Exodus

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Exodus
Cylon nuclear bombs detonating on Caprica
Cylon nuclear bombs detonating on Caprica
Summary
Conflict:	Second Cylon War
Date:	YR00 Approx. 40 years since the end of the First Cylon War Concurrent with Fall of the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards
Related Episode(s):
Place:	Twelve Colonies of Kobol
Result:	Cylon victory, Devastation of the Twelve Colonies, Destruction of the Colonial Fleet, Forced exodus of ~50,000 survivors
Combatants Twelve Colonies of Kobol Cylons Commanders Admiral Nagala † Commander William Adama Rear Admiral Helena Cain Basestar command Strength Approx. 120 battlestars Numerous fleet escorts, Vipers, Raptors ~100+ basestars, Raiders, Heavy Raiders Materiel Losses Virtual destruction of the Colonial Fleet Unknown, minimal Casualties Estimated 50 billion dead Unknown, minimal
Battle Chronology
Previous Next Battle of Tauron and Operation Raptor Talon (First Cylon War) Exodus Fall of the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards (concurrent) & Battle of Ragnar Anchorage

The Fall of the Twelve Colonies (also known as The Fall, the Cylon attack, Cylon holocaust or Second Cylon War) is a devastating, genocidal attack by the Cylons, designed by John Cavil to eliminate the human race, and seek revenge on the Final Five for creating the humanoid Cylons in their image.

Before the Fall

The events leading up to the attacks go back at least a few years, when the Cylons (now in human form) begin infiltrating Colonial society. One such Cylon, a Number Six, is involved with Dr. Gaius Baltar, a famed computer scientist living on Caprica. Together, they develop system upgrades for the Colonial Fleet, which gives Six access to the Colonial Defense Mainframe. There she is able to covertly install backdoors into the new software which the Cylons will later use to shut down Colonial defenses ^{(TRS: "Miniseries")}.

Six years prior to the attacks, Commander William Adama, aboard the battlestar Valkyrie, is tasked by Colonial admiralty to launch a stealth plane across the Armistice Line into Cylon held space. Piloted by Daniel Novacek, the bird is discovered by an unknown contact, and is shot down by Adama to prevent his pilot from being potentially captured by Cylon forces. The plan fails, and Novacek is captured anyway after he ejects from the Stealthstar, and remains in Cylon custody for at least eight years (including two years post-fall), until he is deliberately released by the Cylons in the hopes that he will kill Adama for his actions. Adama spends the next few years feeling guilt over the incident, which has him thinking it caused the Cylon attacks ^{(TRS: "Hero")}.

In the final weeks before the attacks, copies of the Cylon John Cavil visit the Colonies in order to ensure everything is set. One copy meets with the Number Six on Caprica, passing details about the Colonial computer systems from her to the Cylon fleet, while another meets Ellen Tigh at a bar on Picon minutes before the attack begins, to see if she has changed at all. This copy is visibly upset when he discovers she has not ^{(TRS: "The Plan")}.

It Begins…

Prior to the attacks, the Cylon fleet is amassed around the Colony, the Cylons' "homeworld." When the command is given, the basestars jump to their targets before striking. It takes the Cylons all but three minutes to access the defense mainframe and shut it down, leaving the Colonies and the Colonial Fleet defenseless ^{(TRS: "The Plan")}. This infiltration of Colonial systems combined with the "complete surprise" that the Cylons achieve enables them to sweep the Colonial Fleet aside with minimal losses, a triumph beyond their most optimistic projections ^{(TRS: "Downloaded")}.

Armistice Station

The Cylons begin their attack by first jumping to the Armistice Station. The Colonial officer on duty is shaken when a vessel docks with the station and two Centurions enter the meeting room, followed by a Number Six model. The Six approaches the officer and begins to kiss him passionately. A nearby basestar opens fire at that moment, destroying the station.

The Colonial Fleet

See also: Fall of the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards

Having received the CNP “upgrades”, the Colonial Fleet is easily shut down by attacking Cylon Raiders. The fleet loses at least 30 battlestars (Among these, Yashuman and Valkyrie) in the opening wave, which according to Kara Thrace, is a quarter of the fleet. After this news is broadcast, Admiral Nagala takes command of the battlestar Atlantia, and begins a counter attack near Virgon’s orbit, as per a system plot by Lt. Gaeta aboard the battlestar Galactica. The battle doesn’t last long, and Atlantia is lost along with the battlestars Triton, Solaria, Columbia, and others, prompting Galactica commanding officer William Adama to take command of the Fleet, and ordering remaining forces to Ragnar Anchorage for regrouping.

The battlestar Galactica, approximately 300 million miles from Caprica at the time, is largely unprepared for the attacks, having just been decommissioned and transformed into a museum. It dumps its munitions as part of the decommissioning ceremony, and has lost its primary fighter wing. However, as part of the museum, it has a handful of older Viper Mk II's aboard, which Commander Adama has put to use, as Galactica is attacked herself. Here, the attacking Raiders try to shut down Galactica and her Vipers, but since she has no networks, the shutdown command has no effect. The handful of planes are enough to hold off the attacking Raiders, however, not before a Raider fires off her nuclear tipped missiles in a last ditch attempt to destroy the battlestar. Out of three missiles fired, Galactica pilot Kara Thrace manages to shoot down two, before the last one strikes the battlestar. Galactica comes out relatively unscathed, with the ship's armor plating keeping out the hard radiation. After the blast clears, the ship's port stern thrusters get stuck on, pushing the battlestar into an uncontrollable lateral counterclockwise spin. The port flight pod suffers the most damage, with violent decompressions along the forward sections. 85 crew members are lost when damage to the fire suppression system necessitates the venting of the pod's atmosphere to prevent the fuel lines from igniting, thus preventing the destruction of the ship. From here, Adama takes command of the fleet, and orders the ship to prepare for an FTL jump to Ragnar to re-arm ^{(TRS: "Miniseries")}.

The battlestar Pegasus, under the command of Rear Admiral Helena Cain, is docked at the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards at the onset of the attacks undergoing a system refit, which left its computer networks offline. Most of the crew is about to take shore leave when the Cylons strike the shipyards. The battlestar is heavily damaged in the opening salvo and there are many casualties, however, thanks to DRADIS interference, the Cylons were not able to confirm its destruction, and continued their assault on the other battlestars and support ships docked at the yards. Not wanting to give the Cylons time to realize their mistake, Cain orders a blind jump away from the combat zone. The ship re-emerges several plotted jumps away from the Colonies. After sending a recon Raptor back to the colonies to confirm their destruction, the crew begins to make repairs, while Cain plots her next move ^{(TRS: "Pegasus", "Razor")}.

The Colonies

• Caprica: The bulk of the Cylon Fleet jumps directly to Caprica. After shutting down, and destroying at least four battlestars and their fighter escorts, the baseships begin assaulting the planet with nuclear MIRVs, while simultaneously landing Centurions at various points for ground assaults. Caprica City is struck with a detonation approaching the 50 megaton range, followed by other strikes on other cities. One of the targeted cities was in view of the Caprica City Buccaneers, who were involved in high altitude training at the time, a slight oversight on attacking forces, since Samuel Anders was with his team, and out of range of the bombs. Also on Caprica at the time of the attacks was Tory Foster, who was struck by a blast wave while driving her car down a Caprican street. She is found, and brought to Roslin's fleet by a rescue Raptor. After the Colonials flee, Cylon forces work to clear the planet by burning the remains of those who died on the planet, and rounding up survivors for their experimental farms.

• Picon: Picon is struck just as hard as Caprica, with the Cylons completely annihilating Picon Fleet Headquarters in the first few minutes of the attacks. In a bar, Cavil moves to protect Ellen Tigh from one of the exploding bombs. He moves her to a rescue Raptor, which takes the both of them to the Rising Star, before rendezvousing with Galactica at Ragnar. Picon's major attraction, its harbors, are the main target of the attacking Cylon forces, and are the first struck upon jumping in orbit of the planet ^{(TRS: "The Plan")}.

