Galactica: the last battlestar of the Colonial Service
In the Original Series continuity, the Galactica was a Colonial battlestar that served over five hundred yahrens in the Thousand-Yahren War. After the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Man at Cimtar, it survived to lead a rag-tag fugitive fleet on the search for Earth.
In the Original Series continuity, the Galactica was a Colonial battlestar that belonged to the Colonial Service and whose personnel came to represent the remains of that service. Following the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Man, it led a rag-tag fugitive fleet on an intergalactic search for Earth under the command of Commander Adama.
Service in the Thousand-Yahren War#
The Galactica entered service to the Colonial Service near the midway point of the Thousand-Yahren War and went on to serve over five hundred yahrens, defending the Twelve Colonies of Man from the Cylon Alliance, a dictatorial super-block led by the Cylon Empire. Little is recorded of the ship in the yahrens leading up to the Battle of Cimtar, though it underwent a refit at least one centuron before the battle. That refit saw the abandonment of its celestial chambers, made unnecessary when improvements in navigation computing removed the need for astronomers to verify the ship's position.
The Battle of Cimtar#
In the final yahrens of the war the Twelve Colonies suffered a number of defeats that reduced their military capabilities. When the Cylons unexpectedly sued for an armistice, the Galactica was one of no more than five battlestars remaining, under the command of Commander Adama, himself a member of the Council of the Twelve. On orders from President Adar, given on the advice of the human-Cylon liaison Count Baltar, the Galactica and four other battlestars rallied to Cimtar to await the Cylon delegation.
The conference was discovered too late to be a trap, intended both to catch the fleet off guard and to attack the Colonies while they were left unprotected. The Galactica survived the battle, but only by abandoning the fleet to its fate and returning afterward to pick up stranded pilots.
The flight from the Colonies#
After a second journey to Caprica, the Galactica led a fleet of civilian refugees out from their star system and into deep space. Its commanding officer, Commander Adama, became the leader of the entire surviving remnant of the Colonial Service and President of the Council of the Twelve. Its bridge crew, or Core Command, included the executive officer Colonel Tigh, Lieutenant Athena, and Ensign Omega, while its Viper pilots numbered Apollo, Starbuck, Boomer, Sheba, and others who flew in defense of the fugitive fleet.
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Galactica in the Original Series?
- In the Original Series continuity, the Galactica was a Colonial battlestar of the Colonial Service. It entered service near the midway point of the Thousand-Yahren War and served over five hundred yahrens defending the Twelve Colonies of Man against the Cylon Alliance.
- How did the Galactica survive the Battle of Cimtar?
- When the Cylons sued for an armistice and lured the battlestars to Cimtar, the gathering proved a trap. The Galactica survived the battle only by abandoning the fleet to its fate, returning afterward to pick up stranded pilots.
- What happened to the Galactica after the Colonies fell?
- After a second journey to Caprica, the Galactica led a fleet of civilian refugees out of their star system and into deep space on the search for Earth, becoming the protector of the surviving remnant of the Colonial Service.
Sources
- WikiGalactica (1978) — Battlestar Wiki entry
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Related entries
Galactica
Galactica was a Jupiter-class battlestar that served the Colonial Fleet from the Cylon War until the discovery of Earth. Never networked, it survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and shepherded the last fifty thousand humans across uncharted space before being scuttled into the sun.
Caprica
Caprica was a planet in the Cyrannus star system and the cultural, economic and military center of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Birthplace of the first Cylons, it became the capital of the United Colonies and was devastated in the Cylon assault that ended colonial civilization.
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In the Original Series continuity, the Acropolis was a Colonial battlestar that fought through the Thousand-Yahren War against the Cylon Alliance. It was among the few battlestars left to attend the armistice talks over Cimtar and was destroyed when the conference proved a Cylon trap.
Atlantia: flagship at Cimtar
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Columbia
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Aaron Doral
Aaron Doral was a Number Five humanoid Cylon who infiltrated Colonial society through a public relations post in the Ministry of Education. He planted a tracking transponder in Galactica's CIC before slipping away in the prelude to the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
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Captain Aaron Kelly was the Landing Signals Officer aboard the battlestar Galactica and third in its chain of command. He served through the fall of the Twelve Colonies, the occupation of New Caprica, and the trial of Gaius Baltar, during which he turned to terrorism before recoiling from a later mutiny.
Adriatic
Adriatic was a decommissioned Defender-class warship that escaped the Fall of the Twelve Colonies with the Fleet. One of the few armed civilian vessels, it was destroyed during the journey to the Algae planet roughly two years after the Fall.
Aether: civilian ship of the ragtag fleet
Aether was a civilian ship that escaped the Fall of the Twelve Colonies as part of the ragtag fleet of survivors that gathered under the protection of Galactica.
Alex Boxman
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Anastasia Dualla
Anastasia Dualla was an enlisted woman of the Colonial Fleet who served as communications officer aboard the Battlestar Galactica and later as executive officer of the Battlestar Pegasus.
Astral Queen
The Astral Queen was a luxury liner converted into a Colonial prison transport that survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Control passed to its inmates, who rallied under Tom Zarek and made the ship a power base within the fleet.
Atlantia: flagship at Cimtar
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Basestar
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Battle of Ragnar Anchorage
The Battle of Ragnar Anchorage was an engagement between Colonial and Cylon forces during the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. It came as Galactica re-armed at the anchorage and gathered the first survivors of the Fall before the exodus from the Colonies.
Battle of the Colony
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