Pit

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The Devil's PitUrsus

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

The Devil's Pit is an area located in the lower levels of the battlestar Galactica, inhabited by outcasts, misfits, and those who have abandoned mainstream fleet society. The area exists as a semi-autonomous zone within the ship, operating largely outside the normal command structure and social order of Galactica.

Location and Access

The Devil's Pit is located deep within Galactica's lower decks, far below the normal inhabited areas of the ship. Commander Adama acknowledges that he has never descended as low as this area, despite having explored much of the ship during his childhood. He describes the Devil's Pit as a place "known by legend," suggesting its reputation is widespread throughout the ship even among those who have never visited it.

Access to the Devil's Pit is provided by dedicated elevator banks whose rust-spotted doors can barely open due to the rarity of visitors. The elevators themselves make extra noise and unnerving creaks, as if complaining at being forced to travel to the area. The doors make their own protests as they open slowly, forcing visitors to squeeze through thin openings. Many of the ship's tunnels and transport passages originate at the Devil's Pit level, making the area a starting point for those seeking to move through Galactica undetected.

Physical Environment

The Devil's Pit is characterized by its dark, abandoned, and deteriorating infrastructure. Numerous ominous dark corridors lead away from the elevator banks in multiple directions, creating an unsettling atmosphere for visitors. Long series of pipes serve as ceilings throughout much of the area, with walkways suspended overhead that sway lazily from side to side, creating a sense of instability and danger.

The area contains numerous strange doors, some standing partly open, behind which inhabitants watch passing visitors. Old packing crates and discarded equipment serve as makeshift furniture. The passageways emit stifling odors of dust and grease mixed with overly pungent scents. The air is thick and unpleasant with a dozen different throat-choking smells. The area is characterized by extreme darkness, with only occasional dimly lit areas providing minimal visibility.

The Devil's Pit is home to large rat populations that are picked up in docking areas and breed prolifically. These vermin are rarely seen in the clean parts of the ship but are common in the lower levels. Galactica maintains an exterminator crew to control the rat population, though many of these exterminators eventually become residents of the Devil's Pit themselves.

Transport Passages

The Devil's Pit contains extensive networks of transport passages that were once used to move supplies throughout Galactica. These passages travel upward through the ship, leveling off for distances before rising in wide, high steps. The passageways are dark and filled with hanging objects and strange sudden noises. These passages were historically used for manual transport operations, with workers carrying supplies using baskets with pulleys in a primitive but efficient system. When the lift system was revamped, all small-job transport was transferred to the new system, leaving the passages abandoned. The passageways have become so dusty that visitors must frequently clap their hands clean.

Population and Society

Adama describes the Devil's Pit as "a strange and spooky place, inhabited by outcasts and misfits, by people who had abandoned the society of the ship and the fleet, rebelling against its rules or giving up on life itself." The area serves as home to a great deal of the outsiders, misfits, and general sleaze of the fleet. Some inhabitants are people who simply need to get away or give up their dreary routines, while others are convicted criminals, troublemakers, or just plain bad-tempered individuals. Former Galactica crewmen, including engineers and warriors who have abandoned their posts, also find refuge in the Pit.

Despite its reputation as a lawless area, the Devil's Pit has developed its own social dynamics. Inhabitants tend to recognize individual rebellions, no matter how small, and prefer to leave each other alone. Many residents are loners who choose not to travel together. However, there is always some danger present, as the area attracts those who cannot function peacefully in mainstream society.

The Warrior Elite

One of the dominant factions in the Devil's Pit is known as the Warrior Elite, described as "a fancy name for a decidedly unfancy and scruffy group." This faction consists primarily of former Galactica crewmen who believe their past service—whether helping power the great ship or fighting against the Cylons—makes them superior to other Devil's Pit inhabitants. Engineers hold special status within the group because they understand the technical systems throughout the Devil's Pit. One resident refers to them as "the devil's companions."

The Warrior Elite maintains a military-style structure with scouting parties that patrol the Devil's Pit's corridors. These patrols consist of small groups wearing frayed and thready versions of Galactica crew uniforms and carrying makeshift weapons such as pieces of pipe and broom handles. The scouts move cautiously through the area, peering from side to side as if searching for something or someone.

Notable Denizens

Among the Devil's Pit's inhabitants are several individuals who play significant roles in the area's social dynamics. One longtime resident is an old man who claims to be "as old as the Galactica" itself. He maintains a residence deep within the Pit and serves as a guide and protector to those who become lost in the area. This resident is described as dressed in dark clothes with a bearded face covered in dirt, speaking in sepulchral tones. Despite his ominous appearance, he demonstrates concern for those who wander into the Pit, particularly children. He previously assisted both Apollo and Starbuck during their earlier encounter in the area and later agrees to leave the Devil's Pit temporarily to help search for Boxey, noting that the area has "turned bad down here ever since this little war started."

Another notable inhabitant is Peri, a child who has made the Devil's Pit her home. She is described as having dark blond hair streaked with dirt and grease, with a round face and thick, squat build. Peri walks with a swagger and possesses knowledge of the ship's secret hideouts superior to almost anyone else aboard Galactica. She speaks in a deliberately rude manner and uses terms like "buster" and "fatso" as forms of address, though these appear to be affectionate rather than genuinely insulting. Despite her young age, she demonstrates remarkable survival skills and familiarity with the Devil's Pit's complex geography.

