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{{Character Data|
{{disline|For information on William Adama's [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Original Series]] counterpart, see [[Adama (TOS)]].<br/>
|photo=     [[Image:William Adama promo.jpg|200px]]
For characters with the same name, see: [[William Adama (disambiguation)]].<br/>
|age=
For other people named the shortened version of William, see: [[Bill (disambiguation)]].}}
|colony=    [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]
{{Character Data
|photo=William Adama.jpg
|caption=William Adama as the commander of the last battlestar, ''Galactica''.
|photo 2=Young Adama.jpg
|caption 2=William Adama discovers the Cylons' experiments on humans during [[Operation Raptor Talon]] {{TRS|Razor}}.
|age=61 (at the time when he reached New Earth)<ref>This date is based on the [[Caprica_pilot|''Caprica'' pilot]] taking place 58 years before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, Evelyn's earliest conception date being some months after the pilot and a full or near-full pregnancy of nine months (57 BCH), and the character's apparent age in "The Shape of Things to Come" epilogue of "[[Apotheosis (episode)|Apotheosis]]."  This would make him 57 years old at the time of the Fall, and 61 upon arrival at New Earth four years later in "[[Daybreak, Part II]]."</ref>
|colony= {{RDM|Caprica}}, of [[Tauron]] descent
|birthname=  William Adama
|birthname=  William Adama
|callsign= Husker
|callsign= Husker
|death=  
|nickname= Bill (as a child and later in life)<br/>Billy (during the First Cylon War)<br/>The Old Man (later in life)
|parents= [[Evelyn Adama]] (mother), [[Joseph Adama]] (father)
|seen= Miniseries
|siblings=  
|death= Presumably on Earth, c. 148,000 BCE
|children= [[Lee Adama]] (alive), [[Zak Adama]] (deceased)
|parents= [[Joseph Adama]] † (father)<br/>[[Evelyn Adama]] † (mother)
|marital status= Divorced ([[Caroline Adama]]), remarried to [[Anne Adama]]
|siblings= [[Tamara Adama]] † (half-sister)<br/>[[William "Willie" Adama]] † (half-brother)<ref>William "Bill" Adama is the only child from Joseph Adama's second marriage.</ref>
|role=Commanding Officer, [[Battlestar (RDM)|Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]''; Supreme Commander of the [[Colonial Fleet]]
|children= [[Lee Adama|Leland J. Adama]] (son)<br/>[[Zak Adama]] † (son)
|marital status= Divorced ([[Carolanne Adama]] †);<br>Temporarily co-habitated with [[Laura Roslin]] aboard ''Galactica''
|familytree=Y
|role=Commanding Officer, [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestar]] ''{{RDM|Galactica}}''<br/>Military leader of the [[The Fleet (RDM)|civilian Fleet]]
|rank=Admiral  
|rank=Admiral  
|serial=204971<ref>This information is from his [[:Image:Bill Adama's dogtag serial.jpg|dogtags]].</ref>
|cylon=
|cylon=
|actor=[[Edward James Olmos]]
|actor=[[Edward James Olmos]]<br/>[[Nico Cortez]] {{TRS|Razor}}<br/>[[Markus Towfigh]] {{CAP|Apotheosis (episode)}}<br/>[[Luke Pasqualino]] ([[Blood and Chrome]])
|name=  
|sepcon=Y
}}
}}
Admiral '''William Adama''', a veteran of the [[First Cylon War]], is the commanding officer of the [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestar]] ''{{RDM|Galactica}}'', and has the longest tenure as the highest ranking officer in the Colonial Fleet after the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]].


Admiral '''William Adama''' is the commanding officer of the [[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'', and the highest ranking officer left in the [[Colonial Fleet]].
== Early Life ==


== Biographical Notes ==
=== Childhood ===


=== Background ===
*William Adama was born in 57 BCH on Caprica, the son of [[Joseph Adama|Joseph]] and [[Evelyn Adama]] {{TRS|Hero}} He was named after his [[Willie Adama|deceased half-brother]] and their paternal [[William Adama Sr.|grandfather]] {{CAP|Apotheosis (episode)}}. His father was a criminal defense lawyer who later specialized in civil liberties cases, while his mother was an accountant {{TRS|Hero}} and Joseph's personal legal assistant {{CAP|Reins of a Waterfall}}. He was raised in [[Qualai]], a small coastal community {{TRS|Hero}}.
*The extent of William Adama's knowledge regarding his half-siblings and his father's previous marriage, or his father's involvement with [[Daniel Graystone]] and the creation of the [[Cylon (RDM)|Cylons]], is not known.
* He was still in school at the beginning of the [[Cylon War]] ([[TRS]]: "[[Razor Flashbacks]]," Episode 1). During his childhood, he was considered small for his age and would often be beaten by his peers ([[TRS]]: [[List of Deleted Scenes (RDM)/Season 3#99|deleted scene]], "[[Exodus, Part II]]").


William Adama was born on Caprica to [[Evelyn Adama|Evelyn]] and [[Joseph Adama]]. His mother was an accountant and his father, an attorney specializing in civil liberties ([[Litmus]]). They divorced while he was in his teens.  
=== First Cylon War ===
*Adama served late in the [[Cylon War]] as both a [[Raptor]] and [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] pilot, his first assignment being on ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''. He was given the call sign "Husker"<ref>Adama's callsign is misspelled as "Husher" in the [[Battlestar Galactica (2005 Novel)|Miniseries novelization]], which is considered a [[BW:SEPCON|separate continuity]] source.</ref> by his first co-pilot, [[Coker Fasjovik]], who assumed Adama grew up on a farm due to his gung-ho enthusiasm for the service. Adama's first mission behind enemy lines was in a Raptor playing a key role in the [[Ghost Fleet Offensive]]. Adama's skill on his first mission was evident after he destroyed three Cylon Raiders with limited ordnance in a Raptor on his first mission (''[[Blood and Chrome]]''; [[TRS]]: "[[Razor Flashbacks]]," Episode 1; "[[Sine Qua Non]]").
*During his time on ''Galactica'', he had a romantic relationship with [[Jaycie McGavin]] ([[TRS]]: "[[Razor Flashbacks]]", Episode 1). He proved a gifted pilot, shooting down his first [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylon]] on his very first combat mission, for which he received a commendation ([[TRS]]: "[[Razor Flashbacks]]", Episode 3; "[[Hero]]").
*In the last week in the war, Adama served on ''{{RDM|Galactica}}'' when the battlestar was boarded by Cylon forces. He recalled to his friend [[Saul Tigh]] a dangerous Cylon tactic that tried to turn the battlestar's power against itself ([[TRS]]: "[[Valley of Darkness]]", [[List of Deleted Scenes - Season 2 (RDM)#Valley of Darkness|deleted scene]]).


At the outbreak of the first [[Cylon War]], Adama was serving in the [[Colonial Fleet]] as a [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] pilot. He allegedly gained the call sign of "Husker" on account of his baritone "gravelled" voice. He proved to be a gifted pilot, shooting down his first [[Cylon]] on his very first mission. He racked-up his 1,000th deck landing while serving aboard the Battlestar ''[[Atlantia]]'' ([[Act of Contrition]]), when he held the rank of Lieutenant.
=== Post-First Cylon War ===
*Furloughed by [[Colonial Fleet (TRS)|Colonial Fleet]] after the war's end, Adama found work as a deck hand on a [[Sedulana|merchant fleet civilian freighter]], where he met [[Saul Tigh]], who became a long-time friend {{TRS|Scattered|Valley of Darkness}}.
*Adama married [[Carolanne Adama]], whose family had political influence with the defense subcommittee and pulled to get Adama reinstated to the Colonial Fleet. Adama (now a major) himself arranged for Tigh's reinstatement two years later.
*William and Carolanne Adama had two sons, [[Lee Adama|Lee]] and [[Zak Adama|Zak]], before the pressures of Adama's career and the time he spent away from home in active service began to place a strain on their marriage, and the two eventually divorced {{TRS|Miniseries|A Day in the Life}}.
*While elder son Lee showed promise as a Viper pilot, younger Zak Adama did not. [[Kara Thrace]], Zak's flight instructor and lover, certified him for basic flight despite his poor flight skills. Later, Zak Adama was killed in an operational flight. Zak's death would cause a rift between Commander Adama and his older son for nearly [[Act of Contrition|three years]] until Thrace admits her error to both of them.
*Adama rose through the ranks of the peacetime fleet, becoming the executive officer of the battlestar ''[[Columbia (RDM)|Columbia]]'', before becoming the commander of the battlestar ''[[Valkyrie]]''. About six years <ref name="hero">While dialogue from "[[Hero]]" places these events at 1 BCH, this contradicts previously established dates about the time Adama and others served on ''Galactica''. See [[Hero#Analysis]] for a detailed explanation why ''Battlestar Wiki'' chooses to treat this as a continuity error.</ref> prior to the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]], he was ordered by Admiral [[Peter Corman]] to escort a [[Stealthstar|stealth scout ship]] over the [[Armistice Line]]. The mission was a failure, and in an attempt to cover up, he ordered the ship and its pilot shot down. Ever since, he had felt guilt, both over shooting down his own pilot and over the possibility that his actions resulted in the holocaust. According to Tigh, this mission brought his star into descent, and he was given command of ''Galactica'' as a graceful way of easing into retirement.


Adama served on ''[[Galactica]]'' during the war as a pilot. In the last week of the war, the battlestar was boarded by Cylon forces. He recalled to his friend and fellow war veteran [[Saul Tigh]] that the Cylons divided into two teams. One headed for the ship's [[Aft Damage Control|secondary damage control]] and vented the atmosphere, while the other proceeded to [[Auxiliary Fire Control|auxiliary fire control]] and turned ''Galactica'''s guns against the fleet. Over 2,000 people died in the attack ([[Valley of Darkness]], [http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/episodes/season02/202/deleted1.html deleted scene]).
==== Notable Assignments before the Second Cylon War ====
*Several notable assignments and reassignments during his 45-year career in the Colonial Fleet {{TRS|Hero}}:
**D6/21311 - First commission: battlestar ''Galactica'' fighter squadron
**E4/21312 - Commendation for shooting down Cylon fighter in first combat mission
**D5/21314 - Mustered out of service post-armistice
**R6/21317 - Served as deckhand in merchant fleet and as common [...] aboard inter-colony tramp freighters
**D1/21331 - Recommissioned to Fleet
**D6/21337 - Major: battlestar ''[[Atlantia (RDM)|Atlantia]]''
**R8/21341 - Executive Officer: battlestar ''[[Columbia (RDM)|Columbia]]''
**C2/21345 - Commander: battlestar ''[[Valkyrie]]''
**C2/21348 - Commander: battlestar ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''


Following the Cylon armistice, William Adama married [[Caroline Adama|Caroline]]. They had two sons together: [[Lee Adama|Lee]] and [[Zak Adama|Zak]], before the pressures of Adama's career and the time he spent away from home of active service began to place a strain on their marriage. Nevertheless, this did not stop both Lee and Zak following their father into the service - both signing-up for training as Viper pilots.
<gallery mode="slideshow">
Image:BillAdama.png|William Adama around the age of 4 {{CAP|Apotheosis (episode)}}
Image:Luke Pasqualino.jpg|Ensign William Adama at the beginning of his military career {{TRS|Blood and Chrome}}.
Image:Young Adama.jpg|William Adama during the end of the first Cylon War  {{TRS|Razor}}.
Image:Silently screaming.png|Adama silently screaming as he is informed of the bad bones in ''{{RDM|Galactica}}'' {{TRS|No Exit}}.
Image:Youngadamafamily.jpg|A somewhat older William Adama and his two sons.
Image:Adama freighter.jpg|Adama aboard an inter-colony tramp freighter {{TRS|Scattered}}.
</gallery>


[[Image:Youngadamafamily.jpg|thumb|left|A young William Adama and his two sons.]]
== Second Cylon War ==
=== The Fall of the Twelve Colonies ===


A photograph seen in the Miniseries seems to imply that Adama was still in the fleet when his children were roughly six to eight years old, but within a few years he had been discharged as the result of a reduction-in-force. His marriage to Caroline had apparently fully deteriorated by this point, and he found work on a civilian freighter where he met [[Saul Tigh]], who was to become a longtime friend.
[[image:Mini_Adama_Tigh_DRADIS.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Commander Adama and Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] plot a course to [[Ragnar Anchorage]] in the [[Miniseries]].]]


