Battlestar Wiki - User contributions [en]

Talk:The Battlestar Galactica Drinking Game/Archive 1

2005-12-05T02:21:20Z

Lestatdelc:

I see no valid reason to delete this page. — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 21:21, 4 December 2005 (EST)

Talk:Amarak/Archive 1

2005-12-04T10:06:43Z

Lestatdelc:

I have doubts about the veracity of this claim:

:"At no time is it clear whether or not Amorak was aboard the Olympic Carrier, or whether the use of his name in these events was merely a Cylon ploy to further manipulate Baltar, drawing him further into their influence."

We do know that Dr. Amorak (or a humano-cylon) was initially onboard the ''Olympic'' before it failed to make jump 238. We know this because Billy informs President Roslin of the request received from the ''Olympic'' before the jump that someone onboard the ''Olympic'' calling themselves Dr. Amorak had urgent information for the President and had to be delivered in person. This was not simply in Baltar's head. It could be argued that the entire ''Olympic'' had be compromised at the time the request came across to ''Colonial One'' but this seems suspect as there would presumably have been direct contact with the people onboard the ''Olympic'' prior to the events we witness in 33. This would indicated that either Dr. Amorak was really aboard the ''Olympic'' before jump 238 failed, and was simply part of the passengers taken over after it failed to jump, or that Dr. Amorak was a humao-cylon before getting onboard the ''Olympic''.

Or am I missing somethiing here? — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 21:26, 3 December 2005 (EST)

:No, I think you're right. Also consider the Cylons' actions in this episode: they were relentlessly pursuing the fleet, and essentially had it at their mercy - after a few more days, the fleet would have quickly seccumbed to attrition. However, as soon as the Olympic carrier had been captured, they broke off their pursuit.

:The only logical conclusion is that they didn't want to destroy the fleet at all, but rather something, or someone, on board the carrier. That person is Dr. Amorak, who stood poised to expose Dr. Baltar's role in the fall of the twelve colonies. After he had been captured, they sent the carrier back to the fleet with a nuclear weapon to force ''Galactica'' to destroy it, as a demoralizing tactic.

:Obviously this doesn't make an enormous amount of sense, but I haven't heard any other argument, and it certainly holds no water if Amorak didn't exist at all. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 22:14, 3 December 2005 (EST)

::After thinking about it some more, what I see as a very plausible scenario is that Amorak was human, and was onboard the ''Olympic'', though he knew nothing about Baltar's complicity in the Cylon attack by allowing the defense to be compromised. Rather he was simply onboard the ''Olympic'' when the attack began. He then may have become aware of the existence of humano-cylons as the ship was being infiltrated by one/some of them. He speaks to the captain of the ''Olympic'' to send a message to the President in confidence face-to-face in order to warn the fleet that now the Cylons look human and are within the fleet. This is "intercepted" by Six et al and they see the threat this poses. Six starts working on Baltar right away with the already proven tactic about his guilty conscience to get him to serendipitously try and prevent Amorak from spilling the beans about their progress in infiltrating the fleet and that their infiltration of the ''Olympic'' is the bread crumbs signal/trail that allows the Cylons to constantly find the fleet every 33 minutes. Six's tactic of working the "he knows about your treachery" could be entirely fiction used to work Baltar. However disclosure of the infiltration of the ''Olympic'', if not stopped will without a doubt eventually lead to the Cylons catching them when they make a mistake and be annihilated, and/or through simple attrition will slowly pick off ships as mechanical failures, mis-jumps, etc. will cull the fleeing humans. So this threat of Amorak alerting the Fleet to the humano-cylon presence on the ''Olympic'' will disrupt this restless pursuit stratagem, and allow the humans to escape. So the humano-Cylons overtake the crew right before jump 238, and prevent the ''Olympic'' from making the jump. The Cylons then rendezvous with the "left behind' ''Olympic'', and pack her with nukes and make the jump, since they still have the jump 238 already transmitted jump coordinates. At this point the human Dr. Amorak is either killed in the full take-over of the ''Olympic'', or removed to other Cylon vessels or basestar as a prisoner, or is simply a held captive on the now commandeered suicide mission ''Olympic''. It attempts to run the CAP quarantine line and is then destroyed.

::So the question is, was Amorak actually killed on the ''Olympic'' before jump 238, after the fleet jumped and the ''Olympic'' was captured, after it was captured, or when she was destroyed by the ''Galactica's'' CAP...? — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 22:39, 3 December 2005 (EST)

:::Adama already knew that the Cylons had human forms, and the Cylons knew he knew. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 22:47, 3 December 2005 (EST)

::::True Adam knew it because of the encounter at Ragnar Station, but Adama at that point had no knowledge that there were in fact humano-Cylons in the Fleet, just a fear they could be. The hypothesis I was positing wasn't so much that Adama or anyone didn't about the human-Cylons or if the Cylons knew he knew, but rather that nobody knew they were on the ''Olympic'' (thus facilitating the homing of the Fleet) and the threat Amorak would pose if he discovered this infiltration of the ''Olympic'' (Amarok would not be aware Adama or anyone else knew of the humano-Cylons). Either that or somehow Amarok pieced together what may have occurred with the CNP and led to suspicions about Baltar, based on reports about the problems the Colonial Defense Forces had from system failures, after the fact. Since it would most likely be that Amarok was on the ''Olympic'' at the time of attack, since it was caught in flight and thus escaped destruction in the opening round of the Fall of the Twelve colonies. I say that because it seems unlikely that the ''Olympic'' would have been able to pick him up as a survivor from Caprica after the attack began. It was indicated in the mini-series that the "rescue operations" that coalesced the Fleet consisted of bringing ships stranded during inter-colony transit at the time of attack to a rallying/staging point. Or was there some other reason Amorak felt the urgent need to talk to Roslin in confidence face-to-face and was simply exploited by Six? — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 05:06, 4 December 2005 (EST)

Talk:Amarak/Archive 1

2005-12-04T03:39:33Z

Lestatdelc:

I have doubts about the veracity of this claim:

:"At no time is it clear whether or not Amorak was aboard the Olympic Carrier, or whether the use of his name in these events was merely a Cylon ploy to further manipulate Baltar, drawing him further into their influence."

We do know that Dr. Amorak (or a humano-cylon) was initially onboard the ''Olympic'' before it failed to make jump 238. We know this because Billy informs President Roslin of the request received from the ''Olympic'' before the jump that someone onboard the ''Olympic'' calling themselves Dr. Amorak had urgent information for the President and had to be delivered in person. This was not simply in Baltar's head. It could be argued that the entire ''Olympic'' had be compromised at the time the request came across to ''Colonial One'' but this seems suspect as there would presumably have been direct contact with the people onboard the ''Olympic'' prior to the events we witness in 33. This would indicated that either Dr. Amorak was really aboard the ''Olympic'' before jump 238 failed, and was simply part of the passengers taken over after it failed to jump, or that Dr. Amorak was a humao-cylon before getting onboard the ''Olympic''.

Or am I missing somethiing here? — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 21:26, 3 December 2005 (EST)

:No, I think you're right. Also consider the Cylons' actions in this episode: they were relentlessly pursuing the fleet, and essentially had it at their mercy - after a few more days, the fleet would have quickly seccumbed to attrition. However, as soon as the Olympic carrier had been captured, they broke off their pursuit.

:The only logical conclusion is that they didn't want to destroy the fleet at all, but rather something, or someone, on board the carrier. That person is Dr. Amorak, who stood poised to expose Dr. Baltar's role in the fall of the twelve colonies. After he had been captured, they sent the carrier back to the fleet with a nuclear weapon to force ''Galactica'' to destroy it, as a demoralizing tactic.

:Obviously this doesn't make an enormous amount of sense, but I haven't heard any other argument, and it certainly holds no water if Amorak didn't exist at all. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 22:14, 3 December 2005 (EST)

::After thinking about it some more, what I see as a very plausible scenario is that Amorak was human, and was onboard the ''Olympic'', though he knew nothing about Baltar's complicity in the Cylon attack by allowing the defense to be compromised. Rather he was simply onboard the ''Olympic'' when the attack began. He then may have become aware of the existence of humano-cylons as the ship was being infiltrated by one/some of them. He speaks to the captain of the ''Olympic'' to send a message to the President in confidence face-to-face in order to warn the fleet that now the Cylons look human and are within the fleet. This is "intercepted" by Six et al and they see the threat this poses. Six starts working on Baltar right away with the already proven tactic about his guilty conscience to get him to serendipitously try and prevent Amorak from spilling the beans about their progress in infiltrating the fleet and that their infiltration of the ''Olympic'' is the bread crumbs signal/trail that allows the Cylons to constantly find the fleet every 33 minutes. Six's tactic of working the "he knows about your treachery" could be entirely fiction used to work Baltar. However disclosure of the infiltration of the ''Olympic'', if not stopped will without a doubt eventually lead to the Cylons catching them when they make a mistake and be annihilated, and/or through simple attrition will slowly pick off ships as mechanical failures, mis-jumps, etc. will cull the fleeing humans. So this threat of Amorak alerting the Fleet to the humano-cylon presence on the Olympic will disrupt this restless pursuit stratagem, and allow the humans to escape. So the humano-Cylons overtake the crew right before jump 238, and prevent the Olympic from making the jump. The Cylons then rendezvous with the "left behind' ''Olympic'', and pack her with nukes and make the jump, since they still have the jump 238 already transmitted jump coordinates. At this point the human Dr. Amorak is either killed in the full take-over of the ''Olympic'', or removed to other Cylon vessels or basestar as a prisoner, or is simply a held captive on the now commandeered suicide mission ''Olympic''. It attempts to run the CAP quarantine line and is then destroyed.

::So the question is, was Amorak actually killed on the ''Olympic'' before jump 238, after the fleet jumped and the ''Olympic'' was captured, after it was captured, or when she was destroyed by the ''Galactica's'' CAP...? — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 22:39, 3 December 2005 (EST)

User:Lestatdelc

2005-12-04T03:01:18Z

Lestatdelc:

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:Mitch-old2.jpg|220px]]
|age= 41
|colony=[[Earth]]
|birthname=Mitchell Gore
|callsign=lestatdelc
|death=
|parents=Milton, Janet
|siblings=1 brother, 1 sister
|children=1 son
|marital status=Single
|role=Wikipedian for Battlestar Wiki and Wikipedia (English)
|rank=Nugget
|actor=Smoke and mirrors
|cylon=
}}
== Who Are You!? ==

'''Lestatdelc''' is a graphic designer and digital artist living in Portland, Oregon.

He has long been a fan of sci-fi, having been raised in a household which were avid Star Trek (TOS) fans. In addition to being an enthusastic fan of the new Battlestar Galactica, he is also a rabid devotee of the [http://www.columbiagames.com/cgi-bin/query/cfg/allharnitems.cfg Hârn] FRPG, and is also a politcal junkie and regular participant on the [http://www.dailykos.com/ Daily Kos].

One of the things he enjoys most has to be intelligent conversation, movies, conversation, eating and cooking and sharing the moment. He love almost all kinds of food and always enjoy trying new things. He loves to cook and have been told he is quite the chef (and can make a mean Shrimp Creole). He is a fairly light social drinker personally does not like to get 'drunk' per se. He is not judgmental about those who imbibe but would much rather be fully alert to enjoy whatever activity he is engaged in. That said, he does like to go out and enjoy having a good drink, be it mixed drinks or a fine wine. He enjoy reading, in fact one of his favorite pastimes is spending hours browsing in bookstores.

He enjoys most types of music, and being a child of the 80s, disposable euro-pop has a particularly fond place in his heart.

[[Category:Wikipedians|Lestatdelc]]

Battlestar Wiki:Galactipedians Quorum

2005-12-04T02:40:26Z

Lestatdelc: Need help with a new article namespace

[[Battlestar Wiki:Welcome, newcomers|Welcome, newcomers]] and baffled oldtimers! If you have a question about [[Battlestar Wiki]] and how it works, please place it '''at the bottom of the list''', and someone will attempt to answer it for you. (If you have a question about life, the universe and everything, go to the [[Battlestar Wiki:reference desk|reference desk]] instead.)

Before asking a question, check if it's answered by the [[Battlestar Wiki:FAQ]] or other pages linked from [[Battlestar Wiki:Help]].

Before answering a newcomer's question abruptly, consider rereading [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Please do not bite the newcomers|Please do not bite the newcomers]].

Questions and answers will not remain on this page indefinitely (otherwise it would very soon become too long to be editable). After a period of time with no further activity, information will be moved to other relevant sections of Battlestar Wiki (such as the FAQ pages) or placed in one of the village pump archives if it is of general interest, or deleted. Please consider dating and titling your discussions so as to facilitate this.

<div style="margin: 0 2em; border: 1px dashed blue; padding: 3px; text-align: center">
'''[{{SERVER}}{{localurl:Battlestar Wiki:Wikipedian_Quorum|action=edit&section=new}} Ask a new question or begin a new discussion by clicking here]'''
</div>

[[Category: A to Z]] [[Category: Wikipedia]]

== Need help with a new article namespace ==

I want to create an entry on the atmosphere testing stick Starbuck used when stranded on the small moon in "[[You Can't Go Home Again]]", but do not know what the official name of the device is in order to name and initiate the page , and thoughts? — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 21:40, 3 December 2005 (EST)

Colonial Ministry of Defense

2005-12-04T02:33:50Z

Lestatdelc: Moved extended copy about the fate of the Olympic Carrier to the Amorak entry.

The '''Colonial Ministry of Defense''' was the branch of the [[Government|Colonial Government]] based primarily on [[Caprica]], whose function was to research improvements in technology that can more effectively defend the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] from the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylon]] threat if they ever decide to return.

Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] was a consultant for the Ministry and worked on the development of the [[Command Navigation Program]] which became an integral part of much of the [[Colonial Defense Force]]'s systems. While Natasi ([[Number Six]]) did not work at the Ministry, Six worked as a contractor and Baltar implied that she would get an advantage in future work for the Ministry in exchange for her help. Thus she was allowed to tag along with Baltar as a guest while assisting him with creating the CNP, accessing the [[Colonial Defense Mainframe]] located in their main building.

Six not only involved herself in his work by fixing over half of Baltar's CNP programming algorithms, she secretly added [[backdoors]] into the program that would cripple the bulk of the [[Colonial Defense Force]] and spell the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|doom]] of the Twelve Colonies. ([[Mini-Series]]).

[[Amorak|Dr. Amorak]] also worked at the Ministry and was a colleague of Baltar, and was presumably killed when the ''[[Olympic Carrier]]'' was destroyed after being commandeered by Cylons. When a copy of Number Six appeared on ''[[Galactica]]'' under the alias of Shelly Godfrey, she pretended to be a systems analyst at the Ministry and the lover of Dr. Amorak ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]).

[[Category:A to Z]][[Category:RDM]][[Category:Colonial Government]]

Talk:Amarak/Archive 1

2005-12-04T02:26:31Z

Lestatdelc: I have doubts about the veracity of the claim of Amorak not being abord the Olympic

Amarak

2005-12-04T02:16:57Z

Lestatdelc: Added some additional wording culled from the Colonial Ministry of Defense entry, have questions about veracity of existing content; see talk page

Doctor '''Amorak''' was an associate of [[Baltar, Gaius|Gaius Baltar]] at the Colonial Ministry of Defence. He apparently survived the [[Cylon attack]] on the [[Twelve Colonies]], escaping aboard the liner ''[[Olympic Carrier]]'', itself destroyed on the order of [[Roslin, Laura|President Roslin]] when the ship appeared to have fallen into Cylon hands ("[[33]]").

Amorak was alleged to possess information pertaining to the betrayal of humanity. He sent a request to ''[[Colonial One]]'' to meet with Roslin to convey this information; however, before the meeting could take place, the ''Olympic Carrier'' failed to execute an [[FTL]] jump with the rest of the fleet. When the liner did eventually make the jump and return to the fleet, some three hours later, it had been infiltrated by the Cylons, who placed a nuclear weapon aboard the [[Intersun]] starliner. It attempted to run an interdiction quarenteen being held by ''Galatica's'' [[CAP]], pressumably to try and destroy ''Galactica'' and her Fleet, prompting her destruction and pressumably killing Dr. Amorak. ("33").

Later, a corporeal version of [[Number Six]] calling itself "[[Shelly Godfrey]]" arrived aboard the ''[[Galactica]]'', claiming to be an assistant of the late Dr. Amorak. She presented evidence of Baltar's complicity in the Cylon attack, but the evidence turned out to be fabricated ("[[Six Degrees of Separation]]").

At no time is it clear whether or not Amorak was aboard the ''Olympic Carrier'', or whether the use of his name in these events was merely a Cylon ploy to further manipulate Baltar, drawing him further into their influence.

[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category: Characters]]
[[Category: Mentioned-Only]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Talk:Galactica type battlestar/Archive 1

2005-12-04T02:06:13Z

Lestatdelc: /* Proposed restructuring */ just read something which now confuses me

I think the "fan estimate" of 6-8 Viper squads is off. According to http://galactica.tv/colonials/galacticatv.shtml, the Galactica had only 2 Viper squadrons. Since it was a museum ship, it's possible this is less than the usual complement.

-- John Reese

-------

Hi John,

Thanks for contributing! It's nice to see that the site's picking up now!

Actually, there are bits of information on the Galactica.tv (or Galactica2003.tv) website that are suspect, such as Tigh's first name being "Paul", as opposed to the canonized "Saul". We mainly use the episodes for canonical information; the Zoic, as the Colonial Archivist (Ernestborg9) can tell you, is mainly conjecture unless canonical info shows up to disprove it.

However, [[Battlestar|Battlestars]] in general carry 6-8 sqads; [[Galactica]] does carry two. (Or did, as I'm sure that the Galactica is now left with, at most, one full squadron of Mark IIs from the [[Mini-Series]], over the course of the series.)

- Joe

== Other Battlestars ==

Since the encounter of the Pegasus we have learned of another type of Battlestar,
will this page be edited in regard of this?

Another point is the appearence of the Galactica before the ship has been refitted
after the war. Is it clear that it had the appearance of the orginal show or is this
unclear?

Hardwing

: I've updated the page to reflect that this page deals primarily with the original battlestar class, of which ''Galactica'' is a member. I added a note on ''Pegasus'' and her class. There is a page for the [[Mercury-class]] battlestar, which could be edited and updated as this one as we get more technical information on that ship class. Note that only battlestars mentioned in an episode are canon; the rest technically may be made-up until then. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 19:00, 26 September 2005 (EDT)

=== Battlestar Article Structure ===

Since the term '''battlestar''' is a category of ship (analogous to space faring aircraft-carriers) shouldn't the content discussing battlestars in the RDM series, in overview terms, be moved to the [[Battlestar (RDM)]] page, and there list the two classes we know of so far, the Mercury class and the "Galactica" class (i.e. "Original battlestar (RDM)" which we don't know the name of)..?

This would then have the [[Original battlestar (RDM)]] page discussing the overall details of the "''Galactica'' class" battlestar, like we are doing with the [[Mercury class battlestar]] page which is about the class, and the [[Pegasus (RDM)]] page which deals with the specific vessel.

So in essence the [[Battlestar (RDM)]] page is the "root" page for the RDM entry on battlestars as a whole, then the [[Original battlestar (RDM)]] page about the "''Galactica'' class" battlestars in general, and the [[Galactica (RDM)]] page about the specifc vessel ''Galactica'':

==== Proposed restructuring ====

*[[Battlestar (RDM)]] (page about battlestars in general, i.e. "aircraft carriers")
**[[Original battlestar (RDM)]] (page about the original unnamed class as a whole)
***[[Galactica (RDM)]] (page about the specific vessel)
**[[Mercury class battlestar]] (page about the Mercury class as a whole)
***[[Pegasus (RDM)]] (page about the specific vessel)
***[[Mercury]] page (page about the specific vessel)

Thus leaving the [[Battlestar]] page as the top level disambiguation page between series. So everything within the RDM series about battlestars would fall within the outlined framework above beginning with the [[Battlestar (RDM)]] page.

:We don't have much content to say about battlestars in general, and what we do would be redundant with [[Colonial Fleet]]. I agree that "other battlestar" references should probably be removed from this page, though. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 01:39, 2 December 2005 (EST)

::Why would you want to remove reference to the other battlestars in this page? There are references made as to how there were 12 of the Original RDM class battlestars each representing one of the colonies (miniseries). Seems to me that the general overview information about the Original RDM class as a whole should be the content here, with listings of and links to the individual vessels of this class (''Galactica'' being one of course). — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 17:23, 3 December 2005 (EST)

:I think the Battlestar (RDM) link is a nice redirect link to Original Battlestar (RDM), but I'd avoid yet another disambig page. The show is focused on the events of ''Galactica''. It is very likely that ''Pegasus'' will disappear, one way or another, and that the modern battlestar will a footnote with no further additional data. Most readers will also be thinking of ''Galactica'' when they hear "battlestar" and not the lesser battlestars, almost all of which are mentioned-only and are very likely to remain that way, flashbacks notwithstanding. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 10:36, 2 December 2005 (EST)

:: I probably should not have used the term disambiguation page as it would be an actual content page (was actually thinking more of a root entry or overview entry), but rather a page devoted to general overview content on the nature of battlestars as capital ships, discussion of general concepts of flight operations, battlegroup structures, etc. With the links to the various classes of battlestars. While I understand that we may not get an abundance of canonical info on them from the show itself, I guess this begs the question of the extent to which the encyclopedia content is about "the show" and how much is about the Galactica universe within the show? I personally was hoping that this would be the platform and vehicle to collect and fill-in and expand on the later. Where things are structured and presented as a "NPOV" encyclopedia "from" the Galactica universe (or as sometimes referred to in gaming terms as a 'poetic map' or 'real map' that a player-character would have). Think of it as if we had an "actual" Hitchhiker's Guide (albeit "serious and accurate" not the apocryphal one portrayed in the books and movies, etc) "from" the Galactica universe which is then 'viewed' here (i.e. the entry content of the encyclopedia portions of this site) — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 17:23, 3 December 2005 (EST)

::: I really think [[Colonial Fleet]] is perfectly adequate to that task. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 19:12, 3 December 2005 (EST)

:::: Ok, now I am a bit confused. Becuase before (I just read now) you seemed to be advocating basically the same thing when you said:

::::"We should definitely namespace it into Battlestar (TOS), Battlestar (VG), Battlestar (RDM). Also, we could split the RDM article into "Battlestar" as a general concept, and the unnamed Galactica-class battlestar specifically - think Aircraft carrier, Yorktown class aircraft carrier, Nimitz class aircraft carrier. --Peter Farago 00:22, 29 September 2005 (EDT)"

::::Which is why I was porposing shifting sections of overview content about battlestars and the basics of them, to the "root" battlestar (RDM) page (no longer a redriect)... then specifics about each class as the next level pages, then entries pages on each specific vessel. — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 21:06, 3 December 2005 (EST)

==Armament Details==

* ''With 512 Point-Defense Turrets, thats 1024 PD Guns, and from onscreen evidence, the Rounds Per Minute is atleast 90 or more. (fan estimation.)''
** ''Assuming a firing rate of 2 rounds per second, thats 120 rounds per minute, and from all turrets equates to 122,880 rounds per minute. 2048 rounds per second. Thats alot. (fan estimation.)''
** ''Considering a raider has been shown to be destroyed with around 4-10 direct hits, this means that should raiders enter the firing solution, would take only a few seconds to get blown up. If targetted by the PD turrets, less then a second. It would take a single turret 1 second to destroy a raider. That isn't accounting for maneuverability of the raider however. (fan estimation.)''
* ''Also, with 24 Rail gun turrets, thats, 48 rail gun , Barrels, if you will. Atleast 960 Rounds per minute (1 round per 3 seconds)''
** ''Onscreen evidence shows around 1 round firing per 2-3 seconds (please correct if wrong). Going with the 1 round-2 seconds, you get a single turret firing in a minute, 60 rounds. times that by 24 and you come to 1,440 rounds per minute.''
** ''Due the turrets being "rail guns", the rounds go much faster then the rounds fired from the PD turrets. This means that a single hit to a raider should destroy it due to the kenetic energy imparted to the raider. If this is true, then a battlestar, with accurate aiming, could take out 1,440 raiders in a minute. Thats like, double the estimated capacity of a basestar! Thats if every shot is a direct hit.''

This is interesting. Do you have a source for: the number of point-defense turrets, the number of rail guns, and the ''existance'' of rail guns (on-screen evidence indicates a three-rail design, which is inconsistant with the physics of a rail gun)? I don't think any of those things have been shown or mentioned on screen yet.

This line of inquiry might enable us to speculate on the Battlestar's total ammo store, if we can derive our estimates from good data. However, the concept of a Basestar sending two raider wings directly into Galactica's firing solution is a little silly. ''Galactica's'' firing solution has been used to provide cover for vipers and screen the ship from nukes, not to target enemy fightercraft directly. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 11:55, 28 September 2005 (EDT)

::''Aramaments - Defensive''
::* ''24 x primary railgun turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece)
::* ''512 x point-defense turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece)''

:according to the wiki entry.
:also pictures on there show the existance of the rail guns. 8 ontop. 8 on the under side of the 'crocodile head', and 8 on the underbelly.

:the Rate of Fire is all my doing however.

:can someone get me a short video of when the ship actually fires? cuz im actualy needing this much detail for something im doing (and using this wiki as a reference for).

:its guessing though i counted erm, 498 turrets myself.
:and worked out for that too , ive got those calculations somewhere.

:keeping in mind some of the personnel guns they have, that fire ate more-then-1-round-per-second (in some cases. for instance a gattling gun, while not seen onscreen they likely have one, what with theyre parralels with earth tech)..
:its more then realistic RoF for each turret no?

:asfor the rail gun RoF
:on second thought,
:ill need to re-examine the footage of the rail guns firing.
:theyre not said to be rail guns but theres a shot somewhere of 4 turrets , that resemble the rail guns, firing.
:ok ill stop now.

:thx for the, well, not going mad :)

:edit - oh sos forget this: --[[User:Alex mcpherson|Alex mcpherson]] 12:26, 28 September 2005 (EDT)

::Be careful when citing unsourced fan-estimates in your calculations. I don't think those stats on turret count should even be there without a source. This article needs some serious cleanup in that regard. As for rate of fire, that can probably be estimated by frame-stepping through the relevant effects scenes in the miniseries. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 12:39, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
:::Shall I upload my modified pics of the underbelly, top and side somewhere and link them in here for others to count? i can link to both the unmodified and the modified versions so people can compare each individual one. and asfor the frame-stepping, is there a scene of the galactica firing, upclose in the first 5 episodes? --[[User:Alex mcpherson|Alex mcpherson]] 14:04, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
::::I think it would be better for you to upload it to your own web space if possible and then post links here, if that's possible. It would be interesting to see. Close-ups on Galactica's guns firing can be found in the mini-series, and I believe the footage was reused in "33". --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 16:57, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
:::::I just wanted to point out that the Galactica has 20 heavy turrets, not 24. There are eight on each of the dorsal and ventral sides and four under the nose of the fore-section. You can see these on the Zoic high-res pictures of the Big G. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 19:53, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
::::::I uploaded a picture to show what I mean. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 20:09, 28 September 2005 (EDT) [[Image:BSG_Ortho_Bottom.jpg|thumb]]
:::::::Excellent. Can the smaller guns also be seen on the elevations? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 20:29, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
::::::::Yes, especially on the flight pod. There are other batteries along the top and bottom of the fore-section split, the top of the central hull, below the flight pods, and along both upper and lower engine pods. These are just the ones I've found though. I'll upload the other ortho views now. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 22:35, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
:::::::::Actualy i can show you where the extra 4 come from!!! they are partially hidden . 2 on either side on the crocidile head. the hull plating left on either side of the underbelly, look there and youll see the other 4. *smiles like a know-it-all. --[[User:Alex mcpherson|Alex mcpherson]] 01:19, 29 September 2005 (EDT)
::::::::::If you mean the ones visible in the ventral elevation, I think Talos was including those in his count. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 01:35, 29 September 2005 (EDT)
:::::::::::those are fully visible. theres 4 at the very front and 2 either side of the underbelly partially visible. ill upload the pic when i get the change.
::::::::::::No need, I see them. Odd place for them, their range of motion must be quite constrained. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 01:39, 29 September 2005 (EDT)
::: (okay all these colons are really making this page long vertically. go 3-4-5-3 etc lol. anyway. ive uploaded to imageshack the pic so if anyone wants to count them and compare like i did go ahead. erm its 6:45am and had 3 hours sleep so , i forgot, how do i link? lol. img295.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bottomguns8ns.jpg (edit into a link for us. cheers) btw the pic is huge. --[[User:Alex mcpherson|Alex mcpherson]] 01:44, 29 September 2005 (EDT)
:Man, those large turrets are well hidden. I did not see them until now. You can also see the long line of small turrets along the edges of the main body. Look at the red markings on the bottom and go straight down until you reach the edge. You'll see them. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 06:20, 29 September 2005 (EDT)

==This Article Needs Work==

Who will join me in stripping this article of non-canon information and clearly labelling sources? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 19:07, 28 September 2005 (EDT)

: A challenge, but I like that. Perhaps we can move the Zoic information to a new page, as it is close to canon as we've got since they are part of the production process, although little of their info can be collaborated yet. We probably need to have this page moved to "Original Battlestar" or "Battlestar (RDM)" or somehow disamb it. Or, just offload the TOS info to another page. In a way I'm also big on placing the tech stats with the other technology pages to keep it easy to edit and read for both pages. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 22:28, 28 September 2005 (EDT)

::We should definitely namespace it into Battlestar (TOS), Battlestar (VG), Battlestar (RDM). Also, we could split the RDM article into "Battlestar" as a general concept, and the unnamed Galactica-class battlestar specifically - think [[Wikipedia:Aircraft carrier|Aircraft carrier]], [[Wikipedia:Yorktown class aircraft carrier|Yorktown class aircraft carrier]], [[Wikipedia:Nimitz class aircraft carrier|Nimitz class aircraft carrier]].

