Number Three

From Battlestar Wiki, the free, open content Battlestar Galactica encyclopedia and episode guide
Revision as of 13:12, 22 January 2007 by RasputinAXP (talk | contribs) (→‎Other Copies: spelling and puncuation)
Number Three
Number Three

Human Name

D'Anna Biers
Age
Colony
Birth place {{{birthplace}}}
Birth Name
Birth Date {{{birthdate}}}
Callsign
Nickname {{{nickname}}}
Introduced Final Cut
Death Model Boxed (Rapture)
Parents
Siblings
Children
Marital Status
Family Tree View
Role Cylon Infiltrator/Journalist
Rank
Serial Number {{{serial}}}
Portrayed by Lucy Lawless
Number Three is a Cylon
Number Three is a Final Five Cylon
Number Three is a Human/Cylon Hybrid
Number Three is an Original Series Cylon
Related Media
@ BW Media
Additional Information
[[Image:|200px|Number Three]]


Cylon Model Number Three, known to the Fleet as D'Anna Biers, has infiltrated as a Colonial reporter for the Fleet News Service (Final Cut).

Fleet Copy[edit]

D'Anna Biers appears to be more of a tabloid rumor-and-innuendo format news journalist and less of the conventional Fleet journalist types such as James McManus.

Biers is investigating the shootings of four civilians during a military intervention authorized by Colonel Tigh in what she dubs for sensationalism's sake as the "Gideon massacre". Her efforts to interview Galactica's crew are constantly thwarted by military protocol and stonewalling by Commander Adama, who privately acknowledges Tigh's mistakes, but seems adamant not to render any punishment.

The social and political repercussions of the Gideon incident become too much for President Laura Roslin to ignore. The citizens of the Fleet are becoming critical of Galactica and wonder if the military places itself at a different level of self-responsibility than its citizens. Working with Commander Adama, President Roslin invites Biers aboard Colonial One and proposes something interesting to the reporter. Adama and Roslin will give Biers "unlimited" access to Galactica and her crew to create a documentary on what it is like to be the last defensive group of the Twelve Colonies, as well as allowing her to interview many of the crew on the Gideon incident.

Biers is initially given a tour of the battlestar by Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla, but finds the nuts-and-bolts technology and layout information boring. She and her photographer, Bell, prefer to record and interview the candid moments of Galactica's crew--even going so far as entering the senior pilot's quarters, where a scantily-clad Lee Adama finds the intrusion most unwelcome.

Biers begins in-depth personal interviews with many of the crew, including Dualla, Lieutenants Gaeta, Margaret Edmondson, Kara Thrace and Karl Agathon, as well as attempts to interview command staff such as Colonel Tigh. Of all the interviews, she desperately wants to ask Tigh many questions on his decisions in the Gideon incident, but Tigh stonewalls and evades her questions, partially from his annoyance in the situation, but also because he is distracted by a mysterious death threat left in his quarters: a verse of a poem from a Caprican poet known as Kataris.

Number Three model on Galactica (Final Cut)

Biers appears to be in the right place at the wrong times throughout her documentary filming. She captures the growing behavioral problems with Lieutenant Louanne Katraine, a Viper pilot who later crash-lands her Viper after failing a routine landing and is found to have been abusing stims because of the pressures she endures from the loss of her family and friends as well as the demands of being a Viper pilot. Biers also captures the sabotage to a Raptor that was intended to shuttle Colonel Tigh to Cloud Nine for some downtime for the colonel as well as a bit of business on orders of Commander Adama.

As Biers passes through sickbay during her documentary, she makes a highly unusual find. Sharon Valerii is alive and being treated in sickbay. The existence of this second copy of the known Cylon infiltrator, who was thought to be dead by The Fleet, is too much for Biers not to document. However, Commander Adama intercepts Biers and demands that she give him the intriguing footage of Valerii. Biers pointedly asks why Adama is harboring this known Cylon in secret aboard the ship, and suggests that news of Valerii's existence could ruin Adama in the eyes of the Fleet. Adama evades the question and redirects it at Biers, asking whether exposure of this second Valerii's existence to the Fleet would do anyone any good. She surrenders a tape to Adama, but unknown to him, Biers retains the actual footage of Valerii in secret for herself.

Biers gets an opportunity to document what happens in CIC during a Cylon Raider raid at the Fleet.

