Cleaned & corrected by Tronar
Boomer, I'm hit.
I had a dream about a great warrior.
His name was Starbuck.
Okay, I've had it with you three. You're all on report.
I'm sick and tired of this silent treatment.
I do hereby give you life.
Now, Cy, don't get crazy.
Not friends.
The great ship, Galactica.
Our home for these many years
we've endured the wilderness of space.
And now we near the end of our journey.
We have at last found Earth.
Adama,
I had a dream.
You wish to tell me about it?
Do you believe dreams are significant?
Yes, I do. Not all of them, but some.
In my dream, I was not born aboard the Galactica,
nor any of the other ships in the fleet.
Is that true?
Yes. That is true.
Then who am I? Where do I come from?
Tell me about your dream.
It was not a dream about me.
It was a dream about a great warrior.
His name was Starbuck.
Please tell me your dream.
There was a great battle.
They're on our tail.
Then let's show them our nose.
They're running.
Not for long.
Starbuck, look out!
You've got one flying right up your tailpipe!
Yeah, no kidding.
Oh, frak. Boomer, I'm hit.
How bad?
Bad, two of my three thrusters are gone.
This guy's on me like wet on rain.
All right, let's see if I can give him a little surprise.
Come on, sweetheart, one last reverse on your old turbo.
Goodbye. Thought I was going to give up and die, huh?
Now, let's see how you like a little taste of your own medicine.
That was an unexpected move. He is a very good warrior.
That is a small consolation. We are going to crash.
Nice shooting, Starbuck. Can you limp back to the fleet?
Negative, Boomer.
I'll stay with you as long as I can, buddy.
The fleet can't afford to lose two pilots, two ships.
But you're fine.
All I have to do is keep track of you, send back help.
Yeah, after you warn the fleet to get out of here.
Hey, are you gonna...
You gonna drift or try to find land?
I better try to find some kind of hospitable atmosphere somewhere.
Starbuck.
Yeah.
Take care of yourself.
Hey, you know me, pal. I always look out for number one.
Give Cassiopeia my love, and Athena and...
Well, tell them not to sit around waiting.
I might like it where I'm going.
I got to go now, Boomer. My support vapors are running low.
Look, I'll be seeing you.
My friend, my dear, dear friend,
believe me, if I could change places with you, I would.
But, sir, we can't just leave him out there!
Boomer, don't you think I wanna go back for him?
Do you think I wanna leave someone I love like a son,
knowing we'll never see him again?
Take a look out there. We'll be lucky if we can save our fleet.
You mean we can never go back?
That is correct.
There is no going back.
Our enemy pushes us on and on and on.
And until we are strong enough,
or can find Earth and get help,
we can never stop or turn away or look back.
Thank you, sir.
I appreciate your honesty.
First enemy wave has been taken back.
They are running with our fighters in pursuit.
Order all fighters to regroup and let them run.
Fleet is to proceed ahead at flank speed.
Goodbye, Starbuck.
I love you.
We all love you.
Tractor gear down.
Maximum airfoil deflection.
Force field in effect to hold me against my favorite seat.
Oh, what a headache.
Headache.
That's wonderful.
Oh, pain, I love you.
At least I'm not dead
yet.
There was nothing left but my escape pod,
which fired automatically moments before my ship impacted.
That had saved my life. But to what end?
I set my automatic beacon to transmit a continuous signal
to those rescuers I knew would never come.
Now it was time to set out and explore the planet.
Who knows, I might discover an oasis,
a citadel of civilization,
thousands of primitive people who would worship me as some kind of winged God
who'd dropped in on them out of the heavens.
Yes, sir, no question about it.
This could be the best thing that ever happened to me.
I decided to call my new home Starbuck.
The planet Starbuck. Why not? I discovered it.
It was mine. All mine.
Starbuck the planet had not turned out to be any better off
than Starbuck the ill-fortuned warrior.
I had only enough food rations to last a few days,
no shelter and I was alone.
All alone.
I wasn't alone.
It was metallic, honed, shaped,
placed there by a living being.
My heart stopped, rose up into my throat and nearly gagged me.
What had I done?
What had so angered the Gods that they would do this to me?
It was Cylon.
It would be hard to imagine a Colonial warrior depending on the Cylons for survival,
but here I was.
The temperature was dropping rapidly as the planet orbited away from the suns.
The astral winds were increasing the bite of the cold.
I had been pretty close to death many times in my life,
but never closer than now.
The planet Starbuck was a nice place to visit.
But tourism and overpopulation would never become a problem.
At least I was still alive.
Or was I?