After some time as a civilian, Adama married a second time, to a woman named [[Anne Adama|Anne]]. Her father was able to pull some strings with the defense subcommittee and Adama was reinstated to the [[Colonial Fleet]]. Adama himself arranged for Tigh's reinstatement a few years later.
*At the time just prior to the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|Fall]], William Adama serves out his final weeks as commander of the battlestar ''{{RDM|Galactica}}''. After some 50 years of service, the historic warship is in the process of being decommissioned, and it is one of Adama's final duties to formally hand her over to the [[Colonial Ministry of Education]], which would operate the ship as a living museum and educational center commemorating the [[First Cylon War|original Cylon War]].
*As a retirement gift, several members of [[Galen Tyrol]]'s deck crew find and restore Adama's old [[Viper Mark II]].
*On news of a renewed Cylon attack, Adama's first thoughts are, "Dead. We're all dead" {{TRS|Home, Part II}}. Despite this, as well as the presumed loss of his [[Carolanne Adama|ex-wife]] in Caprica City, he unhesitatingly takes control of the [[Colonial Fleet (TRS)|Colonial Fleet]] after [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Picon|Picon]] Fleet Headquarters is destroyed and Admiral [[Nagala]] is killed.
*At Ragnar Anchorage, Adama deduces that [[Number Two|Leoben Conoy]]'s "allergies" are really the effect of Ragnar's cloud's electro-magnetic radiation upon the [[silica pathways]] composing a Cylon brain, despite the fact that the existence of [[Humanoid Cylon|biological Cylons]] is presumably unknown to humans at that time.<ref>See [[Miniseries, Analysis#Commander William Adama|Miniseries, Analysis]] for hypotheses concerning Adama's curious ability to quickly deduce Conoy's real nature.</ref>
*Once President Roslin convinces Adama the futility of fighting against overwhelming odds, and with what may be the last 50,000 humans who remain anywhere, he makes the switch to the more tactical thinking that keeps the Colonial Fleet at least one step ahead of their Cylon pursuers.
*From the outset, he is savvy enough to give every single survivor of the devastating attack on the Colonies a reason for hope for the future: the legend of [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]]. This falsehood [[Tomb of Athena|comes back to haunt him]] as the weeks continue, as Roslin is aware of this lie to the crew and states this privately to Adama.


=== Son's Death ===
=== From the Colonies to Kobol ===


During his training, Zak Adama became involved with his flight training officer, Lt. [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]], to whom he became engaged shortly before taking his final qualifying flight ([[Act of Contrition]]). As a result of this, Thrace allowed her personal feelings interfere with her professional judgment, passing Zak Adama through flight school when she should have failed him ([[Miniseries]]). Zak was later killed in an operational flight.
*Adama continues to face the problem of infiltration within the Fleet by [[humanoid Cylon]]s as well as [[Demand Peace|dissenting humans]] who protest or terrorize others in the Fleet. Adama continually redefines the boundaries of military and civil leadership. After some [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II|serious missteps between he and President Roslin]], the two later become friends as well as influential leaders.
*[[Sharon Valerii]], a trusted [[Raptor]] pilot who served with Adama for two years, reveals herself unwittingly as a Cylon sleeper agent and shoots Adama at point blank range after a [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II|critical mission near Kobol]]. Cottle [[Fragged|eventually repairs]] the damage to Adama's body, but Adama's psyche takes the larger hit while he repairs the [[Resistance|damage to the Fleet]] he and Col. Tigh have caused in arresting President Roslin, as well as the existence of a [[Sharon Agathon|second copy of Valerii]].
*While at first Adama takes a similar stance to Tigh in assuming a hard military posture, a conversation with [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] helps him realize that, despite the problems, the Fleet is his family, and the family must stay together. After finding the [[Tomb of Athena]] with Roslin and reuniting a [[Laura Roslin faction|factioning of the Fleet]], Adama firmly buries the hatchet between himself and Roslin publicly.
*In a desperate plan, Adama trusts the second Valerii to help [[Flight of the Phoenix|ward off]] a [[Great Cylon Turkey Shoot|massive Cylon fleet]]. Despite his "gut" feelings about the Cylon, he finds common ground often with her, even apologizing to her after a [[Resurrection Ship, Part I|distasteful incident]].


As a result of his son's death, Adama faced the failure of his marriage and estrangement from his eldest son, Lee. However, to counter this, he became acquainted with Kara Thrace, and such was the bond that formed between them, Thrace transferred from flight school to one of the Battlestar ''Galactica's'' squadrons, where she served with Adama for some two years before the Cylon's reappearance ([[Act of Contrition]]).  
<gallery mode="slideshow">
Image:Attack adama.jpg|Adama seconds after having been shot by [[Sharon Valerii]] ([[TRS]]: "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]").
image:Home_pt1-Adama.jpg|Adama paints a model naval ship while talking to [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] {{TRS|Home, Part I}}.
</gallery>


Adama is a natural military leader, as demonstrated by his rise to rank of Commander in charge of a Colonial battlestar. He has the rare combination of qualities that make up a good leader: insight, the ability to naturally command respect, a common touch that enables him to relate to the enlisted personnel under his command as well as his officers, intuition, intelligence, a strong belief in his own abilities, and the ability to take the advice of others. These qualities are reflected in the fact the personnel of all ranks aboard ''Galactica'' hold him in high regard, and know that his is approachable ([[Miniseries]]).
=== ''Pegasus'' ===


If Adama has any failings, they are his mistrust of politicians and his strong sense of loyalty to those he regards as family and friends. The former is demonstrated in his uneasy acceptance of [[Laura Roslin]] ([[Miniseries]], "[[33]]", "[[Water]]"), which is quickly undermined by Roslin's own doubts following her encounter with [[Leoben Conoy]] ([[Flesh and Bone]]). The latter is most clearly demonstrated by both his support of Colonel [[Saul Tigh]] and his actions when Kara Thrace is posted as Missing in Action.  
*Adama stoically accepts Admiral [[Helena Cain]]'s overall command. Wary of her behavior and her crew, Adama follows his own truism: stick to what you know, until you find something better.
*Matters with Cain's unusually totalitarian command style come to a head when Cain makes [[Pegasus (episode)|several highly questionable orders]] that lead him to face off with her battlestar and her command in a [[Standoff Between Galactica and Pegasus|military challenge]]. While the issue is [[Resurrection Ship, Part I|temporarily defused]], Adama is told by, of all people, President Roslin that Cain is a threat to the safety of the Fleet's citizens and must be eliminated.
*Adama avoids killing Cain after realizing that he would become the monster that the Cylons believed they were, unaware that she has plotted his demise as well.
*With Cain's fate sealed not by Adama but [[Gina Inviere]], a frail President Roslin promotes Adama to Admiral. He gives her a simple, affectionate kiss, which she returns, signifying another change in their turbulent association {{TRS|Resurrection Ship, Part II}}.


Despite Tigh's obvious drinking problem ([[Miniseries]]), Adama retains him as his [[Executive officer]] when another commanding officer might have too easily transferred Tigh to a planetside desk job to avoid the embarrassment. While this demonstrated Adama's unstinting friendship for Tigh, it does the colonel no favors with the officers and crew under his command - many of whom are openly dismissive of him ([[Miniseries]]) - a fact that may encourage his drinking.
=== New Caprica ===


With Thrace, Adama's loyalty places the mission to find her above the need to protect [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] and ensure the survival of humanity - thus putting everyone at risk ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]).
[[Image:Adama being carried Exodus-Pt-II.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Adama being carried by crew and civilians after the [[Battle of New Caprica]] (mid left).]]


=== Surprise [[Cylon Attack]] ===
*Adama's sense of justice with Roslin holds when he confronts her about [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II|a conspiracy]] involving her re-election. Roslin admits the conspiracy but she is certain disaster will strike if [[Gaius Baltar]] becomes president. He agrees, but convinces Roslin that the correct course of action is to acknowledge a miscount and cover the conspiracy.
*When ''[[Cloud Nine]]'' and two other ships blow up as a result of [[Gina Inviere]]'s last effort of sabotage, Adama is privately infuriated at new President Baltar's refusal to investigate, and begins to wonder if he hadn't made a mistake.
*A year later, Adama commands ''Galactica'' manned by a skeleton crew as the flagship of a defense fleet, consisting of all ships unable or unwilling to make planetfall on [[New Caprica]]. He now sports a thick mustache, and has apparently taken up smoking. Adama feel lonely in command after he allowed many people close to him to settle on the planet despite his initial refusal. Eventually he grants [[Saul Tigh]] leave to take his wife [[Ellen Tigh|Ellen]] and go as well. His friendship to [[Laura Roslin]] appears to have deepened and the two share a carefree day during Founders' Day celebrations on the planet, marking the formal ground-breaking of New Caprica City {{TRS|Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II|Unfinished Business}}.
*Shortly after the election, Adama and/or President Baltar commissions Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla a lieutenant (junior grade), skipping the initial commissioned rank of ensign. Aside from pilots, she is the only NCO shown to receive a commission. On the morning after the Founders' Day celebration, Adama approves her transfer to Battlestar ''Pegasus'' to join his son and her lover, Commander Lee Adama.
*During the year in orbit, he mends fences with [[Sharon Agathon|Sharon]]. Although he valued her advise earlier, he called her a "thing" or "it" and treated her such. While becoming estranged from the people around him, Adama grows much closer to Agathon, having personal conversations with her and he allowing her to decorate her cell with chairs, tables and other amenities and she has apparently become an advisor of sorts to him {{TRS|Precipice}}. He permits [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] to marry her, and she adopts his surname, Agathon, thereby further separating herself from the identical Sharon Valerii who shot Adama.
*With Colonel Tigh released from active duty and beached on New Caprica, Adama promotes Lt. Karl Agathon (Helo) to captain and appoints him Executive Officer of ''Galactica,'' thereby demonstrating both the trust he has in Helo despite the latter's marriage to the Cylon prisoner, and his unwillingness to split families.
*Not long after Tigh leaves, a massive Cylon fleet bears down on New Caprica. After a brief discussion with [[Lee Adama|his son]] aboard ''Pegasus'' they order the understaffed Fleet to escape to pre-arranged Jump coordinates. The admiral issues the jump order with a reminder: "We're leaving... but we'll be back."
* Frustrations over the lack of a plan and problems during exercises lead to a conflict with his son whom he attacks over his weight gain and perceived softness. While Lee is pragmatic and doesn't believe that they can rescue the people on New Caprica in their state, his father drives everyone to their limit, thinking it is his misjudgments that brought them into the situation.
*He only forgives himself for leaving almost everyone behind after a conversation with Agathon, where she explains that, after being through so much herself, she discovered that she first had to forgive herself in order to get through it. In her opinion, the human race can't survive if Adama can't forgive himself.
*He commissions Agathon as a Colonial officer shortly after making contact with the [[New Caprica Resistance]], showing complete trust in her. She asks how he knows that she won't betray him and he replies he doesn't, stating "that's what trust is." Eventually a rescue plan takes shape, but Adama decides to go to New Caprica alone, ordering his son to take over as guardian of the Fleet should he not return. Despite their differences of opinion, the two have a heartfelt goodbye.
*Although sustaining losses, and with the last-minute assistance of Lee and ''Pegasus'', Adama is able to [[Battle of New Caprica|successfully pull off the rescue attempt]]. He is lauded by his crew and the civilians for this. He also shaves off his mustache, signifying a new beginning ([[TRS]]: "[[Occupation]]" through "[[Exodus, Part II]]").