::Lastly, we must find an actual link to the Zoic source on all these details if we're going to keep them. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 00:22, 29 September 2005 (EDT)

:::That sounds good. I should be able to do the heavy work of moving data from the general "Battlestar" page to new pages for TOS and RDM battlestars and classes we know, and each of these pages will have links to their appropriate TOS or RDM named battlestar page. I may not strike the Zoic stuff yet, but at least by moving matters to separate pages, it will be much more manageable. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 18:28, 29 September 2005 (EDT)

The heavy work is done. This article has become a disamb page for all battlestar information. Unfortunately I did not properly move the [[Galactica]] page to [[Galactica (RDM)]], but created a new page instead. The content of the new page is OK, but the [[Galactica]] page should redirect to Galactica (RDM) to keep its history. There are several new pages that link from this page. The Pegasus (RDM) page deserved an article of its own and its page was moved, while Pegasus TOS from the original Battlestar page had only a few lines that were merged into [[Battlestar (TOS)]]. The new Galactica RDM class has [[Battlestar (RDM)]] for that general information. [[Mercury-class]] was moved to [[Mercury-class Battlestar (RDM)]] to keep its history and keep article consistency. Galactica has a TOS and RDM page (note earlier screw up) as well as Battlestars of TOS. I hope this aids greatly in keeping mixed information from becoming a bother. This does create bad links throughout, but the primary ones to catch are [[Galactica]] (which should redirect to Galactica (RDM) unless on a TOS area), Pegasus (which should go to Pegasus (RDM) if new, or Battlestar (TOS) if not). Comments, criticizm and help are appreciated. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 13:32, 30 September 2005 (EDT)

:Okay, I just finished a bit of cleanup. I've moved "Mercury-class Battlestar (RDM)" to "Mercury-Class Battlestar", since there's no need to disambiguate it from a TOS page of the same name that might ever exist. I've also corrected the namespace on "Galactica (Video Game 2003) to "Galactica (Video Game)", which is the namespace the other articles use. I've created a redirect from "Galactica" to "Galactica (RDM)", and moved the talk bage from "Talk:Battlestar" to "Talk:Battlestar (RDM)" (there were no TOS-specific comments there). --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:56, 30 September 2005 (EDT)

::Thanks. The Mercury-class remove makes sense. Although I added RDM on those namespaces for consistency, your move simplifies the namespaces. There have been many games for BSG over the years, thus the use of the year just in case someone starts discussing other older games or new games are created. We can worry about that later. With the separations, we can see how some pages really could use more content, especially the TOS Galactica page. That's pretty sad, when you think of it. Perhaps another enterprising person can fill it will some general history. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 18:02, 30 September 2005 (EDT)

==Battletar Tally==

This page, like [[Mercury-class Battlestar]] is for a specific (albeit unnamed) class of battletar. A tally of the fleet's unclassified battlestars is not appropriate here, and should go in [[Colonial Fleet]].
:Makes sense. For lack of a better place to put it, I left it as a vestigial part from its former article. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 12:52, 3 October 2005 (EDT)

==Capitalization==

Battlestar isn't a proper noun, so it shouldn't be capitalized in article names. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:04, 3 October 2005 (EDT)

:I've been wrestling with that. So, when using battlestar, it seems fine to capitalize it ''as'' an article when next to a battlestar name, as in "Battlestar ''Galactica'' left for Caprica". But when discussing the ship it should be "battlestar" just as we would use "carrier" and not "Carrier" for aircraft carriers. I find the use of "the battlestar ''Galactica'' awkward: no definitive article required there when the ship name is next to it. An item for the Standards page? [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 10:06, 4 October 2005 (EDT)

::Based on usage on the Wikipedia WWII articles, it would be either "the battlestar ''Galactica'' left for Caprica" or just "''Galactica'' left for Caprica". The only time Battlestar should be capitalized is in the title of the show. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 11:50, 4 October 2005 (EDT)

:::So say they all. It shall be done. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 12:41, 4 October 2005 (EDT)

Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions

2005-12-04T01:53:39Z

Lestatdelc: /* Verb Tense 2 */

Because of their length, individual discussions which we believe have reached consensus have been archived.
As further discussions are concluded, please move them to the archive as well, in order to keep this page topical and readable. If the first archive threatens to exceed 32 kilobytes, please create a new one. See [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:How to archive a talk page|Wikipedia:How to archive a talk page]] for details.

'''Previous discussions:'''

*[[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01|Archive 1 (September 10th, 2005 to November 31st, 2005)]]:

:[[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Verb Tense|Verb Tense]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Ship Naming, Abbrevation and Capitalization Standards|Ship Naming, Abbrevation and Capitalization Standards]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Signing Your Work|Signing Your Work]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Spelling|Spelling]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Single-name Address|Single-name Address]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Episode Links and Formatting|Episode Links and Formatting]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Proposed Guidelines for Dispute Resoluton on Speculative Matters|Proposed Guidelines / Speculative Matters]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Quorum of Twelve|Quorum of Twelve]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Namespaces|Namespaces]]

*[[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive02|Archive 2 (December 1st, 2005 to Present)]]:

:[[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive02#Disambiguation|Disambiguation]]


----

== Image Sizes ==

I tend to think that images that are whole-screen captures (and thus letterbox dimensions) should be about 300px wide. This is, however, based entirely on how that looks on my browser window, which is pretty large, but not maximized on a 1280x1026 resolution. So that might look horrid on some other screen. Anyway, with that in mind, I resize all my full-screen captures to be 600px wide since that's a nice two times what I think they should be viewed at. Should I be even thinking this way, or should I just be telling the articles to be thumbs and set my preferences for larger thumbs? In the case of cropped screen-caps, though, I think 300px is too wide, or rather, often too tall. How do others think on this? --[[User:Day|Day]] 05:21, 10 September 2005 (EDT)

:Yes, use your preference settings for this. FWIW, I'm a fan of judicious cropping. It helps make smaller thumbs more legible. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 12:28, 10 September 2005 (EDT)

:: If you're trying to illustrate something specific, sure, cropping is needed in most cases. However, for episode pages and, I think, when trying to show a scene, the whole screen is good for its sense of context. I could be wrong. --[[User:Day|Day]] 16:09, 10 September 2005 (EDT)

== Image Credit ==

Okay... Most images are gonna be screen caps we get from the shows. In which case the credit should go directly to the SciFi Channel, SkyOne Network or Universal Studios. The question is, which one? Or should it be all three? Or does Universal own the two channels and so saying "Cedit: SciFi/SkyOne" is enough? Or... What do you guys think? --[[User:Day|Day]] 23:56, 21 September 2005 (EDT)
: Universal Studios. They own the copyright. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 16:26, 23 September 2005 (EDT)
:: Following wikipedia's example, we don't need to credit image copyrights in-text, do we? It should be enough to note copyright status on the image's description page. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 00:27, 14 October 2005 (EDT)

== The Freakin' Quote-o-Matic ==

It's not very -o-Matic, is it? ;o) Anyway, I think we need a standard for how they're formatted. I prefer the following:

:"The line, in normal-weighted text, enclosed in double quotes."

:--''Rank and Name in Italics'' ("Episode Name")

It would also be nice to figure out how to go and look at quotes entered for days other than the current day. What do others think? --[[User:Day|Day]] 19:00, 23 September 2005 (EDT)

::As far as looking at previous quotes, that's a Joe question, though it would be welcome. Joe mentioned that the template info has to be added manually, but a creative wikipedia might work something out from a large database. At first I added at most 2 lines as a quote, but now I stick to one quote. I think the style you noted worked well (it did for my two contributions this week), so let's see if we all say so. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 14:50, 25 September 2005 (EDT)

::: Well, if you want to keep track of all the quotes, why not just add them to [[:Category:Quotes]]? Theoretically, every quote should then be linked from that category page. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 09:44, 14 October 2005 (EDT)

:::: However, it's a bit late for quotes already put up, no? --[[User:Day|Day]] 12:49, 17 October 2005 (EDT)

:::: Wait. Is [[Quotes|this page]] automated somehow? If so, then a Quotes category is kind of moot. I remember looking at it a while ago, though, and it having no date information and just a single quote in it. --[[User:Day|Day]] 13:04, 17 October 2005 (EDT)

On second thought, I prefer this:

:"The line, in normal-weighted text, enclosed in double quotes."
:--Rank and Name in Normal (''Episode Name'')

For full exchanges I think something like this would work:

:'''Rank and Name 1:''' Humorous battle banter aimed at Speaker 2.
:'''Rank and Name 2:''' Scathing insult.
:'''Name 1:''' Pithy retort.
:--''Episode Name''

What do you guys think of this? If no one replies in a few days, I'll start soliciting opinions on people's talk pages and via AIM. After a few more days, I'll simply make an executive decision and put this policy up. I think it would be best to link it at the head of the [[Quotes]] page, too. When the time comes. --[[User:Day|Day]] 04:05, 28 October 2005 (EDT)

::Day, I've been adapting that format (per your original thoughts) and I find it works well. My only problem is insuring a proper break between the quote(s) and the name and episode for single-quotation blocks. I think this thing has languished long enough to put up a quick vote or 5-day consensus/no-objection period, where we can make this the practice (and retrofit all recorded quotes to match if necessary). --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 08:42, 1 November 2005 (EST)

::: COnsider this that period. Also, do you mean you like the break, but you're concerned about adding it for some reason that I do not understand, or do you mean that your dislike tags? --[[User:Day|Day]] 12:46, 1 November 2005 (EST)

:::: Okay. I'm about to put my above policy up. I think I'll have to play with it for a bit to get the display format the way I want it for ease of copying and for users who know nothing of HTML. --[[User:Day|Day]] 15:02, 11 November 2005 (EST)

::::: I would suggest putting this policy (when it is finalized) and a note about not repeating quotes right on the [[Quotes]] page where the "This is a list of quotes..." statement is. [[User:Nwobkwr|Nwobkwr]] 19:59, 17 November 2005 (EST)

I noticed that people have started putting in quotes from the original series. I think this is great but in terms of standardization I would follow the same idea as used on the [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Main_Page Memory Alpha wiki]:
* If it is an original series episode, quote as [[TOS]]: <nowiki>[[episode title]]</nowiki>
* If it is a 1980 series episode, quote as [[1980]]: <nowiki>[[episode title]]</nowiki>
* If it is a re-imagined series episode, quote as [[RDM]]: <nowiki>[[episode title]]</nowiki>
[[User:Nwobkwr|Nwobkwr]] 13:46, 21 November 2005 (EST)

:Not a bad idea, Nwobkwr, but it might get cumbersome. Might I suggest we use only the "TOS" flag for TOS and 1980 episodes, and leave the RDM episodes as-is? This gives a slant to the current series, but then, we will have many more quotes from RDM than from the old series since transcripts of the TOS/80 shows are far less available than the current. It also saves on visual complexity. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 13:30, 30 November 2005 (EST)

::I think we should put the dab in the episode credit, and only when there are episodes in each series with the same title. (basically, "The Hand of God".) --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 23:53, 30 November 2005 (EST)

== Links ==

So, in my opinion, the first occurance of nearly any proper noun should be a link. Even the thing an article is about. This means that the first occurance of an article's topic will be in bold, which I think is nice. For longer articles, I think linking becomes kind of discretionary. If someone hasn't been mentioned (or linked, maybe) in a while, then they could/should be linked. Also, episode credits at the end of an event description should ''always'' be linked. --[[User:Day|Day]] 15:19, 27 September 2005 (EDT)

:Using links-to-self to bold title text is discouraged by the Wikipedia [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Article titles|Manual of Style]]. In general I think we should defer to Wikipedia for guidance except where we feel a justified need to explicitly contradict them. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:02, 27 September 2005 (EDT)

:: Ah. I think that's probably wise. Should we, then, manually '''bold''' them (or, in the case of ship names, '''''bold-italicize''''' them), or leave it out all together? --[[User:Day|Day]] 17:40, 27 September 2005 (EDT)

:::Manually bold. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 02:41, 2 October 2005 (EDT)

== HTML ==

I, ah, didn't think this was exactly necessary, but, uh... I think, now, it might be. Do we need to make a note about preffering <nowiki>''</nowiki> to ? I see various posts that have several changes, but leave the HTML intact. --[[User:Day|Day]] 16:51, 21 October 2005 (EDT)
: Agreed. Wiki sytnax should always supersede HTML sytnax. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 14:29, 22 October 2005 (EDT)
: Adendum: By the way, I created two templates: {{tl|s}} and {{tl|u}} for {{s|striking out}} and {{u|underlining text}}, respectfully. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 14:36, 22 October 2005 (EDT)
::HTML isn't exactly tasteful, but isn't it preferable to templates? HTML and wikisyntax both retain their formatting if moved to another wiki, but anything formatted with templates won't. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:17, 22 October 2005 (EDT)
::: Good point, Peter... Maybe "hacking" MediaWiki might be an option, so as to create wikisyntax for underlining? Yes, this would undoubtedly create similar problems, but if a patch was submitted to the MediaWiki developers then they may introduce it (or something like it) into future versions of the software. Just a thought... -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 18:58, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

:::: What would you have the Wiki Markup be? Underscores and dashes, maybe? Might be dangerous, but perhaps it would require two of each in a row? Or three? I was thinking that _underline_ would render underline and that -strike- would render <s>strike</s>. However, I don't want underscores to mess up URLs or for strike-outs to mess up use of the em-dash, which is often substituted by the double-en dash (--). I'd just as soon use the HTML tags (except that it would get in the way of validating the HTML of the Wiki in XHTML 1.0 Strict, if that's a concern). Maybe we could use !!underline!! and !!!strike!!! or something. Ohoh! What about ``underline`` and ```strike```. Of course... you could go nuts and <nowiki>'''''`````italic bold underline strike`````'''''</nowiki> for '''''<s>italic bold underline strike</s>'''''. Sounds like a fighting more from some anime. Heh. --[[User:Day|Day]] 05:52, 23 October 2005 (EDT)

== Verb Tense 2 ==

While it may be a "convention" within fiction articles about an episode, the verb tense issue is not using present-tense within an encyclopedia unless something is still ongoing. As I posted in the main page talk page and on a user whom made me aware of the verb tense issue, I posit that this convention be changed for the actual entries for the people, places, things. In other words, in the episode pages, the verb tense would stay as it is, but the verb tense in the individual article entries for say "Gaius Baltar" which would be the encyclopedic entry on him, would follow the norms and conventions used in other encyclopedias. That convention being, again using Gauis Balter's entry, the descriptions of Baltar's background, and events which have already occurred on Caprica, etc. be in the past-tense, whereas referring to him as the Vice-President, and duties onboard Galcatica, etc. would be present-tense since this is the current state within the timeline of the show at present. This would of course be edited as events unfold within the show. If for example he is removed form office as VP, then the verb tense would change for that piece of information as well as adding in how he stopped being VP, etc.

Likewise passages about say the development of the Mark II Viper would be past-tense, while the current disposition and capabilities of the Mark II would be present-tense. Not trying to be overly pedantic, but if we were to use and adopt the convention that this "encyclopedia" were to be discussing things and concepts within BSG as if it "were real" so-to-speak, like say in a present day encyclopedia would describe the development of the F-14 Tomcat in past-tense terms but describe current description of the presently active variants of the F-14 (i.e. the F-14D) and its deployment and present status within the arsenal of the United States Navy, it would be present-tense. Contrast that with descriptions of say, a WWII German Stuka Bomber which would all be past-tense in a current day encyclopedia.

This sort of tense usage within things such as the ''Star Trek'' technical manuals, Omnipedia's etc., which match he tense usage of current "real world" encyclopedias. Again, not trying to be a bull in a china shop as the new guy on the block, but it is rather jarring to read encyclopedic entries which do not follow the verb tense conventions used in "real world" ones. [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 22:54, 1 December 2005 (EST)

:I can see why you feel that way, but past tense sounds horrible in a literary criticism context, and I don't think it's reasonable to expect "star trek encyclopedia"-style articles to be free of critical analysis. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 23:26, 1 December 2005 (EST)

::I am not suggesting that the past tense be used in the literary criticism and or episode entries or sections, but in the encyclopedia type entries. It isn't just the ''Star Trek'' encyclopedias but encyclopedias et all which use the past tense for historical or background content and present tense about current status content. In other words, in all encyclopedias (and I post those style content sections here) would say:

:::"Bill Clinton was born ''(past tense)'' in Hope Arkansas, and was elected President in 1992 ''(past tense)'' and after leaving office ''(past tense)'' now lives ''(present tense)'' in the State of New York and has ''(present tense)'' offices in New York City."

::If he were to move to Anchorage Alaska to live and had offices in Juno Alaska this would be updated in a real encyclopedia to read:

:::"Bill Clinton was born ''(past tense)'' in Hope Arkansas, and was elected President in 1992 ''(past tense)'' after leaving office he lived ''(past tense)'' in the State of New York and had ''(past tense)'' offices in New York City, on Dec 2nd, he moved ''(past tense)'' to Alaska and now lives ''(present tense)'' in Anchorage and has ''(present tense)'' offices in Juno."

::To use present tense throughout this site, to be honest it reads awkward in many places. Not to mention that it does shatter the kinda cool suspension of disbelief aspect to have an encyclopedia ''Galactica''. — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 00:38, 2 December 2005 (EST)

:::The idea of a fictional "encyclopedia Galactica" is patently not this site's goal. We document plenty of in-canon stuff, certainly, but we have a great quantity of content given over to actors, writers, behind-the-scenes material, critical analysis, and three or four different incarnations of the series. I don't have any interest in working toward the false document mystique, personally. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 01:35, 2 December 2005 (EST)

:::: Well for me personally, that is 9/0ths of the appeal of wanting to work on things at this site. Particularly since BSG in its re-=imagined form is a rich subject to do just that, because of the attention to detail and "realism" as the underlying ethos of the show. Having a robust wiki that reenforces and builds out upon that quality of the show is, to my mind, ideal. Not saying you have to want that to, but it is a real cold shower for me perosnally. Just my 2/100ths of a cubits worth. — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 20:53, 3 December 2005 (EST)

::::I can appreciate Lestatdelc's arguments on using present-tense, and it took me a bit to digest, but I agree with the standing convention. I've recently discovered the Star Trek Memory Alpha wiki (wow, and to think such a wiki could be done is amazing to me) and reviewed a few pages at random. Many use past tense there, but some, like the page on the excellent episode, [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/The_Enterprise_Incident "The Enterprise Incident"], is successfully written in present-tense. I suspect that Memory Alpha hasn't a verb tense convention there, but note how the active-tense generates a feel of the characters ''doing'' something, rather than being "historical". As Peter explained to me, fictional characters are always in the act of doing something each time you read or watch them--and after a time I realized how correct he was--it keeps the characterization alive to me and to the article. The use of the verb tense also makes it more challenging to write the article as good fiction tends to evolve--in an active voice. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 10:15, 2 December 2005 (EST)

::::::But we in theory are not advancing the story but discussing what has occurred on the show and describing the details of the universe presented in the show (as well as "about the show(s) themselves). If we take the notion of suspension of disbelief at face value, and imagine the events of BSG not being fiction and documenting the events and details there of, particularly in encyclopedic form we would present events which have occurred as past tense, and present status and ongoing things in present tense. What Peter has said up-thread is that there is no interest in such a thing for him personally (and it would seem that most concur) I would consider it unfortunate as this is a great missed opportunity. I think that such "false document" mystique is actually something that has rather large appeal, witness the massive industry of such things in the ''Star Trek'' fandom, from blueprints, tech manuals, omnipedias, and the entire supplemental industry to the RPG medium. As for other projects about fictional stories and their universes, I would point to things like the [http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.asp The Encyclopedia of Arda] which is based on the Tolkien universe. I don't wish to be a disrupting presence here, especially being a "nugget" as it were, but I think this is a bad call for a missed opportunity. I can envision a clear convention which would allow for discussing each incarnation of the series and the "about the show" aspect in tandem with the "in universe" repository of content about said universe in the style of such things as the Trek universe things of Omnipedia, Concodrance, Tech Manuls, etc. and the Arda/Tolkien examples. — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 20:53, 3 December 2005 (EST)

::::: If one cares to review the earlier verb tense discussion, I originally thought past tense was the Way To Go. However, now I stand with the current convention (I think this is also displayed in the past discussion, but I'm too lazy to check). I agree with the present-tense being used to talk about, say, the ''Oddesey'' or ''The Matrix'' or ''Friends'' or whatever, but those aren't, to me, the most compelling points, good as they may be. The compelling point is, once again, that I'm lazy. The amount of man-hours it would take to update the tense in every character bio every week while the show's not on hiatus is, well, a lot. We have a hard enough time with the stuff that's already within scope and I don't see Lest's reasons as nearly as compelling as the three against: Added workload, literary precedent, and more "alive" feel (to borrow Spence's word). And, more specifically, I, too, find the false-documentary idea only "eh" at best. The new series is shot in a way that kind of feels like a documentary, but let's leave that to them and let's us do our own thing. And, in any case, how would one account for multiple series and spoilers in a documentary? Bleh. We might have to start talking in alternate realities or [[railgun|adaptive physics]] if we went down ''that'' road. ;) --[[User:Day|Day]] 05:24, 3 December 2005 (EST)

:::::: Well we would be updating the character entries anyway as new events unfold, and placing those events in past tense as they are entered is no more work than putting them there in present tense. The only distinction would be what is currant and ongoing status. For example "Gaius Baltar is the VP in the government" which stays like that until events change that, which would be editing that entry to add whatever event changed that anyway. In fact having both be present tense would be really awkward from a readers perspective. I would also point out that it is not "false documentary" so much as "false document" i.e. if there were an up-tp-the-minute encyclopedia that covered the vast array of things '''within''' that BSG universe that was "passed through" the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proscenium proscenium] to us here, that is the style of content about the things within the show which I posit, should be presented in the relevant verb-tense. And the "outside the proscenium" content, about the show, the actors, episode summary, analysis, and comparisons between series, etc. would all be in the present tense which, I agree is much more natural and engaging. I don't honestly see it as more work once the bulk of such tense resolution is done to the exiting content where needed, and as I have posited (probably to the point you guys wanna toss me out the nearest door me already, sheepish grin) would hold much more appeal to me and I am sure others of whom it is demonstratively evident there is an audience for, otherwise fandom and official creation of things like blueprints, tech manuals, etc. for other series stuff, which is presented as if they were "genuine documents" from said universe depicts in those various shows, would not be so prevalent. Again, not trying to be cantankerous or difficult. — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 20:53, 3 December 2005 (EST)

User:Lestatdelc

2005-12-04T00:28:15Z

Lestatdelc:

User:Lestatdelc

2005-12-04T00:27:19Z

Lestatdelc:

Talk:Frame/Archive 1

2005-12-03T23:55:27Z

Lestatdelc:

Nice article, Lestatdelc. Be sure to add a few words on your talk page and let us know more about you. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 11:34, 2 December 2005 (EST)

: Thanks Spencerian, will do about the talk page. This is the type of entries (the encyclopedic ones) I hope to focus on producing and helping out with, but glad to be here and still getting my bearings on how best to help out. — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 18:55, 3 December 2005 (EST)

Talk:Colonial Ministry of Defense/Archive 1

2005-12-03T23:52:09Z

Lestatdelc: Question about content that seems wide of the topic

== Question of content ==

That part in this entry about the fate of Dr. Amorak and the ''Olympic Carrier''

:"Amorak was aboard the Olympic Carrier and requested an audience with Laura Roslin with proof of a traitor in the Fleet. Before Amorak could give Roslin this information, the Carrier was infiltrated by the Cylons, who placed a nuclear weapon aboard the Intersun starliner and tried to destroy Galactica and her Fleet with the starliner before Vipers destroyed the ship, ostensibly killing Amorak as well (33)."

Seems to me to be a bit off the subject of this particular entry. Should this really be here and not simply in the Olympic Carrier and/or Amorak articles (and episode summary)? – [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 18:52, 3 December 2005 (EST)

Colonial Ministry of Defense

2005-12-03T23:48:14Z

Lestatdelc: Added Natasi usage of Six's identity, and reworked some of the phrasing slightly and expanded some passages

The '''Colonial Ministry of Defense''' was the branch of the [[Government|Colonial Government]] based primarily on [[Caprica]], whose function was to research improvements in technology that can more effectively defend the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] from the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylon]] threat if they ever decide to return.

Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] was a consultant for the Ministry and worked on the development of the [[Command Navigation Program]] which became an integral part of much of the [[Colonial Defense Force]]'s systems. While Natasi ([[Number Six]]) did not work at the Ministry, Six worked as a contractor and Baltar implied that she would get an advantage in future work for the Ministry in exchange for her help. Thus she was allowed to tag along with Baltar as a guest while assisting him with creating the CNP, accessing the [[Colonial Defense Mainframe]] located in their main building.

Six not only involved herself in his work by fixing over half of Baltar's CNP programming algorithms, she secretly added [[backdoors]] into the program that would cripple the bulk of the [[Colonial Defense Force]] and spell the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|doom]] of the Twelve Colonies. ([[Mini-Series]]).

[[Amorak|Dr. Amorak]] also worked at the Ministry and was a collegue of Baltar. When a copy of Number Six appeared on ''[[Galactica]]'' under the alias of Shelly Godfrey, she pretended to be a systems analyst at the Ministry and the lover of Dr. Amorak ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]).

Amorak was aboard the ''[[Olympic Carrier]]'' and requested an audience with [[Laura Roslin]] with proof of a traitor in the [[Fleet]]. Before Amorak could give Roslin this information, the ''Carrier'' was infiltrated by the Cylons, who placed a nuclear weapon aboard the [[Intersun]] starliner and tried to destroy ''Galactica'' and her Fleet with the starliner before Vipers destroyed the ship, ostensibly killing Amorak as well ([[33]]).

[[Category:A to Z]][[Category:RDM]][[Category:Colonial Government]]

The Fleet (TRS)

2005-12-03T23:36:00Z

Lestatdelc: /* Re-imagined Series */ linked to Tigh entry, cleaned up extra spaces

'''The Fleet''' is the convoy of ships that contain what is effectively the last survivors of humanity after the [[Cylon Attack]], and it forms the backdrop of the drama of the several television series all known as [[Battlestar Galactica]].

== Re-imagined Series ==

In the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|current series]], "the Fleet" began as a convoy of about sixty stranded commercial and civilian ships assembled by [[Laura Roslin]] in the immediate aftermath of the [[Fall_of_the_Twelve_Colonies|Cylon Attack]] as depicted in the [[Mini-Series]]. It is not shown (and is unlikely) that any of these found ships were Colonial military craft, save [[Raptor 478]]. Of these, twenty ships were abandoned to an imminent Cylon attack because they lacked [[FTL]] drives. The remainder of the Fleet joined with battlestar ''[[Galactica]]'', the only [[Pegasus (RDM)|known]] surviving warship in the first months after the events of the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]]. The Fleet represents the last vestige of humanity, protected by ''Galactica''. The political and social troubles of the Fleet as it wanders through space function as a metaphor for all of humanity, since the Fleet literally ''is'' what is left of humanity in the television series.

In the series, the Fleet functions not only as a signifier for the actual ships of the convoy, but as a substitute for the people on board, and therefore for mankind. Usage of the term "the Fleet" has not gained more than an informal acceptance, as can be seen by President [[Laura Roslin]]'s continued use of the term ''President of the [[Twelve Colonies]].'' This may be interpreted as either an expression of hope that eventually the people on board the ships of the Fleet will reestablish themselves on a new colony permanently, or a psychological inability to confront that the Fleet may be the only home that humanity knows for a very long time.

[[Saul Tigh]]'s assertion in "[[The Farm]]" that the twenty four ships which departed with the [[Laura Roslin faction]] during her insurrection represented "almost a third of the fleet" imply that the number of ships in the Fleet is approximately in the mid-70's.

