The Man with Nine Lives

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"The Man with Nine Lives" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
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Overview

An old con man, Chameleon, works his way into Starbuck's life to avoid being tracked down by blood-thirsty Borellians.

Summary

• It has been twelve sectons since the Beings of Light gave Galactica the coordinates that presumably lead to Earth. The directions lack a reference to how long the trip is.

• The Warriors have been given furlons in order to relax and rejuvenate.

• Starbuck can't wait to try out a new gambling system that he claims "can't lose."

• Chameleon is on a shuttle heading towards the Rising Star. He watches a recruiting ad starring Omega. The show comes back on and the "Warrior of the Centar" being interviewed is Starbuck.

• Zara asks how old Starbuck is. Starbuck reveals that he doesn't know how old he is because he in an orphan, found wandering in the thorn forests on Caprica.

• Chameleon pretends to be upset with the show, in order to avoid paying a transportation ducket to the attendant. He claims that he runs the news and interview shows for Inter-Fleet Broadcasting. The woman next to him seems rather impressed.

• He says that there are thousands of civilians in the fleet doing jobs just as important as the warriors, and those are the stories that they should tell. He claims that they should interview the attendant, telling him to go to the Comp-Tel Ship after he gets off duty so that Zara can interview him next. The ploy works, and Chameleon is able to bluff the flustered attendant into thinking he had already given him a transportation ducket.

• Chameleon turns the broadcast back on, and Starbuck is explaining that his parents probably perished in the Cylon raid on Umbra. It was destroyed in a sneak attack in 7322, after which thousands of children were found wandering around in the forest, including Starbuck.
• Aboard the Rising Star Chameleon pauses outside the Astral Lounge, pretending to have lost his wallet. The woman he had flown next to, Siress Blassie, insists on spotting him the necessary funds. Chameleon agrees to take the money as long as she promises to return to his billet that night so he can "repay her."

• Jolly and Boomer enter the Astral Lounge, and Jolly is immediately drawn to the dancers performing in the middle of the room. Boomer wants to go get some food, but Jolly is content to watch the dancers.

• Starbuck believes that this activity will occupy those two for the rest of the furlon, and drags Apollo off to try his new gambling system.

• Chameleon and Siress Blassie enter as the dancers finish their act. Everybody gets on the dance floor and begins dancing "futuristically."

• Three hooded figures enter the lounge, and create quite a stir by their appearance. Boomer identifies them as being Borellian Nomen. Chameleon appears distressed at their coming. Boomer is surprised to see them, as they rarely mix with the Colonials. Jolly says that they don't, unless they are on a Blood Trail.

• Boomer diffuses the tension in the room, the Nomen take a seat, and everybody resumes their activities.

• Chameleon asks to be excused, as he has some business to attend to. Siress Blassie is worried he is interview a young, beautiful warrior, but he assures her that he prefers experience to youth.

• The younger Nomen spots Chameleon and grabs for a laser bola off of his bandolier. They begin glowing and emitting a sound. Chameleon makes a break for it in the confusion.

• Jolly orders him to disarm it, but Boomer explains that once armed they have to be used, or else they explode. He has 50 microns to use it before it detonates.

• Boomer has him throw it at a vertical supporter. A red line appears between the balls when thrown, and the bola wraps around the column and explodes (relatively harmlessly).

• Boomer claims that Borellian Nomen do not draw laser bolas by accident. The leader claims that he is young, and that the drink and the music excited him, and promises that it will not happen again.

• Boomer agrees, because if they are to remain the will disarm themselves. The younger Nomen claims that it is against their Code to be unarmed. Boomer says he should have thought of that before he drew his weapon. The leader believes they should have known better than to mix with other colonists. He informs Boomer that they will await transportation back to their ship in the docking lounge.

• Several ships are listed as destinations of the Canaris shuttle in the docking lounge.

• Maga holds Bora responsible for Taba's actions, because Bora is related to the young Nomen. Bora accepts the blame, and vows that they will bring their prey down. Maga wonders what would have caused Taba to break the Code by drawing his weapon without thinking. Taba claims that he saw Captain Dmitri, but Maga is disgusted by Taba's lack of discipline. Maga says that Taba can apologize after he is punished, if he survives the punishment.

• Apollo is anxious, but Starbuck is winning at the Pyramid table with their money. Chameleon sits down at their table. As Starbuck is dealt his cards, he uses a calculator at the table to work his system. Based on his system, he decides to "hover" (stay), and raises his bet. Chameleon appears to believe Starbuck is acting foolishly. He points out that although the odds are 3:1 against the dealer having a capstone, but if she does he can't win, and his system doesn't consider that. Starbuck reduces his bet, and the dealer reveals a capstone. Everybody loses, so Chameleon has saved Starbuck some cubits.

