Surrender the Galactica!

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Surrender the Galactica! A book of the Berkley Books line
Book No.	14
Author(s)	Robert Thurston
Adaptation of
No. of Pages	{{{pages}}}
Published	January 1988
ISBN	0441051049
Chronology
Previous		Next
Apollo's War	Surrender the Galactica!	None
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Surrender the Galactica! is the fourteenth and final book in the Berkley Books series of Battlestar Galactica novelizations. The novel centers on a multi-pronged Cylon infiltration mission led by Spectre, featuring the return of Lucifer and the physical transformation of Baltar to enable their covert entry aboard Galactica. The story weaves together themes of family relationships, theatrical performance, and espionage while introducing the SuperViper prototype and exploring the ship's lower levels known as the Devil's Pit.

Plot

Cylon Preparations

The Imperious Leader removes Baltar from command and places Spectre in charge of the base star. Under pressure to succeed where previous commanders have failed, Spectre devises an infiltration plan using Baltar and Lucifer as covert agents. Baltar volunteers for the dangerous mission, recognizing his knowledge of human behavior and battlestar operations as advantages, despite the risk of being recognized as a traitor.

Lucifer is restored to operation with his memory erased and reprogrammed by Spectre to serve as an assassin, his previous humanitarian tendencies replaced with hostility toward humans. The painful surgical process transforms Baltar's "round, slightly plump face with its piglike eyes" into "a narrower face dominated by a long straight nose and heavy eyebrows," making him nearly unrecognizable. Lucifer is disguised as a Borellian Noman named "Trogla," complete with thick matted hair and intimidating physical presence.

Family Crisis and Testing

Boxey runs away from home because Apollo continues departing on dangerous missions, expressing his fear that "sometime maybe he won't come back." He encounters an old man in the ship's depths who leads him to the Devil's Pit, a "strange and spooky place, inhabited by outcasts and misfits" who have abandoned ship society. Despite extensive search efforts by Apollo and other crews using systematic deck-by-deck sweeps, Boxey remains missing.

To distract himself from his personal troubles, Apollo joins Starbuck in testing the new SuperViper prototype. The test flight becomes "terrifying" when the experimental ship "seemed to just fit the tube" during launch and nearly crashes when the systems go out of control, demonstrating the risks of untested technology.

Theatrical Infiltration

The disguised Baltar ("Korriman") and Lucifer ("Trogla") infiltrate Dwybolt's traveling theater company by posing as fugitive actors from gambling debts aboard Rising Star. They successfully join the troupe after auditioning aboard the supply ship Broadside, with Baltar demonstrating "something of a ham" acting style and Lucifer showing unexpected theatrical talent.

Dwybolt, the company's leader, is one of Cassiopeia's former clients from her socialator days on Gemon, where she had attended all performances of The Reluctant Hero of the Space Service and showered him with "Gemonese mountain flowers, the socialator custom of honor for a great achievement." He continues to dream about her, creating jealousy in his current partner Shalheya, though he remains unaware that Cassiopeia is alive and aboard Galactica.

Revenge Through Performance

Hera, a Vailean cadet, remains frustrated by Starbuck's rejection of her romantic advances, as he prefers to be the one who initiates relationships. Determined to seek revenge, she collaborates with Cassiopeia and Athena to write a satirical play specifically designed to humiliate Starbuck during the upcoming theatrical performances.

Devil's Pit Conflicts

Boxey, the mysterious old man, and a girl named Peri become caught up in warfare occurring within the Devil's Pit. The children are taken prisoner for a time but eventually manage to join the theatrical troupe. The old man is rescued by Apollo and others, and when befriended by Hera, he agrees to assist in writing her revenge play. Cassiopeia easily convinces Dwybolt to include their play as part of his show. Dwybolt recognizes the old man as a great actor who disappeared long ago, but the old man insists he is merely an engineer and refuses to return to the stage.

Performances and Revelations

During the theatrical performance, Apollo spots Boxey and rushes onto the stage, leading to an emotional reunion that draws applause from the audience. Cassiopeia's satirical play features a womanizer character who shouts "Buck the star! Buck the star!" - an obvious reference to Starbuck, who angrily storms out of the theater followed by Hera.

