:''This page is about "Caprica-Six", the copy of Cylon Model Number Six who seduced Gaius Baltar on [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] in order to sabotage Colonial defenses in the Cylon attack. For information on other named Number Six copies, see [[Shelly Godfrey]], [[Gina Inviere]], and [[Natalie]]. For general information on the model, see [[Number Six]].''
{{Character Data
|photo=Season 3 - Promo - AMOS - Number Six.jpg
|age=
|colony=
|birthname=
|servicen=
|callsign=
|seen= Miniseries
|parents=
|siblings=
|children= [[Liam|Liam Tigh]] (miscarried at 4 months)
|marital status= Cohabitating with [[Saul Tigh]]. Previously involved with [[Gaius Baltar]] and [[Number Three (Downloaded copy)|Number Three]].
|role= Cylon Infiltrator
|rank=
|actor= [[Tricia Helfer]]
|cylon= y
|name=
}}
Caprica-Six is a Cylon hero who was instrumental in the genocide of the twelve colonies. Later, she is welcomed into the colonial fleet as a respected and trusted citizen.

==Preparation and the Attack==

For two years, Caprica-Six lived on [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]. Seducing the ambitious, self-obsessed, arrogant [[Gaius Baltar]], she fools him into believing she was a corporate spy, seeking to gain advantage over her competitors in order to secure a lucrative [[Ministry of Defense|defense contract]]. Over the course of two years, she used Baltar to gain access to his work -- even to the extent of re-writing many of his own algorithms -- in order to subvert his own [[Command Navigation Program]] for use in the forthcoming Cylon attack to cripple Colonial forces with no warning.

Near the end of the two years, she sees a baby in a pram in a [[Caprica City#Riverwalk|market place]]. The [[Chantara|baby's mother]] is also present but then becomes distracted with [[Chantara's husband|someone else talking to her]]. Caprica-Six takes a closer look at the baby and snaps its neck and walks away looking distressed, possibly to spare it from the imminent [[Cylon attack|cataclysm]].

As the Cylon attack begins throughout the Colonies, Caprica-Six tells Baltar how she is a Cylon, and her actual objectives for the CNP. When a shockwave from one of the nuclear bombs rips through Baltar's house, her body is destroyed as she protects him from the blast ([[Miniseries]]).

==Resurrection after the attack==

Caprica-Six is [[Resurrection|reborn]] into a new body and is hailed as a "[[Hero of the Cylon]]", with an unexpected side-effect. As Gaius Baltar experiences [[Virtual beings|mysterious visions of Caprica-Six]], Caprica-Six has received persistent visions of Baltar. When she asks the other Cylons, particularly [[Number Three]], if Baltar was still alive, the copy of Number Three believes that he died along with nearly everyone else still in the Colonies.

Living on Cylon-occupied Caprica, Caprica-Six's visions of Baltar and her own developing feelings and intuition leads her to question some of the basic ideals that the Cylons hold dear. Unbeknownst to her, Number Three becomes distressed with her lingering attachment to Baltar and seeks to manipulate her feelings in order to make her unstable, thus giving the Cylons an excuse to "[[boxing|box]]" her. Three leads Caprica-Six to the aid of a [[Number Eight]] who was having trouble adjusting to life as a Cylon and still clinging to her old false human identity; [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii]], formerly of the battlestar ''Galactica''.

Through her counseling work with "Boomer"-Eight, Caprica-Six learns that Three has deceived her; Baltar is not only alive but is also Vice President of the refugee Twelve Colonies in the [[The Fleet (RDM)|surviving human fleet]]. After uncovering the lie about Baltar's death, she and Boomer-Eight begin to question themselves more about their brethren. If murder was a sin in the eyes of [[God (RDM)|God]] when committed by humans, why is genocide condoned by God when committed by Cylons? Questions like these begin to take hold in Caprica-Six's mind and are compounded by feelings of guilt for her role in the attack on the Colonies.

While trapped in a garage with Boomer-Eight, Three and [[Samuel Anders|Anders]], Caprica-Six directly confront the hypocrisy of the Cylons and ultimately reject the false "truths" of her existence. She chooses instead to use her newfound celebrity to speak out against the Cylon's continuing war against humanity. Together with Boomer-Eight, she sets out to bring fundamental changes to Cylon society, their first action being to save the life of Anders ([[Downloaded]]).

==The attempt at benevolent dictatorship==

Just over a year after the human colonization of [[New Caprica]], Caprica-Six is one of the leaders (with [[Sharon Valerii (Galactica copy)|Boomer-Eight]] and a copy of [[Number Five]]) of the Cylon forces that meets now-President Baltar. In just a few words, Caprica-Six reveals to Baltar that she remembers precisely who he is, and how she missed him ([[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]).

Caprica and Baltar attempt to renew their relationship during the Cylon occupation of New Caprica, to the ridicule of some of the Cylons and the challenge of Number Three. The relationship is rocky, as Baltar's very survival rests on Caprica's feelings for him. Caprica is also the only Cylon who attempts to befriend Baltar's aides, such as [[Felix Gaeta]]. Her attempts are ultimately unsuccessful, as Baltar can't connect emotionally to her and even fails physically ("[[Occupation]]", "[[Precipice]]").

During the withdrawal of the Cylons from New Caprica, Caprica and Baltar try to stop Three from detonating a nuclear bomb, and discover [[Hera Agathon|Hera]] in the process ([[Exodus, Part II]]).

==Baltar's preoccupation==

Now spaceborne again after the failure of New Caprica, Caprica-Six appears to regret her decisions, as Baltar's status with the Cylons rests on the vote of the Sixes ([[Collaborators]]). Eventually she votes to keep him alive, though she treats him poorly up until the time he is tortured by [[Number Three]]. From then on she is sleeping with both Baltar and the Number Three that tortured him ([[A Measure of Salvation]]).