At the time of the Cylon's sudden attack on the Twelve Colonies, William Adama is serving out his final weeks as commander of the battlestar ''[[Galactica]]''. After some 50 years of service, the historic warship is in the process of being decommissioned, and it was one of Adama's final duties to formally hand her over to the [[Colonial Ministry of Education]] (by way of Education Secretary [[Laura Roslin]]) who would operate the ship as a living museum commemorating the original Cylon War and an educational center ([[Miniseries]]).  
=== Flight from New Caprica to "Maelstrom" ===
*Adama is awarded the [[Medal of Distinction]] for his 45 years of distinctive service in the Colonial Fleet. To him this is a penance for the harm that he caused in the past, and his belief that he might have been the cause of the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]] {{TRS|Hero}}.
*In an effort to alleviate tensions on ''Galactica'', Adama [[Unfinished Business|holds a boxing tournament]], disregarding rank, allowing people to work out built up frustrations. He himself joins the festivities by challenging Chief [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]]. Beaten, he declares that he let everyone too close to him, which ultimately led to the fracturing of their family on New Caprica, and vows to not make that mistake again.
*After the discovery of the [[Temple of Five]] on the [[algae planet]], four Cylon [[Basestar (RDM)|basestars]] jump into orbit. A meeting with the Cylons occurs on ''Galactica'', but Adama threatens to nuke the planet should the Cylons make a claim to it. A standoff occurs, and when the Cylons try to launch six Heavy Raiders, Adama orders the arming the ship's [[missile tubes]]. This frightens the Cylons, who recall five of the six and Adama orders a stand down {{TRS|The Eye of Jupiter|Rapture}}.
*With the capture of [[Gaius Baltar]], Adama and President Roslin are faced with a dilemma of what to do with Baltar. They try various methods of interrogation, including food and sleep deprivation, threats, and even an [[interrogation drug]], to find out what the Cylons know about the location of Earth. Adama apparently has previous experience with the drug and, after suggesting its use, acts as the interrogator, showing his darker side {{TRS|Taking a Break From All Your Worries}}.
*On his wedding anniversary, Adama is plagued by memories of his [[Carolanne Adama|ex-wife]]. He wonders about the nature of his relationship to Roslin, not admitting that it could turn into a romantic one. He is also unsure how to treat his son, having a hard time telling him his personal feelings: "proud, stubborn and angry", but "coming into his own". While loving his son, he prefers to interact with him as an admiral to a subordinate officer, believing Lee knows how he feels. Upon Roslin's recommendations, he offers his son to organize Baltar's upcoming trial. Although not sure if Lee will have the time, he gives him [[Joseph Adama]]'s old [[Arts and Literature of the Twelve Colonies#Law books|law books]]. It is also revealed that Adama does memory exercises to enable him to know everyone on his crew by name {{TRS|A Day in the Life}}.


As a part of the decommissioning ceremonies, someone decides it would be a fitting tribute to have Lee Adama, recently-promoted to the rank of Captain, lead an honor flyby of Vipers - an ironic statement at best, given the strained relationship between the two men. The situation is not made any easier when Lee Adama finds he is to fly his father's battle-honored old Mark II Viper.
=== [[Kara Thrace]]'s death, resurrection and the final leg of the journey to Earth ===
* By chance, Adama is selected to be a judge at the trial. Two weeks after [[Kara Thrace]]'s [[Maelstrom|death]] he is still distraught, having considered her as a daughter&mdash;after her resurrection/return/rebirth, he tells her, "You are my daughter" {{TRS|Daybreak, Part I}}. In anger, he breaks his model ship. Adama places [[Lee Adama|Lee]] in charge of security for [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]]'s new lawyer, [[Romo Lampkin]], but Lee develops a desire to actively help defend Baltar much to Adama's outrage. The two also come to blows over their dealing with Thrace's loss {{TRS|The Son Also Rises}}. This results in a break between the father and son, with Lee resigning his commission and Adama questioning his son's integrity after Lee contributed to humiliating his friend [[Saul Tigh]] in court, not able to understand how he could do such things in order to defend a traitor, whom he believes is undeserving of a trial {{TRS|Crossroads, Part I}}.
*Adama reconsiders his relationship with his son after Lee's [[Crossroads, Part II#Noteworthy Dialogue|impassioned speech]] about justice, itself swaying his vote in favor of an acquittal of Baltar. He is further pleased that his son participated in the [[Battle of the Ionian Nebula]], offering him his wings back, which Lee refuses as he believes that he can do better in his new role as the new [[Quorum of Twelve (RDM)|Quorum]] delegate from {{RDM|Caprica}} {{TRS|Crossroads, Part II|He That Believeth in Me}}.
* Adama comforts Laura Roslin throughout her [[Doloxan]] treatments on ''Galactica''. The two bond further and share some of their most intimate thoughts. During this, Roslin manages to convince Adama that they will truly find Earth despite his earlier skepticism. Roslin's remarks that Adama is afraid to lose people close to him hit a mark, and he gives Thrace command of the ''[[Demetrius]]'' on a mission to search for Earth. He wants to believe in her despite serious questions regarding her sudden resurrection, even after her attack on Roslin {{TRS|He That Believeth in Me|Six of One}}.
*Adama and Roslin later discuss Lee's choices, including his decision to support the right of Baltar's [[Cult of Baltar|cult]] to assemble without stricture. Adama seems to appreciate his son's idealism to a certain extent, despite having been on its opposing side several times. He also attempts to comfort Galen Tyrol after Cally's [[The Ties That Bind|sudden death]], but Tyrol rejects the efforts and Adama demotes him to specialist before Tyrol can endanger any other pilots {{TRS|Escape Velocity}}.
* While Roslin continues her Doloxan treatments aboard ship, he continues to comfort her by reading various books, including ''[[Searider Falcon]]'', to her and generally being present to discuss matters of faith. He later admits to her that she is the reason why he has faith in their mission to find Earth {{TRS|Escape Velocity|Faith}}.
[[Image:410 Adama sees the Fleet off.jpg|thumb|William Adama sees the Fleet off.]]
* After [[Guess What's Coming to Dinner?|Roslin's abrupt abduction]] by the rebel Cylon baseship, as well as {{callsign|Athena}}'s murder of [[Natalie Faust]], he initiates a search for Roslin while ignoring the Fleet's safety and interests. His dismissal of both the Quorum and [[Tom Zarek]] raise tensions in the Fleet that force his son to search for—and become—the interim president in Roslin's place. Further, tensions between Adama and Tigh to boil, notably after Dr. [[Sherman Cottle]] reports that [[Caprica-Six]] is impregnated by Tigh. The two come to blows over their decisions regarding the women currently in their lives. Adama admits that he can't live without Roslin and decides to stay behind in a Raptor to wait for Roslin's return. As a result, he hands command of the Fleet over to newly-promoted Admiral Tigh, acknowledging that Tigh has become more knowledgeable about himself and is not the same man who [[Scattered|commanded the Fleet disastrously]] over two years ago {{TRS|Sine Qua Non}}. After reconnecting with the missing basestar and reuniting with President Roslin on the hangar deck of the basestar, she finally admits that she is in love with him, to which he replies, "About time" {{TRS|The Hub}}.
*When [[Saul Tigh]] confesses that he is a Cylon, [[Revelations|Adama doesn't take it well]]. He can't believe that his decades-long friend is a Cylon and thinks that he was brainwashed on New Caprica. After ordering Marines to arrest Tigh, Adama breaks down in his quarters, hitting a mirror with his fist and sobbing on the floor. His son finds him in this state and tries to get him to pull himself together.


When he is first notified of the Cylon attack, Adama's first thoughts were, "Dead. We're all dead" ([[Home, Part II]]). Despite this, as well as the presumed loss of his wife in Caprica City, he manages to shepherd [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] to safety. Since the attack on the Twelve Colonies, Adama strives to lead the remnants of humanity with the same conviction as has marked his entire military career. Military discipline remains (mostly) intact aboard ''Galactica'', and she continues to operate as a top-rate warship, despite her lack of any other military support (up to the discovery of ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'') and despite her reduced complement in terms of both fighters and crew.
=== Discovery of Earth ===
*After Lee Adama defuses the following crisis with the [[Cylon Civil War|Cylon rebels]], Adama has sufficiently recovered to lead the Fleet on its final jump to Earth, holding a rousing speech [[Revelations|after the arrival]].
* Unfortunately, when the Colonials land on Earth, they discover that the whole planet is a burnt out wasteland {{TRS|Revelations}}. Baltar confirms that the planet suffered a nuclear holocaust 2000 years ago.  There is still enough radiation left to make the planet uninhabitable. Adama leaves the planet's surface in disgust.
* Back on ''Galactica'', Adama receives even more disturbing news.  The Rebel Cylons have found evidence on Earth that the Thirteenth Tribe were not human.  They were Cylons.
* Adama tries to get Roslin to address the Fleet, but Roslin has completely lost faith in the Scriptures and no longer has the will to lead the people. She initiates a romantic and cohabital relationship with him, stating that she no longer wishes to live for the fleet, but to live for what she wants to.
* After Dualla commits suicide, Adama breaks down in tears over her body and believes he's failed everyone.  He starts drinking excessively and eventually makes his way to Saul Tigh's quarters.
* Tigh tries to apologize for not telling him the truth, but Adama ignores him and instead starts drinking more and insulting Tigh.  He questions whether Tigh was "programmed" to be his friend all these years.  Adama then comments that Ellen must have realized the truth about her husband long before he did, which is why she slept around with half the Colonial Fleet.  Tigh tells him to shut up, but Adama keeps goading him.  Tigh finally can't take it anymore and points his pistol at Adama.  Adama draws his own weapon which he points to his own head.  He tells Tigh to kill him or he'll do it himself.
* Tigh suddenly realizes that Adama wants to die, but he doesn't have the guts to pull the trigger himself.  Tigh calms down and sternly tells Adama that he still has a duty to this ship and that his death won't make things any better.  Adama slowly comes to terms with everything that has happened. 
* Later, Adama walks onto CIC and addresses a thoroughly demoralized crew.  He acknowledges that they can't stay on Earth, but he promises they will find a new home.  Adama then orders the CIC personnel to begin jump preparation and to plot a course for an area of space likely to contain a habitable planet.  He reinstates Tigh to his rank and posting, despite the latter's Cylon nature.


[[image:Mini_Adama_Tigh_DRADIS.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Commander [[William Adama|Adama]] and Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] plot a course to [[Ragnar Anchorage]] in the [[Miniseries]].]]
=== Mutiny ===
As a combat veteran, Adama is more than capable of both strategic and tactical operations and making the decisions both require. When [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Picon|Picon]] Fleet Headquarters is destroyed and then Admiral [[Nagala]] is killed, he unhesitatingly takes control of the Colonial's response to the Cylon incursion and starts defining a response to the onslaught. Once President Roslin convinces Adama the futility of fighting against overwhelming odds, and with what may be the last 50,000 humans that remain anywhere, he makes the switch to the more tactical thinking that keeps the Colonial fleet at least one step ahead of their Cylon pursuers. From the outset, he is savvy enough to give every single survivor of the devastating attack on the Colonies a reason for hope for the future: the legend of Earth. This falsehood comes back to haunt him as the weeks continue, as Roslin is aware of this lie to the crew and states this privately to Adama.
* Adama approves an alliance between rebel Cylon faction without the consent of the Quorum of Twelve. These Cylons are given them full colonial citizenship an Quorum seat in exchange for Cylon technology and accepting the colonial command structure.
* Adama integrates the Cylon heavy raiders (piloted by humanoid Cylons who thus can communicate directly with the humans) into ''Galactica''’s combat air patrols (CAPs), their Six and Eight pilots assigned to Colonial squadrons.
* Adama orders the fleet to allow Cylons to install their more efficient technology aboard the various ships of the Fleet {{TRS|A Disquiet Follows My Soul}}.
* This unpopular decision ferments a [[Gaeta's Mutiny|mutiny attempt]] led militarily by [[Felix Gaeta]] and politically by [[Tom Zarek]].
* Adama is ''de facto'' removed from command, but before he is taken out of the CIC, Adama speaks of a reckoning of traitors.
* The admiral is able to escape the rebels temporary, and helps Laura Roslin and Baltar escape to the Cylon Basestar, but is recaptured in doing so {{TRS|The Oath|Blood on the Scales}}.
* Against the advise of Tom Zarek, Gaeta attempts to have an informal trial of Adama charging him with treason.
* Adama is sentenced to death by Gaeta, but again evades death after a group of loyalists save him.  His own executioners join him in his quest to retake the ship and he storms CIC with the group that rescued him, the marines who were supposed to execute him and many crew members who join up with him on the way.
* Gaeta attempts to jump away with the fleet, but is stopped by a large group of loyalists storming the CIC and reinstating Adama in command.  Gaeta surrenders without a fight and Adama has him and Zarek executed by a firing squad that he personally commands {{TRS|Blood on the Scales}}.