Perhaps this is the end man fears so much from birth,
the ultimate repayment for all of one's selfish acts.
A banishment to a place where there is no warmth, no love, no companionship,
only solitude and cold.
I closed my eyes to sleep,
wondering if I would ever wake up.
Awakening aboard the Galactica was usually a jarring experience.
The blare of a Klaxon,
the shouts of angry pilots
all being rudely mustered to meet the enemy.
These cold-blooded, metallic instruments of death
would not cease their warring ways until every human was destroyed.
Morning, fellas.
Thought I'd swing by and give you orders of the day.
We'll muster out in a few centons and begin policing the area.
I want the area whitewashed, boundaries manicured and...
Oh, yes, uniform of the day will be...
Oh, let's make it polished metallic.
We'll dine at dusk. Dress silvers,
and I'll expect some form of entertainment.
Don't ever do that again.
You speak only when spoken to.
You say "sir" and you speak to me directly.
No pairing off and no talking amongst yourselves.
Have I made myself clear?
Good.
Now, are there any questions?
Very well.
I'll be leaving for headquarters now.
You may continue with your duties.
They were definitely a loose group.
It'd take some time to whip them into shape.
It was on the third day of Starbuck's great journey
that he reached his momentous decision.
Starbuck, you're a genius.
No wonder they named this planet after you.
A wizard before his time.
Possibly driven by loneliness
or more ironically, some deep instinct for survival,
Starbuck poured over his dreaded enemy,
breathing life back into the shattered form
that had been created for one purpose,
the extinction of man.
In his weakened state, it was possible that Starbuck
did not even foresee the ominous implications of his work.
For if he succeeded in bringing life back to hulking Cylon form,
what would be the massive Centurion's first act?
He was born for no other purpose but to destroy humans.
His first act, therefore, would quite probably be to kill Starbuck.
As Lieutenant First Class of the Colonial Fleet,
I do hereby give you life.
It's hooked up out there, it's hooked up here.
All hooked up here.
Energizer on the ship seems to have a good charge.
All that work.
It's downright discouraging.
You're alive.
Well, this is a grand day.
Only been in charge of this planet for three days
and already I've doubled the population.
I do hereby declare me President Elect.
If that's all right with you?
Die, human.
Don't be ridiculous.
Think I'd save you and then let you shoot me?
Besides, it doesn't work. See.
Here, try it.
You really did.
How would you like to end up like those two?
Huh?
Human, evil.
Now, let's not get hostile.
See?
I can turn you off or on.
But I don't intend to keep doing that,
not if you're willing to listen to reason.
Is any of this making sense?
Turn off and turn on.
Okay, here's how it works.
Now, you need a good charge, so I can get rid of these wires.
But until I figure out how to do that,
you're drawing power from your ship out there.
Yeah.
Not exactly a textbook landing but...
No offense, but were you at the controls during that touchdown?
Cylons work as a team. We are equals.
Yeah, well, that's a very nice policy.
Except when things start going wrong.
So, what happened during the landing?
The situation did not compute.
So you didn't know what to do.
And what happened next? Someone whip out the manual?
Yes, the manual did not help.
What did you do when it came time for a little personal initiative?
We were taking a vote when the ground came up and hit us.
Yeah, well... Now, around here, I'm in charge.
That is impossible.
I am Cylon. You are a human being. We are enemies.
Why?
There are only the two of us on this entire planet.
There is no reason for us to be enemies.
Hey, now, by working together, we might survive.
Probably not, but we might.
It is out of the question.
We are enemies. I must destroy you.
That's your last word? You refuse to be friends?
We are enemies.
Okay, I'm gonna have to shut you off.
You're sure?
We are enemies.
Okay, your final word?
Enemies.
Oh, this is a shame. I really worked so hard putting you together, I...
Here goes.
Wait.
You say something?
Why did you put me back together?
Well, because after being alone here for three days,
I decided I needed a friend.
We are enemies.
Well, no, we're cultural dissidents.
That means our cultures do not get along, but that's in their world.
Here, things are different.
If I were dead, you would be all alone.
I not need anyone else. I am self-sufficient.
Oh, that's too bad.
You have no sense of values beyond your own survival? Is that right?
I exist that the Cylon empire may grow and organize the universe.
Well, what you gonna do with it when it's organized?
Hello, I didn't hear an answer.
What are you going to do with the universe once you have it organized?
I don't recall anyone ever asking that question.
Yeah, well, I'm asking it.
Don't you have any feelings about your empire?
Do you care what happens to it?
I was created to serve our empire.
Ah!
Now we're getting someplace.
So, you...