• The Nomen are patiently waiting for their prey in the docking lounge.

• Chameleon claims to have been working Starbuck's system back on Caprica while Starbuck was still in swaddling clothes. He used to be a professional gambler, but now he is a genetic tracer. He can reunite orphans with their relatives using genetic tests.

• Chameleon had been badly injured in one of the earliest Cylon raids on Caprica. For five years after he was a traumatic amnesiac. After he recovered he learned that his wife had been killed in the raid, and his son had been lost. He's never been able to find his son.

• Starbuck asks where and when the attack took place, and Chameleon tells him that it was at Umbra on Caprica. Starbuck "reveals" that he was orphaned at Umbra. Chameleon points out that over 3000 children were orphaned in that raid, so the odds of him being Starbuck's father are astronomically low. Starbuck is hooked, though, and wants to pursue the possibility.

• Starbuck wants to run a genetic trace. Chameleon says that the waiting list is a yahren long, and he can't ethically move to the front of the list. He does have some alternate, less precise tests that could be run using equipment aboard Galactica. They order up a shuttle to ferry them to her.

• Apollo runs into Boomer, who tells him about the incident with the Nomen. Boomer thinks the situation is resolved, until Jolly approaches to inform them that the Nomen haven't left as they had promised. The warriors go to investigate.

• They begin to question the Nomen, and Maga invokes his rights as a human member of the fleet. Apollo accuses Maga of lying to Boomer by not leaving on the next shuttle, prompting Taba to again reach for his laser bola. Maga tries to stop him, and the warriors draw their laser pistols.

• Taba claims that Apollo insulted Maga. Maga informs Taba that if that had been the case, Apollo would be dead. It is Taba that has insulted Maga, twice now, and he must now answer to the code. His laser bola bandoliers are stripped from him, and he is informed that his name will be stricken from the Roster of the Nomen. Maga hands Taba over to the warriors, claiming that Taba no longer exists to him.

• A pair of security officers escort Taba away.

• Boomer still wants to know why they haven't left. Maga claims that the shuttle Canaris was full, and they are waiting for the next shuttle. Maga denies being on a Blood Trail, saying that they wouldn't be returning to their ship if they were still hunting.

• Starbuck and Chameleon walk by on the way to the shuttle, and Chameleon eyes the Nomen warily as he walks past them. His plan to evade the Nomen appears to have worked.

• Bora respectfully asks Maga why he handed Taba over, rather than fighting to the death. Maga acknowledges that while the Colonials are weak, they have superior numbers. The Nomen must have the patience of the Scorpius. They realize that they need to figure out a way to get aboard Galactica.

• Omega comes on the view screen with a message urging anybody interested in serving in the military to contact Galactica.

• Sheba, Boomer, Starbuck, and an unnamed female warrior discuss the situation on the shuttle ride to Galactica. Sheba feels that it is a miracle that Starbuck may have found his father.

• Boomer realizes that the Borellian Nomen was looking right at Chameleon when he activated his laser bola, and that Chameleon might be the subject of a blood trail. If this were the case Chameleon might be looking for a way to get escorted off of the Rising Star safely.

• In the back of the shuttle, Chameleon is explaining how disappointed Siress Blassie is that he had to leave, but she understood given the circumstances. Starbuck, upon finding out that Chameleon had just met the Siress, believes that their similar prowess with the ladies proves their relation.

• Cassiopeia runs the alternate (less precise) test on Chameleon and Starbuck. The immediate results indicate that they are from the same planet, are from the same tribe, and are related within at least ten generations. Starbuck is elated, but Cassie points out that there several people within the fleet that could match that closely. Both patients agree to run the more precise genetic trace immediately.

• Adama holds an informal council with Sheba, Boomer, and Apollo over the possibility that Chameleon is conning them. Boomer reports that the Nomen left on the next shuttle as they promised, and the captured Nomen continues to claim that it was drink and excitement that caused him to activate the bola.

• Sheba points out that if he is running a con, he would want to delay the genetic tests. Apollo is beginning to feel like an "equinus's atrum". Adama points out that they could have Col. Tigh run a discreet security check, or even confront Chameleon. Apollo doesn't want to call him a liar to his face, and opts to have Sheba contact Tigh about running the security check.

Guest Stars

Fred Astaire (Chameleon)
Anthony De Longis (Taba)
Robert Feero (Bora)
Anne Jeffreys (Siress Blassie)
Lance LeGault (Maga)