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William Adama

2006-04-18T15:32:24Z

Battlestar Galactica:

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:William Adama promo.jpg|200px]]
|age=
|colony= [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]
|birthname= William Adama
|callsign= Husker
|death=
|parents= [[Evelyn Adama]] (mother), [[Joseph Adama]] (father)
|siblings=
|children= [[Lee Adama]] (alive), [[Zak Adama]] (deceased)
|marital status= Divorced ([[Caroline Adama]]), remarried to [[Anne Adama]]
|role=Commanding Officer of the ''[[Battlestar Galactica (ship)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', Supreme Commander of the [[Colonial Fleet]]
|rank=Admiral
|cylon=
|actor=[[Edward James Olmos]]
|name=
}}

Admiral '''William Adama''' is the commanding officer of the ''[[Battlestar Galactica (ship)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', and the highest ranking officer left in the [[Colonial Fleet]].

== Biographical Notes ==

=== Background ===

William Adama was born on Caprica to [[Evelyn Adama|Evelyn]] and [[Joseph Adama]]. His mother was an accountant and his father, an attorney specializing in civil liberties ([[Litmus]]). They divorced while he was in his teens.

At the outbreak of the first [[Cylon War]], Adama was serving in the [[Colonial Fleet]] as a [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] pilot. He allegedly gained the call sign of "Husker" on account of his baritone "gravelled" voice. He proved to be a gifted pilot, shooting down his first [[Cylon]] on his very first mission. He racked-up his 1,000th deck landing while serving aboard the Battlestar ''[[Atlantia]]'' ([[Act of Contrition]]), when he held the rank of Lieutenant.

Adama served on ''[[Galactica]]'' during the war as a pilot. In the last week of the war, the battlestar was boarded by Cylon forces. He recalled to his friend and fellow war veteran [[Saul Tigh]] that the Cylons divided into two teams. One headed for the ship's [[Aft Damage Control|secondary damage control]] and vented the atmosphere, while the other proceded to [[Auxiliary Fire Control|auxiliary fire control]] and turned ''Galactica'''s guns against the fleet. Over 2,000 people died in the attack ([[Valley of Darkness]], [http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/episodes/season02/202/deleted1.html deleted scene]).

Following the Cylon armistice, William Adama married [[Caroline Adama|Caroline]]. They had two sons together: [[Lee Adama|Lee]] and [[Zak Adama|Zak]], before the pressures of Adama's career and the time he spent away from home of active service began to place a strain on their marriage. Nevertheless, this did not stop both Lee and Zak following their father into the service - both signing-up for training as Viper pilots.

[[Image:Youngadamafamily.jpg|thumb|left|A young William Adama and his two sons.]]

A photograph seen in the Miniseries seems to imply that Adama was still in the fleet when his children were roughly six to eight years old, but within a few years he had been discharged as the result of a reduction-in-force. His marriage to Caroline had apparently fully deteriorated by this point, and he found work on a civilian freighter where he met [[Saul Tigh]], who was to become a longtime friend.

After some time as a civilian, Adama married a second time, to a woman named [[Anne Adama|Anne]]. Her father was able to pull some strings with the defense subcomittee and Adama was reinstated to the [[Colonial Fleet]]. Adama himself arranged for Tigh's reinstatement a few years later.

=== Son's Death ===

During his training, Zak Adama became involved with his flight training officer, Lt. [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]], to whom he became engaged shortly before taking his final qualifying flight ([[Act of Contrition]]). As a result of this, Thrace allowed her personal feelings interfere with her professional judgement, passing Zak Adama through flight school when she should have failed him ([[Miniseries]]). Zak was later killed in an operational flight.

As a result of his son's death, Adama faced the failure of his marriage and estrangement from his eldest son, Lee. However, to counter this, he became acquainted with Kara Thrace, and such was the bond that formed between them, Thrace transferred from flight school to one of the Battlestar ''Galactica's'' squadrons, where she served with Adama for some two years before the Cylon's reappearance ([[Act of Contrition]]).

Adama is a natural military leader, as demonstrated by his rise to rank of Commander in charge of a Colonial battlestar. He has the rare combination of qualities that make up a good leader: insight, the ability to naturally command respect, a common touch that enables him to relate to the enlisted personnel under his command as well as his officers, intuition, intelligence, a strong belief in his own abilities, and the ability to take the advice of others. These qualities are reflected in the fact the personnel of all ranks aboard ''Galactica'' hold him in high regard, and know that his is approachable ([[Miniseries]]).

If Adama has any failings, they are his mistrust of politicians and his strong sense of loyalty to those he regards as family and friends. The former is demonstrated in his uneasy acceptance of [[Laura Roslin]] ([[Miniseries]], "[[33]]", "[[Water]]"), which is quickly undermined by Roslin's own doubts following her encounter with [[Leoben Conoy]] ([[Flesh and Bone]]). The latter is most clearly demonstrated by both his support of Colonel [[Saul Tigh]] and his actions when Kara Thrace is posted as Missing in Action.

Despite Tigh's obvious drinking problem ([[Miniseries]]), Adama retains him as his [[Executive officer]] when another commanding officer might have too easily transferred Tigh to a planetside desk job to avoid the embarrassment. While this demonstrated Adama's unstinting friendship for Tigh, it does the colonel no favors with the officers and crew under his command - many of whom are openly dismissive of him ([[Miniseries]]) - a fact that may encourage his drinking.

With Thrace, Adama's loyalty places the mission to find her above the need to protect [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] and ensure the survival of humanity - thus putting everyone at risk ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]).

=== Surprise [[Cylon Attack]] ===

At the time of the Cylon's sudden attack on the Twelve Colonies, William Adama is serving out his final weeks as commander of the battlestar ''[[Galactica]]''. After some 50 years of service, the historic warship is in the process of being decommissioned, and it was one of Adama's final duties to formally hand her over to the [[Colonial Ministry of Education]] (by way of Education Secretary [[Laura Roslin]]) who would operate the ship as a living museum commemorating the original Cylon War and an educational center ([[Miniseries]]).

As a part of the decommissioning ceremonies, someone decides it would be a fitting tribute to have Lee Adama, recently-promoted to the rank of Captain, lead an honor flyby of Vipers - an ironic statement at best, given the strained relationship between the two men. The situation is not made any easier when Lee Adama finds he is to fly his father's battle-honored old Mark II Viper.

When he is first notified of the Cylon attack, Adama's first thoughts were, "Dead. We're all dead" ([[Home, Part II]]). Despite this, as well as the presumed loss of his wife in Caprica City, he manages to shepherd [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] to safety. Since the attack on the Twelve Colonies, Adama strives to lead the remnants of humanity with the same conviction as has marked his entire military career. Military discipline remains (mostly) intact aboard ''Galactica'', and she continues to operate as a top-rate warship, despite her lack of any other military support (up to the discovery of ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'') and despite her reduced complement in terms of both fighters and crew.

[[image:Mini_Adama_Tigh_DRADIS.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Commander [[William Adama|Adama]] and Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] plot a course to [[Ragnar Anchorage]] in the [[Miniseries]].]]
As a combat veteran, Adama is more than capable of both strategic and tactical operations and making the decisions both require. When [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Picon|Picon]] Fleet Headquarters is destroyed and then Admiral [[Nagala]] is killed, he unhesitatingly takes control of the Colonial's response to the Cylon incursion and starts defining a response to the onslaught. Once President Roslin convinces Adama the futility of fighting against overwhelming odds, and with what may be the last 50,000 humans that remain anywhere, he makes the switch to the more tactical thinking that keeps the Colonial fleet at least one step ahead of their Cylon pursuers. From the outset, he is savvy enough to give every single survivor of the devastating attack on the Colonies a reason for hope for the future: the legend of Earth. This falsehood comes back to haunt him as the weeks continue, as Roslin is aware of this lie to the crew and states this privately to Adama.

Away from the daily rigours of command, Adama continues to face the problem of infiltration within the Fleet by [[Cylon agent]]s. ("[[Litmus]]", "[[Flesh and Bone]]", "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]") and the possibility of saboteurs aboard ''Galactica'' and the Fleet ([[Water]]) - sabateurs who are still be at large, waiting for an opportunity to strike again. Adama has also had to redefine the boundaries of military and civil leadership, working as best he can with Laura Roslin, now recognized as the President of the people of the Twelve Colonies following the loss of practically all of the original Colonial [[government]].

Events since the Cylon attack causes Adama to reconcile with his son, Lee. While they do not always see eye-to-eye, the needs of ''Galactica's'' crew and humanity as a whole have enabled them to better understand one another and move past their differences.

Following the loss of seven of the ''Galactica's'' pilots, Adama is forced to face the truth concerning Zak Adama's death, and Kara Thrace's role within it. In a strange way, these two events are something of a catalyst for one another - Thrace's admission to Adama forces him to realize how precious his remaining son is to him, and how difficult a father he must have been ("[[You Can't Go Home Again]]", "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]"); Adama's ability to admit his love and respect for his son enables the elder Adama to overcome his anger towards Thrace after her admission to him ([[Act of Contrition]]).

===Kobol and Earth===
At the start of the exodus from the Twelve Colonies, Adama uses the legend of Earth as a means of binding the remnants of humanity together with a single hope. Unfortunately, this later causes the greatest rift in leadership within the Colonial fleet. Following the accidental discovery of [[Kobol]], which [[Laura Roslin|President Roslin]] sees pre-ordained in scripture, Adama finds himself confronted by what amounts to a court-martial situation. With members of his crew -- and the Vice President, [[Gaius Baltar]] -- trapped on the surface of Kobol, Adama orders Kara Thrace to use a captured [[Cylon Raider]] to destroy a Cylon [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]] in orbit above Kobol. However, President Roslin persuades Thrace to use the Raider to go to [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] to retrieve the [[Arrow of Apollo]] at [[Delphi]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]).

This action results in Adama terminating Roslin's presidency in what amounts to a coup, only to find [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]] forced to arrest [[Lee Adama]] for mutiny while on ''[[Colonial One]]'' to remove President Roslin from office. With Thrace gone, Adama dispatches [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Lieutenant Valerii]] to destroy the basestar over Kobol. While the mission is successful, Valerii's Cylon programming reveals itself and shoots Adama at point blank range as he thanks her for her work on her return ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). Adama's injuries are left untreated when a second basestar suddenly appears, forcing ''Galactica'' and the Fleet to perform an emergency [[FTL|Jump]].

Unfortunately, the chaos of the situation leaves ''Galactica'' without the same Jump coordinates as the Fleet, and the battlestar is separated in another area of space ([[Scattered]]). Worst of all, Dr. [[Cottle]], the Fleet's only doctor, is on one of the other ships in the Fleet. While Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta]] determines how to return to the Fleet, and as ''Galactica'' is raided by a [[Cylon Centurion]] boarding party, the [[Layne Ishay|medics]] on hand stabilize the commander's condition long enough for Dr. Cottle to return. After a lengthy and risky operation, Cottle repairs the damage to Adama's body.

Adama rests unconscious while Tigh declares martial law to counteract Roslin's supporters in the [[Quorum of Twelve]]. Roslin escapes the ship with Lee Adama's help, and hide throughout the fleet as Adama regains consciousness and returns to command. Roslin gains sufficient support and returns to Kobol, convincing over a third of the Fleet to Jump to Kobol in search of the path to Earth. Adama is incensed as, being a man with generally secular beliefs, he never truly believed in the existence of Earth of the Pythian scriptures and (incorrectly) feels that most others believe the same.
[[image:Home_pt1-Adama.jpg|thumb|300px|Commander [[William Adama|Adama]] paints a model boat while talking to [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] in "[[Home, Part I]]."]]
Adama's calm exterior barely holds back the helplessness and rage he feels over the betrayal of his son, Sharon Valerii, Roslin, and over 18,000 others that left with Roslin for Kobol. While at first Adama takes a similar stance to Tigh in assuming a hard military posture, a conversation with Petty Officer [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] helps him realize again (as Dualla and [[Billy Keikeya]] showed him before the [[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage]]) that, despite the problems, the Fleet is his family, and the family must stay together. He orders the remainder of the Fleet to prepare to return to Kobol ([[Home, Part I]]).

Adama's attitude about Roslin and her quest changes from anger to genuine interest as he and his command staff track the likeliest location where Roslin's group searches for the [[Tomb of Athena]]. Rather than being skeptical about Roslin's visions, for instance, Adama begins to take them as face value, considering that data just as useful as the maps in front of him. Realizing that only he could reach out to Roslin to reunite the Fleet ("It was always between us anyway"), Adama leaves ''Galactica'' to Tigh's command while he, Tyrol, [[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]], and Keikeya head to Kobol to find Roslin's group.

Adama greets his son, Lee, with raised guns, accidentally surprising Roslin's camp. Adama hugs his son and warmly greets Roslin and Thrace. However, on seeing the Caprica-based version of Sharon Valerii, Adama examines her eerily, grabs her by the throat and hurls her down to the ground while the camp tries to explain the reason why she was in camp. "I want you to die" was all that Adama could express before his pent-up anger became more physical, the exertions from his recovery catching up to him. He rolls off Valerii with aid, clutching his chest. Adama is given an explanation but remains understandably wary of this new copy of the [[Cylon agent]].

Adama and Roslin have a talk unlike any other they've shared in the past, both calling each other by their first names, casually. Adama tells Roslin that he forgives her for her actions in the past weeks, and leaves the apology stand even when Roslin casually notes that she wasn't asking for his permission. When Roslin speaks of the [[Resistance (movement)|resistance]] on Caprica and whether ''Galactica'' and her Fleet should have returned to fight instead of leaving from Ragnar Anchorage, Adama rejects the notion, saying he did not come to Kobol to "navel gaze" at what they could have done. He thanks Laura for saving him, his son, and the Fleet, for if he did not follow Roslin's advice to leave the system before the fight at Ragnar, he believes they would have all died.

Moments after discovering the entrance to the Tomb of Athena, Caprica-Valerii raises a gun at Adama's chest while [[Meier]], one of [[Tom Zarek]]'s men, raises his gun to Lee Adama, who is now aiming at Valerii. Meier was attempting an assassination of both Adamas to allow Zarek more political power after Roslin's demise, trying to use Valerii as a pawn to remove attention from Zarek. Immediately, Valerii turns her gun to Meier and fires. Lee Adama picks off a second shooter, while Valerii explains to Adama that she is fully aware of who she is and that, unlike her ''Galactica'' counterpart known as Boomer, she does not have hidden protocols or programming. She surrenders her weapon to Adama. Adama's feelings on Valerii remain guarded as she is placed in the special cage created for her counterpart on their return to ''Galactica.''

