"And Laura is gonna get to the rendezvous point. I have to believe that."

GOLDEN DAYS & SILVER NIGHTS

Bill "Husker" Adama boards the Hangar Deck in uniform, and looking quite spiffy. The usual tons of salutes attend him. At the wing of the Raptor stand the Twins, looking like respectable adults. Kara's still rocking her uniform, and Lee's in a nice suit. They salute him as one. If Bill looks at Lee, they'll both collapse, so he looks at Kara instead.

"What do you hear, Starbuck?" Nothing but the rain. "Grab your gun and bring the cat in." Boom boom boom. She grins at him, the fear pushed far enough back that it won't bother him, but it's there. "Keep a light on, I'll be back." She knows. She already did this part.

Husker boards the Raptor and takes his gear. The Twins watch the hatch closed, impressed, and when it's done they look at each other, terrified.

Athena paces with Hera in her arms, humming the song to her. Sitting, humming. I mean to say that Bill and Saul took something broken, and put it back together.

The Raptor takes off and Bill puts on his headset. "Galactica, this is Husker. I'm in position."

Tigh, shivering on CIC, acknowledges, and then calls the jump.

Bill watches the Fleet vanish, one ship at a time, like the stars going out. One by one, his people, his family and his friends and his whole world, vanish in the black. For a moment they are everywhere and nowhere at once, and Galactica's the last to go, shining like a diamond, and then he is alone. He puts on his glasses, deliberately, and picks up the burnt Searider Falcon: a piece of her, until she comes back to him. He begins to read. All around him is just darkness, and stars like jewels, and hope.

Places among the stars,
Soft gardens near the sun,
Keep your distant beauty;
Shed no beams upon my weak heart.

Since she is here
In a place of blackness,
Not your golden days
Nor your silver nights
Can call me to you.


Since she is here
In a place of blackness,
Here I stay and wait.

For more on the final season of Battlestar Galactica check out our photo gallery.