Battlestar Galactica: Transcripts: S03E01: Occupation
TEASER
(Lots of hands: Tigh is huddled in a detention cell, scratching out calendar marks with his thumbnail. Roslin prays in a Temple tent. Ellen has sex with a mystery man. Starbuck adjusts her dinner plates. Chief and Anders make a bomb. Admiral Adama tries to work out the rescue with the war table models.)
Cavil enters Tigh’s cell.
Cavil: Do you know that every time they take you out of this cell, we come in here and we change those little hash marks on your little calendar there you’re trying to hide. [Laughs.]
Kara’s apartment.
Leoben, bringing in dinner: Potatoes, gravy. Even some carrots.
(He serves her; a Raider flies over.)
Leoben: Heavenly father, we thank you for the bounty of this table…
Mystery quarters.
Ellen: Yes. Yes. Come on! Don’t stop. Come on! Come on! You son of a bitch! Son of a bitch!
(Cavil groans loudly.)
Cavil: Oh, boy.
(Ellen climbs off him and begins to dress.)
Cylon hangar bay.
Tyrol: all right, we’re armed.
Anders: They’re inbound. Let’s move!
(They hide as a Heavy Raider sets down.)
Kara’s apartment.
Starbuck: I need a knife.
(Leoben cuts her meat for her.)
Starbuck: Thank you.
Leoben: You’re welcome.
Cavil’s quarters.
Cavil: I must say I quite enjoyed that.
Ellen: I’m so glad. And, uh… When do I get what I want?
Cavil: I believe that’s happening right now.
Tigh’s cell.
Cavil, tapping hands on his chair: We reviewed your case today. And I must say there was great disappointment on the review committee.
(Tap tap tap. He stands and drags the chair to the door. Tigh looks at the open door, then jerks away when Cavil reappears.)
Cavil: Come on. We gotta get you processed. It’ll take an hour or so. Bureaucracy must be served. But if you’re lucky, you’ll get home by dinner time. Colonel, come on. I’m not gonna hold this door open forever.
Outside the detention center.
Ellen: Saul! Ohh! Oh, Gods. Gods. What did they do to you?
Tigh: It’s all right. I’m out. That’s all that matters.
Ellen: Ohh.
Tigh: Let’s get out of here.
Ellen: Okay.
Hangar bay.
Anders: Okay. Ready? Now.
(Chief detonates the bomb several times, nothing happens.)
Anders: Oh, for frak’s sakes. Come on, come on! Is that thing gonna work or what?
(The bomb explodes, taking out a Heavy Raider and a Six and Eight.)
Chief: Whoo! Worked that time.
Anders: Go, go!
Kara’s apartment.
Leoben: Frakkin’ insurgents.
(Comes back to the table, caresses her face.)
Leoben: You look… so lovely tonight.
(Starbuck stabs him in the neck with two knitting needles, pushes him to the floor, and stabs him in the chest.)
Leoben: Gah! Ahh! Uhh! I’ll see you soon…Kara.
Starbuck: Take your time.
(She wipes her bloody hand on the carpet and returns to her meal.)
COMMERCIAL
Roslin’s tent, where she writes in her diary.
Voiceover: 134th day of the Cylon occupation of New Caprica. Today is Marsday. Somehow it seems appropriate to honor the God of war on a day when it feels like perpetual war is the only realistic prospect for us. We’ve had no contact with Galactica since it left four months ago. But I refuse to believe that Adama has abandoned us. [Over insurgent images and Cylon counterattacks.] Our insurgency has been striking back against the Cylons whenever and wherever possible. Although at times these attacks seem like futile gestures, I believe that they are critical to morale, to maintaining some measure of hope. But in order for the insurgency to have a more meaningful impact we need to strike a high profile target. It is simply not enough to kill Cylons, because they don’t die. [As Three heads to Colonial one.] They resurrect themselves, and they continue to walk among us. It is horrifying. The Cylon occupation authority continues to exert complete control over the city, and we remain at their mercy. The colonial government under president Gaius Baltar functions in name only.
President’s office; Colonial one.
Cavil 1: Let’s review why we’re here, shall we? We’re supposed to bring the word of “God” to the people, right?
Cavil 2: Save humanity from damnation by bringing the love of “God” to these poor, benighted people.
Caprica Six: We’re here because a majority of the Cylon felt that the slaughter of mankind had been a mistake.
Boomer: We’re here to find a new way to live in peace. As God wants us to live.
Cavil 2: And it’s been a fun ride so far. But I want to clarify our objectives. If we’re bringing the word of God, then it follows that we should employ any means necessary to do so, any means.