Adama enters the Tomb with Roslin, Lee, Kara, and Billy, the rest left guarded by Tyrol. The group successfully activates the map with the [[Arrow of Apollo]] and gain useful information on the true whereabouts of Earth. Back on ''Galactica'', Adama firmly buries the hatchet between he and Roslin publically by introducing Roslin as the President for a speech to members of the fleet, and leads a formal, unified ovation by applause for Roslin ([[Home, Part II]]).

===Common Ground===

To help undo the damage to the military's reputation in the Fleet after the "''[[Gideon]]'' incident", President Roslin and Adama give a [[Fleet News Service]] reporter, [[D'anna Biers]], unlimited access of the ship to interview the crew and watch their work and off-shift behavior. Bier's resulting documentary is very moving, and Adama gives his approval to release it for airing to the Fleet, who believes it shows the best of his crew, "warts and all". Adama is not aware that Biers is a Cylon infiltrator that has also passed out intelligence to her counterparts on Caprica of the existance and pregnancy of Helo's copy of Sharon Valerii ([[Final Cut]]).

''Galactica'' is beset by mysterious malfunctions throughout the ship. Worse, crew morale is very low, with no relief, little true recreation, and a sense of no future plagues many throughout the ship. Even the stoic and reliable Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]] vents his frustration to the surprise of everyone in [[CIC]]. Deck Chief [[Galen Tyrol]], fighting his own sense of hopelessness, begins a project to build a replacement fighter from spare parts. Over time, others in the ship join in on the "pet project". Despite the need to stop the increasing malfunctions, Adama is reluctant to stop work on Tyrol's project unless necessary as it gives the crew a creative outlet. Some time later, after the new fighter completes its maiden flight, Adama and Roslin christen the new stealth fighter, the [[Blackbird]]. Adama tells Roslin that the crew's nicknaming the fighter "Laura" was a honor they wanted to do for the President, given her service to them as well as their feelings about her illness.

Adama solicits the help of the incarcerated Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii, ordering [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] to show her a portion of the Cylon virus code found in the ship's computers. She reacts in shock and tells Adama that this code was part of a [[logic bomb]] that will take over the battlestar, killing its crew and directing its guns at the remaining Fleet to destroy it. She also strongly believes, as did Adama, that this bomb was an indication of an imminent Cylon attack. Lieutenant Gaeta and [[Gaius Baltar]] devise a way to rid themselves of the bomb, but during this process, the battlestar would be practically defenseless. Adama needs a way to stop the incoming Cylon forces and asks President Roslin for advice on trusting the second Valerii for help. She responds by asking him to find common ground between Valerii and himself, despite his prejudices about her. In a desperate plan, Adama brings Valerii to CIC, where she uses her Cylon brain to send a virus back to the massive Cylon fleet that appears, deactivating every single enemy fighter. ''Galactica's'' Vipers easily destroy all enemy Raiders without a single casualty ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]).

===The Discovery of Battlestar ''Pegasus''===

The sudden discovery of the [[Mercury class battlestar|advanced battlestar]] ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', commanded by Admiral [[Helena Cain]], is a very welcome event for Adama and his war-weary crew, and surely brings additional hope to the civilian fleet. But Cain's command staff--as well as her crew--seem oddly power-hungry, angrily disciplined, and, perhaps, the perfect reason why the Cylons might decide the human race should be annihilated. Adama, a soldier accustomed to taking orders, puts on a stoic face as Cain assumes command of the fleet. Not even Adama's relaxed smile convinces Laura Roslin of Adama's attitude when she asks how he was handling his change in command. Her guess was correct: something about the Admiral bothers Adama, but he is reluctant to discuss it. Adama follows his own truism about the Admiral: stick to what you know, until you find something better.

Adama's troubles with Cain begin with her choice to furnish supplies only to ''Galactica'' and not the civilian fleet, a point that Roslin hopes Adama would be able to correct. After Cain reads Adama's ship logs of the last 3 months, Cain reassigns Lieutenant Thrace and his son, Lee, to her ship. She explains that Adama was too close to his son, that Starbuck was an insubordinate officer that required structure, and that Adama had let military discipline become lax. Adama's stony face barely hides his anger, which he partially releases on Apollo and Starbuck as he orders them without commentary to transfer to ''Pegasus.'' Cain makes some valid observations about lax discipline on ''Galactica'', so Adama grudgingly accepts her re-shuffling of personnel.

Matters with Cain's unusually totalitarian command style come to a head when Cain orders her "Cylon interrogator", Lieutenant [[Alistair Thorne]], to interrogate the normally cooperative [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii]]. Thorne's method of "interrogation" was sexual assault. Lt. Agathon and Tyrol discover the truth of Thorne from members of ''Pegasus''' crew. They rush to Valerii's cell and stop Thorne, accidentally killing him. Adama is given assurances by Cain that the arrested men will be tried fairly on her ship, but she refuses to assemble a tribunal to conduct the trial.

A few hours later, Adama is told that Agathon and Tyrol were tried and convicted--and solely by Cain herself. Cain claims that wartime status granted her extra powers, but Adama disagrees, realizing that his fleet wasn't on an offensive posture and requires cooperation and not military rule, as ''Galactica'' could have done long ago at Ragnar Anchorage by fighting to win and abandoning the civilian fleet. Adama's stony acceptance of taking orders from the renegade admiral immediately ceases. He orders the alert Vipers and a Raptor--filled with [[marines]]--to head to ''Pegasus'' to retrieve his men, and Cain deploys her Vipers. Adama is headed into yet another fight for the survival of his Fleet--his family--against a vastly superior force, and it doesn't seem to matter to him one wit if it is the Cylon fleet, or Cain's hostile, warmongering forces ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]).

The standoff between the battlestars fortunately doesn't begin with an exchange of any fire from battlestars or fighters. However, Adama watches as his Vipers dance with ''Pegasus'' Vipers in a deadly game of "chicken", with ''Pegasus'' pilots attempting to force ''Galactica's'' fighters to fire first, which, by rules of engagement, would authorize return fire. Adama keeps silent, awaiting the inevitable collision or misfire that will start the bloodshed when Lt. Gaeta picks up what appears to be a [[Raider]] that manages to get ''very'' close to the Fleet without an earlier [[DRADIS]] alert. Picking up the surprise target as well, ''Pegasus'' fighters stop the chicken game and fly formation with Adama's fighters to intercept the target. The target turns out to be Kara Thrace in the [[Blackbird]], returning from her unauthorized but very successful self-appointed reconnaissance mission to the mysterious Cylon ship that trails the Fleet. Her sudden entrance allows a ''detente'' between the battlestar commanders, who meet on ''Colonial One''. There, President Roslin gives both commanders a harsh grilling and reminds them of the importance of the Fleet's survival and the intentions of the Cylon fleet following them. Adama appears actually chastized about the situation and remains quiet, except when Roslin patronizes Cain in saying that ''Pegasus'' would triumph in a firefight with ''Galactica'' ("I wouldn't count on that," he simply says). After Cain leaves, Roslin speaks with Adama privately and, to Adama's surprise, suggests that he kill Cain before she kills him and destroys the Fleet for her own wartime devices. Adama leaves to think about it, unsure if he could be an assassin.

Adama apologizes to the most unlikely person: the copy of [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]], who was sexually assaulted by ''Pegasus'' Lieutenant [[Alistair Thorne]]. While Valerii shows signs of shock and anger, Dr. [[Cottle]] acknowledges she and her unborn baby are mostly unharmed. Adama asks Cottle to see that ''she'' is OK (not calling her "it") and orders her returned to her cell after her care. Afterwards, Adama visits the port [[hangar deck]], appearing as to get Viper flight status, but in reality is there to learn a little about [[Peter Laird]], his interim deck chief from ''Pegasus''. Realizing he's not military, Adama asks more from [[Cally]], who says that rumors indicate that Laird was from a civilian fleet once guarded by ''Pegasus''. A conversation with Colonel Tigh and Jack Fisk confirms the worst: ''Pegasus'' abandoned its civilian fleet, but not without conscripting many civilians into military service and stripping supplies and fuel from it, leaving what remained of the ships to fend for themselves. Resistance was quelled by shooting the families of those who would not leave with the battlestar, Fisk said.

Adama's relationship with Roslin grows closer. He visits her in bed, not looking at all well, but jovial nonetheless. Adama inquires of her unusually "bloody-minded" attitude towards Cain; Roslin replies that as long as Cain survives, his future and that of the Fleet is at risk. He asks if she needs anything, and Roslin humorously suggests she'd like a nice, young [[Cylon agent|Cylon body]] to replace her own. When Adama says he can't picture her as a blonde, Roslin smiles and says that he'd be surprised. As he leaves, wiping a tear from his eye as he turns back to the president, Roslin reminds him to watch his back, and do what he has to do.

After a briefing on the upcoming battle to destroy the [[Resurrection Ship]] and its fleet, attended by Cain and Adama, Adama requests permission to speak more with Kara Thrace on the battle tactics, which Cain grants as she returns to ''Pegasus''. Adama dismisses his son, cryptically telling him "Stay focused, son," while he asks the unusual from Thrace. After the battle, Adama asks her to enter the ''Pegasus'' CIC, with Lee Adama by her side to cover her, and to shoot Admiral Cain in the head. Little does Adama know that Admiral Cain has planned a similar assassination attempt with her XO and several members of her Marine division.

Lieutenant Lee Adama visits his father by volunteering for a courier run between the battlestars. The elder Adama doesn't want to talk too much about the operation, but is happy to see him. Adama continues his new pattern of seeking advice from unusual places by inviting his copy of [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]] to his quarters to ask her why the Cylons hate the humans so much. She can't answer the question directly, but asks him to remember something in the speech he gave at the decommissioning ceremony ([[Miniseries]]): Has humanity asked itself ''why'' it deserved to survive, given all its failings?

With the battle to destroy the Resurrection Ship a success, Adama has an opportunity to have Starbuck shoot Cain, but takes the advice of Valerii again and chooses to be better than what humans have become. Strangely, Cain also aborts her attempt on Adama's command and life, something that greatly relieves [[Jack Fisk]], who laughs out loud and invites the crew for a drink.

Cain's fate is sealed not by Adama but [[Gina]], the captured and tortured Cylon agent, who shoots and kills the admiral in her quarters. After Cain's funeral, on ''Colonial One'', President Roslin, looking very frail, promotes Adama to Admiral, joking that some people may not think she knew much about military protocol, but that she knows that a commander of two or more capital ships should be an admiral. Adama smiles, says that he's never given up hope about getting admiral rank, but stopped chasing them after a while. Roslin appears ready to retire and has trouble standing, when Adama helps lift and steady her. In a pleasant surprise, now-Admiral Adama takes Laura Roslin's face in hand and gives her a simple, affectionate kiss, which she returns to smiles on both faces. [[Billy Keikeya]] helps the president back to her quarters while Adama's smile turns into sadness over Roslin's illness.

=== Admiral Adama ===

Shortly after the Battle of the Resurrection Ship, it is clear that Roslin is nearing death. In her final moments, Roslin orders Adama to kill Caprica-Valerii's [[Hera|unborn child]]. Adama cannot bring himself to terminate the pregnancy, and it is shortly revealed that it is a good thing he hesitated: Baltar finds a cure for Roslin's cancer within the child's blood. Roslin is saved and Adama is visibly pleased that she has pulled through. Meanwhile, Adama becomes aware of the [[Demand Peace]] movement among the fleet. Adama meets with [[Royan Jahee]], the leader of the movement, and attempts to explain that the Cylons don't want peace, they want too annihilate every lving human being. Jahee doesn't believe Adama, and the meeting ends with the two men in no different places than where they started.

===The Election and the "Lighthouse Keeper"===
Adama offers ''Galactica'' as the location for the counting of ballots during the Presidential Election, a proposal which is accepted despite Zarek's protests over the ships connection with Roslin. Unknown to Adama, Tigh and Dualla conspire to rig the election in favor President Roslin out of mistrust for Dr. Baltar (an opinion which Adama shares). Not long after the polls close and she is declared the winner, Lt. Gaeta contacts the admiral with his suspicions that Tigh attempted to rig the election. When confronted, Roslin admits that she gave her aid, Tory Foster, permission to "try something," out of almost desperation; she is certain disaster will strike if Baltar is elected and begs Adama to keep quiet by telling him of Baltar's involvement with [[Caprica-Six|Six]]. Adama isn't swayed, and convinces Roslin that the correct course of action is to acknowledge a miscount and cover the conspiracy. When President-Elect Baltar demands an investigation into the midcount, an irritated Adama orders him to take his victory and leave, which Baltar does grudgingly.

When [[Cloud Nine]] and two other ships blow up as a result of [[Gina]]'s nuclear bomb, Adama is privately infuriated at Baltar's refusal to investigate, and begins to wonder if he hadn't made a mistake.

A year later, Adm. Adama commanded a heavily under-staffed ''Galactica'' as the flagship of a Defense Fleet, consisting of all ships unable or unwilling to make planetfall on [[New Caprica]]. Adama convinced [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] to rejoin Ellen in [[New Caprica City]] after months of debate, with [[Helo]] acting as his new XO. Not long after Saul left, Dualla, acting XO of the Pegasus, discovered the Cylon Fleet bearing down on New Caprica. After a brief discussion, the Adamas agreed to jump the Fleet to pre-arrangeed coordinates. The admiral issued the orders with a reminder "We're going... but we'll be back."

==Additional Notes==
*[[Wikipedia:Adama|Adama]] (also known as Nazareth) is the name of a large city in Ethiopia. The name is also a variation on [[Wikipedia:Adam and Eve|"Adam"]], the first man to be created according to the Bible in the [[Wikipedia:Genesis|Book of Genesis]].

In hebrew the word pronounced "Adama" means earth.
Here is SkyOne's summary of Adama:

:''William Adama was born on the colony of Caprica, in a small coastal community.''

:''His mother Evelyn was an accountant and his father, Joseph, was an attorney who specialised in criminal defence and civil liberties.''