===Ships===
* ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'', last remaining [[Original battlestar (RDM)|original battlestar]] and main protector of the Fleet ([[Mini-Series]])
* ''[[Colonial One]]'', President [[Laura Roslin]]'s ship, previously known as ''[[Colonial Heavy 798]]'' ([[Mini-Series]])
* ''[[Olympic Carrier]]'' (destroyed in "[[33]]" after apparent Cylon takeover)
* ''[[Gemini]]'', FTL-capable freighter which Valerii escorts to the convoy. ([[Mini-Series]])
* ''[[Rising Star]]'', mentioned frequently and notable for several reasons:
**First (reported) human birth after the exodus from the Colonies ([[33]])
**Where [[Ellen Tigh]] was suddenly discovered three weeks after the attack ([[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]])
**Where Ellen Tigh intended her husband to meet with allies of [[Tom Zarek]] ([[Colonial Day]])
* ''[[Coronis]]'' ([[Litmus]], deleted scene)
* ''[[Virgon Express]]'' ([[Water]])
* ''[[Astral Queen]]'', prison ship noted for carrying 1500 prisoners, including [[Tom Zarek]] ([[Bastille Day]])
* ''[[Scorpia Traveler]]'', a civilian ship that carried a suicide bomber copy of [[Aaron Doral]] ([[Litmus]])
* ''[[Gemenon Traveller]]'', a civilian ship that a copy of [[Leoben Conoy]] was captured on ([[Flesh and Bone]])
* ''[[Aturian]]'', a refinery ship ([[The Hand of God]])
* ''[[Cloud Nine]]'', meeting place of the [[Quorum of Twelve]] ([[Colonial Day]])
* ''[[Zephyr]]'' ([[Fragged]])
* ''[[Gideon]]'' ([[Resistance]])
* ''[[Kimba Huta]]'', cold storage ([[The Farm]])
* ''[[Monarch]]'', a mining ship that joined the [[Laura Roslin faction]] ([[Home, Part I]])
* ''[[Adriatic]]'', a member of the Roslin faction armed with ship-to-ship missiles ([[Home, Part I]])
* ''[[Striker]]'', damaged in a refuelling operation overseen by Capt. [[George Birch]] ([[Home, Part I]])
* Unnamed [[fuel tanker]], same incident.
* ''[[Celestra]] (Identified on official Sci-Fi Channel web site but not yet seen in aired episode)
* ''[[Space Park]]'' (Identified on official Sci-Fi Channel web site but not yet seen in aired episode)
* ''[[Freighter 212]]'' ([[Final Cut]])
* ''[[Boppa Kala]]'', a ship carrying unused [[DDG-62]] engines onboard ([[Flight of the Phoenix]])
*''[[Botanical Cruiser]]'' (While the original was destroyed in the [[Mini-Series]], various background shots have placed an [[FTL]]-equiped Botanical Cruiser in the fleet.)
* ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', a [[Mercury class battlestar]] commanded by [[Helena Cain]] ([[Pegasus (episode)]])

In the episode "[[The Farm]]", 24 ships leave the Fleet to return to Kobol. [[Dualla]] provides the following breakdown:
*12 transports - incl. Astral Queen, Gemenon Traveller
*7 freighters
*3 construction platforms
*1 private cruiser
*1 mining ship - the Monarch.

===Demographics===

A few points of information are available concerning the demographics of the Fleet. In "[[33]]", before the destruction of the Olympic Carrier, there were 5,251 survivors from Sagittaron and 49,998 total survivors. In "[[Home, Part I]]", the [[Laura Roslin faction]] left the Fleet with 18,000 individuals, of which 9,500 were Gemenons and 6,250 were Capricans. At that time the total population of the fleet was 47,857.

This information is sparse, but it gives a general idea of the population breakdown of the Fleet if a few assumptions are made for the sake of argument.
*Note that Gemenon and Caprica had more citizens in the Roslin faction alone than Sagittaron had in the entire Fleet. The Twelve Colonies are clearly not represented in equal proportion.
*Before the destruction of the ''Olympic Carrier'', Sagittaron natives made up 10.50% of the fleet. Solely for the purpose of argument, we assume that the ''Olympic Carrier'''s population breakdown was identical to the rest of the fleet's and that Sagittaron continues to make up 10.50% of the Fleet's total population.
*The figures from the Roslin faction can be viewed in several ways:
<div style="float:right; margin:10px">[[Image:Demographics1.png]]</div>
:*ASSUMPTION 1: All Gemenons and Capricans jumped to Kobol with the Roslin faction.
::*Caprica: 6,250 persons (13.06%)
::*Gemenon: 9,500 persons (19.85%)
::*Sagittaron: 5,026 persons (10.50%)
::*Others: 27,081 (56.59%) 
<div style="float:right; margin:10px">[[Image:Demographics2.png]]</div>
:*ASSUMPTION 2: All Gemenons jumped to Kobol with the Roslin faction, lured by the "religion card", but Caprican portion of the Roslin faction was representative of the Fleet.
::*Caprica: 28,204 persons (58.93%)
::*Gemenon: 9,500 persons (19.85%)
::*Sagittaron: 5,026 persons (10.50%)
::*Others: 5,127 persons (10.72%) 
<div style="float:right; margin:10px">[[Image:Demographics3.png]]</div>
:*ASSUMPTION 3: Caprican and Gemenon portions of the Roslin faction were representative of the fleet.
::*Caprica: 16,617 persons (34.72%)
::*Gemenon: 25,258 persons (52.78%)
::*Sagittaron: 5,026 persons (10.50%)
::*Others: 956 (2.00%) 
*Although it is plausible that the Caprican population is substantially larger than the other colonies, as ''Colonial Heavy 798'' was in the vicinity when the attack began, and was the nucleus around which the fleet rallied, it is unlikely that the populations of each colony are grossly unequal, or else the [[Quorum of Twelve]] would be a very poor system of government. The likeliest scenario is therefore probably somewhere in between Assumptions 1 and 2, with nearly all of the Gemenon population (drawn by the "religion card") and a large portion of the Caprican population leaving with Roslin.

As for population distribution, we know the population of ''Galactica'' (2,693 as of [[Water]]), the ''Olympic Carrier'' (2,026 despite Roslin's spoken figure ([[33]])) and ''Astral Queen'' (1,500 as of [[Bastille Day]], [[List of retcons (RDM)|retconned]] up from 500 in the mini-series). The fleet is stated at about 75 ships in "[[Resistance]]", retconned up from 40 in the mini.
*Going by the 75 ship count, the remaining ships besides ''Galactica'' and the ''Astral Queen'' each carry about 600 persons on average.
*The 23 ships that left with the [[Laura Roslin faction]], apart from the ''Astral Queen'', would have an average population of about 720 persons per ship.

== Original Series ==

In the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|original series]], the fleet comprised of the last surviving [[battlestar]], ''[[Galactica (TOS)|Galactica]]'', and 220 ships. With the exception of ''Galactica'', the ships were not capable of [[FTL|lightspeed]]. The fleet was restricted in its speed for it had to accomodate the slowest ship within the fleet -- removing that ship (or ships) was not an option as all ships in the Fleet were filled to (or over) capacity.

Ships in the fleet include:

* [[Battlestar (TOS)|Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'', the only military vessel capable of defensive and offensive actions
* ''[[Celestra]]'', electronics ship ([[Take the Celestra]])
* ''[[Prison Barge]]'', a prison ship operated by members of [[Council Security]]
* ''[[Rising Star]]'', a luxury liner and chancery
* ''[[Freighter Gemini]]''

==Interesting Ship Cameos==

In the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|re-imagined Mini-Series]], astute viewers may recognize three spacecraft with notable resemblances of ships from other SF universes. These ships aren't considered a [[Canon|canonical]] part of the series or the Fleet, but their appearance adds a bit of humor and pays homage to other notable science fiction and their creative staff.

* ''Serenity'', the central ship from the TV series "Firefly" and the motion picture, "[http://www.serenitymovie.com/ Serenity]", appears briefly in the sky outside the window of a doctor's office where viewers first see Laura Roslin.

* The original USS ''Enterprise'' (NCC-1701) from the original ''[http://www.startrek.com Star Trek]'' TV series makes a cameo in the last shot of the Fleet as [[Elosha]] chants a prayer in the memorial service near the end of the Mini-Series.

*The ill-fated [[Botanical Cruiser]] was added in homage to the [[Agro Ship]] from the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|original ''Battlestar Galactica'']] TV series, which in turn were the re-used models from the SF film ''[[IMDB:Silent Running|Silent Running]]'', a Universal/MCA movie that special effects guru [[John Dykstra]] worked on a few years prior to the Original Series.

[[Category: A to Z]] [[Category: RDM]] [[Category: Terminology]] [[Category: TOS]]

Virgon Express

2005-12-03T23:12:16Z

Lestatdelc: expanded explanation of events surrounding the water transfer and water tank explosions

The '''''Virgon Express''''' is a ship in the [[The Fleet|Fleet]] that relied on [[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'' for water resources. She was alongside ''Galactica'' during water transfer and recycling operations when explosions occurred within ''Galactica's'' port-side water storage tanks as a result of sabotage carried out by then unknown [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylon]] infiltration of ''Galactica's'' crew. ([[Water]])

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

Talk:Galactica type battlestar/Archive 1

2005-12-03T22:23:01Z

Lestatdelc: /* Proposed restructuring */

I think the "fan estimate" of 6-8 Viper squads is off. According to http://galactica.tv/colonials/galacticatv.shtml, the Galactica had only 2 Viper squadrons. Since it was a museum ship, it's possible this is less than the usual complement.

-- John Reese

-------

Hi John,

Thanks for contributing! It's nice to see that the site's picking up now!

Actually, there are bits of information on the Galactica.tv (or Galactica2003.tv) website that are suspect, such as Tigh's first name being "Paul", as opposed to the canonized "Saul". We mainly use the episodes for canonical information; the Zoic, as the Colonial Archivist (Ernestborg9) can tell you, is mainly conjecture unless canonical info shows up to disprove it.

However, [[Battlestar|Battlestars]] in general carry 6-8 sqads; [[Galactica]] does carry two. (Or did, as I'm sure that the Galactica is now left with, at most, one full squadron of Mark IIs from the [[Mini-Series]], over the course of the series.)

- Joe

== Other Battlestars ==

Since the encounter of the Pegasus we have learned of another type of Battlestar,
will this page be edited in regard of this?

Another point is the appearence of the Galactica before the ship has been refitted
after the war. Is it clear that it had the appearance of the orginal show or is this
unclear?

Hardwing

: I've updated the page to reflect that this page deals primarily with the original battlestar class, of which ''Galactica'' is a member. I added a note on ''Pegasus'' and her class. There is a page for the [[Mercury-class]] battlestar, which could be edited and updated as this one as we get more technical information on that ship class. Note that only battlestars mentioned in an episode are canon; the rest technically may be made-up until then. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 19:00, 26 September 2005 (EDT)

=== Battlestar Article Structure ===

Since the term '''battlestar''' is a category of ship (analogous to space faring aircraft-carriers) shouldn't the content discussing battlestars in the RDM series, in overview terms, be moved to the [[Battlestar (RDM)]] page, and there list the two classes we know of so far, the Mercury class and the "Galactica" class (i.e. "Original battlestar (RDM)" which we don't know the name of)..?

This would then have the [[Original battlestar (RDM)]] page discussing the overall details of the "''Galactica'' class" battlestar, like we are doing with the [[Mercury class battlestar]] page which is about the class, and the [[Pegasus (RDM)]] page which deals with the specific vessel.

So in essence the [[Battlestar (RDM)]] page is the "root" page for the RDM entry on battlestars as a whole, then the [[Original battlestar (RDM)]] page about the "''Galactica'' class" battlestars in general, and the [[Galactica (RDM)]] page about the specifc vessel ''Galactica'':

==== Proposed restructuring ====

*[[Battlestar (RDM)]] (page about battlestars in general, i.e. "aircraft carriers")
**[[Original battlestar (RDM)]] (page about the original unnamed class as a whole)
***[[Galactica (RDM)]] (page about the specific vessel)
**[[Mercury class battlestar]] (page about the Mercury class as a whole)
***[[Pegasus (RDM)]] (page about the specific vessel)
***[[Mercury]] page (page about the specific vessel)

Thus leaving the [[Battlestar]] page as the top level disambiguation page between series. So everything within the RDM series about battlestars would fall within the outlined framework above beginning with the [[Battlestar (RDM)]] page.

:We don't have much content to say about battlestars in general, and what we do would be redundant with [[Colonial Fleet]]. I agree that "other battlestar" references should probably be removed from this page, though. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 01:39, 2 December 2005 (EST)

::Why would you want to remove reference to the other battlestars in this page? There are references made as to how there were 12 of the Original RDM class battlestars each representing one of the colonies (miniseries). Seems to me that the general overview information about the Original RDM class as a whole should be the content here, with listings of and links to the individual vessels of this class (''Galactica'' being one of course). — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 17:23, 3 December 2005 (EST)

:I think the Battlestar (RDM) link is a nice redirect link to Original Battlestar (RDM), but I'd avoid yet another disambig page. The show is focused on the events of ''Galactica''. It is very likely that ''Pegasus'' will disappear, one way or another, and that the modern battlestar will a footnote with no further additional data. Most readers will also be thinking of ''Galactica'' when they hear "battlestar" and not the lesser battlestars, almost all of which are mentioned-only and are very likely to remain that way, flashbacks notwithstanding. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 10:36, 2 December 2005 (EST)

:: I probably should not have used the term disambiguation page as it would be an actual content page (was actually thinking more of a root entry or overview entry), but rather a page devoted to general overview content on the nature of battlestars as capital ships, discussion of general concepts of flight operations, battlegroup structures, etc. With the links to the various classes of battlestars. While I understand that we may not get an abundance of canonical info on them from the show itself, I guess this begs the question of the extent to which the encyclopedia content is about "the show" and how much is about the Galactica universe within the show? I personally was hoping that this would be the platform and vehicle to collect and fill-in and expand on the later. Where things are structured and presented as a "NPOV" encyclopedia "from" the Galactica universe (or as sometimes referred to in gaming terms as a 'poetic map' or 'real map' that a player-character would have). Think of it as if we had an "actual" Hitchhiker's Guide (albeit "serious and accurate" not the apocryphal one portrayed in the books and movies, etc) "from" the Galactica universe which is then 'viewed' here (i.e. the entry content of the encyclopedia portions of this site) — [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 17:23, 3 December 2005 (EST)

==Armament Details==

* ''With 512 Point-Defense Turrets, thats 1024 PD Guns, and from onscreen evidence, the Rounds Per Minute is atleast 90 or more. (fan estimation.)''
** ''Assuming a firing rate of 2 rounds per second, thats 120 rounds per minute, and from all turrets equates to 122,880 rounds per minute. 2048 rounds per second. Thats alot. (fan estimation.)''
** ''Considering a raider has been shown to be destroyed with around 4-10 direct hits, this means that should raiders enter the firing solution, would take only a few seconds to get blown up. If targetted by the PD turrets, less then a second. It would take a single turret 1 second to destroy a raider. That isn't accounting for maneuverability of the raider however. (fan estimation.)''
* ''Also, with 24 Rail gun turrets, thats, 48 rail gun , Barrels, if you will. Atleast 960 Rounds per minute (1 round per 3 seconds)''
** ''Onscreen evidence shows around 1 round firing per 2-3 seconds (please correct if wrong). Going with the 1 round-2 seconds, you get a single turret firing in a minute, 60 rounds. times that by 24 and you come to 1,440 rounds per minute.''
** ''Due the turrets being "rail guns", the rounds go much faster then the rounds fired from the PD turrets. This means that a single hit to a raider should destroy it due to the kenetic energy imparted to the raider. If this is true, then a battlestar, with accurate aiming, could take out 1,440 raiders in a minute. Thats like, double the estimated capacity of a basestar! Thats if every shot is a direct hit.''

This is interesting. Do you have a source for: the number of point-defense turrets, the number of rail guns, and the ''existance'' of rail guns (on-screen evidence indicates a three-rail design, which is inconsistant with the physics of a rail gun)? I don't think any of those things have been shown or mentioned on screen yet.

This line of inquiry might enable us to speculate on the Battlestar's total ammo store, if we can derive our estimates from good data. However, the concept of a Basestar sending two raider wings directly into Galactica's firing solution is a little silly. ''Galactica's'' firing solution has been used to provide cover for vipers and screen the ship from nukes, not to target enemy fightercraft directly. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 11:55, 28 September 2005 (EDT)

::''Aramaments - Defensive''
::* ''24 x primary railgun turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece)
::* ''512 x point-defense turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece)''

:according to the wiki entry.
:also pictures on there show the existance of the rail guns. 8 ontop. 8 on the under side of the 'crocodile head', and 8 on the underbelly.

:the Rate of Fire is all my doing however.

:can someone get me a short video of when the ship actually fires? cuz im actualy needing this much detail for something im doing (and using this wiki as a reference for).

:its guessing though i counted erm, 498 turrets myself.
:and worked out for that too , ive got those calculations somewhere.

:keeping in mind some of the personnel guns they have, that fire ate more-then-1-round-per-second (in some cases. for instance a gattling gun, while not seen onscreen they likely have one, what with theyre parralels with earth tech)..
:its more then realistic RoF for each turret no?

:asfor the rail gun RoF
:on second thought,
:ill need to re-examine the footage of the rail guns firing.
:theyre not said to be rail guns but theres a shot somewhere of 4 turrets , that resemble the rail guns, firing.
:ok ill stop now.

:thx for the, well, not going mad :)

:edit - oh sos forget this: --[[User:Alex mcpherson|Alex mcpherson]] 12:26, 28 September 2005 (EDT)

::Be careful when citing unsourced fan-estimates in your calculations. I don't think those stats on turret count should even be there without a source. This article needs some serious cleanup in that regard. As for rate of fire, that can probably be estimated by frame-stepping through the relevant effects scenes in the miniseries. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 12:39, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
:::Shall I upload my modified pics of the underbelly, top and side somewhere and link them in here for others to count? i can link to both the unmodified and the modified versions so people can compare each individual one. and asfor the frame-stepping, is there a scene of the galactica firing, upclose in the first 5 episodes? --[[User:Alex mcpherson|Alex mcpherson]] 14:04, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
::::I think it would be better for you to upload it to your own web space if possible and then post links here, if that's possible. It would be interesting to see. Close-ups on Galactica's guns firing can be found in the mini-series, and I believe the footage was reused in "33". --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 16:57, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
:::::I just wanted to point out that the Galactica has 20 heavy turrets, not 24. There are eight on each of the dorsal and ventral sides and four under the nose of the fore-section. You can see these on the Zoic high-res pictures of the Big G. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 19:53, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
::::::I uploaded a picture to show what I mean. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 20:09, 28 September 2005 (EDT) [[Image:BSG_Ortho_Bottom.jpg|thumb]]
:::::::Excellent. Can the smaller guns also be seen on the elevations? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 20:29, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
::::::::Yes, especially on the flight pod. There are other batteries along the top and bottom of the fore-section split, the top of the central hull, below the flight pods, and along both upper and lower engine pods. These are just the ones I've found though. I'll upload the other ortho views now. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 22:35, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
:::::::::Actualy i can show you where the extra 4 come from!!! they are partially hidden . 2 on either side on the crocidile head. the hull plating left on either side of the underbelly, look there and youll see the other 4. *smiles like a know-it-all. --[[User:Alex mcpherson|Alex mcpherson]] 01:19, 29 September 2005 (EDT)
::::::::::If you mean the ones visible in the ventral elevation, I think Talos was including those in his count. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 01:35, 29 September 2005 (EDT)
:::::::::::those are fully visible. theres 4 at the very front and 2 either side of the underbelly partially visible. ill upload the pic when i get the change.
::::::::::::No need, I see them. Odd place for them, their range of motion must be quite constrained. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 01:39, 29 September 2005 (EDT)
::: (okay all these colons are really making this page long vertically. go 3-4-5-3 etc lol. anyway. ive uploaded to imageshack the pic so if anyone wants to count them and compare like i did go ahead. erm its 6:45am and had 3 hours sleep so , i forgot, how do i link? lol. img295.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bottomguns8ns.jpg (edit into a link for us. cheers) btw the pic is huge. --[[User:Alex mcpherson|Alex mcpherson]] 01:44, 29 September 2005 (EDT)
:Man, those large turrets are well hidden. I did not see them until now. You can also see the long line of small turrets along the edges of the main body. Look at the red markings on the bottom and go straight down until you reach the edge. You'll see them. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 06:20, 29 September 2005 (EDT)

==This Article Needs Work==

Who will join me in stripping this article of non-canon information and clearly labelling sources? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 19:07, 28 September 2005 (EDT)

: A challenge, but I like that. Perhaps we can move the Zoic information to a new page, as it is close to canon as we've got since they are part of the production process, although little of their info can be collaborated yet. We probably need to have this page moved to "Original Battlestar" or "Battlestar (RDM)" or somehow disamb it. Or, just offload the TOS info to another page. In a way I'm also big on placing the tech stats with the other technology pages to keep it easy to edit and read for both pages. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 22:28, 28 September 2005 (EDT)

::We should definitely namespace it into Battlestar (TOS), Battlestar (VG), Battlestar (RDM). Also, we could split the RDM article into "Battlestar" as a general concept, and the unnamed Galactica-class battlestar specifically - think [[Wikipedia:Aircraft carrier|Aircraft carrier]], [[Wikipedia:Yorktown class aircraft carrier|Yorktown class aircraft carrier]], [[Wikipedia:Nimitz class aircraft carrier|Nimitz class aircraft carrier]].

::Lastly, we must find an actual link to the Zoic source on all these details if we're going to keep them. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 00:22, 29 September 2005 (EDT)

:::That sounds good. I should be able to do the heavy work of moving data from the general "Battlestar" page to new pages for TOS and RDM battlestars and classes we know, and each of these pages will have links to their appropriate TOS or RDM named battlestar page. I may not strike the Zoic stuff yet, but at least by moving matters to separate pages, it will be much more manageable. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 18:28, 29 September 2005 (EDT)

The heavy work is done. This article has become a disamb page for all battlestar information. Unfortunately I did not properly move the [[Galactica]] page to [[Galactica (RDM)]], but created a new page instead. The content of the new page is OK, but the [[Galactica]] page should redirect to Galactica (RDM) to keep its history. There are several new pages that link from this page. The Pegasus (RDM) page deserved an article of its own and its page was moved, while Pegasus TOS from the original Battlestar page had only a few lines that were merged into [[Battlestar (TOS)]]. The new Galactica RDM class has [[Battlestar (RDM)]] for that general information. [[Mercury-class]] was moved to [[Mercury-class Battlestar (RDM)]] to keep its history and keep article consistency. Galactica has a TOS and RDM page (note earlier screw up) as well as Battlestars of TOS. I hope this aids greatly in keeping mixed information from becoming a bother. This does create bad links throughout, but the primary ones to catch are [[Galactica]] (which should redirect to Galactica (RDM) unless on a TOS area), Pegasus (which should go to Pegasus (RDM) if new, or Battlestar (TOS) if not). Comments, criticizm and help are appreciated. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 13:32, 30 September 2005 (EDT)

:Okay, I just finished a bit of cleanup. I've moved "Mercury-class Battlestar (RDM)" to "Mercury-Class Battlestar", since there's no need to disambiguate it from a TOS page of the same name that might ever exist. I've also corrected the namespace on "Galactica (Video Game 2003) to "Galactica (Video Game)", which is the namespace the other articles use. I've created a redirect from "Galactica" to "Galactica (RDM)", and moved the talk bage from "Talk:Battlestar" to "Talk:Battlestar (RDM)" (there were no TOS-specific comments there). --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:56, 30 September 2005 (EDT)

::Thanks. The Mercury-class remove makes sense. Although I added RDM on those namespaces for consistency, your move simplifies the namespaces. There have been many games for BSG over the years, thus the use of the year just in case someone starts discussing other older games or new games are created. We can worry about that later. With the separations, we can see how some pages really could use more content, especially the TOS Galactica page. That's pretty sad, when you think of it. Perhaps another enterprising person can fill it will some general history. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 18:02, 30 September 2005 (EDT)

==Battletar Tally==

This page, like [[Mercury-class Battlestar]] is for a specific (albeit unnamed) class of battletar. A tally of the fleet's unclassified battlestars is not appropriate here, and should go in [[Colonial Fleet]].
:Makes sense. For lack of a better place to put it, I left it as a vestigial part from its former article. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 12:52, 3 October 2005 (EDT)

==Capitalization==

Battlestar isn't a proper noun, so it shouldn't be capitalized in article names. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:04, 3 October 2005 (EDT)

:I've been wrestling with that. So, when using battlestar, it seems fine to capitalize it ''as'' an article when next to a battlestar name, as in "Battlestar ''Galactica'' left for Caprica". But when discussing the ship it should be "battlestar" just as we would use "carrier" and not "Carrier" for aircraft carriers. I find the use of "the battlestar ''Galactica'' awkward: no definitive article required there when the ship name is next to it. An item for the Standards page? [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 10:06, 4 October 2005 (EDT)

::Based on usage on the Wikipedia WWII articles, it would be either "the battlestar ''Galactica'' left for Caprica" or just "''Galactica'' left for Caprica". The only time Battlestar should be capitalized is in the title of the show. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 11:50, 4 October 2005 (EDT)

:::So say they all. It shall be done. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 12:41, 4 October 2005 (EDT)

Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions

2005-12-02T05:38:45Z

Lestatdelc: /* Verb Tense 2 */

Talk:Galactica type battlestar/Archive 1

2005-12-02T05:15:46Z

Lestatdelc: /* Other Battlestars */

I think the "fan estimate" of 6-8 Viper squads is off. According to http://galactica.tv/colonials/galacticatv.shtml, the Galactica had only 2 Viper squadrons. Since it was a museum ship, it's possible this is less than the usual complement.

-- John Reese

-------

Hi John,

Thanks for contributing! It's nice to see that the site's picking up now!

Actually, there are bits of information on the Galactica.tv (or Galactica2003.tv) website that are suspect, such as Tigh's first name being "Paul", as opposed to the canonized "Saul". We mainly use the episodes for canonical information; the Zoic, as the Colonial Archivist (Ernestborg9) can tell you, is mainly conjecture unless canonical info shows up to disprove it.

However, [[Battlestar|Battlestars]] in general carry 6-8 sqads; [[Galactica]] does carry two. (Or did, as I'm sure that the Galactica is now left with, at most, one full squadron of Mark IIs from the [[Mini-Series]], over the course of the series.)

- Joe

== Other Battlestars ==

Since the encounter of the Pegasus we have learned of another type of Battlestar,
will this page be edited in regard of this?

Another point is the appearence of the Galactica before the ship has been refitted
after the war. Is it clear that it had the appearance of the orginal show or is this
unclear?

Hardwing

: I've updated the page to reflect that this page deals primarily with the original battlestar class, of which ''Galactica'' is a member. I added a note on ''Pegasus'' and her class. There is a page for the [[Mercury-class]] battlestar, which could be edited and updated as this one as we get more technical information on that ship class. Note that only battlestars mentioned in an episode are canon; the rest technically may be made-up until then. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 19:00, 26 September 2005 (EDT)

=== Battlestar Article Structure ===

Since the term '''battlestar''' is a category of ship (analogous to space faring aircraft-carriers) shouldn't the content discussing battlestars in the RDM series, in overview terms, be moved to the [[Battlestar (RDM)]] page, and there list the two classes we know of so far, the Mercury class and the "Galactica" class (i.e. "Original battlestar (RDM)" which we don't know the name of)..?

This would then have the [[Original battlestar (RDM)]] page discussing the overall details of the "''Galactica'' class" battlestar, like we are doing with the [[Mercury class battlestar]] page which is about the class, and the [[Pegasus (RDM)]] page which deals with the specific vessel.

So in essence the [[Battlestar (RDM)]] page is the "root" page for the RDM entry on battlestars as a whole, then the [[Original battlestar (RDM)]] page about the "''Galactica'' class" battlestars in general, and the [[Galactica (RDM)]] page about the specifc vessel ''Galactica'':

==== Proposed restructuring ====

*[[Battlestar (RDM)]] (page about battlestars in general, i.e. "aircraft carriers")
**[[Original battlestar (RDM)]] (page about the original unnamed class as a whole)
***[[Galactica (RDM)]] (page about the specific vessel)
**[[Mercury class battlestar]] (page about the Mercury class as a whole)
***[[Pegasus (RDM)]] (page about the specific vessel)
***[[Mercury]] page (page about the specific vessel)

Thus leaving the [[Battlestar]] page as the top level disambiguation page between series. So everything within the RDM series about battlestars would fall within the outlined framework above beginning with the [[Battlestar (RDM)]] page.

==Armament Details==

* ''With 512 Point-Defense Turrets, thats 1024 PD Guns, and from onscreen evidence, the Rounds Per Minute is atleast 90 or more. (fan estimation.)''
** ''Assuming a firing rate of 2 rounds per second, thats 120 rounds per minute, and from all turrets equates to 122,880 rounds per minute. 2048 rounds per second. Thats alot. (fan estimation.)''
** ''Considering a raider has been shown to be destroyed with around 4-10 direct hits, this means that should raiders enter the firing solution, would take only a few seconds to get blown up. If targetted by the PD turrets, less then a second. It would take a single turret 1 second to destroy a raider. That isn't accounting for maneuverability of the raider however. (fan estimation.)''
* ''Also, with 24 Rail gun turrets, thats, 48 rail gun , Barrels, if you will. Atleast 960 Rounds per minute (1 round per 3 seconds)''
** ''Onscreen evidence shows around 1 round firing per 2-3 seconds (please correct if wrong). Going with the 1 round-2 seconds, you get a single turret firing in a minute, 60 rounds. times that by 24 and you come to 1,440 rounds per minute.''
** ''Due the turrets being "rail guns", the rounds go much faster then the rounds fired from the PD turrets. This means that a single hit to a raider should destroy it due to the kenetic energy imparted to the raider. If this is true, then a battlestar, with accurate aiming, could take out 1,440 raiders in a minute. Thats like, double the estimated capacity of a basestar! Thats if every shot is a direct hit.''

