Editing Pegasus (TOS-RH)

{{Separate continuity|universe=TOS|cont=Richard Hatch Novelizations}}{{disambiguation|Pegasus (TOS)|the canonical depiction of this vessel}}'''''Pegasus''''' is a [[Colonial battlestar (TOS-RH)|Colonial battlestar]] commanded by [[Cain (TOS-RH)|Commander Cain]].<ref name="ARM45">{{cite book/RH|1|45}}</ref> The only other surviving battlestar besides ''[[Galactica (TOS-RH)|Galactica]]'' after the destruction of the [[Twelve Colonies of Man (TOS-RH)|Twelve Colonies]], ''Pegasus'' operates independently for nearly twenty yahren before reuniting with the [[Colonial Fleet (TOS-RH)|Colonial Fleet]] at [[Poseidon (TOS-RH)|Poseidon]].<ref name="WH103">{{cite book/RH|2|103}}</ref> The battlestar is ultimately destroyed in a heroic ramming attack against a [[Cylons (TOS-RH)|Cylon]] basestar.<ref name="RES233">{{cite book/RH|3|233}}</ref>

==Design and Characteristics==

''Pegasus'' is a war machine, distinctly different in culture and function from ''[[Galactica (TOS-RH)|Galactica]]'', which serves as the heart of a microcosmic civilization.<ref name="WH152">{{cite book/RH|2|152}}</ref> ''Pegasus'' does not welcome civilian visitors or non-military personnel, likely lacking even TransVid availability aboard.<ref name="WH152" /> The ship maintains strict military discipline, with every buckle undone or tarnished and no decorations outside of symbols representing the ship itself or Poseidon.<ref name="WH152" />

''Pegasus'' possesses a readily distinguishable energy signature typical of battlestars, which carries specific meaning to refugees from the Twelve Colonies and can be detected when not occluded by space shrapnel.<ref name="WH103" />

==Service History==

===Siege at Gamoray===

''Pegasus'' participates in the siege at Gamoray approximately twenty yahren before reuniting with the Colonial Fleet, fighting alongside ''[[Galactica (TOS-RH)|Galactica]]'' against multiple [[Cylons (TOS-RH)|Cylon]] base stars.<ref name="WH102">{{cite book/RH|2|102}}</ref> Under [[Cain (TOS-RH)|Cain]]'s tactical command, the two battlestars destroy two base stars, though a third bearing [[Baltar (TOS-RH)|Baltar]] escapes.<ref name="WH102" />

During the battle, Cain orders his injured daughter [[Sheba (TOS-RH)|Sheba]] transferred to ''Galactica'' for medical treatment, unknowingly separating them for nearly two decades.<ref name="ARM45" /> The explosions from the destroyed base stars create a massive sea of shrapnel that blinds both battlestars' monitoring systems for many centons.<ref name="WH103" /> This debris field causes both battlestars to lose track of each other, with each commander believing the other's ship has been destroyed.<ref name="WH103" />

''Pegasus'' sustains damage from both direct hits and associated debris during the campaign, bearing scars from this battle for the remainder of its service.<ref name="WH103" /> Over the following yahren, ''Pegasus'' is repeatedly reported destroyed at least half a dozen times, though it always survives.<ref name="ARM45" />

===Independent Operations===

One yahren after Gamoray, ''Pegasus'' remains within the Cylon perimeter, conducting guerrilla warfare with limited options.<ref name="WH103" /> Restricted to strike-and-run tactics, the battlestar harries Cylon forces then flees to fight again.<ref name="WH103" /> After destroying a Cylon supply base while evading reprisal, ''Pegasus'' receives multiple distress signals from refugee ships that screened the battlestar's distinctive engine signature.<ref name="WH103" />

Cain responds to these distress calls, discovering that many colonists survived the Cylon destruction whom ''Galactica'' arrived too late to rescue.<ref name="WH103" /> ''Pegasus'' gathers these refugees and eventually leads them to safety at [[Poseidon (TOS-RH)|Poseidon]].<ref name="WH103" />

