The Captain's Hand

"The Captain's Hand" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
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Overview

When two Raptors go missing after a training mission, new Pegasus commander Barry Garner challenges Admiral Adama's orders by sending his battlestar directly into the rescue zone--and a trap.

Summary

• Two Raptors begin a training mission outside Pegasus, which is near a binary star, causing DRADIS and communications interference. In the C.I.C., the Raptors disappear from DRADIS, the Comm officer believing that they may be in distress.

• On Galactica, Chief Tyrol and the deck crew are in the process of unloading containers, Tyrol finds a pregnant teenager who asks for Dr. Cottle.

• Lee Adama arrives on the battlestar Pegasus, where he runs into Kara Thrace. Lee has been promoted to Major, and both report to Commander Garner in the C.I.C. Garner is quick to chew out now-Captain Thrace over the disapperance of the Raptors.

• Commander Garner and Major Adama talk in private about the discipline on Pegasus. Garner thinks that Starbuck is a huge part of the problem, but Adama defends her, citing her excellent piloting skills. Garner thinks that the virtues learned in his experience as an engineer would do the ship some good.

• On Colonial One, President Roslin is being hounded by her new aide, Tory Foster, about preparing for the coming election. Elsewhere, Tom Zarek discusses the idea of presidency, however concedes he's not able to garner support, but is willing to support someone more scientific: Dr. Baltar.

• Back on Galactica, Dr. Cottle & Admiral Adama discuss the fate of the young woman found in the container, Rya. Rya mentions the fact that she doesn't want to keep the baby, but Admiral Adama (upon request from the Gemenese delegate) is intent on sending her back to her family. Dr. Cottle suggests that she request asylum aboard Galactica.

• News of Rya's asylum request has raised a stir amongst the Fleet. President Roslin discusses the issue with Admiral Adama, Tory Foster, and Delegate Sarah Porter from Gemenon. Delegate Porter mentions that the abortion is a obscenity and demands that the girl be returned to her parents. Officially, President Roslin responds by saying the asylum request is under review. Afterwards, President Roslin mentions she's not willing to even consider the idea of abortion. She eventually announces to the fleet an Executive Order making abortion by mother or doctor subject to criminal arrest.

• While reviewing the last transmissions from the Raptors, Starbuck makes a startling discovery, in that the reason for the disappearance may be the result of answering a supposed distress call. She attempts to bring this up with Commander Garner, who flatly rejects the theory.

• At the last known position, the additional search parties learn of the distress call that lured the first Raptors away. Commander Garner decides to start preparing the Pegasus for jump.

• Over wireless, Commander Garner, Major Adama, and Admiral Adama discuss the missing raptor situation. Commander Garner feels that the Pegasus should jump to bring home the missing crews and ships. When the Admiral asks Lee if he concurs, Lee discusses Starbuck's theory that the raptor were drawn into a Cylon trap. Admiral Adama is inclined to agree with the Major and Starbuck, and orders a recon mission to ascertain the fate of the two raptors. Garner is furious over the decision, and orders Major Adama off the C.I.C.

• Garner decides to make the jump regardless of Adama's orders. Raptors are launched from Pegasus towards the now located raptors, only to find both Raptor crews dead. At that moment, three Basestar jump into view which begin attacking Pegasus with conventional and nuclear missile barrages seconds after their arrival.

• During the course of the assault, Pegasus' FTL drive is disabled. Garner attempts to determine the cause from C.I.C., but is unable to do so due to the confusion of the Engineering crew. Commander Garner decides to head down to the engine room to ascertain the damage, and transfers command of Pegasus to Major Adama. Adama, after a moment of hesitation, swings into action, ordering Pegasus into the fray, closing with one of the Basestars and engaging it with the forward batteries, severely damaging the Cylon ship.

• Through Garner's successful repair of their FTL system, Pegasus manages to jump away. Commander Garner, however, dies in the process from vaccum exposure, as the chamber he was in had a slow-leaking hull breach.