As Biers is editing the documentary, reviewing the footage from the senior pilot's quarters, she sees Joe Palladino on his bunk with a copy of a book by Kataris. Biers' knowledge of Palladino's involvement in the Gideon incident immediately determines that Palladino is the likely suspect in the death threats. She and Bell grab their photo gear and rush to Tigh's quarters to find that Palladino has bound Tigh's wife, Ellen and threatens to shoot Colonel Tigh with a sidearm. Tigh manages to talk the agitated lieutenant down and disarm him, where marines take the wayward Viper pilot away.

Bier's final documentary is reviewed by Tigh, Adama, and President Roslin. While Tigh is initially perturbed at the documentary's unshiny look into Colonial military life, Adama finds it a good story, "warts and all." The documentary is broadcast to the Fleet, with Biers concluding the documentary with a rousing monologue:

"I came to Galactica to tell a story. In all honesty, I thought I knew what that story was before I ever set foot here. How an arrogant military let their egos get in the way of doing their job safeguarding the lives of the civilian population. But I found the truth was more complex than that. These people aren't Cylons. They're not robots blindly following orders and polishing their boots. They're people. Deeply flawed, yes, but deeply human too. And maybe that's saying the same thing. What struck me the most is that despite it all: the hardships, the stress, the ever-present danger of being killed-- despite all that, they never give up. Never lie down in the road and let the truck run them over. They wake up in the morning, put o­n their uniforms, and do their jobs. Every day, no pay. No rest. No hope of ever laying down the burden and letting someone else do the job. There are no relief troops coming, no Colonial fleet training new recruits every day. The people o­n Galactica are it. They are the thin line of blue separating us from the Cylons."
"Lieutenant Gaeta told me a remarkable statistic. Not a single member of Galactica's crew has asked to resign. Not o­ne. Think about that. If you wore the uniform, wouldn't you want to quit? To step aside and say, "Enough. Let someone else protect the Fleet." I know I would. But then, I don't wear a uniform. Most of us don't, most of us never will. The story of Galactica isn't that people make bad decisions under pressure. It's that those mistakes are the exception. Most of the time, the men and women serving under Commander Adama get it right. The proof is that our fleet survives. And with Galactica at our side, we will endure. This is D'Anna Biers, Fleet News Service."

But the Fleet is not the only group that sees the documentary. A group of humanoid Cylons on Caprica--copies of Aaron Doral, Number Six, another Sharon Valerii copy and one other person, hidden from view initially in the theater where they sit, watch Biers' documentary (including, surprisingly, the footage of the Sharon Valerii copy in sickbay that Adama had presumably confiscated) with great interest. The Valerii copy remarks in surprise about the survival of her pregnant doppleganger on Galactica, and the others are very intent on monitoring the pregnancy and survival of the Cylon/human hybrid fetus. The mysterious 4th person in the theater is revealed: a second copy of D'Anna Biers, which notes that the Raiders that intercepted Galactica were used to relay the documentary and its forbidden footage of Valerii from themselves to a nearby Cylon fleet for transmission to Caprica, at the price of some loss of Cylon material.

Other Copies[edit]

Number Three model on Caprica (Downloaded)

Another version of Number Three was also in charge of "Downloading" Cylon agents, and presided over the returns of both Caprica-Six and Sharon. Like her counterpart in the movie theater, she is assisted by a Five, Six, and Eight.

Yet another Three (or possibly one of the previous two) enlisted "Caprica-Six" to help "reintegrate" the Sharon Valerii model known to humans as "Boomer" (Three and Six were previously friends from Six's own reintegration). Though her motives were outwardly altruistic, her conversation with them is filled with double meanings, trying to subtlely nudge both into exposing that they were "corrupted" by their close human interaction. Three's real goal is to assess the risk factor of these "Heroes of the Cylon" to the status quo, due to their different perpectives on the war and the genocide, and later box their consciousnesses when she became convinced they were a threat to the Cylon collective society.

Three is later trapped with both Caprica Six and "Boomer" Valerii beneath a garage after capturing Anders. With a hint from her internal "Gaius Baltar", Six deduces the truth. Shortly thereafter, Three resolves to kill Anders in spite of her previous agreement. But "Caprica" proves Three's assessment correct, and smashes her in the skull with debris (Downloaded).

Number Three (or at least this particular Number Three) appears to be a strict devotee of the Cylon religion.

In Lucy Lawless' words "She's like the ultimate narcissist. She believes that she is the pure form, so she is constantly trying to bring everyone else in line with her worldview". D'Anna Biers was supposed to appear in a subplot of "Downloaded" in which she conspired with Gina to kidnap Hera. The episode ran overtime and the scenes, which were indeed filmed, were cut.