===Poseidon Era===

Approximately nineteen yahren after Gamoray, ''Pegasus'' escorts the refugees to Poseidon in the [[Xerik system (TOS-RH)|Xerik system]], where Cain establishes a colony.<ref name="WH102" /> The battlestar's foundry ship suffers what Cain describes as a meteor strike, prompting the transfer of heavy equipment to the planet's surface to establish industrial operations.<ref name="WH101">{{cite book/RH|2|101}}</ref>

''Pegasus'' maintains its role as the flagship of Cain's growing fleet, which expands to include two newly-constructed battlestars built from Poseidon's native materials to Colonial standards, plus a full complement of lesser warships.<ref name="WH111">{{cite book/RH|2|111}}</ref> The construction work utilizes specifications kept aboard ''Pegasus''.<ref name="WH111" />

When the Colonial Fleet arrives at Poseidon, [[Apollo (TOS-RH)|Apollo]], [[Athena (TOS-RH)|Athena]], [[Starbuck (TOS-RH)|Starbuck]], and [[Tigh (TOS-RH)|President Tigh]] visit ''Pegasus'' to meet with Cain.<ref name="WH60">{{cite book/RH|2|60}}</ref> The battlestar serves as Cain's base of operations while he maintains dual authority as both military commander and president of Poseidon.<ref name="WH248">{{cite book/RH|2|248}}</ref>

==Final Battle==

During the major engagement in the Xerik system against combined [[Cylons (TOS-RH)|Cylon]] and [[Chitain (TOS-RH)|Chitain]] forces, ''Pegasus'' sustains overwhelming damage while protecting the fleet.<ref name="RES225">{{cite book/RH|3|225}}</ref> [[Athena (TOS-RH)|Athena]], commanding ''[[Daedelus (TOS-RH)|Daedelus]]'', moves into position to defend the injured battlestar, with ''Daedelus'' blasting at enemy fighters before they can reach ''Pegasus''.<ref name="RES225" /> However, there are too many attackers for one battlestar to contain, and ''Pegasus'' continues taking hit after hit.<ref name="RES225" />

''Pegasus'' valiantly continues firing at Cylon and Chitain fighters that slip past the Vipers, defending the fleet even as it burns.<ref name="RES225" /> Athena orders a shuttle prepared to evacuate ''Pegasus'' if the attack slows, intending to drag Cain back herself if necessary.<ref name="RES225" /> When Cain communicates with Athena, his appearance is weary and haggard, with blood running from a forehead wound and the corner of his mouth, looking old and mortal against a backdrop of leaping fires and scattered bodies.<ref name="RES225" />

Gouts of fire leap across the bridge as hull integrity fails.<ref name="RES226">{{cite book/RH|3|226}}</ref> The flames spread, consuming the ship, as ''Pegasus'' breaks apart with hull plates popping rivets and flying off like projectiles.<ref name="RES233" /> Parts of the superstructure cry in a voice of tortured steel and rip away, tumbling back to the planet's surface and kicking up great spumes of dust where they strike.<ref name="RES233" />

===The Final Ram===

Rather than allow his ship to be destroyed helplessly, Cain diverts all power to the propulsion system, leaving only the illumination from flames on the darkened bridge.<ref name="RES233" /> Gripping the back of his command chair to remain upright, Cain guides the burning battlestar—with long tongues of flame licking the sky behind it—at full speed directly toward [[Lucifer (TOS-RH)|Lucifer]]'s Cylon basestar.<ref name="RES232">{{cite book/RH|3|232}}</ref><ref name="RES233" />

[[Sheba (TOS-RH)|Sheba]] breaks formation and pushes her Viper flat-out to reach ''Pegasus'', but Cain refuses to open the landing bay apertures, preventing her from joining him in death.<ref name="RES232" /> His final words to her—"Sheba...Sheba, I—"—are lost in a hiss of static.<ref name="RES232" />

''Pegasus''<nowiki>'</nowiki> prow pierces the basestar's heart, slamming through the hull with explosions ripping through the mothership like chain lightning.<ref name="RES233" /> The battlestar drives forward like an arrow fired from a giant's bow, burying itself deep within the target.<ref name="RES233" /> The fiery corpse breaches the tylium fuel cells of the basestar, and both ships explode in a blinding flash.<ref name="RES233" />

