Editing Freyja

{{Separate continuity|universe=TOS|cont=Richard Hatch Novelizations}}

Ensign '''Freyja''' is a [[Colonial Warrior]] and [[Viper (TOS)|Viper]] pilot who serves aboard ''[[Galactica (TOS-RH)|Galactica]]''.

==Biography==

===Academy Training===

Freyja attends the [[Colonial Academy]] aboard the [[Academia (TOS-RH)|''Academia'']] as a first-year cadet. Approximately sixteen [[yahren]] old, she is described as a pretty, dark-skinned [[Leonids (TOS)|Leonid]] who is very popular, particularly among the other female cadets.<ref name="WAR30">{{cite book/RH|2|30}}</ref> A natural leader, Freyja demonstrates exceptional piloting abilities that place her scores higher than any other current cadet at the Academy.<ref name="WAR176">{{cite book/RH|2|176}}</ref>

The Academy instructors—including Majors [[Boomer (TOS-RH)|Boomer]] and [[Sheba (TOS-RH)|Sheba]]—identify Freyja as someone destined to become a Cadet Squad Commander (CSC) in the following session, despite her status as a first-year student.<ref name="WAR176" />

Following a pilot's final exam administered by Major Boomer, Freyja approaches him to inquire about the [[Xerik system]] and whether the Fleet will find—and potentially settle on—a human colony there if one exists.<ref name="WAR29">{{cite book/RH|2|29}}</ref><ref name="WAR30" />

===Early Promotion===

When a critical shortage of pilots develops during the [[Chitain]] crisis, [[Jolly (TOS-RH)|Lieutenant Jolly]] and [[Hecate (TOS-RH)|Captain Hecate]] travel to ''Academia'' to select cadets for temporary promotion to active duty. Jolly announces that three cadets will be promoted: second-year Cadet Squad Commanders [[Cato (TOS-RH)|Cato]] and [[Marcellus (TOS-RH)|Marcellus]], and "the third pilot will be Cadet Freyja."<ref name="WAR176" />

The announcement causes an uproar among the cadets, as Freyja is only a first-year student. Jolly watches as Freyja initially smiles at the news, but then her eyes drop and she seems to cringe at the anger and envy of those around her. Before Jolly can intervene, Captain Hecate silences the protests.<ref name="WAR176" />

Hecate defends the selection, acknowledging that "Cadet Freyja isn't the best pilot who has ever come through Academy, but her scores are higher than any other current cadet." She reveals that Majors Sheba and Boomer had already determined Freyja would be a CSC the following term, and demands that all Warriors give her the respect she deserves as an Ensign.<ref name="WAR176" />

Freyja gathers her belongings and accompanies Jolly and Hecate from ''Academia'' to ''Galactica'' for active duty, along with Cato and Marcellus.<ref name="WAR176" />

===Battle of Poseidon===

====Combat Performance====

During the defense of [[Poseidon (TOS-RH)|Poseidon]] against the Chitain assault, Freyja is assigned to [[Red Squadron (TOS-RH)|Red Squadron]] under Captain Hecate's command.<ref name="WAR220">{{cite book/RH|2|220}}</ref> Despite her youth and inexperience, she performs admirably in combat, destroying multiple enemy vessels.

Freyja demonstrates exceptional tactical awareness during the battle. After destroying two Chitain ships, she contacts Captain Hecate with strategic concerns, noting that the Chitain are "running unnecessary risks. Coming too close before striking, coming within range without firing. It's like they're taking our measure."<ref name="WAR220" /> Her perceptive assessment, delivered in "surprisingly mature tones," immediately dispels Hecate's tentative feelings of confidence about the battle's progress.<ref name="WAR220" />

Though Hecate tells Freyja to keep her eye on the scanners and let the Commanders worry about enemy tactics, she privately agrees with the young pilot's observation. The Chitain are indeed fighting hard but not fighting smart, apparently studying Colonial tactics—Freyja's words give form to Hecate's own uneasy feelings about the engagement.<ref name="WAR220" />

====Loss of Companions====

Freyja's two fellow cadets do not survive the battle. During [[Apollo (TOS-RH)|Commander Apollo]]'s desperate assault on the [[Chitain dreadnought]], flying alongside Cato and Marcellus, she witnesses both of their deaths. When a long stinger tendril shatters Cato's Viper into pieces of debris, Freyja screams his name over the commlink.<ref name="WAR262">{{cite book/RH|2|262}}</ref> An instant later, another Chitain blast destroys Marcellus' Viper as well, leaving Freyja as the sole survivor of the three newly promoted cadets.<ref name="WAR262" />

Apollo recognizes Freyja's voice calling out Cato's name and realizes that of the three students—"not more than children"—only Freyja yet lives. He becomes determined that her life will not join the others, feeling the burden of responsibility for the young Warriors who have perished under his command.<ref name="WAR263">{{cite book/RH|2|263}}</ref>

==Character==

Freyja displays maturity beyond her years, both in her piloting abilities and her tactical awareness. Her perceptive analysis of Chitain combat tactics during the Battle of Poseidon demonstrates strategic thinking uncommon in a pilot with no previous combat experience.<ref name="WAR220" /> Despite facing the anger and envy of her fellow cadets upon her early promotion, she handles the situation with grace, though she visibly struggles with the negative reaction.<ref name="WAR176" />

As a natural leader popular among her peers, particularly female cadets, Freyja represents the Academy's best hope for the next generation of Colonial Warriors.<ref name="WAR30" /> Her survival of the Battle of Poseidon—when both her fellow promoted cadets perish—speaks to both her skill and her fortune.

==Notes==

* Freyja is notably younger than [[Dalton (TOS-RH)|Dalton]], who had been the youngest pilot to graduate Academy,<ref name="ARM154">{{cite book/RH|1|154}}</ref> though Freyja's exact age of approximately sixteen yahren makes her "not nearly so young" as Dalton had been.<ref name="WAR30" />
* The character's name likely references [[w:Freyja|Freyja]], the Norse goddess associated with love, beauty, and war, continuing the ''[[Original Series]]''' tradition of utilizing names from various mythologies.

==References==

<references />

{{Characters (TOS-RH)}}

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[[Category:Characters]]
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