Hitei Kan

Hitei Kan was a Daru Mozu-type refinery ship that escaped the Fall of the Twelve Colonies as part of the refugee fleet led by Galactica and Colonial One. As a tylium processing vessel, it was crucial to the fuel supply that kept the Fleet moving, and over the course of the exodus it was at the center of a labor strike, a deception against the Cylons, and an armed mutiny. (Battlestar Galactica, "Dirty Hands"; "Crossroads, Part I"; "A Disquiet Follows My Soul")

Role in the Fleet#

Hitei Kan was a tylium processing vessel, and its refining work made it crucial to the fuel supply of the refugee fleet. It shared the burden of refining with its sister ship Daru Mozu, and the constant demand for processed fuel placed heavy strain on its crew. (Battlestar Galactica, "Dirty Hands")

The general strike#

After the exodus from New Caprica, the workers aboard Hitei Kan walked off the job, demanding better working conditions and leave. The dispute spread into a fleetwide general strike led by Galen Tyrol, and it was settled when the union he had founded back on New Caprica was reinstated to speak for the workers. The episode only calls it "the refinery ship"; Tyrol names it as Hitei Kan in a deleted scene. (Battlestar Galactica, "Dirty Hands"; "Dirty Hands" deleted scene)

The radiation signature and the false maneuver#

Later the ship was used in a false maneuver intended to confuse the Cylons about the movements of the Fleet. The deception became necessary after Caprica Six revealed that the Cylons were tracking the ship by means of a unique radiation signature, which stemmed from combat damage the vessel had sustained. (Battlestar Galactica, "Crossroads, Part I")

The mutiny#

During fleetwide FTL enhancements carried out with Cylon technology, the crew aboard Hitei Kan mutinied, killing a Cylon and two Marine escorts. Galactica scrambled an assault Raptor with a MARDET alert team in response. The ship jumped away, and it was later revealed that the crew had acted on a suggestion from Vice President Tom Zarek, whose communications with the ship had been picked up by Lieutenant Louis Hoshi. The vessel was eventually brought back by Raptors after Zarek disclosed its coordinates under interrogation by William Adama. (Battlestar Galactica, "A Disquiet Follows My Soul")

Hitei Kan was ultimately scuttled in the Sol system along with the rest of the Fleet as the long journey drew to its end. (Battlestar Galactica, "Daybreak, Part II")