"Risk and Luck" Classic Battlestar Galactica #4 (Dynamite) Written by Rick Remender Art by Carlos Rafael Cover by Dave Dorman

The colonial warriors and Sagittarian resistance capture a Cylon freighter in order to escape from Maytoria.

Story Summary

As the issue opens, the Galactica detects an S.O.S. communication in the latest fleet code. But they can't be sure it is actually Starbuck or Boomer; it could be a Cylon trap. Commander Adama decides to hang the Galactica just at the rim of the system to see if another communication comes through.

On Maytoria, the guerillas launch their attack on the Cylon transport hub. Despite losses, they manage to capture a personnel carrier and Starbuck shows up (with Stadra) just in time to pilot it, having escaped their watery grave (at the end of "Taking it to the Enemy"). As they take off, they are pursued by four Cylon raiders, which Starbuck manages to destroy by (accidentally) dumping the crates from the cargo hold.

They land at the guerilla hideout long enough to pick up the rest of the survivors. They successfully escape Maytoria and begin to head towards the Galactica's last known route.

Later, the Galactica picks up the ship on sensors and communications confirm it is Starbuck and Boomer and friends. The carrier is allowed to dock with the battlestar and the new refugees are examined and treated by ship's doctors. Starbuck soon finds himself in hot water with the three current women in his life, Stadra, Athena, and Cassiopeia.

Meanwhile, on the Cylon carrier, hidden compartments suddenly open to reveal scores of golden-hued Cylons and one IL-series commander. Walking through the corridor near the bay, Starbuck and Stadra share a kiss when a laser bolt suddenly strikes her in the back and Cylons march into the corridor of the Galactica.

CONTINUED IN CLASSIC BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #5.

Didja Know? 

As with last issue, the advertising image used by Dynamite Entertainment for this issue is slightly different than the cover image that appeared on the comic itself. In the ad, Lorne Green as Commander Adama overlooks a Cylon/Colonial battle in space. On the actual cover, the face has been repainted to not resemble Lorne Green! Again, I can only assume that Dynamite did not have the license to use Green's likeness and so had to change it.
Advertisement for Classic Battlestar Galactica #4	Actual cover of Classic Battlestar Galactica #4

Didja Notice?

On page 3, a Cylon repeats the "Resistance is futile" phrase from last issue, known as a Borg slogan from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

On page 5, Freg calls a Cylon a "son of a daggit", parodying the Earth curse, "son of a bitch".

On pages 11-12, the four Cylon raiders chasing the captured personnel carrier are all destroyed by Starbuck's jettisoning of the cargo boxes in the hold. Seems extremely unlikely, even given Starbuck's luck.

As the guerillas land the captured transport ship at their hideout to pick up the rest of the survivors on page 13, Stadra orders everyone aboard, remarking, "It is by the grace of the spirit that we are not crawling with Cylon raiders already." It's unusual within the BSG universe for her to say "the grace of the spirit" instead of "the Lords of Kobol" or even just "the grace of God" (or the Lord). Do the Sagittarians generally have a different religious persuasion than the other Colonists? Another possibility is that the Lords of Kobol concept is more of a Caprican-specific theme (presented to us largely by Adama) than a Colony-wide one.

The guerillas successfully take the Cylon transport into space in pursuit of the fleet. But what is the likelihood that a Cylon ship would have the kind of life support that would sustain human life in space for any period of time? As robots, the Cylons wouldn't need oxygen and probably only limited heating. I suppose it could be argued that Cylon ships have variably adjustable life support systems to accommodate organic life forms that may be taken as prisoners or slaves.

The officer who scans the personnel carrier as it approaches Galactica on pages 16 and 17 may be Flight Corporal Rigel, though she's not sporting her traditional braids.

The Galactica doctor on page 18 is not identified, but is presumably Dr. Salik, seen in several episodes of the TV series.

Page 19 suggests that the captured personnel carrier will be converted into the Maytorian survivors' home in the fleet. Hopefully it doesn't also have Cylon tracking devices aboard like their armor does (as noted by Stadra in "Behind Enemy Lines"). However, the point becomes moot when the ship is destroyed next issue, in "Boarding Party". Presumably, the fleet managed to squeeze the Maytorian survivors in on other ships of the fleet.

On page 20, we see the large carrier docked to the Galactica's landing bay in a way we do not see at any other time in the series.

Also on page 20, we see that a Cylon personnel carrier seems to have many hidden storage compartments. 

On page 21, Starbuck tells Stadra, "I've never felt this way about anyone before, the other girls...they're just that--girls." Does he mean it, or is it just another one of his lines? Probably just a line, he says something similar in some later TV episodes and comics.