Cavil 1: Yes, fear is a key article of faith, as I understand it. So perhaps it’s time to instill a little more fear into the people’s hearts and minds. Let’s, uh, let’s execute Baltar.
Baltar: Wha … What?
Caprica Six: That’s not gonna happen.
Cavil 1: Just because he’s your favorite toy shouldn’t be allowed to interfere with the larger issues here.
Baltar: I think that I have cooperated —
Caprica Six: Gaius is with me. (To Three.) Anyone who wants to challenge that will have to deal with me.
Doral 1: Well, it doesn’t matter. If we’d killed him at the beginning, it might have worked.
Doral 2: But now, most humans think of him as a traitor, and would actually cheer his death.
Cavil 1: Fine, fine. We don’t kill Baltar. We round up the leaders of the insurgency, and we execute them — publicly. We round up at random groups off the street, and we execute them — publicly. Send a message that the gloves are coming off.
Cavil 2: The insurgency stops now, or else we start reducing the human population to a more manageable size. I don’t know, say, uh, less than 1,000.
Boomer: We need to stop being butchers.
Caprica Six: The entire point of coming here was to start a new way of life. To push past the conflict that’s separated us from humans for so long.
Cavil 2: And what has it gotten us? It’s not like they welcomed us with … with — frak it. Never mind. You’re all living in a fantasy world. Consider the irony in that. [Laughs] Delusional machines. What’s the universe gonna come up with next?
(The Cavils leave, followed by the Dorals.)
Three, taking Caprica Six aside: Is it really worth it, Caprica? Is the love of that man really worth possibly losing all of this?
Caprica Six: If you ever experienced love, you wouldn’t have to ask.
Roslin’s tent.
VO: In recent months, the Cylons have been recruiting and training humans in an attempt to establish a human police force. [Over images of the New Caprica Police.] It is hard to think of anything more despicable than humans doing the dirty work of the Cylons, led to believe they were merely taking the civilian security out of the hands of the Cylons. And members of the human police have since become an extension of the Cylons’ corporeal authority. And while their names are kept deeply confidential, there is no question some of them are people we might least expect. Hundreds of us have been rounded up by the Cylons, held in detention, questioned, tortured. [Images of detention.] Others have simply vanished. In recent weeks, we’ve been gaining access to some very important documents from a source within Baltar’s administration. [The dead drop.] No one knows who this mysterious benefactor is. But he communicates with the insurgents by means of a secret signal. [A dog bowl, flipped over.] We pray every day for the men and women who risk their lives to fight the Cylons. They have everything to lose. And such little hope of something to gain. I pray they will not falter in the days ahead.
Dead drop.
Chief: Hey, Jake. There we go.
(Flips the bowl and retrieves the latest message.)
Tyrol tent.
Cally, with the baby: Here we go. Shh. Looks like mommy’s gonna get some sleep tonight after all. Sometimes I hate everything about this place. Sometimes it’s… it’s magic.
Chief: Hmm.
Chief: I gotta go. I’ll be back in a couple hours.
Cally: one of these days, you’re just not gonna come back, are you? You’ll just vanish, and that’ll be it. I’ll never see you again. Nick will never know his father.
Chief: Couple hours. I promise.
Insurgent bunker, underground.
(Tigh enters with eyepatch and crutch.)
Chief: Uh… good to see you, Colonel.
Tigh: It’s good to be seen.
(They drink.)
Tigh: Ahh. I know you’re wondering, so I’ll save you the trouble. The eye is gone. Ripped it right out onto the floor. Picked it up and showed it to me. Looked like a hard-boiled egg. [Drinks.] Big boom today. Hope that was you two.
Anders: Oh, yeah. Heavy raider too.
Tigh: Good men. What’s our next target?
Chief: Well, got these today. They’re security plans for the graduation ceremony at the New Caprica Police academy.
Tigh: These are right out of the ministry files. Where are you getting this stuff? Who’s your source?
Chief: I have no idea. Source won’t tell me what their name is. It’s probably safer for all of us. We’ve been getting stuff like this for weeks.
Anders: Humans working for the Cylons. Makes you wanna puke.
Chief: Yeah, well, all the top occupation brass is gonna be at the graduation. Even…President Baltar.
Tigh: Gaius Baltar?
Chief: Yes, sir. I think we can get a shot at him too. The problem is, it’s gonna be tough avoiding human casualties.
