The Astral Queen is a FTL-capable former starliner now given over to transporting prisoners between worlds. At the time of the Cylon attack, she was carrying 1,500 male prisoners to their pardon hearings on Caprica. It was originally captained by Wilkens and crewed by guards such as Seaborne and Starke. Wilkens is later succeeded by political activist and former prisoner Tom Zarek, first via hijacking, then formalized after parley with Lee Adama, in exchange for the assistance of the prisoners in obtaining much-needed water ice for the Fleet.
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