As their relationship continues and time passes, Caprica-Six begins to become isolated from Baltar and Three, who are occupied investigating the mystery of the [[Final Five]]. Eventually she confronts them on the fact. As Baltar denies involvement, Three tells Caprica that their [[w:Ménage à trois|ménage à trois]] is over, and that their destiny is separate from hers ("We love you too. But this is something you cannot share with us."). As Three and Baltar depart to the [[Algae planet]], Caprica-Six is left heartbroken ([[The Eye of Jupiter]]).

==In the hands of the enemy==

When [[Sharon Agathon]] is killed by [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] in order to download to the [[Resurrection Ship]], Caprica-Six is there to greet her. This fortunate occurance aids Caprica-Six to sympathize with Agathon, who takes her to [[Hera Agathon|her child]]. When [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]] threatens to kill Hera, Caprica snaps Boomer's neck to prevent others from being alerted. Caprica-Six helps Agathon and child escape to ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''. But on her arrival on ''Galactica'', Caprica-Six is thrown in the [[brig]] by Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] ([[Rapture]]).

(After her departure from the Cylon fleet, Caprica-Six's position of leadership is assumed by another Six copy known as [[Natalie]].)

Following the failed interrogations of the jailed Gaius Baltar, Caprica-Six is visited by President [[Laura Roslin]]. Roslin assures Caprica that she will not be thrown out of an airlock, to which she responds with doubt, as [[Leoben]] was executed after being promised he would not be harmed. Caprica makes a deal with Roslin: give Baltar a trial, and Caprica will tell the Fleet everything she knows. Roslin likely now suspects that Caprica may be the "blond-haired" woman she saw with Baltar before the attacks due to Baltar mentioning the name "Caprica" during the interrogation, and Six telling Roslin that she is known as "Caprica" ([[Taking a Break From All Your Worries]], bonus scene).

==The trial and shared visions==

During Baltar's trial, Caprica begins experiencing shared hallucinations with Laura Roslin, Sharon Agathon, and Hera. The hallucinations all take place in the [[Opera House]] on [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]]. Roslin, Agathon, and Caprica-Six are searching the lobby of the Opera House for Hera. Caprica finds her, grabs her, and disappears into the main chamber of the Opera House with Baltar (although this should be her [[Virtual Baltar]] as the real Baltar is never seen waking from the hallucinations). The door closes behind them and ends the initial dream. The hallucination later continues with her and Baltar walking onto the stage of the opera house with Hera. The two of them turn around and see the Final Five standing on the balcony. They are displayed as indistinguishable white figures ("[[Crossroads, Part I]]", "[[Crossroads, Part II]]").

Roslin later visits her for information on the Final Five and Caprica Six admits she's not allowed to even think about them (which Roslin points out she is doing right at that moment) and that all she can tell Roslin is that she can sense them close by in the Colonial Fleet ([[He That Believeth In Me]]).

When Colonel Tigh visits Caprica-Six under the pretense of telling her that her petition to see Hera Agathon has been denied, if she feels guilty about the attack on the Colonies and how she deals with that, Caprica-Six tells him that she is just as human as him. She tries to offer Tigh the salvation she thinks he is seeking, but Tigh refuses and leaves. However, he returns later and Caprica tells him that Cylons can't simply switch off their pain, but found a human way to get rid of it. She acknowledges her role in the fall of mankind and the betrayal of the [[Gaius Baltar|man she loved]], but says that she needs that pain to find clarity and learn who she really is. Caprica-Six tries both tenderness and violence to share some of that insight with Tigh, but he refuses her ([[Escape Velocity]]). Often in her moments of tenderness, she appears to Tigh in the voice and face of [[Ellen Tigh#Saul's "Virtual Ellen"|his late wife, Ellen]].

==The pregnancy==

It is later revealed that Tigh did have a physical relationship with Caprica-Six during his many visits to her cell. A furious Admiral Adama informs Tigh that Dr. Cottle discovered she is pregnant and that Tigh must be the father ([[Sine Qua Non]]).<ref>Whether this means that Final Five reproductive biology is materially different from that of the Significant Seven, or that Final Five capacity for emotional love is materially different from that of the male Cylons, or that the Cylons' conclusions about their ability to breed among one-another were simply incorrect, is unknown.</ref> Virtual Six's claim that a child would be born in Agathon's cell ([[Home, Part II]]), gains a new dimension in light of this development. It was initially supposed she was referring to Hera, but Hera was neither conceived nor born in that cell. However, Caprica-Six's child was at least conceived there.

Upon arriving at Earth, Caprica-Six is released from captivity, as a beneficiary of the general amnesty granted by President Adama to the "final four" Cylons. <ref>{{cite_web|url=http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/06/18/battlestar-galactica-interview-mark-verheiden-on-cylon-amnesty-and-finding-earth/?cid=9445|title=Battlestar Galactica Interview: Mark Verheiden on Cylon Amnesty and Finding Earth}}</ref> As the landing party stands on [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]] in shock, after discovering that it has been destroyed, she walks towards Tigh and touches him ([[Revelations]]).

During [[Gaeta's Mutiny]], Caprica-Six is joined in her cell by Helo, Sharon Agathon, their daughter Hera, and Samuel Anders. She surmised that the humans revolted because they felt threatened by her unborn Cylon child and Hera, a Cylon hybrid. She did not realize that the revolt was caused by the mutineers fear of the rebel Cylons boarding colonial vessels and sabotaging their FTL systems.