Tigh: Don’t avoid ’em. Send a message. You work with the Cylons, you’re a target. No boundaries for the Cylons, there’s no boundaries for us. Anything we can do to nail that son of a bitch, Gaius Baltar, is worth doing.
(Heads across the bunker, grunting.)
Tigh: Where are we on the wireless?
Chief: Uh…nowhere. Every day, we try and contact the raptor, and every day the Cylons jam the transmission. I’ve asked for the inside source to tell us which of the Cylon jamming frequencies are the weakest, but so far, I got nothing.
Anders: you guys are dreaming. There’s no Raptor there, okay? There hasn’t been one for the past four months, either. Galactica’s not coming back. They’re not. Accept it.
Tigh: Watch your frakkin’ mouth. There’s a Raptor out there every day, listening for a wireless call. It’s out there because that was the plan if anything happened. And it’s out there because the old man isn’t just gonna leave us to the Cylons.
Anders: The old man left me to the Cylons, Colonel. And if it wasn’t for my wife being a royal pain in the ass, and refusing to let it go, I would be dead a year now.
Tigh: Any word on Kara?
Anders: Nothing. In four months.
Kara’s apartment.
Leoben enters: Hi, honey, I’m home. You kill me, I download, I come back, we start over. Five times now.
(Sighs and sits with her.)
Leoben: I’m trying to help you, Kara. I only want you to see the truth of your life. The reason why you suffered and you struggled for so long. That’s why God sent me to you. That’s why God wants us to be together. All right?
Starbuck, nodding: You’re right. You’re right. And I hear you. I do. So thank you.
(She leans forward, he smiles.)
Starbuck: Thank you for putting up with me. I’m so sorry.
Leoben: Put it down, Kara. Just put it down.
(Starbuck drops her knife, point down, and grins.)
Leoben: I’m a patient man.
Starbuck: You’re not a man.
Leoben: I’m willing to wait. You just need more time.
Starbuck: I don’t need more frakkin’ time. It’s never gonna happen.
Leoben: Of course it’s gonna happen. You’re gonna hold me in your arms, you’re gonna embrace me, you’re gonna tell me that you love me. I’ve seen it.
Starbuck: You’re insane.
Leoben: To know the face of God is to know madness.
He rises.
Leoben: I’m going to bed. Be nice if you joined me. Either way, you’re spending the night with me. [Chuckles, indicating his old body.] I do love you, Kara Thrace. Good night.
(He leaves her shivering; she throws herself up the stairs, revealing the bars in the hallway outside the apartment.)
Starbuck: Let me out! Let me out of here! I don’t belong here! Let me out! Let me out!
COMMERCIAL
Viper drill.
Second man: Snowbird 3, get information.
Woman: Okay, Snowbirds, let’s nail this exercise.
Man: How many times are we gonna run this thing?
Second man: What, you’re not having fun yet?
Woman: Come on, focus, Snowbirds!
(Adama walks through the Galactica bay.)
Helo (on Galactica): Snowbirds, Galactica. Regroup in deployment formation and proceed to position 1.
Racetrack: Snowbird 1 to Snowbirds. Drop point in eight seconds.
Kat: Okay, Snowbirds, let’s get this deployment bang on. The Admiral’s watching every move.
Racetrack: Roger, Kat. We go on your command. Bomb bay doors open.
Kat: All Vipers break … now, now, now! Deploy drones on my mark. Three…two…one. Mark!
Racetrack: Frak me! Gods damn it, Snowbird 4! What the hell happened?
Kat: Can the chatter, Snowbirds! This is the CAG. Abort maneuver. I say again, decoy squadron,
abort maneuver.
Man: Roger that, Leader. Snowbirds, fall back. Abort drill. Await further instructions.
Man: Roger, get off my wings.
Man: Snowbird fly, clear 7:00.
Kat: Galactica, Kat. It is a mess out here. We got decoy drones heading every which way. Request instructions.
Galactica CIC.
Helo: Roger that, Kat. Abort acknowledged. You’re approaching bingo fuel anyway. Bring your birds back home.
Adama: Belay that.
Helo: Strike my last. Stand by.
Adama: Launch a tanker bird. Let them practice their in-flight refueling before they recover the drones. Have them run the exercise one more time.
Helo: 16 times now, sir.
Adama: The next one will be 17, won’t it?
Helo: Yes, sir. (To officer.) Launch the tanker.
Lee’s quarters aboard Pegasus.
Helo on PA: All units, Galactica. Recover drones and prepare to run training mission again. We’re launching the tanker bird.
Apollo: Tanker?
