Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck 2

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Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck #2 An issue of the Dynamite series.
Issue No.	2
Writer(s)	Tony Lee
Illustrator(s)	{{{illustrator}}}
Penciller(s)
Inker(s)	Eman Casallos
Colorist(s)	Davi Correia (pages); Adriano Lucas (cover)
Letterer(s)	Joshua Cozine
Editor(s)
Collection Design	{{{designer}}}
Cover Artist(s)	Sean Chen
Adaptation of
Published	December 2013
Collects
Collected in	Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck
Reprints
Reprinted as
Pages	{{{pages}}}
ISBN	725130209306
Population	0 Survivors
Special	{{{special}}}
Chronology
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Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck 1	Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck #2	Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck 3
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The origin of Lt. Starbuck continues, told by #1 New York Times best-selling author Tony Lee! Two years before the attack on Cimtar, Starbuck has hit rock bottom—but when a clue to the Cylon spy behind the attack on Umbra appears, Starbuck finally has a chance to gain justice for his parents. Can Starbuck and Apollo find the spy before the Cylons stop them?

Plot

This issue is set entirely two yahrens before the attack at Cimtar.

Galactica

• Lieutenant Apollo begins his landing approach to Galactica as his patrol has ended, and is furious over Ensign Starbuck ditching him as his assigned wingman.
• Upon landing he continues his tirade to Flight Sergeant Jolly, who attempts to calm Apollo who rightly notes that if it comes out that Starbuck missed another patrol, the Colonial Military will pull his wings.
• While attempting to convince Apollo that Starbuck likely had a good reason, Jolly is interrupted by another crew member. She reports that Starbuck was last reported taking the Erin Dream back to Caprica.
• Apollo is further incensed at knowing that Starbuck is on a casino barge and orders Jolly to have Cadet Zac report to him at the commuter hub, with the designs to pursue Starbuck.
• Jolly pleads with Apollo to talk to Colonel Adama first, as there is something Apollo has yet to be told.
• After meeting up with Adama, Tigh and Zac, Apollo is told that Starbuck's Starbuck's foster parents were killed in a Cylon raid the week prior. Starbuck did not find out until today, and Apollo angrily extols that Starbuck should have told him.
• Tigh brings up the fact that Starbuck hasn't been "this bad" since Wyler died, and Apollo recalls a story regarding Starbuck's attempts to grieve: by being inebriated and buck-naked in a Piscerian sweatlodge, claiming he was the "King of Sagiteria".
• Apollo recruits Zac to come with him, in the hopes of getting to Starbuck before there's another incident.

Astral Utopia, Caprica

• Starbuck is intoxicated, asking for another drink from the bartender. However, Kandi, a waitress runs into Starbuck and begins an altercation relating to another woman that Starbuck was dating behind Kandi's back: Desire.
• Security at the Astral Utopia go boot Starbuck from the premises for drunken disorderly and harassment of staff. Starbuck fights back and is knocked senseless, but Apollo arrives with his laser pistol drawn to stop the beating.
• Zac and Apollo carry Starbuck out of the establishment, and return him to Galactica.

Galactica

• Starbuck is thrown in a shower to sober up. After getting to a decent point, Apollo and Starbuck discuss what transpired. Starbuck emotes that he is now once again an orphan without a family, which Apollo takes considerable exception to as Apollo and his entire family have been there for Starbuck.
• During the fight, Apollo relents that if it weren't for his family, Starbuck would have been drummed out of the service by this point. The conversation ends when Starbuck informs Apollo that his family's intervention is no longer required.
• While mourning his poor choice of words at his personal locker, he comes across the old data chip given to him yahrens ago by McKintosh. Mourning for his foster parents, he is reminded of McKintosh's claims regarding the fact that Umbra's defense net was taken offline to allow the Cylon to attack.
• Starbuck takes the data chip to Boomer in Galactica's server room. Boomer chastises Starbuck for being pulled from flight rotation, while Starbuck is gun-ho on getting information from the chip.
• Boomer plans to run the chip's contents through the Aerian datanet in the hopes of pulling something of value, but it will take some time. He tells Starbuck to come back at the end of the day, and encourages him to take the time to apologize to Apollo and others.

Aerian Administration Hub

• Diana, daughter and aide of Council Member Osiris, extricates Osiris from an agro agreement meeting aboard the Aerian Administration Hub. She informs him that someone has pinged the Aerian datanet in an attempt to decrypt a video file relating to Umbra.
• Osiris orders Diana to deal with the new Umbra leak with "zero tolerance, zero compassion. End it once and for all."