• In Admiral Adama's quarters, the Admiral and Major Adama review the reports from the incident on Pegasus. After pointing out that Lee was more forgiving of the late Commander than Starbuck was, Admiral Adama asks what Garner's fatal flaw was. Lee responds that Garner was accustomed to working with machines, but that command is about people. The Admiral asks Lee to keep that in mind, as he offers Lee the job of commanding Pegasus, along with a promotion to Commander.

• Gaius Baltar proclaims his candidacy for President of the Colonies in the Presidential election in the midst of a press conference called by President Roslin regarding abortion in the Fleet.

Questions

• Would Adama allow Dr. Cottle to be arrested? From the episode, he is of the opinion that he would do what is necessary.
  • Given that Cottle is the only real doctor left in the fleet, Adama may be hesitant to take such an action.
    • This idea is supported by Cottle's behavior toward officers: Adama is the only one to whom he shows even marginal respect.
  • Are there no doctors on Pegasus? If Cain had a large civilian fleet to recruit from, it is likely that she would have drafted some doctors into service.
• Was Baltar's report real, or was it just invented to produce the opportunity to drive his wedge?
  • With the constant Cylon attacks to the Fleet (barring the unexpected return of Pegasus) the population is almost always declining, as noted by Admiral Adama.
• Who will replace Baltar as Roslin's Vice President?
  • Can Roslin actually pick another Vice President, under Colonial law, if Baltar refuses to resign? One of the reporters at the end actually directly asked if Baltar would remain as Vice President. Perhaps Roslin cannot forcibly remove Baltar from his office just because he's running aginst her.
    • If Colonial law works similarly to American political protocol, Baltar was elected in his own right. For example, George Bush cannot force Dick Cheney to resign, only Mr. Cheney himself can elect to resign. Interestingly, 204 years ago, US President John Adams faced a similar situation: His own Vice-President, Thomas Jefferson, plotted Adams' political downfall.
• How will Zarek position himself in the Baltar campaign?
  • It is likely that Zarek hopes to become Vice President himself.
    • Does Zarek plan to have Baltar killed, as per his plan in "Colonial Day"?
      • Zarek actually seems willing to make a beneficial alliance with Baltar, which Roslin would never agree to.
      • Baltar may be a political novice but he's no fool; he would spot that a mile away. In fact, Baltar specifically asks Zarek what he (Zarek) would want in return. Zarek gave a diplomatic answer rather than openly ask for the VP slot.
• Will Tigh accept the fact that Lee Adama now outranks him and has command of a ship? Or does Saul have no interest in command and already told Admiral Adama that before the posting was offered to Lee?
  • As mentioned in "Scattered," Col. Tigh was never really interested in commanding a battlestar.
    • Fleet protocols, as in the real-world US Navy and other naval services around the globe, would require Tigh, as the senior officer to take command, as he did when Adama was incapacitated.
      • This is true for an intra-ship command structure, but if other qualified officers were available, Col. Tigh probably had the privilege to pass up the command of Pegasus, citing XO's prerogative (or something similar).
• What will happen to Rya, now that she had been granted asylum on Galactica?
• Why was Lee promoted straight from Major to Commander? Can a Colonel not be placed in command of a battlestar for long-term purposes?
  • No. Colonel Jack Fisk was promoted to Commander of Pegasus before his death. It appears to be something of a rank nomenclature formality, as Garner was promoted up from being head of engineering. Compare to the established terminology convention on Star Trek for always referring to the commanding officer of a ship as "Captain", even if that officer does not hold that specific rank.
    • The use of "captain" is done in real life as well. In the US Navy, a person in the command of a vessel is referred to as "Captain" even if his actual rank is Lieutenant Commander, Ensign or even if he/she is a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO).
• Had Garner been serving as XO to Pegasus's' previous commander, the late Jack Fisk?
• Does the fact that the Cylons had such a large force waiting to ambush Pegasus indicate that they have a new Resurrection Ship in place?
  • Given that there were three basestars in wait, it is more likely that the Cylons opted on surprise and sheer numbers to succeed. Still, Pegasus caused one basestar to retreat, despite being outnumbered. It is likely that the lack of a Resurrection Ship resulted in the basestar's retreat.
  • Before, the Cylons were confident in making a frontal assault on a battlestar with a single basestar, in "Scattered", etc. They are markedly less confident now.
• How does the double layer flight pod system on Pegasus operate? Just before the battlestar jumps away from the ambush, there is a short sequence of Vipers returning to the ship that shows them landing on two distinct levels of the flight pod, with Vipers landing on the lower level being upside down with respect to Pegasus. Both the Colonials and Cylons obviously have some form of artifical gravity on their spacecraft, so this explains why such an arrangement is possible.
  • For more on the use of artificial gravity, see the article, Science in the Re-imagined Series.
• How could abortion be legal and established throughout the colonies despite being against the religious views of at least one planet? Was it introduced only recently?
  • Abortion may have been illegal or tightly-curtailed on that one planet. How much power did the Colonial political structure give to individual planets or smaller geographic areas?
    • On present day Earth, there are several countries which have legalized abortion, but which have fundamentalist internal regions/cultural subgroups which frown upon it. The Twelve Colonies were ruled by a federal system, not a loose confederation adhering to princiles of States' Rights, etc.; the majority view in the federal government could probably enforce such laws on member worlds.
• What kind of equipment is available to fix small breaches such as the one in the "Pegasus" Engine room?
  • Helo uses a hand-held pressure pad to seal a minor breach in the damaged Raptor during the Miniseries right after he recives his leg wound. Would such a device not help here?
    • Maybe not all hull breaches are small enough to fix that way.
    • There may not have been time to patch it, the ship was under heavy fire and could be destroyed at any moment; Restoring the FTL drive was the priority.