Helo: once you’ve tanked up, head back to position alpha and prepare for training run 17. Galactica out.
Apollo: What the frak are they doing over there?
(He goes to the phone, very fat, wearing only a towel.)
Apollo: This is the Commander. Get the Admiral on the line.
On phones between Battlestars.
Apollo: Admiral, considering how long our pilots have been in the air, I suggest we recall the birds and scrub the training exercise.
Adama: If we can’t do this in a training scenario, how the hell are we supposed to pull this off with Cylon raiders on our asses?! Huh? Tell me!
Apollo: What the frak do you want from me? I don’t know how we’re supposed to do any of this crap at half-strength!
Kat on comms: Collision! We’ve had a collision.
In space.
Helo: Give me your status, Kat.
Kat: Bingo, Molar, speak to me!
Molar: I’m losing flight control! I got red lights all across the board!
Bingo: Kat, Molar, I’m in a lateral spin and losing hydraulics. My wing’s clipped.
Kat: Galactica, Kat. I’m declaring an emergency. Requesting priority landing for two bent birds.
Adama: Pull ’em in!
Helo: Yes, sir. Roger that, Kat. Bring your birds back home.
(Adama throws stuff. Adama, Apollo and Dualla are very sore.)
Adama’s office.
Apollo: This whole thing is frakking insane. We got two ships at half-strength. We got crews that haven’t seen action in a year and a half. And you’re acting like the only problem is they’re not working hard enough.
Adama: Have you taken a look at yourself in the mirror lately? You’re weak, soft! Mentally and physically.
Apollo: This isn’t about me.
Adama: You’ve had four months to get your act together. And so far, all you’ve been able to frakkin’ do is to complain and whine about how hard it is. Well, guess what. It’s gonna get a lot harder. Do you understand me? Now I want you to turn around and get your fat ass out of here. Get your men ready! Or I’ll find someone who can. Dismissed!
New Caprica square.
(Chief and Tigh watch Anders and Duck playing Pyramid.)
Chief: I don’t like this one, Colonel. I think we’re the ones crossing the line here.
Tigh: It’s the only way it’s gonna work. Kid’s got access and clearance.
Anders: You gotta be square on this. You can’t back out once you start.
Duck: I’m not backing out.
Chief: It’s wrong, Colonel. You know that, don’t you?
Tigh: He’s a soldier, Chief. Not the first time we’ve sent a soldier on a one-way mission. You know that, don’t you?
Chief: This is different.
Tigh: This is our best chance to take out Gaius Baltar. Maybe the only one. We’re sure as frak gonna take it.
Duck: Every since they killed Nora, I got nothing to live for.
Anders: All right.
(Duck shoves him down, makes the goal, picks him up again.)
Anders: You look me in the eye, and you tell that you are committed to this.
Duck: I’m committed.
Anders, embracing him: May the Gods be with you.
Chief: Some things you just don’t do, Colonel. Not even in war.
Tigh: Well, maybe you’ll feel different when you’re sitting in detention. Duck volunteered. He’s going.
Sharon’s quarters on Galactica.
Adama: It’s a hard thing to say, but it seems like I don’t know who my son is anymore. Same goes for the crew of the ship. I feel pretty much alone. Except maybe for you.
Sharon chuckling: I wish I could go back a year and tell that Admiral Adama about this conversation.
Adama: A year’s a long time.
Sharon: Can I ask you something? Very personal. Do you feel guilty about leaving the people behind on New Caprica?
Adama: I don’t do guilt.
Sharon: You know, a year ago — when you put me in the cell — I was at a crossroads. I sat in here for weeks, just consumed with rage at all the things that had happened to me. And at some point, I realized it was all just guilt. I was angry at myself for the choices I had made. Betraying my people. And losing the baby. So…I had a choice. I could either move forward or stay in the past. But the only way to move forward… was to forgive myself. You know, I don’t think we can survive. I don’t think… the fleet or Galactica or the people on New Caprica can survive… unless the man at the top finds a way to forgive himself.
Dualla and Lee’s quarters on Pegasus.
Apollo: Two of our pilots almost got killed because they’ve been in the cockpit for 11 hours. And he wants to bust my balls. “You’re soft.” Can you believe that?
(Dualla doesn’t answer.)
Apollo: What? Oh, you agree. Is that it?
Dualla: Forget it. I’m not looking for a fight.
Apollo: Oh, no, no, no, no. Don’t do that. [Clears throat] You got something to say, come out and say it.
