The Lost Warrior

Infobox Television episode | Title = The Lost Warrior
Series = Battlestar Galactica (1978)
Season = 1
Episode = 7
Airdate = 8 October 1978
Production =
Writer = Don Bellisario, Herman Groves
Director = Rod Holcomb
Guests = Carol Baxter as Macy, Kathy Cannon as Vela, Claude Earl Jones as Lacerta, Lance LeGault as Boötes, Johnny Timko as Puppis, Red West as Marco
Episode list = Episode chronology
Prev = Lost Planet of the Gods
Next = The Long Patrol

"This is an article about the Battlestar Galactica series. For the manga by Erin Hunter, see The Lost Warrior (Warriors)"

"The Lost Warrior" is an episode of the original "Battlestar Galactica" television series.

Plot synopsis

The episode begins with Apollo, in his Viper, and under attack by Cylon Raiders. He radios for help, but does so only to deceive the Cylons and lure them away from the fleet. He eventually loses his pursuers, but at the cost of his fuel supply and he is forced to land on a nearby planet.

On the world, a young boy named Puppis sees Apollo land and investigates. He greets Apollo, who learns he is on a forgotten frontier planet called Equellus whose people live in an Old West-style society with limited technology. Puppis' mother Vela arrives and strongly urges Apollo to hide his ship. Afterward, Vela and Puppis take Apollo back to their farm where Puppis shows off his "pneumo gun" – a glorified air rifle. Puppis informs Apollo that more powerful weapons are forbidden by a local leader named Lacerta who only permits his thug "Red Eye" to carry a laser gun similar to Apollo's side arm. Puppis believes Apollo can take out Red Eye because pneumo guns are apparently powerless against him.

Suddenly, Red Eye arrives at the farm and Apollo hides. He is shocked to see the gunslinger is really a Cylon Centurion. Red Eye questions Vela and Puppis about "mysterious noises" – like that of a ship landing – but the two feign ignorance. Red Eye leaves when Vela's brother Boötes arrives and offers misleading directions to the crash site. Apollo meets Boötes who identifies Apollo as a Colonial Warrior just like Puppis' late father who was a Colonial pilot named Marten. Nine years earlier, Marten crashed on the planet after a battle. Vela nursed him back to health and later they fell in love. When Apollo brings up the fact that Red Eye is armed with a Colonial-issued laser, Vela tells him that it was Marten's gun and that one day Lacerta showed up at their farm with Red Eye to demand tribute. Marten attacked Red Eye and was killed.

Later, Apollo visits the local saloon where he sees Red Eye sitting in a corner watching over Lacerta. Apollo is then bullied by a thug named Marco who intimidates others as a way to gain Lacerta's favor. Apollo instead tries to make "friends" with Red Eye, but the Cylon pulls his weapon. Lacerta calls Red Eye off and demands Apollo state his business. Apollo claims he was trying to impress Lacerta in hopes of getting a job. He is then laughed out of the bar. Apollo returns to the farm only to learn that Puppis ran out into the night to hunt a lupus, (a dangerous wolf-like creature), that has killed much of the livestock. Apollo finds the boy who succeeded in killing the beast.

Back at the fleet, Colonel Tigh convinces Commander Adama to send a patrol to find Apollo while the fleet is still in range. Lieutenant Starbuck takes the lead of the squadron thinking of Boxey, Apollo's step son who has recently lost his mother. Starbuck swears he won't allow Boxey to lose his father either.

Back on the planet, Vela is told by a friend named Jason that half of Boötes' herd of ovines was taken by Lacerta as tribute. Enraged, Boötes has gone to town to confront Lacerta and Jason fears Red Eye could kill him. Apollo rushes to town with Vela and Puppis, but they are too late. When Boötes threatens to kill Lacerta, Red Eye shoots and kills him. When Apollo does nothing, Puppis storms away disappointed.

Uncertain as to why a Cylon is here and backing a human con man, Apollo learns from a bar maid named Macy that Lacerta found Red Eye among the wreckage of a crashed ship. Somehow, he reactivated the Centurion, whose programming got scrambled, and mistook Lacerta for its Imperious Leader.

Apollo returns to town where he confronts Lacerta who quickly calls Red Eye to his defense. When Red Eye steps from the saloon, a western duel begins. Red Eye draws his gun, but Apollo is quicker on the draw and blasts the Cylon to oblivion. With his powerful sidekick defeated, Lacerta is quickly run out of town as the others cheer Apollo as their new hero.

Later, Vela helps Apollo retrieve the fuel from Marten's crashed Viper to refuel his ship. He says his goodbyes to her and Puppis and heads off into space. He is quickly found by Starbuck and his patrol and guided back to the fleet.

Production notes

*The character names Vela, Puppis, and Boötes are taken from the names of star constellations.

*The animals in this episode were portrayed as alien creatures - of note the horses had striped fur (similar to a zebra) and their sounds were overdubbed wildcat growls. The livestock were sheep-like animals called Ovines, and the lupis was a vicious wolf-like creature.

External links

* at the Battlestar Wiki