Analysis

• When Baltar announces his candidacy for the Presidency, Number Six applauds with a slow clap. This action runs in parallel to how then-Commander William Adama led the entire crew in a long, drawn-out slow clap in respect of President Roslin when she was re-instated to her office in "Home, Part II".
• Survivor count is decremented by six from "Sacrifice", but seven people died in that episode - terrorists Sesha Abinell, Vinson, Page and Chu, two unnamed marines, and civilian Billy Keikeya. At least one birth must have taken place to offset the population count between the two episodes.
• Based on the Colonial One whiteboard seen toward the end of the episode, only five people died as a result of the ambush on Pegasus: Richard "Buster" Bayer, Lyla "Shark" Ellway, the unnamed crew of Raptor 314, and Commander Barry Garner.
  • This casualty figure is conspicuously low, considering that Galactica lost 85 crewmen as the result of a hit by a single nuclear missile in the miniseries, while Pegasus is hit with no less than three in this episode.
  • On the other hand, it is at least consistent with the surprisingly low number of casualties incurred in the Battle of the Resurrection Ship, and may indicate that the hull armor on Pegasus is significantly stronger than on Galactica, which has many conspicuously bare structural ribs.
  • There may be two further explanations for this (1) that the board hadn't been updated to reflect the damage on the Pegasus, only the pilots lost. (2) A large number of the Galactica casualties were caused by the decision to vent the spreading fire rather than from the actual impact of the missile.
• In the course of this episode's timeline, Lee Adama rises from the rank of Captain (CAG of Galactica) to Major (No details are given on that posting except Adama was assigned to Pegasus), to Commander and CO of Pegasus in the wake of Commander Barry Garner's death saving his ship.
  • Major Adama's duty was intended as a temporary stint as Pegasus acting XO, to familiarize himself with the duties of a senior officer. In the opening scene, he tells Anastasia Dualla that he expects to return to Galactica "in a couple of weeks".
• Garner's decision to mount a rescue operation in contravention of his commanding officer's orders is an explicit parallel to "Pegasus", down to the choice of words:

Adama: "I'm getting my men."

Garner: "I'm going to get our men."