After [[Ellen Tigh]] return to the fleet, she, [[Tory Foster]], and [[Galen Tyrol]] vote to leave the fleet and go off with the other Cylons, along with Caprica-Six. Saul Tigh refuses to go. Immediately after he tells Caprica-Six that she can go without him, her pregnancy goes into distress. She is taken to sick bay, where Saul professes his love for both her and Ellen; unfortunately, the pregnancy ends in a miscarriage. ("[[Deadlock]]")

==Notes==
*According to the [[Battlestar Galactica (2005 Novel)|novelization]] of the [[Miniseries]] by [http://www.starrigger.net/ SF novelist Jeffrey A. Carver], the name that Baltar called Six before she revealed she was a Cylon during the attack was "Natasi" ({{IPA|nə.ˈtɑ.si}}).
** Since this name has never been mentioned in the events of the screenplay or regular episodes, and as other names in the book, such as [[Cally]], do not match existing aired or official information, this name should be treated as part of a [[Battlestar Wiki:Separate continuity|separate continuity]].
**According to the author, the fact that it is spelled "I Satan" backwards is a coincidence.
**The book also explains how she saved Baltar from that nuclear blast in the Miniseries: it was really a nuclear shockwave from a blast about thirty miles away and she threw herself over him shielding him from the worst of the debris. Her neck was broken and her body battered, but Baltar survived due to her shielding him with some minor injuries.
*In an [http://community.tvguide.com/thread.jspa?threadID=700002601 interview], [[David Eick]] stated that there was never a canonical name which Baltar called Number Six while she was on Caprica, and "We always liked the idea that Baltar was a man of many tastes and that there's every likelihood that he never knew her name".
*[[Ronald D. Moore|Ron Moore]] echoed this in [[Podcast:The Battlestar Roundtable|The Battlestar Roundtable podcast]] when asked about Number Six's name by [[James Callis]] and [[Jamie Bamber]]. Moore stated that Baltar "just didn't care enough" to learn her name. <ref name="noname">{{cite_rdm_podcast|episode=The Battlestar Roundtable|act=|id=|timestamp=18:21|totalrunning=177:58}}</ref>
*Also mentioned in the roundtable podcast, [[Michael Rymer]] said his take on Six's name was that, in the spirit of a ''[[wikipedia:Seinfeld|Seinfeld]]'' episode, Baltar just missed Number Six's name when they met and he spent the next two years of their relationship just trying to see how far he could get with her without ever mentioning her name.<ref name="noname">{{cite_rdm_podcast|episode=The Battlestar Roundtable|act=|id=|timestamp=18:46|totalrunning=177:58}}</ref>
*Caprica-Six's outfit after her resurrection is considerably less elaborate than what she wore when working with Baltar, and she wears far less make-up, indicating that she only dressed so seductively for her mission.
*Caprica-Six's personality in "Downloaded" implies she might have shown humanity more compassion by, say, hailing them first, or landing ''outside'' the city, implying that her conversion of Cylon society isn't as complete as the [[Cavil]]s claimed or once was but has regressed in the interim year.
*Caprica-Six seems to have developed protective feelings for Hera that could be described as motherly. She is happy to help Agathon rescue her in "[[Rapture]]", and even goes to ''Galactica'' with them. Caprica's hallucinations in "Crossroads" and these feelings about Hera may give more insight to the connection between her and Baltar through their inner versions of each other as well as their connection to Hera that inner Six has been hinting about since "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming]]". The hallucinations are very similar to Baltar's hallucination on Kobol. There may also be a connection between this "family" that has been prophesied since the first season and the final five as they were also present in the Opera House with them.

==References==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Characters (RDM)]]
[[Category:Main Characters (RDM)]]
[[Category:Cylons]]
[[Category:Cylons (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[de:Caprica-Sechs]]

Felix Gaeta

2009-03-05T06:54:00Z

BlackBox: /* Post Earth/Mutiny */

{{Character Data
|photo= Felix Gaeta.jpg
|age=
|colony=
|birthname= Felix Gaeta
|callsign=
|seen= Miniseries
|death=Executed by firing squad for [[Gaeta's Mutiny|mutiny & treason]] ([[Blood on the Scales]])
|parents=
|siblings=
|children=
|marital status=
|role=[[Tactical Officer]], Senior Officer of the Watch, [[CIC]], [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'', former aide to President [[Gaius Baltar]], ''de facto'' commanding officer of Battlestar ''[[Galactica]]'' during attempted ''coup d'état''
|rank= Junior Lieutenant;<br><small>Illegally appointed commander during mutiny</small>
|actor=[[Alessandro Juliani]]
|serial=372565<ref>This number comes from the serial number on the dogtags auctioned by the studios at the end of filming the series. These screen-used tags also read "L. Gaeta" vice "F. Gaeta".</ref>
|cylon=
}}

Lieutenant '''Felix Gaeta''' ({{IPA|ˈgeɪ.ɾə}} or "gay-tah") was a young, capable officer in the Colonial military. For the three years prior to the [[Cylon attack]] on the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]], he served as [[William Adama]]'s Senior Officer of the Watch aboard ''[[Galactica]]''.

Prior to the attack, he was studying genetics and planned to get a degree through the military extension program ([[Water]]).

He exhibited a strong attention to detail and was highly efficient. These tendencies and his overall ability led Adama to rely heavily on him as a member of ''Galactica's'' command crew, despite his relative youth and junior rank.

As well as performing the role of Tactical Officer, Gaeta also managed the ship's [[FTL]] drive, including the calculation and initiation of jumps. Gaeta also managed the needs of the various primary [[Computers|computer systems]] used on the battlestar.

Following the fleet's discovery and evacuation of [[Earth]] and the controversial decision to install [[Cylon]] FTL technology on all ships in the fleet, Gaeta used his CIC role to co-lead a bloody mutiny of Galactica while collaborator Vice President [[Tom Zarek]] staged a coup d'etat of the government. Gaeta was promoted by Zarek to the rank of [[Commander]], and given charge of ''Galactica'', a position he held briefly, until Adama was able to regain control of the ship.

Gaeta was executed by firing squad for his role in the coup.

==Remarkable Brilliance==

As a result of his studies in biogenetics, Lt. Gaeta is selected by Adama to assist Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] in the development of the much-needed [[Cylon detector]] following the Cylon attack ([[Water]]). During his time working with Baltar, Gaeta develops a certain respect and liking for the doctor - despite the latter's apparent eccentricities. When a woman called "[[Shelly Godfrey]]" arrives aboard ''Galactica'', Gaeta works hard to prove Baltar's innocence of the charges leveled against him ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]). Although he is ultimately successful, Gaeta fails to follow-up on the fact that the photographic evidence supplied by Godfrey looked as if the evidence itself had been faked in a way that ensured it was exposed as a forgery.