• Scorpia: Scorpia is struck by numerous nuclear weapons, as the shipyards in orbit are overrun by Raiders. Several battlestars and support ships are destroyed, and the shipyard itself is left a burning wreck.

• Leonis: Leonis is struck by nuclear warheads as well, and invaded by ground troops, who systematically begin murdering the survivors of the bombings.

• Canceron. Some detonations are seen on the colony's surfarce from the starliner Pyxis while this ship is near the planet.

With these Colonies (and presumably all the others) struck, the Colonials are defeated. After losing the Fleet Headquarters, President Richard Adar offers the Cylons a complete and unconditional surrender. However, the gesture is ignored by the Cylons, and they continue their assault. Adar and his administration are presumed killed a short time later, and Secretary of Education Laura Roslin is sworn in as successor aboard Colonial Heavy 798 after Case Orange is broadcasted.

Civilians Under Attack

At the onset of the attacks, there were many civilian transports and passenger liners in the space lanes near Caprica. After the Colonial Government shut down these lanes, these ships became trapped and were attacked as they were found by the Cylons. It's not long before Roslin takes the effort to round up the survivors and form a caravan to help get the civilians out of harm's way, and dispatches Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (having ferried a handful of refugees, including Dr. Baltar, to Colonial One) in search of more ships. Valerii is able to recover at least three homeless Vipers, and numerous transports, her last being a tylium transport, before the Cylons jump in and scan their caravan. At this point, Roslin makes the decision to abandon the sublight only ships, and orders the remaining FTL capable ships to jump to Ragnar to rendezvous with Galactica. Among chaotic comm chatter, prayers, and spite, the fleet jumps away just as a Raider Squadron jumps in. Around 20+ sublight ships, including a Botanical Cruiser are left behind, and destroyed ^{(TRS: "Miniseries")}.

An additional small caravan of civilian ships, led by the transport Scylla, are able to survive on their own for a few weeks after the attacks. The Cylons are the first to find them, and attack. The Scylla and a handful of others are able to escape the attack, and survive on their own until being found by the wandering Pegasus. The civilians are thrilled to see friendly forces, however, their joy is short lived. After taking the fleet by force, Admiral Cain strips the ships of crucial parts (including FTL drives), abducts many of the civilians for service aboard Pegasus, and leaves the rest to their fates ^{(TRS: "Razor")}.

Rendezvous at Ragnar

Main article: Battle of Ragnar Anchorage

Galactica successfully completes its jump to Ragnar, despite not having made an FTL jump in over 20 years. Galactica's crew immediately sets out to re-arm the ship, not wasting time. However, the specialists run into a sickly looking man pointing a rifle at them. As the CO is questioning him, a fallen charge detonates, trapping the two behind a now fused hatch. As the two seek an alternate route back to the ship, Adama's First War experiences, and the man's remarks reveal his true nature: he is a Cylon. The radiation surrounding the station has affected his silica pathways which leave him dying a slow and permanent death, however, Adama soon finishes the job after the Cylon, Leoben, is able to throw Adama to the ground. Conoy's body is transferred to Galactica for further study.

Meanwhile, the civilian fleet arrives in orbit of Ragnar, giving the crew of Galactica a slight scare as they move down through the cloud layers. President Roslin comes aboard and asks for Galactica's protection, a notion Adama later strikes down, still hoping and preferring to take the battlestar into combat, until he realizes the Cylons followed them to Ragnar, and are now waiting for them to re-emerge from the gas giant. After deliberating with the President and his executive officer, Saul Tigh, Adama orders the fleet to prep for a jump to the Prolmar Sector, far beyond the Red Line, where he hopes the civilians will be safe.

Galactica is able to emerge from the cover of Ragnar's atmosphere long enough to calculate a jump, and defend the fleet as they jump away. Just as the Cylons are sending in a new wave of Raiders, the battlestar recovers its birds, and jumps to join the fleet ^{(TRS: "Miniseries")}.

Aftermath

While Galactica and its fleet are momentarily able to escape the Anchorage, they are hounded by the Cylons, who jump to the fleet's location every thirty-three minutes. This incurs a cat and mouse game that lasts for days after the fall, until the passenger vessel being tracked by the Cylons is destroyed ^(TRS: "33").

The Cylons occupy the Colonies for up to nine months after the attacks. During that time, they start removing the bodies of the dead, and attempt to capture healthy females for experimentation in farms. Other models choose to replant cities and live life much as the Colonials did before the attacks. During the occupation, a few surviving Colonials wage a resistance movement on Caprica, led by Samuel Anders of the Caprica Buccaneers and unknowingly one of the Final Five Cylons. The Cylon experiment fails, and they abandon the Colonies. The surviving members of the resistance are evacuated to Galactica shortly afterward ^{(TRS: "The Plan", "Resistance", "The Farm", "Downloaded", "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II")}.

Overall, the attack is a success and a failure at the same time; as a Cavil later remarked, the Cylons "had their foot on the throat of humanity" but "failed to step down hard enough." None of the Final Five are killed, and are all reunited in the Fleet. One particular Cavil comes to look upon the attacks as a mistake. Four years later, the surviving Colonials launch an assault that seals the fate of the Cylon race, settle a newly discovered planet, and eventually abandon the last vestiges of Colonial civilization ^{(TRS: "Daybreak, Part II")}.

Related Imagery

• 
  Cylon fleet gathered around the Colony before jumping to the Twelve Colonies
• 
  Basestars jumping in over the Colonies
• 
  Cylon fleet surrounding the Twelve Colonies
• 
  Valkyrie among its sister ships above Caprica
• 
  Cylon commands being transmitted
• 
  Valkyrie after being disabled by the CNP's backdoors
• 
  Basestars entering Colonial atmospheres
• 
  Basestar prepares to launch nukes
• 
  Cylon MIRV
• 
  Individual nuclear warheads
• 
  Warheads deploy...
• 
  ...and detonate
• 
  Another view
• 
  Cylons wreak havoc on the surviving populace
• 
  Destruction
• 
  Caprica City, shortly before being struck with a 50 megaton nuclear device
• 
  Death from incineration
• 
  Roslin's convoy
• 
  A Raider Squadron destroys the sublight ships left behind
• 
  Galactica is hit by a Cylon missile
• 
  Galactica suffers crucial damage to the port flight pod...
• 
  ... leaving the crew no choice but to vent the pod to fight the fires

References

For this battle as depicted in numerous comics, books, and other tie-in media, see: Battle of Cimtar (alternate).

Battle of Cimtar
Cylon raiders begin the ambush on the battlestars
Cylon raiders begin the ambush on the battlestars
Summary
Conflict:	Thousand-Yahren War
Date:	During the Peace Conference
Related Episode(s):
Place:	Cimtar, Twelve Colonies of Man
Result:	Decisive Cylon victory, destruction of the Twelve Colonies
Combatants The Twelve Colonies of Man Cylons Commanders President Adar Commander Adama Imperious Leader Strength At least five battlestars (and their complement of Vipers) 1000 Cylon Raiders, Unknown number of basestars Materiel Losses All battlestars and vessels except Galactica. Unknown, minimal Casualties All Colonies destroyed by basestars except for 220 civilian ships. Unknown, minimal
Battle Chronology
Previous Next Battle of Molecay Battle of Cimtar Clean Operation at the Path to Carillon

The bulk of the Colonial military is lured into a trap by the promise of peace, only to find themselves and the Twelve Colonies of Man in a fatal trap ^{(TOS: "Saga of a Star World")}.

After 1000 yahrens of war, the humans of the Twelve Colonies vie for peace with Lord Baltar acting as diplomat. The peace is to become official at Cimtar, a moon believed to be neutral territory. Instead of peace, the Cylons launch their largest onslaught ever against the Colonials. The Cylons use a two-pronged attack, striking at both the peace delegation (including the battlestars) as well as the Twelve Colonies.

Cylon fighter groups of Cylon Raiders (numbering a thousand total, along with support fuel tankers) hide near the Cimtar moon in wait for their chance at attacking the battlestar fleet. The basestars are left free for bombardment of the Colonies.

