Cato

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.

Cato is a Colonial Warrior and Viper pilot who serves aboard Galactica.

Biography

Academy Training

Cato attends the Colonial Academy as a second-year cadet and demonstrates exceptional piloting abilities. His performance in the Academy's testing programs places him among the top cadets in his class.

When a critical shortage of pilots develops during the Chitain crisis, Lieutenant Jolly and Captain Hecate select Cato for temporary promotion to active duty status as a Cadet Squad Commander (CSC). He is chosen alongside CSC Marcellus, another second-year cadet, and Cadet Freyja, a first-year student whose exceptional scores warrant her early advancement.

Active Combat Service

Cato receives his promotion to Ensign and transfers from Academia to Galactica for active duty. Despite his youth and inexperience, he performs admirably in his first combat missions, demonstrating the courage and skill expected of a Colonial Warrior.

Battle of Poseidon

During the climactic battle against the Chitain dreadnought at Poseidon, Cato flies as part of Commander Apollo's squadron in a desperate assault on the massive enemy vessel. The mission requires the Vipers to fly dangerously close to the dreadnought's hull, weaving between its enormous stinger weapons while harrying the enemy craft "like a pack of lupuses bringing down a frightened bova."

During the intense engagement, a long stinger tendril whips to one side and shatters Cato's Viper into pieces of debris. Ensign Freyja, who had flown into battle alongside Cato and Marcellus, screams his name over the commlink as his fighter explodes. An instant later, another Chitain blast destroys Marcellus' Viper as well, leaving Freyja as the sole survivor of the three newly promoted cadets.

Apollo witnesses Cato's death and is determined that Freyja's life will not join the others, feeling the burden of responsibility for the young Warriors who perished under his command.

Notes

• Cato's death represents the tragic cost of deploying inexperienced Academy cadets in desperate combat situations.
• His sacrifice, along with those of countless other Warriors, contributes to the eventual Colonial victory against the Chitain dreadnought.