Away from the daily rigours of command, Adama continues to face the problem of infiltration within the Fleet by [[Cylon agent]]s. ("[[Litmus]]", "[[Flesh and Bone]]", "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]") and the possibility of saboteurs aboard ''Galactica'' and the Fleet ([[Water]]) - sabateurs who are still be at large, waiting for an opportunity to strike again. Adama has also had to redefine the boundaries of military and civil leadership, working as best he can with Laura Roslin, now recognized as the President of the people of the Twelve Colonies following the loss of practically all of the original Colonial [[government]].
=== Post-Mutiny and the second Earth ===
* With crew sizes stretched very thin, Adama relies even more on the rebel Cylons, further integrating them into the Fleet.
* ''Galactica'' begins to show small fractures through the ship.  Tyrol recommends to Adama to use Cylon technology to fix these fractures. Adama initially disagrees, but eventually orders this to be done {{TRS|No Exit|Deadlock}}.
*The increased presence of Cylons aboard ''Galactica'' leads to Adama and Roslin viewing them even more as the same as humans, when they realise that Cylons have taken to placing photographs of their own lost companions in the remembrance hall.
* Further damage to the ship caused by Boomer's FTL jump leads Adama to order ''Galactica'''s abandonment {{TRS|Someone to Watch Over Me|Islanded in a Stream of Stars}}.
* Adama changes his mind, after discovering [[The Colony|the location]] of [[Hera Agathon]].  He plans to send the ship off in a blaze of glory in a volunteers-only apparent [[Battle of the Colony|suicide mission]] to rescue the child {{TRS|Daybreak, Part II}}.
* Adama rejects two volunteers: Doctor (Major) [[Sherman Cottle]] is needed by the civilian populace. Adama brevets Lt. [[Louis Hoshi]] to rear admiral and appoints him to command of the rest of the Fleet from the Cylon Basestar under appointed Acting President Romo Lampkin.
* Adama and the volunteers successfully save Hera and destroy the Colony. With the Colony detonating around them, Adama orders [[Kara Thrace]] to [[blind jump]] the ship away, without giving time to draw in the ship's Flight Pods. The ship ends up at a habitable planet, with it's structual integrity totally compromised and it's ability to Jump gone forever.
* Finding the planet habitable and sparcely populated by inexplicedly genetically compatable humans, Adama suggests it be named Earth to take the place of the planet they had long sought.
* The Fleet reunites with ''Galactica''. Adama reluctantly agrees to Lee's proto-ludite settlement plans for the new planet, and orders that the ships of the Fleet be flown into the sun by [[Samuel Anders]] (less the Cylon Basestar which the humanoid Cylons give to the Centurions with which to make their own destiny).
* He flies off in a Raptor with Roslin to find a good place to build a cabin, never planning to return. While remarking on the wildlife, Laura Roslin dies peacefully of her cancer. Realizing this, he tearfully places his wedding ring on her finger.
*He builds a cabin in a mountain range, as were Roslin's wishes, and buries her nearby.  Afterwards, he lives in solitude in the cabin, often visiting Laura's grave and speaking to her {{TRS|Daybreak, Part II}}.


Events since the Cylon attack causes Adama to reconcile with his son, Lee. While they do not always see eye-to-eye, the needs of ''Galactica's'' crew and humanity as a whole have enabled them to better understand one another and move past their differences.  
== Personality ==
*Adama has the rare combination of qualities that make up a good leader: insight, the ability to naturally command respect, a common touch that enables him to relate to the enlisted personnel under his command as well as his officers, intuition, intelligence, a strong belief in his own abilities, and the ability to take the advice of others. These qualities are reflected in the fact that personnel of all ranks aboard ''Galactica'' hold him in high regard, and know that he is approachable {{TRS|Miniseries}}.
*Adama mistrusts politicians, and sometimes places too strongly a value of loyalty to those he regards as family and friends. From his uneasiness to [[Laura Roslin]]'s unexpected assumption of the Presidency, to the tolerance and patience of his friend, Saul Tigh, and [[You Can't Go Home Again|his stubbornness to save Kara Thrace]], Adama shows a dogged determination that few others care to confront.
*Adama does not share the majority of Colonial beliefs in the gods {{TRS|Razor}}, although he has come to accept that his people's scripture may have relevance to the search for Earth {{TRS|Home, Part II}}.


Following the loss of seven of the ''Galactica's'' pilots, Adama is forced to face the truth concerning Zak Adama's death, and Kara Thrace's role within it. In a strange way, these two events are something of a catalyst for one another - Thrace's admission to Adama forces him to realize how precious his remaining son is to him, and how difficult a father he must have been ("[[You Can't Go Home Again]]", "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]"); Adama's ability to admit his love and respect for his son enables the elder Adama to overcome his anger towards Thrace after her admission to him ([[Act of Contrition]]).
==Notes==
*[[Wikipedia:Adama|Adama]] (also known as Nazareth) is the name of a large city in Ethiopia. The name is also a variation on "[[Wikipedia:Adam and Eve|Adam]]," the first man to be created according to the Bible in the [[Wikipedia:Genesis|Book of Genesis]].  In Hebrew the word pronounced "Adama" means earth.
*The Tauron language is portrayed on the show using Ancient Greek. Thus, the most likely etymology for the family name "Adama" is from ''adamas'' (ἀδάμας), which means invincible and is the etymological root of the word ''diamond''. It seems a suitable choice as the surname of the various related characters in this series as it relates to their personality traits.
*Edward James Olmos has brown eyes, but he wears contacts when playing William Adama that make Adama's eyes blue.  This is done so that Olmos and [[Jamie Bamber]], who is playing his son Apollo, will resemble each other more. 
*Astute viewers may recall Edward James Olmos sharing the screen with realistic humanoid robots as [[w:List of minor characters in Blade Runner#Gaff|Gaff]] in the classic science fiction film ''[[w:Blade Runner|Blade Runner]]'', which also used the term "skin job" as a pejorative to denote the artificial humanoids.
*Olmos also shares with ''[[MemoryAlpha:Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' star [[MemoryAlpha:William Shatner|William Shatner]] the distinction of being one of only two actors to both command a television starship and portray a police officer in a popular 1980's cop show (''[[w:Miami Vice|Miami Vice]]'' for Olmos, ''[[w:T.J. Hooker|T.J. Hooker]]'' for Shatner), as a regularly credited actor on each show.
*Edward James Olmos is the father of actor [[Bodie Olmos]], who plays [[Brendan Costanza]], and husband of actress [[Lymari Nadal]], who plays [[Giana O'Neill]].
*Roslin has [[Billy Keikeya]] seek out a jeweler to fashion new admiral pins for Adama after Cain's death at the end of "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]".


===Kobol and Earth===
== Family tree ==
At the start of the exodus from the Twelve Colonies, Adama uses the legend of Earth as a means of binding the remnants of humanity together with a single hope. Unfortunately, this later causes the greatest rift in leadership within the Colonial fleet. Following the accidental discovery of [[Kobol]], which [[Laura Roslin|President Roslin]] sees pre-ordained in scripture, Adama finds himself confronted by what amounts to a court-martial situation. With members of his crew -- and the Vice President, [[Gaius Baltar]] -- trapped on the surface of Kobol, Adama orders Kara Thrace to use a captured [[Cylon Raider]] to destroy a Cylon [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]] in orbit above Kobol. However, President Roslin persuades Thrace to use the Raider to go to [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] to retrieve the [[Arrow of Apollo]] at [[Delphi]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]).
{{Adama Family Tree (RDM)}}


This action results in Adama terminating Roslin's presidency in what amounts to a coup, only to find [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]] forced to arrest [[Lee Adama]] for mutiny while on ''[[Colonial One]]'' to remove President Roslin from office. With Thrace gone, Adama dispatches [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Lieutenant Valerii]] to destroy the basestar over Kobol. While the mission is successful, Valerii's Cylon programming reveals itself and shoots Adama at point blank range as he thanks her for her work on her return ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). Adama's injuries are left untreated when a second basestar suddenly appears, forcing ''Galactica'' and the Fleet to perform an emergency [[FTL|Jump]].
==References==
 
{{reflist}}
Unfortunately, the chaos of the situation leaves ''Galactica'' without the same Jump coordinates as the Fleet, and the battlestar is separated in another area of space ([[Scattered]]). Worst of all, Dr. [[Cottle]], the Fleet's only doctor, is on one of the other ships in the Fleet. While Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta]] determines how to return to the Fleet, and as ''Galactica'' is raided by a [[Cylon Centurion]] boarding party, the [[Layne Ishay|medics]] on hand stabilize the commander's condition long enough for Dr. Cottle to return. After a lengthy and risky operation, Cottle repairs the damage to Adama's body.
 
Adama rests unconscious while Tigh declares martial law to counteract Roslin's supporters in the [[Quorum of Twelve]]. Roslin escapes the ship with Lee Adama's help, and hide throughout the fleet as Adama regains consciousness and returns to command. Roslin gains sufficient support and returns to Kobol, convincing over a third of the Fleet to Jump to Kobol in search of the path to Earth. Adama is incensed as, being a man with generally secular beliefs, he never truly believed in the existence of Earth of the Pythian scriptures and (incorrectly) feels that most others believe the same.
[[image:Home_pt1-Adama.jpg|thumb|300px|Commander [[William Adama|Adama]] paints a model boat while talking to [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] in "[[Home, Part I]]."]]
Adama's calm exterior barely holds back the helplessness and rage he feels over the betrayal of his son, Sharon Valerii, Roslin, and over 18,000 others that left with Roslin for Kobol. While at first Adama takes a similar stance to Tigh in assuming a hard military posture, a conversation with Petty Officer [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] helps him realize again (as Dualla and [[Billy Keikeya]] showed him before the [[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage]]) that, despite the problems, the Fleet is his family, and the family must stay together. He orders the remainder of the Fleet to prepare to return to Kobol ([[Home, Part I]]).
 
Adama's attitude about Roslin and her quest changes from anger to genuine interest as he and his command staff track the likeliest location where Roslin's group searches for the [[Tomb of Athena]]. Rather than being skeptical about Roslin's visions, for instance, Adama begins to take them as face value, considering that data just as useful as the maps in front of him. Realizing that only he could reach out to Roslin to reunite the Fleet ("It was always between us anyway"), Adama leaves ''Galactica'' to Tigh's command while he, Tyrol, [[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]], and Keikeya head to Kobol to find Roslin's group.
 
Adama greets his son, Lee, with raised guns, accidentally surprising Roslin's camp. Adama hugs his son and warmly greets Roslin and Thrace. However, on seeing the Caprica-based version of Sharon Valerii, Adama examines her eerily, grabs her by the throat and hurls her down to the ground while the camp tries to explain the reason why she was in camp. "I want you to die" was all that Adama could express before his pent-up anger became more physical, the exertions from his recovery catching up to him. He rolls off Valerii with aid, clutching his chest. Adama is given an explanation but remains understandably wary of this new copy of the [[Cylon agent]].
 
Adama and Roslin have a talk unlike any other they've shared in the past, both calling each other by their first names, casually. Adama tells Roslin that he forgives her for her actions in the past weeks, and leaves the apology stand even when Roslin casually notes that she wasn't asking for his permission. When Roslin speaks of the [[Resistance (movement)|resistance]] on Caprica and whether ''Galactica'' and her Fleet should have returned to fight instead of leaving from Ragnar Anchorage, Adama rejects the notion, saying he did not come to Kobol to "navel gaze" at what they could have done. He thanks Laura for saving him, his son, and the Fleet, for if he did not follow Roslin's advice to leave the system before the fight at Ragnar, he believes they would have all died.
 