Commander Adama of battlestar Galactica receives reports that a Viper patrol has discovered the massive, hidden Cylon Raider fleet near Cimtar. Adama warns President Adar, President of the Colonies and commander of battlestar Atlantia of an imminent attack, but Lord Baltar sways Adar from ordering a defensive posture for the battlestar fleet.

Adama readies Galactica's defenses against orders. The battlestar is able to defend herself when the Cylons arrive, but the other battlestars, following President Adar's pacifist lead, are not so fortunate and can launch only a fraction of its fighters in time.

The Cylon fighters use a variety of tactics, including kamikaze methods to destroy the battlestar fleet. The Cylons destroy battlestars Atlantia (with President Adar aboard), Triton, Pacifica, and Acropolis.

Leaving her Viper pilots behind temporarily after getting reports of bombardment of the Colonies, Galactica heads towards Caprica in a vain effort to protect her homeworld.

During Galactica's flight to the Colonies, the battlestar received reports as the Cylons cleared the jamming to allow their own targeting and communication equipment to function. In one broadcast, 31 cities were "known to be under heavy attack" on an unknown colony while another report mentioned a second wave coming in.

Cylon basestars sneak by Colonial defenses, allowing an undefended attack on the Colonies. The home planets are bombed and the Cylons exterminate almost all of the human population of the Colonies. Caprica's destruction is assured through the efforts of Karibdis, one of Baltar's agents, who disables Caprica's defense systems and is held responsible for a million Caprican deaths ^{(TOS: "Murder on the Rising Star")}.

A handful of humans are tasked by Adama, now commanding the last known surviving battlestar, to flee the Colonies in whatever spaceworthy ships they can find to create a motley caravan that abandons Colonial space, initially for the nearby planet of Carillon where they obtain supplies for the long journey to Earth. Their exodus—via the dangerous but poorly defended Nova of Madagon rather than the logical waypoint of Borallus—takes the Cylons by surprise, who change their tactics to eliminate an now-elusive, moving target.

Lord Baltar is initially considered expendable by the Imperious Leader after the human's traitorous work and set up for public execution. However, the Leader's sucessor reconsiders Baltar's execution and provides him with the means to chase Galactica and her fleet to finish humanity once and for all.

Battle of Cimtar main events and locations. Cylon BaseStars located near Virgon, Sagitara and Caprica annihilate the colonial homeworlds while the Colonial Battlestar fleet is attacked by Cylon Raiders. The civilian survivors, lead by Battlestar Galactica, regroup and then flee to Carillon via the Nova of Madagon rather than the expected longer route via Borallus proposed by Sire Uri

Notes

• The non-canonical publication, Encyclopedia Galactica, refers to this event as the "Final Destruction", which does have some merit. More precisely, the battle can also be refer to as the "Final Annihilation," since this can be derived from the order of the Imperious Leader.

References

This article has a separate continuity. This article is in the Marvel 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.

Exodus! An issue of the Marvel Comics series.
Issue No.	2
Writer(s)	Roger McKenzie
Illustrator(s)	{{{illustrator}}}
Penciller(s)	Ernie Colon
Inker(s)	Ernie Colon
Colorist(s)	Bob Sharen
Letterer(s)	Ernie Colon
Editor(s)	Mark Gruenwald and Jim Shooter
Collection Design	{{{designer}}}
Cover Artist(s)
Adaptation of	Saga of a Star World (Part 2)
Published	March 1979
Collects
Collected in	Saga of a Star World
Reprints	Marvel Super Special #8: Battlestar Galactica (Part 2)
Reprinted as
Pages	{{{pages}}}
ISBN	[[Special:Booksources/|]]
Population	0 Survivors
Special	{{{special}}}
Chronology
Previous		Next
Annihilation!	Exodus!	Deathtrap!
Purchase
Available at BOOKSAMILLION.COM - Purchase
Available at Amazon.com – [[amazon:{{{amazon}}}|Purchase]]
Available at Amazon.co.uk – Purchase
Available at Things From Another World - Purchase

For the Re-imagined Series episode of the same name, see: Exodus, Part I.

This comic is the second of three issues adapting the Original Series' "Saga of a Star World."

Plot

• Baltar oversees the destruction of the Colonies, mulling over the fact that he had followed through on his promise of ending the Thousand-Yahren War: just in the way they did not foresee.
• A Cylon Raider lands nearby, reporting their success to Baltar, in addition to the fact that captured humans are offering information on a handful of survivors that successfully escaped the Colonies. The Centurions inform Baltar that the further, specific information is offered only in exchange for being spared. Baltar eschews this, reminding the Cylons of the Imperious Leader's standing order on humans: extermination.
• Boomer and Starbuck are assigned to take a census of the survivors, noting that the worst duty given to Warriors is some "poor guys from beta section" searching for solium leaks on an old sky-bus.
• Captain Apollo announces his presence, noting that he is listening for solium leaks; Starbuck and Boomer attempt to make a graceful exit, but Apollo reminds them of their duties, and notes that every ship is important—as they left many people behind for lack of ships—and threatens to "volunteer" them for permanent assignment on the sky-bus.
• Entering another compartment, they discover starved survivors begging for food. Starbuck and Boomer ward off Apollo's would-be mob as he attempts to calm them down, reassuring them that supplies are on their way. During this, an elderly Gemonesse woman approaches, speaking in her native tongue that the Warriors cannot understand. A woman with a broken left arm, Cassiopeia, translates: the elderly woman's husband is feverish.
• Cassiopeia eschews any further assistance from the Warriors, until it becomes apparent that her life is threatened by other Gemonesse women of the Otori Sect, given Cassiopeia's status as a socialator. Apollo orders Starbuck to take both Cassiopeia and the feverish elderly man to the shuttle.
• Another man approaches Apollo, chastising him for starving them while bureaucrats luxuriate in the Fleet, such as Sire Uri aboard Rising Star. Apollo vainly assures the hostile man that no one is in luxury, and assures him that relief is on the way. These assurances fall upon disbelieving and cynical ears.
• Aboard Alpha Shuttle, Apollo reaches out to core command to request clarification on food dispersal, but is stonewalled.
• In the rear of the shuttle, Cassiopeia answers Starbuck's request for a translator for the elderly man and his wife. Cassiopeia gives her name and profession, leading to a conversation as to why Cassiopeia had been the recipient of such hostilities. This segues into flirting, with Starbuck noting that he has headaches and needs "some kind of release," to which Cassiopeia offers up the possibility of an appointment for her services.
• Apollo routes the shuttle to Rising Star, where Apollo and Boomer disembark to investigate the claims, while the shuttle and its occupants continues to Galactica's Life Station.
• Apollo encounters Lieutenant Jolly, who informs his fellow Warriors that the food supplies have been contaminated with pluton poisoning, and that Rising Star's is the third ship he has checked since last night for the contamination.
• Apollo orders that the contaminated food be jettisoned, and the problem be kept confidential in order to maintain order. Boomer and Apollo go to talk to Uri, who is bound to be in the elite class. Serina arrives, asking for Apollo's help with Boxey, while also noting that they'll not like what they'll find in Uri's den.
• Serina notes that she was personally invited by Uri to attend, and was able to sneak out food that fed half the lower class compartment, as she did not wish to stay for she didn't like the "implications." Serina notes that Boxey has been depressed and has not eaten for two days, grieving for Muffey the daggit. Apollo pretends to be recruiting for future Warriors, engaging Boxey in conversation and noting that he's been looking all over for him.
• Apollo gives Boxey his pins when promoting the boy to "Colonial Warrior first level," noting that the promotion will entitle him to the first available daggit that comes along, provided that he rest and eat all of his primaries.
• Serina is thankful for the help, noting that Apollo and Zac must have been close. Apollo notes that they had been, and Serina becomes apologetic. Apollo assures her that, after losing "the big one," a Warrior is left to only win the little battles.
• Apollo leave Serina behind, making his way up to the elite level, where Boomer and a private security officer from Trans-Galactic Star Lines have a stand-off. It is broken when Boomer pulls out his pistol, and obtains entry after Apollo arrives.
• They see a banquet table and various persons, including the corpulent Uri, feasting on food aplenty. Uri is incensed at the interruption, particularly when Apollo declares his intent on arresting Uri. As Uri espouses threats, Apollo orders Boomer to notify core command on the acquisition of food, intending on distributing them as far as they can go.
• After Apollo shames Uri for his feelings, particularly when asked about the fate of Siress Uri, Boomer and Apollo leave. Boomer asks Apollo if they've overstepped their hand, but Apollo resolutely asks how one overplays starvation.
• Aboard a basestar, Baltar is dragged before the Imperious Leader. Baltar demands to know why the Leader hasn't honored their bargain, to which the Imperious Leader denounces it, noting that Baltar has missed the entire point of the war: the extermination of all humanity. The Leader has the groveling Baltar dragged away for public execution.
• Later, aboard Galactica, Uri pleads his case before the newly reformed Quorum of Twelve, gaslighting the Quorum into believing that he willingly shared his food after learning of the shortage. He lays blame for the secrecy surrounding the shortage at Adama's feet, and then asks why they do not go to Borallus, noting that the journey to Carillon is nine centons at best.
• Adama advocates for Carillon, believing that the Cylons lay in wait at Borallus, even though the world has everything they need: food, fuel, and water.
• Apollo presents his own plan to the Quorum, going through the Nova of Madagon and would save "two centons" in reaching Carillon. Adama objects as the sector has been heavily mined, and Apollo notes that a small group of Vipers can destroy the minefield with laser torpedoes, recruiting Boomer and Starbuck to join him.
• Several hours later, Apollo brings Serina and Boxey to Wilker's lab aboard Rising Star. The recalcitrant Boxey wants to go back to their berth, but Apollo tells the kid that it's a military order and that they need to hear the doctor out.
• Wilker goes into the problem of needing a replacement for daggits, who once performed many functions for Warriors, including standing watch as Warriors slept. He then presents the solution: Muffey II. The robotic simulacrum, programmed to respond to Boxey, licks Boxey and then Boxey goes off to frolic with it.
• Serina is happy to see her son regaining his spirit, and begins to make her feelings known to Apollo.
• The Fleet approaches the Nova of Madagon: Tigh and Adama wear sun-goggles, noting that the three Warriors can only navigate by scanners, as their cockpits would be sealed shut to prevent blindness.
• Athena asks Adama why they didn't go with Uri's plan, to which he replies that he would need to plead with the Cylons that were surely waiting at Borallus. Athena remains unconvinced about the merits of Apollo's and Adama's plan.
• Despite Starbuck's protests regarding his bio-pulse line and Boomer's anger for being recruited for the mission because of Starbuck's mouth, the three Warriors launch into space towards Madagon—hurling towards the Cylon minefield as their scanners burn out, leaving them effectively blind.

