Poseidon (TOS-RH)

This article has a separate continuity. This article is in the Richard Hatch Novelizations separate continuity, which is related to the Original Series. Be sure that your contributions to this article reflect the characters and events specific to this continuity only.

Poseidon, also known as Xerik-5, is a humid, watery world in the Xerik system where Commander Cain establishes a human colony approximately nineteen yahren after the siege at Gamoray. Despite appearing as a pristine, glistening gem from orbit, the planet harbors a deadly secret: some aspect of its environment causes genetic breakdown in humans over multiple generations.

Geography and Environment

Poseidon orbits close enough to its sun to maintain perpetually hot temperatures. The planet features a near-tropical climate with hot, humid air that causes visitors to become bathed in sweat within moments of leaving climate-controlled environments.

Algae-rich oceans cover nearly nine-tenths of the planet's surface, verdant and teeming with life. The remaining landmass consists of a single continent cloaked in tangled tropical vegetation and jungle growth. Most of this continent is covered with tropical jungle that must be beaten back to establish settlements. The planet also hosts local predators that pose challenges to colonization efforts.

Despite the harsh conditions, Poseidon possesses native flora and fauna capable of feeding a human population.

Natural Resources

Poseidon contains valuable natural resources that make it attractive for colonization:

• Saligium Ore: The planet's crust contains sufficient saligium deposits to support extensive mining operations and ship construction. Large saligium ore beds have been exposed through open-pit mining techniques.
• Hydrocarbons: Available hydrocarbon reserves provide cheap, if not clean, energy sources.
• Tylium: One of Poseidon's outer moons contains tylium deposits, ensuring no shortage of fuel for spacecraft.
• Low Gravity: The planet is relatively low in heavy minerals, resulting in lower gravity than many habitable worlds.

History

Ancient Colonization

According to records recovered by Starbuck from the Cylons, early emigrants from Kobol established a colony on Xerik-5 long before the founding of the Twelve Colonies. This ancient civilization constructed significant monuments, including a large obelisk that stabbed toward the sky.

The obelisk features extensive engravings depicting star maps, humans building huge monuments, symbols that appear to represent Ships of Light (the vessels of the Lords of Kobol), and most disturbingly, a massive heap of humanoid corpses with a Chitain warrior standing atop the mountain of death.

Ruins from this ancient civilization remain scattered across the planet, located a few hundred kilometrons north of Cain's main settlement. These ruins consist of exposed rock structures and the remains of the obelisk, badly overgrown with vines and jungle growth, with anything less durable than stone having weathered away long ago.

Extinction of Original Population

The original human population of Poseidon mysteriously died out long before Cain's arrival. The cause of their extinction was initially unclear, with Cain dismissing it as the indigenous population lacking the technology or spirit to defend itself against the planet's harsh environment and local predators.

However, the truth proved far more sinister. Some aspect of Poseidon's environment—possibly in the water or an unknown bacteria not detectable by Colonial sensors—caused long-term genetic damage to the colonists. This corruption may have taken many generations before its effects became visible, but by then it was too late, as the entire population had been affected. Eventually, no unmutated babies could be born, and the population died out.

The Chitain, recognizing what was happening, took some of the dying population as slaves, claiming to have "saved" them from the poisoned world. These enslaved humans were transported to the Chitain homeworld, where their descendants became genetically mutated humanoids serving the Chitain. One such descendant, an elderly slave named Aske, still spoke a truncated, guttural version of Kobollian learned from his grandmother, though he had never seen his ancestral homeworld.

Gar'Tokk, a Borellian Nomen, sensed the environmental corruption upon arrival at Poseidon, noting that "the Nomen understand the balance of nature better than…humans." His philosophy viewed the extinct population as having "fought the world on its own terms, and the world won," deeming them "unworthy."

Cain's Colony

Approximately nineteen yahren after the siege at Gamoray, Commander Cain and the crew of Pegasus established a colony on Poseidon. After their foundry ship suffered what Cain described as a meteor strike, they moved heavy equipment from Pegasus to the planet's surface, using it as the basis for industrial development.

