Academia

This article has a separate continuity. This article is in the Richard Hatch Novelizations separate continuity, which is related to the Original Series. Be sure that your contributions to this article reflect the characters and events specific to this continuity only.

Academia is a vessel serving the Fleet as the Colonial Academy training facility.

Description

Academia houses the Colonial Academy and serves as the primary training facility for future Colonial Warriors and Viper pilots traveling with the Fleet. The ship contains specialized facilities including a large testing center designed specifically for pilot training, equipped with chairs identical to those inside a Viper, complete with navi-hilts. Tri-Vid info-scrolls inside the cadets' helms provide realistic representations of combat situations during training exercises.

The ship also contains cadet quarters described as an enormous chamber capable of housing hundreds of students. Academia has a launch deck where inter-fleet shuttles dock to transfer personnel and cadets between ships.

Training Programs

Pilot Training

The Academy conducts rigorous pilot testing programs for cadets. The pilot's final exam, administered in the testing center, is given only once and serves as a critical evaluation point in a cadet's career. Those who pass move into advanced pilot training the following session, while those who fail have the option of training for Quorum Security positions or continuing Warrior training for infantry or crew positions.

Major Boomer and Major Sheba serve as instructors at the Academy, with Lieutenant Jolly acting as a frequent substitute or visiting lecturer.

Cadet Squad Commanders

At the beginning of each session, the Academy instructors select Cadet Squad Commanders (CSCs) based on their professional judgment rather than through testing. This selection process provides cadets their first taste of leadership and officer responsibilities.

History

Chitain Crisis

During the Chitain crisis, when a critical shortage of pilots develops, Lieutenant Jolly and Captain Hecate travel to Academia to select cadets for temporary promotion to active duty. After addressing the assembled cadets about the dire circumstances facing the Fleet, they select three cadets for immediate promotion: second-year Cadet Squad Commanders Cato and Marcellus, and first-year cadet Freyja, whose exceptional scores warrant her early advancement to Ensign.

The decision to deploy Academy cadets in combat reflects the desperate nature of the Chitain threat and the Fleet's depleted pilot ranks. Captain Hecate advocates for using young, recently trained cadets over retired or infantry Warriors, arguing that against the Chitain, speed, cleverness, and pilots willing to risk everything are essential—traits more common in youth than in Warriors who have not flown since the destruction of the Colonies.

Notable Instructors

• Major Boomer - Instructor and proctor
• Major Sheba - Instructor and proctor
• Lieutenant Jolly - Frequent substitute and visiting lecturer

Notable Cadets

• Cato - Second-year CSC, promoted to Ensign
• Marcellus - Second-year CSC, promoted to Ensign
• Freyja - First-year cadet, promoted to Ensign
• Cadet Byron - Student during Chitain crisis
• Dalton - Former student, youngest pilot to ever graduate Academy

Notes

• The testing process aboard Academia is described as imperfect, as success in the test chair does not guarantee a cadet will perform correctly or fearlessly in actual space combat.
• During the Chitain crisis, the pilot shortage is so severe that for the first time in recent memory, the Fleet has more Vipers than available Warriors to fly them.