Notes

General

Sire Uri's introduction features a woman with Princess Leia's iconic dual hair bun style (Exodus!).

• Sire Uri's first appearance depicts him flanked by two women, one of whom has Princess Leia's "side buns" hair style.
• The comic eschews the terms for time, using "hours" instead of "centars" in certain instances, mirroring the inconsistencies in application of "Earth" terms vs. "Colonial" terms for time and other units of measurement.
  • Example: "And, several hours later, aboard the Rising Star..." - A caption on the page detailing Apollo and Serina's visit to Dr. Wilker's lab, where Muffey II awaits.
• The term "centon" is also used inconsistently, in some instances it can mean either a unit of time — minutes, hours, or even days — or some unit of distance:
  • "Yeah? Well another two centons [minutes] and you would've been a doormat, Captain." - Starbuck to Apollo after Apollo is bum-rushed by survivors aboard Gemini.
  • "Meanwhile, some centons [hours? sectors?] away..." - A caption on the page featuring the Imperious Leader's decree to execute Baltar.
  • "It is, at best, a nine centon [day] journey. We will never make it." - Sire Uri objects to heading to Carillon over Borallus for desperately needed supplies.

Differences

• This issue hews closely to the finalized televised pilot, including Baltar's stay-of-execution (changed from the theatrical release, which depicts Baltar's execution before the Imperious Leader).
• The only omission is Cassiopeia and Starbuck's sexual rendezvous in the launch bay and Athena's retaliatory "steam purge."
• Dr. Wilker refers to Muffey II as a "droid," a term eschewed due to its being closely tied to Star Wars. In the series proper, the term "drone" is used when describing the mechanoid.

Publication History

This issue was reprinted in Star Heroes: Winter Special (UK) Vol. 1 #1 (October 1979 CE), and later republished in Saga of a Star World (June 2005 CE).

Analysis

As the comic adaptation hues closely to the finalized pilot, "Saga of a Star World," many of the points of analysis are mirrored in the aforementioned article.

Questions

Answered Questions

• What will the rag-tag fugitive fleet discover at Carillon? (Answer)
• Was a Cylon task force laying in wait at Borallus? (Answer)
• Will Baltar be executed? (Answer)

Unanswered Questions

• Was Siress Uri's fate orchestrated on Sire Uri's part?
• How would it have been possible to vote for replacement council members on the Quorum of Twelve in a span of two days?

See also

• Battlestar Galactica: Vol. 1 #2 at the Marvel Database

"Exodus, Part I" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
Episode No.	Season 3, Episode 3
Writer(s)	Bradley Thompson David Weddle
Story by
Director	Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)	Lucy Lawless as Number Three
Production No.	303
Nielsen Rating	1.6
US airdate	2006-10-13
CAN airdate	2006-10-14
UK airdate	2007-01-16
DVD release
Population	survivors
Additional Info
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
Precipice	Exodus, Part I	Exodus, Part II
Related Information
Official Summary
R&D Skit – View
Podcast Transcript – View
Continuity Errors Present – View
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The Cylons have begun the brutal crackdown on New Caprica's resistance movement. Galen Tyrol receives disturbing news from a secret source within Baltar's administration while Colonial detainees face a Cylon firing squad on New Caprica. With time running out for the colonists, Admiral Adama will launch his rescue attempt with only Galactica, while his son, Commander Lee Adama, and Pegasus remain to protect what is left of the Fleet and continue the search for Earth if the rescue fails.

Summary

• The final moments of "Precipice" are reshown as the captured detainees are being taken off the trucks. Cally Tyrol is freed, as the Centurions march up the hill. Tyrol continues to run as gunfire is heard.
• The scene switches back to one hour earlier.
• Galen Tyrol is frantically talking with Saul Tigh about a list of detainees he received from his source, Cally Tyrol is among the listed. Tigh snaps him back to his senses, noting that they can locate the people now that they cracked the Cylons' coordinate system.
• Chief Tyrol immediately gets to work, succesfully calculating the location of the execution, and gathers a team to rescue Cally and the others.
• Tyrol's team, including Seelix, is able to catch up with the Cylons, and get in position as Cally Tyrol starts running. Tyrol rushes out and gets his wife out of the line of fire, as his team takes out the Centurions meant to execute the detainees. Others injured include some members of the NCP and the Cavil that accompanies the truck.
• Seelix leaves a wounded Cavil to death. After he downloads into a new body, the Cavil reports that he ended his own life, but is somewhat traumatized from the transfer process.
• At Breeders Canyon, similar to the scene at the Pergamus Flats, a flashback shows how Marines move into position to defend the meeting there against a possible attack.