Moments after discovering the entrance to the Tomb of Athena, Caprica-Valerii raises a gun at Adama's chest while [[Meier]], one of [[Tom Zarek]]'s men, raises his gun to Lee Adama, who is now aiming at Valerii. Meier was attempting an assassination of both Adamas to allow Zarek more political power after Roslin's demise, trying to use Valerii as a pawn to remove attention from Zarek. Immediately, Valerii turns her gun to Meier and fires. Lee Adama picks off a second shooter, while Valerii explains to Adama that she is fully aware of who she is and that, unlike her ''Galactica'' counterpart known as Boomer, she does not have hidden protocols or programming. She surrenders her weapon to Adama. Adama's feelings on Valerii remain guarded as she is placed in the special cage created for her counterpart on their return to ''Galactica.''
 
Adama enters the Tomb with Roslin, Lee, Kara, and Billy, the rest left guarded by Tyrol. The group successfully activates the map with the [[Arrow of Apollo]] and gain useful information on the true whereabouts of Earth. Back on ''Galactica'', Adama firmly buries the hatchet between he and Roslin publicly by introducing Roslin as the President for a speech to members of the fleet, and leads a formal, unified ovation by applause for Roslin ([[Home, Part II]]).
 
===Common Ground===
 
To help undo the damage to the military's reputation in the Fleet after the "''[[Gideon]]'' incident", President Roslin and Adama give a [[Fleet News Service]] reporter, [[D'anna Biers]], unlimited access of the ship to interview the crew and watch their work and off-shift behavior. Bier's resulting documentary is very moving, and Adama gives his approval to release it for airing to the Fleet, who believes it shows the best of his crew, "warts and all". Adama is not aware that Biers is a Cylon infiltrator that has also passed out intelligence to her counterparts on Caprica of the existance and pregnancy of Helo's copy of Sharon Valerii ([[Final Cut]]).
 
''Galactica'' is beset by mysterious malfunctions throughout the ship. Worse, crew morale is very low, with no relief, little true recreation, and a sense of no future plagues many throughout the ship. Even the stoic and reliable Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]] vents his frustration to the surprise of everyone in [[CIC]]. Deck Chief [[Galen Tyrol]], fighting his own sense of hopelessness, begins a project to build a replacement fighter from spare parts. Over time, others in the ship join in on the "pet project". Despite the need to stop the increasing malfunctions, Adama is reluctant to stop work on Tyrol's project unless necessary as it gives the crew a creative outlet. Some time later, after the new fighter completes its maiden flight, Adama and Roslin christen the new stealth fighter, the [[Blackbird]]. Adama tells Roslin that the crew's nicknaming the fighter "Laura" was a honor they wanted to do for the President, given her service to them as well as their feelings about her illness.
 
Adama solicits the help of the incarcerated Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii, ordering [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] to show her a portion of the Cylon virus code found in the ship's computers. She reacts in shock and tells Adama that this code was part of a [[logic bomb]] that will take over the battlestar, killing its crew and directing its guns at the remaining Fleet to destroy it. She also strongly believes, as did Adama, that this bomb was an indication of an imminent Cylon attack. Lieutenant Gaeta and [[Gaius Baltar]] devise a way to rid themselves of the bomb, but  during this process, the battlestar would be practically defenseless. Adama needs a way to stop the incoming Cylon forces and asks President Roslin for advice on trusting the second Valerii for help. She responds by asking him to find common ground between Valerii and himself, despite his prejudices about her. In a desperate plan, Adama brings Valerii to CIC, where she uses her Cylon brain to send a virus back to the massive Cylon fleet that appears, deactivating every single enemy fighter. ''Galactica's'' Vipers easily destroy all enemy Raiders without a single casualty ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]).
 
===The Discovery of Battlestar ''Pegasus''===
 
The sudden discovery of the [[Mercury class battlestar|advanced battlestar]] ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', commanded by Admiral [[Helena Cain]], is a very welcome event for Adama and his war-weary crew, and surely brings additional hope to the civilian fleet. But Cain's command staff--as well as her crew--seem oddly power-hungry, angrily disciplined, and, perhaps, the perfect reason why the Cylons might decide the human race should be annihilated. Adama, a soldier accustomed to taking orders, puts on a stoic face as Cain assumes command of the fleet. Not even Adama's relaxed smile convinces Laura Roslin of Adama's attitude when she asks how he was handling his change in command. Her guess was correct: something about the Admiral bothers Adama, but he is reluctant to discuss it. Adama follows his own truism about the Admiral: stick to what you know, until you find something better.
 
Adama's troubles with Cain begin with her choice to furnish supplies only to ''Galactica'' and not the civilian fleet, a point that Roslin hopes Adama would be able to correct. After Cain reads Adama's ship logs of the last 3 months, Cain reassigns Lieutenant Thrace and his son, Lee, to her ship. She explains that Adama was too close to his son, that Starbuck was an insubordinate officer that required structure, and that Adama had let military discipline become lax. Adama's stony face barely hides his anger, which he partially releases on Apollo and Starbuck as he orders them without commentary to transfer to ''Pegasus.''  Cain makes some valid observations about lax discipline on ''Galactica'', so Adama grudgingly accepts her re-shuffling of personnel.
 
Matters with Cain's unusually totalitarian command style come to a head when Cain orders her "Cylon interrogator", Lieutenant [[Alistair Thorne]], to interrogate the normally cooperative [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii]]. Thorne's method of "interrogation" was sexual assault. Lt. Agathon and Tyrol discover the truth of Thorne from members of ''Pegasus''' crew. They rush to Valerii's cell and stop Thorne, accidentally killing him. Adama is given assurances by Cain that the arrested men will be tried fairly on her ship, but she refuses to assemble a tribunal to conduct the trial.
 
A few hours later, Adama is told that Agathon and Tyrol were tried and convicted--and solely by Cain herself. Cain claims that wartime status granted her extra powers, but Adama disagrees, realizing that his fleet wasn't on an offensive posture and requires cooperation and not military rule, as ''Galactica'' could have done long ago at Ragnar Anchorage by fighting to win and abandoning the civilian fleet. Adama's stony acceptance of taking orders from the renegade admiral immediately ceases. He orders the alert Vipers and a Raptor--filled with [[marines]]--to head to ''Pegasus'' to retrieve his men, and Cain deploys her Vipers. Adama is headed into yet another fight for the survival of his Fleet--his family--against a vastly superior force, and it doesn't seem to matter to him one wit if it is the Cylon fleet, or Cain's hostile, warmongering forces ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]).
 
The standoff between the battlestars fortunately doesn't begin with an exchange of any fire from battlestars or fighters. However, Adama watches as his Vipers dance with ''Pegasus'' Vipers in a deadly game of "chicken", with ''Pegasus'' pilots attempting to force ''Galactica's'' fighters to fire first, which, by rules of engagement, would authorize return fire. Adama keeps silent, awaiting the inevitable collision or misfire that will start the bloodshed when Lt. Gaeta picks up what appears to be a [[Raider]] that manages to get ''very'' close to the Fleet without an earlier [[DRADIS]] alert. Picking up the surprise target as well, ''Pegasus'' fighters stop the chicken game and fly formation with Adama's fighters to intercept the target. The target turns out to be Kara Thrace in the [[Blackbird]], returning from her unauthorized but very successful self-appointed reconnaissance mission to the mysterious Cylon ship that trails the Fleet. Her sudden entrance allows a ''detente'' between the battlestar commanders, who meet on ''Colonial One''. There, President Roslin gives both commanders a harsh grilling and reminds them of the importance of the Fleet's survival and the intentions of the Cylon fleet following them. Adama appears actually chastized about the situation and remains quiet, except when Roslin patronizes Cain in saying that ''Pegasus'' would triumph in a firefight with ''Galactica'' ("I wouldn't count on that," he simply says). After Cain leaves, Roslin speaks with Adama privately and, to Adama's surprise, suggests that he kill Cain before she kills him and destroys the Fleet for her own wartime devices. Adama leaves to think about it, unsure if he could be an assassin.
 
Adama apologizes to the most unlikely person: the copy of [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]], who was sexually assaulted by ''Pegasus'' Lieutenant [[Alistair Thorne]]. While Valerii shows signs of shock and anger, Dr. [[Cottle]] acknowledges she and her unborn baby are mostly unharmed. Adama asks Cottle to see that ''she'' is OK (not calling her "it") and orders her returned to her cell after her care. Afterwards, Adama visits the port [[hangar deck]], appearing as to get Viper flight status, but in reality is there to learn a little about [[Peter Laird]], his interim deck chief from ''Pegasus''. Realizing he's not military, Adama asks more from [[Cally]], who says that rumors indicate that Laird was from a civilian fleet once guarded by ''Pegasus''. A conversation with Colonel Tigh and Jack Fisk confirms the worst: ''Pegasus'' abandoned its civilian fleet, but not without conscripting many civilians into military service and stripping supplies and fuel from it, leaving what remained of the ships to fend for themselves. Resistance was quelled by shooting the families of those who would not leave with the battlestar, Fisk said.
 
Adama's relationship with Roslin grows closer. He visits her in bed, not looking at all well, but jovial nonetheless. Adama inquires of her unusually "bloody-minded" attitude towards Cain; Roslin replies that as long as Cain survives, his future and that of the Fleet is at risk. He asks if she needs anything, and Roslin humorously suggests she'd like a nice, young [[Cylon agent|Cylon body]] to replace her own. When Adama says he can't picture her as a blonde, Roslin smiles and says that he'd be surprised. As he leaves, wiping a tear from his eye as he turns back to the president, Roslin reminds him to watch his back, and do what he has to do.
 
After a briefing on the upcoming battle to destroy the [[Resurrection Ship]] and its fleet, attended by Cain and Adama, Adama requests permission to speak more with Kara Thrace on the battle tactics, which Cain grants as she returns to ''Pegasus''. Adama dismisses his son, cryptically telling him "Stay focused, son," while he asks the unusual from Thrace. After the battle, Adama asks her to enter the ''Pegasus'' CIC, with Lee Adama by her side to cover her, and to shoot Admiral Cain in the head. Little does Adama know that Admiral Cain has planned a similar assassination attempt with her XO and several members of her Marine division.
 
Lieutenant Lee Adama visits his father by volunteering for a courier run between the battlestars. The elder Adama doesn't want to talk too much about the operation, but is happy to see him. Adama continues his new pattern of seeking advice from unusual places by inviting his copy of [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]] to his quarters to ask her why the Cylons hate the humans so much. She can't answer the question directly, but asks him to remember something in the speech he gave at the decommissioning ceremony ([[Miniseries]]): Has humanity asked itself ''why'' it deserved to survive, given all its failings?
 
With the battle to destroy the Resurrection Ship a success, Adama has an opportunity to have Starbuck shoot Cain, but takes the advice of Valerii again and chooses to be better than what humans have become. Strangely, Cain also aborts her attempt on Adama's command and life, something that greatly relieves [[Jack Fisk]], who laughs out loud and invites the crew for a drink.
 
Cain's fate is sealed not by Adama but [[Gina]], the captured and tortured Cylon agent, who shoots and kills the admiral in her quarters. After Cain's funeral, on ''Colonial One'', President Roslin, looking very frail, promotes Adama to Admiral, joking that some people may not think she knew much about military protocol, but that she knows that a commander of two or more capital ships should be an admiral. Adama smiles, says that he's never given up hope about getting admiral rank, but stopped chasing them after a while. Roslin appears ready to retire and has trouble standing, when Adama helps lift and steady her. In a pleasant surprise, now-Admiral Adama takes Laura Roslin's face in hand and gives her a simple, affectionate kiss, which she returns to smiles on both faces. [[Billy Keikeya]] helps the president back to her quarters while Adama's smile turns into sadness over Roslin's illness.
 
=== Admiral Adama ===
 
Shortly after the Battle of the Resurrection Ship, it is clear that Roslin is nearing death. In her final moments, Roslin orders Adama to kill Caprica-Valerii's [[Hera|unborn child]]. Adama cannot bring himself to terminate the pregnancy, and it is shortly revealed that it is a good thing he hesitated: Baltar finds a cure for Roslin's cancer within the child's blood. Roslin is saved and Adama is visibly pleased that she has pulled through. Meanwhile, Adama becomes aware of the [[Demand Peace]] movement among the fleet. Adama meets with [[Royan Jahee]], the leader of the movement, and attempts to explain that the Cylons don't want peace, they want too annihilate every living human being. Jahee doesn't believe Adama, and the meeting ends with the two men in no different places than where they started.
 