:''At the age of 16 his parents divorced and he applied to the Colonial Fleet Academy. That same year, the Cylon War broke out. Adama's training accelerated along with all other midshipmen.''

:''After 3 years Adama was commissioned to work as a flight pilot; he gained a further two years of training before Adama joined his first squadron. He was a gifted, natural pilot and he shot down a Cylon fighter in his first mission.''

:''After the war was over, Adama was mustered out of the service along with millions of other colonials as part of demobilization process. He went home to Caprica, married his high school sweetheart and started life over.''

:''Adama struggled to find work as a pilot and so signed up as a deck hand in the merchant fleet. This experience would later give him an uncommon insight into the lives and struggles of the enlisted ranks aboard Galactica.''

:''Adama later had two sons, Lee and Zak. But over the years his exploration aboard ships would see Adama spending less time with his sons. He always tried to instill duty and admiration for military services. But was still surprised to learn that both his sons decided to enter the Fleet and become pilots.''

:''When Zak died during a training flight. Lee confronted his father and laid blame for his younger brother's death.''

As this information has not appeared on the official Scifi.com site, its authenticity is in question. Further, this information states that Adama was fighting in the war 5 years into it, when the war lasted 12 years and RDM has stated in podcasts that Adama only served in the final year of the war.

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{{Characters}}

[[Category:A to Z|Adama, William]]
[[Category:Characters|Adama, William]]
[[Category:RDM|Adama, William]]
[[Category:People from Caprica|Adama, William]]

[[es:William Adama]]

William Adama

2006-04-18T15:31:05Z

Battlestar Galactica:

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:William Adama promo.jpg|200px]]
|age=
|colony= [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]
|birthname= William Adama
|callsign= Husker
|death=
|parents= [[Evelyn Adama]] (mother), [[Joseph Adama]] (father)
|siblings=
|children= [[Lee Adama]] (alive), [[Zak Adama]] (deceased)
|marital status= Divorced ([[Caroline Adama]]), remarried to [[Anne Adama]]
|role=Commanding Officer of the ''[[Battlestar Galactica (ship)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', Supreme Commander of the [[Colonial Fleet]]
|rank=Admiral
|cylon=
|actor=[[Edward James Olmos]]
|name=
}}

Admiral '''William Adama''' is the commanding officer of the ''[[Battlestar Galactica (ship)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', and the highest ranking officer left in the [[Colonial Fleet]].

== Biographical Notes ==

=== Background ===

William Adama was born on Caprica to [[Evelyn Adama|Evelyn]] and [[Joseph Adama]]. His mother was an accountant and his father, an attorney specializing in civil liberties ([[Litmus]]). They divorced while he was in his teens.

At the outbreak of the first [[Cylon War]], Adama was serving in the [[Colonial Fleet]] as a [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] pilot. He allegedly gained the call sign of "Husker" on account of his baritone "gravelled" voice. He proved to be a gifted pilot, shooting down his first [[Cylon]] on his very first mission. He racked-up his 1,000th deck landing while serving aboard the Battlestar ''[[Atlantia]]'' ([[Act of Contrition]]), when he held the rank of Lieutenant.

Adama served on ''[[Galactica]]'' during the war as a pilot. In the last week of the war, the battlestar was boarded by Cylon forces. He recalled to his friend and fellow war veteran [[Saul Tigh]] that the Cylons divided into two teams. One headed for the ship's [[Aft Damage Control|secondary damage control]] and vented the atmosphere, while the other proceded to [[Auxiliary Fire Control|auxiliary fire control]] and turned ''Galactica'''s guns against the fleet. Over 2,000 people died in the attack ([[Valley of Darkness]], [http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/episodes/season02/202/deleted1.html deleted scene]).

Following the Cylon armistice, William Adama married [[Caroline Adama|Caroline]]. They had two sons together: [[Lee Adama|Lee]] and [[Zak Adama|Zak]], before the pressures of Adama's career and the time he spent away from home of active service began to place a strain on their marriage. Nevertheless, this did not stop both Lee and Zak following their father into the service - both signing-up for training as Viper pilots.

[[Image:Youngadamafamily.jpg|thumb|left|A young William Adama and his two sons.]]

A photograph seen in the Miniseries seems to imply that Adama was still in the fleet when his children were roughly six to eight years old, but within a few years he had been discharged as the result of a reduction-in-force. His marriage to Caroline had apparently fully deteriorated by this point, and he found work on a civilian freighter where he met [[Saul Tigh]], who was to become a longtime friend.

After some time as a civilian, Adama married a second time, to a woman named [[Anne Adama|Anne]]. Her father was able to pull some strings with the defense subcomittee and Adama was reinstated to the [[Colonial Fleet]]. Adama himself arranged for Tigh's reinstatement a few years later.

=== Son's Death ===

During his training, Zak Adama became involved with his flight training officer, Lt. [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]], to whom he became engaged shortly before taking his final qualifying flight ([[Act of Contrition]]). As a result of this, Thrace allowed her personal feelings interfere with her professional judgement, passing Zak Adama through flight school when she should have failed him ([[Miniseries]]). Zak was later killed in an operational flight.

As a result of his son's death, Adama faced the failure of his marriage and estrangement from his eldest son, Lee. However, to counter this, he became acquainted with Kara Thrace, and such was the bond that formed between them, Thrace transferred from flight school to one of the Battlestar ''Galactica's'' squadrons, where she served with Adama for some two years before the Cylon's reappearance ([[Act of Contrition]]).

Adama is a natural military leader, as demonstrated by his rise to rank of Commander in charge of a Colonial battlestar. He has the rare combination of qualities that make up a good leader: insight, the ability to naturally command respect, a common touch that enables him to relate to the enlisted personnel under his command as well as his officers, intuition, intelligence, a strong belief in his own abilities, and the ability to take the advice of others. These qualities are reflected in the fact the personnel of all ranks aboard ''Galactica'' hold him in high regard, and know that his is approachable ([[Miniseries]]).

If Adama has any failings, they are his mistrust of politicians and his strong sense of loyalty to those he regards as family and friends. The former is demonstrated in his uneasy acceptance of [[Laura Roslin]] ([[Miniseries]], "[[33]]", "[[Water]]"), which is quickly undermined by Roslin's own doubts following her encounter with [[Leoben Conoy]] ([[Flesh and Bone]]). The latter is most clearly demonstrated by both his support of Colonel [[Saul Tigh]] and his actions when Kara Thrace is posted as Missing in Action.

Despite Tigh's obvious drinking problem ([[Miniseries]]), Adama retains him as his [[Executive officer]] when another commanding officer might have too easily transferred Tigh to a planetside desk job to avoid the embarrassment. While this demonstrated Adama's unstinting friendship for Tigh, it does the colonel no favors with the officers and crew under his command - many of whom are openly dismissive of him ([[Miniseries]]) - a fact that may encourage his drinking.

With Thrace, Adama's loyalty places the mission to find her above the need to protect [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] and ensure the survival of humanity - thus putting everyone at risk ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]).

=== Surprise [[Cylon Attack]] ===

At the time of the Cylon's sudden attack on the Twelve Colonies, William Adama is serving out his final weeks as commander of the battlestar ''[[Galactica]]''. After some 50 years of service, the historic warship is in the process of being decommissioned, and it was one of Adama's final duties to formally hand her over to the [[Colonial Ministry of Education]] (by way of Education Secretary [[Laura Roslin]]) who would operate the ship as a living museum commemorating the original Cylon War and an educational center ([[Miniseries]]).

As a part of the decommissioning ceremonies, someone decides it would be a fitting tribute to have Lee Adama, recently-promoted to the rank of Captain, lead an honor flyby of Vipers - an ironic statement at best, given the strained relationship between the two men. The situation is not made any easier when Lee Adama finds he is to fly his father's battle-honored old Mark II Viper.

When he is first notified of the Cylon attack, Adama's first thoughts were, "Dead. We're all dead" ([[Home, Part II]]). Despite this, as well as the presumed loss of his wife in Caprica City, he manages to shepherd [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] to safety. Since the attack on the Twelve Colonies, Adama strives to lead the remnants of humanity with the same conviction as has marked his entire military career. Military discipline remains (mostly) intact aboard ''Galactica'', and she continues to operate as a top-rate warship, despite her lack of any other military support (up to the discovery of ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'') and despite her reduced complement in terms of both fighters and crew.

[[image:Mini_Adama_Tigh_DRADIS.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Commander [[William Adama|Adama]] and Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] plot a course to [[Ragnar Anchorage]] in the [[Miniseries]].]]
As a combat veteran, Adama is more than capable of both strategic and tactical operations and making the decisions both require. When [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Picon|Picon]] Fleet Headquarters is destroyed and then Admiral [[Nagala]] is killed, he unhesitatingly takes control of the Colonial's response to the Cylon incursion and starts defining a response to the onslaught. Once President Roslin convinces Adama the futility of fighting against overwhelming odds, and with what may be the last 50,000 humans that remain anywhere, he makes the switch to the more tactical thinking that keeps the Colonial fleet at least one step ahead of their Cylon pursuers. From the outset, he is savvy enough to give every single survivor of the devastating attack on the Colonies a reason for hope for the future: the legend of Earth. This falsehood comes back to haunt him as the weeks continue, as Roslin is aware of this lie to the crew and states this privately to Adama.

Away from the daily rigours of command, Adama continues to face the problem of infiltration within the Fleet by [[Cylon agent]]s. ("[[Litmus]]", "[[Flesh and Bone]]", "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]") and the possibility of saboteurs aboard ''Galactica'' and the Fleet ([[Water]]) - sabateurs who are still be at large, waiting for an opportunity to strike again. Adama has also had to redefine the boundaries of military and civil leadership, working as best he can with Laura Roslin, now recognized as the President of the people of the Twelve Colonies following the loss of practically all of the original Colonial [[government]].

Events since the Cylon attack causes Adama to reconcile with his son, Lee. While they do not always see eye-to-eye, the needs of ''Galactica's'' crew and humanity as a whole have enabled them to better understand one another and move past their differences.

Following the loss of seven of the ''Galactica's'' pilots, Adama is forced to face the truth concerning Zak Adama's death, and Kara Thrace's role within it. In a strange way, these two events are something of a catalyst for one another - Thrace's admission to Adama forces him to realize how precious his remaining son is to him, and how difficult a father he must have been ("[[You Can't Go Home Again]]", "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]"); Adama's ability to admit his love and respect for his son enables the elder Adama to overcome his anger towards Thrace after her admission to him ([[Act of Contrition]]).

===Kobol and Earth===
At the start of the exodus from the Twelve Colonies, Adama uses the legend of Earth as a means of binding the remnants of humanity together with a single hope. Unfortunately, this later causes the greatest rift in leadership within the Colonial fleet. Following the accidental discovery of [[Kobol]], which [[Laura Roslin|President Roslin]] sees pre-ordained in scripture, Adama finds himself confronted by what amounts to a court-martial situation. With members of his crew -- and the Vice President, [[Gaius Baltar]] -- trapped on the surface of Kobol, Adama orders Kara Thrace to use a captured [[Cylon Raider]] to destroy a Cylon [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]] in orbit above Kobol. However, President Roslin persuades Thrace to use the Raider to go to [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] to retrieve the [[Arrow of Apollo]] at [[Delphi]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]).

This action results in Adama terminating Roslin's presidency in what amounts to a coup, only to find [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]] forced to arrest [[Lee Adama]] for mutiny while on ''[[Colonial One]]'' to remove President Roslin from office. With Thrace gone, Adama dispatches [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Lieutenant Valerii]] to destroy the basestar over Kobol. While the mission is successful, Valerii's Cylon programming reveals itself and shoots Adama at point blank range as he thanks her for her work on her return ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). Adama's injuries are left untreated when a second basestar suddenly appears, forcing ''Galactica'' and the Fleet to perform an emergency [[FTL|Jump]].

Unfortunately, the chaos of the situation leaves ''Galactica'' without the same Jump coordinates as the Fleet, and the battlestar is separated in another area of space ([[Scattered]]). Worst of all, Dr. [[Cottle]], the Fleet's only doctor, is on one of the other ships in the Fleet. While Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta]] determines how to return to the Fleet, and as ''Galactica'' is raided by a [[Cylon Centurion]] boarding party, the [[Layne Ishay|medics]] on hand stabilize the commander's condition long enough for Dr. Cottle to return. After a lengthy and risky operation, Cottle repairs the damage to Adama's body.

Adama rests unconscious while Tigh declares martial law to counteract Roslin's supporters in the [[Quorum of Twelve]]. Roslin escapes the ship with Lee Adama's help, and hide throughout the fleet as Adama regains consciousness and returns to command. Roslin gains sufficient support and returns to Kobol, convincing over a third of the Fleet to Jump to Kobol in search of the path to Earth. Adama is incensed as, being a man with generally secular beliefs, he never truly believed in the existence of Earth of the Pythian scriptures and (incorrectly) feels that most others believe the same.
[[image:Home_pt1-Adama.jpg|thumb|300px|Commander [[William Adama|Adama]] paints a model boat while talking to [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] in "[[Home, Part I]]."]]
Adama's calm exterior barely holds back the helplessness and rage he feels over the betrayal of his son, Sharon Valerii, Roslin, and over 18,000 others that left with Roslin for Kobol. While at first Adama takes a similar stance to Tigh in assuming a hard military posture, a conversation with Petty Officer [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] helps him realize again (as Dualla and [[Billy Keikeya]] showed him before the [[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage]]) that, despite the problems, the Fleet is his family, and the family must stay together. He orders the remainder of the Fleet to prepare to return to Kobol ([[Home, Part I]]).

Adama's attitude about Roslin and her quest changes from anger to genuine interest as he and his command staff track the likeliest location where Roslin's group searches for the [[Tomb of Athena]]. Rather than being skeptical about Roslin's visions, for instance, Adama begins to take them as face value, considering that data just as useful as the maps in front of him. Realizing that only he could reach out to Roslin to reunite the Fleet ("It was always between us anyway"), Adama leaves ''Galactica'' to Tigh's command while he, Tyrol, [[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]], and Keikeya head to Kobol to find Roslin's group.