Colonial Marine with an RPG

• Sharon "Athena" Agathon moves ahead to meet with Anders and the resistance. As Agathon and Anders discuss their plans, the Centurions attack, taking out some of the resistance fighters, but are soon destroyed by a Marine RPG.
• After the attack, a map is recovered from one of the 'skinjobs'. Anders recognizes it as the hand-drawn map passed on to Ellen Tigh to destroy in the heating fire within their tent. Anders immediately suspects Tigh in tipping off the Cylons.
• While sleeping in her bed on Colonial One, Number Three dreams of a tent near some odd rock edifices. The next image is of her holding Hera. She wakes up suddenly.
• Also on Colonial One, Gaius Baltar and Caprica-Six lie together in bed, but Baltar is fighting with impotence. Six is understanding, but Baltar shrugs off her sympathy.
• Kara Thrace is showing further affection for Kacey Brynn and apologizes for her getting hurt. Leoben Conoy watches from the background.
• Disturbed by her dream, Three visits Selloi, a human oracle whose tent she saw in her dream, who tells her that Hera is still alive, but warns that holding the child will undo all that the Cylons have accomplished on the planet.
• On Galactica, a combined crew of Pegasus and Galactica crews ready for the rescue mission. Margaret Edmondson conducts a ceremony to bind the people together, given the odds of the mission.
• William and Lee Adama have a farewell of their own when the younger Adama leaves Galactica for Pegasus, with orders to wait 18 hours for Galactica's return. Otherwise, Pegasus must continue the search for Earth with the surviving members of the Fleet.
• Three inquires with Dr. Cottle, who is treating a Five wounded by a human attack, about Hera's alleged death. She points out that it didn't make much sense for him to simply cremate the first ever human/Cylon hybrid, something that no one had ever seen before, without studying it first. Cottle states that it was President Roslin's decision.
• Laura Roslin orders Anders to guard Maya and Hera at all costs. He tasks two of his best men to protect her and see to her safe escape.
• Gunnery Sergeant Erin Mathias, the leader of Agathon's Marines, meets with Roslin, Tom Zarek and the resistance to discuss the rescue plan. She brings weapons for the upcoming fight and learns that the colonists conducted evacuation exercises under the guise of fire drills.
• A Cavil voices his despair at the continued bloodshed and Baltar agrees. Many of the Cylons disagree significantly as to what to do to reestablish control. A Number Five says that, if the worse comes to worst, that they can just nuke the city.
• Saul Tigh learns of his wife's betrayal and is visibly shocked by it.
• Sharon Agathon heads into the New Caprica Detention Center and gets the launch keys for the Colonial ship. Three enters the secured room, immediately recognizes her, stops Agathon and tells her that her daughter is alive. Unwilling to consider this matter for now, Agathon shoots the Three in the legs: "Adama wouldn't lie to me."
• Galactica is given word that the launch keys have been retrieved, and after a rousing speech by Admiral Adama, begins preparations for the jump to New Caprica.

Notes

• There is also a comic called Exodus!, which covers the events of the Original Series' episode "Saga of a Star World" (Part 2).
• This is the first episode where viewers see an oracle. Oracles such as Pythia and Galen Tyrol's mother are mentioned before but not seen.
• Tyrol inexplicably lost his beard before this episode. This was necessary because Aaron Douglas's scenes were shot weeks after the main part of the episode, when he had already shaved and it was felt that a fake beard would not be convincing.
• Chamalla is a bitter herb, and oracles sometimes use candy to sweeten it up.
• According to Ronald Moore's podcast, in earlier drafts Jammer was going to die during the shootout at the execution site. However, he decided that the character would be used in later episodes of the season.
• A teaser aired prior to the season premiere contains another line to Adama's speech that was either cut from the final episode or recorded specifically for the teaser: "The dignity and integrity of the human race rides with us."
• The conversation between Sharon and the Number Three at the Detention Center is the first on-screen confirmation that Sharon is truly loyal to Adama (at least for now); there was a Season 2 scene, cut from an episode but included on the DVD, in which Gina Inviere refers to Sharon as a "loose cannon," but this is the first time a transmitted scene has indicated that Sharon's loyalty is not a ruse (as suggested by some characters).
• Adama's speech at the end of the episode is similar in tone to the "band of brothers" speech that Henry V gave before the Battle of Agincourt in Shakespeare's play:

"This story shall the good man teach his son; ... From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remember'd".

Analysis

• The Number Three that has been having dreams about Hera sees Sharon "Athena" Agathon and is able to tell that she is the copy that had been left with Helo on Caprica. She may deduce this from the fact that Sharon is taking the launch keys, or she may be able to sense her identity somehow. Later episodes make clear that humanoid Cylons can tell each other apart. Notably Tyrol displays this ability in "Deadlock" when he identifies Boomer just by looking at her after having not seen her since New Caprica.
• Roslin's line about Hera, "She may well be the shape of things to come," echoes similar lines by Six in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II" and by Adama in "Valley of Darkness". "The Shape of Things to Come" is also the title of the orchestral music piece at the end of "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II".
• Anders seems to know, or at least suspect, what is so special about Maya's child.
• Caprica-Six has been downloaded after her "death" in "Precipice". She was not "boxed".
• The Cylons on New Caprica do not appear to have any sort of attachment to the humans they rule as evidenced by their willingness to nuke the colony if they can't make it work as desired. This conflicts with the decision that their earlier attempt at genocide was a mistake. This is additional evidence of fundamental contradictions and disconnects within the Cylon psyche to which they are blind. Based on their actions to date, "skinjob" behavior tends toward the sociopathic with the exception of the Valerii models, and Caprica-Six.
• Baltar has become a suicidal drunk - his appearance has become slovenly and he appears to have given up on basic grooming. He is also having trouble performing the act of sex with Caprica-Six.
• Admiral Adama's claim that his crew "will find immortality as only the Gods once knew" draws on the choice given to Achilles by his mother about joining the war in Troy: fight couragously and perish in battle, or be forgotten by history. Achilles chose to go to battle and is a legend. According to interviews, Bradley Thompson and David Weddle deliberately draw inspirations from ancient stories like Homer's Iliad.
• There is a discontinuity between "Precipice" and this episode regarding the execution scene. First, Cally apparently changed direction between episodes for more dramatic effect. At the conclusion of "Precipice," Cally is shown jumping into a gully to the "left" of where the trucks are stopped, and is apparently shown running "down," toward the initial camera position. The camera shoots Cally from her right as she runs, showing a backdrop of trees and vines. In "Exodus, Part I," she is shown running to the "right," towards Tyrol and the other resistance fighters. The camera here is also from Cally's right, but this time she is running in front of a barren background. Secondly, the gunfire starts at a different time. At the conclusion of "Precipice," Cally is clearly shown running while the gunfire begins. In "Exodus, Part I," Tyrol throws her to the ground before it does.
• Saul Tigh seems to be a well-respected and capable leader of the resistance, and his people-skills seem to have improved drastically as evidenced by the way he handles the distraught Tyrol when news of his wife's fate is leaked to him from inside the New Caprica government. This stands in stark contrast of Tigh's leadership of the Fleet after Boomer's attempted assassination of Adama, where Tigh exhibits a profound lack of leadership ability, a fact that he himself acknowledges when Adama returns to active duty and relieves him of command. Perhaps the experience leading the Fleet was a hard lesson learned. This may have to do with the fact that Tigh chose to command the resistance, whereas command of the Fleet just fell to him.
• Apparently, Seelix has improved her shooting skills because she takes up a sniper position at the execution site, while in "Fragged" she stated that she hadn't fired a weapon since basic training.