This is interesting. Do you have a source for: the number of point-defense turrets, the number of rail guns, and the ''existance'' of rail guns (on-screen evidence indicates a three-rail design, which is inconsistant with the physics of a rail gun)? I don't think any of those things have been shown or mentioned on screen yet.

This line of inquiry might enable us to speculate on the Battlestar's total ammo store, if we can derive our estimates from good data. However, the concept of a Basestar sending two raider wings directly into Galactica's firing solution is a little silly. ''Galactica's'' firing solution has been used to provide cover for vipers and screen the ship from nukes, not to target enemy fightercraft directly. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 11:55, 28 September 2005 (EDT)

::''Aramaments - Defensive''
::* ''24 x primary railgun turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece)
::* ''512 x point-defense turrets (mounting 2 guns apiece)''

:according to the wiki entry.
:also pictures on there show the existance of the rail guns. 8 ontop. 8 on the under side of the 'crocodile head', and 8 on the underbelly.

:the Rate of Fire is all my doing however.

:can someone get me a short video of when the ship actually fires? cuz im actualy needing this much detail for something im doing (and using this wiki as a reference for).

:its guessing though i counted erm, 498 turrets myself.
:and worked out for that too , ive got those calculations somewhere.

:keeping in mind some of the personnel guns they have, that fire ate more-then-1-round-per-second (in some cases. for instance a gattling gun, while not seen onscreen they likely have one, what with theyre parralels with earth tech)..
:its more then realistic RoF for each turret no?

:asfor the rail gun RoF
:on second thought,
:ill need to re-examine the footage of the rail guns firing.
:theyre not said to be rail guns but theres a shot somewhere of 4 turrets , that resemble the rail guns, firing.
:ok ill stop now.

:thx for the, well, not going mad :)

:edit - oh sos forget this: --[[User:Alex mcpherson|Alex mcpherson]] 12:26, 28 September 2005 (EDT)

::Be careful when citing unsourced fan-estimates in your calculations. I don't think those stats on turret count should even be there without a source. This article needs some serious cleanup in that regard. As for rate of fire, that can probably be estimated by frame-stepping through the relevant effects scenes in the miniseries. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 12:39, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
:::Shall I upload my modified pics of the underbelly, top and side somewhere and link them in here for others to count? i can link to both the unmodified and the modified versions so people can compare each individual one. and asfor the frame-stepping, is there a scene of the galactica firing, upclose in the first 5 episodes? --[[User:Alex mcpherson|Alex mcpherson]] 14:04, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
::::I think it would be better for you to upload it to your own web space if possible and then post links here, if that's possible. It would be interesting to see. Close-ups on Galactica's guns firing can be found in the mini-series, and I believe the footage was reused in "33". --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 16:57, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
:::::I just wanted to point out that the Galactica has 20 heavy turrets, not 24. There are eight on each of the dorsal and ventral sides and four under the nose of the fore-section. You can see these on the Zoic high-res pictures of the Big G. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 19:53, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
::::::I uploaded a picture to show what I mean. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 20:09, 28 September 2005 (EDT) [[Image:BSG_Ortho_Bottom.jpg|thumb]]
:::::::Excellent. Can the smaller guns also be seen on the elevations? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 20:29, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
::::::::Yes, especially on the flight pod. There are other batteries along the top and bottom of the fore-section split, the top of the central hull, below the flight pods, and along both upper and lower engine pods. These are just the ones I've found though. I'll upload the other ortho views now. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 22:35, 28 September 2005 (EDT)
:::::::::Actualy i can show you where the extra 4 come from!!! they are partially hidden . 2 on either side on the crocidile head. the hull plating left on either side of the underbelly, look there and youll see the other 4. *smiles like a know-it-all. --[[User:Alex mcpherson|Alex mcpherson]] 01:19, 29 September 2005 (EDT)
::::::::::If you mean the ones visible in the ventral elevation, I think Talos was including those in his count. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 01:35, 29 September 2005 (EDT)
:::::::::::those are fully visible. theres 4 at the very front and 2 either side of the underbelly partially visible. ill upload the pic when i get the change.
::::::::::::No need, I see them. Odd place for them, their range of motion must be quite constrained. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 01:39, 29 September 2005 (EDT)
::: (okay all these colons are really making this page long vertically. go 3-4-5-3 etc lol. anyway. ive uploaded to imageshack the pic so if anyone wants to count them and compare like i did go ahead. erm its 6:45am and had 3 hours sleep so , i forgot, how do i link? lol. img295.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bottomguns8ns.jpg (edit into a link for us. cheers) btw the pic is huge. --[[User:Alex mcpherson|Alex mcpherson]] 01:44, 29 September 2005 (EDT)
:Man, those large turrets are well hidden. I did not see them until now. You can also see the long line of small turrets along the edges of the main body. Look at the red markings on the bottom and go straight down until you reach the edge. You'll see them. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 06:20, 29 September 2005 (EDT)

==This Article Needs Work==

Who will join me in stripping this article of non-canon information and clearly labelling sources? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 19:07, 28 September 2005 (EDT)

: A challenge, but I like that. Perhaps we can move the Zoic information to a new page, as it is close to canon as we've got since they are part of the production process, although little of their info can be collaborated yet. We probably need to have this page moved to "Original Battlestar" or "Battlestar (RDM)" or somehow disamb it. Or, just offload the TOS info to another page. In a way I'm also big on placing the tech stats with the other technology pages to keep it easy to edit and read for both pages. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 22:28, 28 September 2005 (EDT)

::We should definitely namespace it into Battlestar (TOS), Battlestar (VG), Battlestar (RDM). Also, we could split the RDM article into "Battlestar" as a general concept, and the unnamed Galactica-class battlestar specifically - think [[Wikipedia:Aircraft carrier|Aircraft carrier]], [[Wikipedia:Yorktown class aircraft carrier|Yorktown class aircraft carrier]], [[Wikipedia:Nimitz class aircraft carrier|Nimitz class aircraft carrier]].

::Lastly, we must find an actual link to the Zoic source on all these details if we're going to keep them. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 00:22, 29 September 2005 (EDT)

:::That sounds good. I should be able to do the heavy work of moving data from the general "Battlestar" page to new pages for TOS and RDM battlestars and classes we know, and each of these pages will have links to their appropriate TOS or RDM named battlestar page. I may not strike the Zoic stuff yet, but at least by moving matters to separate pages, it will be much more manageable. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 18:28, 29 September 2005 (EDT)

The heavy work is done. This article has become a disamb page for all battlestar information. Unfortunately I did not properly move the [[Galactica]] page to [[Galactica (RDM)]], but created a new page instead. The content of the new page is OK, but the [[Galactica]] page should redirect to Galactica (RDM) to keep its history. There are several new pages that link from this page. The Pegasus (RDM) page deserved an article of its own and its page was moved, while Pegasus TOS from the original Battlestar page had only a few lines that were merged into [[Battlestar (TOS)]]. The new Galactica RDM class has [[Battlestar (RDM)]] for that general information. [[Mercury-class]] was moved to [[Mercury-class Battlestar (RDM)]] to keep its history and keep article consistency. Galactica has a TOS and RDM page (note earlier screw up) as well as Battlestars of TOS. I hope this aids greatly in keeping mixed information from becoming a bother. This does create bad links throughout, but the primary ones to catch are [[Galactica]] (which should redirect to Galactica (RDM) unless on a TOS area), Pegasus (which should go to Pegasus (RDM) if new, or Battlestar (TOS) if not). Comments, criticizm and help are appreciated. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 13:32, 30 September 2005 (EDT)

:Okay, I just finished a bit of cleanup. I've moved "Mercury-class Battlestar (RDM)" to "Mercury-Class Battlestar", since there's no need to disambiguate it from a TOS page of the same name that might ever exist. I've also corrected the namespace on "Galactica (Video Game 2003) to "Galactica (Video Game)", which is the namespace the other articles use. I've created a redirect from "Galactica" to "Galactica (RDM)", and moved the talk bage from "Talk:Battlestar" to "Talk:Battlestar (RDM)" (there were no TOS-specific comments there). --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:56, 30 September 2005 (EDT)

::Thanks. The Mercury-class remove makes sense. Although I added RDM on those namespaces for consistency, your move simplifies the namespaces. There have been many games for BSG over the years, thus the use of the year just in case someone starts discussing other older games or new games are created. We can worry about that later. With the separations, we can see how some pages really could use more content, especially the TOS Galactica page. That's pretty sad, when you think of it. Perhaps another enterprising person can fill it will some general history. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 18:02, 30 September 2005 (EDT)

==Battletar Tally==

This page, like [[Mercury-class Battlestar]] is for a specific (albeit unnamed) class of battletar. A tally of the fleet's unclassified battlestars is not appropriate here, and should go in [[Colonial Fleet]].
:Makes sense. For lack of a better place to put it, I left it as a vestigial part from its former article. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 12:52, 3 October 2005 (EDT)

==Capitalization==

Battlestar isn't a proper noun, so it shouldn't be capitalized in article names. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:04, 3 October 2005 (EDT)

:I've been wrestling with that. So, when using battlestar, it seems fine to capitalize it ''as'' an article when next to a battlestar name, as in "Battlestar ''Galactica'' left for Caprica". But when discussing the ship it should be "battlestar" just as we would use "carrier" and not "Carrier" for aircraft carriers. I find the use of "the battlestar ''Galactica'' awkward: no definitive article required there when the ship name is next to it. An item for the Standards page? [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 10:06, 4 October 2005 (EDT)

::Based on usage on the Wikipedia WWII articles, it would be either "the battlestar ''Galactica'' left for Caprica" or just "''Galactica'' left for Caprica". The only time Battlestar should be capitalized is in the title of the show. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 11:50, 4 October 2005 (EDT)

:::So say they all. It shall be done. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 12:41, 4 October 2005 (EDT)

Frame

2005-12-02T04:40:10Z

Lestatdelc: added terminology and category markers

The term '''frame''' is used throughout the [[Colonial Fleet]]. It is a military vessel term which was derived from the term describing the "ribs" of a vessel or main lateral bulkheads within a ship. These major structural bulkheads provide structural strength to a ship-divide vessels. These also serve as dividers within the vessels interiors space into airtight compartments as a form of damage control should breaches occur within the hull and venting of atmosphere out into space occur. These bulkhead frames contain decompression within compartment or bays.

Often when discussing areas of the ship, frame numbers are used to quickly define sections of the vessel in question. For example, when the ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' was hit with a nuclear warhead during the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]], ''Galactica's'' [[Executive officer|XO]] [[Saul Tigh]] informed [[William_Adama|Commander Adama]] the extent of the fires burning within the severely damaged port side [[flight pod]] by referencing what compartments were on fire by saying "everything forward of frame 250", by which he was referring to the lateral bulkhead within the port side flight pod number 250, or in other words the 250th lateral structural bulkhead support rib within the hulls superstructure.

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Terminology]]

Frame

2005-12-02T04:39:19Z

Lestatdelc: Initial entry about the term used aboard Galactica to describe the ribs of her superstructure

Galactica (TRS)

2005-12-02T04:36:33Z

Lestatdelc: /* Available Flight Pods */ corrected link, to the first ussage fo the term.

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

[[Image:Bsg-gal-1.jpg|thumb|Battlestar ''Galactica'']]

[[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'' is the most famous warship in the [[Colonial Fleet]]. Built in time to participate in the [[Cylon War]] she remained the only military vessel not to be upgraded with the new [[Command Navigation Program|integrated defense systems]] developed by Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] and his [[Number Six|team]]. Because of this and other fortune, she became one of only two battlestars to survive the renewed Cylon attack on the [[Twelve Colonies]], some 40 years after the end of the first war.

== Fleet Details ==

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

'''Deployment''': Formerly an element of [[75th Battlestar Group]]

'''Current Status''': One of [[Pegasus|two]] remaining Colonial military units, commanded by Commander [[William Adama]].

== History ==

''Galactica'' was one of the first five battlestars to be laid down by the Colonials, the others being the ''[[Columbia]]'' , ''[[Rycon]]'', ''[[Atlantia]]'', and ''[[Pegasus]]'' (Zoic). As such, she is some 50 years old (Mini Series). Following the outbreak of Cylon hostilities, seven more battlestars were laid down: ''[[Pacifica]]'' , ''[[Triton]]'', ''[[Acropolis]]'', ''[[Solaria]]'', ''[[Prometheus]]'', ''[[Argo]]'' and ''[[Poseidon]]'' - giving the Colonials one battlestar representing each of the [[Twelve Colonies]] ([[Zoic]] / [[Mini-Series]]). She was first captained by Commander [[Peter Dash]] ([[Mini-Series]]).

These vessels were all designed with non-integrated systems to avoid the Cylons demonstrated ability to override or subvert networked command and control systems early in the war ([[Mini-Series]]). Instead, the battlestar depended on its sheer bulk and defensive / offensive capabilities to ward of 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 upgraded to match the systems capabilities of more modern Colonial vessels, ''Galactica'' continued in service without any of her systems being fully networked or integrated, making her unique among Colonial military vessels ([[Mini-Series]]).

With her active career drawing to a close, a decision was taken to retire ''Galactica'' and decommission her from service. However, due to her unique status a decision was taken 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]] ([[Mini-Series]]).

At the time of her formal decommissioning ceremony, ''Galactica'' had been stripped of all but one of her operational [[Viper]] Mark VII squadrons, her munitions destroyed, and her starboard landing pod converted into a pressurized museum housing (among other things) a full squadron of 20 Mk. II Vipers (Mini-Series, also in Deleted Scenes).

With the unexpected resumption of hostilities on the part of the Cylons, ''Galactica'' quickly proved her worthiness as a warship was far from over as she withstood a direct hit from a tactical nuclear weapon, and then single-handedly took on a two Cylon [[basestar|Basestars]] after re-arming herself at [[Ragnar Anchorage]], providing an umbrella of fire cover under which the surviving people of the Twelve Colonies were able to escape the Cylons on some 75 civilian vessels.

Since the exodus of the Colonials from their overrun homeworlds, ''Galactica'' has become both protector and provider for the fleet. She has provided 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 being brought aboard for check-ups, etc. ([[Litmus]]). She has also undertaken internal policing duties within the fleet ([[Water]], [[Bastille Day]]).

''Galactica'' has also been able to successfully go on the offensive against the Cylons ([[The Hand of God]]), capturing a [[tylium]] fuel mining and processing plant in the process.

== 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 pressurised as the main museum display facility. It was violently depressurized after a [[Cylon Heavy Raider]] crashed into it ([[Scattered]]).

===Turrets===
''Galacticas's'' defenses include an array of twenty-four large turret mounted twin-cannons, and a multitude of smaller turret mounted twin-guns located between the ''Galactica's'' "ribs". Together, these provide the ''Galactica'' with a flak field that acts as a destructive shield against incoming hostiles ([[Scattered]]).

===Nuclear Warheads===
''Galactica'' had five nuclear warheads as of "[[Bastille Day]]". Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] cannibalized one to use in his [[Cylon Detector]], and Commander Adama used another to destroy a Cylon [[basestar]] in [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]], leaving the ship with three.

===Vipers===
Prior to the arrival of ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', ''Galactica'' had at most 34 Vipers, of which at least six were Mk. VIIs.{{ref|vipers}} She may have received additional equipment from ''Pegasus'' since then.

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

===Other Craft===
*''Galactica'' currently posesses two Cylon [[Heavy Raider]]s. One crash-landed into the starboard flight pod in "[[Scattered]]" (now possibly unusable). The other was returned in operational status from Caprica in "[[Home, Part I]]".
*An experimental stealth fighter, the [[Blackbird]], was constructed using spare parts in the episode "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]".

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

==Running Tallies==
#{{note|vipers}}Running tally of Vipers:
#* With one operational flight pod, ''Galactica'' was apparently equipped with two squadrons of Mk. VII [[Viper]]s. A third squadron of Mk. IIs formed part of a museum exhibit in the starboard flight pod.
#*20 Mk. VIIs under the command of [[Jackson Spencer|Jackson "Ripper" Spencer]], ''Galactica's'' [[CAG]], are lost en-route to [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]] when they were disabled by a backdoor in the [[Command Navigation Program]] and subsequently destroyed.
#*At least 11 Vipers, all Mk. IIs, are launched during the first attack on ''Galactica'', one of which is destroyed.
#*Three Mk. VII Vipers are seen in formation inside the ragtag fleet before they hooked 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 between the Mini-Series and "[[Act of Contrition]]" (see below).
#*39 Vipers are launched at the [[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage]], of which 8 are destroyed and one is severely damaged (piloted by [[Lee Adama]]), leaving 31. Some Vipers damaged in the previous engagement were possibly held for repairs.
#*In "[[Act of Contrition]]", Lee Adama stated 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 [[Hot Dog]], has been severely damaged, and a second, piloted by [[Starbuck|Kara Thrace]], destroyed in a crash landing on a nearby planet.
#*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 planet is apparently a matter of cleaning time, not total failure and replacement.
#*In "[[The Hand of God]]", Strike Force Two is comprised of twelve Vipers (three of which, piloted by an unidentified pilot, [[Chuckles]], and [[Stepchild]], are destroyed) and Strike Force One is comprised of at least seven (at least one of which, piloted by [[Fireball]], is destroyed).
#*According to the official Sci-Fi website, following ''Galactica's'' attack on a Cylon [[tylium]] mine in "[[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 [[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.
#*[[Kat]] crashed her Viper into the flight deck in "[[Final Cut]]", and Chief Tyrol declared the fighter a total loss and had 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 [[Tyrol]] in the episode itself. This must probably 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|Boomer]] and [[Karl Agathon|Helo]], manages to escape destruction but is forced to land for repairs on nearby [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]]. It later returns intact to ''Galactica'' ([[Mini-Series]]).
#* Raptors are deployed to five nearby systems in [[Water]].
#* Two Raptors, piloted by [[Boomer]] and [[Stubbs]], perform reconaissance duties in "[[The Hand of God]]".
#* In "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]", three Raptors are deployed to scout [[Kobol]], but unexpectedly encounter a [[Cylon Basestar]] in orbit. [[Raptor 3]] is immediately destroyed by collision with a [[Cylon 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 [[Boomer]] and [[Racetrack]] simultaneously take a fourth to deliver a nuke to the Basestar. All four return safely.
#* In "[[Fragged]]", [[Raptor 305]] is scrapped for parts in order to mount a two-raptor 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 number at least eight, and [[Gaeta]] cites manpower shortage as the chief limiting factor. This means that either Tigh is unaware of ''Galactica's'' resources (unlikely), or the ship had or acquired 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 9]].
#* In "[[The Farm]]", Tigh explicitly states that they have "five raptors with marines 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]]" had not yet been returned, the number would be nine.
#{{note|originalcrew}}Original crew:
#*In the Mini-Series, 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 retcon, but we accept the more recent figure.
#*In addition to the 85 killed in the flight pod fire, 29 Viper pilots lost on-screen in the first three sorties, and [[Helo]] going MIA (all events in the [[Mini-Series]]), that makes for a pre-attack total of 2,808.
#{{note|crew}}Running tally of crewmen:
#*Thirteen pilots were killed in "[[Act of Contrition]]". Eight were recruited to replace them, leaving a net loss of five.
#*Three crewmen were killed by a suicide bomber in "[[Litmus]]".
#*Four Viper pilots were killed in action in "[[The Hand of God]]".
#*At least six died on [[Raptor 3]] in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", and Sharon Valerii was revealed as a Cylon agent.
#*Eleven crew were killed in the Cylon boarding action in "[[Valley of Darkness]]".
#*Four of the crew of [[Raptor 1]] had died by the time the survivors were rescued in "[[Fragged]]".
#*Helo returned in [[Home, Part I]].
#*Subtracting these losses from the total given in Water yields no more than 2,660 crewmembers prior to the arrival of ''[[Pegasus]]''.

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

Galactica (TRS)

2005-12-02T04:35:50Z

Lestatdelc: /* Available Flight Pods */ linked to flight pod entry

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

[[Image:Bsg-gal-1.jpg|thumb|Battlestar ''Galactica'']]

[[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'' is the most famous warship in the [[Colonial Fleet]]. Built in time to participate in the [[Cylon War]] she remained the only military vessel not to be upgraded with the new [[Command Navigation Program|integrated defense systems]] developed by Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] and his [[Number Six|team]]. Because of this and other fortune, she became one of only two battlestars to survive the renewed Cylon attack on the [[Twelve Colonies]], some 40 years after the end of the first war.

== Fleet Details ==

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

'''Deployment''': Formerly an element of [[75th Battlestar Group]]

'''Current Status''': One of [[Pegasus|two]] remaining Colonial military units, commanded by Commander [[William Adama]].

== History ==

''Galactica'' was one of the first five battlestars to be laid down by the Colonials, the others being the ''[[Columbia]]'' , ''[[Rycon]]'', ''[[Atlantia]]'', and ''[[Pegasus]]'' (Zoic). As such, she is some 50 years old (Mini Series). Following the outbreak of Cylon hostilities, seven more battlestars were laid down: ''[[Pacifica]]'' , ''[[Triton]]'', ''[[Acropolis]]'', ''[[Solaria]]'', ''[[Prometheus]]'', ''[[Argo]]'' and ''[[Poseidon]]'' - giving the Colonials one battlestar representing each of the [[Twelve Colonies]] ([[Zoic]] / [[Mini-Series]]). She was first captained by Commander [[Peter Dash]] ([[Mini-Series]]).

These vessels were all designed with non-integrated systems to avoid the Cylons demonstrated ability to override or subvert networked command and control systems early in the war ([[Mini-Series]]). Instead, the battlestar depended on its sheer bulk and defensive / offensive capabilities to ward of 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 upgraded to match the systems capabilities of more modern Colonial vessels, ''Galactica'' continued in service without any of her systems being fully networked or integrated, making her unique among Colonial military vessels ([[Mini-Series]]).

With her active career drawing to a close, a decision was taken to retire ''Galactica'' and decommission her from service. However, due to her unique status a decision was taken 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]] ([[Mini-Series]]).

At the time of her formal decommissioning ceremony, ''Galactica'' had been stripped of all but one of her operational [[Viper]] Mark VII squadrons, her munitions destroyed, and her starboard landing pod converted into a pressurized museum housing (among other things) a full squadron of 20 Mk. II Vipers (Mini-Series, also in Deleted Scenes).

With the unexpected resumption of hostilities on the part of the Cylons, ''Galactica'' quickly proved her worthiness as a warship was far from over as she withstood a direct hit from a tactical nuclear weapon, and then single-handedly took on a two Cylon [[basestar|Basestars]] after re-arming herself at [[Ragnar Anchorage]], providing an umbrella of fire cover under which the surviving people of the Twelve Colonies were able to escape the Cylons on some 75 civilian vessels.

Since the exodus of the Colonials from their overrun homeworlds, ''Galactica'' has become both protector and provider for the fleet. She has provided 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 being brought aboard for check-ups, etc. ([[Litmus]]). She has also undertaken internal policing duties within the fleet ([[Water]], [[Bastille Day]]).

''Galactica'' has also been able to successfully go on the offensive against the Cylons ([[The Hand of God]]), capturing a [[tylium]] fuel mining and processing plant in the process.

== 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 pressurised as the main museum display facility. It was violently depressurized after a [[Cylon Heavy Raider]] crashed into it ([[Scattered]]).

===Turrets===
''Galacticas's'' defenses include an array of twenty-four large turret mounted twin-cannons, and a multitude of smaller turret mounted twin-guns located between the ''Galactica's'' "ribs". Together, these provide the ''Galactica'' with a flak field that acts as a destructive shield against incoming hostiles ([[Scattered]]).

===Nuclear Warheads===
''Galactica'' had five nuclear warheads as of "[[Bastille Day]]". Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] cannibalized one to use in his [[Cylon Detector]], and Commander Adama used another to destroy a Cylon [[basestar]] in [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]], leaving the ship with three.

===Vipers===
Prior to the arrival of ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'', ''Galactica'' had at most 34 Vipers, of which at least six were Mk. VIIs.{{ref|vipers}} She may have received additional equipment from ''Pegasus'' since then.

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

===Other Craft===
*''Galactica'' currently posesses two Cylon [[Heavy Raider]]s. One crash-landed into the starboard flight pod in "[[Scattered]]" (now possibly unusable). The other was returned in operational status from Caprica in "[[Home, Part I]]".
*An experimental stealth fighter, the [[Blackbird]], was constructed using spare parts in the episode "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]".

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

==Running Tallies==
#{{note|vipers}}Running tally of Vipers:
#* With one operational flight pod, ''Galactica'' was apparently equipped with two squadrons of Mk. VII [[Viper]]s. A third squadron of Mk. IIs formed part of a museum exhibit in the starboard flight pod.
#*20 Mk. VIIs under the command of [[Jackson Spencer|Jackson "Ripper" Spencer]], ''Galactica's'' [[CAG]], are lost en-route to [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]] when they were disabled by a backdoor in the [[Command Navigation Program]] and subsequently destroyed.
#*At least 11 Vipers, all Mk. IIs, are launched during the first attack on ''Galactica'', one of which is destroyed.
#*Three Mk. VII Vipers are seen in formation inside the ragtag fleet before they hooked 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 between the Mini-Series and "[[Act of Contrition]]" (see below).
#*39 Vipers are launched at the [[Battle of Ragnar Anchorage]], of which 8 are destroyed and one is severely damaged (piloted by [[Lee Adama]]), leaving 31. Some Vipers damaged in the previous engagement were possibly held for repairs.
#*In "[[Act of Contrition]]", Lee Adama stated 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 [[Hot Dog]], has been severely damaged, and a second, piloted by [[Starbuck|Kara Thrace]], destroyed in a crash landing on a nearby planet.
#*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 planet is apparently a matter of cleaning time, not total failure and replacement.
#*In "[[The Hand of God]]", Strike Force Two is comprised of twelve Vipers (three of which, piloted by an unidentified pilot, [[Chuckles]], and [[Stepchild]], are destroyed) and Strike Force One is comprised of at least seven (at least one of which, piloted by [[Fireball]], is destroyed).
#*According to the official Sci-Fi website, following ''Galactica's'' attack on a Cylon [[tylium]] mine in "[[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 [[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.
#*[[Kat]] crashed her Viper into the flight deck in "[[Final Cut]]", and Chief Tyrol declared the fighter a total loss and had 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 [[Tyrol]] in the episode itself. This must probably 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|Boomer]] and [[Karl Agathon|Helo]], manages to escape destruction but is forced to land for repairs on nearby [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]]. It later returns intact to ''Galactica'' ([[Mini-Series]]).
#* Raptors are deployed to five nearby systems in [[Water]].
#* Two Raptors, piloted by [[Boomer]] and [[Stubbs]], perform reconaissance duties in "[[The Hand of God]]".
#* In "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]", three Raptors are deployed to scout [[Kobol]], but unexpectedly encounter a [[Cylon Basestar]] in orbit. [[Raptor 3]] is immediately destroyed by collision with a [[Cylon 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 [[Boomer]] and [[Racetrack]] simultaneously take a fourth to deliver a nuke to the Basestar. All four return safely.
#* In "[[Fragged]]", [[Raptor 305]] is scrapped for parts in order to mount a two-raptor 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 number at least eight, and [[Gaeta]] cites manpower shortage as the chief limiting factor. This means that either Tigh is unaware of ''Galactica's'' resources (unlikely), or the ship had or acquired 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 9]].
#* In "[[The Farm]]", Tigh explicitly states that they have "five raptors with marines 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]]" had not yet been returned, the number would be nine.
#{{note|originalcrew}}Original crew:
#*In the Mini-Series, 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 retcon, but we accept the more recent figure.
#*In addition to the 85 killed in the flight pod fire, 29 Viper pilots lost on-screen in the first three sorties, and [[Helo]] going MIA (all events in the [[Mini-Series]]), that makes for a pre-attack total of 2,808.
#{{note|crew}}Running tally of crewmen:
#*Thirteen pilots were killed in "[[Act of Contrition]]". Eight were recruited to replace them, leaving a net loss of five.
#*Three crewmen were killed by a suicide bomber in "[[Litmus]]".
#*Four Viper pilots were killed in action in "[[The Hand of God]]".
#*At least six died on [[Raptor 3]] in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", and Sharon Valerii was revealed as a Cylon agent.
#*Eleven crew were killed in the Cylon boarding action in "[[Valley of Darkness]]".
#*Four of the crew of [[Raptor 1]] had died by the time the survivors were rescued in "[[Fragged]]".
#*Helo returned in [[Home, Part I]].
#*Subtracting these losses from the total given in Water yields no more than 2,660 crewmembers prior to the arrival of ''[[Pegasus]]''.

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

Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions

2005-12-02T04:02:23Z

Lestatdelc: /* Proposed Guidelines for Dispute Resoluton on Speculative Matters */

Because of their length, individual discussions which we believe have reached consensus have been archived.
As further discussions are concluded, please move them to the archive as well, in order to keep this page topical and readable. If the first archive threatens to exceed 32 kilobytes, please create a new one. See [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:How to archive a talk page|Wikipedia:How to archive a talk page]] for details.