You are grateful to the empire for creating you so that you might serve.
Yes.
Well, then, how do you feel about me?
I recreated you after you were destroyed.
You repaired me. You did not create me.
I am a Cylon.
So you have no feelings of loyalty to me for saving you?
I would have to think about that.
Take your time. That's all we have.
Although we could even run out of that.
Why do you say that?
You cannot exist without energy to drive your circuits and pumps,
and I can't exist without food.
Food?
They sure sent you guys out with a minimum of information.
Aren't you even interested in what a human is?
Don't you care what it is you've been trying to destroy for a thousand years?
You are our enemy.
Yes, so you keep telling me. But why are we the enemy?
Because you are.
Oh, Cy. You mind if I call you Cy?
Cy, you have the mentality of a two-year-old.
A two-year-old what?
Hopeless, absolutely hopeless.
Okay, we're going to start from scratch.
You're going to school, and I'm gonna teach you.
And when I'm through, you're going to know all about humans.
And maybe I'll know something about Cylons.
I'd like that very much.
Starbuck. Just call me, Starbuck.
Just like this planet you're on.
Yeah, this planet is called Starbuck.
What an interesting coincidence.
Yes. Isn't it?
Oh, I've got a lot of interesting things to teach you.
By the way, have you ever played a card game called Pyramid?
What is a card game?
Lovely. You have all the makings of a perfect companion.
Eternal perfection and order is the goal of the Cylon Empire.
What about love?
How can you have an empire completely void of love?
Not to mention the two different sexes.
Genders?
Right. Male, female. Boy, girl. Man, woman.
Woman.
Right. Have a seat, Cy.
We studied woman.
They are weaker than man, less durable.
Well, in some cases they can't pull the same load over the short haul
but they live longer.
Is that their greatest asset?
Cy, do you mind if we change the subject?
Now, let me teach you that game I was telling you about.
Did I irritate you? You seem irritated.
No, I just don't want to talk about women anymore.
You sure you've never played this game? Pyramid?
Good. Cut.
Cut?
No, Cy. Here, let me show you.
All right, Cy. Let's see what you got.
You now owe me 42,000 pebbles, three rocks, and one cubit.
Why did you win?
I had four pyramids. You only had three.
You said that four pyramids was a superior hand to three pyramids.
Now, wait a second. Who's teaching who?
The correct use of your language is, "Who is teaching whom?"
And you keep changing the rules of the game.
Are you accusing me of cheating?
You are bored with me.
What?
You find my skill level unchallenging.
Therefore, you manipulate the rules to keep yourself interested.
I am disappointed.
I don't believe this. How do you hurt a Cylon's feelings?
Look, I don't
know if this means anything to a Cylon or not, but I'm sorry, you're right.
Two weeks on this planet have begun to get to me.
My companionship is not adequate.
You require a woman?
Oh, well, that's a pointless discussion.
I will get you one.
Hey, come back here, what you...
Hey, it's dark out there and it's freezing. Cy, where you going?
Cy, you'll fall off a cliff.
Lord's sake.
It was nasty footing.
Treacherous drops of thousands of metrics in all directions.
It was more than that. It was hopeless.
What would I have said, even a few days ago,
if someone had told me I could feel anything for a Cylon,
let alone pain and sorrow.
After all, he was my enemy.
Wasn't he?
I awakened early.
But didn't have the stomach to face the hopelessness of the day ahead.
Sleep was safer.
There was less chance of disappointment.
Starbuck, I have brought you a surprise.
Cy, what... What in the...
Woman.
Dreams were the lone enemy I couldn't control.
There had been visions of food, the fleet, my boyhood home on Caprica,
and most haunting of all, the face of a girl I'd never met.
She's alive.
I presumed you'd prefer her that way.
Cy, this isn't funny.
This is a living, breathing human being.
Yes, I feel I have already compromised everything I believe in.
What's helping one more human going to matter more or less?
Cy, this is more than a woman.
I'm sorry if you are displeased.
There wasn't much of a selection.
Cy, this woman is with child.
Child?
Small human.
She's going to bear another human life.
I am rapidly being surrounded.
Cy, we need water.
Go to the spot near the cliff where my laser opened the underground stream.
By your command.
Although, technically, you have no real authority to order me around.
Cy, go.
I'm going.
Thanks, Cy.
She hadn't said a word since we'd found her.
Obviously, she'd been through a heavy shock of some kind.
Who knows?
Maybe she was the absolute last survivor of an entire race.
I wound up telling her my life story.
Strange how my only real companion was still a Cylon.
Not that I was ever really mean,
it's just that I always found it
difficult to commit to any one woman.