Questions

• Roslin and Zarek seem to have reconciled their differences and become friends. Given Saul Tigh's feeling that Roslin will resume the presidency once humanity has left New Caprica, and that Zarek used to be Baltar's vice president, will he assume the mantle of vice president under Laura Roslin, Or, will Zarek claim the presidency by legal succession if Baltar is removed from office? (Answer)
• Given Cavil's comments, is there damage to the consciousness during each downloading and is there a point where after so many downloads the consciousness is destroyed or corrupted?
• Are the Lords of Kobol more than historical figures? Why are they sending accurate dreams to a Cylon? Why is a human oracle helping Three interpret the dreams?
• Why does Doctor Cottle work to heal critically injured Cylons instead of just letting them die and be resurrected?
• Is there any possibility at all that Adama wasn't aware of Roslin's plans for Hera? (Answer)
• What other operations are the Cylons busy with elsewhere in the universe, that are straining their resources for their experiment on New Caprica (also referenced to by Ron Moore in his podcast)?
• Will some humans refuse to leave once the escape begins?
• Will the escapees block proven or suspected collaborators from boarding the escaping ships?
• How many, if any, of the New Caprica Police are publicly known, and once the escape begins, what will be their ultimate fate? (Answer)
• Adama's plan to use only Galactica and the ships remaining on the ground on New Caprica seems a bit unrealistic given the fact that there are over 39,000 colonists on the planet. How will they find room for all of the evacuees?
• Will the Colonials find time to also evacuate much of their critically-rationed supplies and equipment as well as themselves during the chaos of evacuation?
• What exactly has Caprica-Six given up for Baltar?
• Is Maya suspicious about Roslin's protectiveness of her and Isis?
• After Helo departs Admiral Adama's room after indicating that Sharon has the launch keys, Adama punches his desk. Is this a sign of frustration, or elation over finally being able to start the rescue operation after months of preparations and failure?
• If humanoid Cylons can share memories and experiences as implied in many previous episodes, why would Sharon believe that merely shooting Three in the knees would be sufficient to stop her warning the others?

Official Statements

• Bradley Thompson talks about how it was originally one episode:

When we wrote Exodus it was originally meant to be a single episode, but as time went on, David and I realized it wasn't going to fit into one show. Then we went up to the set in Vancouver and that's when Michael Rymer [director/producer], who had read the script, suggested, 'This really needs to be two episodes,' so it wasn't a big surprise to us when it was decided to do just that."

Noteworthy Dialogue

• As Chief Tyrol is about to leave Tigh's tent:

Colonel Tigh: Chief! Pull it together. You won't do her any good if you get caught too. Besides, the last thing your son wants is me and Ellen for parents.

• Before Lee Adama departs Galactica:

Admiral William Adama: I'll see you at the rendezvous point.

Commander Lee Adama: Eighteen hours. Try not to be late.

William Adama: I'm getting old; I'm a little slow, but I'll be there.

Lee Adama: Gods, I wish I could talk you out of this...

William Adama: You can't. You tried.

Lee Adama: You know, Dad, um...

William Adama: Don't. Don't make me cry on my own hangar deck.

Lee Adama: Permission to leave your ship, Admiral.

William Adama: Permission Granted, Commander.

William Adama: Attention! Commander of Pegasus, Departing!

• '"Admiral Adama and nearby Deck Gang salutes Commander Lee Adama"':

Commander Lee Adama: Returns the salute and departs Galactica for Pegasus.

• During the Salt Line Ceremony on the hangar deck:

Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson: Their enemies will divide them, their colonies broken in the fiery chasm of space. The shining days renounced by a multitude of dark sacrifices. Yet still they will remain. Always together.

• As Galactica prepares to return to New Caprica:

Admiral Adama: This is the Admiral. You've heard the news. You know the mission. You should also know that there is only one way that this mission ends, and that's with the successful rescue of our people off of New Caprica. Look around you. Take a good look at the men and women that stand next to you. Remember their faces, for one day you will tell your children and your grandchildren that you served with such men and women as the universe has never seen. And together you accomplished a feat that will be told and retold down through the ages, and find immortality as only the Gods once knew. I'm proud to serve with you. Good hunting.

• As Number Three approaches Selloi:

Selloi: Zeus sees all; sees you, Number Three, sees your pain, your destiny. All the gods weep for you.

Number Three: There is no Zeus, no other god but God.

Selloi: Oh, you don't believe that anymore. You don't know what you believe and that is why you're here.

Guest Stars

• Michael Hogan as Saul Tigh
• Aaron Douglas as Galen Tyrol
• Tahmoh Penikett as Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon
• Nicki Clyne as Cally Tyrol
• Alessandro Juliani as Felix Gaeta (credit only)
• Kandyse McClure as Anastasia Dualla
• Michael Trucco as Samuel Anders
• Amanda Plummer as Oracle Selloi
• Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek
• Callum Keith Rennie as Leoben Conoy
• Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh
• Donnelly Rhodes as Dr. Cottle
• Matthew Bennett as Number Five
• Rekha Sharma as Tory Foster
• Dean Stockwell as Cavil
• Erica Cerra as Maya
• Luciana Carro as Lt. Louanne "Kat" Katraine
• Brad Dryborough as Lt. Louis Hoshi
• Leah Cairns as Lt. Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson
• Madeline Parker as Kacey Brynn
• Dominic Zamprogna as James "Jammer" Lyman
• Eileen Pedde as Erin Mathias
• Jennifer Halley as Diana Seelix
• Ty Olsson as Captain Aaron Kelly
• Ryan Robbins as Charlie Connor

References

"Exodus, Part II" An episode of the Re-imagined Series
Episode No.	Season 3, Episode 4
Writer(s)	Bradley Thompson David Weddle
Story by
Director	Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Assistant Director
Special guest(s)	Lucy Lawless as Number Three
Production No.	304
Nielsen Rating	1.5
US airdate	2006-10-20
CAN airdate	2006-10-21
UK airdate
DVD release
Population	survivors
Additional Info
Episode Chronology
Previous		Next
Exodus, Part I	Exodus, Part II	Collaborators
Related Information
Official Summary
R&D Skit – View
Podcast Transcript – View
[[IMDB:tt{{{imdb}}}|IMDb entry]]
Listing of props for this episode
Related Media
			@ BW Media
Promotional Materials
Online Purchasing
Amazon: Standard Definition | High Definition
iTunes: USA | Canada | UK

Commander Lee Adama of the battlestar Pegasus has serious doubts about the success of the New Caprica rescue mission by Galactica. On New Caprica, Saul Tigh decides the consequences for his wife's betrayal of the Resistance. Aboard Galactica, Admiral William Adama executes a dramatic rescue plan.

Summary

Teaser

• On Pegasus, Lee Adama and Dualla talk of Galactica's mission. Adama worries that Admiral Adama's mission will fail, and about his impending responsibilities as leader of The Fleet. Dee notes that Lee has given up hope on his father, but expresses her faith in her husband.
• On New Caprica, Samuel Anders confronts Saul Tigh about his wife Ellen's betrayal and tells him that either Tigh "takes care" of Ellen, or someone less sympathetic will do so.

Act 1

Saul handing Ellen her poisoned drink.

• Ellen Tigh explains her recent actions, that she would do absolutely anything to save Saul, including betraying the Resistance. Tigh consoles her and provides her a drink when she asks. She falls unconscious, her drink having been poisoned by her husband. He says that he loves her, rests his head on her corpse, and weeps.
• On Colonial One, Gaius Baltar tells the Cylons that they have failed in their experiment and suggests the Cylons simply leave. A Three voices the concern that one day the descendants of mankind might exact vengeance upon the Cylons, should they be left to their own devices.
• Gaeta suddenly looks up, noticing dozens of explosions outside the window, signalling the beginning of the Battle of New Caprica.
• Anders and the resistance team has set a series of explosions, mimicking a Fleet attack and causing confusion among the Cylons.
• Tory Foster commands a team of section leaders in the evacuation and orders Maya to head for her ship with Isis.
• Anders and a large group of resistance fighters retrieve weapons from beneath the Pyramid court to rescue the detainees in the detention center.
• In space above New Caprica, Galactica deploys a squadron of Raptors and Vipers. The Raptors launch swallows to mimic the EM signature of two Colonial battlestars. The Cylons pick them up and fall for the ruse, moving two basestars with their Raiders away from the planet.
• The Cylon command on Colonial One initially are fooled by the swallows and their mimicked battlestar signatures.