'''Previous discussions:'''

*[[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01|Archive 1 (September 10th, 2005 to Present)]]:

:[[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Verb Tense|Verb Tense]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Ship Naming, Abbrevation and Capitalization Standards|Ship Naming, Abbrevation and Capitalization Standards]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Signing Your Work|Signing Your Work]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Spelling|Spelling]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Single-name Address|Single-name Address]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Episode Links and Formatting|Episode Links and Formatting]]


----

== Verb Tense ==

While it may be a "convention" within fiction articles about an episode, the verb tense issue is not using present-tense within an encyclopedia unless something is still ongoing. As I posted in the main page talk page and on a user whom made me aware of the verb tense issue, I posit that this convention be changed for the actual entries for the people, places, things. In other words, in the episode pages, the verb tense would stay as it is, but the verb tense in the individual article entries for say "Gaius Baltar" which would be the encyclopedic entry on him, would follow the norms and conventions used in other encyclopedias. That convention being, again using Gauis Balter's entry, the descriptions of Baltar's background, and events which have already occurred on Caprica, etc. be in the past-tense, whereas referring to him as the Vice-President, and duties onboard Galcatica, etc. would be present-tense since this is the current state within the timeline of the show at present. This would of course be edited as events unfold within the show. If for example he is removed form office as VP, then the verb tense would change for that piece of information as well as adding in how he stopped being VP, etc.

Likewise passages about say the development of the Mark II Viper would be past-tense, while the current disposition and capabilities of the Mark II would be present-tense. Not trying to be overly pedantic, but if we were to use and adopt the convention that this "encyclopedia" were to be discussing things and concepts within BSG as if it "were real" so-to-speak, like say in a present day encyclopedia would describe the development of the F-14 Tomcat in past-tense terms but describe current description of the presently active variants of the F-14 (i.e. the F-14D) and its deployment and present status within the arsenal of the United States Navy, it would be present-tense. Contrast that with descriptions of say, a WWII German Stuka Bomber which would all be past-tense in a current day encyclopedia.

This sort of tense usage within things such as the Star Trek Technical manuals, Omnipedia's etc., which match he tense usage of current "real world" encyclopedias. Again, not trying to be a bull in a china shop as the new guy on the block, but it is rather jarring to read encyclopedic entries which do not follow the verb tense conventions used in "real world" ones. [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 22:54, 1 December 2005 (EST)

== Image Sizes ==

I tend to think that images that are whole-screen captures (and thus letterbox dimensions) should be about 300px wide. This is, however, based entirely on how that looks on my browser window, which is pretty large, but not maximized on a 1280x1026 resolution. So that might look horrid on some other screen. Anyway, with that in mind, I resize all my full-screen captures to be 600px wide since that's a nice two times what I think they should be viewed at. Should I be even thinking this way, or should I just be telling the articles to be thumbs and set my preferences for larger thumbs? In the case of cropped screen-caps, though, I think 300px is too wide, or rather, often too tall. How do others think on this? --[[User:Day|Day]] 05:21, 10 September 2005 (EDT)

:Yes, use your preference settings for this. FWIW, I'm a fan of judicious cropping. It helps make smaller thumbs more legible. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 12:28, 10 September 2005 (EDT)

:: If you're trying to illustrate something specific, sure, cropping is needed in most cases. However, for episode pages and, I think, when trying to show a scene, the whole screen is good for its sense of context. I could be wrong. --[[User:Day|Day]] 16:09, 10 September 2005 (EDT)

==Proposed Guidelines for Dispute Resoluton on Speculative Matters==

''Cooked this up with an eye toward the kind of arguments we've seen from time to time. Weigh in if you find the suggestion agreeable, or if you don't think it's necessary.'' --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:42, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

Battlestar Wiki encourages speculation in areas where you believe your thoughts may be of interest to others. However, it is sometimes possible for contributors to hold two divergent and contradictory interpretations of the available material on a particular subject. This is a proposed set of guideliens for dealing with such conflicts.

*When debate on an article threatens to consume it at the expense of other valid areas, it is suggested that the debate be spun off into its own article, with a footnote linking the existing article to the debate. An example of this is [[Cylons]] and [[Twelve Cylon Models]]. This guideline is relevant for articles like [[Cylons]] with broad coverage of many equally important topics.

*Where two or more serious, diverging interpretations exist, they should be presented in the following manner - an comprehensive and NPOV list of evidence, with quotations, episode references, cut scenes, pod cast mentions, images, etc; followed by headers for each interpretation and a persuasive argument.

*Although the wiki process naturally devalues individual ownership of contributions, many people grow personally attached to their opinions in cases such as these. In order to avoid offense, please be tactful and judicious in your modifications to arguments which other contributors appear invested in.

: I like the way this looks in my head. I mean--assuming I'm getting it right, and I think I am. However, I don't know that it should go on the Standards and Conventions page, so much as a policy page of some sort. Maybe you can convince me it belongs here, though. --[[User:Day|Day]] 19:01, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

:: I think it's got merit, too. However, there may be too much jargon in what you're trying to say. "Exegesis" isn't in most people's vocabulary (it's not in mine!). For instance, if I were to rewrite the paragraph starting with "Where two or more serious, diverging interpretations exist..." it would be simpler to read as: "When two or more interpretations exist, writers should edit the page with "pro" and "con" arguments on the topic, with aired information and official statements from the producers given more weight than personal point-of-view." An excellent evolution of that was the [[Gaius Baltar]]-is-a-Cylon argument I added to that article, which extended/derived itself to the Humano-Cylon page. An important caveat to that should be, "When an argument can be fully refuted based on aired episode and official statements, the refuting information should be placed in the topic and its source. Deletion is not preferred since Battlestar Galactica is a "live" work that can and will change the information in unexpected ways." Someone today, for instance, deleted a item on Starbuck as a possible bioCylon after sufficient evidence was given in "The Farm." However, deletion there wasn't the best bet--somebody might come up with that idea again and we have that ping-pong effect of adding/deleting. This policy could resolve the matter. If we have a preferred page size, too, this could be a gauge for whether an article is going overboard. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 19:48, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

::: Spence: I added another colon to the front of your post for readability. Maybe I've a simpler understanding of how things usually go, but I think it's usual to add one more colon than the preceeding post. Anyway, to topic: How long after something is disproven should we leave the proof up? I mean--right now there are very few characters about which we couldn't have a <name>-is-a-Cylon theory, but if it turns out that in the next episode there is some kind of conclusive proof that, say, Chief Tyrol is '''not''' a Cylon, how long should we leave the annotated Tyrol-is-a-Cylong theory up? If it can be proven he's not, based on aired material, then I think it's a waste of server space to leave it up long at all, really. Now, debatable stuff, which is subject to interpretation is another matter, of course... ---[[User:Day|Day]] 20:38, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

::::For this particular matter, we could have an article on characters whose humanity is undisputed. This would be a white-list - as characters are convincingly demonstrated to be human, they'd be added. This would have to be based on a fairly strict interpretation of the evidence - Starbuck and Helo are obviously in the clear as a result of the hybridization experiments in [[The Farm]].

::::In a subsequent section, we can note ''very strong probabilities'' - ie, anyone whose existance can be verified 30 years or more before the start of the series is ''probably'' also in the clear - (after all, the Cylons were only gone for 50 years, and must have taken a considerable amount of time to develop from "chrome toasters" to the human models). Likewise, characters whose parents can vouch for their natural birth (e.g. Apollo) are probably also safe.

::::Any character in the very strong probability section who is convincingly disputed could be removed, but I am most definitely not a fan of the logical contortions that lead to Starbuck-is-a-cylon scenarios. I also don't think there's a compelling need for a paragraph in [[Humano-Cylon]] on every single character whose humanity isn't 100% verified, so that tempation should be resisted. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 21:19, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

::::: I concur on most of that and some of iut should probably be noted on the Characters project page. Uhm... However, didn't someone have some theory about [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]]? I don't remember it quite solidly, but I remember thinking it was odd, but not dismissable out of hand. Which is to say, I doubt Starbuck is a Cylon, but because of this theory I would not have a fit if RDM called me up and told me, no, Starbuck is actually a Cylon. Maybe the theory I'm thinking of held less water than I think it did. Maybe I dreamed it. Anyway, I guess this is getting off-topic, so to speak. I agree that we should shy away from <so-and-so>-is-a-Cylon theories because the volume could become enormous. [[Cally]] might be a Cylon. I'm not sure what advantage having someone with her personality type and limited-access would server the Cylons, but she MIGHT. We don't need an article on that, though. Certainly not on the [[Humano-Cylon]] page. Maybe, if it were going to be more than a note that her humanity was unconfirmed, it could go on ''her'' page. And, if we have a handful of people with rather elaborate humano-cylon theories, we could link their pages from the main page... ''WOW'', I'm getting off topic. I'm done. --[[User:Day|Day]] 21:27, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

::::: Yes, let's stay focused on dispute resolution. The who's-a-cylon game can continue on the [[Battlestar Wiki:Characters]]. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 21:31, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

UPDATE: Day and I have put together an example of this at [[Sacred Scrolls]]. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 03:13, 14 September 2005 (EDT)

: The sample on the Sacred Scrolls page is a good example, although long interpretations could render it something that needs a separate page. On the problem with the weight on speculative observations: There seems to be a preponderance of information that either supports or refutes a POV speculation. For instance, the Baltar-as-Cylon information is still open-ended as we still do not know what or if anything has happened to Baltar before, during or after the blast that leveled his home, and his behavior also supports this idea. On the other hand, Starbuck's origin is all-but-sealed. For any new theories, there has to be a ''reason'' why such speculation is germane and ''evidence'' to base the speculation, whether it be data that has interpretations with different results, or new information that opens up new questions on matters recently believed as undisputable. There has to be a way to define this to a standard. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 15:03, 25 September 2005 (EDT)

After two and a half months, I don't think anything very practical is going to come of this. I think we should table it and archive the conversation. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 23:54, 30 November 2005 (EST)

::All disputes should be settled by Thunderdome. --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 11:58, 1 December 2005 (EST)

:::Hey is that gender bias since technically, only men enter Thunderdome except as part of the MC duties or calling for or resolving problems of busting deals? ;-) [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 23:02, 1 December 2005 (EST)

==Quorum of Twelve==

Are they Delegates or Representatives? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 03:52, 15 September 2005 (EDT)

: Well, the ''Magazine'' refers to Tom Zarek as the "Representative for Sagittaron on the Quorum of Twelve". So, I guess there's that, for what it's worth. --[[User:Day|Day]] 01:09, 14 October 2005 (EDT)

::Well, here's the tally.
::''Delegate''
::#'''McManus:''' "Every delegate she's chosen so far has been a Roslin cronie."
::#'''McManus:''' "Sagittaron have chosen the delegate for the interim Quorum of Twelve."
::#'''Thrace:''' "You've been selected as Caprica's delegate to the Quorum of Twelve."
::#'''Roslin:''' "We need a candidate. Someone who will quickly win the delegates' support."
::#'''McManus:''' "A number of the Quorum delegates have now shifted their support to the scientific genius..."

::''Representative''
::#'''Grimes:''' "Mr. Zarek is a representative of the people, and we are the people."
::#'''McManus:''' "We’re here with Dr. Gaius Baltar, representative of Caprica."
::#'''Baltar:''' "I'm just trying to do my bit, you know, as the elected representative for Caprica."

::It seems like delegate is the more precise term. I think we should standardize on it. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 23:50, 30 November 2005 (EST)

:::I concur. The last three quotes seem rather loose in meaning, as if they're using the word "representative" in its normal meaning because, after all, delegates tend to represent some grou0p of people to some body or other. Standardize away. --[[User:Day|Day]] 16:59, 1 December 2005 (EST)

== Image Credit ==

Okay... Most images are gonna be screen caps we get from the shows. In which case the credit should go directly to the SciFi Channel, SkyOne Network or Universal Studios. The question is, which one? Or should it be all three? Or does Universal own the two channels and so saying "Cedit: SciFi/SkyOne" is enough? Or... What do you guys think? --[[User:Day|Day]] 23:56, 21 September 2005 (EDT)
: Universal Studios. They own the copyright. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 16:26, 23 September 2005 (EDT)
:: Following wikipedia's example, we don't need to credit image copyrights in-text, do we? It should be enough to note copyright status on the image's description page. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 00:27, 14 October 2005 (EDT)

== The Freakin' Quote-o-Matic ==

It's not very -o-Matic, is it? ;o) Anyway, I think we need a standard for how they're formatted. I prefer the following:

:"The line, in normal-weighted text, enclosed in double quotes."

:--''Rank and Name in Italics'' ("Episode Name")

It would also be nice to figure out how to go and look at quotes entered for days other than the current day. What do others think? --[[User:Day|Day]] 19:00, 23 September 2005 (EDT)

::As far as looking at previous quotes, that's a Joe question, though it would be welcome. Joe mentioned that the template info has to be added manually, but a creative wikipedia might work something out from a large database. At first I added at most 2 lines as a quote, but now I stick to one quote. I think the style you noted worked well (it did for my two contributions this week), so let's see if we all say so. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 14:50, 25 September 2005 (EDT)

::: Well, if you want to keep track of all the quotes, why not just add them to [[:Category:Quotes]]? Theoretically, every quote should then be linked from that category page. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 09:44, 14 October 2005 (EDT)

:::: However, it's a bit late for quotes already put up, no? --[[User:Day|Day]] 12:49, 17 October 2005 (EDT)

:::: Wait. Is [[Quotes|this page]] automated somehow? If so, then a Quotes category is kind of moot. I remember looking at it a while ago, though, and it having no date information and just a single quote in it. --[[User:Day|Day]] 13:04, 17 October 2005 (EDT)

On second thought, I prefer this:

:"The line, in normal-weighted text, enclosed in double quotes."
:--Rank and Name in Normal (''Episode Name'')

For full exchanges I think something like this would work:

:'''Rank and Name 1:''' Humorous battle banter aimed at Speaker 2.
:'''Rank and Name 2:''' Scathing insult.
:'''Name 1:''' Pithy retort.
:--''Episode Name''

What do you guys think of this? If no one replies in a few days, I'll start soliciting opinions on people's talk pages and via AIM. After a few more days, I'll simply make an executive decision and put this policy up. I think it would be best to link it at the head of the [[Quotes]] page, too. When the time comes. --[[User:Day|Day]] 04:05, 28 October 2005 (EDT)

::Day, I've been adapting that format (per your original thoughts) and I find it works well. My only problem is insuring a proper break between the quote(s) and the name and episode for single-quotation blocks. I think this thing has languished long enough to put up a quick vote or 5-day consensus/no-objection period, where we can make this the practice (and retrofit all recorded quotes to match if necessary). --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 08:42, 1 November 2005 (EST)

::: COnsider this that period. Also, do you mean you like the break, but you're concerned about adding it for some reason that I do not understand, or do you mean that your dislike tags? --[[User:Day|Day]] 12:46, 1 November 2005 (EST)

:::: Okay. I'm about to put my above policy up. I think I'll have to play with it for a bit to get the display format the way I want it for ease of copying and for users who know nothing of HTML. --[[User:Day|Day]] 15:02, 11 November 2005 (EST)

::::: I would suggest putting this policy (when it is finalized) and a note about not repeating quotes right on the [[Quotes]] page where the "This is a list of quotes..." statement is. [[User:Nwobkwr|Nwobkwr]] 19:59, 17 November 2005 (EST)

I noticed that people have started putting in quotes from the original series. I think this is great but in terms of standardization I would follow the same idea as used on the [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Main_Page Memory Alpha wiki]:
* If it is an original series episode, quote as [[TOS]]: <nowiki>[[episode title]]</nowiki>
* If it is a 1980 series episode, quote as [[1980]]: <nowiki>[[episode title]]</nowiki>
* If it is a re-imagined series episode, quote as [[RDM]]: <nowiki>[[episode title]]</nowiki>
[[User:Nwobkwr|Nwobkwr]] 13:46, 21 November 2005 (EST)

:Not a bad idea, Nwobkwr, but it might get cumbersome. Might I suggest we use only the "TOS" flag for TOS and 1980 episodes, and leave the RDM episodes as-is? This gives a slant to the current series, but then, we will have many more quotes from RDM than from the old series since transcripts of the TOS/80 shows are far less available than the current. It also saves on visual complexity. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 13:30, 30 November 2005 (EST)

::I think we should put the dab in the episode credit, and only when there are episodes in each series with the same title. (basically, "The Hand of God".) --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 23:53, 30 November 2005 (EST)

== Links ==

So, in my opinion, the first occurance of nearly any proper noun should be a link. Even the thing an article is about. This means that the first occurance of an article's topic will be in bold, which I think is nice. For longer articles, I think linking becomes kind of discretionary. If someone hasn't been mentioned (or linked, maybe) in a while, then they could/should be linked. Also, episode credits at the end of an event description should ''always'' be linked. --[[User:Day|Day]] 15:19, 27 September 2005 (EDT)

:Using links-to-self to bold title text is discouraged by the Wikipedia [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Article titles|Manual of Style]]. In general I think we should defer to Wikipedia for guidance except where we feel a justified need to explicitly contradict them. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:02, 27 September 2005 (EDT)

:: Ah. I think that's probably wise. Should we, then, manually '''bold''' them (or, in the case of ship names, '''''bold-italicize''''' them), or leave it out all together? --[[User:Day|Day]] 17:40, 27 September 2005 (EDT)

:::Manually bold. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 02:41, 2 October 2005 (EDT)

==Namespaces==
There isn't much confusion on this, but just to clarify: When content must be disambiguated based on continuity, the appropriate namespaces are:
*(TOS) - Original series
*(RDM) - Re-imagined series
*(Video Game) - 2003 Video Game
*(1980) - Galactica 1980
*(SDS) - Singer/DeSanto continuation
*(SC) - Richard Hatch's "Second Coming" attempt

I'll leave this for comments for a few days before posting it. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 02:41, 2 October 2005 (EDT)

: Just added the (SC) above. Hope that's alright. --[[User:Day|Day]] 12:48, 1 November 2005 (EST)

==Disambiguation==
There are two approaches to disambiguation between series currently in practice:
*The most popular is to namespace (TOS) content and leave the RDM content at the un-namespaced location - this is currently done for most categories, for example. Under this schema, disambig pages should be namespaced (e.g., "Pegasus (disambig)") and RDM content should not (e.g. "Pegasus", not "Pegasus (RDM)").
*The other practice employed here is to namespace both TOS and RDM content when a collision occurs, and use the non-namespaced article to disambiguate.

I don't personally plan to contribute to much outside of the RDM continuity, but given that this Wiki is given over to all four major incarnations of the show (TOS, 1980, the Video Game, and the current series), I'm not sure its appropriate to give the current series preference.

On the other hand, the RDM series is the only one currently producing new content, and namespacing everything can be tedious. What are your opinions? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 02:49, 2 October 2005 (EDT)

:Obviously, most of the people looking up "Battlestar Galactica" in google, amazon, or wiki, or anything nowadays are probably looking for info on the new series. We should make that information as easy to access as possible.
::''[[User:Jzanjani|Jzanjani]] 17:41, 5 October 2005 (EDT)''

:::I'm in favor of using namespaces only when there are articles whose names appear in both TOS and RDM. For "Pegasus", "Galactica" and "Battlestar", namespacing was obviously needed. But for "Ovion" and episodes like "The Living Legend", no, since they are uniquely TOS articles. Since information here wasn't intended to naturally slant to RDM content (though for obvious reasons it is), we should strive to keep the balance by adding related TOS links to similar articles as possible. "The Hand of God" RDM page, for instance, should be namespaced since it has an identical name to a TOS episode, and that RDM article has a link to the TOS article (buried, however). I'm becoming a big proponent of helping to make this site THE authorative reference for TOS information: If you have searched the internet for TOS information and sites, you'd find that it's really, really sparse content out there. This site is going to make me rent or buy the complete TOS series (and, Lords help me, Galactica 1980) so I can study them with the same scrutiny as RDM and get their episode and character pages ship-shape. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 17:51, 5 October 2005 (EDT)

::::Having given it some more thought, I tend to agree that we shouldn't treat RDM content preferentially. On a personal note, you're a braver man than I. I hope exposure to the original series doesn't permanently damage you; it would be a shame to lose such a valuable contributor. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:54, 5 October 2005 (EDT)

:::::When BSG is good, it's really good. When BSG is bad, it's still BSG. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 10:19, 6 October 2005 (EDT)

:Although I'm sure there are legions of BSG fans who are very interested in TOS and 1980, I think that a more casual viewer will be a little bit lost when he finds a disambiguation page pointing to five different pages which share the same name except for a few capital letters at the end. A lot of people will not be able to appreciate the very clean and precise compartmentalization of one topic according to primary source, because they probably don't even care that there was some ''other'' BSG a quarter-century ago. If we're trying to make things clean and tidy for the fanbase, then compartmentalizing like that is the way to go. But casual fans (which the creators of the current series have said they're trying to attract) are going to stumble a little bit when they see that there was an original series, a subsequent, short-lived, non-canonical series, a video game, a mini-series, and then finally the re-imagined series which is really the only thing that's making people even talk about BSG anymore. I really think that if we make RDM pages default, it'll allow a lot more people to take advantage of the content. That way they don't have to educate themselves on the whole production history of the original BSG, and why the 1980's series sucks, and this, that and the other. It's really easy to get lost in wiki just by clicking on the first linked word which you don't understand, and it's going to distract the people who are looking for the '''''real''''' BSG, if you will suffer my usage.

:: I think people would know what "RDM" means just as much as "TOS", "TNG", "DS9", "VOY", or "ENT". ---Ricimer

::: I think we should use (RDM) for RDM stuff, rather than assume it as default. Otherwise we have to cross-link everything to the (disambiguation) page, rather than have the disambig page show up when the search is run. What if someone's doing research about TV shows from the 80s or something. I agree that people will know, or quickly figure out the abbriviations we use here. I didn't know who Ronald D Moore was before I started working on this Wiki and it didn't take me very long at all to figure out how things are. It's not some intricate, color-and-alpha catalogging scheme. --[[User:Day|Day]] 04:40, 6 October 2005 (EDT)

::::Do we have enough consensus on this to make it a guideline? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 00:28, 14 October 2005 (EDT)

:::::Can someone write up the proposed consensus from all of this? I'm ill and it's hard for me to do this at the moment. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 23:31, 17 October 2005 (EDT)

::::::I will tomorrow. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 01:18, 18 October 2005 (EDT)

===Proposal===

Where articles from two different continuities exist with the same or easily confused titles, they should be namespaced with a reference to the series in parenthesis. Appropriate namespaces are:

*(TOS) - Original series
*(RDM) - Re-imagined series
*(Video Game) - 2003 Video Game
*(1980) - Galactica 1980
*(SDS) - Singer/DeSanto continuation

The page at the non-namespaced title should serve as a disambiguation page. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 19:24, 21 October 2005 (EDT)

: I concur; looks good. Should we note the Richard Hatch "Second Coming" info in some way, as it has more material in fact than the DeSanto works. :) --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 01:34, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

::Got a catchy acronym handy? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 02:12, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

:::Either "SC" (obviously) or "DRM" (for "dream" as "in your dreams") :) Perhaps RH as well. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 04:05, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

::::"SC" and "RH" are the diplomatic alterantives, gentlemen. Others enthusiasts do view this site. --[[User:Watcher|Watcher]] 06:07, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

:: Personally, "SC" works for me. "DRM" is confusing, as this is an acronym for [[Wikipedia:Digital Rights Management|Digital Rights Management]]. (In addition to the point Watcher made regarding its potentially insulting connotation.) -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 14:43, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

::: Ditto, Joe. DRM is also easily confused with RDM. I like SC. Otherwise, looks real good, Peter. --[[User:Day|Day]] 18:11, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

Okay. Since no one's dissented with Peter's proposal, I'm gonna wait a few days, then put it up on the main page with the addition of (SC) for Richard Hatch's "Second Coming" attempt. --[[User:Day|Day]] 12:11, 31 October 2005 (EST)

== HTML ==

I, ah, didn't think this was exactly necessary, but, uh... I think, now, it might be. Do we need to make a note about preffering <nowiki>''</nowiki> to ? I see various posts that have several changes, but leave the HTML intact. --[[User:Day|Day]] 16:51, 21 October 2005 (EDT)
: Agreed. Wiki sytnax should always supersede HTML sytnax. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 14:29, 22 October 2005 (EDT)
: Adendum: By the way, I created two templates: {{tl|s}} and {{tl|u}} for {{s|striking out}} and {{u|underlining text}}, respectfully. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 14:36, 22 October 2005 (EDT)
::HTML isn't exactly tasteful, but isn't it preferable to templates? HTML and wikisyntax both retain their formatting if moved to another wiki, but anything formatted with templates won't. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:17, 22 October 2005 (EDT)
::: Good point, Peter... Maybe "hacking" MediaWiki might be an option, so as to create wikisyntax for underlining? Yes, this would undoubtedly create similar problems, but if a patch was submitted to the MediaWiki developers then they may introduce it (or something like it) into future versions of the software. Just a thought... -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 18:58, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

:::: What would you have the Wiki Markup be? Underscores and dashes, maybe? Might be dangerous, but perhaps it would require two of each in a row? Or three? I was thinking that _underline_ would render underline and that -strike- would render <s>strike</s>. However, I don't want underscores to mess up URLs or for strike-outs to mess up use of the em-dash, which is often substituted by the double-en dash (--). I'd just as soon use the HTML tags (except that it would get in the way of validating the HTML of the Wiki in XHTML 1.0 Strict, if that's a concern). Maybe we could use !!underline!! and !!!strike!!! or something. Ohoh! What about ``underline`` and ```strike```. Of course... you could go nuts and <nowiki>'''''`````italic bold underline strike`````'''''</nowiki> for '''''<s>italic bold underline strike</s>'''''. Sounds like a fighting more from some anime. Heh. --[[User:Day|Day]] 05:52, 23 October 2005 (EDT)

Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions

2005-12-02T03:54:57Z

Lestatdelc: /* Image Sizes */

Because of their length, individual discussions which we believe have reached consensus have been archived.
As further discussions are concluded, please move them to the archive as well, in order to keep this page topical and readable. If the first archive threatens to exceed 32 kilobytes, please create a new one. See [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:How to archive a talk page|Wikipedia:How to archive a talk page]] for details.

'''Previous discussions:'''

*[[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01|Archive 1 (September 10th, 2005 to Present)]]:

:[[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Verb Tense|Verb Tense]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Ship Naming, Abbrevation and Capitalization Standards|Ship Naming, Abbrevation and Capitalization Standards]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Signing Your Work|Signing Your Work]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Spelling|Spelling]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Single-name Address|Single-name Address]], [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions/Archive01#Episode Links and Formatting|Episode Links and Formatting]]


----

== Verb Tense ==

While it may be a "convention" within fiction articles about an episode, the verb tense issue is not using present-tense within an encyclopedia unless something is still ongoing. As I posted in the main page talk page and on a user whom made me aware of the verb tense issue, I posit that this convention be changed for the actual entries for the people, places, things. In other words, in the episode pages, the verb tense would stay as it is, but the verb tense in the individual article entries for say "Gaius Baltar" which would be the encyclopedic entry on him, would follow the norms and conventions used in other encyclopedias. That convention being, again using Gauis Balter's entry, the descriptions of Baltar's background, and events which have already occurred on Caprica, etc. be in the past-tense, whereas referring to him as the Vice-President, and duties onboard Galcatica, etc. would be present-tense since this is the current state within the timeline of the show at present. This would of course be edited as events unfold within the show. If for example he is removed form office as VP, then the verb tense would change for that piece of information as well as adding in how he stopped being VP, etc.

Likewise passages about say the development of the Mark II Viper would be past-tense, while the current disposition and capabilities of the Mark II would be present-tense. Not trying to be overly pedantic, but if we were to use and adopt the convention that this "encyclopedia" were to be discussing things and concepts within BSG as if it "were real" so-to-speak, like say in a present day encyclopedia would describe the development of the F-14 Tomcat in past-tense terms but describe current description of the presently active variants of the F-14 (i.e. the F-14D) and its deployment and present status within the arsenal of the United States Navy, it would be present-tense. Contrast that with descriptions of say, a WWII German Stuka Bomber which would all be past-tense in a current day encyclopedia.

This sort of tense usage within things such as the Star Trek Technical manuals, Omnipedia's etc., which match he tense usage of current "real world" encyclopedias. Again, not trying to be a bull in a china shop as the new guy on the block, but it is rather jarring to read encyclopedic entries which do not follow the verb tense conventions used in "real world" ones. [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 22:54, 1 December 2005 (EST)

== Image Sizes ==

I tend to think that images that are whole-screen captures (and thus letterbox dimensions) should be about 300px wide. This is, however, based entirely on how that looks on my browser window, which is pretty large, but not maximized on a 1280x1026 resolution. So that might look horrid on some other screen. Anyway, with that in mind, I resize all my full-screen captures to be 600px wide since that's a nice two times what I think they should be viewed at. Should I be even thinking this way, or should I just be telling the articles to be thumbs and set my preferences for larger thumbs? In the case of cropped screen-caps, though, I think 300px is too wide, or rather, often too tall. How do others think on this? --[[User:Day|Day]] 05:21, 10 September 2005 (EDT)

:Yes, use your preference settings for this. FWIW, I'm a fan of judicious cropping. It helps make smaller thumbs more legible. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 12:28, 10 September 2005 (EDT)

:: If you're trying to illustrate something specific, sure, cropping is needed in most cases. However, for episode pages and, I think, when trying to show a scene, the whole screen is good for its sense of context. I could be wrong. --[[User:Day|Day]] 16:09, 10 September 2005 (EDT)

==Proposed Guidelines for Dispute Resoluton on Speculative Matters==

''Cooked this up with an eye toward the kind of arguments we've seen from time to time. Weigh in if you find the suggestion agreeable, or if you don't think it's necessary.'' --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:42, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

Battlestar Wiki encourages speculation in areas where you believe your thoughts may be of interest to others. However, it is sometimes possible for contributors to hold two divergent and contradictory interpretations of the available material on a particular subject. This is a proposed set of guideliens for dealing with such conflicts.