I guess I was afraid of getting hurt.
That's why I never cared if they got hurt first. I...
I may not find your incessant talk fascinating, but at least I don't walk off.
Did you say something, Cy?
No, of course not.
What could I possibly say to you? I'm nothing but a machine.
My emergency rations were rapidly running out
now that I had two mouths to feed.
Her mouth worked fine when it came to eating.
We'd fashioned a crude hand-turn generator to furnish our power needs.
Starbuck, would you die for me?
What'd you say?
I know it's a lot to ask.
Yeah, especially for a first question.
You can talk and all this time you haven't said a word?
I'm sorry.
Sorry. You're sorry.
You let me go on babbling for nearly seven days without saying a word.
You let me rave like a mad man telling you my life story,
and you don't say a word.
Not only am I embarrassed, I'm angry.
Don't be angry.
No?
Well, did it ever occur to you that I might have some questions?
Ask me anything you like.
Oh. Oh, well, thank you very much.
Let's begin with where are you from?
How did you get here?
I am from a dimension beyond and I came in the usual way.
Well, that's a little vague. And I seemed to have misplaced your ship.
It didn't stay. Oh.
Your fare run out? You get dumped for non-payment of transportation?
You can't go out there. It's minus 50...
She can't go out there.
She already did.
I know she went out there.
You picked a fine one when you found her, Cy.
She's about as loony as they come.
What do you mean?
Besides, it's her turn at the generator.
Yeah, well, we'll talk more about that later.
Here.
We must prepare a vehicle for our child, Starbuck.
Yeah, sure, I'll get right on it.
What did you say?
It won't be safe here for long.
The automatic beacon from the Cylon ship
will soon bring hostiles searching for their own.
No, no, no, no you don't.
Let's go back to the part about our child.
Look, I know this'd look bad in the Commander's Court,
we being the only two humans on this entire planet,
but there's no way in this galaxy, I...
Spiritual child, Starbuck.
Now, you are ready for progress, aren't you?
Haven't you spent enough of your energy,
enough of your resources toward serving yourself?
I really talked too much to you, didn't I?
Telling you my life story.
Well, at least I was honest about my appetites and bad habits.
Let's put them aside.
Now, we should begin to make plans with the first light of dawn.
If you choose.
That was my rudder.
Yeah, well, not anymore. Now it's a cradle for the baby.
What time is the baby's estimated time of arrival?
You make it sound like a battle squadron coming in for a landing.
It's a baby, Cy, a baby.
They have their own way of getting here when they're good and ready.
At home, we simply make a new Cylon when we need one.
Yeah, well, with humans, it takes nine and a half months from the time
a mother and a father decide they want a child until they get one.
Very primitive.
But at least we will have another pair of strong hands to help turn the generator.
Sorry, Cy, I got more bad news.
You see, humans, unlike most creatures in nature,
they arrive in a completely helpless mode.
I'm afraid, you're gonna be up most of the night
turning the generator to provide additional heat for the child.
The infant can draw heat from its mother.
Yes, but at night, it'll still need its wrappings changed.
How long must we apply this procedure?
For at least the first few months.
This entire operation sounds like a typical human plan.
Impractical and clumsy.
It is not a wonder you lost the war.
How is the launching vehicle coming?
Angela, I've come up with some ideas, but they aren't very practical.
There is no choice.
The Cylons will soon respond to the distress beacon.
How can you be so sure?
Besides, it doesn't even work, I've ripped it out.
But it was, so they know the course.
Starbuck, it is predestined.
They will come.
Yeah, well...
Look, I re-examined my own safety pod, the one I crashed in.
By taking one of the Cylon's engines and structuring a few supports,
I can fashion a craft of sorts, but it'll take time.
And when I'm done, where will we go? My fleet by now is so far...
Prepare the craft, Starbuck.
We'll find the way.
Are you all right? What?
Cy, get over here.
Yes, I'm all right, Starbuck.
But there isn't much time.
Please, the ship.
You called?
Yes, I need your help removing one of the engines from the main ship.
From my ship? You're removing my engine?
It's our ship, Cy.
We share everything, remember?
Besides, it's ruined. I'm gonna try and build a new one.
How exciting. Where are we going?
I haven't the faintest idea.
Another great human plan heard from.
Well, maybe I'm just humoring her to get her through the pain.
Pain? Yes.
Giving birth to human babies can be very painful.
You people really ought to try our method.
Fast, efficient, and painless.
Well, I'll mention it to the Commander if we make it back to the fleet.
Don't mention that the idea came from me.
