“Murder on the Rising Star” is episode eighteen of season one of the classic series of Battlestar Galactica.
Adama is recording his log and that scouts are finding signs of the Thirteenth Tribe more and more often. When they finally find Earth, he plans to observe and sample the culture to avoid culture shock, and wonders if they will be more advanced or have fallen from a greater time.
On the Rising Star, Starbuck and Apollo are playing Pyramid. Ortega, on the opposing team, is clashing with Starbuck. Cassiopeia tells Athena and Sheba that every time Starbuck plays against Ortega, he’s black and blue. She knows that as a MedTech she patches him up. The other two are not convinced that’s how she knows. Athena confirms that Starbuck and Ortega have been at each other’s throats since the Academy. Cassiopeia says one is going to end up killing the other,
Adama and Tigh are watching in the lounge; Tigh suggests going to watch from the gallery. Adama prefers where they are.
Starbuck and Ortega end up fighting after Ortega pulls another dirty move. Both are out of the game. Cassiopeia goes after Starbuck and ends up pulling the two apart and threatens to put both on report. Cassiopeia is going to wait in the docking lounge for Starbuck and the next shuttle to Galactica; she wants Starbuck on it.
Cassiopeia is waiting and Ortega is dressed. He opens the door, sees someone there and says he knew it would come to this, going for his gun.
Starbuck is running and bumps into a man. Behind him, Ortega is dead. He meets Cassiopeia in the lounge; she says he’s on time but the shuttle isn’t. Starbuck says the sooner they get out of there the better.
Ortega’s body has been found, discovered by the man Starbuck bumped into. Starbuck needs finding and a routine check performing on his laser, given their clashes. The sooner it is checked, the sooner Starbuck will be cleared. Apollo and Boomer head to find him. They arrive before Starbuck gets on the shuttle. And his laser has been recently fired.
Chief Opposer Solon arrives as Starbuck’s laser is being tested on the Galactica. It shows his laser was used to kill Ortega. Starbuck thinks someone must have used it whilst he was in the turbowash. Solon tells Starbuck that pleading self-defence will get a reduced sentence. Starbuck won’t admit to something he didn’t do. Apollo offers to defend Starbuck, despite a lack of experience, and Starbuck is happy about that.
Ortega’s Pyramid partner says that everyone hated Ortega, but Ortega said only Karibdis would kill him. There is no Karibdis in the personnel files. Apollo only has a limited amount of time to find out what really happened, or Starbuck will be found guilty.