*When debate on an article threatens to consume it at the expense of other valid areas, it is suggested that the debate be spun off into its own article, with a footnote linking the existing article to the debate. An example of this is [[Cylons]] and [[Twelve Cylon Models]]. This guideline is relevant for articles like [[Cylons]] with broad coverage of many equally important topics.

*Where two or more serious, diverging interpretations exist, they should be presented in the following manner - an comprehensive and NPOV list of evidence, with quotations, episode references, cut scenes, pod cast mentions, images, etc; followed by headers for each interpretation and a persuasive argument.

*Although the wiki process naturally devalues individual ownership of contributions, many people grow personally attached to their opinions in cases such as these. In order to avoid offense, please be tactful and judicious in your modifications to arguments which other contributors appear invested in.

: I like the way this looks in my head. I mean--assuming I'm getting it right, and I think I am. However, I don't know that it should go on the Standards and Conventions page, so much as a policy page of some sort. Maybe you can convince me it belongs here, though. --[[User:Day|Day]] 19:01, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

:: I think it's got merit, too. However, there may be too much jargon in what you're trying to say. "Exegesis" isn't in most people's vocabulary (it's not in mine!). For instance, if I were to rewrite the paragraph starting with "Where two or more serious, diverging interpretations exist..." it would be simpler to read as: "When two or more interpretations exist, writers should edit the page with "pro" and "con" arguments on the topic, with aired information and official statements from the producers given more weight than personal point-of-view." An excellent evolution of that was the [[Gaius Baltar]]-is-a-Cylon argument I added to that article, which extended/derived itself to the Humano-Cylon page. An important caveat to that should be, "When an argument can be fully refuted based on aired episode and official statements, the refuting information should be placed in the topic and its source. Deletion is not preferred since Battlestar Galactica is a "live" work that can and will change the information in unexpected ways." Someone today, for instance, deleted a item on Starbuck as a possible bioCylon after sufficient evidence was given in "The Farm." However, deletion there wasn't the best bet--somebody might come up with that idea again and we have that ping-pong effect of adding/deleting. This policy could resolve the matter. If we have a preferred page size, too, this could be a gauge for whether an article is going overboard. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 19:48, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

::: Spence: I added another colon to the front of your post for readability. Maybe I've a simpler understanding of how things usually go, but I think it's usual to add one more colon than the preceeding post. Anyway, to topic: How long after something is disproven should we leave the proof up? I mean--right now there are very few characters about which we couldn't have a <name>-is-a-Cylon theory, but if it turns out that in the next episode there is some kind of conclusive proof that, say, Chief Tyrol is '''not''' a Cylon, how long should we leave the annotated Tyrol-is-a-Cylong theory up? If it can be proven he's not, based on aired material, then I think it's a waste of server space to leave it up long at all, really. Now, debatable stuff, which is subject to interpretation is another matter, of course... ---[[User:Day|Day]] 20:38, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

::::For this particular matter, we could have an article on characters whose humanity is undisputed. This would be a white-list - as characters are convincingly demonstrated to be human, they'd be added. This would have to be based on a fairly strict interpretation of the evidence - Starbuck and Helo are obviously in the clear as a result of the hybridization experiments in [[The Farm]].

::::In a subsequent section, we can note ''very strong probabilities'' - ie, anyone whose existance can be verified 30 years or more before the start of the series is ''probably'' also in the clear - (after all, the Cylons were only gone for 50 years, and must have taken a considerable amount of time to develop from "chrome toasters" to the human models). Likewise, characters whose parents can vouch for their natural birth (e.g. Apollo) are probably also safe.

::::Any character in the very strong probability section who is convincingly disputed could be removed, but I am most definitely not a fan of the logical contortions that lead to Starbuck-is-a-cylon scenarios. I also don't think there's a compelling need for a paragraph in [[Humano-Cylon]] on every single character whose humanity isn't 100% verified, so that tempation should be resisted. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 21:19, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

::::: I concur on most of that and some of iut should probably be noted on the Characters project page. Uhm... However, didn't someone have some theory about [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]]? I don't remember it quite solidly, but I remember thinking it was odd, but not dismissable out of hand. Which is to say, I doubt Starbuck is a Cylon, but because of this theory I would not have a fit if RDM called me up and told me, no, Starbuck is actually a Cylon. Maybe the theory I'm thinking of held less water than I think it did. Maybe I dreamed it. Anyway, I guess this is getting off-topic, so to speak. I agree that we should shy away from <so-and-so>-is-a-Cylon theories because the volume could become enormous. [[Cally]] might be a Cylon. I'm not sure what advantage having someone with her personality type and limited-access would server the Cylons, but she MIGHT. We don't need an article on that, though. Certainly not on the [[Humano-Cylon]] page. Maybe, if it were going to be more than a note that her humanity was unconfirmed, it could go on ''her'' page. And, if we have a handful of people with rather elaborate humano-cylon theories, we could link their pages from the main page... ''WOW'', I'm getting off topic. I'm done. --[[User:Day|Day]] 21:27, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

::::: Yes, let's stay focused on dispute resolution. The who's-a-cylon game can continue on the [[Battlestar Wiki:Characters]]. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 21:31, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

UPDATE: Day and I have put together an example of this at [[Sacred Scrolls]]. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 03:13, 14 September 2005 (EDT)

: The sample on the Sacred Scrolls page is a good example, although long interpretations could render it something that needs a separate page. On the problem with the weight on speculative observations: There seems to be a preponderance of information that either supports or refutes a POV speculation. For instance, the Baltar-as-Cylon information is still open-ended as we still do not know what or if anything has happened to Baltar before, during or after the blast that leveled his home, and his behavior also supports this idea. On the other hand, Starbuck's origin is all-but-sealed. For any new theories, there has to be a ''reason'' why such speculation is germane and ''evidence'' to base the speculation, whether it be data that has interpretations with different results, or new information that opens up new questions on matters recently believed as undisputable. There has to be a way to define this to a standard. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 15:03, 25 September 2005 (EDT)

After two and a half months, I don't think anything very practical is going to come of this. I think we should table it and archive the conversation. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 23:54, 30 November 2005 (EST)

::All disputes should be settled by Thunderdome. --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 11:58, 1 December 2005 (EST)

==Quorum of Twelve==

Are they Delegates or Representatives? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 03:52, 15 September 2005 (EDT)

: Well, the ''Magazine'' refers to Tom Zarek as the "Representative for Sagittaron on the Quorum of Twelve". So, I guess there's that, for what it's worth. --[[User:Day|Day]] 01:09, 14 October 2005 (EDT)

::Well, here's the tally.
::''Delegate''
::#'''McManus:''' "Every delegate she's chosen so far has been a Roslin cronie."
::#'''McManus:''' "Sagittaron have chosen the delegate for the interim Quorum of Twelve."
::#'''Thrace:''' "You've been selected as Caprica's delegate to the Quorum of Twelve."
::#'''Roslin:''' "We need a candidate. Someone who will quickly win the delegates' support."
::#'''McManus:''' "A number of the Quorum delegates have now shifted their support to the scientific genius..."

::''Representative''
::#'''Grimes:''' "Mr. Zarek is a representative of the people, and we are the people."
::#'''McManus:''' "We’re here with Dr. Gaius Baltar, representative of Caprica."
::#'''Baltar:''' "I'm just trying to do my bit, you know, as the elected representative for Caprica."

::It seems like delegate is the more precise term. I think we should standardize on it. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 23:50, 30 November 2005 (EST)

:::I concur. The last three quotes seem rather loose in meaning, as if they're using the word "representative" in its normal meaning because, after all, delegates tend to represent some grou0p of people to some body or other. Standardize away. --[[User:Day|Day]] 16:59, 1 December 2005 (EST)

== Image Credit ==

Okay... Most images are gonna be screen caps we get from the shows. In which case the credit should go directly to the SciFi Channel, SkyOne Network or Universal Studios. The question is, which one? Or should it be all three? Or does Universal own the two channels and so saying "Cedit: SciFi/SkyOne" is enough? Or... What do you guys think? --[[User:Day|Day]] 23:56, 21 September 2005 (EDT)
: Universal Studios. They own the copyright. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 16:26, 23 September 2005 (EDT)
:: Following wikipedia's example, we don't need to credit image copyrights in-text, do we? It should be enough to note copyright status on the image's description page. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 00:27, 14 October 2005 (EDT)

== The Freakin' Quote-o-Matic ==

It's not very -o-Matic, is it? ;o) Anyway, I think we need a standard for how they're formatted. I prefer the following:

:"The line, in normal-weighted text, enclosed in double quotes."

:--''Rank and Name in Italics'' ("Episode Name")

It would also be nice to figure out how to go and look at quotes entered for days other than the current day. What do others think? --[[User:Day|Day]] 19:00, 23 September 2005 (EDT)

::As far as looking at previous quotes, that's a Joe question, though it would be welcome. Joe mentioned that the template info has to be added manually, but a creative wikipedia might work something out from a large database. At first I added at most 2 lines as a quote, but now I stick to one quote. I think the style you noted worked well (it did for my two contributions this week), so let's see if we all say so. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 14:50, 25 September 2005 (EDT)

::: Well, if you want to keep track of all the quotes, why not just add them to [[:Category:Quotes]]? Theoretically, every quote should then be linked from that category page. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 09:44, 14 October 2005 (EDT)

:::: However, it's a bit late for quotes already put up, no? --[[User:Day|Day]] 12:49, 17 October 2005 (EDT)

:::: Wait. Is [[Quotes|this page]] automated somehow? If so, then a Quotes category is kind of moot. I remember looking at it a while ago, though, and it having no date information and just a single quote in it. --[[User:Day|Day]] 13:04, 17 October 2005 (EDT)

On second thought, I prefer this:

:"The line, in normal-weighted text, enclosed in double quotes."
:--Rank and Name in Normal (''Episode Name'')

For full exchanges I think something like this would work:

:'''Rank and Name 1:''' Humorous battle banter aimed at Speaker 2.
:'''Rank and Name 2:''' Scathing insult.
:'''Name 1:''' Pithy retort.
:--''Episode Name''

What do you guys think of this? If no one replies in a few days, I'll start soliciting opinions on people's talk pages and via AIM. After a few more days, I'll simply make an executive decision and put this policy up. I think it would be best to link it at the head of the [[Quotes]] page, too. When the time comes. --[[User:Day|Day]] 04:05, 28 October 2005 (EDT)

::Day, I've been adapting that format (per your original thoughts) and I find it works well. My only problem is insuring a proper break between the quote(s) and the name and episode for single-quotation blocks. I think this thing has languished long enough to put up a quick vote or 5-day consensus/no-objection period, where we can make this the practice (and retrofit all recorded quotes to match if necessary). --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 08:42, 1 November 2005 (EST)

::: COnsider this that period. Also, do you mean you like the break, but you're concerned about adding it for some reason that I do not understand, or do you mean that your dislike tags? --[[User:Day|Day]] 12:46, 1 November 2005 (EST)

:::: Okay. I'm about to put my above policy up. I think I'll have to play with it for a bit to get the display format the way I want it for ease of copying and for users who know nothing of HTML. --[[User:Day|Day]] 15:02, 11 November 2005 (EST)

::::: I would suggest putting this policy (when it is finalized) and a note about not repeating quotes right on the [[Quotes]] page where the "This is a list of quotes..." statement is. [[User:Nwobkwr|Nwobkwr]] 19:59, 17 November 2005 (EST)

I noticed that people have started putting in quotes from the original series. I think this is great but in terms of standardization I would follow the same idea as used on the [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Main_Page Memory Alpha wiki]:
* If it is an original series episode, quote as [[TOS]]: <nowiki>[[episode title]]</nowiki>
* If it is a 1980 series episode, quote as [[1980]]: <nowiki>[[episode title]]</nowiki>
* If it is a re-imagined series episode, quote as [[RDM]]: <nowiki>[[episode title]]</nowiki>
[[User:Nwobkwr|Nwobkwr]] 13:46, 21 November 2005 (EST)

:Not a bad idea, Nwobkwr, but it might get cumbersome. Might I suggest we use only the "TOS" flag for TOS and 1980 episodes, and leave the RDM episodes as-is? This gives a slant to the current series, but then, we will have many more quotes from RDM than from the old series since transcripts of the TOS/80 shows are far less available than the current. It also saves on visual complexity. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 13:30, 30 November 2005 (EST)

::I think we should put the dab in the episode credit, and only when there are episodes in each series with the same title. (basically, "The Hand of God".) --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 23:53, 30 November 2005 (EST)

== Links ==

So, in my opinion, the first occurance of nearly any proper noun should be a link. Even the thing an article is about. This means that the first occurance of an article's topic will be in bold, which I think is nice. For longer articles, I think linking becomes kind of discretionary. If someone hasn't been mentioned (or linked, maybe) in a while, then they could/should be linked. Also, episode credits at the end of an event description should ''always'' be linked. --[[User:Day|Day]] 15:19, 27 September 2005 (EDT)

:Using links-to-self to bold title text is discouraged by the Wikipedia [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Article titles|Manual of Style]]. In general I think we should defer to Wikipedia for guidance except where we feel a justified need to explicitly contradict them. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:02, 27 September 2005 (EDT)

:: Ah. I think that's probably wise. Should we, then, manually '''bold''' them (or, in the case of ship names, '''''bold-italicize''''' them), or leave it out all together? --[[User:Day|Day]] 17:40, 27 September 2005 (EDT)

:::Manually bold. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 02:41, 2 October 2005 (EDT)

==Namespaces==
There isn't much confusion on this, but just to clarify: When content must be disambiguated based on continuity, the appropriate namespaces are:
*(TOS) - Original series
*(RDM) - Re-imagined series
*(Video Game) - 2003 Video Game
*(1980) - Galactica 1980
*(SDS) - Singer/DeSanto continuation
*(SC) - Richard Hatch's "Second Coming" attempt

I'll leave this for comments for a few days before posting it. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 02:41, 2 October 2005 (EDT)

: Just added the (SC) above. Hope that's alright. --[[User:Day|Day]] 12:48, 1 November 2005 (EST)

==Disambiguation==
There are two approaches to disambiguation between series currently in practice:
*The most popular is to namespace (TOS) content and leave the RDM content at the un-namespaced location - this is currently done for most categories, for example. Under this schema, disambig pages should be namespaced (e.g., "Pegasus (disambig)") and RDM content should not (e.g. "Pegasus", not "Pegasus (RDM)").
*The other practice employed here is to namespace both TOS and RDM content when a collision occurs, and use the non-namespaced article to disambiguate.

I don't personally plan to contribute to much outside of the RDM continuity, but given that this Wiki is given over to all four major incarnations of the show (TOS, 1980, the Video Game, and the current series), I'm not sure its appropriate to give the current series preference.

On the other hand, the RDM series is the only one currently producing new content, and namespacing everything can be tedious. What are your opinions? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 02:49, 2 October 2005 (EDT)

:Obviously, most of the people looking up "Battlestar Galactica" in google, amazon, or wiki, or anything nowadays are probably looking for info on the new series. We should make that information as easy to access as possible.
::''[[User:Jzanjani|Jzanjani]] 17:41, 5 October 2005 (EDT)''

:::I'm in favor of using namespaces only when there are articles whose names appear in both TOS and RDM. For "Pegasus", "Galactica" and "Battlestar", namespacing was obviously needed. But for "Ovion" and episodes like "The Living Legend", no, since they are uniquely TOS articles. Since information here wasn't intended to naturally slant to RDM content (though for obvious reasons it is), we should strive to keep the balance by adding related TOS links to similar articles as possible. "The Hand of God" RDM page, for instance, should be namespaced since it has an identical name to a TOS episode, and that RDM article has a link to the TOS article (buried, however). I'm becoming a big proponent of helping to make this site THE authorative reference for TOS information: If you have searched the internet for TOS information and sites, you'd find that it's really, really sparse content out there. This site is going to make me rent or buy the complete TOS series (and, Lords help me, Galactica 1980) so I can study them with the same scrutiny as RDM and get their episode and character pages ship-shape. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 17:51, 5 October 2005 (EDT)

::::Having given it some more thought, I tend to agree that we shouldn't treat RDM content preferentially. On a personal note, you're a braver man than I. I hope exposure to the original series doesn't permanently damage you; it would be a shame to lose such a valuable contributor. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:54, 5 October 2005 (EDT)

:::::When BSG is good, it's really good. When BSG is bad, it's still BSG. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 10:19, 6 October 2005 (EDT)

:Although I'm sure there are legions of BSG fans who are very interested in TOS and 1980, I think that a more casual viewer will be a little bit lost when he finds a disambiguation page pointing to five different pages which share the same name except for a few capital letters at the end. A lot of people will not be able to appreciate the very clean and precise compartmentalization of one topic according to primary source, because they probably don't even care that there was some ''other'' BSG a quarter-century ago. If we're trying to make things clean and tidy for the fanbase, then compartmentalizing like that is the way to go. But casual fans (which the creators of the current series have said they're trying to attract) are going to stumble a little bit when they see that there was an original series, a subsequent, short-lived, non-canonical series, a video game, a mini-series, and then finally the re-imagined series which is really the only thing that's making people even talk about BSG anymore. I really think that if we make RDM pages default, it'll allow a lot more people to take advantage of the content. That way they don't have to educate themselves on the whole production history of the original BSG, and why the 1980's series sucks, and this, that and the other. It's really easy to get lost in wiki just by clicking on the first linked word which you don't understand, and it's going to distract the people who are looking for the '''''real''''' BSG, if you will suffer my usage.

:: I think people would know what "RDM" means just as much as "TOS", "TNG", "DS9", "VOY", or "ENT". ---Ricimer

::: I think we should use (RDM) for RDM stuff, rather than assume it as default. Otherwise we have to cross-link everything to the (disambiguation) page, rather than have the disambig page show up when the search is run. What if someone's doing research about TV shows from the 80s or something. I agree that people will know, or quickly figure out the abbriviations we use here. I didn't know who Ronald D Moore was before I started working on this Wiki and it didn't take me very long at all to figure out how things are. It's not some intricate, color-and-alpha catalogging scheme. --[[User:Day|Day]] 04:40, 6 October 2005 (EDT)

::::Do we have enough consensus on this to make it a guideline? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 00:28, 14 October 2005 (EDT)

:::::Can someone write up the proposed consensus from all of this? I'm ill and it's hard for me to do this at the moment. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 23:31, 17 October 2005 (EDT)

::::::I will tomorrow. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 01:18, 18 October 2005 (EDT)

===Proposal===

Where articles from two different continuities exist with the same or easily confused titles, they should be namespaced with a reference to the series in parenthesis. Appropriate namespaces are:

*(TOS) - Original series
*(RDM) - Re-imagined series
*(Video Game) - 2003 Video Game
*(1980) - Galactica 1980
*(SDS) - Singer/DeSanto continuation

The page at the non-namespaced title should serve as a disambiguation page. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 19:24, 21 October 2005 (EDT)

: I concur; looks good. Should we note the Richard Hatch "Second Coming" info in some way, as it has more material in fact than the DeSanto works. :) --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 01:34, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

::Got a catchy acronym handy? --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 02:12, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

:::Either "SC" (obviously) or "DRM" (for "dream" as "in your dreams") :) Perhaps RH as well. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 04:05, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

::::"SC" and "RH" are the diplomatic alterantives, gentlemen. Others enthusiasts do view this site. --[[User:Watcher|Watcher]] 06:07, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

:: Personally, "SC" works for me. "DRM" is confusing, as this is an acronym for [[Wikipedia:Digital Rights Management|Digital Rights Management]]. (In addition to the point Watcher made regarding its potentially insulting connotation.) -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 14:43, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

::: Ditto, Joe. DRM is also easily confused with RDM. I like SC. Otherwise, looks real good, Peter. --[[User:Day|Day]] 18:11, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

Okay. Since no one's dissented with Peter's proposal, I'm gonna wait a few days, then put it up on the main page with the addition of (SC) for Richard Hatch's "Second Coming" attempt. --[[User:Day|Day]] 12:11, 31 October 2005 (EST)

== HTML ==

I, ah, didn't think this was exactly necessary, but, uh... I think, now, it might be. Do we need to make a note about preffering <nowiki>''</nowiki> to ? I see various posts that have several changes, but leave the HTML intact. --[[User:Day|Day]] 16:51, 21 October 2005 (EDT)
: Agreed. Wiki sytnax should always supersede HTML sytnax. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 14:29, 22 October 2005 (EDT)
: Adendum: By the way, I created two templates: {{tl|s}} and {{tl|u}} for {{s|striking out}} and {{u|underlining text}}, respectfully. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 14:36, 22 October 2005 (EDT)
::HTML isn't exactly tasteful, but isn't it preferable to templates? HTML and wikisyntax both retain their formatting if moved to another wiki, but anything formatted with templates won't. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:17, 22 October 2005 (EDT)
::: Good point, Peter... Maybe "hacking" MediaWiki might be an option, so as to create wikisyntax for underlining? Yes, this would undoubtedly create similar problems, but if a patch was submitted to the MediaWiki developers then they may introduce it (or something like it) into future versions of the software. Just a thought... -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 18:58, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

:::: What would you have the Wiki Markup be? Underscores and dashes, maybe? Might be dangerous, but perhaps it would require two of each in a row? Or three? I was thinking that _underline_ would render underline and that -strike- would render <s>strike</s>. However, I don't want underscores to mess up URLs or for strike-outs to mess up use of the em-dash, which is often substituted by the double-en dash (--). I'd just as soon use the HTML tags (except that it would get in the way of validating the HTML of the Wiki in XHTML 1.0 Strict, if that's a concern). Maybe we could use !!underline!! and !!!strike!!! or something. Ohoh! What about ``underline`` and ```strike```. Of course... you could go nuts and <nowiki>'''''`````italic bold underline strike`````'''''</nowiki> for '''''<s>italic bold underline strike</s>'''''. Sounds like a fighting more from some anime. Heh. --[[User:Day|Day]] 05:52, 23 October 2005 (EDT)

Talk:Main Page/Archive6

2005-11-30T17:38:59Z

Lestatdelc:

: ''View [[Talk:Main Page/Archive|archived discussions]] prior to July 7, 2005 at the link provided.''

== Suggestions ==

To make any suggestions as to the format of the main page, please leave them here. Thanks! -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 21:49, 9 Jul 2005 (EDT)

Hello Joe, I was wondering if their might be a possibility of us adding on a message board for members of BSG Wiki to discuss the actual show rather than the website itself. I think that if we created a community message board it would promote a greater community/fraternity among the members and if we limited it to members it might decrease the number of random messages left on the board. I know it is kind of unwiki of us to do this but since this particular site it concerned with BSG rather than a plethora of items I thought it might be a good idea. What do you think? [[User:Zarek Rocks]]

:If you're looking for a good BSG-related message board, you could try the one at [http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showforum=745 Television Without Pity] --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 22:40, 9 Aug 2005 (EDT)

:: I know that there is a pretty good message board at [http://www.galacticastation.com Galactica Station], as well. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 16:34, 10 Aug 2005 (EDT)

== Style Conventions ==

I didn't know what the approaite discussion page for this would be, so I am putting it here as a first stab. I have a question about the "tense" convention being used here on BSG-wiki. While some have noted that this is not wikipedia, I am curious as to why we are using present tense usage on events which occurred prior to the current "timeline" within the show? It seems to me events as they unfold and described here, should be used in the past-tense while ongoing terms and concepts that are presumed still active within the context of the "current timeline" of the show would be present-tense. For example, shouldn't descriptions of Baltar's background, and events which have already occurred on Caprica, etc. be in the past-tense, while referring to him as the Vice-President, and duties onboard ''Galcatica'', etc. be present-tense? Likewise shouldn't passages about say the development of the Mark II Viper be past-tense, while current disposition and capabilities of the Mark II be present-tense? Not trying to be overly pedantic, but if we were to use and adopt the convention that this "encyclopedia" were to be discussing things and concepts within BSG as if it "were real" so-to-speak, like say in a present day encyclopedia would describe the development of the F-14 Tomcat in past-tense terms but describe current description of the presently active variants of the F-14 (i.e. the F-14D) and its deployment and present status within the arsenal of the United States Navy, it would be present-tense. Contrast that with descriptions of say, a WWII German Stuka Bomber which would all be past-tense in a current day encyclopedia. Any thoughts? [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 12:38, 30 November 2005 (EST)

== Quote-o-Matic ==
What's with the (non-working) quote o the day on the front page? Is this a template problem, or what? Can I help? ....or what? [[User:Colonial one|Colonial one]] 22:54, 16 Aug 2005 (EDT)
:There is no automatic script to generate the quotes. They must be added manually per day. You can add them yourself, should you choose to take up the task. :-) -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 23:09, 16 Aug 2005 (EDT)
::I'd like to add a quote, but, uh... I don't want to mess it up because it then won't be seen for a year, I think. Is there a way to look at quotes that have already been put in, so I can copy the formatting? I tried the little Quote link, but the one that was added for 08 29 wasn't on there, so I think that's not right. Or something. I'm such a confused noob. ;) --[[User:Day|Day]] 00:59, 30 August 2005 (EDT)
:: That's OK, Day. I (or someone) can do a template for a quote-of-the-day. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 09:49, 30 August 2005 (EDT)
:::On that note, how can I see a list of templates, in case I want to utilize one. So far the only way I've figured it out, is to find a page that uses it, edit that, to steal the template info, then go to the place I'd want to use it, paste it in, then change the stuff appropriately. --[[User:Day|Day]] 11:50, 30 August 2005 (EDT)
:::Whenever this all gets sorted out, I guess it needs to go here: [[Template:Quote of the Day/Readme]]. I can certainly do it, it's just the link is small, and I thought I'd note it here for future reference, as well. --[[User:Day|Day]] 05:09, 31 August 2005 (EDT)
::::So... I guess I should go ahead and ask some specific questions... I assume we incluse the words said in double-quotes. It's really the attributation... attribution... Whatever--the indication of who said it that's the issue. Do we put the name with a dash before? Two dashes? Do we do it in-line or on the next one down or two down? Do we do it in italics or bold or normal font? Do we say the situation all the time or only if needed? Should we link the episode it came from? These are the kinds of things I think should be in the readme. --[[User:Day|Day]] 19:15, 1 September 2005 (EDT)
:Yo, just thought I'd add that I worked on the [[Quotes]] page quite a bit. It displays all current quotes (that I know of). And it should be super-easy to link to more quotes now, just check the source for example. ~ [[User:Aero|Aero]] 00:06, 30 September 2005 (EDT)

== NPOV? ==
Does BattlestarWiki have a NPOV policy, as Wikipedia.org does? I was noticing some pretty strong POV in [[James Callis]], for example. --[[User:Fang Aili|Fang Aili]] 10:10, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

: It does, indeed. For reference, see the [[Battlestar Wiki:Welcome, newcomers]] page. Hope that's helpful. --[[User:Day|Day]] 18:04, 12 September 2005 (EDT)

There also seems to be a great deal of opinion in the "analysis" section of most episode guides. Is it the intent to not use NPOV in this section? - Jason

== Fan Fiction ==
Since we don't have a community portal yet, I suggest listing fan fiction pages here for later deletion or movement to the forthcoming fanfiction site.
* [[History of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol]] --[[User:Fang Aili|Fang Aili]] 12:18, 13 September 2005 (EDT)

==IRC Channel?==
Some friends and I have an [irc://irc.villageirc.net/battlestargalactica IRC channel] set up for discussion of BSG. Would it be appropriate/acceptable to link to it in the 'Community' box on the [[Main Page]]? Or elsewhere? ~ [[User:Aero|Aero]] 00:06, 30 September 2005 (EDT)

Talk:Main Page/Archive6

2005-11-30T17:38:42Z

Lestatdelc: /* Suggestions */

User talk:Spencerian

2005-11-30T17:29:28Z

Lestatdelc: /* Remember, Folks, This is Not Wikipedia */

Transferred my basic bio from Wikipedia to here. To all of us BSG addicts: Praise the Lords of Kobol and pass the munitions... [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 15:52, 14 Jul 2005 (EDT)

Annililated three major stub pages today. Guess I'm all hyped up for Season 2's premiere today. Stop me before I de-stub again... [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 14:51, 15 Jul 2005 (EDT)

: [[Wikipedia:Destroy All Humans|Destroy All Humans]]!... erm, I mean stubs. :-) Yes, please keep on nuking all the stubs. Thanks! :-) -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 17:51, 15 Jul 2005 (EDT)

== Remember, Folks, This is Not Wikipedia ==

This is just my understanding, but BSG Wiki is not Wikipedia. As such, as we enter factual information about the episode, we also may add opinion, some commentary, and speculation as appropriate. This is definiitely different from Wikipedia where such Personal Point of View comments are not acceptable. One thing that we must remember not to do is to get all bent out of shape and delete an opposing view simply because we have a different interpretation of events. One suggestion is to add a counterpoint with sufficient reasons or evidence that support your view. This is fiction, and I doubt that RDM will explain everything (where's the fun if he did that?), so we're left to figure things out on our own. So, don't hack and slash, but if you find my posts (or others) are just too wordy or prose-ridden, do what you feel is right, of course... [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 17:45, 4 Aug 2005 (EDT)

:Thanks for some of the clean-up in the Gauis Baltar and the Marines/Defense entries. I do have a question about the "tense" convention being used here on BSG-wiki. While you note that this is not wikipedia, I am curious as to why we are using present tense usage on events which occurred prior to the current episode? It seems to me events as they unfold should be used in the past-tense while ongoing terms and concepts that are presumed still active within the context of thew "current timeline" of the show would be present tense. For example, shouldn't descriptions of Baltar's background, and events which have already occurred on Caprica, etc. be in the past tense, while referring to him as the Vice President, and duties onboard Galcatica, etc. be present tense? Likewise shouldn't passages about say the development of the Mark II Viper be past tense, while current disposition and capabilities be present tense? Not trying to be overly pedantic, but if we were to use and adopt the convention that this "encyclopedia" were to be discussing things and concepts within BSG as if it "were real" so-to-speak, like say in a present day encyclopedia would describe the development of the F-14 Tomcat in past tense terms but describe current description of the presently active variants of the F-14 (i.e. the F-14D) and its deployment and present status within the arsenal of the United States Navy, it would be present tense. Whereas descriptions of say, a WWII German Stuka Bomber would all be past tense. [[User:Lestatdelc|Lestatdelc]] 12:29, 30 November 2005 (EST)

== Episode Project Page? ==

Heya. I heard you were particularly active in writing the episode articles. If so, you might consider collaborating with some other users that are, too, to create a project page for episodes. [[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] created a [[Battlestar Wiki:Characters|Characters Project Page]] for better planning and communication. I can't speak from experience, but it might be good to make note of various conventions or templates or whatever used for episode articles. If you decide to put this together, I made a [[:Category:Project Page|Project Page]] category so we could keep track of the various convention & template pages. I don't mean to tell anyone what to do. Just thought I'd draw your attention to this. --[[User:Day|Day]] 07:18, 31 August 2005 (EDT)
:Hi, Day. Thanks for letting me know of this tool. I'm more of a major article content writer than article creator, so I've usually not done much in page formatting and creation. I've generally followed the lead of Peter and others who obviously have stronger wiki formatting skills, then apply or update any new material on pages that use their templates. Collectively the wiki has improved on formatting and templates, but yes, many early character bios must be cleaned up, and I'll get to Peter's character project page and your general project page to lend a hand. Same for the episode pages as applicable, although most of the second season pages appear to be in fair shape. Excellent idea. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 12:03, 31 August 2005 (EDT)

== Ellen Tigh ==

I have a question for you concerning your recent edit to [[Ellen Tigh]] at the bottom of [[Battlestar_Wiki_talk:Standards_and_Conventions]]. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 22:33, 13 September 2005 (EDT)

== Mercury-Class Battlestar ==

Since we have gone back and forth once, I wanted to talk to you about it here. Stating that a battlestar is a Mercury-Class Battlestar, even if it happens to be pegasus, is not a spoiler. It is unnecessary to be in spoiler tags. We don't state anything else about it.

