Xerik system

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.

The Xerik system is a star system revolving around a yellow giant star, containing at least eleven planets and numerous moons. The system is home to the Chitain, the only sentient race native to the system, who inhabit Xerik-7. The system becomes a critical location in the Fleet's journey when they discover it holds one of the ancient colonies established by emigrants from Kobol.

Stellar Characteristics

The Xerik system revolves around a yellow giant star of remarkable brilliance. Even at the system's outermost boundary, beyond its furthest planet, the sun appears as a brilliant flare in the distance. The star produces such intense ambient light that when pilots have the sun above them in their trajectory, the increased illumination causes buckles on flight jackets to glint inside Viper cockpits.

The beauty of the distant sun is noted by pilots entering the system, though operational concerns often override aesthetic appreciation.

Planetary Bodies

The Xerik system contains at least eleven planets identified by Colonial scanners, most of which have at least one moon. Notable planets in the system include:

• Xerik-5 (also known as Poseidon): A humid, watery world with a near-tropical climate where Commander Cain establishes a human colony. The planet features algae-rich oceans covering nearly nine-tenths of its surface and a single continent cloaked in tangled tropical vegetation. Poseidon possesses saligium ore beds, hydrocarbons for energy, and tylium deposits in one of its outer moons. However, the planet's environment causes genetic breakdown in humans over generations.

• Xerik-7: Homeworld of the Chitain, the only sentient race native to the Xerik system. The planet features shifting sands and arid desert conditions with intense heat. Beneath the surface lies a massive underground facility constructed by the Cylons and Chitain, carved from living rock strata.

• Xerik-12: A planet with at least three moons, the third of which served as the location of a Sky embassy established to maintain diplomatic relations with the Chitain.

History

Ancient Colonization

According to records recovered by Starbuck from the Cylons, early emigrants from Kobol settled a number of colonies, including Earth, long before the establishment of the Twelve Colonies. One of these ancient colonies was established on Xerik-5. However, the fate of this original civilization remains a mystery, as does whether the Thirteenth Tribe visited the system and, if so, why they moved on.

Sky-Chitain Relations

The Sky established an embassy on the third moon of Xerik-12 to facilitate diplomatic relations with the Chitain. For a time, this relationship proved peaceful and mutually beneficial, with the Chitain sharing aspects of their technology and culture with the Sky.

This diplomatic arrangement ended catastrophically when the Chitain launched an unprovoked attack on the Sky embassy, completely obliterating the facility and killing approximately one hundred Sky stationed there. The betrayal transformed the Sky-Chitain relationship from peaceful coexistence to open warfare.

Cain's Colony

Approximately nineteen yahren after the siege at Gamoray, Commander Cain and the crew of the battlestar Pegasus established a colony on Xerik-5, which they christened Poseidon. The colony was built with the explicit purpose of using planetary resources to create a foundation from which to launch a counteroffensive against the Cylons.

Cain's settlement tamed portions of Poseidon's tropical vegetation and established a main settlement in the heart of the planet's single continent. The colonists moved heavy equipment from Pegasus to the surface after their foundry ship suffered damage, creating a planet-based forge closer to needed resources. They excavated massive saligium mines using open-pit extraction techniques, with mining equipment and refining smelters venting black smoke into the atmosphere.

Despite these developments, Cain acknowledged that Poseidon was not ideal—relatively low in heavy minerals with perpetually hot temperatures—but it provided the saligium for ship construction and native flora and fauna to feed the growing population. The colony's forces grew stronger each day, building new vessels and expanding their capabilities.

Unbeknownst to Cain initially, the Cylons had also established a presence in the Xerik system, constructing a hidden underground installation on Xerik-7 in collaboration with the Chitain.

Colonial Fleet Arrival

The Colonial Fleet, under the command of Apollo, set course for the Xerik system after acquiring an ancient holographic map of the Cyranus nebula. Using coordinates for Kobol that Adama had discovered many yahren earlier, they plotted locations of planets across the quadrant where emigrants from Kobol had traveled to establish colonies.

The Xerik system was identified as the nearest of these ancient colony worlds, making it the fleet's immediate destination. When bridge officer Omega reported that scanners had picked up their objective, Apollo gave the order: "Set a course for the Xerik system."

The fleet's approach to the system was met with great anticipation. Officers and crew gathered on the bridge of Galactica during light cycle to watch for the system, searching for an ancient branch of human evolution and possibly a clue to the path of the Thirteenth Tribe. Apollo noted that they were "searching for home."

Advance reconnaissance pilots Sheba and Starbuck traveled well ahead of the battlestar on recon patrol. They hoped to find a colony on Xerik-5 and establish communication with any human inhabitants, yearning for that first contact when separated branches of the human race would be reunited after millennia. The agreement was to travel as far as the orbit of the system's outermost planet before returning to Galactica.

It would take only centari before the outermost planet would be visible from the bridge, with scanners identifying at least eleven planets in the system, most with at least one moon.

Cylon-Chitain Alliance

The discovery of a Cylon base on Xerik-7 revealed a dangerous alliance between the Cylons and Chitain. The underground facility beneath Xerik-7's shifting sands was a massive engineering accomplishment, with a giant cavern nearly large enough to swallow Galactica whole, housing fuel processing and foundry equipment with huge saligium shutters for launch operations.

The Cylons had apparently been present in the region for at least six yahren, working with the Chitain and supplying them with technology and firepower. The strategic importance of the region to the Cylons remained unclear, though the construction of the launch facility suggested long-term plans beyond simply attacking Cain's colony on Poseidon.

The Cylon presence had been carefully concealed, with Cain reporting only a single Cylon scout encounter over six yahren—an anomaly that troubled Colonial officers, as Cylons typically move in groups and investigate their losses. The installation's existence suggested the Cylons had maintained a low profile while conducting other business in the area, primarily their collaboration with the Chitain.

Battle for the System

The convergence of the Colonial Fleet, Cain's colony, the Sky warriors, Chitain forces, and Cylon presence in the Xerik system led to a major conflict. The Sky intervened when the Chitain attacked the Colonial Fleet, with Valor leading more than one hundred and fifty Sky warriors in battle. The fight dramatically shifted the fortunes of the human forces, transforming what seemed a hopeless situation into a winnable engagement.

Apollo ordered the immediate evacuation of all Poseidon colonists after discovering that the planet's environment caused genetic breakdown in humans over generations, and that genetically mutated descendants of the planet's previous human population were being used as slaves by the Chitain. The order was given forcibly if necessary, overriding Cain's authority over the colony.

The battle resulted in significant losses, including Colonial vessels like the Hyapatia, one of Poseidon colony's warships. Multiple Chitain dreadnoughts and reinforcements entered the system during the engagement.

Strategic Significance

The Xerik system holds multiple layers of strategic importance:

• Historical significance: As one of the ancient colonies established by emigrants from Kobol, the system represents a link to humanity's past and potentially a clue to the Thirteenth Tribe's path.
• Resource value: The system contains valuable resources including saligium ore, tylium deposits, and hydrocarbons for energy production.
• Military position: The system's location and resources made it valuable for both human colony development and Cylon military installations.
• Diplomatic crossroads: The system serves as a meeting point for multiple species including humans, Chitain, Sky, and Cylons, making it a nexus of interspecies conflict and potential alliance.