Take the Celestra

Overview

Starbuck encounters long-lost love Aurora amidst a mutinous rebellion aboard the Celestra.

Summary

• In a formal dress ceremony aboard the Galactica to honor Kronus, captain of the Celestra and former commander of the battlestar Rycon, Adama and the Council of Twelve bestow upon Kronus the Distinguished Service Medallion; he is also appointed executive commander of three industry ships in the ragtag fleet.
• During the proceedings, Starbuck recognizes former love Aurora standing among the ranks of the Celestra crew; when she leaves during the ceremony, Apollo and Boomer must physically restrain Starbuck from breaking ranks to follow her.
• Aurora goes to the control room and, in a sinister manner, requests navigational data for the beta sector.
• At the reception following the ceremony, Kronus mildly berates Tigh for drinking before duty; he then reminds Adama of his strict adherence to regulation and discipline.
• Starbuck (re-)introduces himself to Aurora, who has become the pilot of Kronus’ shuttle, but the two old flames are interrupted by Cassiopeia with concert duckets; annoyed, Aurora walks off, but is chased after by Starbuck.
• Shuttling back to the Celestra, Kronus informs Charka, his second in command, the he (Kronus) will be retaining command of the ship; he chides an obviously disappointed Charka, asking him to bide his time before getting his own command.
• Aboard the Celestra, Aurora and her fellow mutineers make last-centon preparations for their takeover attempt.
• Starbuck convinces Apollo to accompany him to the Celestra for a "maintenance scan" — and to speak with Aurora; although unconvinced, Tigh agrees to the request, but he also informs Cassiopeia, who reclaims the concert duckets — both concert duckets — from Starbuck in the viper launch bay.
• On the Celestra bridge, Hermes informs Kronus of a turbodyne problem; Kronus communicates their problem to Adama and requests that the fleet not slow down for them.
• Aurora and her lover Damon begin their mutiny by taking hostages in the landing bay; however, another crewman successfully alerts the bridge amid laser fire.
• Kronus is able to send security reinforcements to corner the mutineers; he and Charka personally grab laser pistols and take part in the melee.
• Apollo and Starbuck, who had landed aboard the Celestra during the uprising, walk into the middle of a firefight; Starbuck comes face to face with Aurora, each holding a laser blaster, but neither willing to fire.
• The mutineers are captured and rounded up for transport to the Galactica; since a senior commander must be present to bring charges of mutiny, Kronus accompanies the prisoners aboard the shuttlecraft, being piloted by Apollo and Starbuck.
• Charka, who had been placed in temporary command of the Celestra during Kronus' absence, orders that the shuttlecraft be given bogus navigation coordinates in order to strand its occupants, including Kronus, in deep space.
• Apollo and Starbuck pilot the shuttle away from the Celestra and, unknowingly, away from the fleet into oblivion.
• Aboard the Celestra, Charka begins to openly boast of his coup with his de facto second-in-command Hermes, as they change the ship's course toward the fleet, effectively stranding the shuttlecraft; Charka orders all laser pistols confiscated and brought to the bridge.
• Restrained as prisoners, Aurora and Damon try to convince Starbuck that their mutiny was undertaken for noble causes, specifically to protest the oppressive living conditions imposed by the ultra-strict Kronus; Starbuck reluctantly broaches the subject with Kronus.
• To ensure (buy) the crew's loyalty, Charka promises each crewmember a promotion in rank and pay.
• Kronus begins a dialog with the former mutineers, learning that they had planned to steal a shuttle and escape to a nearby, remote planet (the 21st planet in its system); Kronus learns, apparently for the first time, of Charka's inhumane oppressiveness toward the Celestra crew.
• Apollo is disturbed when the fleet does not appear on his scanners as expected; trying to reverse triangulate their position, they are unable to locate the Celestra, which has "gone dark" to avoid detection.
• Having lost its last reference point to the fleet, the shuttlecraft runs low on fuel; the mutineers agree to alter the shuttle's computers to act as ion tracking sensors to locate the Celestra, in exchange for fair hearings regarding their mutiny.
• Aurora, while ackowledging her previous love affair with Starbuck, nevertheless pledges her love to Damon; she convinces Starbuck to speak to Damon about the matter.
• The shuttlecraft locates the Celestra and touches down aboard her landing bay just as fuel expires; Apollo, Starbuck, and Kronus make their way to the bridge, accompanied now by former mutineers Aurora and Damon.
• Using Hermes, Apollo gains access to the confiscated laser pistols; a firefight breaks out on the Celestra bridge, damaging the steering control and sending the Celestra veering wildly off course.
• Kronus crawls to the steering control and rights the vessel, but not before taking a lethal laser blast.
• Apollo tackles Charka and disarms him, ending the (second) mutiny.
• Aboard the Galactica, a funeral is held for Kronus, as his casket is shot into space.
• Starbuck patches things up with Cassiopeia, who has two (new) concert duckets ready for that evening.

Questions

The mention of the Battlestar Rycon again raises the question regarding how many Battlestars actually existed, as well as questions regarding the size of the entire Colonial Fleet. The mention of the Rycon could suggest that there were different fleets of battlestars. Many believe that a mere five battlestars existing throughout all the colonies doesn't seem fitting. If the series had continued, then perhaps the Galactica would have been re-united with other battlestars from the colonies. Also, perhaps the fate of other fleets and "ships of the line" would have been learned.

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Adama’s opening narration: “The morale of the fleet continues to rise, due in part to the increasing number of habitable planets we are encountering, and the reintroduction of some of the amenities our people enjoyed before the destruction of the colonies. Once again, although on a limited scale, we are able to partake of music, and the theater, and, when the occasion warrants, even indulge ourselves in ceremony.”

Statistics

• This was the last episode to air before the announcement of the original series' cancellation.

Guest Stars

• Ana Alicia as Aurora
• Paul Fix as Kronus
• Nick Holt as Charka
• Randy Stumpf as Damon
• Richard Styles as Hermes
• Robert Murvin as Duty Officer
• James R. Parkes as 1st Mutineer
• Michael Horsley as 2nd Mutineer

Writing & Direction

• Written by Jim Carlson & Terrence McDonnell
• Story by David S. Arthur & David G. Phinney and Jim Carlson & Terrence McDonnell
• Directed by Dan Haller

Production Notes

• Series 1 (1978/1979)
• Production Number: 1.20
• Airdate Order: 20 (of 21)

First Run Air Dates & Releases

• UK Airdate: Date
• US Airdate: April 1, 1979
• DVD Release: December 28, 2004

Original Series definition: region of space or planet, see also Quadrant. Usually named after a Greek letter (space sectors), or a geographic formation on the surface of a planet (geographic sector, e.g. Sector Hekla on the planet Arcta")

Original Series definition: a unit of time akin to a "minute"; in earlier episodes (e.g. "Saga of a Star World," "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I"), centon is used as the Colonial equivalent of a week before being retconned in later episodes

Original Series definition: the equivalent of saying "objection" in a Colonial Tribunal (TOS: "Murder on the Rising Star")