:Okay, but would that be of plausible interest to anyone who explicitly did ''not'' want to have that episode spoiled? It's not as if the Mercury class has ever been mentioned before. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:26, 21 September 2005 (EDT)

::I understand what you're saying about not spoiling it for someone who has no interest in knowing, however this isn't stating any IMPORTANT information that would lead you to explicitly know anything. People who are newbs to BSG wouldn't know if the Pegasus ship has been featured before, if it was going to return, or how many episodes away its return is. And BSG veterans may know about Pegasus, but wouldn't explicitly know when or if the Pegasus were going to return. Therefore, I submit this is not a spoiler. However, this is specific case is not a major concern for me, the episode is two days away anyways, but rather the principle of the issue at hand because it might arise again and I'd like a consensus on the issue. I believe that small splices of info that couldn't explicitly give away plot twists are not spoilers and therefore in the interest of not needlessly continually reediting pages that should not have been editted to begin with we should treat trivial information that does not reveal plot are not spoilers. In conclusion I will go to our future spoiler policy's definition of a spoiler:In fandom parlance, a "spoiler" is one or more pieces of information that may spoil the user's interest in an ongoing series. If anyone can give me a couple of reasonable explanations as to how the fact Pegasus is a Mercury-Class Battlestar is a spoiler and if a majority of people agree that trivial information not revealing plot but mention future events/items/characters I will resign the issue.--Zareck Rocks 18:50, 21 September 2005 (EDT)

:::The reason that "Mercury-Class" is a spoiler is because it a term not told in any aired episode. We only know "Galactica" but have not been told yet what ''her'' class was, much less that of the others. We know (at least until "Pegasus") only that there were other more advanced battlestars. Thus, "Mercury-Class" is a spoiler. The name "Pegasus" is also one, but we got that an episode name and it's not worth protecting that matter. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 20:58, 21 September 2005 (EDT)

:::I'm inclined to state that any specifics regarding an upcoming episode that hasn't been directly outlined in say...TV Guide or the Sci-Fi channel's own description would amount to a spoiler. I agree that the class of Battlestar is probably a trivial detail but as the episode has not aired we should leave it out until it does. The only exception to this would be where the specific revealed happened to be part of the teaser trailer airing to promote the episode.--[[User:Feldspar|Feldspar]] 19:06, 21 September 2005 (EDT)

:::: This is a spoiler according to the not-yet-instituted policy. It may be a kind of miniscule, nit pickey, lame spoiler, but it fulfills the following: 
::::: ''Therefore a spoiler is one or more pieces of information from an episode that has yet to air'' anywhere ''in the world.'' 
:::: This is just a technicality, but if you're gonna make a rule, you should follow it all the way. Maybe this is an indication that the proposed policy is a bit strict. I dunno. That's my opinion, though. Anyway, we're not bound by the proposed one yet. For another couple days or something, anyway. I think. I can't keep things perfectly straight. --[[User:Day|Day]] 19:51, 21 September 2005 (EDT)

:::I added my comments to the main policy page, but Peter said what I have said. ANY connecting information leads to a spoiler if it hasn't been announced officially or aired. We don't rate the importance of information as to whether it's a "big" or "small" spoiler. If it's not aired yet, it's gotta have a tag, but at least it can be added to the page. My only failure was to make whole pages as a spoiler instead of using the spoiltext tag more judgiciously--and I was corrected by others. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 20:58, 21 September 2005 (EDT)

:::::IMO, the policy is sound, and leaves no room for interpretation. This is a good thing, since it will keep us from having exegetical fights instead of wiki-ing. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 20:54, 21 September 2005 (EDT)

: See [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Spoiler Policy/Compromise]] for my reply. -- [[User:Joe.Beaudoin|Joe Beaudoin]] 22:48, 21 September 2005 (EDT)

== Laird's first name. ==

Hello there. I am sorry for the confusion that I may have caused you. I personally did not find the name "Peter Laird" on any external site, I found it here on Battlestar Wiki on the [[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]] episode page. Upon checking the history of the page it appears that a user by the name of [[User:Arjuna|Arjuna]] updated the page giving first names to both Chief Laird and Lieutenant Throne. Clearly, I mistakenly believed these to be official names and proceeded to edit Laird’s profile page oblivious to the disputed and most likely non-canonical nature of his first name. Next time I shall be sure to check the validity of a piece before I assume it is a fact, however the person you should really be questioning here is [[User:Arjuna|Arjuna]], he/she appears to be the source of these false names.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention though, I appreciate it.

[[User:Kahran|Kahran]] 06:02, 29 September 2005 (EDT)

: Thanks, Kahran. We've all done that here, and it's nothing to worry about. The strongest contributors here are also the biggest sticklers to sources, and prefer less to more when it comes to information. Like Galen, Laird's name is probably ''going'' to be canon, just not yet. And, with BSG's popularity, more and more enthusiasts like you and I will want to put in their 2 cents, but need to know what's official and not. I'll check with Arjuna on the source if there is one. Thanks for responding back! [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 10:13, 29 September 2005 (EDT)

== The Battlestar Disambiguation Pages-What Was Done? ==

After talking with Peter on the general Battlestar page, we agreed that that page needed to be broken up and successive pages to keep the confusion down between TOS and RDM information. See the new [[Battlestar]] page, which is now a disambig page to lead you to the several pages where the data is logically broken up.

The only problem is the original [[Galactica]] page, which should have been moved to [[Galactica (RDM)]]. Mistakenly I created that Galactica (RDM) page instead. The Galactica page could be another disambig page with links to the RDM, TOS, and Video game areas, but I stopped there (enough damage) to let Joe think of the best way to make this work.

The biggest change involves the general [[Galactica]] link, which should be [[Galactica (RDM)]] by default unless a TOS page discussses it, in which case [[Galactica (TOS)]] should be used. Please flame away: it's what the page is for. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 13:51, 30 September 2005 (EDT)

== Toaster Pic ==

Spencerian, I'm thinking of uploading an actual picture of a toaster for the "Toaster" page, or at least I'd like to see one there. If you check out the [[Talk:Toaster]] page, I've linked to one I think looks pretty good. I understand you're probably going to bust a tantrum because it's not appropriate or something, but I think it'll be a bit of humor that'll break a few smiles here and there. Just tell me what you think.
:''[[User:Jzanjani|Jzanjani]] 21:56, 7 October 2005 (EDT)''

::Brilliant idea. See the [[Toaster]] page. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 22:22, 7 October 2005 (EDT)

==Your photos==
Damn, sir. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 00:43, 9 October 2005 (EDT)
:Oh, its what I do. :) [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 12:23, 9 October 2005 (EDT)
::Ooh! Hottie!--[[User:Watcher|Watcher]] 12:25, 9 October 2005 (EDT)

== I'd like to draw you're attention... ==

...to [[Battlestar Wiki talk:Standards and Conventions#The Freakin.27 Quote-o-Matic|this discissuion]] again. You were one of the only two other people to reply to it initially, and I'd appriciate feedback, befor putting my most recent proposal up on the [[Battlestar Wiki:Standards and Conventions|main page]]. Thanks in advance. --[[User:Day|Day]] 12:17, 31 October 2005 (EST)

== Cally ==

Question: Why'd you change the picture width of her template pic to 150px? The Characters page says use 200px and the template's own talk page says so, too. I'll go change it back right now, but--I thought I'd start a dialog about it, too, in case there's some good reason I don't know about. --[[User:Day|Day]] 14:29, 10 November 2005 (EST)
:OK. I think I got very annoyed at the large perspective of the shot, despite it being at the 200px convention. Sometimes it may be better not to have the larger shot as the picture eclipses the article. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 15:30, 10 November 2005 (EST)

== Costume Idea ==

Dude. You should consider Terry Tate. The man is a Golden God. I can't find all his commercials (they're out there, though), but [http://www.advertisementave.com/tv/ad.asp?adid=526 here's one]. --[[User:Day|Day]] 14:43, 10 November 2005 (EST)

Ahha. [http://www.metacafe.com/watch/5922/terry_tate_long_version/ This is a longer version], which has some clips that are priceless and does some better close-ups. I especially like the tackling technique at the end. He doesn't just slam the dude. He goes in for the ball-strip, too, to force a fumble. Okay. I'm done on this topic now. --[[User:Day|Day]] 14:50, 10 November 2005 (EST)

:Oh. My. God. Being one of the whitest black men in America, I don't think I can do this one justice! Still wiping the tears out of my eyes, though. I think I lost it when Tate complained of the lack of cover sheets on a victim's TPS reports. Maybe I can do Lumbergh from ''Office Space''... :)

:''Rrrrright''... --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 15:41, 10 November 2005 (EST)

:: You don't think you could pull off Terry-at-the-Finance-Meeting? With the reading glasses, pointer and jeresey? Heh. I have a friend who must be very like you, except much, much skinnier. We've been telling people for years that he's the whitest black man they'll ever meet. Now I guess I've met two. ;) --[[User:Day|Day]] 14:57, 11 November 2005 (EST)

== Creative Commons ==
Okay, crash course: All the non-image content we ''create'' on this wiki is automatically under the Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution Share-alike license, version 2.0 or greater.

Because of this, we cannot incorporate work into the textual areas of the wiki which are copyrighted or licensed under incompatible terms (e.g. the GFDL). A certain amount of leeway is allowed for "fair use", such as scholarly quotations.

Image content we create remains under the exclusive copyright of the uploader unless a written waiver is provided or the image is explicitly provided under an Free Content license on the description page

Images copyrighted by Universal Studios stay copyrighted by universal studios, no matter who is hosting them - any credit given to TwizTV or other sources is a mere formality, since universal is the sole rights holder. Thus, taking a screen capture from another site (as Ricimer has done before) is legally no different than taking a screen capture yourself.

Copyrighted and GFDL work cannot be used "under the Creative Commons license" - because we don't own the copyrights, we have no right to relicense the work. What we can do, in limited circumstances (including most screenshots here), is claim ''fair use''. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 12:13, 21 November 2005 (EST)

:OK, Peter. Based on what you said, the screen captures I've pulled from TVIV are still appropriately obtained. I've not grabbed textual content from any other sites lately, per your last clarification on the differences between CCL and GFDL, so I understand now that my recent images are fair-use and not really CCL. Makes the whole idea of share-alike too confusing to make it worthwhile, and certainly not practically usable for us without a clear primer. I'd rather not get into learning legalities for fear of realizing I've turned paralegal and mercy-killing myself as a societal gesture of goodwill... ---[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 14:15, 21 November 2005 (EST)

::Sorry if I came off testy - I just don't have any desire for Joe to get a cease-and-desist e-mail over a silly accident. That would be a bummer. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 20:56, 21 November 2005 (EST)
:::Not a problem, Peter. Taking the time to chastise and clarify things with me indicates your mutual concern and enjoyment for the wiki, so I don't take it at all personally. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 08:35, 22 November 2005 (EST)

Viper (TRS)

2005-11-30T10:15:10Z

Lestatdelc:

[[Image:Bsg-viper-1.jpg|thumb|Viper Mk. II (credit: Gabriel C. Koerner)]]
[[Image:Bsg-viper7-1.jpg|thumb|Viper Mk. VII (credit: Sci-Fi Channel)]]

The '''Viper''' is the [[Colonial Defense Force]]'s primary space superiority fighter / attack craft. Capable of atmospheric flight, the Viper is a single-seat craft mounting two kinetic energy weapons ([[KEW]]s), as well as having hardpoints beneath the wings for mounting missiles, munitions pods and other ordnance ([[The Hand of God]]).

The Viper was originally introduced into Colonial service shortly before the outbreak of the [[Cylon War]]. However, it was the Mark II variant, designed specifically for use with the new Colonial [[Battlestar]]s that is best remembered.

The Mark II served with distinction throughout the Cylon War, proving a capable fighting vehicle that won renown across the [[Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] and is regarded as one of the reasons the Colonials did not suffer defeat at the hands of the Cylons.

The Mark II remained in service after the end of the war, but was subsequently superceded by newer models. At the time of the renewed Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies, the Mark VII was the front-line variant of the Viper design, retaining the Mark II general layout but using fully networked systems providing superior battle management and fight information for the pilot.

Ironically, it was the incorporation of the new integrated systems that prevented the majority of Mark VII's from being effective during the Cylon attack: as with the majority of Colonial Fleet, the Mark VII suffered fatal computer system failures on contact with Cylon forces. Thanks to [[Six]]'s relationship with [[Gauis Baltar]], the [[CNP|navigational software]] in standard use onboard the majority of Colonial Fleet vessels had backdoors that allowed the Cylons to infiltrate a vessel's network by wireless signals and disable its power systems. While the problem could be overcome by removing the navigational upgrade compromised by the Cylons, this information was not discovered in time to be of major benefit to the surprised and hard-pressed Colonial forces.

== Atmospheric Operations ==
The Viper is designed for atmospheric as well as space-based operations. However, Vipers consume more fuel during atmospheric operations than in the vacuum of space: once in an atmosphere, the engines must run continuously to retain airflow over the wing lifting surfaces. Depending on the composition of the atmosphere itself, this can place severe strain on the Viper's engines ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]).

Due to their wing configuration, Vipers may also suffer from poor handling at low speeds within an atmosphere.

== Life Support ==
Viper cockpits are pressurised and heated, but they are flown with the pilot wearing a [[flight suit]] that is capable of providing full life support should ejection be required ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]). The life support systems are built-in to the back of the pilot's seat itself, together with the flight harness. Following an ejection, the back of the seat separates automatically, effectively becoming a backpack for the pilot ([[Act of Contrition]]).

Should ejection take place within an atmosphere, the life support backpack / seat back also incorporates a parachute.

== Technical Specifications ==

=== Dimensions ===
Mark II
*Length: 8.4082 m
*Wingspan: 4.7168 m
*Height: 2.7247 m (in flight, without landing gear. Landing gear adds approximately 0.5m.)

Mark VII
*Length: 9.8643 m
*Wingspan: 5.61 m
*Height: 2.9508 m (in flight, without landing gear.){{ref|dimensions}}

=== Propulsion ===
*Both: 3x sublight engines mounted aft; 2x reverse thrust motors; [[RCS]] points
*Mark VII: Angular exhaust nozzle design suggest possible thrust-vectoring.

=== Armaments ===
*Mark II: 2x forward-firing kinetic energy weapons ([[KEW]]) mounted in the wing roots
*Mark VII: 3x forward-firing kinetic energy weapons (KEW); 2 mounted towards the outboard sections of the wings; 1 mounted in the vertical stabiliser
*Both: Weapon hardpoints for mounting missiles / munitions pods, etc. under the wings

=== Instruments ===
*Mark II: [[Radio Magnetic Indicator]]
*Mark II: [[Torque Percent Gauge]]
*Mark II: [[Attitude Indicator]]
*Mark II: [[Altimeter]]

=== Crew ===
*Pilot

== Notes ==
Since ''Galactica'' only had 40 Viper Mark II's aboard, they needed as many fighters as possible, thus the remaining Mark VII's were refitted and stripped of their advanced computer systems. However, since this is not how the Mark VII was designed, it makes the craft increasingly difficult to handle and can only be flown by the most experienced pilots such as[[Apollo]] and [[Thrace, Kara|Starbuck]]. Galactica has roughly 6-8 Mark VII's on board after the Cylon attack ("[[Scattered]]", "Flight of the Phoenix"). (source: [http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/ships/ships/|official Scifi.com series website])

== Layout ==

The Viper is a long, sleek vehicle that can be spilt into two parts, fore and aft.

*Fore section: comprises the nose back to the cockpit. This contains the forward RCS systems for manoeuvring the craft; the forward landing gear; the main [[avionics]] and sensor packages, plus the single-seat cockpit itself
*Stern section: comprises the main engines, fuel tanks, wings and vertial stabiliser. The wings themselves contain the kinetic energy weapons ("guns") and their munitions storage and feeds. Hardpoints beneath the wings allow missiles, munitions pods and other items to be rack-mounted ([[The Hand of God]]). The wings roots contain the main landing gear. This section of a Viper also contains a number of RCS manoeuvring packs.

The stern section of a Viper is distinctive because of the offset "intakes" mounted just behind the cockpit. The port / starboard "intake" nacelles incorporate small but powerful reverse thrust engines that can quickly counter a Viper's forward momentum in an emergency ([[The Hand of God]]).

== Sources ==
#{{note|dimensions}}Dimensions provided by [http://www.leestringer.com/ Lee Stringer], one of the VFX Animators of the Mini-Series. These are for the CGI models, which are based on but not identical to the the fullsize props. Source: [http://www.starshipbuilder.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000012.html Starshipbuilder.com forums]

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

Number Six

2005-11-30T10:02:53Z

Lestatdelc: /* Natasi */

{{Character Data|
|photo=[[Image:Bsg-six-1.jpg|200px]]
|age= Late 20s
|colony=First witnessed on [[Caprica]]
|birthname=See [[Number Six#Notes|Notes]]
|callsign=
|death= Copies have been destroyed in several episodes
|parents=
|siblings=
|children=
|marital status=
|role= Cylon Infiltrator, Overseer
|rank=
|actor= [[Tricia Helfer]]
|cylon= y
}}

"'''Number Six'''" is a stunning blonde who plays several key roles in the [[Cylon]] military. She is the first [[Humano-Cylon]] that viewers witness in the reimagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' saga, and is apparently the sixth of twelve models of Humano-Cylon.

== Armistice Station Copy ==
She is a portent of doom for the peoples of the [[Twelve Colonies]]; she arrives on [[Armistice Station]] shortly before it is destroyed in what are the opening shots of the [[Cylon attack]] in the [[Mini-Series]].

== Natasi ==

Prior to the attack, '''Natasi''' {{IPA|nə.ˈtɑ.si}} was a a copy of Six who played an important role in preparing the way for a Cylon victory. Seducing the ambitious, self-obssessed, arrogant [[Gaius Baltar]], she fooled him into believing she was a corporate spy, seeking to gain advantage over her competitors in order to secure a lucrative defence contract ([[Mini-Series]]). 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]] so that it could be used in the forthcoming Cylon attack to cripple Colonial forces.

In addition to this work, she performed a second role -- one which is potentially as important to the Cylons, but one in which she may not be fully capable of performing: trying to make Gaius Baltar fall in love with her and, possibly, have a child by her. This is a role that she admits to him is not an official part of her assignment, but it is in keeping with the apparent aims and goals of the Cylons -- for whom "love", expressed through the concept of their [[God]], is a motivating factor behind some of their later actions.

The fact that she is unable to become pregnant in her time with Baltar (assuming she would try, and he would be willing) is suggestive that the humano-Cylons are physically, as well as mentally, configured for specific roles. Six is designed as a seducer not a child-bearer, a fact apparent in all her incarnations.

With the opening of the Cylon attack, Baltar's Six is apparently destroyed protecting him from the effects of a nuclear blast shockwave on [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]].

===Notes===
*According to the [[Special:Booksources/0765315416|novelization]] of the [[Mini-series]] 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." This name appears to be Polish in origin. Since this name has never been mentioned in the events of the screenplay or regular episodes, its [[canon|canonical]] value is debatable, although nothing else has been proposed.
**Carver stated that he pronounces "Natasi" as "Nuh-TAH-see", though fans could really pronounce it any way they want.
**Some fans have pointed out that "Natasi" spelled backwards makes "I, Satan". When this was brought to Carver's attention he said it was an unintentional coincidence. (Source: [http://s9.invisionfree.com/Ragnar_Anchorage/index.php?showtopic=2374 Ragnar Anchorage forums])
{{Spoiltext|The upcoming episode "[[Epiphanies]]" may shed some light on the matter.}}

== Baltar's Internal Six ==
[[image:Tigh_Me_Up_Tigh_Me_Down-Baltar_Six.jpg|thumb|left|[[Number Six]] and [[Gaius Baltar]] in his lab aboard ''[[Galactica]]''. (C. Universal Studios)]]
Fleeing the city and then the planet itself, Baltar is shocked to discover that Six lives on - inside his head.

At first he tries to dismiss her presence as a manifestation of his own guilt over what has happened to his people, and his role in it. However, Six suggests that she is in fact the result of a chip inside his head. However, while some of her "actions" - such as terrifying Baltar into determining how he can construct a genuine [[Cylon detector]] ([[Bastille Day]]) - very much suggest she is a part of his own psyche. But this is countered by her underlying actions and "deeds" - all of which represent a furtherance of those aims and goals she expressed as a corporeal entity, giving added weight to the idea that she is most likely a personality download contained within a chip in Baltar's head. Some of these are characteristics never witnessed by Baltar himself - such as her jealous reaction to [[Valerii]]'s visit with Baltar in his lab ([[Flesh and Bone]]), which closely mirrors the jealousy she shows towards Valerii on Caprica ([[Litmus]], [[Secrets and Lies]]).

Certainly, this seems to be the view Baltar himself comes to hold, as he relies more and more on her for guidance and insight into Cylons ways - so much so that she deliberately suggests that her presence within him is something for which other Cylons have no knowledge. However, in her relentless drive to get Baltar to fully accept the Cylon concept of God, it would appear that not only are other Cylons in the fleet aware of her "existence", they are in communication with her: hence the arrival of "Shelly Godfrey" onboard the ''[[Galactica]]'' with her accusations of treachery at the precise time Six ceases to communicate with Baltar.

When Baltar began to deny Six's actual existence, she turned the tables by changing her appearance and told him that he was, indeed, "crazy" ([[Home, Part II]]). Baltar asked Dr. [[Cottle]] to perform a brain scan to check for anything unusual. "Nothing, nothing, more nothing" was the gruff diagnosis from Cottle. However, later in the same episode Baltar realized that the Six he sees could could not possibly be a hallucination caused by him going "crazy", because she knows things (such as that Caprica-[[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]] was pregnant) that his subconscious mind has no way of knowing. When confronted with this, Six agreed that she was not a product of Baltar's mind, even though scans show no chip in his brain. When Baltar asked her what exactly she was then, Six only replied that "I'm an angel of God sent here to protect you". However, Baltar may not have a conventionally visible chip in his head, but it could be organically-based (like the humanoid Cylons) and indistinguishable from other tissues in his brain or central nervous system. There is a remote chance that Baltar could be a Humano-Cylon himself (see the [[Gaius Baltar]] article for arguments for and against this notion).

== Shelly Godfrey ==
[[Image:bsg-1-07.jpg|thumb|[[William Adama|Commander Adama]] and an apparently distraught Ms. Godfrey.]]
"Shelly Godfrey" is the pseudonym adopted by an incarnation of [[Number Six]] that arrives on board the ''[[Galactica]]'' with a mission to apparently expose [[Gaius Baltar]] as a traitor ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]). Her real aim, however, is to further push Baltar to a point where his only hope of salvation appears to be his complete acceptance of the Cylon concept of "[[God]]". Indeed, once he has reached this point, she rapidly goes into hiding (possibly unwittingly helped by [[Sharon Valerii]] on the ''Galactica''?) and later probably removes herself from the ship - or destroys herself.

During her time on the ''Galactica'', "Godfrey" very much reveals her underlying nature is very similar to that of her "sisters" as she attempts to seduce [[Adama, William|William Adama]].

Her appearance on the ''Galactica'' gives the clearest indication of all that Baltar's Six is an independent intelligence implanted in his head - and that, for all its statements to the contrary - it is somehow in contact with other humano-Cylons within the fleet (or at least in communication with any of its "sisters" which may be in the fleet). The appearance of "Shelly Godfrey" and the "disappearance" of Six from Baltar's mind is otherwise too coincidental to be believable.

=== Notes ===
*The last name '''Godfrey''' means God's Peace in the Germanic language.

== Gina ==
[[Image:Bscap383.jpg|thumb|left|Gina, found on the ''Pegasus'']]
'''Gina''' {{IPA|ˈʤi.nə}} is a [[Humano-Cylon]] who was discovered by the battlestar ''[[Pegasus]]''. She killed seven men when apprehended, and was then incarcerated, brutally interrogated and systematically gang-raped by many of the crew.

When the ''Pegasus'' encountered the ''Galactica'' fleet, she was turned over to [[Gaius Baltar]] who examined her. He was heartbroken by her state, and resolved to help her in any way he could. He convinced Admiral [[Helena Cain]] to permit her to be fed, and recounted to her a story of his love for her copy on Caprica, before the Cylon attack.

{{spoiltext|Gina apparently finds a way to kill Admiral Cain. ([[Resurrection Ship]]) According to an interview with Ron D. Moore, Gina isn't going to die in "Resurrection Ship" and have her storyline resolved, but actually live on to form a sort of love triangle between Gina, Baltar, and Baltar's internal Six. Baltar's relationship with her will "continue throughout the season", so she will be around for some time.}}

===Notes===
Gina is a reference to some fans' derisive nickname for the Re-Imagined series, GINO - "Galactica In Name Only" (itself an allusion to [[Wikipedia:RINO|RINO]], a political term) (Source: "Pegasus" podcast)

== Caprican Overseer Copies ==

On Caprica, Six performs the role of a Cylon overseer, working with [[Aaron Doral]] to ensure their experiment involving the stranded [[Karl C. Agathon]] and Valerii either reaches its desired conclusion, or is suitably terminated ([[Litmus]], [[Secrets and Lies]]).

In this, she shares the same seductive characteristic as shown by her "sisters" at Armistice station and with Baltar - her first act on "freeing" the captured Agathon is to kiss him. Following the destruction of this particular Six (shot by Valerii, in order to enable her to "rescue" Agathon), her "sister" on Caprica demonstrates a certain vindictiveness towards Valerii when giving her a beating that goes far beyond the needs of the experiment ([[Litmus]]), thus revealing she may well be experiencing resentment for being shot (remembering that experiences and knowledge are passed from body to body among the various types of humano-Cylon), as well as jealousy at Valerii's chosen role in proceedings.

A further "overseer" Six is present at the Cylon's established base at [[Delphi]], and is briefly seen by [[Agathon, Karl C.|Helo]] when he attempts to gain access to the base in order to steal a ship and get off the planet ([[Colonial Day]]).