Adama greets his son, Lee, with raised guns, accidentally surprising Roslin's camp. Adama hugs his son and warmly greets Roslin and Thrace. However, on seeing the Caprica-based version of Sharon Valerii, Adama examines her eerily, grabs her by the throat and hurls her down to the ground while the camp tries to explain the reason why she was in camp. "I want you to die" was all that Adama could express before his pent-up anger became more physical, the exertions from his recovery catching up to him. He rolls off Valerii with aid, clutching his chest. Adama is given an explanation but remains understandably wary of this new copy of the [[Cylon agent]].

Adama and Roslin have a talk unlike any other they've shared in the past, both calling each other by their first names, casually. Adama tells Roslin that he forgives her for her actions in the past weeks, and leaves the apology stand even when Roslin casually notes that she wasn't asking for his permission. When Roslin speaks of the [[Resistance (movement)|resistance]] on Caprica and whether ''Galactica'' and her Fleet should have returned to fight instead of leaving from Ragnar Anchorage, Adama rejects the notion, saying he did not come to Kobol to "navel gaze" at what they could have done. He thanks Laura for saving him, his son, and the Fleet, for if he did not follow Roslin's advice to leave the system before the fight at Ragnar, he believes they would have all died.

Moments after discovering the entrance to the Tomb of Athena, Caprica-Valerii raises a gun at Adama's chest while [[Meier]], one of [[Tom Zarek]]'s men, raises his gun to Lee Adama, who is now aiming at Valerii. Meier was attempting an assassination of both Adamas to allow Zarek more political power after Roslin's demise, trying to use Valerii as a pawn to remove attention from Zarek. Immediately, Valerii turns her gun to Meier and fires. Lee Adama picks off a second shooter, while Valerii explains to Adama that she is fully aware of who she is and that, unlike her ''Galactica'' counterpart known as Boomer, she does not have hidden protocols or programming. She surrenders her weapon to Adama. Adama's feelings on Valerii remain guarded as she is placed in the special cage created for her counterpart on their return to ''Galactica.''

Adama enters the Tomb with Roslin, Lee, Kara, and Billy, the rest left guarded by Tyrol. The group successfully activates the map with the [[Arrow of Apollo]] and gain useful information on the true whereabouts of Earth. Back on ''Galactica'', Adama firmly buries the hatchet between he and Roslin publically by introducing Roslin as the President for a speech to members of the fleet, and leads a formal, unified ovation by applause for Roslin ([[Home, Part II]]).

===Common Ground===

To help undo the damage to the military's reputation in the Fleet after the "''[[Gideon]]'' incident", President Roslin and Adama give a [[Fleet News Service]] reporter, [[D'anna Biers]], unlimited access of the ship to interview the crew and watch their work and off-shift behavior. Bier's resulting documentary is very moving, and Adama gives his approval to release it for airing to the Fleet, who believes it shows the best of his crew, "warts and all". Adama is not aware that Biers is a Cylon infiltrator that has also passed out intelligence to her counterparts on Caprica of the existance and pregnancy of Helo's copy of Sharon Valerii ([[Final Cut]]).

''Galactica'' is beset by mysterious malfunctions throughout the ship. Worse, crew morale is very low, with no relief, little true recreation, and a sense of no future plagues many throughout the ship. Even the stoic and reliable Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]] vents his frustration to the surprise of everyone in [[CIC]]. Deck Chief [[Galen Tyrol]], fighting his own sense of hopelessness, begins a project to build a replacement fighter from spare parts. Over time, others in the ship join in on the "pet project". Despite the need to stop the increasing malfunctions, Adama is reluctant to stop work on Tyrol's project unless necessary as it gives the crew a creative outlet. Some time later, after the new fighter completes its maiden flight, Adama and Roslin christen the new stealth fighter, the [[Blackbird]]. Adama tells Roslin that the crew's nicknaming the fighter "Laura" was a honor they wanted to do for the President, given her service to them as well as their feelings about her illness.

Adama solicits the help of the incarcerated Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii, ordering [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] to show her a portion of the Cylon virus code found in the ship's computers. She reacts in shock and tells Adama that this code was part of a [[logic bomb]] that will take over the battlestar, killing its crew and directing its guns at the remaining Fleet to destroy it. She also strongly believes, as did Adama, that this bomb was an indication of an imminent Cylon attack. Lieutenant Gaeta and [[Gaius Baltar]] devise a way to rid themselves of the bomb, but during this process, the battlestar would be practically defenseless. Adama needs a way to stop the incoming Cylon forces and asks President Roslin for advice on trusting the second Valerii for help. She responds by asking him to find common ground between Valerii and himself, despite his prejudices about her. In a desperate plan, Adama brings Valerii to CIC, where she uses her Cylon brain to send a virus back to the massive Cylon fleet that appears, deactivating every single enemy fighter. ''Galactica's'' Vipers easily destroy all enemy Raiders without a single casualty ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]).

===The Discovery of Battlestar ''Pegasus''===

The sudden discovery of the [[Mercury class battlestar|advanced battlestar]] ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', commanded by Admiral [[Helena Cain]], is a very welcome event for Adama and his war-weary crew, and surely brings additional hope to the civilian fleet. But Cain's command staff--as well as her crew--seem oddly power-hungry, angrily disciplined, and, perhaps, the perfect reason why the Cylons might decide the human race should be annihilated. Adama, a soldier accustomed to taking orders, puts on a stoic face as Cain assumes command of the fleet. Not even Adama's relaxed smile convinces Laura Roslin of Adama's attitude when she asks how he was handling his change in command. Her guess was correct: something about the Admiral bothers Adama, but he is reluctant to discuss it. Adama follows his own truism about the Admiral: stick to what you know, until you find something better.

Adama's troubles with Cain begin with her choice to furnish supplies only to ''Galactica'' and not the civilian fleet, a point that Roslin hopes Adama would be able to correct. After Cain reads Adama's ship logs of the last 3 months, Cain reassigns Lieutenant Thrace and his son, Lee, to her ship. She explains that Adama was too close to his son, that Starbuck was an insubordinate officer that required structure, and that Adama had let military discipline become lax. Adama's stony face barely hides his anger, which he partially releases on Apollo and Starbuck as he orders them without commentary to transfer to ''Pegasus.'' Cain makes some valid observations about lax discipline on ''Galactica'', so Adama grudgingly accepts her re-shuffling of personnel.

Matters with Cain's unusually totalitarian command style come to a head when Cain orders her "Cylon interrogator", Lieutenant [[Alistair Thorne]], to interrogate the normally cooperative [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii]]. Thorne's method of "interrogation" was sexual assault. Lt. Agathon and Tyrol discover the truth of Thorne from members of ''Pegasus''' crew. They rush to Valerii's cell and stop Thorne, accidentally killing him. Adama is given assurances by Cain that the arrested men will be tried fairly on her ship, but she refuses to assemble a tribunal to conduct the trial.

A few hours later, Adama is told that Agathon and Tyrol were tried and convicted--and solely by Cain herself. Cain claims that wartime status granted her extra powers, but Adama disagrees, realizing that his fleet wasn't on an offensive posture and requires cooperation and not military rule, as ''Galactica'' could have done long ago at Ragnar Anchorage by fighting to win and abandoning the civilian fleet. Adama's stony acceptance of taking orders from the renegade admiral immediately ceases. He orders the alert Vipers and a Raptor--filled with [[marines]]--to head to ''Pegasus'' to retrieve his men, and Cain deploys her Vipers. Adama is headed into yet another fight for the survival of his Fleet--his family--against a vastly superior force, and it doesn't seem to matter to him one wit if it is the Cylon fleet, or Cain's hostile, warmongering forces ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]).

The standoff between the battlestars fortunately doesn't begin with an exchange of any fire from battlestars or fighters. However, Adama watches as his Vipers dance with ''Pegasus'' Vipers in a deadly game of "chicken", with ''Pegasus'' pilots attempting to force ''Galactica's'' fighters to fire first, which, by rules of engagement, would authorize return fire. Adama keeps silent, awaiting the inevitable collision or misfire that will start the bloodshed when Lt. Gaeta picks up what appears to be a [[Raider]] that manages to get ''very'' close to the Fleet without an earlier [[DRADIS]] alert. Picking up the surprise target as well, ''Pegasus'' fighters stop the chicken game and fly formation with Adama's fighters to intercept the target. The target turns out to be Kara Thrace in the [[Blackbird]], returning from her unauthorized but very successful self-appointed reconnaissance mission to the mysterious Cylon ship that trails the Fleet. Her sudden entrance allows a ''detente'' between the battlestar commanders, who meet on ''Colonial One''. There, President Roslin gives both commanders a harsh grilling and reminds them of the importance of the Fleet's survival and the intentions of the Cylon fleet following them. Adama appears actually chastized about the situation and remains quiet, except when Roslin patronizes Cain in saying that ''Pegasus'' would triumph in a firefight with ''Galactica'' ("I wouldn't count on that," he simply says). After Cain leaves, Roslin speaks with Adama privately and, to Adama's surprise, suggests that he kill Cain before she kills him and destroys the Fleet for her own wartime devices. Adama leaves to think about it, unsure if he could be an assassin.

Adama apologizes to the most unlikely person: the copy of [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]], who was sexually assaulted by ''Pegasus'' Lieutenant [[Alistair Thorne]]. While Valerii shows signs of shock and anger, Dr. [[Cottle]] acknowledges she and her unborn baby are mostly unharmed. Adama asks Cottle to see that ''she'' is OK (not calling her "it") and orders her returned to her cell after her care. Afterwards, Adama visits the port [[hangar deck]], appearing as to get Viper flight status, but in reality is there to learn a little about [[Peter Laird]], his interim deck chief from ''Pegasus''. Realizing he's not military, Adama asks more from [[Cally]], who says that rumors indicate that Laird was from a civilian fleet once guarded by ''Pegasus''. A conversation with Colonel Tigh and Jack Fisk confirms the worst: ''Pegasus'' abandoned its civilian fleet, but not without conscripting many civilians into military service and stripping supplies and fuel from it, leaving what remained of the ships to fend for themselves. Resistance was quelled by shooting the families of those who would not leave with the battlestar, Fisk said.

Adama's relationship with Roslin grows closer. He visits her in bed, not looking at all well, but jovial nonetheless. Adama inquires of her unusually "bloody-minded" attitude towards Cain; Roslin replies that as long as Cain survives, his future and that of the Fleet is at risk. He asks if she needs anything, and Roslin humorously suggests she'd like a nice, young [[Cylon agent|Cylon body]] to replace her own. When Adama says he can't picture her as a blonde, Roslin smiles and says that he'd be surprised. As he leaves, wiping a tear from his eye as he turns back to the president, Roslin reminds him to watch his back, and do what he has to do.

After a briefing on the upcoming battle to destroy the [[Resurrection Ship]] and its fleet, attended by Cain and Adama, Adama requests permission to speak more with Kara Thrace on the battle tactics, which Cain grants as she returns to ''Pegasus''. Adama dismisses his son, cryptically telling him "Stay focused, son," while he asks the unusual from Thrace. After the battle, Adama asks her to enter the ''Pegasus'' CIC, with Lee Adama by her side to cover her, and to shoot Admiral Cain in the head. Little does Adama know that Admiral Cain has planned a similar assassination attempt with her XO and several members of her Marine division.

Lieutenant Lee Adama visits his father by volunteering for a courier run between the battlestars. The elder Adama doesn't want to talk too much about the operation, but is happy to see him. Adama continues his new pattern of seeking advice from unusual places by inviting his copy of [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]] to his quarters to ask her why the Cylons hate the humans so much. She can't answer the question directly, but asks him to remember something in the speech he gave at the decommissioning ceremony ([[Miniseries]]): Has humanity asked itself ''why'' it deserved to survive, given all its failings?

With the battle to destroy the Resurrection Ship a success, Adama has an opportunity to have Starbuck shoot Cain, but takes the advice of Valerii again and chooses to be better than what humans have become. Strangely, Cain also aborts her attempt on Adama's command and life, something that greatly relieves [[Jack Fisk]], who laughs out loud and invites the crew for a drink.

Cain's fate is sealed not by Adama but [[Gina]], the captured and tortured Cylon agent, who shoots and kills the admiral in her quarters. After Cain's funeral, on ''Colonial One'', President Roslin, looking very frail, promotes Adama to Admiral, joking that some people may not think she knew much about military protocol, but that she knows that a commander of two or more capital ships should be an admiral. Adama smiles, says that he's never given up hope about getting admiral rank, but stopped chasing them after a while. Roslin appears ready to retire and has trouble standing, when Adama helps lift and steady her. In a pleasant surprise, now-Admiral Adama takes Laura Roslin's face in hand and gives her a simple, affectionate kiss, which she returns to smiles on both faces. [[Billy Keikeya]] helps the president back to her quarters while Adama's smile turns into sadness over Roslin's illness.

=== Admiral Adama ===

Shortly after the Battle of the Resurrection Ship, it is clear that Roslin is nearing death. In her final moments, Roslin orders Adama to kill Caprica-Valerii's [[Hera|unborn child]]. Adama cannot bring himself to terminate the pregnancy, and it is shortly revealed that it is a good thing he hesitated: Baltar finds a cure for Roslin's cancer within the child's blood. Roslin is saved and Adama is visibly pleased that she has pulled through. Meanwhile, Adama becomes aware of the [[Demand Peace]] movement among the fleet. Adama meets with [[Royan Jahee]], the leader of the movement, and attempts to explain that the Cylons don't want peace, they want too annihilate every lving human being. Jahee doesn't believe Adama, and the meeting ends with the two men in no different places than where they started.

===The Election and the "Lighthouse Keeper"===
Adama offers ''Galactica'' as the location for the counting of ballots during the Presidential Election, a proposal which is accepted despite Zarek's protests over the ships connection with Roslin. Unknown to Adama, Tigh and Dualla conspire to rig the election in favor President Roslin out of mistrust for Dr. Baltar (an opinion which Adama shares). Not long after the polls close and she is declared the winner, Lt. Gaeta contacts the admiral with his suspicions that Tigh attempted to rig the election. When confronted, Roslin admits that she gave her aid, Tory Foster, permission to "try something," out of almost desperation; she is certain disaster will strike if Baltar is elected and begs Adama to keep quiet by telling him of Baltar's involvement with [[Caprica-Six|Six]]. Adama isn't swayed, and convinces Roslin that the correct course of action is to acknowledge a miscount and cover the conspiracy. When President-Elect Baltar demands an investigation into the midcount, an irritated Adama orders him to take his victory and leave, which Baltar does grudgingly.

