Talen (TOS-RH)

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Talen is a mysterious robed woman who serves as a guide and caretaker in the underground city of Kobol.

Biography

First encounter

Talen first appears to Apollo, Athena, Cain, and Gar'Tokk as they explore Kobol's underground city. Leading a group of robed figures, she emerges from a stone passageway. All the robed figures wear humble clothes with faces concealed by cowls, but Talen's cowl does not conceal her eyes of radiant green that immediately capture Apollo's attention. He feels his breath catch, sensing something about her that puts him at ease, something as familiar as home.

When she introduces herself, her voice strikes Apollo like "a snatch of song" he had once heard long ago but cannot quite place. Commander Cain, demonstrating his gentlemanly manner, takes Talen's hand and kisses the back of it, thanking her for the Colonial Fleet's hospitality. Talen responds charmingly to the flattery.

When Athena bluntly states they were under the impression Kobol had not been home to humans for millennia, Talen nods and cryptically responds, "Not home as you may know it," proving herself to be as enigmatic as Segis. Gar'Tokk attempts to catch her scent but detects only burning ozone, which neither represents danger nor provides reassurance.

Talen favors Apollo with a smile that seems as familiar to him as Segis' laugh. This sense of déjà vu does not alarm Apollo; rather, it makes him feel whole. When Apollo asks if Segis is with them, Talen places her palm flat against one of the featureless stones forming the base of the largest pyramid.

Role as guide

As the group tours the underground mirror city—a precise replica of ancient Kobol built by following the old city plans—Talen walks two paces behind Segis, as if she is not of equal station but rather Segis's servant. Apollo finds himself walking beside Talen with Athena on his other side. He repeatedly steals surreptitious glances at her, feeling like an infatuated adolescent smitten with the prettiest female in his class. Several times she glances his way as well, though Apollo cannot determine if this is because she feels his eyes upon her or because she shares his feelings.

When Apollo asks to see the ancient writings that prophesied the Fleet's arrival, Talen smiles more brightly at him. However, when Segis mentions that the ancient writings also prophesied a great commander would lead humans into final battle with the Cylons and reclaim the colonies, Talen looks down and averts her eyes from Apollo's, her smile vanishing.

Mysterious connection

Apollo later encounters Talen alone in the underground city. He confronts her directly, explaining that he has the feeling they know each other, that she seems familiar to him, and that he keeps seeing her in his mind and in his dreams. Talen continues to meet his gaze silently, neither smiling nor frowning, giving no hint of her thoughts or feelings. Eventually Apollo must avert his eyes, feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable. As he prepares to leave with Gar'Tokk, Talen calls after him: "Choose wisely."

These words freeze Apollo in his tracks, as Adama had said the very same thing to him during a vision. When Apollo turns back to question her, Talen has vanished.

Glass city journey

Talen later guides Apollo through the crystalline glass city deep within Kobol. She leads him to a circular glass platform at the edge of an abyss, which carries him through the underground sky in spiraling loops and arcs, winding down toward the base of the glass city. The disc eventually sets him down in the central area of the subterranean metropolis, where Apollo discovers the city is a techno-organic hybrid that may be one massive computer chip.

Final moments

During the evacuation of Kobol as the planet prepares to self-destruct, Talen coordinates the Fleet's departure from a shipping port platform. She informs Apollo that the Fleet's QSE technology has been modified. When Apollo tries to engage her with questions, Talen explains there is no time and that he needs to join his fleet quickly.

When trapped Colonials face advancing Cylon forces in a cavern, Apollo prays to the Lords of Kobol for aid. In seeming response, Talen appears at Apollo's side, though no one sees her approach—she is simply there. Apollo asks what to do, but her only response is a peace-giving smile as she gazes at him intensely with eyes "as bright as the city of glass around them." Her eyes seem to look into him, beyond him, passing through him like cosmic rays, touching something buried deep in his subconscious and stirring it to wakeful life. This enables Apollo to suddenly translate ancient Kobollian text and voice the musical notes that open a crystalline wall, allowing the Colonials to escape.

True identity

As the final evacuation proceeds, Apollo steps off the ferry and moves near Talen, feeling a strong reaction building between them like an electrical charge. After she tells him to join his fleet quickly, Apollo protests that she cannot brush him off, stating he has too many questions. As Talen begins to dissolve through the crystalline wall sealing the shipping port, Apollo runs after her. She stands halfway through the wall as Apollo presses close, his face only centimetrons from hers, near enough to kiss. He asks, "Who are you?"

Talen smiles and replies, "Someone who has loved you for an eternity." Her features then flow and rearrange themselves, revealing her original form: Serina—"the one great love of Apollo's life," the face he had known in his dreams even before he was born, before he met her, before he fell in love with her. It is the face that still came to him night after night, the ghost that still haunted his heart. (RH: Resurrection)

Notes

• Talen's true nature as Serina's spirit or a manifestation of the Lords of Kobol is deliberately left ambiguous, though she serves the Lords' purposes in testing and guiding Apollo and the Fleet.
• Gar'Tokk's inability to detect her scent beyond burning ozone suggests Talen may not be fully corporeal or human in her manifestation on Kobol.