Dualla: He’s right. You are soft. I’m not talking about the weight. You’ve lost your edge. Your confidence. You lost your war, lee. And the truth is, you’re a soldier who needs a war. And you don’t wanna hear it, because you’ve got it in your head that your father’s the soldier. And you sure don’t wanna be like him. But you are like him. You’re more like him than you know. That’s one of the reasons I married you.
(The contact flips the dog bowl: the dead drop contains the jamming freqs.)
Insurgent bunker.
Chief: Okay, it’s working. I think.
Tigh: Is it working or isn’t it?
Chief: They keep jamming us.
Anders: So much for our source on the inside.
Racetrack’s Raptor, in orbit.
Pilot: Ten minutes left. And lots of nothing on the wireless, as usual.
Racetrack: Keep an eye out for Raiders. Last listening bird almost got popped by a pair yesterday.
Insurgent bunker.
Chief: I almost got it.
(Wireless goes very loud.)
Anders: Ow, frak! Turn that thing down! Ahh.
Chief: It’s working. It’s working.
Racetrack’s Raptor.
Racetrack: Time’s up. Spin up the FTL and get ready to go.
Pilot: Hold on. I’m picking something up. It’s a Colonial transmission. It’s a low power signal, but… the recognition codes match. Oh, yeah. We got a link to the ground.
Racetrack, giggling: Okay, send the coded response. Spin up the drive, and let’s get the hell back to Galactica.
Insurgent bunker.
Chief: I’ve got a signal. A Raptor just made contact with us.
Tigh: what’s it say?
Chief: “We will make contact with this frequency every twelve hours. Prepare sitrep for command authority. Have hope. We’re coming for you.”
Galactica CIC.
Racetrack, on comms: We made contact. I say again, we made contact with the ground. Colonel Tigh has formed an insurgent group against the Cylons, and now they’re ready and waiting for instructions on how to coordinate the rescue effort.
Adama: It’s gonna be okay. It’s really gonna be okay.
COMMERCIALS
Roslin’s classroom.
Tory: These are all the surveillance pictures taken by the insurgents. I think we can match names to about 50 of these photos. But our best guess puts the total police force at around 200.
Roslin: 200? I wouldn’t have believed there’d be 20 people who would turn against their own kind. I want those names, I want the rest of the names.
Tory: That’s tough. The Cylons are afraid the population will go after any human who joins the New Caprica Police.
Roslin: As well they should.
Duck and Nora’s tent altar.
Duck, praying: I… I know I haven’t lived a model life. I made a lot of mistakes. I’m gonna need your protection today.
President’s office, Colonial one.
Gaeta, knocking: Mr. President.
Caprica Six: Morning, Gaeta.
Gaeta, ignoring her: It’s time. For the graduation ceremony.
Baltar: Oh, yes. [Sighs] The ceremony. About the ceremony… there’s a been a change of plan. I won’t be going. Security concern. [Six and Baltar smirk at him.] Don’t look so worried. There’ll be other graduations.
Gaeta: Right. Okay. I’ll just… let the staff know.
(Gaeta runs through town toward the dead drop.)
New Caprica square.
Chief: I think we should call off the strike. There’s no reason to go forward with it if the Galactica’s
gonna come back.
Tigh: What, and pass up a golden opportunity to kill Gaius Baltar?
Chief: Other than that, Colonel, I fail to see the point.
Tigh: Think with your head, Chief, not with your heart. The only way they stand a chance of getting us off this rock is if the Cylons are too distracted battling a full-blown uprising when they get here. (He thinks, and nods.) All right, if your source on the inside says Baltar’s not gonna be there, abort. Otherwise, stick with the plan.
(Chief checks the dog bowl before Gaeta arrives, and misses the note.)
(Duck straps himself up with explosives; looks at himself in a cracked mirror and then heads to the graduation ceremony with his NCP uniform.)
At graduation.
Jammer: Hey Duck…
(Duck doesn’t hear him. All graduates line up in formation and uniform; Three takes the podium.)
Three: Good morning. And welcome to all graduates. You are the hope. You are the dream of a new tomorrow for humans and Cylon alike. And I salute you. For the risks that you have taken for just showing up today. Today, you begin a new career. And a new life as provisional police officers. And looking out across this room, I see that the significance of this new path is not lost on you.
(Three walks down the line, shaking hands with them. A Doral follows her with their medals.)
Three: Congratulations, Sergeant… Congratulations, Captain… It’s great to have you with us.
(She gets to Duck.)
Duck: I’ll see you soon, Nora.
(He clicks his detonator, blowing Three and most of the graduates away.)
Transcript taken by Ryan Bechtel
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