Act 2

• The Raptors succeed in drawing off the entire Raider defenses of the two baseships, and leave the vicinity of New Caprica with the Raiders in pursuit.
• When Leoben Conoy leaves the residence inside the Detention Center to aid with the fighting, he keeps Kara Thrace inside. She assaults him and tries to escape, but he knocks her unconscious.
• Tom Zarek tasks Jammer to protect Laura Roslin as she makes her way to Colonial One.
• At the entrance to the shipyard, where the Cylons keep the grounded Colonial vessels, a team under Tigh and Galen Tyrol are pinned down by Cylon Centurions.
• The Cylons realize the drones are decoys as Galactica jumps into the planet's upper atmosphere, avoiding initial detection from the baseships. As the ship plunges rapidly towards the planet, Galactica launches its Vipers.
• Before it can collide with the ground, the ship jumps back into space. The Vipers begin to attack targets on the ground and clear the way of Centurions for civilians to escape.
• As humans are freed from the Detention Center, Anders finds his unconscious wife and carries her away.
• Galactica is shaken up by its reentry to orbit. Their plan to remove the Raider fighter defenses to allow the civilians to escape is working, and, according to plan, the two basestars near the planet are coming after them. But when two more baseships appear out of the nebula, Admiral Adama realizes they cannot hold off all four.

Act 3

Galactica is outnumbered.

• The battle is turning against Galactica: its FTL drives are down, most of its weapons are offline, and there is heavy structural damage from the atmospheric entry. The basestars are closing in and the battlestar is bombarded from all sides with no hope of survival. "It's been an honor," Adama says.
• At that moment Pegasus joins the battle, with Lee Adama having disobeyed his father's orders. He opens fire with the forward batteries and incapacitates one basestar in the opening salvo. Admiral Adama orders priority repairs on the FTL drives.
• When Thrace awakens, she goes back to retrieve Kacey Brynn against Anders' advice, who soon follows her.
• The Cylons realize that they have lost and decide to evacuate the planet. Number Three volunteers to stay behind and set off the nuclear weapon that was left in the city for such a contingency. She offers Baltar a place with the Cylons and leaves.
• Several Colonial ships initiate intra-atmosphere jumps from New Caprica as soon as they become airborne. Raiders and Vipers have dogfights amongst them.
• Pegasus succeeds in drawing fire off of its sister ship, and is heavily bombarded by missiles, having left all of its Vipers and most of its crew back with the rest of the civilian Fleet. Admiral Adama realizes that his son has planned a one-way mission for Pegasus, and orders recall of Galactica's fighters. With its fighter complement back on board, the admiral orders a jump back to the rendezvous point as Pegasus fights on.
• On Colonial One, Felix Gaeta holds Baltar at gunpoint, and accuses of having betrayed humanity. Gaeta admits his guilt in idealistically believing in Baltar, but has realized, in the end, that Baltar was only thinking about himself. Baltar admits his own guilt and begs Gaeta to shoot him. Gaeta relents, however, giving Baltar a final chance to redeem himself: stop Three from setting off the nuclear bomb.

Pegasus rams into a Basestar.

• With Pegasus dying, Lee Adama orders everyone to abandon ship. He sets the ship on a collision course with a basestar as the last of the skeleton crew leaves in Raptors. Pegasus collides with a basestar, destroying it; the remains of its starboard flight pod collide with and destroy yet another basestar.
• Kara Thrace returns to the apartment to find Kacey, and Conoy enters with the child.

Act 4

• To try to regain possession of Kacey, Kara Thrace appears to give in to Leoben's demands to say "I love you." She does, and kisses him. As they embrace, Thrace uses the diversion to stab the Cylon to death. She picks up Kacey and leaves with Anders.
• Three searches Dodona Selloi's tent, but the oracle has left. Outside, Caprica-Six and Baltar find Hera next to Maya's lifeless body, still alive.
• Three arrives, asks to hold the child, and leaves with her. Caprica-Six says Three no longer intends to detonate the nuke, then leaves the planet with Baltar.
• Laura Roslin and a group of resistance fighters enter and retake the now abandoned Colonial One at Roslin's insistence and are the last ship to leave the planet.
• On Galactica, many people are reunited as Tyrol immediately takes charge of ushering the incoming refugees. When Thrace shows Kacey to Tyrol, another woman walks by and recognizes the girl as her daughter, whom the Cylons had stolen. The mother thanks Thrace for rescuing Kacey. Thrace is visibly and emotionally paralyzed by the revelation that Kacey is not her actual daughter.
• Admiral Adama gives a warm welcome to his son, who was happy not to have followed his father's orders.
• The admiral welcomes Tigh back aboard, and congratulates him on bringing everyone back from New Caprica. With a tremble to his voice, Tigh quietly replies, "Not all of them."
• The colonists in Galactica's hangar deck begin chanting "A-dam-a, A-dam-a..." and carry the admiral on their shoulders in celebration. Adama turns to see Tigh wandering off, numbed with grief.
• Tory Foster tells Roslin that neither Maya nor Hera can be found, and it seems likely neither made it off the planet. Foster apologizes, but Roslin muses that this was part of something bigger than them.
• Admiral Adama shaves off his mustache and returns to a fully staffed CIC, aboard the now very loud, bustling corridors of Galactica.

Notes

• "Exodus, Part II" was awarded the IGN.com Editor's choice award, following a review in which it recieved a rating of 9/10. This marks the second of such awards presented for the third season, the first of which was awarded for the season premiere Occupation.
• There is also a TOS comic named Exodus!
• This episode marks the destruction of Pegasus.
• The two parts of "Exodus" were originally planned as one episode. However, it was quickly realized that the story was far too large for one episode and it was split in two. This happened before with "Scattered," "Valley of Darkness" and the "Resurrection Ship" two-parter. It also helped save money because the construction of New Caprica, the extensive location shooting, the number of actors, as well as the special effects for "Exodus, Part II" were very expensive and the production was over budget.
• The Viper Mark VIIs deployed by Galactica in this episode have a yellow engine-glow instead of their usual blue. This is also the case in "Maelstrom" suggesting that it is a normal effect in atmospheric flight.
• The moment where Lee Adama pauses to look back at the Pegasus CIC and says "thank you" is reminiscent of a similar moment in the Deep Space Nine episode "The Changing Face of Evil," in which, after the doomed Defiant is ordered to be evacuated, Captain Sisko takes a long look back at his ruined bridge. As with Pegasus, in the next shot, the ship is destroyed. Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, who wrote "Exodus, Part II," were staff writers on DS9.
• Kate Vernon on the SciFi Forums stated that Ellen Tigh knew about the poison in her drink.
• The Battle of New Caprica scenes were constructed using Lightwave, with each Cylon Raider being keyframe animated.
• When Galactica jumps several thousand feet from the surface of New Caprica a vacuum is created by the sudden loss of mass that consumes the re-entry fires engulfing its hull and the clouds surrounding it. A sonic boom and a shock wave are also produced when it jumps.
• In the 2007 Emmy awards, this episode won one award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series, but lost in the directing and sound editing categories.
  • During Galactica jumps into the atmosphere scene, Ron Moore in his podcast states that the episode "better win the fucking Emmy," months before the awards were handed out.
• It's revealed that Kara's apartment is actually in the New Caprica Detention Center.
• This episode marks the supposed death of Ellen Tigh. However its later revealed that she's a Cylon and simply downloaded into a new body on a Resurrection Ship and remained a prisoner of John Cavil for eighteen months until Boomer helps her escape.
• This episode and "Precipice" are the only ones in which all twelve humanoid Cylons appear.
• As Galactica descends through the atmosphere of New Caprica, the brand of the pencils on the tactical table, "Dixon China Marker," is clearly visible (when paused on the DVD or Blu-ray).

