“Episode #1.2” is part two of the two-part Battlestar Galactica miniseries.
At the end of the previous episode, President – even though she was 43rd in the line of succession – Roslin wanted Commander Adama to bring the Galactica to her to help rescue ships, whilst he wanted her to come to Ragnar Anchorage. Before either could happen, Cylon raiders arrived near Colonial One and opened fire. Galactica saw a nuclear explosion.
On Galactica, Adam tells the crew to resume jump prep. Starbuck lands on the flight deck and Chief Tyrol asks what she’s done to his viper. Starbuck wondered why the engine gave out; it looks like bits of it are missing, blown away. She asks how may were lost in the fire and he asks if she’s heard about Apollo. There’s been no word from Boomer.
Boomer is launching a communications drone from her Raptor; she explains to the boy with her, Boxey, what she’s doing. He asks if everyone on Caprica is dead. She doesn’t know. Boxey’s father is with the Colonial Fleet. He was told his father was missing. Boxey thinks he’s dead too. Gaius Baltar is also on the Raptor, and he’s hallucinating Number Six. Baltar may have gone a little mad.
Galactica jumps and arrives in geosynchronous orbit about Ragnar Anchorage. By the sounds of the cheers, people weren’t entirely sure that would work.
Colonial One is still intact. Apollo was fiddling with something prior to the explosion. The crew reboots the ship and Roslin and the captain head to the hold to find Apollo. She asks Apollo what he did. Sent out a big pulse of electromagnetic energy that disabled the Cylon warheads and probably looked like a nuclear explosion. As to whether or not it fooled the Cylons; if it hadn’t, Apollo is sure the Cylons would be on top of them. Apollo doubts anyone else knows; this was something they used to do in wargames but it never worked. After Apollo explains various things. President Roslin says they’ve learned not to ask follow up questions, but just to say thank you.
Galactica heads to dock with Ragnar Anchorage and the commander tells Chief Tyrol to get him some bullets. Inside the ammunition reserve is an armed man, who doesn’t look entirely well.
Boomer has made it to Colonial One and speaks to Apollo as the passengers get off her Raptor. She talks to Apollo, who described the Mark II he was flying as an old crate. Boomer tells him that old crate may well have saved his life. The Cylons shut down the Mark VIIs like they threw a switch, and that happened all over. The only fighters having any success are either old or need a major overhaul.
Apollo escorts Baltar to see Roslin. She wants him to serve as her chief scientific consultant, analysing Cylons and their technology. The president also speaks to Boomer; she understands the Raptor has limited FTL. It does. Roslin wants Boomer to find as many survivors as she can and bring them here to form a convoy to head out of the combat zone and safety.
Tyrol is trying to talk down the man on Ragnar, who is demanding a transport ship and safe passage. Eventually, Tyrol gets tired of arguing, tells the man, Leoben, that there are over 2,000 people on his ship and if Leoben thinks he can shoot them all, fine. Otherwise, get out of his way. Leoben surrenders his weapon.
Baltar is working and hallucinating Number Six. She suggests that she could have implanted a chip in his head whilst he was asleep. Baltar says that’s something his subconscious could have come up with. Number Six wants to know what Baltar is doing. Trying to work out how the Cylons did the attack. When Number Six was helping him, she created backdoors in the software for her company to exploit. However, she was also doing more for the Cylons. Number Six wants Baltar to love her. God is love.
Adama is now on the station and he is talking to Leoben. Leoben is an arms dealer and came to get some warheads to sell. People have the right to protect themselves; he just provides the means. Then someone knocks over a stack and an explosive arms and detonates. Adama and Leoben had jumped through a door which is now stuck. The commander tells Tyrol to get the bullets and equipment onto the ship; they will find another way out.
Apollo has received a message from Boomer; she’s on her way back with a fuel refinery ship. He speaks to the president. They have up to 60 ships but only 40 have FTL; they need to transfer everyone onto the FTL ships as soon as possible. Boomer arrives back and says there’s no-one else. Then a Cylon raider appears, scans everyone and leaves.
Apollo tells the president they have to jump. The Cylons can’t track them through FTL. Theoretically. There are thousands of people on the sublight ships, though. Apollo says that if they wait, they will lose everyone, not just those on the sublights. The president needs to make the decision. She decides to jump. As the FTL ships are preparing to jump, Cylon raiders appear. The FTL ships get away; the others do not. Apollo was right; if they’d hung around transferring people, everyone would have died.
Galactica still wants to get back into the fight. Even though there is no fight; the war has been lost. They have maybe 50 thousand survivors from the Twelve Colonies.
The miniseries leads into season one.