The terrific shockwave slaps and buffets the Vipers, forcing pilots to grip the navi-hilt with both hands and struggle to remain airborne.<ref name="RES233" /> ''[[Galactica (TOS-RH)|Galactica]]'' and ''[[Daedelus (TOS-RH)|Daedelus]]'' also suffer the concussive impact, yawing and pitching, threatening to spin out of control as bridge crews fight to stabilize their courses.<ref name="RES233" />

==Legacy and Aftermath==

After the battle, the combined forces of ''Galactica'', ''Daedelus'', and ''Pegasus'' have lost more than half their Warriors and starfighters, reduced to one hundred and seven Vipers total.<ref name="WH271">{{cite book/RH|2|271}}</ref> However, the Colonial Fleet gains four warships from Cain's forces to partially offset their losses.<ref name="WH271" />

The destruction of ''Pegasus'' is felt profoundly throughout the fleet, contributing to a somber mood among the people who have met an enemy perhaps even more deadly than the Cylons.<ref name="WH271" /> [[Apollo (TOS-RH)|Apollo]] reflects that the victory "didn't feel much like victory," as the human race grows increasingly tired of fighting and running.<ref name="WH271" />

===Discovery in the Ur Cloud===

Later, when [[Troy (TOS-RH)|Troy]] and [[Dalton (TOS-RH)|Dalton]] explore wreckage pulled into the [[Ur cloud (TOS-RH)|Ur cloud]], they discover remnants of ''Pegasus''.<ref name="REB205">{{cite book/RH|4|205}}</ref> [[Valor (TOS-RH)|Valor]] of [[the Sky (TOS-RH)|the Sky]] guides them to the engine section and part of one of the bays—massive pieces of white, shining metal, marred and twisted and torn, bearing the telltale markings of a Colonial battlestar.<ref name="REB205" />

Entering through the partially intact landing bay, Troy and Dalton find the wreckage still contains fuel cells and crates of food pills, providing desperately needed supplies for ''Galactica''.<ref name="REB207">{{cite book/RH|4|207}}</ref> However, the expedition becomes an adventure that turns to grief and sadness as they encounter the real face of war.<ref name="REB207" />

Bodies blasted beyond recognition float in the null gravity, some with eyes closed, others with eyes open and frozen, mouths wide in final screams.<ref name="REB207" /><ref name="REB208">{{cite book/RH|4|208}}</ref> The pilot's lounge presents a scene beyond words, described by Dalton as "like Hades...worse than she'd ever imagined."<ref name="REB208" /> Many of the dead warriors are friends Troy and Dalton recognize, making the horror personal.<ref name="REB208" />

Among the bodies, they find [[Cain (TOS-RH)|Cain]] himself, his cloak caught on a jagged shard of metal, anchored to the torn and twisted bulkhead where he has drifted since the ship was pulled into the Ur cloud.<ref name="REB208" /> His gold medallion floats above his neck, his usually neat white hair waving about his sharp-featured face.<ref name="REB208" /> Dalton touches the still face of the great commander with deep respect, mourning Sheba's father and a legendary warrior.<ref name="REB208" />

==Cultural Impact==

''Pegasus'' represents a different philosophy from ''Galactica''—where ''Galactica'' becomes home to a traveling civilization, ''Pegasus'' remains purely a military vessel focused on warfare against the Cylons.<ref name="WH152" /> This distinction reflects the different command styles of Cain and Adama, with Cain embracing military conflict while Adama viewed it as a last resort.<ref name="WH103" />

The battlestar's final sacrifice—ramming a Cylon basestar to save the fleet—becomes a testament to both Cain's courage and his lifelong tendency toward self-sacrifice in pursuit of military objectives.<ref name="RES233" /> The destruction marks the end of an era and the loss of a legendary warship that had survived countless battles against impossible odds.<ref name="ARM45" />

==References==
<references />

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[[Category:Battlestars]]
[[Category:Colonial Military]]
[[Category:Richard Hatch Novelizations]]
[[Category:Destroyed Vessels]]
[[Category:Military Vessels]]