Gaeta shows his remarkable brilliance after ''Galactica'' mistakenly jumps to a different set of coordinates than the rest of the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]] to escape a Cylon attack ([[Scattered]]). The [[FTL]] computers compensate for spatial changes, but due to the chaos after Commander [[William Adama|Adama]] is shot by [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]], Gaeta forgets to synchronize the spatial positioning with the rest of the Fleet, whose FTL computers had collectively different information. Complicating the issue, if ''Galactica'' returns to their original position, the Cylons would destroy the ship before it could recalculate the correct Fleet coordinates using standard procedures.

Gaeta blames himself (although [[Saul Tigh]] does not), but later realizes that by networking four computers of the ship (something Commander Adama may never have approved), he could reduce the coordinate calculation time from hours to minutes. Knowing the Cylons would try to crack his ad hoc network, Gaeta sets up five [[Wikipedia:Firewall (networking)|firewalls]] in the network to slow their progress while the ship's guns and Vipers buy the time required for the calculations. Unfortunately for Gaeta, the firewalls are not completely effective. Without him realizing it, the Cylons break through the last firewall before he can disconnect the network. As a result, many vital systems are disabled throughout the ship while [[Cylon Centurion|Centurions]] board the battlestar ([[Valley of Darkness]]). At the end, he manages to purge the systems of any remaining traces of the [[Cylon computer virus|virus]].

==Under Pressure==

Gaeta's calm exterior shows signs of wear when his interview with [[D'Anna Biers]] shows him somewhat drunk, smoking, and brandishing a rather garish [[tattoo]] of a tiger. Viewers learn from the footage that Gaeta's first name is Felix ([[Final Cut]]).

The Cylon virus rears its ugly head once more a few weeks later when shipboard malfunctions increase to a point where consoles begin to sputter and short out. Gaeta confirms that the same virus they thought they had removed from the formerly-networked computers had metamorphized into a heuristic program--a [[logic bomb]]--that studied and probed flaws in the battlestar's computers and the hardware that each system manages. The logic bomb threatenes to disable the ship's human control on a Cylon fighter's command--and a Cylon attack is imminent.

[[Image:Gaeta tiger tatoo.jpg|thumb|right|Gaeta's tiger tattoo]]

After Colonel Tigh's command to perform the daunting task of inspecting many lines of computer code for a Cylon virus, the young lieutenant completely loses his cool:

:'''Gaeta''': A power surge energized the board. System's been twitchy ever since the Cylons infiltrated our network.<br/>
:'''Tigh''': Commander's right. I don't care if you have to go through this program line by line; fix it.<br/>
:'''Gaeta''': Excuse me?<br/>
:'''Tigh''': You heard me.<br/>
:'''Gaeta''': Sir, I'm running every diagnostic we've got. Checking each line of code could take days.<br/>
:'''Tigh''': I am not interested in excuses. Fix it!<br/>
:'''Gaeta''': It's not an excuse, sir. It's a [[frak|frakking]] fact!<br/>

Everyone on the bridge, especially Commander Adama, is shocked by Gaeta's highly uncharacteristic outburst, but Adama is not particularly surprised, knowing that everyone on ''Galactica'' has low morale after working for months with no relief or change to their routine.

Gaeta has a solution for the logic bomb: Wipe all computer hard drives and restore them from backups made before the Cylon attack. The problem in doing this is that ''Galactica'' will be completely vulnerable to attack, save for her Viper fighters, for several minutes as her computers are rebuilt.

Against his instincts and on [[Laura Roslin]]'s advice, Adama opts to use the unique abilities of the cooperative [[Sharon Valerii|Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii]] to aid them. Gaeta gives the humanoid Cylon a fiber-optic data link with access to the battlestar mainframe computer and the ship's communications. After a few tense moments, Valerii asks Gaeta to perform the computer hard drive wipe after taking into her computer/brain a copy of the Cylon virus. She manipulates it and transmits to the massive incoming Cylon fleet, disabling the entire Cylon fleet in the same way that the Colonials suffered in the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]]. The Colonial forces [[Great Cylon Turkey Shoot|destroy the entire Cylon force]] without a single Colonial casualty ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]).

Gaeta is among the tense officers and crew in CIC that witness a standoff between their battlestar and the heavily-advanced battlestar ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', whose commander, Admiral [[Helena Cain]], has opted to execute two ''Galactica'' crew members after she tried them herself and against Adama's requests for the rights of his crew to have a fair, open trial ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]).

== The Presidential Election and New Caprica ==

During the presidential election, Gaeta is assigned to aid and oversee the ballot counting process on ''Galactica''. He also aids in thwarting Roslin's plans to steal the election (though he apparently never knew -- or indicates any knowledge of -- who exactly is behind it, other than Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]) by discovering the illegitimate ballots from the ''[[Zephyr]]''. The only reason he realizes that the ''Zephyr'''s ballots were tampered with is due to the fact that the ''Zephyr''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s original, valid ballots had misspelled Gaius Baltar's name -- the fixed ballots did not share this error. (Gaeta had authorized the go-ahead to use the misspelled ballots due to the lack of time to print new ones prior to the opening of the polls.)
Due to this happenstance discovery, Baltar, who had been rightfully voted as President-Elect, was sworn in as president and ordered the Fleet to colonize [[New Caprica]].

A year later on [[New Caprica]], Gaeta seems to be an adviser to President [[Gaius Baltar]]. His previous post on ''Galactica'' is assumed by [[Karl Agathon]]. While Gaeta is pleased that there had been no Cylon attacks during Baltar's presidency, he disapproves of Baltar's womanizing and is secretly infuriated at Baltar's devil-may-care attitude towards the New Caprica City Worker's Union and the Quorum of Twelve. Gaeta later brings news of the Cylon invasion to the president and is present when Baltar surrenders New Caprica to [[Caprica-Six]] and [[Number Five]] ([[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]).

Gaeta is also the [[New Caprica Resistance]] inside source into the inner workings of the Cylons. He seems to favor an assassination of President Baltar as he provides the group with information that he is going to attend the [[New Caprica Police]] force graduation, which is disrupted by [[Duck]]'s suicide bombing. However, upon learning that Baltar would not attend, he rushes to contact the group to warn them Baltar that is not going to be there ([[Occupation]]).