When [[Cloud Nine]] and two other ships blow up as a result of [[Gina]]'s nuclear bomb, Adama is privately infuriated at Baltar's refusal to investigate, and begins to wonder if he hadn't made a mistake.

A year later, Adm. Adama commanded a heavily under-staffed ''Galactica'' as the flagship of a Defense Fleet, consisting of all ships unable or unwilling to make planetfall on [[New Caprica]]. Adama convinced [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] to rejoin Ellen in [[New Caprica City]] after months of debate, with [[Helo]] acting as his new XO. Not long after Saul left, Dualla, acting XO of the Pegasus, discovered the Cylon Fleet bearing down on New Caprica. After a brief discussion, the Adamas agreed to jump the Fleet to pre-arrangeed coordinates. The admiral issued the orders with a reminder "We're going... but we'll be back."

==Additional Notes==
*[[Wikipedia:Adama|Adama]] (also known as Nazareth) is the name of a large city in Ethiopia. The name is also a variation on [[Wikipedia:Adam and Eve|"Adam"]], the first man to be created according to the Bible in the [[Wikipedia:Genesis|Book of Genesis]].

In hebrew the word pronounced "Adama" means earth.
Here is SkyOne's summary of Adama:

:''William Adama was born on the colony of Caprica, in a small coastal community.''

:''His mother Evelyn was an accountant and his father, Joseph, was an attorney who specialised in criminal defence and civil liberties.''

:''At the age of 16 his parents divorced and he applied to the Colonial Fleet Academy. That same year, the Cylon War broke out. Adama's training accelerated along with all other midshipmen.''

:''After 3 years Adama was commissioned to work as a flight pilot; he gained a further two years of training before Adama joined his first squadron. He was a gifted, natural pilot and he shot down a Cylon fighter in his first mission.''

:''After the war was over, Adama was mustered out of the service along with millions of other colonials as part of demobilization process. He went home to Caprica, married his high school sweetheart and started life over.''

:''Adama struggled to find work as a pilot and so signed up as a deck hand in the merchant fleet. This experience would later give him an uncommon insight into the lives and struggles of the enlisted ranks aboard Galactica.''

:''Adama later had two sons, Lee and Zak. But over the years his exploration aboard ships would see Adama spending less time with his sons. He always tried to instill duty and admiration for military services. But was still surprised to learn that both his sons decided to enter the Fleet and become pilots.''

:''When Zak died during a training flight. Lee confronted his father and laid blame for his younger brother's death.''

As this information has not appeared on the official Scifi.com site, its authenticity is in question. Further, this information states that Adama was fighting in the war 5 years into it, when the war lasted 12 years and RDM has stated in podcasts that Adama only served in the final year of the war.

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{{Characters}}

[[Category:A to Z|Adama, William]]
[[Category:Characters|Adama, William]]
[[Category:RDM|Adama, William]]
[[Category:People from Caprica|Adama, William]]

[[es:William Adama]]

William Adama

2006-04-18T15:30:32Z

Battlestar Galactica:

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:William Adama promo.jpg|200px]]
|age=
|colony= [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]
|birthname= William Adama
|callsign= Husker
|death=
|parents= [[Evelyn Adama]] (mother), [[Joseph Adama]] (father)
|siblings=
|children= [[Lee Adama]] (alive), [[Zak Adama]] (deceased)
|marital status= Divorced ([[Caroline Adama]]), remarried to [[Anne Adama]]
|role=Commanding Officer of the ''[[Battlestar Galactica (ship)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' Supreme Commander of the [[Colonial Fleet]]
|rank=Admiral
|cylon=
|actor=[[Edward James Olmos]]
|name=
}}

Admiral '''William Adama''' is the commanding officer of the ''[[Battlestar Galactica (ship)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', and the highest ranking officer left in the [[Colonial Fleet]].

== Biographical Notes ==

=== Background ===

William Adama was born on Caprica to [[Evelyn Adama|Evelyn]] and [[Joseph Adama]]. His mother was an accountant and his father, an attorney specializing in civil liberties ([[Litmus]]). They divorced while he was in his teens.

At the outbreak of the first [[Cylon War]], Adama was serving in the [[Colonial Fleet]] as a [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] pilot. He allegedly gained the call sign of "Husker" on account of his baritone "gravelled" voice. He proved to be a gifted pilot, shooting down his first [[Cylon]] on his very first mission. He racked-up his 1,000th deck landing while serving aboard the Battlestar ''[[Atlantia]]'' ([[Act of Contrition]]), when he held the rank of Lieutenant.

Adama served on ''[[Galactica]]'' during the war as a pilot. In the last week of the war, the battlestar was boarded by Cylon forces. He recalled to his friend and fellow war veteran [[Saul Tigh]] that the Cylons divided into two teams. One headed for the ship's [[Aft Damage Control|secondary damage control]] and vented the atmosphere, while the other proceded to [[Auxiliary Fire Control|auxiliary fire control]] and turned ''Galactica'''s guns against the fleet. Over 2,000 people died in the attack ([[Valley of Darkness]], [http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/episodes/season02/202/deleted1.html deleted scene]).

Following the Cylon armistice, William Adama married [[Caroline Adama|Caroline]]. They had two sons together: [[Lee Adama|Lee]] and [[Zak Adama|Zak]], before the pressures of Adama's career and the time he spent away from home of active service began to place a strain on their marriage. Nevertheless, this did not stop both Lee and Zak following their father into the service - both signing-up for training as Viper pilots.

[[Image:Youngadamafamily.jpg|thumb|left|A young William Adama and his two sons.]]

A photograph seen in the Miniseries seems to imply that Adama was still in the fleet when his children were roughly six to eight years old, but within a few years he had been discharged as the result of a reduction-in-force. His marriage to Caroline had apparently fully deteriorated by this point, and he found work on a civilian freighter where he met [[Saul Tigh]], who was to become a longtime friend.

After some time as a civilian, Adama married a second time, to a woman named [[Anne Adama|Anne]]. Her father was able to pull some strings with the defense subcomittee and Adama was reinstated to the [[Colonial Fleet]]. Adama himself arranged for Tigh's reinstatement a few years later.

=== Son's Death ===

During his training, Zak Adama became involved with his flight training officer, Lt. [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]], to whom he became engaged shortly before taking his final qualifying flight ([[Act of Contrition]]). As a result of this, Thrace allowed her personal feelings interfere with her professional judgement, passing Zak Adama through flight school when she should have failed him ([[Miniseries]]). Zak was later killed in an operational flight.

As a result of his son's death, Adama faced the failure of his marriage and estrangement from his eldest son, Lee. However, to counter this, he became acquainted with Kara Thrace, and such was the bond that formed between them, Thrace transferred from flight school to one of the Battlestar ''Galactica's'' squadrons, where she served with Adama for some two years before the Cylon's reappearance ([[Act of Contrition]]).

Adama is a natural military leader, as demonstrated by his rise to rank of Commander in charge of a Colonial battlestar. He has the rare combination of qualities that make up a good leader: insight, the ability to naturally command respect, a common touch that enables him to relate to the enlisted personnel under his command as well as his officers, intuition, intelligence, a strong belief in his own abilities, and the ability to take the advice of others. These qualities are reflected in the fact the personnel of all ranks aboard ''Galactica'' hold him in high regard, and know that his is approachable ([[Miniseries]]).

If Adama has any failings, they are his mistrust of politicians and his strong sense of loyalty to those he regards as family and friends. The former is demonstrated in his uneasy acceptance of [[Laura Roslin]] ([[Miniseries]], "[[33]]", "[[Water]]"), which is quickly undermined by Roslin's own doubts following her encounter with [[Leoben Conoy]] ([[Flesh and Bone]]). The latter is most clearly demonstrated by both his support of Colonel [[Saul Tigh]] and his actions when Kara Thrace is posted as Missing in Action.

Despite Tigh's obvious drinking problem ([[Miniseries]]), Adama retains him as his [[Executive officer]] when another commanding officer might have too easily transferred Tigh to a planetside desk job to avoid the embarrassment. While this demonstrated Adama's unstinting friendship for Tigh, it does the colonel no favors with the officers and crew under his command - many of whom are openly dismissive of him ([[Miniseries]]) - a fact that may encourage his drinking.

With Thrace, Adama's loyalty places the mission to find her above the need to protect [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] and ensure the survival of humanity - thus putting everyone at risk ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]).

=== Surprise [[Cylon Attack]] ===

At the time of the Cylon's sudden attack on the Twelve Colonies, William Adama is serving out his final weeks as commander of the battlestar ''[[Galactica]]''. After some 50 years of service, the historic warship is in the process of being decommissioned, and it was one of Adama's final duties to formally hand her over to the [[Colonial Ministry of Education]] (by way of Education Secretary [[Laura Roslin]]) who would operate the ship as a living museum commemorating the original Cylon War and an educational center ([[Miniseries]]).

As a part of the decommissioning ceremonies, someone decides it would be a fitting tribute to have Lee Adama, recently-promoted to the rank of Captain, lead an honor flyby of Vipers - an ironic statement at best, given the strained relationship between the two men. The situation is not made any easier when Lee Adama finds he is to fly his father's battle-honored old Mark II Viper.

When he is first notified of the Cylon attack, Adama's first thoughts were, "Dead. We're all dead" ([[Home, Part II]]). Despite this, as well as the presumed loss of his wife in Caprica City, he manages to shepherd [[The Fleet (RDM)|the Fleet]] to safety. Since the attack on the Twelve Colonies, Adama strives to lead the remnants of humanity with the same conviction as has marked his entire military career. Military discipline remains (mostly) intact aboard ''Galactica'', and she continues to operate as a top-rate warship, despite her lack of any other military support (up to the discovery of ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'') and despite her reduced complement in terms of both fighters and crew.

[[image:Mini_Adama_Tigh_DRADIS.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Commander [[William Adama|Adama]] and Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] plot a course to [[Ragnar Anchorage]] in the [[Miniseries]].]]
As a combat veteran, Adama is more than capable of both strategic and tactical operations and making the decisions both require. When [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Picon|Picon]] Fleet Headquarters is destroyed and then Admiral [[Nagala]] is killed, he unhesitatingly takes control of the Colonial's response to the Cylon incursion and starts defining a response to the onslaught. Once President Roslin convinces Adama the futility of fighting against overwhelming odds, and with what may be the last 50,000 humans that remain anywhere, he makes the switch to the more tactical thinking that keeps the Colonial fleet at least one step ahead of their Cylon pursuers. From the outset, he is savvy enough to give every single survivor of the devastating attack on the Colonies a reason for hope for the future: the legend of Earth. This falsehood comes back to haunt him as the weeks continue, as Roslin is aware of this lie to the crew and states this privately to Adama.

Away from the daily rigours of command, Adama continues to face the problem of infiltration within the Fleet by [[Cylon agent]]s. ("[[Litmus]]", "[[Flesh and Bone]]", "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]") and the possibility of saboteurs aboard ''Galactica'' and the Fleet ([[Water]]) - sabateurs who are still be at large, waiting for an opportunity to strike again. Adama has also had to redefine the boundaries of military and civil leadership, working as best he can with Laura Roslin, now recognized as the President of the people of the Twelve Colonies following the loss of practically all of the original Colonial [[government]].

Events since the Cylon attack causes Adama to reconcile with his son, Lee. While they do not always see eye-to-eye, the needs of ''Galactica's'' crew and humanity as a whole have enabled them to better understand one another and move past their differences.

Following the loss of seven of the ''Galactica's'' pilots, Adama is forced to face the truth concerning Zak Adama's death, and Kara Thrace's role within it. In a strange way, these two events are something of a catalyst for one another - Thrace's admission to Adama forces him to realize how precious his remaining son is to him, and how difficult a father he must have been ("[[You Can't Go Home Again]]", "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]"); Adama's ability to admit his love and respect for his son enables the elder Adama to overcome his anger towards Thrace after her admission to him ([[Act of Contrition]]).

===Kobol and Earth===
At the start of the exodus from the Twelve Colonies, Adama uses the legend of Earth as a means of binding the remnants of humanity together with a single hope. Unfortunately, this later causes the greatest rift in leadership within the Colonial fleet. Following the accidental discovery of [[Kobol]], which [[Laura Roslin|President Roslin]] sees pre-ordained in scripture, Adama finds himself confronted by what amounts to a court-martial situation. With members of his crew -- and the Vice President, [[Gaius Baltar]] -- trapped on the surface of Kobol, Adama orders Kara Thrace to use a captured [[Cylon Raider]] to destroy a Cylon [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]] in orbit above Kobol. However, President Roslin persuades Thrace to use the Raider to go to [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] to retrieve the [[Arrow of Apollo]] at [[Delphi]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]).

This action results in Adama terminating Roslin's presidency in what amounts to a coup, only to find [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]] forced to arrest [[Lee Adama]] for mutiny while on ''[[Colonial One]]'' to remove President Roslin from office. With Thrace gone, Adama dispatches [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Lieutenant Valerii]] to destroy the basestar over Kobol. While the mission is successful, Valerii's Cylon programming reveals itself and shoots Adama at point blank range as he thanks her for her work on her return ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). Adama's injuries are left untreated when a second basestar suddenly appears, forcing ''Galactica'' and the Fleet to perform an emergency [[FTL|Jump]].

Unfortunately, the chaos of the situation leaves ''Galactica'' without the same Jump coordinates as the Fleet, and the battlestar is separated in another area of space ([[Scattered]]). Worst of all, Dr. [[Cottle]], the Fleet's only doctor, is on one of the other ships in the Fleet. While Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta]] determines how to return to the Fleet, and as ''Galactica'' is raided by a [[Cylon Centurion]] boarding party, the [[Layne Ishay|medics]] on hand stabilize the commander's condition long enough for Dr. Cottle to return. After a lengthy and risky operation, Cottle repairs the damage to Adama's body.

