Galactica Cavil
the priest in the fleet
Galactica Cavil was a Number One model humanoid Cylon who evacuated the ruins of Picon during the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and reached the refugee fleet. Welcomed aboard Galactica as a priest, he formed and led a hidden cell of humanoid Cylons working to destroy the fleet from within.
John Cavil, known as "Galactica Cavil", was a Number One model humanoid Cylon. During the Fall of the Twelve Colonies he was evacuated from the ruins of Picon and went on to establish a religious office aboard the battlestar Galactica. (Battlestar Galactica: The Plan)
On the eve of the attack#
Two weeks before the Cylon assault, Galactica Cavil and another copy of his model stood aboard a Resurrection Ship near the Colony, looking over the waiting resurrection bodies of Saul and Ellen Tigh, Galen Tyrol, Samuel T. Anders and Tory Foster, the so-called Final Five survivors of the Thirteenth Tribe that had created the humanoid Cylons. The Ones expected the Five to die in the attack and wake in these bodies. (Battlestar Galactica: The Plan)
Drawn to Ellen, Cavil resolved to seek out her living counterpart on Picon. He found her in a bar, the Club Pink Moon, and drew her into a conversation about whether people can change, ducking her question about whether he was a priest. Frustrated to discover that she lived a carefree life with no regrets, he shielded her when the nuclear blast hit the city and, as SAR Raptors combed the ruins, told the wounded Ellen she was not going to die yet because she had more left to learn. (Battlestar Galactica: The Plan)
Joining the fleet#
Against expectation, the Raptor delivered the two to Rising Star, a civilian ship in orbit. The vessel soon met with a refugee fleet led by the newly appointed President Laura Roslin and defended by Galactica. (Battlestar Galactica: The Plan)
Over the following week the Cylon forces consistently failed to destroy the fleet. Cavil left Ellen behind and transferred to Galactica, where he was given the use of the chapel as a priest. (Battlestar Galactica: The Plan)
The cell aboard Galactica#
From his position aboard Galactica, Cavil handed out flyers that carried a secret codeword for humanoid Cylons hidden within the fleet. Soon afterward he formed a cell drawn from the other models, bringing together a Number Two, a Number Five, two Number Sixes and a Number Eight working as a sleeper agent. Among those who answered the call and joined the cell under his command was the Number Six copy known as Shelly Godfrey, who took part in the cell's plans for acts of violence against the fleet. His side of these months is one half of the TV film The Plan. (Battlestar Galactica: The Plan; Battlestar Galactica, "Six Degrees of Separation")
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Galactica Cavil?
- Galactica Cavil, also known as John Cavil, was a Number One model humanoid Cylon. During the Fall of the Twelve Colonies he was evacuated from the ruins of Picon and went on to establish a religious office aboard the battlestar Galactica.
- How did Galactica Cavil reach the refugee fleet?
- After seeking out Ellen Tigh's living predecessor on Picon, Cavil shielded her when the nuclear attack hit the city, and the two were evacuated by SAR Raptors, which delivered the two to Rising Star, a civilian ship that soon met with the refugee fleet led by President Laura Roslin.
- Why did Galactica Cavil save Ellen Tigh's predecessor on Picon?
- Cavil drew her into conversation about morality and was frustrated to find she lived a carefree life with no regrets and saw no need to change. He kept her alive in the belief that she still had more to learn.
- What did Galactica Cavil do aboard Galactica?
- Welcomed aboard as a priest, Cavil handed out flyers that carried a secret codeword for humanoid Cylons hidden within the fleet. He then formed a hidden cell to destroy the fleet from within.
- Who was in Galactica Cavil's Cylon cell?
- The cell brought together a Number Two, a Number Five, two Number Sixes, and a Number Eight working as a sleeper agent. Among those who joined under his command was the Number Six copy known as Shelly Godfrey, who took part in the cell's plans for acts of violence against the fleet.
Sources
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica: The Plan, Television film (2009)
- EpisodeSix Degrees of Separation, Season 1, Episode 7 (2004)
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Galen Tyrol
Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol kept Galactica's flight deck running through the long flight from the Colonies, a respected and fiercely protective deck chief who learned that he was in fact one of the Final Five Cylons, descended from the Thirteenth Tribe.
Laura Roslin: the dying leader
Secretary of Education until the Cylon attack killed everyone above her. Sworn in as President, she became the dying leader of Colonial prophecy.
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, the Cylon side of the story
The Plan is the 2009 TV film that replays the attack and the first two seasons through the eyes of two copies of Cavil. Here's what happens, what it adds, and whether you should watch it.
Cylon
The Cylons were a race of sentient machines created as military robots by Graystone Industries on Caprica. Built from research into artificial consciousness, they rebelled against their human masters, fought a long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.
Ellen Tigh
Ellen Tigh was the wife of Colonel Saul Tigh, a scientist of the original Earth, and the eldest of the Final Five Cylons. She led the work that rediscovered Resurrection and created the humanoid Cylon models, and was the only one of the Five to fully regain her memories.
Fall of the Twelve Colonies
A single day of Cylon attack killed billions of people across Colonial space. Barely fifty thousand escaped in a refugee fleet.
Mentioned in4 entries
"Lay Down Your Burdens": the Battlestar Galactica season 2 finale explained
"Lay Down Your Burdens" is the two-part season 2 finale: a rescue mission to Caprica, a rigged election, a nuke on Cloud 9 and a jump of a whole year to the settlement on New Caprica. Here's what happens in Parts I and II and how it sets up season 3.
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, the Cylon side of the story
The Plan is the 2009 TV film that replays the attack and the first two seasons through the eyes of two copies of Cavil. Here's what happens, what it adds, and whether you should watch it.
Every Cylon Model in Order, by Number: One to Eight and the Final Five
All twelve humanoid Cylon models from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, in order by number, from Cavil and Leoben to Saul Tigh and Tory Foster. Who each one was, the copies that mattered, what they wanted and how their story ended.
Shelly Godfrey
Shelly Godfrey was a humanoid Cylon of the Number Six model who infiltrated the refugee fleet aboard a transport from Canceron. Posing as a defence worker, she manufactured forged evidence in a plot to discredit Gaius Baltar, and was airlocked by her own kind after she failed to kill him.
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