Unexpected Redemption (A Battlestar Galactica 1978 FanFiction)

Chapter 10

As the days went by, Apollo made great progress. His body started to heal, and he was moved out of the medical bay and into a real bed. Soon the day they had been waiting for arrived—the day that Apollo's bandages would come off. Commander Adama was there with Athena, Boxey, Cassiopeia, Starbuck, Sheba, Boomer, Jolly, and Dr. Salik.

"Is it bad that I'm really nervous about this?" Apollo asked Dr. Salik.

"Not at all. I am quite sure you will be able to see...Are you ready?"

Apollo swallowed hard and felt someone (he assumed Boxey, his son) squeeze his hand. "Yes...I'm ready."

"Starbuck, I'm going to need your help unwrapping."

"Yes, sir."

Dr. Salik cut the bandage, and he and Starbuck slowly unraveled it until all that remained was the two eye pads. Starbuck took one off, and Dr. Salik took the other off. "Everything will be blurry at first. But if it focuses, your sight will be back to normal."

Everyone held their breath as Apollo opened his eyes. At first, all he saw were blurred colors. But after blinking a few times, the colors separated, and he began to see shapes. Soon those shapes became sharper and clearer. "I can see," Apollo said.

"If you can see, then tell me what you see," Dr. Salik said.

"I see you standing beside me, Athena is standing behind Father with Sheba, Boomer and Jolly are standing behind Starbuck and Cassiopeia, and Boxey is beside me holding my hand," Apollo said as tears of joy started streaming down his face.

"It's good to have you back, son," Adama said as he leaned in to hug Apollo. Apollo, in return, embraced his father.

Dr. Salik cleared his throat. "I hate to ruin this touching family moment, but I need to ask Apollo some questions. That is, if you're feeling up to it."

"Yes...I feel fine now."

"Alright, tell me what you remember about the accident."

"I remember my viper getting hit and wondering where the shot came from. Then I saw the planet and assumed it was a shooting range. Starbuck told me the damage was really bad, then he returned to the Galactica for help. I tried to make it to the planet. I remember entering the atmosphere and thinking that I was going to die. I launched the escape pod and then...."

"Then what?"

"Then I saw a blinding light when it hit the ground. It blinded me, and I couldn't see anything. The last thing I remember was the impact and hitting my head against the dashboard."

"So you don't remember any of your time on the planet or even making it back to the Galactica?"

"I remember bits and pieces. But they don't make any sense. I remember a Cylon, a weird instrument, and Starbuck without a shirt. I admit it sounds kind of crazy, but that's what I remember."

Sheba, Cassiopeia, and Athena giggled, "Starbuck without a shirt?"

"I had a very good reason," Starbuck said. "On the shuttle to the Galactica, your head wound opened up and started to bleed again. No one had a cloth so I used my shirt."

"That explains it," Apollo said as he started to laugh. But, his laughter caused his ribs to ache. "Ouch. That hurts."

"That is normal," Dr. Salik said to Apollo. "Now the rest of you need to try not to make him laugh. You may not understand this, but laughing to a person who has broken ribs is not funny. Now, the weird instrument you were talking about is right here." Dr. Salik picked up the stethoscope-like instrument and handed it to Apollo.

"And it measures heart beat?"

"Yes it does. It is quite ingenious as an alternative to our technology. Dr. Cyprus truly was a learned man to have made this and all the other instruments. We are all very grateful that he sent his notes, manuscripts, and books with us. As you can imagine, Dr. Wilker and his staff are very excited."

"What about the Cylon?"

"The Cylon that you remember was called Talnar. He helped us a lot after Dr. Cyprus was shot. He also is the reason you are here now—he saved your life," Starbuck answered.

"I was saved by a Cylon? How?"

"Well to start off, you had a really high fever and were delirious. You didn't know where you were, what the Galactica was, what was going on, etc. You kept calling for Zac, too. Then you called us Mother, Father, or Athena when we were talking to you. Anyway, Talnar gave you his special laser-proof vest and created a diversion so that we could get you to the shuttle. We were almost there when the other Cylons attacked us. Jolly started firing upon them, so we gave you to Talnar. We thought we had gotten all of them. But then I saw one out of the corner of my eye. He was aiming right at your head....I shouted a warning to Talnar, and then fired at the Cylon. But it was too late, he had already fired....Talnar must have seen it coming, he stepped right in front of you—right in the line of fire. He saved you from certain death."

Adama sat at his computer and narrated his thoughts into his electronic journal. "Today was the day of truth for Apollo. I had been believing the whole time that my son would regain his sight—and he did. So I can finally rest at ease after over a secton (week) of waiting and worrying. He truly is a living miracle. He didn't die in the accident on Corona, but instead was rescued by two total strangers-one Cylon and one man who happened to be a doctor. He didn't die from the fever, but was cared for by Dr. Cyprus. Dr. Cyprus was even killed because he wouldn't surrender the location of Apollo to the Cylon outpost under the control of Fornax. After Dr. Cyprus's death, Talnar looked after Apollo and helped Boomer, Starbuck, and Jolly with their escape from the planet and with the rescue of Apollo. Talnar even risked his life by becoming a distraction to our enemies and leaving his only source of protection with Apollo. Then, when they were almost in the safety of the shuttle, during the Cylon attack, Talnar was there again to protect Apollo at any cost. Talnar gave his life for my son's. God has been gracious. Not only have I regained my son, but I have also gained knowledge from Dr. Cyprus that may yet lead us to Earth. They say the Lord works in mysterious ways, and now I really believe so because of these events. A Cylon that was originally created to destroy human life saved the life of Apollo, and Apollo received redemption from the most unexpected of all.

Fleeing from the Cylon tyranny, the last Battlestar, Galactica, leads a rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest...a shining planet known as Earth.

-Battlestar Galactica 1978 Closing