===The Election and the "Lighthouse Keeper"===
Adama offers ''Galactica'' as the location for the counting of ballots during the Presidential Election, a proposal which is accepted despite Zarek's protests over the ships connection with Roslin. Unknown to Adama, Tigh and Dualla conspire to rig the election in favor President Roslin out of mistrust for Dr. Baltar (an opinion which Adama shares). Not long after the polls close and she is declared the winner, Lt. Gaeta contacts the admiral with his suspicions that Tigh attempted to rig the election. When confronted, Roslin admits that she gave her aid, Tory Foster, permission to "try something," out of almost desperation; she is certain disaster will strike if Baltar is elected and begs Adama to keep quiet by telling him of Baltar's involvement with [[Caprica-Six|Six]]. Adama isn't swayed, and convinces Roslin that the correct course of action is to acknowledge a miscount and cover the conspiracy. When President-Elect Baltar demands an investigation into the midcount, an irritated Adama orders him to take his victory and leave, which Baltar does grudgingly.
 
When [[Cloud Nine]] and two other ships blow up as a result of [[Gina]]'s nuclear bomb, Adama is privately infuriated at Baltar's refusal to investigate, and begins to wonder if he hadn't made a mistake.
 
A year later, Adm. Adama commanded a heavily under-staffed ''Galactica'' as the flagship of a Defense Fleet, consisting of all ships unable or unwilling to make planetfall on [[New Caprica]]. Adama convinced [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] to rejoin Ellen in [[New Caprica City]] after months of debate, with [[Helo]] acting as his new XO. Not long after Saul left, Dualla, acting XO of the Pegasus, discovered the Cylon Fleet bearing down on New Caprica. After a brief discussion, the Adamas agreed to jump the Fleet to pre-arranged coordinates. The admiral issued the orders with a reminder "We're leaving... but we'll be back."
 
==Additional Notes==
*[[Wikipedia:Adama|Adama]] (also known as Nazareth) is the name of a large city in Ethiopia. The name is also a variation on [[Wikipedia:Adam and Eve|"Adam"]], the first man to be created according to the Bible in the [[Wikipedia:Genesis|Book of Genesis]].
 
In hebrew the word pronounced "Adama" means earth.
Here is SkyOne's summary of Adama:
 
:''William Adama was born on the colony of Caprica, in a small coastal community.''
 
:''His mother Evelyn was an accountant and his father, Joseph, was an attorney who specialised in criminal defence and civil liberties.''
 
:''At the age of 16 his parents divorced and he applied to the Colonial Fleet Academy. That same year, the Cylon War broke out. Adama's training accelerated along with all other midshipmen.''
 
:''After 3 years Adama was commissioned to work as a flight pilot; he gained a further two years of training before Adama joined his first squadron. He was a gifted, natural pilot and he shot down a Cylon fighter in his first mission.''
 
:''After the war was over, Adama was mustered out of the service along with millions of other colonials as part of demobilization process. He went home to Caprica, married his high school sweetheart and started life over.''
 
:''Adama struggled to find work as a pilot and so signed up as a deck hand in the merchant fleet. This experience would later give him an uncommon insight into the lives and struggles of the enlisted ranks aboard Galactica.''
 
:''Adama later had two sons, Lee and Zak. But over the years his exploration aboard ships would see Adama spending less time with his sons. He always tried to instill duty and admiration for military services. But was still surprised to learn that both his sons decided to enter the Fleet and become pilots.''
 
:''When Zak died during a training flight. Lee confronted his father and laid blame for his younger brother's death.''
 
As this information has not appeared on the official Scifi.com site, its authenticity is in question.  Further, this information states that Adama was fighting in the war 5 years into it, when the war lasted 12 years and RDM has stated in podcasts that Adama only served in the final year of the war. 


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{{succession box|before=''Unknown''<br><small>originally [[Nash]]</small>|title=Commanding Officer of the battlestar ''[[Galactica|Galactica]]''|after=''None<br><small>Ship destroyed</small>''}}
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Latest revision as of 22:09, 20 February 2024

Battlestar Wiki Story Arc Logo
For information on William Adama's Original Series counterpart, see Adama (TOS).

For characters with the same name, see: William Adama (disambiguation).

For other people named the shortened version of William, see: Bill (disambiguation).
 Battlestar Wiki Story Arc Logo
William Adama
William Adama
William Adama as the commander of the last battlestar, Galactica.

Name

{{{name}}}
Age 61 (at the time when he reached New Earth)[1]
Colony Caprica, of Tauron descent
Birth place {{{birthplace}}}
Birth Name William Adama
Birth Date {{{birthdate}}}
Callsign Husker
Nickname Bill (as a child and later in life)
Billy (during the First Cylon War)
The Old Man (later in life)
Introduced Miniseries
Death Presumably on Earth, c. 148,000 BCE
Parents Joseph Adama † (father)
Evelyn Adama † (mother)
Siblings Tamara Adama † (half-sister)
William "Willie" Adama † (half-brother)[2]
Children Leland J. Adama (son)
Zak Adama † (son)
Marital Status Divorced (Carolanne Adama †);
Temporarily co-habitated with Laura Roslin aboard Galactica
Family Tree View
Role Commanding Officer, battlestar Galactica
Military leader of the civilian Fleet
Rank Admiral
Serial Number 204971[3]
Portrayed by Edward James Olmos
Nico Cortez (TRS: "Razor")
Markus Towfigh (CAP: "Apotheosis")
Luke Pasqualino (Blood and Chrome)
William Adama is a Cylon
William Adama is a Final Five Cylon
William Adama is a Human/Cylon Hybrid
William Adama is an Original Series Cylon
Related Media
@ BW Media
Additional Information
William Adama in the separate continuity
William Adama
William Adama discovers the Cylons' experiments on humans during Operation Raptor Talon (TRS: "Razor").

Admiral William Adama, a veteran of the First Cylon War, is the commanding officer of the battlestar Galactica, and has the longest tenure as the highest ranking officer in the Colonial Fleet after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.

Early Life[edit]

Childhood[edit]

First Cylon War[edit]

  • Adama served late in the Cylon War as both a Raptor and Viper pilot, his first assignment being on Galactica. He was given the call sign "Husker"[4] by his first co-pilot, Coker Fasjovik, who assumed Adama grew up on a farm due to his gung-ho enthusiasm for the service. Adama's first mission behind enemy lines was in a Raptor playing a key role in the Ghost Fleet Offensive. Adama's skill on his first mission was evident after he destroyed three Cylon Raiders with limited ordnance in a Raptor on his first mission (Blood and Chrome; TRS: "Razor Flashbacks," Episode 1; "Sine Qua Non").
  • During his time on Galactica, he had a romantic relationship with Jaycie McGavin (TRS: "Razor Flashbacks", Episode 1). He proved a gifted pilot, shooting down his first Cylon on his very first combat mission, for which he received a commendation (TRS: "Razor Flashbacks", Episode 3; "Hero").
  • In the last week in the war, Adama served on Galactica when the battlestar was boarded by Cylon forces. He recalled to his friend Saul Tigh a dangerous Cylon tactic that tried to turn the battlestar's power against itself (TRS: "Valley of Darkness", deleted scene).

Post-First Cylon War[edit]

  • Furloughed by Colonial Fleet after the war's end, Adama found work as a deck hand on a merchant fleet civilian freighter, where he met Saul Tigh, who became a long-time friend (TRS: "Scattered", "Valley of Darkness").
  • Adama married Carolanne Adama, whose family had political influence with the defense subcommittee and pulled to get Adama reinstated to the Colonial Fleet. Adama (now a major) himself arranged for Tigh's reinstatement two years later.
  • William and Carolanne Adama had two sons, Lee and Zak, before the pressures of Adama's career and the time he spent away from home in active service began to place a strain on their marriage, and the two eventually divorced (TRS: "Miniseries", "A Day in the Life").
  • While elder son Lee showed promise as a Viper pilot, younger Zak Adama did not. Kara Thrace, Zak's flight instructor and lover, certified him for basic flight despite his poor flight skills. Later, Zak Adama was killed in an operational flight. Zak's death would cause a rift between Commander Adama and his older son for nearly three years until Thrace admits her error to both of them.
  • Adama rose through the ranks of the peacetime fleet, becoming the executive officer of the battlestar Columbia, before becoming the commander of the battlestar Valkyrie. About six years [5] prior to the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, he was ordered by Admiral Peter Corman to escort a stealth scout ship over the Armistice Line. The mission was a failure, and in an attempt to cover up, he ordered the ship and its pilot shot down. Ever since, he had felt guilt, both over shooting down his own pilot and over the possibility that his actions resulted in the holocaust. According to Tigh, this mission brought his star into descent, and he was given command of Galactica as a graceful way of easing into retirement.

Notable Assignments before the Second Cylon War[edit]

  • Several notable assignments and reassignments during his 45-year career in the Colonial Fleet (TRS: "Hero"):
    • D6/21311 - First commission: battlestar Galactica fighter squadron
    • E4/21312 - Commendation for shooting down Cylon fighter in first combat mission
    • D5/21314 - Mustered out of service post-armistice
    • R6/21317 - Served as deckhand in merchant fleet and as common [...] aboard inter-colony tramp freighters
    • D1/21331 - Recommissioned to Fleet
    • D6/21337 - Major: battlestar Atlantia
    • R8/21341 - Executive Officer: battlestar Columbia
    • C2/21345 - Commander: battlestar Valkyrie
    • C2/21348 - Commander: battlestar Galactica
  • William Adama around the age of 4 (CAP: "Apotheosis")

    William Adama around the age of 4 (CAP: "Apotheosis")

  • Ensign William Adama at the beginning of his military career (TRS: "Blood and Chrome").

    Ensign William Adama at the beginning of his military career (TRS: "Blood and Chrome").

  • William Adama during the end of the first Cylon War (TRS: "Razor").

    William Adama during the end of the first Cylon War (TRS: "Razor").

  • Adama silently screaming as he is informed of the bad bones in Galactica (TRS: "No Exit").

    Adama silently screaming as he is informed of the bad bones in Galactica (TRS: "No Exit").

  • A somewhat older William Adama and his two sons.

    A somewhat older William Adama and his two sons.

  • Adama aboard an inter-colony tramp freighter (TRS: "Scattered").

    Adama aboard an inter-colony tramp freighter (TRS: "Scattered").

Second Cylon War[edit]

The Fall of the Twelve Colonies[edit]

Commander Adama and Colonel Tigh plot a course to Ragnar Anchorage in the Miniseries.
  • At the time just prior to the Fall, William Adama serves out his final weeks as commander of the battlestar Galactica. After some 50 years of service, the historic warship is in the process of being decommissioned, and it is one of Adama's final duties to formally hand her over to the Colonial Ministry of Education, which would operate the ship as a living museum and educational center commemorating the original Cylon War.
  • As a retirement gift, several members of Galen Tyrol's deck crew find and restore Adama's old Viper Mark II.
  • On news of a renewed Cylon attack, Adama's first thoughts are, "Dead. We're all dead" (TRS: "Home, Part II"). Despite this, as well as the presumed loss of his ex-wife in Caprica City, he unhesitatingly takes control of the Colonial Fleet after Picon Fleet Headquarters is destroyed and Admiral Nagala is killed.
  • At Ragnar Anchorage, Adama deduces that Leoben Conoy's "allergies" are really the effect of Ragnar's cloud's electro-magnetic radiation upon the silica pathways composing a Cylon brain, despite the fact that the existence of biological Cylons is presumably unknown to humans at that time.[6]
  • Once President Roslin convinces Adama the futility of fighting against overwhelming odds, and with what may be the last 50,000 humans who remain anywhere, he makes the switch to the more tactical thinking that keeps the Colonial Fleet at least one step ahead of their Cylon pursuers.
  • From the outset, he is savvy enough to give every single survivor of the devastating attack on the Colonies a reason for hope for the future: the legend of Earth. This falsehood comes back to haunt him as the weeks continue, as Roslin is aware of this lie to the crew and states this privately to Adama.