Adama rests unconscious while Tigh declares martial law to counteract Roslin's supporters in the [[Quorum of Twelve]]. Roslin escapes the ship with Lee Adama's help, and hide throughout the fleet as Adama regains consciousness and returns to command. Roslin gains sufficient support and returns to Kobol, convincing over a third of the Fleet to Jump to Kobol in search of the path to Earth. Adama is incensed as, being a man with generally secular beliefs, he never truly believed in the existence of Earth of the Pythian scriptures and (incorrectly) feels that most others believe the same.
[[image:Home_pt1-Adama.jpg|thumb|300px|Commander [[William Adama|Adama]] paints a model boat while talking to [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] in "[[Home, Part I]]."]]
Adama's calm exterior barely holds back the helplessness and rage he feels over the betrayal of his son, Sharon Valerii, Roslin, and over 18,000 others that left with Roslin for Kobol. While at first Adama takes a similar stance to Tigh in assuming a hard military posture, a conversation with Petty Officer [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] helps him realize again (as Dualla and [[Billy Keikeya]] showed him before the [[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage]]) that, despite the problems, the Fleet is his family, and the family must stay together. He orders the remainder of the Fleet to prepare to return to Kobol ([[Home, Part I]]).

Adama's attitude about Roslin and her quest changes from anger to genuine interest as he and his command staff track the likeliest location where Roslin's group searches for the [[Tomb of Athena]]. Rather than being skeptical about Roslin's visions, for instance, Adama begins to take them as face value, considering that data just as useful as the maps in front of him. Realizing that only he could reach out to Roslin to reunite the Fleet ("It was always between us anyway"), Adama leaves ''Galactica'' to Tigh's command while he, Tyrol, [[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]], and Keikeya head to Kobol to find Roslin's group.

Adama greets his son, Lee, with raised guns, accidentally surprising Roslin's camp. Adama hugs his son and warmly greets Roslin and Thrace. However, on seeing the Caprica-based version of Sharon Valerii, Adama examines her eerily, grabs her by the throat and hurls her down to the ground while the camp tries to explain the reason why she was in camp. "I want you to die" was all that Adama could express before his pent-up anger became more physical, the exertions from his recovery catching up to him. He rolls off Valerii with aid, clutching his chest. Adama is given an explanation but remains understandably wary of this new copy of the [[Cylon agent]].

Adama and Roslin have a talk unlike any other they've shared in the past, both calling each other by their first names, casually. Adama tells Roslin that he forgives her for her actions in the past weeks, and leaves the apology stand even when Roslin casually notes that she wasn't asking for his permission. When Roslin speaks of the [[Resistance (movement)|resistance]] on Caprica and whether ''Galactica'' and her Fleet should have returned to fight instead of leaving from Ragnar Anchorage, Adama rejects the notion, saying he did not come to Kobol to "navel gaze" at what they could have done. He thanks Laura for saving him, his son, and the Fleet, for if he did not follow Roslin's advice to leave the system before the fight at Ragnar, he believes they would have all died.

Moments after discovering the entrance to the Tomb of Athena, Caprica-Valerii raises a gun at Adama's chest while [[Meier]], one of [[Tom Zarek]]'s men, raises his gun to Lee Adama, who is now aiming at Valerii. Meier was attempting an assassination of both Adamas to allow Zarek more political power after Roslin's demise, trying to use Valerii as a pawn to remove attention from Zarek. Immediately, Valerii turns her gun to Meier and fires. Lee Adama picks off a second shooter, while Valerii explains to Adama that she is fully aware of who she is and that, unlike her ''Galactica'' counterpart known as Boomer, she does not have hidden protocols or programming. She surrenders her weapon to Adama. Adama's feelings on Valerii remain guarded as she is placed in the special cage created for her counterpart on their return to ''Galactica.''

Adama enters the Tomb with Roslin, Lee, Kara, and Billy, the rest left guarded by Tyrol. The group successfully activates the map with the [[Arrow of Apollo]] and gain useful information on the true whereabouts of Earth. Back on ''Galactica'', Adama firmly buries the hatchet between he and Roslin publically by introducing Roslin as the President for a speech to members of the fleet, and leads a formal, unified ovation by applause for Roslin ([[Home, Part II]]).

===Common Ground===

To help undo the damage to the military's reputation in the Fleet after the "''[[Gideon]]'' incident", President Roslin and Adama give a [[Fleet News Service]] reporter, [[D'anna Biers]], unlimited access of the ship to interview the crew and watch their work and off-shift behavior. Bier's resulting documentary is very moving, and Adama gives his approval to release it for airing to the Fleet, who believes it shows the best of his crew, "warts and all". Adama is not aware that Biers is a Cylon infiltrator that has also passed out intelligence to her counterparts on Caprica of the existance and pregnancy of Helo's copy of Sharon Valerii ([[Final Cut]]).

''Galactica'' is beset by mysterious malfunctions throughout the ship. Worse, crew morale is very low, with no relief, little true recreation, and a sense of no future plagues many throughout the ship. Even the stoic and reliable Lieutenant [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]] vents his frustration to the surprise of everyone in [[CIC]]. Deck Chief [[Galen Tyrol]], fighting his own sense of hopelessness, begins a project to build a replacement fighter from spare parts. Over time, others in the ship join in on the "pet project". Despite the need to stop the increasing malfunctions, Adama is reluctant to stop work on Tyrol's project unless necessary as it gives the crew a creative outlet. Some time later, after the new fighter completes its maiden flight, Adama and Roslin christen the new stealth fighter, the [[Blackbird]]. Adama tells Roslin that the crew's nicknaming the fighter "Laura" was a honor they wanted to do for the President, given her service to them as well as their feelings about her illness.

Adama solicits the help of the incarcerated Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii, ordering [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] to show her a portion of the Cylon virus code found in the ship's computers. She reacts in shock and tells Adama that this code was part of a [[logic bomb]] that will take over the battlestar, killing its crew and directing its guns at the remaining Fleet to destroy it. She also strongly believes, as did Adama, that this bomb was an indication of an imminent Cylon attack. Lieutenant Gaeta and [[Gaius Baltar]] devise a way to rid themselves of the bomb, but during this process, the battlestar would be practically defenseless. Adama needs a way to stop the incoming Cylon forces and asks President Roslin for advice on trusting the second Valerii for help. She responds by asking him to find common ground between Valerii and himself, despite his prejudices about her. In a desperate plan, Adama brings Valerii to CIC, where she uses her Cylon brain to send a virus back to the massive Cylon fleet that appears, deactivating every single enemy fighter. ''Galactica's'' Vipers easily destroy all enemy Raiders without a single casualty ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]).

===The Discovery of Battlestar ''Pegasus''===

The sudden discovery of the [[Mercury class battlestar|advanced battlestar]] ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', commanded by Admiral [[Helena Cain]], is a very welcome event for Adama and his war-weary crew, and surely brings additional hope to the civilian fleet. But Cain's command staff--as well as her crew--seem oddly power-hungry, angrily disciplined, and, perhaps, the perfect reason why the Cylons might decide the human race should be annihilated. Adama, a soldier accustomed to taking orders, puts on a stoic face as Cain assumes command of the fleet. Not even Adama's relaxed smile convinces Laura Roslin of Adama's attitude when she asks how he was handling his change in command. Her guess was correct: something about the Admiral bothers Adama, but he is reluctant to discuss it. Adama follows his own truism about the Admiral: stick to what you know, until you find something better.

Adama's troubles with Cain begin with her choice to furnish supplies only to ''Galactica'' and not the civilian fleet, a point that Roslin hopes Adama would be able to correct. After Cain reads Adama's ship logs of the last 3 months, Cain reassigns Lieutenant Thrace and his son, Lee, to her ship. She explains that Adama was too close to his son, that Starbuck was an insubordinate officer that required structure, and that Adama had let military discipline become lax. Adama's stony face barely hides his anger, which he partially releases on Apollo and Starbuck as he orders them without commentary to transfer to ''Pegasus.'' Cain makes some valid observations about lax discipline on ''Galactica'', so Adama grudgingly accepts her re-shuffling of personnel.

Matters with Cain's unusually totalitarian command style come to a head when Cain orders her "Cylon interrogator", Lieutenant [[Alistair Thorne]], to interrogate the normally cooperative [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii]]. Thorne's method of "interrogation" was sexual assault. Lt. Agathon and Tyrol discover the truth of Thorne from members of ''Pegasus''' crew. They rush to Valerii's cell and stop Thorne, accidentally killing him. Adama is given assurances by Cain that the arrested men will be tried fairly on her ship, but she refuses to assemble a tribunal to conduct the trial.

A few hours later, Adama is told that Agathon and Tyrol were tried and convicted--and solely by Cain herself. Cain claims that wartime status granted her extra powers, but Adama disagrees, realizing that his fleet wasn't on an offensive posture and requires cooperation and not military rule, as ''Galactica'' could have done long ago at Ragnar Anchorage by fighting to win and abandoning the civilian fleet. Adama's stony acceptance of taking orders from the renegade admiral immediately ceases. He orders the alert Vipers and a Raptor--filled with [[marines]]--to head to ''Pegasus'' to retrieve his men, and Cain deploys her Vipers. Adama is headed into yet another fight for the survival of his Fleet--his family--against a vastly superior force, and it doesn't seem to matter to him one wit if it is the Cylon fleet, or Cain's hostile, warmongering forces ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]).

The standoff between the battlestars fortunately doesn't begin with an exchange of any fire from battlestars or fighters. However, Adama watches as his Vipers dance with ''Pegasus'' Vipers in a deadly game of "chicken", with ''Pegasus'' pilots attempting to force ''Galactica's'' fighters to fire first, which, by rules of engagement, would authorize return fire. Adama keeps silent, awaiting the inevitable collision or misfire that will start the bloodshed when Lt. Gaeta picks up what appears to be a [[Raider]] that manages to get ''very'' close to the Fleet without an earlier [[DRADIS]] alert. Picking up the surprise target as well, ''Pegasus'' fighters stop the chicken game and fly formation with Adama's fighters to intercept the target. The target turns out to be Kara Thrace in the [[Blackbird]], returning from her unauthorized but very successful self-appointed reconnaissance mission to the mysterious Cylon ship that trails the Fleet. Her sudden entrance allows a ''detente'' between the battlestar commanders, who meet on ''Colonial One''. There, President Roslin gives both commanders a harsh grilling and reminds them of the importance of the Fleet's survival and the intentions of the Cylon fleet following them. Adama appears actually chastized about the situation and remains quiet, except when Roslin patronizes Cain in saying that ''Pegasus'' would triumph in a firefight with ''Galactica'' ("I wouldn't count on that," he simply says). After Cain leaves, Roslin speaks with Adama privately and, to Adama's surprise, suggests that he kill Cain before she kills him and destroys the Fleet for her own wartime devices. Adama leaves to think about it, unsure if he could be an assassin.

Adama apologizes to the most unlikely person: the copy of [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]], who was sexually assaulted by ''Pegasus'' Lieutenant [[Alistair Thorne]]. While Valerii shows signs of shock and anger, Dr. [[Cottle]] acknowledges she and her unborn baby are mostly unharmed. Adama asks Cottle to see that ''she'' is OK (not calling her "it") and orders her returned to her cell after her care. Afterwards, Adama visits the port [[hangar deck]], appearing as to get Viper flight status, but in reality is there to learn a little about [[Peter Laird]], his interim deck chief from ''Pegasus''. Realizing he's not military, Adama asks more from [[Cally]], who says that rumors indicate that Laird was from a civilian fleet once guarded by ''Pegasus''. A conversation with Colonel Tigh and Jack Fisk confirms the worst: ''Pegasus'' abandoned its civilian fleet, but not without conscripting many civilians into military service and stripping supplies and fuel from it, leaving what remained of the ships to fend for themselves. Resistance was quelled by shooting the families of those who would not leave with the battlestar, Fisk said.

Adama's relationship with Roslin grows closer. He visits her in bed, not looking at all well, but jovial nonetheless. Adama inquires of her unusually "bloody-minded" attitude towards Cain; Roslin replies that as long as Cain survives, his future and that of the Fleet is at risk. He asks if she needs anything, and Roslin humorously suggests she'd like a nice, young [[Cylon agent|Cylon body]] to replace her own. When Adama says he can't picture her as a blonde, Roslin smiles and says that he'd be surprised. As he leaves, wiping a tear from his eye as he turns back to the president, Roslin reminds him to watch his back, and do what he has to do.

After a briefing on the upcoming battle to destroy the [[Resurrection Ship]] and its fleet, attended by Cain and Adama, Adama requests permission to speak more with Kara Thrace on the battle tactics, which Cain grants as she returns to ''Pegasus''. Adama dismisses his son, cryptically telling him "Stay focused, son," while he asks the unusual from Thrace. After the battle, Adama asks her to enter the ''Pegasus'' CIC, with Lee Adama by her side to cover her, and to shoot Admiral Cain in the head. Little does Adama know that Admiral Cain has planned a similar assassination attempt with her XO and several members of her Marine division.

Lieutenant Lee Adama visits his father by volunteering for a courier run between the battlestars. The elder Adama doesn't want to talk too much about the operation, but is happy to see him. Adama continues his new pattern of seeking advice from unusual places by inviting his copy of [[Sharon Valerii (Caprica copy)|Sharon Valerii]] to his quarters to ask her why the Cylons hate the humans so much. She can't answer the question directly, but asks him to remember something in the speech he gave at the decommissioning ceremony ([[Miniseries]]): Has humanity asked itself ''why'' it deserved to survive, given all its failings?

With the battle to destroy the Resurrection Ship a success, Adama has an opportunity to have Starbuck shoot Cain, but takes the advice of Valerii again and chooses to be better than what humans have become. Strangely, Cain also aborts her attempt on Adama's command and life, something that greatly relieves [[Jack Fisk]], who laughs out loud and invites the crew for a drink.

Cain's fate is sealed not by Adama but [[Gina]], the captured and tortured Cylon agent, who shoots and kills the admiral in her quarters. After Cain's funeral, on ''Colonial One'', President Roslin, looking very frail, promotes Adama to Admiral, joking that some people may not think she knew much about military protocol, but that she knows that a commander of two or more capital ships should be an admiral. Adama smiles, says that he's never given up hope about getting admiral rank, but stopped chasing them after a while. Roslin appears ready to retire and has trouble standing, when Adama helps lift and steady her. In a pleasant surprise, now-Admiral Adama takes Laura Roslin's face in hand and gives her a simple, affectionate kiss, which she returns to smiles on both faces. [[Billy Keikeya]] helps the president back to her quarters while Adama's smile turns into sadness over Roslin's illness.

