In the wake of the Cylon base ship’s unexpected jump – with Baltar, President Roslin and almost all of Galactica’s fighters and pilots aboard – Tom Zarek, as Vice President, tries to step in and fill the vacuum of power. However, neither Admiral Adama nor Lee Adama is prepared to acknowledge Zarek as the new President; feeling that Zarek is trying to assume the presidency too quickly, Lee begins the search for a new candidate that the entire quorum will approve. After shooting the leader of the Cylon rebels at point-blank range, Athena is separated from Hera and confined to the brig. A lone raptor appears, the ship that Roslin and Baltar took to the Cylon ship, but it’s now adrift and empty aside from a dead pilot. Following the FTL coordinates from the raptor’s black box, Adama orders a jump and finds the debris of a destroyed Resurrection Ship, possibly the hub ship, but no evidence that Roslin is alive – or dead. After nearly everyone around him suggests that he’s lost his perspective, Adama decides to resign as Galactica’s commander and let the fleet jump to its next destination…while he stays behind alone in a raptor at the rendezvous coordinates arranged for the pilots sent to the base ship. Before he embarks on this solo mission, however, he does see a new President sworn in – Lee’s search having produced a viable candidate, just not the candidate that Lee expected.
written by Michael Taylor
directed by Rod Hardy
music by Bear McCrearyGuest Cast: Michael Hogan (Colonel Tigh), Kandyse McClure (Dualla), Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh), Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek), Mark Sheppard (Romo Lampkin), Donnelly Rhodes (Doc Cottle), Rekha Sharma (Tory Foster), Leah Cairns (Racetrack), Colin Lawrence (Skulls), Alexandra Thomas (Hera), Donna Soares (Gemenon Delegate), Jacob Cantrell (Andrew McIlroy), Judith Marie (Picon Delegate), Iris Paluly (Speaking Delegate #2), Ryan McDonell (Lt. Cannon “Gonzo” Pike), Laara Sadiq (Priestess), Veena Sodd (Quorum Delegate)
Notes: This episode’s title is a Latin phrase translating to an indispensible action or condition. Romo Lampkin’s family died aboard the Olympic Carrier, which Lee destroyed in the first hourly episode of the series, 33.
LogBook entry by Earl Green