Frak! Helo, we've lost someone already. It's Racetrack. So we go back? Mission rules say we keep going unless we lose three. We keep going. Racetrack will just have to find her way back to base. Helluva way to start, though. Let's talk about what happened. I can't really believe it. Cally. I don't understand how I could do that... to Cally. It's a... nightmare. She said you were asleep when she found you. Were you having a nightmare when she woke you up? I don't remember. Oh. Been having any recurring dreams lately? No. OK. That's what we in the pray trade call a lie. And lies won't get you anywhere, my friend. So skip over the denials and the deceptions and let's get right down to it, shall we? You're having dreams. What are they? Tell me about your dream, Chief. Every night... EVERY night, it's the same. For how long? Couple of weeks. And you were having the same dream when Cally woke you up, weren't you? I don't know. I don't remember. Maybe. It doesn't matter, does it? All I remember is Cally on the... ground and the blood. She stopped you. By waking you up, she prevented you from carrying out your secret desire to kill yourself. I don't have a secret desire to kill myself. Actually, you're right. It's not a secret. You obviously want to kill yourself. Question is why. I think there was a glitch in the navcom firmware. Bottom line, we're to hell and gone from where we should be, skipper. OK, um, any chance that we can still catch up with them? Not a chance. Mission rules say we head back. Frak me! It was the first jump! Hey, you gave me these coordinates. Back to the barn. Hey... I am picking up a large planetary body. It's frakkin' close. Where'd that come from? Hell, if I know. So much Dradis interference, it didn't even register. Check this out. Atmosphere is nitrogen/oxygen. Organic molecular spectra. Fresh water! Hey, you know what this is? It's habitable. We may have just found a world that can support human life. Maybe we're not just a bunch of frak-ups, after all. Climate readings overall are within human norms. Uh, there's some extremes at the poles that we couldn't withstand but that's not unusual. Well done. Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. This mottled area here at the river mouth is probably a delta. Chances are, we've got significant plant and animal life. So, lots of nice, low passes across here. I hear the Pegasus survey mission found wildlife. Fruit trees. Rivers of milk and honey. You forgot the lakes of ambrosia. Most of the planet's actually pretty barren. Plant and animal life located in a temperate belt around the equator. The best part is, with all the Dradis interference from the nebula, the Cylons will probably never find it. Who cares about this stupid planet anyway? Song and dance over nothing. Less than 20% of that place actually supports human life so... You're not seeing the big picture. This is your new home. The place where you will lead a new life. This is the future, Gaius. Now there's a depressing thought. What's that? Oh, nothing, Tom. Just, uh... Can you imagine if we actually had to live on that thing? You... are a genius. And? Pay attention. You're about to win the election. I'm sorry. What were you saying, Tom? We needed an issue. Something to set us apart from Roslin. Something to put her clearly on the wrong side of a major issue... that people care passionately about. This is it. Permanent settlement on this planet. Permanent...settlement. Here? Have you lost your marbles? It may look dreary, it may BE dreary, but it's solid ground and a real sky over your head. That's a powerful idea to people cooped up in a box for 9 months. You should listen to him, Gaius. He's a smart, sexy man, just like you. Oh, give up. What? Give up on Earth. Yes. So we'd settle... here. Yes. It's starting to look like a lovely, little planet after all. (WHOOSH!) (POP!) This is a rest stop. A place to load up on food and water. We're not settling here. The captain reports every ship in the fleet has people begging, demanding they touch down. If only for a few hours. A few hours is OK, but permanent settlement's quite another. Suddenly Baltar's dreaming of breathing real air, growing real food, sleeping in a bed instead of a bunk. Living in a house instead of a ship. It's a fantasy. Look at the mission reports. The data indicates life on there would be hard. A struggle to eke out a living for a few years. Today's polls show he's making headway with the idea that because the planet's hidden in a nebula, it'll provide a refuge from the Cylons. Are we now assuming that Cylon technology is not sufficient to find this planet? We just found it. Madam President, I believe people vote hopes, not fears. Baltar is offering what they want to hear, you're offering them a bitter reality. I'm offering them the truth. They don't want it. They're tried. Exhausted. The idea of stopping, laying down their burdens, and starting a new life is what is resonating with the voters. How well is it resonating? It could turn the entire election around. Why are you running? I'm not. How long are you going to do this? How long are you gonna refuse to see what's right in front of your face? Forget it. I'm done. What, you're... you're leaving? That's right. I'm done. I'm done dancing around the truth with you. You know what's going on. But you can't, or won't, face it. I'm not a therapist. I'm not gonna hold your hand. I'm just trying to get you right with yourself and with your gods, but you're not willing to do it. I dunno what you're talking about. Oh, for gods' sake, chief! Come on! You think you're a Cylon. I am not a Cylon. Well, of course you're not. But that's what you're afraid of, isn't it? That you might be a Cylon and