Analysis

• Baltar may not be aware that most of the civilians have already escaped the planet when he says, in the Gaeta-Baltar scene, "The Cylons have a nuke in this complex. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is getting off this planet alive unless I stop D'Anna."
• The Cylons are not keeping closer tabs on the whereabouts of the launch keys—no alarms or other warning—and don't notice that they are gone until the attack starts. Since only a Cylon could enter the facility, and as the only other Cylon (one of the Threes) is incapacitated before the attack (possibly unable to download and warn the others), this appears to be a logical omission.
• While it seems that the Cylons leave the planet implausibly under-guarded, Ron Moore has mentioned in his podcasts that the Cylons do have major operations elsewhere (possibly hinting at the search for Earth story arcs later in the series).
• With the former crew of Pegasus on Galactica now, the ship has something close to its standard crew size. (Galactica's crew was deduced to be 2,693 in the episode "Water," and Pegasus's was introduced with a crew count of 1,752 in "Pegasus" (see Crew tally). William Adama notes that over half of the crew has settled on New Caprica in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I," and Lee confirms that both ships are at half-strength in "Occupation".) Military operations should be much smoother now, and repairs to the ship in general are more feasible.
• While the combination of the Pegasus and Galactica air wings give the latter battlestar a full-strength fighter wing, the Fleet has suffered the loss of its most advanced and best-armed warship. With it also went the capability to build replacement Vipers. Defensively, the Fleet is pretty much back to the position it was in when it left the Colonies.
• Pegasus parallels its role with the original Pegasus as it fights to the end to defeat two basestars, allowing Galactica and the Fleet to escape from the Cylons. However, while the Original Series left the fate of its Pegasus and its crew to speculation, the Re-imagined continuity's Pegasus is totally destroyed and its crew evacuated.
• Despite the DRADIS distorting nebula surrounding the planet of New Caprica, several scenes and lines of dialogue in this episode clearly show DRADIS to be at least partially functional. This could indicate that there are gaps in the nebula allowing DRADIS to function, or that the Colonials developed ways to operate limited DRADIS despite the distortion.
• A key component of Adama's plan is to jump Galactica into the upper atmosphere of New Caprica. In "Home, Part II," Gaeta tells Adama that jumping the ship into the upper atmosphere of a planet isn't possible. Not only was Gaeta wrong in his assessment, but it is worth noting he is not on board this time when Adama conceives of the maneuver. Of course, it is possible Gaeta simply considers the maneuver so dangerous that it should be considered infeasible. His concern in this regard seems valid, as pieces can be seen tearing off of Galactica as it falls, and the event is later shown to have caused, or at least contributed to, terminal structural damage to the ship.
• During its fall through New Caprica's atmosphere, Galactica is shown launching Vipers with its flight pods still retracted, indicating they need to be extended only to recover aircraft.

Questions

• With Baltar missing at the conclusion of this episode, who will become the President of the Twelve Colonies? (Answer)
• What will be the final disposition of the Pegasus officers, and the former military personnel who have returned from New Caprica? (Answer)
• Did Ellen Tigh know or suspect that the drink was poisoned? (Answer)
• What consequences will Ellen Tigh's death have for her husband? Will Saul Tigh return to his old alcoholic habits? (Answer)
• What equipment and people were left behind on New Caprica? (Answer about people: Survivor Count)
• Will Gaeta be the target of persecution or assassination as a collaborator? Or will people believe in him when he is found out to be the secret informant? (Answer)
• Will Cally Tyrol identify Jammer as the NCP officer who released her, based on his voice? (Answer)
• Now that Galactica is carrying the Viper squadrons from both battlestars, will the starboard flight pod be returned to service? (Answer)
• What are the Cylons' plans for Gaius Baltar? (Answer)
• How does Internal Six know that the baby Maya had was Hera?
• Where is "Boomer" Valerii? (Answer)
• How many ships are in the Fleet as of the Battle of New Caprica? Also, in light of the exodus, what of consumables and other resources needed to sustain the Fleet? Were these loaded into ships already as part of the escape plan?
• In what condition are Galactica's gun batteries following the Battle of New Caprica? Do any of them remain operable, or is Galactica largely stripped of its main armaments?
• Did Commander Adama order all supplies on Pegasus not essential to the suicide run to be dumped overboard?

Official Statements

Noteworthy Dialogue

• Lee discussing Adama's orders with Dualla:

Dualla: Hoshi's working on updating our map coordinates for the search for Earth. Civilian captains want to meet with you. They have questions, problems... [He is silent.] Talk to me, Lee.

Lee: I'm having trouble... accepting this.

Dualla: I know. But we have to push forward. Keep the Fleet together. Find Earth.

Lee: Right. That's our duty.

Dualla: There's still a chance they'll come back. Your father has pulled off more than a few miracles in his day.

Lee: I know that. And I haven't given up hope.

Dualla: Yes, you have. I saw the look on your face when you came back from Galactica. Like you were never gonna see him again.

Lee: Am I that easy to read?

Dualla: Just to me.

Lee: He's taking on too much for one half-strength Battlestar to handle. And that's not opinion. That's military fact. He's not coming back from this. None of them are.

Dualla: All we can do is make plans for the future. We have to survive. We have to find Earth. If we don't, they'll be no one to remember a man named William Adama. Or a Battlestar named Galactica. That is our charge to keep.

Lee: To keep humanity going. No matter what the cost. No matter—No matter who we leave behind.

Dualla: You can do this. You can get us there. You are Commander of this Fleet, and you will guide us to safety. And you will do it no matter the cost. Because you're an Adama.

Lee: Did I ever tell you how proud I am to serve with you?

Dualla: Not in so many words, no.

Lee: Well, I am proud to serve with you, Lieutenant. And to call you my wife. [They kiss.] Now let's talk about... map coordinates, meeting with ships' captains.

• Discussing the failure of the occupation:

Number Three: What would you have us do, Gaius?

Gaius Baltar: Leave. Pack up your centurions, and go. Please. Go.

Number Three: And then what? What would you do if we really just left you here? You'd live out your lives in peace and never trouble yourselves with thoughts of us again? Or would you raise your children with stories of the Cylon, the mechanical slaves who once did your bidding, only to turn against you? Killers who committed genocide against your race, the occupiers of this city until we just ran away? Would you tell them to tell the story to their children, and to their childrens' children, and nurse a dream of vengeance down through the years so that one day they could just go out into the stars and hunt the Cylon once more?

Gaius Baltar: Blood for blood ...has to stop one day.

• Roslin wishes Zarek good luck:

Zarek: You're coming, aren't you?

Roslin (gestures to Colonial One): My ship's up there.

Zarek: You sure have a sense of the dramatic.

• Adama comes to accept Galactica's end:

Admiral Adama: Then that's it. It's been an honor.

• After hearing Pegasus has joined Galactica:

Admiral William Adama: Damn You, Lee ...Thank You, Lee.

• Pegasus is evacuated before its destruction:

Dualla: Alright, people, let's move. Out! Let's go. (To Lee): You too, Commander.

Commander Lee Adama: Yes, sir. (Begins to leave, then stops and looks around at Pegasus): Thank you.

• As the two Adamas reunite after the battle:

Admiral Adama: I guess you didn't understand my orders.

Commander Adama: I never could read your handwriting.

• Adama welcomes Col. Tigh back to Galactica:

Adama: You did it. You brought 'em home, Saul.

Tigh: Not all of them.

Guest Stars

• Michael Hogan as Saul Tigh
• Aaron Douglas as Galen Tyrol
• Tahmoh Penikett as Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon
• Nicki Clyne as Cally Tyrol
• Alessandro Juliani as Felix Gaeta
• Kandyse McClure as Anastasia Dualla
• Michael Trucco as Samuel Anders
• Richard Hatch as Tom Zarek
• Rick Worthy as Simon
• Callum Keith Rennie as Leoben Conoy
• Kate Vernon as Ellen Tigh
• Matthew Bennett as Number Five
• Rekha Sharma as Tory Foster
• Erica Cerra as Maya
• Luciana Carro as Lt. Louanne "Kat" Katraine
• Leah Cairns as Lt. Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson
• Madeline Parker as Kacey Brynn
• Dominic Zamprogna as James "Jammer" Lyman
• Eileen Pedde as Erin Mathias
• Ty Olsson as Captain Aaron Kelly
• Ryan Robbins as Charlie Connor
• Emilie Ullerup as Julia Brynn
• Winston Rekert as Priest

References

For direct navigation sans the tabbed navigational aid above, please select one of the following article links:

• Fall of the Twelve Colonies
• Battle of Cimtar
• Exodus!
• Exodus, Part I
• Exodus, Part II