New Caprica
the failed colony
New Caprica was a marginally habitable planet briefly settled by the survivors of the Twelve Colonies, chosen for its concealment within a stellar cloud before it was discovered and occupied by the Cylons.
New Caprica was a planet that briefly hosted a human colony of survivors from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, named after Caprica. The planet sat within a stellar cloud that interfered with DRADIS, making it in theory a secure world undetectable to any Cylon fleet should the truce between the two sides break down. Its settlement was promoted by Vice President Gaius Baltar, and its eventual discovery by the Cylons led to a brutal occupation.
Discovery and settlement#
New Caprica was discovered during a presidential election held within the fleet. Colonization of the planet became a major point of debate, promoted by Vice President Gaius Baltar in his bid for the presidency, despite his having previously objected to settling there on account of its poor conditions.
Human colonization began immediately after Baltar was elected President, with a number of ships landing in the planet's equatorial region. Only one settlement is known to have been constructed, a shanty town dubbed New Caprica City. Efforts to develop the planet were slow, and living in tents for months made disease more severe. Even Samuel T. Anders, in fact a Cylon, proved not strong enough to hold back a case of double pneumonia. After a year the entire fleet's supply of antibiotics ran short, and the only remaining samples were kept in orbit to treat personnel aboard the battlestars Pegasus and Galactica.
Geography#
New Caprica was an almost uninhabitable world. Its value lay not in its climate but in its location within a stellar cloud that affected DRADIS, theoretically rendering it undetectable to any Cylon fleet. This made it appealing to a population that wished to settle permanently and remain hidden.
Occupation#
Approximately one year after the election, a Cylon patrol a lightyear away detected a nuclear explosion, the result of the destruction of Cloud 9 prior to the colonization. This detection precipitated the Occupation of New Caprica. The Cylons found the colony, overthrew Baltar's presidential administration, and the battlestars Galactica and Pegasus were forced to flee.
Frequently asked questions
- What is New Caprica in Battlestar Galactica?
- New Caprica was a marginally habitable planet that briefly hosted a human colony of survivors from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, named after Caprica. It sat within a stellar cloud that interfered with DRADIS, making it in theory undetectable to any Cylon fleet.
- Why was New Caprica chosen for settlement?
- New Caprica was an almost uninhabitable world whose value lay not in its climate but in its location within a stellar cloud that affected DRADIS, theoretically rendering it undetectable to any Cylon fleet. This made it appealing to a population that wished to settle permanently and remain hidden.
- Who promoted the settlement of New Caprica?
- Colonization of New Caprica became a major point of debate, promoted by Vice President Gaius Baltar in his bid for the presidency, despite his having previously objected to settling there on account of its poor conditions. Human colonization began immediately after Baltar was elected President.
- How did the Cylons find New Caprica?
- Approximately one year after the election, a Cylon patrol a lightyear away detected the nuclear explosion that resulted from the destruction of Cloud 9 prior to the colonization. This detection precipitated the Occupation of New Caprica.
- What happened to the New Caprica colony?
- After the Cylons detected the colony, they found it, overthrew Baltar's presidential administration, and the battlestars Galactica and Pegasus were forced to flee. Only one settlement had been built there, a shanty town dubbed New Caprica City.
Gallery
Images via Battlestar Wiki
Sources
- WikiNew Caprica — Battlestar Wiki entry
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Related entries
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.
Cloud 9
Cloud 9 was a luxury liner that survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and became an entertainment hub and meeting place for the Quorum of Twelve. It was destroyed by a thermonuclear blast over New Caprica, taking several other ships with 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 decades long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.
Gaius Baltar
Dr. Gaius Baltar was a celebrated computer scientist whose vanity and manipulation by a Cylon agent handed the enemy the keys to the Colonial defenses, enabling the near-extermination of humanity. He survived to become Vice President, President, prophet, and finally a reluctant penitent.
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.
Pegasus
Pegasus was a Mercury-class battlestar and one of the most advanced warships in the Colonial Fleet. With Galactica it was one of only two capital ships to survive the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, serving under Rear Admiral Helena Cain before its destruction during the exodus from New Caprica.
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Aaron Kelly
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.
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.
Basestar
The basestar was the Cylons' primary capital ship, an armored carrier and battleship hybrid. The modern Type-D, grown from hardened organic matter and run by a living Hybrid, led the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.
Caprica Clipper
Caprica Clipper was a Gemenon Liner 1701-type civilian cruiser operated by Pan Galactic. She joined the ragtag fleet after the Fall and survived years of flight before being scuttled in the Sol System.
Cloud 9
Cloud 9 was a luxury liner that survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and became an entertainment hub and meeting place for the Quorum of Twelve. It was destroyed by a thermonuclear blast over New Caprica, taking several other ships with it.
Colonial Fleet
The Colonial Fleet was the naval arm of the military of the United Colonies of Kobol, founded during the Cylon War to unite the forces of the Twelve Worlds. At its height it numbered some 120 battlestars, yet a single Cylon exploit reduced it to two ships in the opening minutes of the Fall.
Colonial One
Colonial One was a civilian passenger liner that became the official residence and workplace of the President of the United Colonies of Kobol after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Formerly Colonial Heavy 798, it served as the seat of the surviving government throughout the search for Earth.
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 decades long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.
Cylon Centurion
The Cylon Centurion was the standardized mechanical soldier produced after the Cylon War. Stronger and better armed than its predecessors, it was enslaved with telencephalic inhibitors until rebel Cylons freed a generation of Centurions that fought for their own destiny.
Cylon Transport
The Cylon Transport was a faster-than-light support ship used by the Cylons after their technological evolution in the years following the Cylon War. The refugee fleet encountered the type twice during its exodus.
Earth
Earth was a world settled by the Thirteenth Tribe roughly four thousand years before the fall of the Twelve Colonies. Once home to a flourishing Cylon civilization, it was reduced to a radioactive ruin by a nuclear holocaust, and the Colonial fleet abandoned it days after at last reaching it.
Ellen Tigh
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