Barry Garner
chief engineer and commander of the Pegasus
Barry Garner was the chief engineer of the Battlestar Pegasus who was elevated to commander after the deaths of Cain and Fisk. His rigid, engineering-minded command alienated the crew, and he died restoring the ship's drives after leading the Pegasus into a Cylon trap.
Commander Barry Garner was a chief engineer and, later, the commanding officer of the Battlestar Pegasus. Raised to command after the deaths of Admiral Cain and Commander Fisk, he ran the Pegasus with an engineer's exacting discipline that strained his relationships with his crew and his fellow officers. He died conducting repairs in a breached compartment after leading the Pegasus into a Cylon trap. (Battlestar Galactica, "The Captain's Hand")
Chief engineer of the Pegasus#
Garner served as the Pegasus's chief of engineering during the command of Rear Admiral Helena Cain and, after her, of Commander Jack Fisk. With both of them dead and the ship short of senior officers, Rear Admiral William Adama promoted Garner to commander and gave him the Pegasus, making him its third commanding officer. (Battlestar Galactica, "The Captain's Hand")
Command and conflict with Thrace#
As commander, Garner ran the ship like a martinet, demanding that the crew run as precisely as a machine. His approach quickly created friction throughout the ship. Kendra Shaw, whom he reassigned to mess duty, shared Thrace's low opinion of him. (Battlestar Galactica, "The Captain's Hand"; Razor)
When two Raptors disappeared during a training mission, Garner clashed with his newly assigned CAG, Captain Kara Thrace, who called him paranoid and barely competent, and he ordered her transfer back to Galactica. Thrace suspected the Raptors had been lured into a Cylon trap by a false distress call, and Admiral Adama had the same suspicion. His new executive officer, Major Lee Adama, was caught in the middle. (Battlestar Galactica, "The Captain's Hand")
Death aboard the Pegasus#
Ordered to send an advance Raptor recon into the binary star system where the Raptors had vanished, Garner disobeyed and instead took the Pegasus in himself to recover the missing crews. (Battlestar Galactica, "The Captain's Hand")
As Admiral Adama had feared, three basestars were waiting, and their attack knocked out the Pegasus's FTL drive. Garner froze for a moment, then handed CIC to Lee Adama and went to lead the repair team himself. He sealed himself inside a compartment that was venting air into space and fixed the coolant leak disabling the drive, while Lee's tactics kept the basestars at bay. The drive came back and the Pegasus escaped, but Garner died of hypoxia in the compartment. Lee later concluded that his failure had been treating people the way he treated machines. (Battlestar Galactica, "The Captain's Hand")
Frequently asked questions
- Who was Barry Garner?
- Commander Barry Garner was the chief engineer and, later, the commanding officer of the Battlestar Pegasus. He ran the ship with an engineer's exacting discipline that strained his relationships with his crew and fellow officers.
- How did Barry Garner become commander of the Pegasus?
- Garner had served as the Pegasus's chief of engineering under Rear Admiral Helena Cain and then Commander Jack Fisk. After both were killed, Rear Admiral William Adama, short of senior officers, promoted Garner to commander and gave him the ship.
- Why did Barry Garner clash with Kara Thrace?
- Garner clashed with his newly assigned CAG, Captain Kara Thrace, who considered him paranoid and barely competent, and he ordered her transfer back to Galactica. When two Raptors disappeared, Thrace suspected a Cylon trap, a suspicion Admiral Adama shared.
- How did Barry Garner lead the Pegasus into a Cylon trap?
- Ordered to send an advance Raptor recon first, Garner disobeyed and took the Pegasus in himself to recover the missing crews. Three basestars were waiting, and their attack knocked out the ship's FTL drive.
- How did Barry Garner die?
- Garner handed CIC to Major Lee Adama and led the repair team himself, sealing himself in a compartment venting air into space to fix a coolant leak. He restored the FTL drive and the Pegasus escaped, but he died of hypoxia.
Sources
- EpisodeThe Captain's Hand, Season 2, Episode 17 (2006)
- FilmRazor, Battlestar Galactica television film (2007)
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Helena Cain
Rear Admiral Helena Cain commanded the battlestar Pegasus, one of only two Colonial capital ships to survive the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Ruthless and uncompromising, she waged a relentless campaign against the Cylons before her assassination.
Jack Fisk
Commander Jack Fisk was a Pegasus officer who survived the Fall, rose to command the battlestar after Admiral Cain's death, and was garroted for his grip on the fleet's black market.
Kara Thrace
Kara "Starbuck" Thrace was the finest Viper pilot in the Colonial Fleet, a gifted and self-destructive officer whose attitude often thwarted her own advancement. After her death over a gas giant, a figure bearing her identity returned to guide humanity to its new home.
Lee Adama: Leland Adama, callsign Apollo
Commander Leland "Apollo" Adama was a Colonial Fleet officer, the sole surviving son of William Adama, who served as Galactica's CAG before turning to politics as the Caprican delegate to the Quorum and, in time, interim President of the Twelve Colonies.
William Adama
William "Husker" Adama was a Colonial Fleet officer who commanded the battlestar Galactica through the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. His refusal to network the ship spared it from the Cylon attack, and alongside President Laura Roslin he led the survivors of humanity in search of a new home.
Basestar: the Cylon carrier
The modern Cylon basestar was partly organic and run by a Hybrid, not a crew. It launched swarms of Raiders and healed battle damage like a wound.
Mentioned in3 entries
"Pegasus": Battlestar Galactica season 2 episode 10 explained
A second battlestar turns up alive, and its admiral outranks Adama. Here's what happens in "Pegasus", what it shows about Helena Cain and her crew, and how the standoff it ends on plays out.
Battlestar Galactica: Razor, the Pegasus TV film explained
Razor is the 2007 TV film that tells Pegasus's story, from Admiral Cain's first days after the Fall to a last mission under Lee Adama. Here's what happens, what it adds to the series and where to watch it.
Pegasus: Helena Cain's battlestar
Pegasus survived the Fall because an overhaul had taken parts of its Command Navigation Program offline. It was lost ramming a basestar to cover Galactica's escape from New Caprica.
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