== Inside Man ==
Being the "inside man" allows him to help the [[New Caprica Resistance]] understand the inner Cylon related activities and security procedures on [[New Caprica]]. For him to contact the group, he flips [[Jake (New Caprica)|Jake]]'s yellow bowl upside down and leaves a note or information packet in a nearby tool bin for the [[New Caprica Resistance|resistance]] to find. [[Galen Tyrol]] does not know that he is the "inside man" and when they talk, Tyrol accuses him of being a collaborator ([[Precipice]]).

Around the same time, Gaeta is seduced by a [[Number Eight]]. Believing that he can trust her, he gives her lists with names of human prisoners. The Eight promises to do what she can to save them, but only has a few token humans freed and the rest executed for being valuable to the humans. Gaeta only learns of her betrayal much later (''[[The Face of the Enemy]]'').

== End of the Baltar Administration ==
As the Cylons are preparing to evacuate during the [[Battle of New Caprica]], Gaeta pulls a gun on a distraught President Baltar, clearly intending to kill him. [[Caprica-Six]] attempts to dissuade Gaeta from this course of action. In contrast to his companion's feelings, Baltar seems fully willing to die; but he tells Gaeta that he is the only one who could stop a [[Number Three]]-model Cylon from detonating a nuclear weapon hidden somewhere in the city of New Caprica. This convinces the reluctant Gaeta to let Baltar go, giving the disgraced leader a chance to redeem himself. Gaeta emerges from the same ship behind Colonel Tigh when Tigh asks Admiral Adama for permission to come aboard ''Galactica'' during the post-battle celebration ([[Exodus, Part II]]).

== Return to Duty ==
Gaeta is initially isolated from ''Galactica'''s crew and those who were on New Caprica. Because of his high position in the collaborationist government, they believe he carried out the will of the Cylons. When he arrives in CIC to help with repairs on the communication systems damaged during the recent battle, former resistance leader Colonel Tigh is openly hostile towards him. Gaeta attempts to defend his actions in a tense conversation with [[Kara Thrace]] by revealing himself as Tyrol's mysterious informant. Starbuck doesn't know about the informant, since she was a captive of [[Leoben Conoy]] during the four-month Cylon occupation. She mocks her crewmate and dismisses his revelation as a poorly fabricated lie.

When Gaeta's name comes up for review in the the [[Circle]], he is convicted of collaborating with the enemy and sentenced to death, despite the lack of evidence against him. The six-person tribunal takes him to a Viper [[launch tubes (RDM)|launch tube]] to face his sentence. When asked to defend himself, Gaeta says that he already had and refuses to beg for his life. This infuriates [[Kara Thrace]], who lashes out at him in a physical attack and resumes the mocking she started in the mess hall. Upon hearing Thrace repeat information about the [[Jake (New Caprica)|dog bowl]], Galen Tyrol realizes that Gaeta was indeed the informant from inside the Baltar administration. Gaeta is released and allowed to go. He resumes his duties as a lieutenant, still shunned by most of his crewmates except Tyrol ([[Collaborators]]).

After his recommissioning, he takes over Baltar's scientific duties, concentrating on deciphering his notes and determining the course to Earth. Gaeta appears to have a grudge against Tigh for his part in the Circle that nearly ended in Gaeta's death, as he wears a scowl while everyone else celebrates Tigh's return from his self-exile.

== Animosity towards Baltar ==

Baltar is aware of Gaeta's relationship with the Eight on New Caprica. During an interrogation, he whispers to Gaeta, "I know what your Eight did".. Baltar's knowledge leads Gaeta to try to kill him by stabbing him in the neck. However, he is stopped and knocked out by Admiral Adama ("[[Taking a Break from All Your Worries]]", ''[[The Face of the Enemy]]'') <ref>In "Taking a Break From All Your Worries", Baltar's words can't be heard. This was originally the remnant of a subplot that was cut from the storyline and later retconned in order to provide an explanation for Gaeta's reaction. See [[Taking a Break From All Your Worries#From the podcast]] for the original idea.</ref>.

During Baltar's trial for which he faces the death penalty, Gaeta commits perjury, claiming that he was there when Baltar signed the death lists and that Baltar offered no resistance in approving them ([[Crossroads, Part II]]).

== Member of the ''Demetrius'' Crew ==

Later, Gaeta becomes part of the ''[[Demetrius]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s crew on its mission to find Earth ([[The Ties That Bind]]). After [[Kara Thrace]] orders [[Karl Agathon]] to jump to a Cylon [[Basestar (RDM)|baseship]] to retrieve information regarding Earth, Agathon refuses the order believing it to be too risky. When he is relieved by Thrace, she appoints Gaeta as her new [[XO]] and gives him the same order. Like Agathon, Gaeta refuses to comply with the order, creating a standoff between the ship's officers which leads Agathon to relieve Thrace of command ([[The Road Less Traveled]]). During this standoff Anders shoots Gaeta in the leg before he can initiate a jump back to ''Galactica''. Having to wait 15 hours for a Raptor to return, Gaeta is worried that he will lose his leg because of the lack of proper medical treatement ([[Faith]]).

Returned to ''Galactica'', Gaeta does lose his leg. In recovery, he deals with the stress and phantom pain by singing a [[Gaeta's Lament|mournful ballad]] over and over ([[Guess What's Coming to Dinner?]]). Shortly later, he returns to duty, still in pain from his ordeal, but refusing to be relieved ([[Revelations]]).

==Post Earth/Mutiny==

In the webisodes "[[The Face of the Enemy]]" it was revealed that Gaeta had been in a homosexual relationship with [[communications officer]] Lieutenant [[Louis Hoshi]], though their relationship did not survive the webisode series.<ref>Writer's commentary to webisode 10; Gaeta ends the relationship in order to protect Hoshi from the fallout of what Gaeta is about to do.</ref>

After the formation of the Cylon-Human alliance, Gaeta entices Vice President Zarek to stage a coup d'état and leads a [[Gaeta's Mutiny|rebellion]] against Admiral Adama and President Roslin. Gaeta seizes control of the ship, and is appointed commander by Zarek, becoming the ''de facto'' commanding officer of ''Galactica'' though fighting continues throughout the ship.