=== Admiral Adama ===

Shortly after the Battle of the Resurrection Ship, it is clear that Roslin is nearing death. In her final moments, Roslin orders Adama to kill Caprica-Valerii's [[Hera|unborn child]]. Adama cannot bring himself to terminate the pregnancy, and it is shortly revealed that it is a good thing he hesitated: Baltar finds a cure for Roslin's cancer within the child's blood. Roslin is saved and Adama is visibly pleased that she has pulled through. Meanwhile, Adama becomes aware of the [[Demand Peace]] movement among the fleet. Adama meets with [[Royan Jahee]], the leader of the movement, and attempts to explain that the Cylons don't want peace, they want too annihilate every lving human being. Jahee doesn't believe Adama, and the meeting ends with the two men in no different places than where they started.

===The Election and the "Lighthouse Keeper"===
Adama offers ''Galactica'' as the location for the counting of ballots during the Presidential Election, a proposal which is accepted despite Zarek's protests over the ships connection with Roslin. Unknown to Adama, Tigh and Dualla conspire to rig the election in favor President Roslin out of mistrust for Dr. Baltar (an opinion which Adama shares). Not long after the polls close and she is declared the winner, Lt. Gaeta contacts the admiral with his suspicions that Tigh attempted to rig the election. When confronted, Roslin admits that she gave her aid, Tory Foster, permission to "try something," out of almost desperation; she is certain disaster will strike if Baltar is elected and begs Adama to keep quiet by telling him of Baltar's involvement with [[Caprica-Six|Six]]. Adama isn't swayed, and convinces Roslin that the correct course of action is to acknowledge a miscount and cover the conspiracy. When President-Elect Baltar demands an investigation into the midcount, an irritated Adama orders him to take his victory and leave, which Baltar does grudgingly.

When [[Cloud Nine]] and two other ships blow up as a result of [[Gina]]'s nuclear bomb, Adama is privately infuriated at Baltar's refusal to investigate, and begins to wonder if he hadn't made a mistake.

A year later, Adm. Adama commanded a heavily under-staffed ''Galactica'' as the flagship of a Defense Fleet, consisting of all ships unable or unwilling to make planetfall on [[New Caprica]]. Adama convinced [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] to rejoin Ellen in [[New Caprica City]] after months of debate, with [[Helo]] acting as his new XO. Not long after Saul left, Dualla, acting XO of the Pegasus, discovered the Cylon Fleet bearing down on New Caprica. After a brief discussion, the Adamas agreed to jump the Fleet to pre-arrangeed coordinates. The admiral issued the orders with a reminder "We're going... but we'll be back."

==Additional Notes==
*[[Wikipedia:Adama|Adama]] (also known as Nazareth) is the name of a large city in Ethiopia. The name is also a variation on [[Wikipedia:Adam and Eve|"Adam"]], the first man to be created according to the Bible in the [[Wikipedia:Genesis|Book of Genesis]].

In hebrew the word pronounced "Adama" means earth.
Here is SkyOne's summary of Adama:

:''William Adama was born on the colony of Caprica, in a small coastal community.''

:''His mother Evelyn was an accountant and his father, Joseph, was an attorney who specialised in criminal defence and civil liberties.''

:''At the age of 16 his parents divorced and he applied to the Colonial Fleet Academy. That same year, the Cylon War broke out. Adama's training accelerated along with all other midshipmen.''

:''After 3 years Adama was commissioned to work as a flight pilot; he gained a further two years of training before Adama joined his first squadron. He was a gifted, natural pilot and he shot down a Cylon fighter in his first mission.''

:''After the war was over, Adama was mustered out of the service along with millions of other colonials as part of demobilization process. He went home to Caprica, married his high school sweetheart and started life over.''

:''Adama struggled to find work as a pilot and so signed up as a deck hand in the merchant fleet. This experience would later give him an uncommon insight into the lives and struggles of the enlisted ranks aboard Galactica.''

:''Adama later had two sons, Lee and Zak. But over the years his exploration aboard ships would see Adama spending less time with his sons. He always tried to instill duty and admiration for military services. But was still surprised to learn that both his sons decided to enter the Fleet and become pilots.''

:''When Zak died during a training flight. Lee confronted his father and laid blame for his younger brother's death.''

As this information has not appeared on the official Scifi.com site, its authenticity is in question. Further, this information states that Adama was fighting in the war 5 years into it, when the war lasted 12 years and RDM has stated in podcasts that Adama only served in the final year of the war.

{{start box}}
{{succession box|before=Unknown; Eventually [[Peter Dash]]|title=''Commanding of the Battlestar ''[[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''|after=Incumbent}}
{{end box}}

{{Characters}}

[[Category:A to Z|Adama, William]]
[[Category:Characters|Adama, William]]
[[Category:RDM|Adama, William]]
[[Category:People from Caprica|Adama, William]]

[[es:William Adama]]

Talk:Galactica (TRS)/Archive 1

2006-04-18T15:20:38Z

Battlestar Galactica: Talk:Galactica (RDM) moved to Talk:Battlestar Galactica (ship)

== Nice Work! ==

I enjoy reading about the new Galactica starship and look forward to more details as the series progresses...and to adding my own edits, too.

Keep up the good work on this page.

:On behalf of the rest of the team, thanks! This wiki has grown a lot from the work of a few hundred people and a lot of readers! [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 22:44, 13 October 2005 (EDT)

:I am here, I make the edits. There was little choice in the matter. --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]], October 13, 2005

== Formatting Question ==

When formatting the "full name" of ''Galactica'' is it:

*...the ''[[Battlestar]] [[Galactica]]''
*...the [[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]''
or
*...the [[Battlestar|battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]''?

It seems to me that it should be the second.

:"''Galactica''" or "the battlestar ''Galactica''"; never "the ''Galactica''". Battleship and aircraft carrier are not proper nouns, so battlestar isn't either. See [[Battlestar wiki:Standards and Conventions#Ships]]. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 20:56, 17 October 2005 (EDT)

==Tallies==

FYI, I'm working on a fairly major revamp of these, using MASON and Joe's source page idea. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 20:59, 17 October 2005 (EDT)

:Why does it state that Galactica had 2 squadrons of MKVII's on board the ship at the begining of the series? This would be a big inconsistancy with what we saw in the miniseries.

:At the decommisioning ceremony we see one squadron of vipers led by Apollo doing a flyby. This squadron leaves the ship for Caprica after the ceremony and is rerouted to engage the cylons.

:When Starbuck is released from the brig she reports 20 pilots available but no vipers. Adama then orders the MKII's in the museum pressed into service.

:The squadron of MKVII's led by 'Ripper' is then destroyed by the cylon virus.

:IF there were 2 squadrons of MKVII's on the ship, where is that second squadron during all of this? It didn't launch with Ripper's squadron and it wasn't available for Starbuck and the other stranded pilots to use. (They didn't know the MKVII's were useless until after the first squadron was destroyed.)

:It's more likely that the MKVII's we see at Ragnor and later in the series are made up from homeless vipers that were carried to Ragnor with Roslin's fleet, plus a few spares put together from storage aboard Galactica.

::There are clearly twenty vipers on screen in Ripper's squadron. Galactica is then able to sortie a combined squadron of (roughly) 40 Mk. VIIs and Mk. IIs. This makes perfect sense if Galactica has two squadrons of Mk. VIIs based in its active (port) flight pod, and one squadron of Mk. IIs in the museum (starboard) flight pod.

::As for pilots, presumably the ones with ships had something better to do than be "climbing the walls down here". It's fairly typical for a military operation to have more pilots than craft in any case, so that's not an issue. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:47, 4 December 2005 (EST)

Well if there was another squadron of MVII's available at the time Starbuck mentions the 20 odd pilots in the ready room, where is that second squadron? If they are sortied after Ripper's mission, they would have been destroyed by the virus. If they're in the tubes waiting for a mission, why didn't they sortie to defend the ship?

This second squadron is never seen onscreen or mentioned in dialogue in the miniseries. It's more likely it didn't exist and the later MKVII's are refugees. Those vipers are at least seen on screen once, and later in the series its mentioned that there are some pilots from other battlestars flying off Galactica. (Crashdown is described as a refugee from "Triton", for example.)

:Crashdown was a Raptor pilot; Raptors have FTL and could go to another system, but I don't think Vipers could easily escape to Ragnar that well (unless, like Apollo, they landed on a nearby Civilian ship with Jump engines then escaped aboard that, but that seems unlikely).--[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 17:50, 7 December 2005 (EST)
::Didn't Doral say during the flyby at the museum that it was performed by the last Galactica squadron. Since this was the squadron led by Ripper, it pretty much precludes a second squadron. Also, there could have been several Mk VIIs in storage, for spares or down for repairs. Maybe there were extra Mk IIs stored in the starboard hanger. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 17:57, 7 December 2005 (EST)
:::It is likely that they were unservicable and awaited transfer to a dock after ''Galactica'' was officially decomissioned. Also, on the off chance that I might be right, there may have been Vipers on other ships that survived as well. (For instance, there may have been a few were stragglers from earlier engagements, or even patrols that didn't see action during the assault on the Colonies that happened upon Roslin's fleet prior to Ragnar.) Just a thought or three... -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 19:33, 7 December 2005 (EST)

::::It would be informative to get an actual headcount during the Battle of Ragnar Anchorage. I have the launch scene about 2/3 analyzed, and will probably be able to finish it next week, but the video quality of my recording isn't perfect. I'll let you know what I come up with, in any case. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 20:33, 7 December 2005 (EST)

::::Oh, one more thing - In the mini, Adama says "I seem to remember an entire squadron of fighters down in the starboard hangar deck yesterday". If there were two squadrons of Mk. IIs, he would've said so. Again, two squadrons of Mk. VIIs (one destroyed) and one squadron of Mk. IIs fits the on-screen evidence nicely. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:48, 8 December 2005 (EST)

::::The only problem with that is that the second squadron doesn't seem to show up until the battle at Ragnor. What was it doing all this time? If the count of MKVII's is under 20, it makes sense that the MKVII's at Ragnor were made up of a small group of spares that were put together onboard Galactica along with whatever refugees were picked up by Roslin's fleet. We know for sure that there were at least three MKVII's with that fleet that were shown onscreen.--Dallan007
:::::Didn't Starbuck's lines in that scene imply that there were no operational fighters. I believe it was something along the lines of "pilots you got, but Vipers..." I think the Mk VIIs they have were straglers the RTFF picked up before they jumped to Ragnar. These could have been on patrol or something and met up with Colonial One et al. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 00:03, 9 December 2005 (EST)
::::::Maybe the Mk. VII wing wasn't sortied before Ragnar because the systems had to be stripped of Baltar's CNP. There are far too many Mk. VIIs in the Ragnar battle to be anything less than a full wing, though. I'll have a real tally up as soon as I can. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 01:38, 9 December 2005 (EST)
::::::::They didn't know about the CNP weakness yet. The purging didn't happen until they were at Ragnar, after the first sortie. Remember, it was the same time as Doral was accused of being a Cylon. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 07:09, 9 December 2005 (EST)
:::::::::Perhaps, before the first sortie, Gaeta had the remaining Mark VIIs grounded as a precaution since he hears of the malfunctions from Dualla before the fight and makes the association with the CNP (he's bright that way). Or, yes, the Mark VIIs were gathered up in Roslin's search (most probable since Galactica should launch everything they had in sortie 1, and they would rather send Mark VII's than the museum pieces). --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 13:10, 9 December 2005 (EST)
::::::::::The squadron ready room would seem to imply a 20-ship squadron. There are 24 seats in the ready room, 20 pilots plus a few seats for guests like Apollo. Boomer and Helo were flying with the last Mk VII squadron so it would make sense that they would be there in the mini. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 12:27, 13 December 2005 (EST)

Galactica (TRS)

2006-04-18T15:20:38Z

Battlestar Galactica: Galactica (RDM) moved to Battlestar Galactica (ship)

:''For the Original Series ''Galactica'', see [[Galactica (TOS)]]. For the Video Game ''Galactica'', see [[Galactica (Video Game)]].''<br/><br/>

{{Ship Data|
image= Bsg-bsg-1.jpg
| title= Galactica (BS 75)
| race= Colonial
| type= Military
| ftl= Yes
| crew= Approximately 2,650
| co= [[William Adama]]
| xo= [[Karl Agathon]] (presumed)
| role= Carrier / battleship hybrid
| weapons= Primary and point-defense [[KEW|Kinetic Energy Weapons]], conventional missiles, nuclear warheads, Vipers, Raptors
| status= Active
| img=
}}

The '''''Battlestar Galactica'' (BS 75)''' is the most famous warship in the [[Colonial Fleet]]. Built in time to participate in the [[Cylon War]], she remained the only military vessel without integrated [[Computers|computer networks]]. Without networked computers, ''Galactica'' never upgraded to the new [[Command Navigation Program|integrated defense system software]] developed by Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] and his [[Number Six|team]]. Because of this and other fortune, she became one of only [[Pegasus (RDM)|two]] battlestars to survive the renewed Cylon attack on the [[Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]], some 40 years after the end of the first war.

== Fleet Details ==

'''Designation''': warship, battlestar type, [[Galactica type battlestar|original battlestar class]] (class name unknown).

'''Deployment''': Formerly an element of the [[75th Battlestar Group]] (BSG 75)

'''Current Status''': One of [[Pegasus (RDM) |two]] remaining Colonial military units. ''Galactica'' is commanded by [[William Adama]].

== History ==

''Galactica'' was one of the twelve first battlestars to be laid down by the Colonials. Initially they built a battlestar to represent each colony, and Galactica was the battlestar that represented [[Caprica]]. As such, she is some 50 years old (Mini Series). Following the outbreak of Cylon hostilities several more battlestars were built. ''Galactica's'' first commander was [[Peter Dash]] ([[Miniseries]]).

The original battlestars were all designed with non-integrated computer systems to avoid the Cylons' demonstrated ability to override or subvert networked command and control systems early in the war ([[Miniseries]]). Rather than technological sophistication, the battlestar depended on its sheer bulk and defensive / offensive capabilities to ward off any threats to itself or the Colonies.

Following the [[Armistice Station|armistice]] with the Cylons, and their withdrawal from Colonial space, ''Galactica'' and her sister ships continued to serve the Twelve Colonies in a wide variety of roles. While her surviving sister ships were scrapped or upgraded to match the systems capabilities of more modern Colonial vessels, ''Galactica'' continued in service without her systems being fully networked or integrated, making her unique among Colonial military vessels ([[Miniseries]]).

