Colonel Saul* Tigh

"Saul, take personal command of the DC units," the Commander says.

Around them the Galactica's hull no longer sings of outer space.  She squeals, she cries, she groans.  Her thrusters sputter.  The loudspeaker blats worried words.

"Me?"  Tigh is surprised.  On the Galactica Tigh hasn't been in full charge of anything more complicated than a ceremonial fly by.  Adama never asks Tigh for more, at least not in words.

"You're either the X.O. or you're not," the Commander answers.

We're fighting a real war again, Saul.  We're not playing war games anymore.  That's what Adama means.  Do you still have what it takes to be a soldier?  If you don't, I have to find someone else and I have to find him right now.  So either take charge or take a walk, old friend.  I'll understand either way.  I owe you my life.

It is the thing in Tigh's life that makes him proudest, that Adama lives because of him.  Every day he sees Adama's scarred face and remembers.

But this time Tigh looks away from Adama.  They have to stop this fire fast.  Failure won't mean just rocketing to Canceron and short rations for dinner.  Failure will destroy the Galactica.  It will mean losing the war to the Cylons.

In Tigh's mind he has always been at war with the Cylons.  He fought in the first war.  Now he fights the second.  Between the two, he remembers only the waiting.

Fire on a spaceship is easy to put out.  You just let out the oxygen and let in the space.  The fire dies very quickly, but people die too.

Lives may have to be sacrificed to put out this fire.  Young lives.  Galactica has been Capricon's training ship for five years.  Most of the crew are either teachers or their students.  Only a few have seen burning-hot war close up.  They do not know how quickly death can find them.

Only a senior officer can command their sacrifice and be obeyed.

Tigh hates being a senior officer, but he hasn't liked much about himself since he stopped flying Vipers.  His wife has filed for divorce.  He has no family.  Tigh finds meaning serving under Adama.

Adama lives because of Tigh.  Tigh pulled Adama from a crashed Viper and with only his bare hands held a broken body together.

Adama lives.  Adama leads.  Tigh follows.

When Negala and the other progressive Fleet Command brass hats posted computer-phobic Adama out of sight on Galactica, and more to the point, out of line for promotion to admiral, Tigh followed.  Tigh figures one place to rot is as good as another.  But Adama does not know how to rot.  He restored the Galactica to its former glory and made it shine like the sun – at least in the minds of its crew.  Caprica thought something different.  They turned it into a museum.

Tigh likes living on the Galactica.  It is home-like.  Everything is manual and just as it should be.  In the final days of his career, Tigh shines a little too.

Tigh and Adama were to retire together … tomorrow?  Yesterday?  What the hell day is it anyway?

Seconds tick by too fast.

As Adama and Lieutenant Gaeta analyze the problem with the port thruster, Tigh makes a decision.  He has never walked away from a good fight, and he'll be damned if he'll start now.  He trots across CIC on his way to aux control.  He hurries.  Seconds count.

Engineering Crew Chief Tyrol and Landing Officer Captain Kelly stand together at aux control.  They are focused mostly on saving the lives trapped in the flaming compartments and on the inevitable equipment damage from a direct hit.  Perhaps they have forgotten the extent of the fire.  Perhaps they have forgotten it is real, not a drill, and what the fire will do if it spreads too far.

They ask Tigh for his orders.  They want miracles, wisdom, magic.

Tigh does not know any magic.  He studies the ship schematic.  He looks back to Adama.  Adama is occupied with other responsibilities and is not looking Tigh's way.

Adama leads.  Tigh follows.  It has been that way since the first Cylon war.  Adama has told Tigh to take care of this problem.

When Tigh does not speak, Tyrol and Kelly turn away.

Tigh knows what he must do.  He finds his voice and commands death.

An outraged Tyrol begs for forty seconds to save one hundred lives.

Tigh knows that Tyrol would need more than forty seconds just to get the attention of the fire-besieged crewmen.  It is roaring loud in the port landing pod and smoky hot.  Five or ten minutes would be more realistic.

The whole ship could explode any second.

"Seal it off now!" Tigh orders again.  He must save two thousand lives.  He must save the Colonies.  He will not let the Cylons win.  He holds on to his temper with both hands.  It is not the right time to flame his jets.  He will do that later when he is alone and will hurt only himself.

To Tyrol's credit, he begs one last time for the condemned crewmen.  Tyrol is a good man.  He does not want to kill.

Tigh reiterates the death command.

Tyrol's eyes flame with a hate that burns Tigh's soul.  But in wartime disobeying a direct order is treason.  Tyrol is a Colonial soldier through and through.  He picks up the microphone and issues the necessary hatch-locking commands.

Tigh knows that everything is done manually on Galactica.  Everything.  In the port landing pod human hands must lock in the condemned men.  He knows that it will be hard for those hands.

The seconds tick by.

The schematic shows all hatches locked.

Tigh turns the key that opens the vents to airless space.  He can spare Tyrol and Kelly that guilt.  Guilt is a senior officer responsibility.

One by one the schematic lights turn green.  Tigh shuts the vents and restarts the atmosphere system.

Tigh offers Tyrol and Kelly what hope he has: If the crewmen were trained properly and kept their heads, they will live.

"Lot of rooks in there," Tyrol says.  Perhaps he is wondering how well he has trained them.

"Nobody's a rook anymore," Tigh tells him.

Tyrol stays silent but his face speaks for him.  You were supposed to make magic, Tyrol's face says.  You were supposed to save them all.

Tigh returns to CIC and Adama.  Adama is the only magic Tigh knows.

The constant resonating hum of Galactica's hull has returned.  They are back in control, they are back in the fight.

* It is unclear whether Tigh's first name is Paul or Saul.  It is listed in some places on the 'net as Paul.  In the movie, Adama clearly says "Saul" and the closed captioning also says "Saul".  I couldn't read the end credits.  Paul is a good name and the name of my favorite Beatle, but I preferred the name of the tortured, self-doubting first king of Israel for a character like Tigh.