Galactica

• Boomer continues his work on the contents of the data chip. Boomer manages to open up the video file, but is interrupted by an unknown person. Initially believing it to be either Starbuck or Jolly, he comes across a time-bomb and attempts to leave the server room before it explodes.
• Boomer is knocked unconscious by the concussion of the explosive, as he is thrown across the room trying warn others of the bomb.
• In the medical bay, Colonel Adama speaks to the doctor about Boomer's condition. Boomer has been placed into a medical coma to aid the healing process, and only suffered bruises, burns and a concussion. He is fortunate to be alive as, had the bomb been aboard any other ship, the hull would have ruptured.
• Adama places Lieutenant Apollo in charge of the investigation. Ensign Starbuck blames himself, and informs Apollo about the data chip and how the server room just happens to explode as Boomer worked on decrypting it.
• They go to the damaged server room, and recover the detonator. Apollo continues to question Starbuck on what happened, and Starbuck surmises that someone from Aeries was responsible for the attack on Umbra, and the bombing attempt to cover up what Boomer may have had uncovered.
• Apollo and Starbuck are fired upon by an unknown assailant, much to their surprise as they are on board a battlestar. They pursue the assailant to discover that it is a lone woman, who eludes them as she escapes into a busy crowd at the transport hub.

Aerian Administration Hub

• Diana reports to Osiris, who is thoroughly displeased at the act of terrorism upon a Colonial battlestar and the fact that she tried to kill two Warriors in the process. He believes the consequences will lead not only to a belief that the Cylons have a spy aboard Galactica, but they'll also interrupt his trade deals.
• Diana reveals her discovery that Starbuck was in possession of the data chip, and is aware of McKintosh's pendant. Assuming that he has the remaining pendant, she believes he will not stop as what happened on Umbra is personal.
• Diana has taken the liberty of contacting the Cylons, who will attack Starbuck during his next patrol with terminal force. Osiris claims that if Starbuck still survives, he wants to meet Starbuck personally.

Galactica Patrol and On

• Starbuck and Apollo are out on patrol when three Cylon Raiders arrive, leading to the confirmation that the patrol's coordinates were leaked.
• A firefight ensues, leading to the destruction of two of the three Raiders. The Viper pilots allow the survivor to retreat, in the hopes of the traitor showing their hand.
• Upon returning from their patrol, Flight Sergeant Jolly informs Starbuck that Councilor Osiris desire to speak to him.
• Starbuck scoffs at Apollo's suggestion of backup, and informs Apollo that he'll be flying his own Viper in. Apollo tells Starbuck that a Viper fleet will be waiting, should anything occur.
• Starbuck acquires landing clearance to the Aerian Administration Hub.

Aerian Administration Hub

• Diana meets Starbuck after he disembarks from his Viper. He notes that she looks familiar, to which she replies that she was also a cadet the same time he was, but a yahren behind him.
• Diana escorts Starbuck to his meeting with Osiris. He begins by welcoming Starbuck, offering his condolences on the loss of Starbuck's foster parents and asking if they had been close. Starbuck replies that, in the end, the Fleet became his family at the end. Starbuck also wryly adds that Osiris hadn't simply asked for his presence to offer condolences to those who lost family in sneak attacks, otherwise the line would be "a milelong."
• Osiris confirms that Starbuck's presence was not requested for just that, but first offers Starbuck both a drink and a smoke. Osiris boasts that his humidor has the finest fumerellos in the Colonies. Starbuck accepts this offer.
• As they sit at a couch, Osiris notes Starbuck's pendant. Starbuck boasts that he won it at a pyramid game yahrens ago, but it "recently became very important to me." He also boasts that there are two other things of importance to him: the curve of a woman's back and finding the people who aided the Cylons in destroying Umbra.
• Osiris tips his hand when he asks Starbuck, "And when you find that person?", which Starbuck notes. Osiris is enraged, which quickly leads to the end of the meeting.
• After Starbuck assures Osiris that he'll be investigating Osiris's whereabouts the night Umbra fell, Osiris attempts to assure Starbuck that he's looking too much into their meeting, and "only wanted to meet a pilot from Umbra."
• Following Starbuck's leave, Osiris surmises that he must have McKintosh's data and that Starbuck needs to be dealt with. Diana assures Osiris that using both the fingerprints from the glass and the half-smoked fumerello that Starbuck left behind, he will be wanted for murder "within the hour.

After the Meeting

• In the Astral Utopia, Kandi receives word from another dice girl that a pilot by the name of Starbuck is outside asking for her, and that they have a big bouquet of flowers. Kandi goes to meet Starbuck, only to find Diana. After briefly toying with her, Diana kills Kandi and begins her plan for Starbuck to have a "really bad day."
• Meanwhile, en route back to Galactica, Starbuck questions why Osiris had been interested in the pendant even though the data chip was gone.
• Still en route, Starbuck informs Apollo that the meeting with Osiris lead to more questions, as well as the distinct impression that Osiris knew more than he let on. Apollo suggests they act quickly before Osiris suspects what they're up to. As Starbuck approaches Galactica, he tells Apollo that he has a "really good feeling about today."

