After finding water on a distant moon, Galactica must find a way to pump that water onto the ship, a labour-intensive duty requiring a lot of manpower. Commander William Adama’s suggestion is to employ some of the men incarcerated on the Astral Queen, a prison ship. But President Laura Roslin is skeptical, only agreeing if the prisoners can earn “points” toward freedom, an idea that Commander Adama finds dangerous. Finally, Captain Lee “Apollo” Adama, the Commander’s son, steps in and strikes a compromise and agrees to lead a contingent to the Astral Queen to present the offer to the prisoners. President Roslin and Commander Adama will each send a representative to ensure their respective concerns are addressed. Initially, they expect the confined men will leap at the chance to leave the small confines of their transport cells but Apollo’s offer is met with eerie silence. In fact, when the cells are opened, not a single man steps out to accept. Soon, they discover the reason why. That reason is Tom Zarek.

Zarek made a name for himself as a revolutionary figure on Saggitaron when he fought to protect his planet’s resources from being ravaged by the Colonial government. But shortly thereafter, Zarek was convicted (albeit with suspect evidence) of blowing up a government building and was imprisoned. To some, Zarek is a freedom fighter but to others, he is a terrorist. During his two decades of incarceration, Zarek has risen as quasi-leader to the prison population. Just as Apollo begins to realize that he’ll be forced to negotiate with Zarek, the prisoners overpower the guards, seize the control center and take control of the ship.

Back on Galactica, Lieutenant Kara “Starbuck” Thrace fills in for Apollo as Commander of the Air Group (CAG). Colonel Tigh’s not happy about this and is even more dismayed when he catches her grandstanding performance during the pilot briefing. Meanwhile, Commander Adama presses Dr. Gaius Baltar for progress on the Cylon Detector. Baltar buys himself a few days, but knows he can’t avoid Commander Adama forever. Ultimately, he has no choice but to accept Number Six’s advice and ask for a nuclear warhead. Commander Adama is taken aback but reluctantly agrees once Baltar explains that Cylons react differently to certain types of radiation and this is the only way to test humans as Cylons.

Meanwhile, we learn of a Cylon plot involving Helo, the Galactica co-pilot stranded on Caprica. While he and the Lieutenant Sharon “Boomer” Valerii imposter, a Cylon agent, trek across the desolate landscape, we see that their every step is being monitored by two Cylons (one of which is another model of Number Six). Strangely, the Cylons lament the destruction they have wrought on the humans but also know it is imperative to their larger plan – a plan that depends on Helo and the Boomer imposter becoming intimate.

Back on the Astral Queen, Tom Zarek now has the upper hand as four civilians – Apollo, Billy (the President’s Aide), Dualla and Cally, a female deckhand from Galactica – are now Zarek’s hostages. Zarek demands for President Roslin’s resignation and immediate elections. President Roslin calls for Commander Adama to storm the Astral Queen and take it by force. Commander Adama, is concerned with Apollo’s safety on the Astral Queen, but does follow the order

Apollo realizes that this is exactly what Zarek wants. He wants Commander Adama to attack so he can die a martyr. The situation on the Astral Queen escalates when one of Zarek’s men grabs Cally and forces her into an abandoned cell. At that same moment, unbeknownst to Zarek and Apollo, Starbuck and a team of marines have snuck into the Astral Queen and are prepared to take out Zarek. When they hear Cally’s scream from a distant corridor of cells, they know the time to strike is now.

The ensuing chaos causes Zarek to lose focus just enough for Apollo to gain the upper hand. He wrestles control of a gun from another prisoner, shoots Cally’s attacker and then points the gun at Zarek. This leads to a standoff as Zarek’s men in turn take aim at Apollo. Starbuck, hidden on a prison catwalk, has Zarek in her sights as well, but is helpless to do anything. Finally, Apollo negotiates with Zarek. While he may not agree with Zarek’s methods, he too believes the fleet should hold democratic elections within the year. Zarek is leery of Apollo, but ultimately agrees, especially as Apollo offers the Astral Queen independent status within the fleet and Zarek leadership over it. Zarek acquiesces and his men stand down as well. But Starbuck, who isn’t privy to their conversation, sees her opening and draws a bead on Zarek’s head. Just in the nick of time, Apollo sees the laser cross-hairs and pushes Zarek out of way. Starbuck’s shot only grazes Zarek and he is now certain that Apollo is someone he can trust.

Upon returning to Galactica, Apollo finds that neither his father nor President Roslin is pleased with his decision. Commander Adama thinks granting Zarek clemency is a huge mistake, and President Roslin doesn’t like the idea of elections. But both realize Apollo is simply upholding the Articles of Colonization and that, perhaps more than anything else, is vital to the fleet’s population rebuilding a society. That night, Apollo visits President Roslin alone and tells her he hopes he hasn’t betrayed her by agreeing to the elections. She finally confides in him that she might not be alive in a year – she has cancer. The sharing of her secret brings President Roslin and Apollo closer.

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