From the Colonies to Kobol[edit]

  • Adama continues to face the problem of infiltration within the Fleet by humanoid Cylons as well as dissenting humans who protest or terrorize others in the Fleet. Adama continually redefines the boundaries of military and civil leadership. After some serious missteps between he and President Roslin, the two later become friends as well as influential leaders.
  • Sharon Valerii, a trusted Raptor pilot who served with Adama for two years, reveals herself unwittingly as a Cylon sleeper agent and shoots Adama at point blank range after a critical mission near Kobol. Cottle eventually repairs the damage to Adama's body, but Adama's psyche takes the larger hit while he repairs the damage to the Fleet he and Col. Tigh have caused in arresting President Roslin, as well as the existence of a second copy of Valerii.
  • While at first Adama takes a similar stance to Tigh in assuming a hard military posture, a conversation with Dualla helps him realize that, despite the problems, the Fleet is his family, and the family must stay together. After finding the Tomb of Athena with Roslin and reuniting a factioning of the Fleet, Adama firmly buries the hatchet between himself and Roslin publicly.
  • In a desperate plan, Adama trusts the second Valerii to help ward off a massive Cylon fleet. Despite his "gut" feelings about the Cylon, he finds common ground often with her, even apologizing to her after a distasteful incident.

Pegasus[edit]

  • Adama stoically accepts Admiral Helena Cain's overall command. Wary of her behavior and her crew, Adama follows his own truism: stick to what you know, until you find something better.
  • Matters with Cain's unusually totalitarian command style come to a head when Cain makes several highly questionable orders that lead him to face off with her battlestar and her command in a military challenge. While the issue is temporarily defused, Adama is told by, of all people, President Roslin that Cain is a threat to the safety of the Fleet's citizens and must be eliminated.
  • Adama avoids killing Cain after realizing that he would become the monster that the Cylons believed they were, unaware that she has plotted his demise as well.
  • With Cain's fate sealed not by Adama but Gina Inviere, a frail President Roslin promotes Adama to Admiral. He gives her a simple, affectionate kiss, which she returns, signifying another change in their turbulent association (TRS: "Resurrection Ship, Part II").

New Caprica[edit]

Adama being carried by crew and civilians after the Battle of New Caprica (mid left).
  • Adama's sense of justice with Roslin holds when he confronts her about a conspiracy involving her re-election. Roslin admits the conspiracy but she is certain disaster will strike if Gaius Baltar becomes president. He agrees, but convinces Roslin that the correct course of action is to acknowledge a miscount and cover the conspiracy.
  • When Cloud Nine and two other ships blow up as a result of Gina Inviere's last effort of sabotage, Adama is privately infuriated at new President Baltar's refusal to investigate, and begins to wonder if he hadn't made a mistake.
  • A year later, Adama commands Galactica manned by a skeleton crew as the flagship of a defense fleet, consisting of all ships unable or unwilling to make planetfall on New Caprica. He now sports a thick mustache, and has apparently taken up smoking. Adama feel lonely in command after he allowed many people close to him to settle on the planet despite his initial refusal. Eventually he grants Saul Tigh leave to take his wife Ellen and go as well. His friendship to Laura Roslin appears to have deepened and the two share a carefree day during Founders' Day celebrations on the planet, marking the formal ground-breaking of New Caprica City (TRS: "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II", "Unfinished Business").
  • Shortly after the election, Adama and/or President Baltar commissions Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla a lieutenant (junior grade), skipping the initial commissioned rank of ensign. Aside from pilots, she is the only NCO shown to receive a commission. On the morning after the Founders' Day celebration, Adama approves her transfer to Battlestar Pegasus to join his son and her lover, Commander Lee Adama.
  • During the year in orbit, he mends fences with Sharon. Although he valued her advise earlier, he called her a "thing" or "it" and treated her such. While becoming estranged from the people around him, Adama grows much closer to Agathon, having personal conversations with her and he allowing her to decorate her cell with chairs, tables and other amenities and she has apparently become an advisor of sorts to him (TRS: "Precipice"). He permits Helo to marry her, and she adopts his surname, Agathon, thereby further separating herself from the identical Sharon Valerii who shot Adama.
  • With Colonel Tigh released from active duty and beached on New Caprica, Adama promotes Lt. Karl Agathon (Helo) to captain and appoints him Executive Officer of Galactica, thereby demonstrating both the trust he has in Helo despite the latter's marriage to the Cylon prisoner, and his unwillingness to split families.
  • Not long after Tigh leaves, a massive Cylon fleet bears down on New Caprica. After a brief discussion with his son aboard Pegasus they order the understaffed Fleet to escape to pre-arranged Jump coordinates. The admiral issues the jump order with a reminder: "We're leaving... but we'll be back."
  • Frustrations over the lack of a plan and problems during exercises lead to a conflict with his son whom he attacks over his weight gain and perceived softness. While Lee is pragmatic and doesn't believe that they can rescue the people on New Caprica in their state, his father drives everyone to their limit, thinking it is his misjudgments that brought them into the situation.
  • He only forgives himself for leaving almost everyone behind after a conversation with Agathon, where she explains that, after being through so much herself, she discovered that she first had to forgive herself in order to get through it. In her opinion, the human race can't survive if Adama can't forgive himself.
  • He commissions Agathon as a Colonial officer shortly after making contact with the New Caprica Resistance, showing complete trust in her. She asks how he knows that she won't betray him and he replies he doesn't, stating "that's what trust is." Eventually a rescue plan takes shape, but Adama decides to go to New Caprica alone, ordering his son to take over as guardian of the Fleet should he not return. Despite their differences of opinion, the two have a heartfelt goodbye.
  • Although sustaining losses, and with the last-minute assistance of Lee and Pegasus, Adama is able to successfully pull off the rescue attempt. He is lauded by his crew and the civilians for this. He also shaves off his mustache, signifying a new beginning (TRS: "Occupation" through "Exodus, Part II").

Flight from New Caprica to "Maelstrom"[edit]

  • Adama is awarded the Medal of Distinction for his 45 years of distinctive service in the Colonial Fleet. To him this is a penance for the harm that he caused in the past, and his belief that he might have been the cause of the Fall of the Twelve Colonies (TRS: "Hero").
  • In an effort to alleviate tensions on Galactica, Adama holds a boxing tournament, disregarding rank, allowing people to work out built up frustrations. He himself joins the festivities by challenging Chief Tyrol. Beaten, he declares that he let everyone too close to him, which ultimately led to the fracturing of their family on New Caprica, and vows to not make that mistake again.
  • After the discovery of the Temple of Five on the algae planet, four Cylon basestars jump into orbit. A meeting with the Cylons occurs on Galactica, but Adama threatens to nuke the planet should the Cylons make a claim to it. A standoff occurs, and when the Cylons try to launch six Heavy Raiders, Adama orders the arming the ship's missile tubes. This frightens the Cylons, who recall five of the six and Adama orders a stand down (TRS: "The Eye of Jupiter", "Rapture").
  • With the capture of Gaius Baltar, Adama and President Roslin are faced with a dilemma of what to do with Baltar. They try various methods of interrogation, including food and sleep deprivation, threats, and even an interrogation drug, to find out what the Cylons know about the location of Earth. Adama apparently has previous experience with the drug and, after suggesting its use, acts as the interrogator, showing his darker side (TRS: "Taking a Break From All Your Worries").
  • On his wedding anniversary, Adama is plagued by memories of his ex-wife. He wonders about the nature of his relationship to Roslin, not admitting that it could turn into a romantic one. He is also unsure how to treat his son, having a hard time telling him his personal feelings: "proud, stubborn and angry", but "coming into his own". While loving his son, he prefers to interact with him as an admiral to a subordinate officer, believing Lee knows how he feels. Upon Roslin's recommendations, he offers his son to organize Baltar's upcoming trial. Although not sure if Lee will have the time, he gives him Joseph Adama's old law books. It is also revealed that Adama does memory exercises to enable him to know everyone on his crew by name (TRS: "A Day in the Life").

Kara Thrace's death, resurrection and the final leg of the journey to Earth[edit]

  • By chance, Adama is selected to be a judge at the trial. Two weeks after Kara Thrace's death he is still distraught, having considered her as a daughter—after her resurrection/return/rebirth, he tells her, "You are my daughter" (TRS: "Daybreak, Part I"). In anger, he breaks his model ship. Adama places Lee in charge of security for Baltar's new lawyer, Romo Lampkin, but Lee develops a desire to actively help defend Baltar much to Adama's outrage. The two also come to blows over their dealing with Thrace's loss (TRS: "The Son Also Rises"). This results in a break between the father and son, with Lee resigning his commission and Adama questioning his son's integrity after Lee contributed to humiliating his friend Saul Tigh in court, not able to understand how he could do such things in order to defend a traitor, whom he believes is undeserving of a trial (TRS: "Crossroads, Part I").
  • Adama reconsiders his relationship with his son after Lee's impassioned speech about justice, itself swaying his vote in favor of an acquittal of Baltar. He is further pleased that his son participated in the Battle of the Ionian Nebula, offering him his wings back, which Lee refuses as he believes that he can do better in his new role as the new Quorum delegate from Caprica (TRS: "Crossroads, Part II", "He That Believeth in Me").
  • Adama comforts Laura Roslin throughout her Doloxan treatments on Galactica. The two bond further and share some of their most intimate thoughts. During this, Roslin manages to convince Adama that they will truly find Earth despite his earlier skepticism. Roslin's remarks that Adama is afraid to lose people close to him hit a mark, and he gives Thrace command of the Demetrius on a mission to search for Earth. He wants to believe in her despite serious questions regarding her sudden resurrection, even after her attack on Roslin (TRS: "He That Believeth in Me", "Six of One").
  • Adama and Roslin later discuss Lee's choices, including his decision to support the right of Baltar's cult to assemble without stricture. Adama seems to appreciate his son's idealism to a certain extent, despite having been on its opposing side several times. He also attempts to comfort Galen Tyrol after Cally's sudden death, but Tyrol rejects the efforts and Adama demotes him to specialist before Tyrol can endanger any other pilots (TRS: "Escape Velocity").
  • While Roslin continues her Doloxan treatments aboard ship, he continues to comfort her by reading various books, including Searider Falcon, to her and generally being present to discuss matters of faith. He later admits to her that she is the reason why he has faith in their mission to find Earth (TRS: "Escape Velocity", "Faith").
William Adama sees the Fleet off.
  • After Roslin's abrupt abduction by the rebel Cylon baseship, as well as Sharon "Athena" Agathon's murder of Natalie Faust, he initiates a search for Roslin while ignoring the Fleet's safety and interests. His dismissal of both the Quorum and Tom Zarek raise tensions in the Fleet that force his son to search for—and become—the interim president in Roslin's place. Further, tensions between Adama and Tigh to boil, notably after Dr. Sherman Cottle reports that Caprica-Six is impregnated by Tigh. The two come to blows over their decisions regarding the women currently in their lives. Adama admits that he can't live without Roslin and decides to stay behind in a Raptor to wait for Roslin's return. As a result, he hands command of the Fleet over to newly-promoted Admiral Tigh, acknowledging that Tigh has become more knowledgeable about himself and is not the same man who commanded the Fleet disastrously over two years ago (TRS: "Sine Qua Non"). After reconnecting with the missing basestar and reuniting with President Roslin on the hangar deck of the basestar, she finally admits that she is in love with him, to which he replies, "About time" (TRS: "The Hub").
  • When Saul Tigh confesses that he is a Cylon, Adama doesn't take it well. He can't believe that his decades-long friend is a Cylon and thinks that he was brainwashed on New Caprica. After ordering Marines to arrest Tigh, Adama breaks down in his quarters, hitting a mirror with his fist and sobbing on the floor. His son finds him in this state and tries to get him to pull himself together.