Adama and Tigh are ultimately arrested after helping Roslin and Baltar escape the ship. Gaeta orders Tigh jailed, and attempts to force Adama to reason with President Roslin. Adama refuses and instead tells Gaeta contemptuously that he is now the 'admiral'.

Gaeta is horrified to see the bodies of the Quorum members after Zarek ordered their mass assassination, but continues his allegience. Despite Zarek's preference for quick and brutal removal of opponents, Gaeta insisted that Admiral Adama be tried for treason, ''et al.'', with Zarek as the entire tribunal, and [[Romo Lampkin]] serving as Adama's lawyer. Zarek summarily finds Adama guilty, and Gaeta orders the creation of a firing squad.

Having previously ordered her Raptor to be shot down, Gaeta is forced into a defensive position when Roslin takes command of the rebel Cylon Basestar. Zarek attempts to break Roslin's resolve by lying to her that Tigh died in an escape attempt and erroneoulsy reporting that Adama was executed. The plan backfires; it steels Roslin's resolve, and she swears to destroy them at all costs. Zarek urges Gaeta to fight. Gaeta, feeling that enough blood had been shed, instead attempts to escape by jumping away with those ships who have obeyed his order to spin up their FTL drives. [[Galen Tyrol]] manages to manually disable ''Galactica'''s FTL drive preventing a jump.

As the rest of his crew prepares to fire, Gaeta remembers what he had said to Thrace about there being a reckoning and that people would have to answer for their actions. Realising himself to be one of those people, Gaeta orders Specialist Gage to stand down weapons. Seconds later, CIC is stormed by Adama and a large contingent of loyal officers and marines.

Gaeta gives up without a fight, and he and Zarek are led away, their rebellion ended. Gaeta later discusses things with Baltar, admitting that he doesn't mind that he lost but making an unclear statement (one that Baltar claims to have understood) about hoping people would understand who he is.

Gaeta and Zarek are executed by firing squad for mutiny and treason. Just prior to his death, Gaeta realizes in shock that his amputated leg no longer itches. His last words are, "It stopped!" ([[Blood on the Scales]])

==Notes==
*Gaeta does not wear any junior pilot wings on his duty uniform during the [[Miniseries]], but has flight wings in nearly every appearance since the Miniseries.
*While Gaeta is described as the "Tactical Officer", his role is closer to that of the US Navy's CIC Watch Officer (CICWO), combining it with elements of the Tactical Watch Officer (TAO), a role also partially fulfilled by Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]], both under the command of [[William Adama]]. According to the official SciFi.com character data file, Gaeta's title is "Senior Officer of the Watch", although the title of Tactical Officer may have a better "ring" to the ears of most viewers.
*The name "Felix" means "happy" in Latin; the connotations of the Latin word imply being fortunate, lucky, prosperous, or "favored by the gods". It first appeared in the episode "[[Final Cut]]".
*[[Wikipedia:Gaeta|Gaeta]] is the name of a small seaport and resort in southern Italy. This goes well with his Latin first name.
*His counterpart in the Original Series is Sgt. [[Omega]], a native of [[The Twelve Colonies (TOS)|Sagitaria]].
*In the Miniseries, Gaeta's name is usually pronounced "Guy-tah" {{IPA|ˈgaɪ.ɾə}}, while Colonel Tigh seems to vacillates between {{IPA|ˈgeɪ.ɾə}} and {{IPA|ˈgaɪ.ɾə}} - this may also be atributed to the varying severity of Michael Hogan's Canadian accent. However, in all subsequent episodes, everyone pronounces it as "Gay-tah" {{IPA|ˈgeɪ.ɾə}}.
*In interview with out.com [[Jamie Bamber]] said Gaeta is "Almost definitely!" gay, referring to the fact that Gaeta has been single. When Bamber was asked about a possible gay storyline, he said "I've heard a specific rumor about a storyline, and it is on some level definitely gay. That would be exciting and probably overdue."<ref>[http://www.out.com/detail.asp?id=22449 http://www.out.com/detail.asp?id=22449]</ref> (Bamber was probably referring to the lesbian storyline in "[[Razor]]" concerning [[Helena Cain]] and [[Gina Inviere]]). Gaeta is later revealed to be gay in the webisode series ''[[The Face of the Enemy]]''. Although he does have a relationship with the [[Eight]], her line: "Felix, I'm a woman and a cylon, I did not seduce you, hope did" clearly suggests he was not actually interested in her.
*Unlike most of the series' officers, Gaeta is usually addressed as "Mr. Gaeta", rather than by his rank. This appears to mirror real-world naval tradition, in which male officers with the rank of lieutenant or below are referred to and addressed as 'Mister.'

==References==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>
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{{succession box|before=unknown|title=Senior Officer of the Watch|after=unknown}}
{{succession box|before=[[Tory Foster]]|title=Special Assistant to the President|after=[[Tory Foster]]}}
{{succession box|before=[[William Adama]]|title=Commanding Officer of battlestar ''[[Galactica|Galactica]]'' (''de facto'' by mutiny)|after=[[William Adama]]}}
{{end box}}

{{Dead Characters}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaeta, Felix}}

[[Category:A to Z]]
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[[Category:Characters (RDM)]]
[[Category:Deceased Characters (RDM)]]
[[Category:Gaeta Mutineers|*]]
[[Category:Recurring Guest Characters (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[de:Felix Gaeta]]
[[fr:Félix Gaeta]]

Margaret Edmondson

2009-03-02T06:50:23Z

BlackBox:

{{Character Data
|photo= Margaret Edmondson.jpg
|age=
|colony=
|birthname= Margaret Edmondson
|callsign= Racetrack
|death=
|seen= Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II
|parents=
|siblings=
|children=
|marital status=
|role= [[Raptor]] pilot and [[ECO]], formerly assigned to ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''; Currently incarcerated on the ''[[Astral Queen]]''
|rank= Lieutenant
|actor= [[Leah Cairns]]
|cylon=
|name=
}}

Lt. '''Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson''' is a female [[Raptor]] pilot aboard ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''. She harbors an extreme racist hatred of the Cylons. In her job she is competent, although she is willing to put her bigotry above duty. Racetrack tends to have a dark, fairly cynical attitude after the Cylon attack.