Cain's settlement was established in the heart of Poseidon's single continent, requiring extensive efforts to tame and beat back the tropical jungle vegetation. The colony developed rapidly, with Cain explicitly stating that the purpose was to use planetary resources to create a foundation from which to launch a counteroffensive against the Cylons.

Industrial Development

The colonists created extensive mining and manufacturing operations:

• Saligium Mines: A yawning open pit mine was excavated using quick and brutal mineral extraction techniques rarely employed on more heavily settled worlds. The mine covered nearly as much territory as the rest of the main settlement combined and continued growing larger in both depth and breadth.
• Forge Operations: Moving the forges planetside positioned artisans closer to needed resources. The colonists fabricated all but the largest ship components on the surface, then lifted them into orbit for final assembly by shipwrights.
• Mining Equipment: Powerful mining equipment clawed and dug at the pit's walls, tearing free huge slabs of ore, crushing them into rubble, and transporting the debris to refining smelters.
• Environmental Impact: Towering chimneys from refining furnaces vented black smoke into the cloud-dappled sky, creating visible pollution.

The muggy air was filled with the throbbing roar of mining equipment, and the environmental cost of Cain's industrial development was significant, transforming what appeared from orbit as a pristine world into an exploited mining colony.

Fleet Development

The colony's forces grew stronger each day as new vessels were constructed using Poseidon's resources. The population expanded to a surprisingly large number, far exceeding what might have been expected from the crew of a single battlestar. The colony possessed its own warships, including vessels like Hyapatia, which was later lost in battle against Chitain forces.

Colonial Fleet Arrival

When the Colonial Fleet under Commander Apollo arrived at the Xerik system, they hoped to find an ancient colony and a potential home. Instead, they discovered Cain's established colony on Poseidon.

Cain offered Poseidon as a potential home for the entire Colonial Fleet, stating: "The planet which, if you so desire, you and your entire fleet may call your home." However, Apollo had significant reservations about Poseidon's suitability:

• The colony was too small and lacked sufficient population to provide adequate protection.
• It was not far enough away from Cylon territory to ensure safety.
• The mysterious fate of the original colonists raised disturbing questions.
• Apollo believed humanity needed a home where native humans were already powerful enough to stand against the Cylons.

Apollo's concerns proved well-founded when his team discovered genetically mutated descendants of the original Poseidon population enslaved on the Chitain homeworld. The revelation that Poseidon's environment caused genetic breakdown in humans over generations made the planet unsuitable for long-term colonization.

Evacuation

Upon learning of Poseidon's environmental dangers, Athena immediately ordered the evacuation of all Poseidon colonists, forcibly if necessary. Apollo supported this decision, issuing a direct order: "Evacuate Poseidon immediately. By force, if necessary."

Commander Cain initially resisted, thundering that he had complete authority over Poseidon and its colonists, and that Apollo's subordinates had no right to issue such commands. However, the evacuation proceeded despite Cain's objections, as the genetic threat to the colonists could not be ignored.

The discovery also explained the Chitain's strategy during their conflict with the Colonial forces—they did not want to destroy the humans but rather to enslave them, seeking new slaves to replace the genetically damaged descendants of the original Poseidon colonists.

Strategic Significance

During the conflict with the Chitain and Cylons, mapping computers divided local space into sectors with Poseidon as the reference point. This central position made the planet strategically important during the battle, though it also made the civilian colonists potential targets for Chitain and Cylon forces.

Notable Locations

• Main Settlement: Established in the heart of the single continent, housing the colony's population and administration.
• Saligium Mine: A massive open-pit mine covering territory nearly equal to the main settlement.
• Ancient Ruins: Located a few hundred kilometrons north of the main settlement, containing an obelisk and rock structures from the original Kobol colonists.
• Coastal Resources Station: A facility that extracted drinking water from the ocean, separated useful minerals from brine, collected tidal energy, and deployed robot probes to search for underwater tylium sources.