Number Three again demonstrates her orational skills by giving a speech at the graduation ceremony of the New Caprica Police in "Occupation" and is blown up shortly afterwards, along with many of the other attendees, by Tucker "Duck" Clellan, whom she has just congratulated.

In "Exodus, Part I" Number Three visits an Oracle on New Caprica after having strange dreams that caused her to question her faith. These dreams, which focused on Sharon Agathon and her baby Hera, led her to seek out more information about the death of the child. After speaking with Doctor Cottle, she was convinced that the child was still alive. She would confront Sharon with this information after discovering her on the planet, only to be shot once in each knee so that she couldn't signal for help from the other nearby Cylons.

After escaping New Caprica, Three visits a captured Baltar in his room aboard a Cylon Baseship. She gives him his pills, at the same time as she acts in an interestingly seductive manner with him. Baltar however, seems to reject her, asking about what will be done to him. Three tells him that the Cylons are unsure of his vote, and that they are even split on what to do with him, with only one model missing from the vote and on whom the decisions rests, the Sixes.(Collaborators)

Number Three on the Cylon Baseship.

Later on, two Threes form part of the Cylon counsel on the bridge of a Baseship, where they first learn of the virus which threatened to infect their ship. After Baltar returns with further information from the Baseships, one of the Threes makes the decision to abandon the infected Baseship to it's fate, angering the Hybrid.

After returning to the main fleet, Three learns from Caprica Six that Baltar lied to them about what he saw on the infected warship. She then proceeds to torture Baltar, first through body-wide electroshocks, and then with a sonic device which damages his eardrum, hoping to learn more about the disease. Near the end of the torture/interrogation, Baltar tells Three (calling her "D'Anna") that he loves her, which makes her stop and presumably feel something for him, for she caresses him as he falls unconscious.

In the episode Hero she is shown getting out of a bed with a still sleeping Baltar and Caprica-Six, indicating that she has started a relationship with at least Baltar, and possibly Caprica-Six as well. This copy continues to experiences prophetic dreams and visions, resulting in her ordering a Centurion to shoot her in the head so she may experience further visions in the time between death and rebirth.

She continues doing this daily, which attracts the attention of Baltar. He confronts her and accuses her of deliberately killing herself to experience resurrection, which leads her to confess to him what she's been doing. Three tells Baltar that when she dies she sees the faces of beings who she believes to be the "Final Five", the Cylons no one has seen. Baltar asks her if she's seen his face, suspecting himself of being a Cylon, but Three states that she cannot remember. After each download, the memory quickly fades, but she has managed to draw a few sketches of what she recalls before forgetting. These sketches, however, are too surreal to reveal the identities of the Final Five.

Later on, she and Baltar decide to go to the Hybrid, to learn more about the Final Five from it. Instead, they manage to learn the location of a planet which is said to hold the Eye of Jupiter, and artifact which is supposed to point the way to Earth. (The Passage)

This turns out to be the same planet at which Galactica had recently arrived to collect algae. When the Cylons show up and four Base Ships surround Galactica, Baltar asks them to hold their fire as the civilian ships jump out. The Cylons contact the Battlestar and send Three, a Cavil, Baltar and Boomer to negotiate with them.

Three and Cavil tell Galactica that they wish to make a trade, believing them to have already found the Eye of Jupiter. They tell Adama that if they hand the Eye of Jupiter to the Cylons, they will in turn let the humans leave unharmed, and as a bonus Cavil offers to hand over Baltar to the Colonials, an offer which is well received.

Cylon Representative

Three threatens Adama by telling him that should the Colonials attempt to bring up the Eye of Jupiter onto Galactica, they would see what would happen. Adama, in response, tells her that if the Cylons try to land on the planet he will release every nuclear weapon Galactica has onto the planet, presumabley destroying the Eye. Adama then orders the Cylon be taken back to their ship, and ends the negotiations.

On the Base Ship, the Cylons discuss the situation, believing Adama to be bluffing. Cavil points out that they could eliminate the Galactica once and for all, and that it doesn't matter if they destroy the Eye because the Cylons would eventually find Earth one way or another. Caprica and Three disagree with him, saying that they need to get the Eye unharmed, but Cavil expresses annoyance at doing nothing. Three then tells him that there is a plan in motion, which surprises the other Cylons. She reveals to them that when their fleet jumped in, she ordered a Heavy Raider to land on the planet, using the Base Ships' arrival as a distraction. The Cylons become annoyed at not being told about this, but Three ignores them and leaves.