With her active career drawing to a close, a decision was taken to retire ''Galactica'' and decommission her from service. [[Colonial Fleet]] chose not to scrap her, but to turn her into a combination of living museum to the original Cylon War and an educational center, with her conversion being overseen by her final commander, [[William Adama]] ([[Miniseries]]).

At the time of her formal decommissioning ceremony, ''Galactica'' was stripped of all but one of her operational [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]] Mark VII squadrons, her munitions destroyed, and her starboard landing pod converted into a pressurized [[Galactica Museum|museum]] housing (among other things) a full squadron of Mk. II Vipers (Miniseries, also in Deleted Scenes). Many argue that a "squadron" is comprised of 20 Mk. IIs, but on-screen evidence contradicts this. Galactica clearly had more than 20 Mk. IIs aboard (likely as many as 40), as in 'The Hand of God' 19 Mk. IIs are deployed - by this time over 11 Mk. IIs had been destroyed on-screen, meaning Galactica arrived at Ragnar with at least 30 Mk. IIs. The most likely assumption is that the Starboard Flight Pod contained 40 Mk. IIs (one for each launch tube), with Adama's restored Model 'found in a salvage yard' making the total 41.

With the unexpected resumption of hostilities on the part of the Cylons, ''Galactica'' quickly proves her worthiness as a warship is far from over as she withstands a direct hit from a tactical nuclear missile, and then single-handedly engages two [[Basestar (RDM)|basestars]] after re-arming herself at [[Ragnar Anchorage]], providing an umbrella of fire cover under which [[The Fleet (RDM)|an assortment of 75 civilian ships]] containing the last survivors of the Twelve Colonies escape the Cylons.

Since the exodus of the Colonials from their overrun homeworlds, ''Galactica'' becomes both protector and provider for the Fleet. She provides direct fire-cover for the Fleet during Cylon attacks no fewer than 240 times ("[[33]]", "[[Act of Contrition]]"). She provides much of the Fleet with recycled water ([[Water]]) and she is the primary source of medical care, with groups of civilians routinely brought aboard for check-ups and the like ([[Litmus]]). ''Galactica'' also undertakes internal policing duties within the Fleet ("[[Water]]", "[[Bastille Day]]").

''Galactica'' successfully goes on the offensive against the Cylons, capturing a [[tylium]] fuel mining and processing plant in the process ([[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]).

''Galactica'' is joined by [[Mercury class battlestar|the advanced battlestar]] ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', commanded by Admiral [[Helena Cain]], at the mid-point of the second season of the Re-imagined Series. Battlestars ''Pegasus'' and ''Galactica'' destroy two [[Basestar (RDM)|basestars]] as well as a critical Cylon support ship, the [[Resurrection Ship]] ([[Resurrection Ship, Part I]]). After the death of Admiral Cain, President [[Laura Roslin]] promotes William Adama to Admiral, restoring him to overall Fleet command, but now with two battlestars at his disposal ([[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]).

== Equipment ==
''Galactica'' shares the same overall technical specifications as other original Colonial battlestars of [[Original Battlestar (RDM)|her class]], with the following key differences:

===Available Flight Pods===
Only ''Galactica's'' port [[flight pod]] is in service. The starboard flight pod was enclosed and pressurized as the main museum display facility. It was violently depressurized after a [[Heavy Raider]] crashed into it ([[Scattered]]). No episode since "[[Valley of Darkness]]" addresses the status of the flight pod since its depressurization.

===Turrets===
[[Image:BSG-KEW-Turret.jpg|thumb|An example of one of ''Galactica's'' large projectile weapons.]]
''Galactica's'' defenses include an array of twenty-four large turret mounted, dual-role twin-cannons, and a multitude of smaller turret mounted twin-guns located between the ''Galactica's'' "[[Frame|ribs]]", along the [[flight pod]]s. Together, these provide the ''Galactica'' with a flak field that acts as a defense perimeter against incoming hostiles ([[Miniseries]], "[[Scattered]]"). In addition, the large cannons represent ''Galactica's'' main anti-capital ship weapon, and have been shown to be quite effective against targets like [[Basestar]]s ("[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]").

===Nuclear Warheads===
''Galactica'' had five nuclear warheads as of "[[Bastille Day]]". Commander Adama uses one to destroy a Cylon [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]] in [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]. Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] cannibalizes one to use in his [[Cylon Detector]], which he later gives to [[Gina]], who detonates it to destroy [[Cloud 9]], leaving the ship with three.

===Vipers===
Prior to the arrival of ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', ''Galactica'' has at most 34 Vipers, of which at least six are Mk. VIIs.{{ref|vipers}} ''Galactica'' receives additional supplies from ''Pegasus'' since her arrival that has helped in repair and refurbishment of her original fighter complement, and more recently new Viper Mk. VIIs built onboard Pegasus ([[Pegasus (episode)|"Pegasus"]], "[[Scar]]").

===Raptors===
The number of [[Raptor]]s available to ''Galactica'' has been very inconsistent in the series. We currently must assume she has at least five, and left Ragnar Anchorage with at least eight.{{ref|raptors}}

===Other Craft===
*''Galactica'' currently posesses two [[Heavy Raider]]s. One was hit by ''Galactica's'' defensive fire and crash-lands into the starboard flight pod in "[[Scattered]]" (now possibly unusable). The other returns in operational status from Caprica in "[[Home, Part I]]". In "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]", one of Galactica's [[Heavy Raider]]s was releaved of its FTL navigation system for use by the [[Caprica]] rescue mission.
*An experimental stealth fighter, the [[Blackbird]], is constructed using spare parts in the episode "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]". (Destroyed in the episode "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]").

=== Crew ===
Before the attack, ''Galactica'' has approximately 2,800 crewmen, while awaiting its decomissioning.{{ref|originalcrew}} By the time of the arrival of ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', attrition has reduced this number to 2,660.{{ref|crew}} {{ref|crew}} Since "[[Act of Contrition]]", ''Galactica's'' offensive capability has also been greatly hampered by the number of [[List of Pilots|qualified pilots]] available, although ''Galactica's'' reunion with ''Pegasus'' has ameliorated this substantially.

==Running Tallies==
#{{note|vipers}}Running tally of Vipers:
#* With one operational flight pod, ''Galactica'' was apparently equipped with one squadron of Mk. VII [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]]s. A second squadron of Mk. IIs formed part of a museum exhibit in the starboard flight pod.
#*The last squadron of Mk. VII's under the command of [[Jackson Spencer|Jackson "Ripper" Spencer]], ''Galactica's'' [[CAG]], are lost en-route to [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] when they are disabled by a backdoor in the [[Command Navigation Program]] and subsequently destroyed.
#*At least 11 Vipers, all Mk. IIs, launch during the first attack on ''Galactica'', one of which is destroyed.
#*Three Mk. VII Vipers are seen in formation inside the Fleet before they hook up with ''Galactica''. These could have been left behind with the non-FTL capable ships, or could have been carried to Ragnar in other ships as Apollo was. This would help to account for the discrepancy of fighters between the Miniseries and "[[Act of Contrition]]" (see below).
#*Thirty-nine Vipers launch at the [[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage]], of which eight are destroyed and one is severely damaged (piloted by [[Lee Adama]]), leaving 31. Some Vipers damaged in the previous engagement are possibly held for repairs.
#*In "[[Act of Contrition]]", Lee Adama states that there were 40 Vipers left on the ship. Perhaps this discrepancy can be accounted for by other Mk. VIIs that happened to find their way to the fleet at Ragnar?
#*At the end of that episode, one Viper, piloted by [[Brendan Constanza|Hot Dog]], is severely damaged, and a second, piloted by [[Kara Thrace]], is destroyed in a crash landing on a nearby moon.
#*In "[[You Can't Go Home Again]]", Tyrol reports that due to atmospheric [[SAR]] operations, 13 Mk. II's and one Mk. VII are down for repairs, and that he's "out". Presumably the remaining 25 constitute the [[CAP]] and [[Alert Fighters]].
#*One additional Viper is "slapped together from pieces of the others". This doesn't change the total count, since still-useable parts are just being shuffled around. The damage inflicted by the atmosphere of the moon during Thrace's [[SAR]] is apparently a matter of cleaning time, not total failure and replacement.
#*In "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]", Strike Force Two is comprised of twelve Vipers. Three of these, piloted by an unidentified pilot, [[Perry|Chuckles]], and [[Stepchild]], are destroyed. Strike Force One is comprised of at least seven Vipers. At least one of these, piloted by [[Fireball]], is destroyed.
#*According to the official Sci-Fi website, following ''Galactica's'' attack on a Cylon [[tylium]] mine in "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]", there are 35 remaining Vipers aboard ''Galactica''. This is consistant with the losses seen in that episode and "[[Act of Contrition]]", assuming that [[Brendan Constanza|Hot Dog]]'s Viper was recovered and repaired.
#*At least 18 Vipers (11 Mk. IIs, 6 Mk. VIIs, one unidentified) are launched to defend the ship in "[[Scattered]]". None are destroyed onscreen, but in "[[Fragged]]", Apollo remarks that "seven birds" are down for repairs.
#*[[Louanne Katraine|Kat]] crashes Viper 591 into the flight deck in "[[Final Cut]]". It may have been salvaged - Hot Dog's Viper is damaged much more severely in "[[Act of Contrition]]".
#*Chief Tyrol declares Viper 289 a total loss and has it scrapped in "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]". This would leave 34 remaining Vipers.
#*42 Vipers are deployed in the episode "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]", including 7 Mk. VIIs. This flatly contradicts the counts given in previous episodes and official statements, and also ignores the continued attrition of Vipers noted by [[Galen Tyrol|Tyrol]] in the episode itself. This should be regarded as a visual effects gaffe.
#*15 Vipers are launched against ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' in the [[Pegasus (episode)|episode]] of the same name.
#{{note|raptors}}Running tally of Raptors:
#* No official estimate is given of ''Galactica's'' initial Raptor loadout.
#* The Raptor accompanying [[Jackson Spencer|Ripper]]'s squadron, crewed by [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Boomer]] and [[Karl Agathon|Helo]], manages to escape destruction but is forced to land for repairs on nearby [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]. It later returns intact to ''Galactica'' ([[Miniseries]]).
#* Raptors are deployed to five nearby systems in [[Water]].
#* Two Raptors, piloted by [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Boomer]] and [[Stubbs]], perform reconaissance duties in "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]".
#* In "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]", three Raptors are deployed to scout [[Kobol]], but unexpectedly encounter a [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]] in orbit. [[Raptor 3]] is immediately destroyed by collision with a [[Raider]]. [[Raptor 1]] is forced to crash land on Kobol, and only [[Raptor 275]] survives to report back to "Galactica".
#* In "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II|Part II]]", three Raptors are sent to board "[[Colonial One]]" while [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Boomer]] and [[Margaret Edmonson|Racetrack]] simultaneously take a fourth to deliver a nuclear bomb to the Kobol basestar. All four craft return safely.
#* In "[[Fragged]]", [[Raptor 305]] is scrapped for parts in order to mount a two-raptor [[SAR|search-and-rescue]] mission. This seemingly takes place very late in the same day as "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", which makes the sudden shortage mysterious.
#* Tigh orders a Raptor deployed to each ship refusing to resupply ''Galactica'' in "[[Resistance]]". At that time, these ships number at least eight, and [[Felix Gaeta|Gaeta]] cites manpower shortage as the chief limiting factor. This means that either Tigh is unaware of ''Galactica's'' resources (unlikely), or the ship has or acquires 11 Raptors in total by the time they left the Colonies (which makes the equipment shortage in "[[Fragged]]" even harder to explain). At the end of this episode, Apollo escapes with one Raptor which he abandons on [[Cloud Nine]].
#* In "[[The Farm]]", Tigh explicitly states that they have "five raptors with [[Colonial Marine Corps|marine]] fire teams standing by". Including the two destroyed in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]" and the one scrapped in "[[Fragged]]", this implies an initial complement of at least eight. If the Raptor stolen in "[[Resistance]]" has not yet been returned, the number would be nine.
#{{note|originalcrew}}Original crew:
#*In the Miniseries, Adama states that he has "almost 2,000" crew on board ''Galactica''.
#*In "[[Water]]," Baltar says there are 45,265 civilians in the Fleet. Given the stats of [[Survivor Count|total fleet population]] in that episode, that means there were 2,693 military personnel in the Fleet at the time. It is unclear if this was a gaffe or a [[Continuity errors (RDM)|retcon]], but the more recent figure is generally accepted.
#*In addition to the 85 killed in the flight pod fire (Miniseries), 29 Viper pilots are lost on-screen in the first three sorties, and [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] goes MIA (all events in the [[Miniseries]]). This makes for a pre-attack total of 2,808 crewmembers.
#{{note|crew}}Running tally of crewmembers:
#*Thirteen pilots are killed in "[[Act of Contrition]]". Eight are recruited to replace them, leaving a net loss of five.
#*Three crewmen are killed by a suicide bomber in "[[Litmus]]".
#*Starbuck is seen giving combat flight training to fourteen [[nuggets]] in "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]", suggesting an additional six nuggets had been selected by that point. Apollo earlier alludes to a second group of trainees in "[[Act of Contrition]]".
#*Four Viper pilots are killed in action in "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|The Hand of God]]".
#*Ten die on [[Raptor 3]] in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", and Sharon Valerii is revealed as a Cylon agent.
#*Eleven crew are killed in the Cylon boarding action in "[[Valley of Darkness]]".
#*Four of the crew of [[Raptor 1]] die by the time the survivors are rescued in "[[Fragged]]".
#*Helo returns in "[[Home, Part I]]."
#*Subtracting these losses from the total given in "Water" yields no more than 2,662 crewmembers prior to the arrival of ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]''.
#*''Galactica's'' crew complement is currently unknown as of the Season 2 finale, although Admiral Adama mentions that it is vaguely half of its former strength

[[Category:Battlestars]] [[Category:A to Z]] [[Category:Colonial Craft]] [[Category:Colonial Military]] [[Category:RDM]]

[[es:Galactica (RDM)]]

Galactica (TRS)

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Battlestar Galactica: