Pegasus: the lost battlestar
Commander Cain's warship
Pegasus was a battlestar of the Fifth Fleet, long believed destroyed but kept alive by the brilliance of its commander, Cain. After the Fall of the Twelve Colonies it met the refugee fleet led by Galactica before vanishing in an attack on two Cylon basestars.
Pegasus was a battlestar attached to the Fifth Fleet. The warship had been believed destroyed at the Battle of Molecay two yahren before the destruction of the Colonies, but it had in fact escaped thanks to its commander, Cain, known as a living legend. After the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, Pegasus made contact with the fleet of refugee ships led by Galactica. (Battlestar Galactica (1978), "The Living Legend, Part I", "The Living Legend, Part II")
A battlestar thought lost#
Pegasus served with the Fifth Fleet of the Colonial military, patrolling the edges of Colonial space. Two yahren before the destruction of the Colonies, the Fifth Fleet was wiped out by the Cylons at the Battle of Molecay, and Pegasus was believed lost with it. In truth the ship had slipped away, and Cain, knowing the route home would be crawling with Cylons, took her out into deep space, where Pegasus kept operating after it was written off as lost. (Battlestar Galactica (1978), "The Living Legend, Part I")
Reunion and final battle#
Following the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, Pegasus made contact with the fleet of refugee ships led by Galactica. The two battlestars launched a fierce assault on the Cylons at Gamoray, and toward the end of the battle Cain led Pegasus against two Cylon basestars so that Galactica and the fleet could escape. Pegasus disappeared in the fighting, and Cain's daughter Sheba and the pilot Bojay stayed behind with Galactica. The warship's ultimate fate was never resolved, though Count Iblis later told Sheba she would see her father again. (Battlestar Galactica (1978), "The Living Legend, Part I", "The Living Legend, Part II", "War of the Gods, Part I")
Original Series#
Pegasus belonged to the Original Series continuity. It is distinct from the Mercury-class battlestar of the same name in the Reimagined Series continuity. (Battlestar Galactica (1978), "The Living Legend, Part I"; Battlestar Galactica, "Pegasus")
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Pegasus in the Original Series?
- Pegasus was a battlestar attached to the Fifth Fleet. It was believed destroyed at the Battle of Molecay two yahren before the Colonies fell, but had in fact escaped thanks to its commander, Cain.
- How did the Pegasus survive its presumed destruction?
- Pegasus was thought lost in a battle years earlier, but its commander, Cain, had brought it through the engagement. The ship and crew survived and continued to operate independently until they made contact with the refugee fleet.
- What happened to the Pegasus?
- After meeting the refugee fleet led by Galactica and joining the assault at Gamoray, Cain led Pegasus against two Cylon basestars to cover the fleet's escape. The ship vanished in the battle and its fate was never resolved.
Sources
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica, "Pegasus", Season 2, Episode 10 (2005)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica (1978), "The Living Legend, Part I", Season 1, Episode 10 (1978)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica (1978), "The Living Legend, Part II", Season 1, Episode 11 (1978)
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica (1978), "War of the Gods, Part I", Season 1, Episode 13 (1979)
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Followed from this entry
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.
Battlestar Galactica (1978) Explained: the Original Series and Galactica 1980
The original Battlestar Galactica ran on ABC from 1978 to 1979, followed by the short-lived Galactica 1980. Here's the premise, the main characters, how the 24 episodes play out, what happened in Galactica 1980 and how all of it differs from the 2004 series.
Battlestar
The battlestar was the Colonial Fleet's capital ship, an armoured battleship and carrier hybrid. The wartime battlestars relied on unnetworked computers, carried squadrons of fighters, and were armoured to survive nuclear blasts.
Mercury-class
The Mercury-class was the most advanced battlestar fielded by the Colonial Fleet, developed in the years after the first Cylon War to succeed the aging Jupiter-class. Its heavy networking proved its undoing when the Cylons attacked.
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.
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 in2 entries
Battlestar Galactica (1978) Explained: the Original Series and Galactica 1980
The original Battlestar Galactica ran on ABC from 1978 to 1979, followed by the short-lived Galactica 1980. Here's the premise, the main characters, how the 24 episodes play out, what happened in Galactica 1980 and how all of it differs from the 2004 series.
Battlestar Galactica Timeline: every major event from Kobol to the arrival on Earth
The Reimagined Series chronology in order, from the exodus from Kobol and the death of the first Earth to the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and the fleet's arrival 150,000 years ago. A shorter section at the end covers the separate 1978 series and Galactica 1980.
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