Discovery of Earth[edit]

  • After Lee Adama defuses the following crisis with the Cylon rebels, Adama has sufficiently recovered to lead the Fleet on its final jump to Earth, holding a rousing speech after the arrival.
  • Unfortunately, when the Colonials land on Earth, they discover that the whole planet is a burnt out wasteland (TRS: "Revelations"). Baltar confirms that the planet suffered a nuclear holocaust 2000 years ago. There is still enough radiation left to make the planet uninhabitable. Adama leaves the planet's surface in disgust.
  • Back on Galactica, Adama receives even more disturbing news. The Rebel Cylons have found evidence on Earth that the Thirteenth Tribe were not human. They were Cylons.
  • Adama tries to get Roslin to address the Fleet, but Roslin has completely lost faith in the Scriptures and no longer has the will to lead the people. She initiates a romantic and cohabital relationship with him, stating that she no longer wishes to live for the fleet, but to live for what she wants to.
  • After Dualla commits suicide, Adama breaks down in tears over her body and believes he's failed everyone. He starts drinking excessively and eventually makes his way to Saul Tigh's quarters.
  • Tigh tries to apologize for not telling him the truth, but Adama ignores him and instead starts drinking more and insulting Tigh. He questions whether Tigh was "programmed" to be his friend all these years. Adama then comments that Ellen must have realized the truth about her husband long before he did, which is why she slept around with half the Colonial Fleet. Tigh tells him to shut up, but Adama keeps goading him. Tigh finally can't take it anymore and points his pistol at Adama. Adama draws his own weapon which he points to his own head. He tells Tigh to kill him or he'll do it himself.
  • Tigh suddenly realizes that Adama wants to die, but he doesn't have the guts to pull the trigger himself. Tigh calms down and sternly tells Adama that he still has a duty to this ship and that his death won't make things any better. Adama slowly comes to terms with everything that has happened.
  • Later, Adama walks onto CIC and addresses a thoroughly demoralized crew. He acknowledges that they can't stay on Earth, but he promises they will find a new home. Adama then orders the CIC personnel to begin jump preparation and to plot a course for an area of space likely to contain a habitable planet. He reinstates Tigh to his rank and posting, despite the latter's Cylon nature.

Mutiny[edit]

  • Adama approves an alliance between rebel Cylon faction without the consent of the Quorum of Twelve. These Cylons are given them full colonial citizenship an Quorum seat in exchange for Cylon technology and accepting the colonial command structure.
  • Adama integrates the Cylon heavy raiders (piloted by humanoid Cylons who thus can communicate directly with the humans) into Galactica’s combat air patrols (CAPs), their Six and Eight pilots assigned to Colonial squadrons.
  • Adama orders the fleet to allow Cylons to install their more efficient technology aboard the various ships of the Fleet (TRS: "A Disquiet Follows My Soul").
  • This unpopular decision ferments a mutiny attempt led militarily by Felix Gaeta and politically by Tom Zarek.
  • Adama is de facto removed from command, but before he is taken out of the CIC, Adama speaks of a reckoning of traitors.
  • The admiral is able to escape the rebels temporary, and helps Laura Roslin and Baltar escape to the Cylon Basestar, but is recaptured in doing so (TRS: "The Oath", "Blood on the Scales").
  • Against the advise of Tom Zarek, Gaeta attempts to have an informal trial of Adama charging him with treason.
  • Adama is sentenced to death by Gaeta, but again evades death after a group of loyalists save him. His own executioners join him in his quest to retake the ship and he storms CIC with the group that rescued him, the marines who were supposed to execute him and many crew members who join up with him on the way.
  • Gaeta attempts to jump away with the fleet, but is stopped by a large group of loyalists storming the CIC and reinstating Adama in command. Gaeta surrenders without a fight and Adama has him and Zarek executed by a firing squad that he personally commands (TRS: "Blood on the Scales").

Post-Mutiny and the second Earth[edit]

  • With crew sizes stretched very thin, Adama relies even more on the rebel Cylons, further integrating them into the Fleet.
  • Galactica begins to show small fractures through the ship. Tyrol recommends to Adama to use Cylon technology to fix these fractures. Adama initially disagrees, but eventually orders this to be done (TRS: "No Exit", "Deadlock").
  • The increased presence of Cylons aboard Galactica leads to Adama and Roslin viewing them even more as the same as humans, when they realise that Cylons have taken to placing photographs of their own lost companions in the remembrance hall.
  • Further damage to the ship caused by Boomer's FTL jump leads Adama to order Galactica's abandonment (TRS: "Someone to Watch Over Me", "Islanded in a Stream of Stars").
  • Adama changes his mind, after discovering the location of Hera Agathon. He plans to send the ship off in a blaze of glory in a volunteers-only apparent suicide mission to rescue the child (TRS: "Daybreak, Part II").
  • Adama rejects two volunteers: Doctor (Major) Sherman Cottle is needed by the civilian populace. Adama brevets Lt. Louis Hoshi to rear admiral and appoints him to command of the rest of the Fleet from the Cylon Basestar under appointed Acting President Romo Lampkin.
  • Adama and the volunteers successfully save Hera and destroy the Colony. With the Colony detonating around them, Adama orders Kara Thrace to blind jump the ship away, without giving time to draw in the ship's Flight Pods. The ship ends up at a habitable planet, with it's structual integrity totally compromised and it's ability to Jump gone forever.
  • Finding the planet habitable and sparcely populated by inexplicedly genetically compatable humans, Adama suggests it be named Earth to take the place of the planet they had long sought.
  • The Fleet reunites with Galactica. Adama reluctantly agrees to Lee's proto-ludite settlement plans for the new planet, and orders that the ships of the Fleet be flown into the sun by Samuel Anders (less the Cylon Basestar which the humanoid Cylons give to the Centurions with which to make their own destiny).
  • He flies off in a Raptor with Roslin to find a good place to build a cabin, never planning to return. While remarking on the wildlife, Laura Roslin dies peacefully of her cancer. Realizing this, he tearfully places his wedding ring on her finger.
  • He builds a cabin in a mountain range, as were Roslin's wishes, and buries her nearby. Afterwards, he lives in solitude in the cabin, often visiting Laura's grave and speaking to her (TRS: "Daybreak, Part II").

Personality[edit]

  • Adama has the rare combination of qualities that make up a good leader: insight, the ability to naturally command respect, a common touch that enables him to relate to the enlisted personnel under his command as well as his officers, intuition, intelligence, a strong belief in his own abilities, and the ability to take the advice of others. These qualities are reflected in the fact that personnel of all ranks aboard Galactica hold him in high regard, and know that he is approachable (TRS: "Miniseries").
  • Adama mistrusts politicians, and sometimes places too strongly a value of loyalty to those he regards as family and friends. From his uneasiness to Laura Roslin's unexpected assumption of the Presidency, to the tolerance and patience of his friend, Saul Tigh, and his stubbornness to save Kara Thrace, Adama shows a dogged determination that few others care to confront.
  • Adama does not share the majority of Colonial beliefs in the gods (TRS: "Razor"), although he has come to accept that his people's scripture may have relevance to the search for Earth (TRS: "Home, Part II").

Notes[edit]

  • Adama (also known as Nazareth) is the name of a large city in Ethiopia. The name is also a variation on "Adam," the first man to be created according to the Bible in the Book of Genesis. In Hebrew the word pronounced "Adama" means earth.
  • The Tauron language is portrayed on the show using Ancient Greek. Thus, the most likely etymology for the family name "Adama" is from adamas (ἀδάμας), which means invincible and is the etymological root of the word diamond. It seems a suitable choice as the surname of the various related characters in this series as it relates to their personality traits.
  • Edward James Olmos has brown eyes, but he wears contacts when playing William Adama that make Adama's eyes blue. This is done so that Olmos and Jamie Bamber, who is playing his son Apollo, will resemble each other more.
  • Astute viewers may recall Edward James Olmos sharing the screen with realistic humanoid robots as Gaff in the classic science fiction film Blade Runner, which also used the term "skin job" as a pejorative to denote the artificial humanoids.
  • Olmos also shares with Star Trek star William Shatner the distinction of being one of only two actors to both command a television starship and portray a police officer in a popular 1980's cop show (Miami Vice for Olmos, T.J. Hooker for Shatner), as a regularly credited actor on each show.
  • Edward James Olmos is the father of actor Bodie Olmos, who plays Brendan Costanza, and husband of actress Lymari Nadal, who plays Giana O'Neill.
  • Roslin has Billy Keikeya seek out a jeweler to fashion new admiral pins for Adama after Cain's death at the end of "Resurrection Ship, Part II".

Family tree[edit]

 
 
 
William Adama Sr. †
 
 
 
Isabelle Adama †
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Larry
 
Sam Adama
 
 
 
Evelyn Adama
 
 
 
Joseph Adama
 
 
 
Shannon Adama †
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Carolanne Adama †
 
 
 
 
 
 
William "Bill" Adama
 
 
 
 
Tamara Adama †
 
 
William "Willie" Adama †
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Zak Adama †
 
 
 
Lee Adama
 
Anastasia Dualla †
 


References[edit]

  1. ↑ This date is based on the Caprica pilot taking place 58 years before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, Evelyn's earliest conception date being some months after the pilot and a full or near-full pregnancy of nine months (57 BCH), and the character's apparent age in "The Shape of Things to Come" epilogue of "Apotheosis." This would make him 57 years old at the time of the Fall, and 61 upon arrival at New Earth four years later in "Daybreak, Part II."
  2. ↑ William "Bill" Adama is the only child from Joseph Adama's second marriage.
  3. ↑ This information is from his dogtags.
  4. ↑ Adama's callsign is misspelled as "Husher" in the Miniseries novelization, which is considered a separate continuity source.
  5. ↑ While dialogue from "Hero" places these events at 1 BCH, this contradicts previously established dates about the time Adama and others served on Galactica. See Hero#Analysis for a detailed explanation why Battlestar Wiki chooses to treat this as a continuity error.
  6. ↑ See Miniseries, Analysis for hypotheses concerning Adama's curious ability to quickly deduce Conoy's real nature.


Preceded by:
Unknown 		Executive Officer of the battlestar
Columbia 		Succeeded by:
Unknown
Preceded by:
Unknown 		Commanding Officer of the battlestar Valkyrie Succeeded by:
Unknown
Preceded by:
Unknown
originally Nash 		Commanding Officer of the battlestar Galactica Succeeded by:
None
Ship destroyed
Characters in the Re-imagined Series


Main: William Adama | Laura Roslin | Kara "Starbuck" Thrace | Lee "Apollo" Adama
Gaius Baltar | Number Six | Number Eight

Supporting: Saul Tigh | Galen Tyrol | Karl "Helo" Agathon | Felix Gaeta | Anastasia Dualla | Cally Tyrol
Samuel Anders | Tory Foster | Ellen Tigh | Billy Keikeya

Recurring: Hera Agathon | Jean Barolay | Helena Cain | Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza | Sherman Cottle
Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson | Elosha | Anthony Figurski | Jack Fisk | Louis Hoshi | Louanne "Kat" Katraine
Aaron Kelly | Romo Lampkin | James "Jammer" Lyman | Hamish "Skulls" McCall | Number One | Number Two
Number Three | Number Four | Number Five | Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo | Paulla Schaffer | Diana Seelix | Tom Zarek

List of Deceased Characters


Commander William Adama's nickname, used by officers aboard Galactica (TRS: "33")

Re-imagined Series definition: denotes any time preceding the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, e.g. 40 BCH (see: Timeline (RDM))

Re-imagined Series definition: initial skills training; can refer to basic military indoctrination, and arms and ground training (TRS: "Fragged"); and basic flight training (TRS: "Miniseries")

Original Series definition: the equivalent of saying "objection" in a Colonial Tribunal (TOS: "Murder on the Rising Star")

Re-imagined Series definition: the process of using the FTL engines to make an near-instantaneous apparent faster-than-light transport of a ship from one point in space to another

Re-imagined Series definition: used to signify a civilian transport vessel over a certain gross weight/mass, i.e. Colonial Heavy 798

Re-imagined Series definition: nerve center or "bridge" of a battlestar, see: Combat Information Center

Re-imagined Series definition: technology enabling travel across distances faster than the speed of light would permit, see: FTL

Re-imagined Series definition: derogatory term for humanoid Cylons; homage to the movie Blade Runner (TRS: "Downloaded")

Re-imagined Series definition: a nickname used as a substitute for an aviator's given name in wireless communications and in conversation

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