Notes

Nods

• This is the "first" time that Starbuck would be set up for a murder to protect the misdeeds of a Cylon traitor by their aide. The "second" time would occur during the events of "Murder on the Rising Star," wherein Karibdis (yet another aide) set up Starbuck in the hopes of evading detection as a traitor. In both instances, a certain someone would be the one to assist Starbuck in clearing his name.
• Starbuck's "juggling" of multiple women is a theme continued throughout the series, namely with Cassiopeia and Athena from "Saga of a Star World" to later episodes, such as "The Long Patrol".
• The use of bubble memory is a nod to the type of memory used in computing from the 1970s era, when the Original Series was produced. This type of memory would later be abandoned at the beginning of the 1980s as better memory types were established, such as flash memory.

Errata

• As with other entries in the Dynamite Entertainment comics, a mix of Re-Imagined Series and Original Series terminologies occurs:
  • The backgrounds of the Viper bay on battlestar Galactica are those of the hangar deck from the Re-imagined Series.
  • The Warrior uniforms feature shoulder patches on both shoulders, but it should only appear on the right shoulder on Warrior uniforms.
  • The Vipers depicted are visually more in line with the Re-imagined Series Mark II Viper than the Original Series counterpart.
  • Civilians wear contemporary clothing (modern suits with ties, vests, tank tops, red dresses, t-shirts) as opposed to the distinct Egyptian-esque clothing designed by Jean-Pierre Dorleac.
• The use of the terms "hour" and "mile" to denote time and distance are improper, for the terms should be "centon" and "metric" respectively.
• Colonials also use terms mirroring use of the metric system, so "mile" is also doubly incorrect.

Analysis

• Security is noticeably lax on Galactica, not only allowing Diana to board and successfully smuggle a bomb aboard, but also to get away with little fanfare. This would continue multiple times in the series proper, including "The Man with Nine Lives" when Borellian Nomen board Galactica to kill Chameleon.
• Starbuck's drunken bouts of self-pity and gregarious womanizing recur many times in the course of this comic, which only serve to cause problems for him later on. This is in keeping with the character's depiction in the series proper, including "Murder on the Rising Star" (where Starbuck is framed for the murder of a rival) and "Take the Celestra" (where Starbuck is foiled by a mutinous ex-girlfriend).
• The Colonial Military continues its poor discipline standards, and nepotism abounds with the same family unit serving aboard one battlestar—Zac, Apollo, and Athena, all under the command of their father, Adama.
• Apollo and Adama's preferential treatment of Starbuck—particularly when other pilots would have been drummed out of the service for similar derelictions of duty—clearly lead to degradation of operational discipline and military effectiveness.
• The treasonous motives of both Osiris and Diana are not in any way fleshed out, in keeping with the tradition of established story telling in the series proper. There is a vague insinuation of power acquisition, and perhaps it could be argued that the Cylons also agreed to spare Osiris' colony of Aeries (assuming that the Cylons gave them the same deal as the one they gave Baltar), but is is paper-thin as motivation.
  • Regarding Baltar, Osiris derisively notes "that greasy tylium trader Baltar is almost humping my leg for a seat at the table." Baltar will not appear until Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck 3.
• McKintosh's data chip and corresponding pendant, first featured in Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck 1, serve as either a continual McGuffin or a Chekhov's Gun. In fact, one could say that the name of "McKintosh" is a nod to that particular point.

Questions

• Why would anyone betray their homeworlds to the Cylons?
• What is so special about McKintosh's pendant, even with the data chip component removed?
• Why would McKintosh still be alive after all of these years?
• What did Osiris do to assist the Cylons into attacking Umbra?
• What made Umbra a target?
• Were either Osiris or Diana involved with future sneak attacks, such as those that took the lives of Starbuck's foster parents?

Noteworthy Dialogue

• As an unidentified assailant fires on Apollo and Starbuck in Galactica's server room:

  Starbuck: Who's shooting at us? We're on Galactica?

  Apollo: I don't know — How many people do you owe money to, currently?

• As the unidentified assailant flees:

  Starbuck: Am I seeing things? Is that a girl shooting at us?

  Apollo: A girl? Well it's to be expected — I've always said it'd be an ex-girlfriend that tries to kill you.

• As Starbuck defends himself from a Cylon ambush:

  Starbuck: Please, Apollo — Please tell me how to kill Cylons.

  Apollo: Watch your six, Starbuck!

  Starbuck: Don't just tell me — do something about it!

  Apollo: (after destroying the Raider on Starbuck's tail) You didn't have to beg.

Gallery

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  Colorized cover.
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External links

• Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck #2 at Dynamite Entertainment