You humans are emotional about our having destroyed you.
It was a hopeless job with inadequate tools and parts.
Still, in wasn't long before we had a crazy looking spaceship
that was half Galactican and half Cylon.
Even Cy was proud.
We did it. Cy, we did it!
We did it without her help.
Well, now, let's not forget it was her idea.
That has to count for something.
Look, Cy, we're all in this together.
You two are human. I alone am Cylon.
We cannot be friends.
Cy.
Cy, come on. Let's give it a try.
Cy, I can't do it alone.
Starbuck!
It's time.
Oh, Lord.
Cy!
Get back here. It's coming!
What's coming?
The baby, Cy, the baby!
Our way is better.
But, Cy, it's so beautiful.
Just like its mother.
You have a very healthy baby boy.
We have a healthy baby boy.
Now, Cy, don't get crazy. It's...
She didn't mean to...
I'm sure Angela would be proud to have you as godfather.
What is godfather?
It's a human tradition.
It means a special, special friend to the family
throughout life.
We cannot be friends.
You three are humans. I am a Cylon.
Not friends.
You rest now, I'll take the baby.
Starbuck, will you give your life for this child?
What are you talking about? Everything's gonna be all right.
We're gonna start our own new world.
And this handsome young fella
is our firstborn.
Oh, you must prepare yourself for what is to come.
I've a surprise for you.
The ship is already finished.
I'm not speaking of the ship, Starbuck.
It is time to prepare yourself.
For what?
To make the final judgment.
Angela, you're not making much sense, sleep...
Starbuck,
tomorrow is our last day.
No question about it.
Motherhood is the single most physically demanding effort a human can endure.
She'd feel more optimistic in the morning.
Today was too emotional and draining for reason.
Tomorrow we'd all laugh and be grateful for our lives.
Angela! Angela!
They're here. Three of them, fully armed.
Listen, we better get ready. I...
Who is here, Starbuck?
Your people, Centurions.
I must go.
Cy.
Don't. Don't make me do it.
Goodbye, Starbuck. Goodbye, Angela.
Goodbye, Godson.
Cy, no! Don't.
I couldn't do it.
We can't trust him, he's one of them. He can't help himself.
Listen, our only chance is to get to the ship.
We're ready.
You're ready?
How did you know? How...
How do you know everything before it happens?
I told you last night, Starbuck,
that you had to prepare yourself for this is judgment day.
Come, Starbuck, we must hurry.
Angela, what did you mean by judgment day?
Who's going to be judging me?
We all judge ourselves, Starbuck.
Well, I hope so, because I plan on being
very easy on myself in certain categories.
Now, look,
if I run into trouble, just push that button.
The ship is programmed to head towards the fleet's secret heading.
No matter how far she deviates to avoid Cylons,
she'll always return to that heading sooner or later.
The ship will also automatically lower your body temperatures
to sustain life for a maximum period of time.
You are a good man.
You couldn't hurt Cy,
and now you send us off, knowing that without you,
the fuel will last twice as long.
Who says I'm not coming along?
Goodbye, Starbuck.
I truly love you.
Look, I better seal the ship just in case.
I love you, too, both of you.
Oh, felgercarb. Three against one.
Well, this isn't going to be fair.
Three against two is better.
Cy.
That thing doesn't work, remember?
I repaired it. Wait here.
Cy. Cy, you can't go out there.
Oh, jeez.
Greetings, Centurion. Identify.
I am group leader, Cyrus.
Lower your weapons.
And where is the human?
I extend my weapon that I may perform the following function.
Cy!
Cy.
You saved our lives.
Cy, you all right?
I don't think so. My circuits are fading.
No, Cy. No.
Cy, it's just you and me now.
One human and one Cylon.
No, Starbuck.
Not human,
not Cylon.
Friends.
The child is safely on its way,
and I am ready to return home now.
And I judge this mortal to be good.
So very good.
The small pod made its way across the heavens,
emitting its weak but distinct distress signal.
Farther and farther into space it went,
carrying the small child in a near-frozen state.
A recovery team brought the small pod aboard the Galactica,
taking every imaginable precaution
lest it be some treacherous Cylon trick.
Far from being a trick,
the crude, handmade spacecraft bore us an incredible gift, a...
A small child,
a child of the stars.
Then it was true, my dream.
But how could I know these things?
Dr. Zee, I will tell you how you know.
You remembered what happened to Starbuck
because you were there.
I was there?
Yes, Dr. Zee, you were the child that came to us from the stars.
Adama, could I be Starbuck's son?
And if I am, who is my mother?
Ah.
The answer is still out there amongst the stars.