Internal Conflicts

The Devil's Pit has experienced a period of internal warfare between opposing factions. One resident explains that disputes occasionally arise between groups, resulting in what he calls "a kind of small war." However, this conflict is notably non-lethal in nature. The war isn't particularly violent, with combatants avoiding deadly force and using only planks and pipes rather than dangerous weapons. Most of the conflict consists of talking and the occasional push, with ambushes and confrontations that don't amount to much more than that.

The war has relatively few actual battles because many residents are unwilling to fight. They do not want the responsibility of another life in battle, whether a compatriot's or an enemy soldier's. The more militant individuals tend to occupy and amuse each other with their games while the majority of residents avoid the conflicts. The skirmishes that do occur are brief "donnybrooks" that don't last long before subsiding. Nevertheless, the ongoing conflict has affected life in the Devil's Pit, with one longtime resident noting that the area "turned bad down here ever since this little war started."

Notable Incidents

Both Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Starbuck have had dangerous encounters in the Devil's Pit. Starbuck's experience was particularly harrowing, as he nearly died there after being driven mad by a Cylon device planted aboard ship.

When Boxey went missing, Apollo, Athena, Starbuck, and other personnel conducted search operations in the Devil's Pit. Athena's research revealed that many of the ship's tunnels began at that level, making it a logical place to search for someone trying to hide or escape. Upon arrival at the elevator banks and seeing the ominous dark corridors, Athena described it as "such a spooky place," expressing concern about the dangers a child would face there.

Relationship with Fleet Authority

The Devil's Pit exists in a complex relationship with Galactica's command structure. While technically part of the battlestar, the area operates largely outside normal military authority and social structures. The rarity of elevator use and rust-spotted doors suggest that fleet authorities rarely visit or monitor the area. Despite knowledge of criminal elements in the Pit, fleet command appears to tolerate its existence rather than attempting to eliminate it. The area thus serves as a safety valve for those who cannot or will not conform to military discipline and fleet society norms. Some Devil's Pit residents can be recruited back into fleet service, as demonstrated when search parties successfully bring inhabitants to support personnel positions.

The Devil's Pit's reputation as a "dreaded place" serves as both legend and warning throughout Galactica, functioning as a cautionary tale for those who might consider abandoning their duties or rebelling against fleet authority. Its existence demonstrates that even the command ship of the Fleet harbors an underworld, representing the darker aspects of life aboard Galactica and showing that the vessel is not merely a military installation but a complex society with multiple social strata.

References

This article has a separate continuity. This article is in the Richard Hatch continuation 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.

Ursus is a ship of ill-repute throughout the fugitive Fleet, known to harbor the more seedier denizens of the Fleet and with a variety of rumors surrounding the goings on aboard the ship. These beliefs varied from Ursus being a low-class gambling barge ("a poor man's Rising Star") to a den of depravity, resulting in various crackdowns by Commander Adama numerous times a yahren.

Layout

Ursus' overall layout features a bridge with a singular ascensior, allowing transit to and from "The Pit," the lower level chamber of the ship that ran around the circumference of the ship, where its denizens reside. The bridge is described as "cramped and dingy," with outmoded technologies and replete with blasters and population-control gear.

People may enter or depart the vessel via the use of a shuttle bay in the lower level, operated by a commercial intra-fleet service, leading them to and from the Pit directly. (RH: Armageddon)

The Pit

"The Pit" is the nickname for the lower level of Ursus, where the most unwanted denizens of the Fleet reside. Its social structure is reputed to be similar to pack animals, where one must fight to retain—and advance—their social standing. Assistance to these persons is not directly offered by Morgan or his personnel, unless it is specifically requested by a denizen.

In 7360, Dalton recalls a "crumbling urban area on Aries" upon looking at the decrepitude of the Pit's surroundings. The Pit is a wide open space, its walls believed to either be corroded or coated with byproducts resulting from massive chemical use, particularly with pits of various open fires burning.

A smaller area of the Pit was "far cleaner," and home to the Cult of the Serpent, whose side corridors and quarters were greater cared for, even decorated. (RH: Armageddon)

History

In 7360, the ship's captain is Morgan, a former Warrior who had previously trained Apollo and Starbuck. With his first officer, Portia, and his crew, Morgan believes that a show of fearless strength was important to keep these unwanted people in line, while also permitting these lowest elements to congregate aboard Ursus so that they can prey mostly on each other, thus isolating predators from the Fleet's larger population.

During an insurrection within the Fleet fostered by an ersatz Ambassador Puck, the Cult of the Serpent's leader, Tybalt, kills the only potential witness to the real Puck's demise, an agro-worker named Terence. This discovery is uncovered by Troy and Dalton, resulting in both their subsequent capture and Morgan's death via a publicly broadcast execution by Tybalt. A fierce battle by a Colonial Warrior detachment reveals many things during the decimation of Tybalt's cult, culminating in its leader's death by Athena's hand.

In the events following Apollo's ascension to commander of the Fleet, Quorum of Twelve's President Tigh pledges closer monitoring of the Pit, efforts to make it "clean and orderly," as well as better hygiene of its denizens through frequent visits from a medical team.

Notes

• "Ursus" is the scientific classification of the bear, from the Latin.

References

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