Prior to their participation in the [[Gaeta's Mutiny]], Racetrack and her [[ECO]] [[Hamish McCall|Hamish "Skulls" McCall]] functioned as ''Galactica''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s primary Raptor team.

== Biography ==
Edmondson accompanies [[Sharon Valerii|Sharon "Boomer" Valerii]] on a mission to destroy a Cylon [[Basestar (RDM)|basestar]]. She witnesses Valerii's attempted assassination of [[William Adama]] in ''Galactica''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[CIC]] ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). Immediately after, she informs the CIC staff that Valerii returned from placing the nuclear warhead inside the basestar orbiting [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]] without her helmet on and that she probably gave away ''Galactica'''s position to the Cylons ([[Scattered]]).

During the [[SAR]] mission to Kobol, Edmondson pilots the Raptor carrying [[Lee Adama]], encountering fire from Cylon anti-aircraft missiles. [[Galen Tyrol]] destroys the missiles' [[DRADIS]] dish on the surface, and they fail to lock on. Edmondson's Raptor then destroys the [[Cylon Centurion|Centurions]] on the ground with a missile, and recovers the trapped ''Galactica'' crewmen ([[Fragged]]).

She aids the escape of President [[Laura Roslin]] from the [[brig]] by falsely claiming that her [[Raptor]] was having technical problems, enabling the furloughed Lee Adama to report to the hangar bay instead of the brig per his arrest. She then helps prep the Raptor used as the escape craft for launch, but remains on ''Galactica'' ([[Resistance (episode)|Resistance]]).

Racetrack serves as ECO on [[Raptor 1]], plotting the best point of orbital entry when taking Commander Adama to [[Kobol (RDM)|Kobol]] to find and meet with President Roslin ([[Home, Part II]]). Since then, Margaret flies basic supply runs between ''Galactica'' and the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]]. She continues to light candles for fallen comrades in the Cylon attack. She is almost certain she will eventually die on a mission, and is more focused on taking out as many Cylons as she can before that happens ([[Final Cut]]).

Like many others, Edmondson initially snubs [[Karl Agathon]] upon his return because of his romantic relationship with the [[Caprica]] [[Sharon Agathon|copy of Sharon Valerii]]. When she insults [[Kara Thrace]] over the matter, Thrace slams Edmondson face-first into a card table ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]). Edmondson later offers conciliatory congratulations to Agathon for his help on the [[Blackbird]] and his suggestion to use [[DRADIS]]-absorbing carbon composites.

[[Image:Racetrack2.jpg|left|thumb|Edmondson in a Raptor]]
Edmondson is particularly overjoyed when ''Galactica'' encounters the [[Mercury class battlestar|advanced battlestar]] ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]''. While socializing with ''Pegasus'' pilots in the hangar bay, she fails to understand Thrace's contempt for the "scorecards" on which they tally their kills ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]). Edmondson's Raptor rescues Lee Adama during the [[Battle of the Resurrection Ship]], reviving him using defibrillator paddles in her emergency gear ([[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]). When Edmondson transports Lee Adama and a squad of Marines to check the ''[[Daru Mozu]]'' for signs of sabotage by Cylon sympathizers, her vessel narrowly escapes the ensuing explosion ([[Epiphanies]]). Edmondson also later flew a Raptor transporting Lee Adama back from ''[[Cloud 9]]'' after he spent some off duty time there with [[Shevon]] ([[Black Market]]).

During Thrace's rescue mission for the [[Caprica Resistance]], Edmondson serves as ECO on one of the 20 Raptors to make a series of ten jumps, aided by a Cylon navigation system. On the first jump, Edmondson's Raptor jumps to the wrong coordinates, ending up in a gas cloud. Thrace and the main group proceed on without her. Preparing to return to ''Galactica'', Edmondson picks up a lot of gravity distortions on her sensors and upon clearing the gas cloud she discovers a habitable planet that the Fleet could colonize ([[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I]]). Though the planet turned out to be marginally habitable at best, it would later be named [[New Caprica]], and most of the human survivors of the Fleet would settle down there permanently ([[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]).

Edmondson remains with the Fleet and flies missions to detect communications from the [[New Caprica Resistance]] ([[Occupation]]). She also plays a leading role in the rescue mission to New Caprica ([[Exodus, Part I]]).

Although she is a qualified Raptor pilot, Edmondson agrees to serve as [[Sharon Agathon]]'s ECO after the crews of ''Galactica'' and ''Pegasus'' are combined and far more pilots than aircraft are available, because she thinks being ECO is better than not flying at all. When Edmondson refers to Agathon using the callsign of her Cylon doppelgänger, "[[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]]", the room of pilots gleefully offer a less controversial callsign for Sharon Agathon, including her final one: "Athena".

On her first mission with Agathon, the two make a recon flight to the [[Lion's Head Nebula]] to investigate a clue to the location of Earth. The information proves to be correct, but they also find a deserted Cylon [[basestar (RDM)|basestar]] ([[Torn]]). After undergoing precautionary quarantine measures due to a possible [[Lymphocytic encephalitis|viral]] infection, the two fly together again in the [[Battle of NCD2539]] ([[A Measure of Salvation]]).

Edmondson lends her Raptor talents in a harrowing series of escort flights to shepherd the Fleet through a very dangerous star cluster to a [[algae planet|planet with desperately needed foodstuffs]] ([[The Passage]]).

On a routine patrol around the Fleet, her Raptor suffers from an engine and [[RCS]] malfunction, due to impurities in its [[tylium]] fuel. Unable to regain control and on a collision course with ''[[Colonial One]]'', she and her ECO [[Hamish McCall]] are forced to eject from the Raptor. The craft collides with ''Colonial One'', causing moderate hull damage and several injuries, but no fatalities ([[Dirty Hands]]).

