Willie Nelson's "Pancho and Lefty" is a song about a friend's treachery. As such, of course it demanded to be rewritten for Baltar. In the possible future of "Unhappy Ending," Gaius learns that betrayal, even if undiscovered, always has a price.
Unhappy Ending (or, Baltar and Six)
(tune: "Pancho and Lefty")
Soaring through the colonies
We cleansed them of humanity
And one great scientist came through
To help with what we had to do
It's true that he was Six's dupe
That scientist of great repute
He began to cry
When the others died
And we sank into his dreams
Baltar was the scientist
Six had prompted to enlist
His foolish brain in our great cause
Though it broke all the human laws
He ended up on a battlestar
The only one to escape our power
The only way he could save his life
Was to help us bring them down
Some of the bolder Cylons say
We could have had them any day
We only let 'em slip away
Out of pity, I suppose
We chased them hard and we chased them far
All through the near and the farthest stars
With Baltar there to slow them down
We finally brought that ship to ground
The day that their last Viper fell
We damned poor Baltar's soul to hell
For in the way he served us well
He doomed his very race
Some of the bolder Cylons say
We could have had them any day
We only let 'em slip away
Out of pity, I suppose
Now Cylons rule the colonies
There's only one man left to see
Machine perfection o'er the worlds
The human flags at last are furled
The humans need our prayers, it's true
But save a few for Baltar too
He only did what we bid him do
And now he's all alone
Some of the bolder Cylons say
We would have caught them anyway
We only let 'em go so long
Out of kindness, I suppose
Some of the bolder Cylons say
We could have had them any day
We only let 'em slip away
Out of pity, I suppose
Feedback for "Adama of Galactica"
Mr. Larson: That's a fascinating comparison. I'd never heard the story about the WWII codebreaker, but I can well believe it. I'm glad you think it's possible Adama could feel the same way.
shadowserenity and Lucretia Skelington: Thanks for the good words!
DianeB: I've read a lot (most? all?) of your stuff, and you certainly have no cause to be jealous of anyone else's ability to write!