Assassination Attempt

Lucifer leaves the performance and enters Commander Adama's cabin, attempting to strangle him to death. Starbuck and Hera stumble upon the attack and struggle to break Lucifer's grip. During the physical confrontation, Starbuck's blows restore Lucifer's original memory, causing him to remember his friendship with Starbuck and halt his attack.

Sabotage and Escape

Baltar plants a load of solenite explosives, "the volatile explosive substance," hidden in a secret compartment of his trunk aboard Galactica and attempts to escape via stolen shuttle. Colonel Tigh confronts him in the landing bay, having recognized Baltar's voice despite his altered appearance: "It's Baltar, isn't it? All dolled up and changed, but Baltar." When the explosives detonate, causing massive damage to the ship's systems, Baltar uses the confusion to knock out Tigh and escape in a stolen monoshuttle before the Cylon attack begins.

Final Battle

The explosion damages Galactica's launch systems, preventing normal Viper launches as "Four Cylon ships were already swooping in toward the SuperViper" during the massive Cylon assault. Spectre demands Adama's surrender over communications, declaring "You must place yourself, your ship, and your fleet under my authority," but the commander responds defiantly with "Felgercarb!" Starbuck and Apollo deploy the SuperViper prototype despite its experimental status, using its advanced maneuverability to "turn the tide against the Cylon forces" and achieve an unexpected victory.

Resolution

Following the battle's conclusion, Spectre remains "baffled by his defeat" despite the infiltration mission's apparent success, questioning "How had the humans been able to come back from such great odds?" Baltar returns to the Cylon base star and confronts Spectre with characteristic arrogance, claiming credit for completing his sabotage mission while criticizing Spectre's strategic failures: "My bomb gave you and your troops all the time you should have needed. If you failed to take proper advantage, it was not my doing."

Aboard Galactica, personal relationships are reconciled alongside the military victory. Starbuck and Hera achieve mutual understanding and remain friends, while Boxey chooses to stay with Apollo, their family bond strengthened by their ordeal. Lucifer, his original personality restored, decides to remain with the Colonials. In a moment of characteristic humor, Starbuck persuades the former Cylon to become his gambling partner.

Analysis

Surrender the Galactica! serves as both an action-adventure story and an exploration of family dynamics within the Colonial Fleet. The novel's central theme of fathers and children is embodied in the Apollo-Boxey relationship, where Boxey's rebellion stems from feeling abandoned by his father's dangerous profession. This personal crisis parallels the larger threat facing the Fleet, as both require reconciliation and understanding to achieve resolution.

The theatrical elements provide both plot device and thematic framework, allowing the story to explore themes of performance, identity, and deception. The contrast between Dwybolt's legitimate theater company and the Cylons' deadly masquerade highlights the thin line between entertainment and survival in the Fleet's precarious existence.

Lucifer's character arc represents one of the novel's most complex elements, as his memory erasure and restoration serve as a metaphor for the possibility of redemption and the power of friendship to overcome programming and conditioning.

Notes

• The novel establishes that the Cylon fleet is simultaneously conquering other areas of the galaxy while pursuing the Colonial Fleet, indicating the scope of Cylon expansion.

• Detailed background information is provided about socialator culture on Gemon, revealing that socialators "were trained to serve others, to be an adjunct to society but not quite a part of it" and were sold into the profession by their parents. They were prohibited from having children and required to follow strict regimens, though the life was described as "comfortable and fulfilling" if not free.

• Baltar's theatrical background is revealed, showing that he "had been an occasional theatre performer during his youth" and had "even done a skit with Adama" during their academy days. This establishes a previously unknown connection between the two characters and suggests alternative career paths that might have prevented Baltar's eventual betrayal.

• This is the final book in the Berkley novelization series, concluding fourteen volumes of expanded Battlestar Galactica storytelling.

• The SuperViper prototype introduced in this novel represents advanced Colonial technology, though its experimental nature makes it unreliable during testing phases.