As the Fleet approaches the [[Ionian nebula]], Admiral Adama, worried about Cylon pursuit, tasks Raptor pickets with staying one jump point behind the Fleet to watch for Cylons. One of those patrols, Edmondson and McCall put their Raptor to station-keeping behind an asteroid and start playing [[Triad (RDM)|Triad]] to pass the next twelve hours. Shortly after that a Cylon fleet jumps to their position. They manage to spin up the FTL drive and escape seconds before an enemy missile would have hit their Raptor ([[Crossroads, Part I]]). Shortly after, she instructs [[nuggets]] in basic Raptor operations and technology to prepare them for flying ([[Crossroads, Part II]]).

Racetrack participates in the [[Battle of the Ionian Nebula]], and refers to [[Samuel Anders]] not shooting down an easy [[Raider (RDM)|Raider]] target as a dumb [[nugget]] mistake ([[He That Believeth in Me]]). Later, during Lee Adama's retirement party on ''Galactica'', Edmondson enjoys a game of strip [[Triad (RDM)|triad]] ([[Six of One]]).

After [[Cally Tyrol]]'s death, Edmondson and McCall are on a routine mission when they have another technical malfunction on their Raptor and crashland in the [[landing bay]] ([[Escape Velocity]]).

After an uneasy truce is formed between the Colonials and the rebel Cylons, Edmondson and McCall are sent on a scouting mission to the reported location of the Cylon [[Resurrection Hub]] ([[Guess What's Coming to Dinner?]]). After the rebels' baseship jumps away from the Fleet, Edmondson and McCall recover [[Eammon Pike]]'s Raptor, which had retreated from the [[Battle of the Resurrection Hub|battle for the Hub]], discovering that Pike and his ECO are dead. She is later part of the search of the battle site, discovering several Vipers, including [[Sandman]]'s ([[Sine Qua Non]]).

In the webisode series "[[The Face of the Enemy]]", [[Felix Gaeta]] [[Raptor]] goes missing en route to the ''[[Zephyr]]''. Edmondson is part of the [[SAR]] mission along with [[Louis Hoshi]] that finds Gaeta.

Racetrack and Skulls join [[Gaeta's Mutiny|Gaeta's mutiny]] against Admiral Adama. Racetrack's personal motivations for siding with Gaeta are unclear, although they probably stem from her resentment over having to work with the rebel Cylons. She pilots Gaeta's ally [[Tom Zarek]] off Galactica to the safety of Colonial One. Racetrack later even stands by and allows Gaeta's followers to accost her former fellow pilot Lee Adama. However, they are interrupted by [[Kara Thrace]] who kills one of the rebel marines and wounds Skulls. Thrace holds Racetrack and the others at gunpoint and forces them to release Lee. After Thrace and Adama exit, Racetrack rushes to Skulls' aid ([[The Oath]]).

She is briefly seen in the next episode chatting with [[Tom Zarek]]. She is also seen in the CIC with Seelix, Narcho, and Gaeta as they make plans for the Fleet to jump. ([[Blood on the Scales]]).

In the Podcast for [[Deadlock]], RDM states that Racetrack was shipped off to Zarek's old prison ship the ''[[Astral Queen]]'' as were all the other mutineers (presumably those who did not rejoin Adama).

==Notes==

[[Image:Edmonson caption.jpg|thumb|The incorrect spelling for Edmondson occurs here; it is, however, correct on the nameplate of the [[Raptor]] she flies.]]
[[Image:Racetrack's Raptor.jpg|thumb|A shot of the [[Raptor]] with the correct spelling.]]
*Edmondson replaced [[Alex Quartararo|Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo]], riding as ECO in whichever Raptor is featured in an episode; Quartararo himself was created as a replacement for [[Karl Agathon|Karl "Helo" Agathon]] after he was stranded on Caprica. She was introduced in the first season finale, heralding Quartararo's demise on Kobol.
*Edmondson's given name was revealed in the episode "[[Final Cut]]". However, her name was misspelled in the caption during her interview, as noted by [[Bradley Thompson]] (See [[Sources:Margaret Edmondson]]). Confusion about her name's spelling resulted in Edmondson's last name being mispelled in the end credits of many episodes in Season 2, although is corrected in Season 3.
*Ron Moore noted in his [[podcast]] to "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", Edmondson's debut episode, that she was only meant to be a one-shot character, like [[Karl Agathon]]. But, just as with [[Tahmoh Penikett]]'s performance in the [[Miniseries]], Leah Cairns' performance in the episode was viewed as impressive, which lead to the decision that she'd be a recurring character.
*A fan of Karl Agathon, "[[User:Sabaceanbabe|Sabaceanbabe]]", once wrote a short [[fan fiction]] romance scene between Agathon and Edmondson (located [http://sabaceanbabe.livejournal.com/38792.html here], scroll down to part 5). [[Tahmoh Penikett]] and actress [[Leah Cairns]] read it at a party, and Cairns decided that she'd work that into the character. While not canonical or acknowledged by the writers, Cairns said in an [http://podcasts.lvrocks.com/details.aspx?castid=5 interview] on June 27th, 2006, that she chose to incorporate this into her character backstory and how she plays scenes with Agathon, that she is wildly attracted to him and jealous of [[Sharon Agathon]]. Although Sharon isn't oblivious to this, Penikett reacts with underlying tension in his scenes with her. This is also referred to in the fan-made ''Battlestar Galactica'' game ''[[Beyond the Red Line]]'', when one of the pilots during a mission notes that whenever Edmondson sees Agathon she "slobbers all over him."
*Although she is initially an ECO she at some point qualifies to be a Raptor pilot herself and acts as one often. After New Caprica she went back to being Sharon Agathon's ECO for a time stating that she didn't mind as there weren't enough Raptors for all the pilots, but while she did a couple missions as Agathon's ECO, she seems to have gone back to being a Raptor pilot at some point with her own ECO Skulls.
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[[de:Margaret Edmondson]]
[[fr:Margaret Edmondson]]