• Kara Thrace's posting is finally clarified in this episode: she is now serving as CAG on Galactica.
  • She was transferred to Pegasus in "Pegasus" and then promoted to that ship's CAG over Cole "Stinger" Taylor in "Resurrection Ship, Part I". In "Epiphanies", it is made clear that Lee Adama regained his posting as Galactica's CAG. In "Epiphanies", Thrace is seen piloting one of Galactica's Mk. II Vipers with Kat; in "Scar" she is serving on Galactica, and appears to have assumed the majority of Adama's responsibilities as CAG, although she still takes orders from him.
  • During this episode it's mentioned that she's only been on board Pegasus for four days before getting thrown in the brig, so clearly she isn't Pegasus's CAG any longer. Thus, despite the great esteem Cain held her in (she was the second speaker at Cain's funeral, after Jack Fisk), it seems clear that she was removed from her position on Pegasus sometime after Cain's death.

Notes

• Timeline-wise, Baltar says that he made an initial projection of the fleet's population "over seven months ago". This would have been before the arrival of Pegasus, since he said he factored in the arrival of her crew subsequently.
• Baltar states that he added the crew of the Pegasus into his calculations, with the result of the end of the human race within 18 years at current attrition rates.
• It has been "almost a month" since Apollo was shot in "Sacrifice".
• The recap at the beginning of this episode includes two scenes that did not actually appear in any previous episode, but were constructed by redubbing existing footage.
  • The scene where Colonel Tigh and Admiral Adama discuss Garner's promotion is constructed from the scene in "Black Market" when Adama and Tigh are telling Apollo to go to Pegasus on the hangar deck. The scene has been cleverly redubbed, so that Adama is saying entirely new lines when the camera is pointed at Tigh (not at Adama's face), and then Tigh says new lines when the camera is pointed at Adama.
  • The same technique is used when Baltar is talking to Gina: when the camera is pointed at Baltar, we hear Gina saying "You must betray Roslin and run for President in the upcoming election", but this was never heard in the aired version of "Epiphanies".
• Capt. Cole "Stinger" Taylor is still onboard Pegasus, mentioned by Capt. Thrace as being in the brig for insubordination.
• The adjectival form of "Gemenon" is "Gemenese".
• Under Gemenese law, minors are the "property" of their parents.
• Mercury class battlestars do not need to retract their flight pods prior to a jump, unlike the Galactica type.
• The coolant pressure gauges on Pegasus measure in PSI, presumably Pound-force per square inch. This is consistant with the use of customary units on the Viper Mk. II's Altimeter, seen in "Act of Contrition".
• This is the fourth episode of the season in which Grace Park has not appeared as Sharon Valerii.
• Writer Jeff Vlaming references Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" when he has Laura Roslin tell Quorum of Twelve delegate Sarah Porter, "you have your pound of flesh".

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Following the Cylon ambush of Pegasus and the death of Commander Garner

Admiral Adama: In your opinion, off the record, what was Garner's flaw?

Major Lee Adama: He was used to working with machines. Command is about people.

Admiral Adama: Remember that, as you take command of "The Beast" (Pegasus). Garner was my decision; His failures, my responsibility. Don't let me fail a second time. Congratulations, Commander.

• Responding to President Roslin's decision to criminalize abortion:

Vice-President Baltar: 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 the meaning of the word "freedom". How could they? They're programmed...machines. Every time you take away one of our freedoms, every time we 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.

Guest Stars

• John Heard as Commander Barry Garner
• Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek
• Aaron Douglas as Chief Galen Tyrol
• Nicki Clyne as Specialist Cally
• Donnelly Rhodes as Dr. Cottle
• Rekha Sharma as Tory Foster
• Brad Dryborough as Lieutenant Hoshi
• Christian Tessier as Tucker "Duck" Clellan
• Amber Rothwell as Rya Kibby
• Kavan Smith as Lt. Richard "Buster" Bayer
• Stephanie von Pfetten as Cpt. Marcia "Showboat" Case
• Particia Idlette as Sarah Porter
• Aaron Pearl as Ensign Abel Thornton
• Christina Schild as Playa Palacios
• Tammy Hui as ECO Lyla "Shark" Ellway
• James Bell as Lt. Steve "Red Devil" Fleer
• Kurt Max Runte as Ensign Charles Bellamy
• Kimani Ray Smith as Pegasus Sergeant

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