413 – Battlestar Galactica – Greetings from Earth

The Galacticans come across humans from a non-Colonial source.  Could it be the long-awaited contact with Earth? Ben and Eugene discuss. Episode Synopsis:  On long range forward patrol, Apollo and Starbuck encounter a strange, unresponsive spacecraft of unfamiliar design.  Their scanners indicate life inside and they bring it back to the Galactica.  Inside, six humans in suspended animation.  The technology and symbology all indicate that this is not some far-flung outpost of the Twelve Colonies, but humans from a completely different lineage.  Could they be from Earth?  If only they could ask them, but being suspended, they are poor conversationalists. [expand title=”More…” swaptitle=”Less” tag=”strong”] Debates about what should be done with them spring up all around the fleet.  While Doctor Salik and Doctor Wilker attempt to revive the sleepers – with the possible risk of their lives, Apollo becomes increasingly adamant that they must put their ship back on course and let them go.  Adama, loathe to let their first possible contact with Earth get away, is reluctant be sympathetic.  No matter, though, the Council take the decision from him and order the sleepers be awoken. Before that happens, two of the sleepers, Michael and Sara, awaken, but then Michael attempts to leave the ship, the crushing, oppressive atmosphere of the Galactica begins to kill him. Realizing that these people will spend the rest of their lives inside decompression chambers  if they don’t just die – Salik and Apollo hatch a plan to get them back on course and follow them to their destination – the planet Paradine. Paradine is one of the colony planets of the planet Terra.  A colony of the Western alliance.  It is also the home of Sara’s father.  Sara, and her children, with the help of Michael and his child, escaped the colony of Lunar 7 with the promise of living on Paradine with Sara’s father.  Paradine; however, has been destroyed by the Eastern Alliance, leaving only a few scattered families on an abandoned world. When they arrive, with Apollo, Starbuck and Cassiopeia in tow, they learn that Sara’s father is dead. Their flight from Lunar 7 did not go unnoticed, neither did their ship’s escort by the two Vipers.  An Eastern Alliance Destroyer heads to Paradine to investigate. While Starbuck gets lost in the airless basements of a dead city, Sara destroys the Vipers so that Apollo will stay with her because, “[she’s] seen the way [he] looks at [her].” They find Starbuck moments before it was too late, the Eastern Alliance baddies are incompetent baddies as they are easily overcome by the Colonial Warriors, and they escape Paradine, taking the Eastern Alliance Destroyer and crew back to the Galactica. [/expand]