not know it. Just like Boomer, right? Right? That's the thought that's torturing your dreams and crippling your soul. I'm a Cylon, just like Sharon, and I deserve to die. Sharon didn't know what she was. She just kept thinking... feeling that she was going to do this terrible thing. But she knew that she had to stop herself before she did. And you think that's what you're going to do. Some terrible thing. Well, the truth is, you might. But not because you're a Cylon, but because you're a human being, and human beings do terrible things all the time. But how do you know I'm human? Oh, maybe because I'M a Cylon, and I've never seen you at the meetings. There's not much more I can do for you. You're gonna have to go back to work and try and leave this behind you. No. I... I can't. I can't go back and face the deck people again. And Cally? Well, you'd better. That's the only family you've got. Just know that that's your family and they love you. Even Cally. Especially Cally. If you doubt your humanity and your essential nature as a human being, look to them for the salvation you've been seeking from the gods. The gods lift up those who lift each other, Chief. Sar team, Starbuck. We are set here. Stand by for final jump to Caprica. Remember, we are going very low to the surface. Be prepared for wind shear, rain, storms... anything. "Roger that, Starbuck." Ready. Ready. Here we go. Jump! Sar team, Starbuck. Form up on me. "Copy that, skipper." Any Cylons, Helo? Nothing on, Dradis. Wait a minute, wait a minute... Missing a Raptor. I'm only reading 17 out there. We're missing Raptor 6-12. That's Toughguy and Carousel. They jumped to the wrong coordinates? No, I'm picking up their transponder so they made it. Bearing 827, carom 443. About a half klick from here. That'd put them... Oh, my gods... Where, Helo?! Talk to me! They jumped inside the mountain. (Damn.) Sar team, Starbuck. We've lost Raptor 6-12. We are proceeding without them. Follow me. "Roger that, Starbuck." So, surely my position and that of my campaign is abundantly clear. Madam President, you have 30 seconds to respond. Well, my initial response is there he goes again. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, Dr Baltar is distorting the real issues before us. The issue here, the real question, is not allowing the scriptures to dictate the policy of this government. The question is do the scriptures contain real world relevance? Do they contain the information necessary to guide us to a safer home than some completely unknown planet that we've just now discovered? Obviously, my answer to that question is yes. I feel that the scriptures hold real world relevance. Mr Vice President, the next question is for you. How do you respond to the charges that you seized the idea of permanent settlement on this planet as an opportunistic gamble, some would say a desperate move in a campaign that was falling behind in every poll? Well, you know that is... that is an excellent question. Thank you. I'm only glad to have the opportunity to respond to it. I've long been a proponent in the search for Earth. The promise of perhaps finding not only a new home, but of finding long-lost brothers and sisters of the 13th colony is a powerful one, and one I believe in heart and soul. But the trouble is, the Cylons continue to follow us, as they have done, EVERY step of the way. Since the destruction of the colonies. And if we have a chance to change this dynamic, to stop this deadly chase, shouldn't we take it? My answer is yes. Thank you. Madam President, 30 seconds. There's no assurance, whatsoever, that the Cylons don't already know about this planet. That they don't make regular stops here looking for us. That they aren't simply waiting for us to settle so they can... I have to respond to that. I simply have to. You have 15 seconds. What you see right now, ladies and gentlemen, is another example of the President using fear to drive her campaign. Fear. Fear of the gods. Fear of the Cylon. Fear of fear itself. Is it not time to stop being afraid? I'm asking all of us to stop running from our lives and start living them. Thank you. Thank you. That is all we have time for today. I'd like to thank both candidates for their frankness in an exciting debate. This concludes the cycle of the debates for the presidency. The polls open in 3 days. Please vote. Thank you and good night. Not your night, I guess. Why don't you go frak yourself? "With me now is campaign manager for Dr Baltar, Mr Tom Zarek." "Tom, welcome. You were in there today - what was your impression?" "Well, I thought Dr Baltar did exceptionally well." "Laid out his vision of the future, and offered people an end to the suffering and terror that defines so many lives." "I found myself wondering how Roslin's arguments against settlement could possibly win." (INDISTINCT WHISPERED COMMUNICATIONS) Let's figure out where we are, Karl. Resistance base camp... We're still another klick ahead. Movement, 11 o'clock. Friendlies? You got a Samuel T Anders there? Is there a Kara Thrace there? If there is, tell her she took her sweet time getting here. Friendlies. What took you so long? We got marines and Raptors. We're gonna get you all out of here, OK? As good as your word, huh? Good as my frakkin' word. You thought I'd leave you here? You feel like a big frakkin' idiot? So just shut up and save us, OK? Hey, this is nice, but we've toasters on our ass. Where are the rest of your people? This is it. Toasters hit our base camp this morning. Got half my crew. Incoming! BACK TO THE RAPTORS! No! Shell path's between us and the Raptors. We're cut off! (INDISTINCT SHOUTS / EXPLOSIONS) IMS Subtitles Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air.