Visiting the Hybrid once again, she tells Baltar that she is very close to seeing the faces of the Final Five, and possibly of the Cylon god himself. The Hybrid tells them that the "sins" of the Final Five will be revealed only to those who enter the temple, to which Three responds (to Baltar) that they are very close to learning the truth. At that moment, Caprica interrupts them, asking them about what they are doing. Angry at not being included, she tells them that she has felt excluded from a relationship which once included the three of them. As Baltar begins to make excuses Three quickly declares that they are finished, and that her and Baltar's destiny does not include Caprica. Three tells Baltar that they need to go down to the planet themselves to learn about the truth about the Final Five, and they leave Caprica behind.

Three and Baltar descend onto the planet, on a group of six Heavy Raiders, which provokes the Colonials to begin preparing their nuclear weapons. The Cylons onboard the Base Ship wish to stop the raiders, but another Three tells them that D'Anna (the Three with Baltar) was adamant about going down onto the planet, and that they would not stop. Leaving the Cylons angry at her for taking such decisions without their consent, and the Colonials ready to nuke the planet, Three continues on her path to the planet, and to what she believes to be the truth about the Final Five. (The Eye of Jupiter)

Three, Baltar and a Cavil copy enter the temple as Chief Tyrol and Major Adama prepare to set off the G-4 charges within it and collapse it. They rush to disarm all the G-4 blocks and manage to pull the last trigger wire moments before Adama presses the trigger. When the system's star goes supernova the interior of the temple is illuminated and a column of light shines down from above. D'Anna believes that this is what she has been looking for and steps forward towards the light. Realizing that she's only there for a selfish purpose, Cavil pulls a gun on her and threatens to shoot but he is killed by Baltar before he can. D'Anna steps into the light and finds herself back in the Kobol Opera House standing before the Final Five. She approaches and sees their faces clearly for the first time, recognizing one of them she is overwhelmed and begins apologizing for the way she treated whoever she saw when she believed they were human. She is pulled back to the Temple and collapses in Baltar's arms, babbling incoherently as blood begins to pour from her nostrils. She dies in Baltar's arms while he pleads with her to tell him whether or not she saw him among the five.

"End of line."

Some time later, D'Anna awakens on a Basestar with a Cavil looming over her rebirthing tank. He informs her that the decision has been made to box her consciousness and her entire model line as punishment for their rogue actions. She tells Cavil that she has seen the faces of the last five Cylons and that one day he will too. Cavil then removes a device from the side of the tank and she collapses dead. Other Cavils are seen performing similar acts to other Number Threes in rebirthing tanks around the Basestar (Rapture).

Notes[edit]

  • Since Biers has not appeared in past episodes that feature the fleet-wide press, it can be speculated that prior to the Cylon Attack, she was more of a tabloid investigative reporter than a mainstream journalist. She may also simply be a social commentator along the lines of Michael Moore or Ann Coulter, though her status prior to the holocaust was never revealed.
  • Biers' existence as a Cylon infiltrator brings the total number of revealed models (to the Colonial characters) to six as of "Final Cut," although her identity remained unknown to the Colonials until the return of Samuel Anders and his resistance cell in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II". A seventh agent was also revealed in that episode. This leaves five unknown models as of "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II." Speculation on other characters and their true identities as Colonials or Cylon infiltrators is still ongoing.
  • In behind the scenes interviews, Lucy Lawless has said that to contrast her character with Galactica's crew, D'Anna still wears fashionable clothes, make up, and jewelry, probably because she has access to some form of black market in the Fleet.
  • Lucy Lawless' more renowned TV character, Xena, originates from Amphipolis; an actual village situated between Greek provinces Macedonia and Thrace. See also Kara Thrace entry.
  • According to James Callis in an interview[1], in Season 3, Lucy Lawless's character (unspecified if it is D'Anna Biers or the Number Three model as a whole) "puts herself at odds with the rest of Cylon society".
  • A few scenes on the Basetar (particuarly those in The Eye of Jupiter) imply that Number Three is in a senior position to at least some of the other models. For instance, she refers to the landing of Centurions on the algae planet as "need-to-know." On the other hand, the reactions of the other Cylons to this behavior indicates that Three has gotten too big for her boots. It is also implied that the individual referred to as "D'Anna" is in turn the leader of the Threes, though evidence for this could just show solidarity among the whole model and/or this particular Three being deferred to because she has the greatest force of personality, much as Caprica-Six and Boomer are the most prominent Six and Eight, respectively, on the base ship.

References[edit]