An overseer-Six surprised [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] in the [[Delphi Museum]] when she returned to Caprica to retrieve the [[Arrow of Apollo]]. They engaged in an all-out brawl, and just as Six appeared to be winning Starbuck rushed her, knocking both of them off of a ledge. This Number Six fell underneath Starbuck, breaking Kara's fall, and was impaled on building debris, killing her ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]).

Another "overseer" Six was present at the "farm" where Starbuck was taken after she was incapacitated by the Cylons. While the Cylon doctor [[Simon]] operated on her, Six was there to relay orders and see that everything was proceeding smoothly. She was definitely the controlling figure of the operation. This copy was later bashed over the head with a fire extinguisher by Kara Thrace as she made her escape ([[The Farm]]).

== Caprican Warrior Leaders ==
At least 3 additional variants of Six have been operational on Caprica, and appear to lead troops of Cylon [[Warriors]] and have a subservient role to the "overseer" Six variants. This variant of Six is distinguished by the white raincoat it wears.

One of these variants distracted Helo, enabling him to be captured ([[33]]), and was subsequently shot by [[Valerii, Sharon|Valerii]].

The second acted as an observer to Helo's "escape", and this same variant may have been leading the Warrior troop into the Caprican farm Helo was hiding in ([[The Hand of God]]).

The third was present at [[Delphi]], taking orders from an "overseer" Six.

==Notes==
*It has been claimed that the name "Number Six" may be an indirect tribute to [[Wikipedia:Patrick McGoohan|Patrick McGoohan]]'s cult 1967 television series [[Wikipedia:The Prisoner|The Prisoner]] - a series that addressed topics such as personal freedom and identity, mind control, illusionary experiences and the infiltration of society's supposed guardians (secret agents) by a nefarious force (those behind The Village).

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Cylons]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Gaius Baltar

2005-11-30T09:45:46Z

Lestatdelc: /* Return to ''Galactica'' */

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:Bsg-baltar-1.jpg|200px]]
|age= mid-30s (approximated)
|colony= [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]]
|birthname= Gaius Baltar
|callsign=
|death=
|parents= Unknown
|siblings= None
|children=
|marital status= Single
|role= Interim Vice President, [[Twelve Colonies|The Twelve Colonies of Kobol]])
|rank=
|actor= [[Callis, James|James Callis]]
|cylon=
}}

== Biography ==

=== Background ===

Dr. '''Gaius Baltar''' is the current [[Vice-President]] in the [[Government#Government_of_the_Fleet|Colonial Government]], and science-advisor to to the President. He was formerly a lead defense systems developer working for the [[Colonial Ministry of Defense]] and is widely consider a genius. Baltar came to prominence as a computer technology designer having won three [[Magnate Prize]]s. Baltar was born on [[The_Twelve_Colonies_(RDM)#Sagittaron |Sagittaron]] and attracted to [[The_Twelve_Colonies_(RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] by the Defense Ministry{{ref|birthplace}}. and there became responsible for the design of the critical [[Command Navigation Program]] (CNP) used throughout most of the [[Colonial Fleet]].

Elegantly dressed and aesthetically handsome, with the affected humility of the truly arrogant, he is nonetheless a deeply flawed person and narcissist. Beneath his outstanding abilities lurks a pathological weakness of character. Self-absorbed, sly, guileful, and utterly dedicated to his own self-preservation, Baltar has carried on a two-year affair with a woman he believed to be a corporate spy -- even to the extent of using code she herself wrote to overcome shortfalls in his CNP -- and thus allowed her unrestricted access to some of the most sensitive systems of the Colonial defenses.

=== [[Cylon Attack]] ===
[[image:Mini-Baltar_Six.jpg|thumb|left|300px|[[Gaius Baltar]] and [[Number Six]] kissing in the [[Mini-Series]]. (C. SciFi Channel)]]
When the Cylons launched their attack, Baltar became horrified to learn that his "corporate spy" lover is in fact a new type of Cylon -- a [[Humano-Cylon]]{{ref|hcylon}}, able to mimic human beings down to the smallest detail -- and that she has in fact used his CNP as a gateway to make all integrated Colonial computers and defence systems vulnerable to a Cylon virus that subverts their command and control systems.

Appalled by the fact that his sexual folly has led to the virtual holocaust of humanity, Baltar is nevetheless determined not only to survive, but also avoid having, what amounts to, his treachery revealed.

Rescued on Caprica following the forced-landing of a Colonial [[Raptor]] -- at the cost of [[Helo|one of the crew staying behind]] ([[Mini-Series]]) -- he is pleased to find himself treated with the same esteem he enjoyed back on Caprica. His only problem is that [[Number Six]], his former "lover" -- herself destroyed in the shockwave of a nuclear blast -- now appears to him in visions, and he cannot be sure whether this is a result of his own guilt at his actions or whether -- as she initially claims -- she is part of a chip that has been implanted in his brain{{ref|chip}}.

Shortly after his arrival on the ''Galactica'', the fact that Cylons can look like humans becomes known to Commander [[Adama, William|William Adama]], and Batlar is put to work trying to devise a means of detecting humanoid Cylons. At the prompting of [[Number Six]], he exposes [[Doral, Aaron|Aaron Doral]] -- a PR executive who has been co-ordinating the media coverage of the ''Galactica's'' decommissioning -- as a Cylon agent ([[Mini-Series]]), using little more than invented technobabble to convince [[Colonel Tigh]]. As a result of this, and despite his protestations of innocence, Doral is marooned at [[Ragnar Anchorage]].

Due to his unique abilities, Baltar is charged with turning his initial "[[Cylon detector]]" into a working machine capable of screening everyone in the fleet. While he at first balks at this, events such as the sabotaging of the ''Galactica's'' water reserves ([[Water]]) force him into a position where he can no longer procrastinate over the detector -- despite his fear that such a device might somehow expose him as the original traitor among humans. Gaining aid from a most unusual source -- his inner Six ([[Bastille Day]]) -- Baltar does eventually develop a genuine detector, which, together with his survival of a foiled attempt to expose him as a traitor ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]), firmly establish his credentials within the fleet's hierarchy.

With this new-found trust, and despite his willingness to deliberately conceal vital information, such as [[Valerii, Sharon#"Boomer" Valerii|Lieutenant Valerii's]] true status as a [[Humano-Cylon]] ([[Flesh and Bone]]), Baltar is willing to enter the realm of political leadership, firstly as the Representative for [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]] on the [[Quorum of Twelve]], and then as the newly-elected Vice President of the fleet ([[Colonial Day]]).

=== Cylon Manipulations ===

The Cylons commenced their direct manipulations of Baltar some two years prior to the attack on the [[Twelve Colonies]], by bringing him into contact with their agent [[Number Six]], who instigated a torrid affair with him while at the same time using him to access vital Colonial command and control systems within the Ministry of Defence ([[Mini-Series]]).

This manipulation continued even after the Doctor left Caprica and Six behind, with Six appearing to him in sensory perceptions, possibly through an implant in his brain ([[Mini-Series]]) or perhaps even through a series of psychotic hallucinations as the Doctor struggles to reconcile his guilt and his desire of self-preservation.

Regardless of the cause of her appearances, Six has continued to both help and hinder Baltar, gradually drawing him to a point of near-open acceptance and participation in Cylon plans and activities ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). The majority of this manipulation has been through religious intrigue, linked to physical threats to Baltar's well-being. These have included:

* Using the threat of Baltar's former colleague, Dr. [[Amorak]], attempting to contact [[Roslin, Laura|President Roslin]] with information on a "traitor" within Colonial circles -- and only "removing" this threat once Baltar has "repented of his sins" ([[33]])
* Using the threat of direct accusation (in the form of "[[Number Six#"Shelly Godfrey"|Shelly Godfry]]") coupled with "photographic evidence" -- and only "removing" this threat once Baltar has "accepted" the Cylon God into his life ([[Six Degrees of Separation]])
[[image:Scattered-Baltar_Six.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Gaius Baltar]] and [[Number Six]] seeing "the shape of things to come" in [[Scattered]]. (C. SciFi Channel)]]
Baltar's near-acquiescence to the [[God|Cylon religion]] comes when he goes through a process similar to the [[wikipedia:Evangelicalism|evangelical Christian]] belief in "rebirth" through adult baptism. In this, the new believer in the Christian faith is baptized (generally through full immersion in water), symbolizing the "death" of the "old" self and "birth" of the "new" Christian self. In "[[The Hand of God]]", Baltar apparently undergoes "death" at the hands of his inner Six when she "breaks" his neck -- and is "reborn" in his real life as the "instrument of God", able to point-out precisely where Colonial forces must strike in order to eliminate the Cylon base preventing them from accessing supplies of [[Tylium|tylium]].

This act leaves Baltar ripe for the final revelation of his role within Cylon expectations, when "the future" is revealed to him by Six on [[Kobol]], in the form of the first of "God's new generation of children" ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). Baltar is not particularly pleased by this, especially when he learns that he is to be the father and that the mother will be Six. ([[Scattered]]). Despite this, when he believes Commander Adama is trying to kill the child, he tries to stop this ([[Valley of Darkness]]).

==Survival on Kobol==
While stranded on Kobol, Baltar awoke in a clearing filled with human bones. Number Six told him they were from human sacrifices, that all of the myths about the Gods and the paradise on Kobol were a lie to hide the true brutality of man. This increased Baltar's cynical opinion of humanity. Number Six also warned that one of the survivors would turn against the others.

The Raptor crash survivors, consisting of Baltar, Chief [[Tyrol]], [[Cally]], [[Seelix]], and ranking crewmember Lt. [[Crashdown]], were faced with Cylon Centurions building a missile battery that would destroy any rescue ships trying to save them. Crashdown, obsessed after the deaths of [[Tarn]] and [[Socinus]], ordered the team to make a suicidal attack on the Cylon position. Baltar had never fired a weapon in his life and felt it could not be done, and due to the fact that he was the only non-military member of the survivors, he insisted that they put it to a vote before Tyrol shouted him down to follow the chain of command.

When they were about to make the attack, Cally froze in terror, unable to create the needed diversion. Crashdown pointed his gun at her head and threatened to kill her if she did not obey the order, and as a result Tyrol leveled his gun at Crashdown. A tense standoff ensued. Just as Crashdown was about to fire, Baltar shot him in the back, killing him instantly{{ref|killing}}. The group successfully carried out the alternate plan of attacking the Cylon's [[DRADIS]] dish, and were saved by the rescue Raptors. Baltar told the [[SAR]] team that Crashdown had died a hero in the fight, and Tyrol reluctantly corroborated his story ([[Fragged]]).

==Return to ''Galactica''==

Back on ''Galactica'', Baltar insisted that if Roslin's presidency was terminated, as Vice President he should then succeed her in command, but Col. Tigh dismissed the notion because he had just instituted martial law. Later, Cally blackmailed Baltar into making it a priority to prove that Chief Tyrol was not a Cylon, as Col. Tigh suspected, or Cally would reveal to all that it was really Baltar that killed Crashdown. Incensed, Baltar went to the [[brig]] to take a blood sample from Tyrol, who was in the same cell as [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]], but actually injected him with a toxin that would kill him in seconds if he didn't administer the antidote. Baltar coerced the panicked Boomer in telling him how many other humanoid Cylons were hiding in the Fleet, nothing that even if she was programmed to think she was human on a subconscious level she truly ''did'' know the answer as a Cylon. With time running out, she shouted out "Eight!" and Baltar revived Tyrol. Baltar was going to perform a series of experiments on Boomer, but she was then killed by Cally ([[Resistance]]).

Some time later, Baltar yelled at his internal Number Six for her increasingly ridiculous random changes in appearance, and also questioned her actual existence. She responded by simplifying her appearance and attitude and told him that he truly had gone crazy: that there ''was'' no computer chip in his head containing Six, but that she was indeed a hallucination brought on by his guilt-ridden subconscious. Baltar had a brain scan performed in [[sickbay]] by Dr. [[Cottle]] (despite ''interference'' from Six), and confirmed there were no "foreign objects" in his brain. Baltar was ready to believe that he was truly insane, when while observing [[Helo]] and [[Sharon Valerii|Caprica-Sharon]] in the brig, he heard her say that she was pregnant with a Hybrid child. Six had told Baltar earlier that "their child" would be born in that cell, and this led Baltar to realize that Six ''must'' be real because his subconscious coudln't have known that. Number Six then said that she was indeed real and not a hallucination, while at the same time there was no computer chip, but said she's "an angel of God sent here to protect you". Six then told Baltar that by "their" child she is refering to Caprica-Sharon's biological child: Six considers herself the mother, and Baltar the father ([[Home, Part II]]).

When [[D'anna Biers]] was making a documentary about life aboard ''Galactica'', Six urged Baltar to give an interview to try to win people over to thinking that he should be running the Fleet. Baltar stumbled in response but thankfully for him, he was interupted by a Cylon attack ([[Final Cut]]). Baltar would then aid in trying to overcome the Cylon [[logic bomb]] which had devastated ''Galactica's'' computer systems ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]).

==Arrival of ''Pegasus''==

When battlestar [[Pegasus]] reunited with the Fleet led by ''Galactica'', it was requested that Baltar examine ''Pegasus' '' own Cylon prisoner to see what information he could glean from it. Upon arrival in the ''Pegasus'' brig, Baltar was horrified to discover the Cylon was a terribly abused and tortured copy of the Number Six model, known on the ship as "[[Gina]]". Baltar vowed to help her in any way he could, and began by having her restraints removed and allowing her to be fed again. The inhumane treatment of Gina by the ''Pegasus'' crew likely made Gaius more critical of humanity's worth ("[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]").

== Speculation: The Real Baltar? ==

For Baltar to survive the destruction of Caprica was no small matter, especially considering he was in the wake a nuclear blast and that, apparently, the body of Six that he knew was destroyed in trying to protect his in the events of the mini-series. But that blast was substantial (not unlike that from a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroclastic_flow pyroclastic cloud]) and would tear through Six's body just as well as Baltar's. Six has had two years to gather plenty of Baltar's genetic material. Could the Baltar on ''Galactica'' be now, in fact, a Humano-Cylon?

However, others attest that Baltar's house was not actually within the wake of the nuclear blast, but at the outer edge of the air shockwave; the windows in the house shattered and would have killed Baltar if Six hadn't been standing there. Six actually could have been blocking Baltar from ''the glass'', and his house was not actually severely damaged.

===Why a Copy?===

Information from RDM indicate that, at the start of season 2, there are ''eight'' Cylon operatives that appear in the fleet. A Baltar copy would also had made matters very, very easy for the Cylons in their work to infiltrate the Colonial defenses and would be easily dropped in place to escape or happen to appear on a ship of the nascent fleet. Such clones may also explain the 'fake' recording from [[Shelly Godfrey]] of Baltar compromising Colonial computer systems in a latter Season 1 episode. Perhaps it was the Cylons who doctored what was, in reality, a legitimate recording of a Baltar copy.

One notable question would be why Six have spent so much time talking to Baltar, and then have thrown herself in front of the blast if she'd intended for him to die? If Baltar was already a humano-Cylon, his consciousness from that moment would be thrown into a waking duplicate, pre-disheveled and scraped, where Baltar would merely think he was blown clear to safety where he could run to escape attacks with other survivors. Also, since Baltar appeared to be key in many Cylon plans, they would want to ensure that Baltar would reach any remaining humans to spy for them, and having only one copy might risk the success of such plans. Further, it is the ''psyche'' of Baltar that the Cylons may treasure most; few others in the Colonies may have the level of intelligence, arrogance, and neurosis that Baltar has that could prove as easily exploited. The guise of the great Baltar gives the Cylons a huge natural tactical advantage in that he is well known and allowed access to almost any critical battlestar location. Baltar's slick-as-oil personality aids him with better finesse and stronger charisma than any Humano-Cylon personality yet seen.

===The Baltar-as-Father Argument===

Six has stated her desire to have a child with Baltar. Humano-Cylon couplings have failed to result in offspring prior to that point ("[[The Farm]]"). If Baltar and Six were both Humano-Cylon, it is likely that offspring would either be impossible or at least exceptionally unlikely. This point gives the strongest evidence against the Baltar-as-Cylon theory, but cannot (yet) dismiss the notion.

In "[[Home, Part II]]", Six indicates that Baltar's and Six's child will be born in the isolation cage built for the ''Galactica'' copy of [[Sharon Valerii]]. The reality turned out different: The Caprica version of Valerii, pregnant by [[Helo]], now occupies the cage by the end of that episode, and Six indicates that it is in fact '''Valerii's''' child that will become Baltar's. This gives some weight back to the Baltar-as-Cylon theory since Baltar becoming a father by surrogate circumvents the need for him to do so naturally. While Caprica-Valerii shows that a female Humano-Cylon could conceive, no information is yet available on whether male Humano-Cylons could sire a child with human females. However, earlier in the first season, in "[[33]]", Six asked Baltar if he wanted to procreate with her, and at this point she may have meant an actual child of Baltar's. "Home, Part II" occured much later in the timeline, and it is possible that the Cylons and Number Six had to alter their plans during this time. Number Six did mention in "Home, Part II" that she didn't consider Sharon "worthy" of bearing one of "God's new children" (the Humano-Cylons). Perhaps Sharon was not originally planned to be the first mother of a hybrid baby at all, and Number Six was going to have a child with the (necessarily human) Baltar, but had to shift plans when Boomer became pregnant first.

===Inside Baltar's Head===

Baltar's brain scan in "[[Home, Part II]]" confirms that the virtual Six that only Baltar can see is '''not''' an actual ''artificial'' device in his brain. This leaves a number of possibilities, of which the strongest are:

# Baltar has a device elsewhere in his body. We're not given information on whether ''all'' of Baltar's body was scanned, or just his head.
# A portion of Baltar's body ''is'' the "chip" but fashioned in a way by the Cylons that is medically indistinguishable from a regular body part and may also function normally (say, a pituitary gland)
# Baltar's body is artificial, with his personality (complete with neuroses) placed in a Humano-Cylon construct. While Baltar's psyche itself may not be that of a Cylon, the addition of the virtual Six component compliments the arrangement for the Cylon's purposes.

Possibility #3 is interesting in that, based on Baltar's own research on the Six copy known as [[Number Six#Gina|Gina]], Baltar's personality and guilt would continue to plague him either in Humano-Cylon or human form. But, if Baltar were reconstructed as a Cylon, the virtual Six aids Baltar by being, in effect, the conscience and "guardian angel" she claims to be, keeping his neuroses and guilt over the genocide from driving him completely insane--for now.

==Notes==

#{{note|hcylon}}"Humano-Cylon" is the popular ''Battlestar Wiki'' term for the humanoid Cylons. It is not a [[canon|canonical]] term found in any episode.
#{{note|chip}}The idea that Six is an actual chip in Baltar's head was dismissed by Dr. [[Cottle]]'s image scan of Baltar's head. See [[Gaius Baltar#Speculation: The Real Baltar?|the section on alternate reasons for Six's existence]] for more.
#{{note|killing}}The act of killing Crashdown appears to have led to a dramatic change in Baltar's attitude toward hurting anyone directly. Later, Baltar does not hesitate in his injection of Tyrol with fatal drugs to blackmail Boomer into giving Cylon secrets. Baltar's humanitarian acts to the Six copy known as Gina also suggests Baltar's attitude in the care of Cylons is further changing. More and more, Baltar appears to prefer direct intervention and is less cowardly in his attitude.
#{{note|birthplace}} Baltar's planet of birth and recruitment by the Colonial Defense Ministry to Caprica are according to SkyOne.

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Gaius Baltar

2005-11-30T09:37:48Z

Lestatdelc: /* Background */ corrected colony links to RDM sections in the 12 colony RDM entry

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:Bsg-baltar-1.jpg|200px]]
|age= mid-30s (approximated)
|colony= [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]]
|birthname= Gaius Baltar
|callsign=
|death=
|parents= Unknown
|siblings= None
|children=
|marital status= Single
|role= Interim Vice President, [[Twelve Colonies|The Twelve Colonies of Kobol]])
|rank=
|actor= [[Callis, James|James Callis]]
|cylon=
}}

== Biography ==

=== Background ===

Dr. '''Gaius Baltar''' is the current [[Vice-President]] in the [[Government#Government_of_the_Fleet|Colonial Government]], and science-advisor to to the President. He was formerly a lead defense systems developer working for the [[Colonial Ministry of Defense]] and is widely consider a genius. Baltar came to prominence as a computer technology designer having won three [[Magnate Prize]]s. Baltar was born on [[The_Twelve_Colonies_(RDM)#Sagittaron |Sagittaron]] and attracted to [[The_Twelve_Colonies_(RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] by the Defense Ministry{{ref|birthplace}}. and there became responsible for the design of the critical [[Command Navigation Program]] (CNP) used throughout most of the [[Colonial Fleet]].

Elegantly dressed and aesthetically handsome, with the affected humility of the truly arrogant, he is nonetheless a deeply flawed person and narcissist. Beneath his outstanding abilities lurks a pathological weakness of character. Self-absorbed, sly, guileful, and utterly dedicated to his own self-preservation, Baltar has carried on a two-year affair with a woman he believed to be a corporate spy -- even to the extent of using code she herself wrote to overcome shortfalls in his CNP -- and thus allowed her unrestricted access to some of the most sensitive systems of the Colonial defenses.

=== [[Cylon Attack]] ===
[[image:Mini-Baltar_Six.jpg|thumb|left|300px|[[Gaius Baltar]] and [[Number Six]] kissing in the [[Mini-Series]]. (C. SciFi Channel)]]
When the Cylons launched their attack, Baltar became horrified to learn that his "corporate spy" lover is in fact a new type of Cylon -- a [[Humano-Cylon]]{{ref|hcylon}}, able to mimic human beings down to the smallest detail -- and that she has in fact used his CNP as a gateway to make all integrated Colonial computers and defence systems vulnerable to a Cylon virus that subverts their command and control systems.

Appalled by the fact that his sexual folly has led to the virtual holocaust of humanity, Baltar is nevetheless determined not only to survive, but also avoid having, what amounts to, his treachery revealed.

Rescued on Caprica following the forced-landing of a Colonial [[Raptor]] -- at the cost of [[Helo|one of the crew staying behind]] ([[Mini-Series]]) -- he is pleased to find himself treated with the same esteem he enjoyed back on Caprica. His only problem is that [[Number Six]], his former "lover" -- herself destroyed in the shockwave of a nuclear blast -- now appears to him in visions, and he cannot be sure whether this is a result of his own guilt at his actions or whether -- as she initially claims -- she is part of a chip that has been implanted in his brain{{ref|chip}}.

Shortly after his arrival on the ''Galactica'', the fact that Cylons can look like humans becomes known to Commander [[Adama, William|William Adama]], and Batlar is put to work trying to devise a means of detecting humanoid Cylons. At the prompting of [[Number Six]], he exposes [[Doral, Aaron|Aaron Doral]] -- a PR executive who has been co-ordinating the media coverage of the ''Galactica's'' decommissioning -- as a Cylon agent ([[Mini-Series]]), using little more than invented technobabble to convince [[Colonel Tigh]]. As a result of this, and despite his protestations of innocence, Doral is marooned at [[Ragnar Anchorage]].

Due to his unique abilities, Baltar is charged with turning his initial "[[Cylon detector]]" into a working machine capable of screening everyone in the fleet. While he at first balks at this, events such as the sabotaging of the ''Galactica's'' water reserves ([[Water]]) force him into a position where he can no longer procrastinate over the detector -- despite his fear that such a device might somehow expose him as the original traitor among humans. Gaining aid from a most unusual source -- his inner Six ([[Bastille Day]]) -- Baltar does eventually develop a genuine detector, which, together with his survival of a foiled attempt to expose him as a traitor ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]), firmly establish his credentials within the fleet's hierarchy.

With this new-found trust, and despite his willingness to deliberately conceal vital information, such as [[Valerii, Sharon#"Boomer" Valerii|Lieutenant Valerii's]] true status as a [[Humano-Cylon]] ([[Flesh and Bone]]), Baltar is willing to enter the realm of political leadership, firstly as the Representative for [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]] on the [[Quorum of Twelve]], and then as the newly-elected Vice President of the fleet ([[Colonial Day]]).

=== Cylon Manipulations ===

The Cylons commenced their direct manipulations of Baltar some two years prior to the attack on the [[Twelve Colonies]], by bringing him into contact with their agent [[Number Six]], who instigated a torrid affair with him while at the same time using him to access vital Colonial command and control systems within the Ministry of Defence ([[Mini-Series]]).

This manipulation continued even after the Doctor left Caprica and Six behind, with Six appearing to him in sensory perceptions, possibly through an implant in his brain ([[Mini-Series]]) or perhaps even through a series of psychotic hallucinations as the Doctor struggles to reconcile his guilt and his desire of self-preservation.

Regardless of the cause of her appearances, Six has continued to both help and hinder Baltar, gradually drawing him to a point of near-open acceptance and participation in Cylon plans and activities ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). The majority of this manipulation has been through religious intrigue, linked to physical threats to Baltar's well-being. These have included:

* Using the threat of Baltar's former colleague, Dr. [[Amorak]], attempting to contact [[Roslin, Laura|President Roslin]] with information on a "traitor" within Colonial circles -- and only "removing" this threat once Baltar has "repented of his sins" ([[33]])
* Using the threat of direct accusation (in the form of "[[Number Six#"Shelly Godfrey"|Shelly Godfry]]") coupled with "photographic evidence" -- and only "removing" this threat once Baltar has "accepted" the Cylon God into his life ([[Six Degrees of Separation]])
[[image:Scattered-Baltar_Six.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Gaius Baltar]] and [[Number Six]] seeing "the shape of things to come" in [[Scattered]]. (C. SciFi Channel)]]
Baltar's near-acquiescence to the [[God|Cylon religion]] comes when he goes through a process similar to the [[wikipedia:Evangelicalism|evangelical Christian]] belief in "rebirth" through adult baptism. In this, the new believer in the Christian faith is baptized (generally through full immersion in water), symbolizing the "death" of the "old" self and "birth" of the "new" Christian self. In "[[The Hand of God]]", Baltar apparently undergoes "death" at the hands of his inner Six when she "breaks" his neck -- and is "reborn" in his real life as the "instrument of God", able to point-out precisely where Colonial forces must strike in order to eliminate the Cylon base preventing them from accessing supplies of [[Tylium|tylium]].

This act leaves Baltar ripe for the final revelation of his role within Cylon expectations, when "the future" is revealed to him by Six on [[Kobol]], in the form of the first of "God's new generation of children" ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). Baltar is not particularly pleased by this, especially when he learns that he is to be the father and that the mother will be Six. ([[Scattered]]). Despite this, when he believes Commander Adama is trying to kill the child, he tries to stop this ([[Valley of Darkness]]).

==Survival on Kobol==
While stranded on Kobol, Baltar awoke in a clearing filled with human bones. Number Six told him they were from human sacrifices, that all of the myths about the Gods and the paradise on Kobol were a lie to hide the true brutality of man. This increased Baltar's cynical opinion of humanity. Number Six also warned that one of the survivors would turn against the others.

The Raptor crash survivors, consisting of Baltar, Chief [[Tyrol]], [[Cally]], [[Seelix]], and ranking crewmember Lt. [[Crashdown]], were faced with Cylon Centurions building a missile battery that would destroy any rescue ships trying to save them. Crashdown, obsessed after the deaths of [[Tarn]] and [[Socinus]], ordered the team to make a suicidal attack on the Cylon position. Baltar had never fired a weapon in his life and felt it could not be done, and due to the fact that he was the only non-military member of the survivors, he insisted that they put it to a vote before Tyrol shouted him down to follow the chain of command.

When they were about to make the attack, Cally froze in terror, unable to create the needed diversion. Crashdown pointed his gun at her head and threatened to kill her if she did not obey the order, and as a result Tyrol leveled his gun at Crashdown. A tense standoff ensued. Just as Crashdown was about to fire, Baltar shot him in the back, killing him instantly{{ref|killing}}. The group successfully carried out the alternate plan of attacking the Cylon's [[DRADIS]] dish, and were saved by the rescue Raptors. Baltar told the [[SAR]] team that Crashdown had died a hero in the fight, and Tyrol reluctantly corroborated his story ([[Fragged]]).

==Return to ''Galactica''==

Back on ''Galactica'', Baltar insisted that if Roslin's presidency was terminated, as Vice President he should then succeed her in command, but Col. Tigh dismissed the notion because he had just instituted martial law. Later, Cally blackmailed Baltar into making it a priority to prove that Chief Tyrol was not a Cylon, as Col. Tigh suspected, or Cally would reveal to all that it was really Baltar that killed Crashdown. Incensed, Baltar went to the [[brig]] to take a blood sample from Tyrol, who was in the same cell as [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]], but actually injected him with a toxin that would kill him in seconds if he didn't administer the antidote. Baltar coerced the panicked Boomer in telling him how many other humanoid Cylons were hiding in the Fleet, nothing that even if she was programmed to think she was human on a subconscious level she truly ''did'' know the answer as a Cylon. With time running out, she shouted out "Eight!" and Baltar revived Tyrol. Baltar was going to perform a series of experiments on Boomer, but she was then killed by Cally ([[Resistance]]).

Some time later, Baltar yelled at his internal Number Six for her increasingly ridiculous random changes in appearance, and also questioned her actual existence. She responded by simplifying her appearance and attitude and told him that he truly had gone crazy: that there ''was'' no computer chip in his head containing Six, but that she was indeed a hallucination brought on by his guilt-ridden subconscious. Baltar had a brain scan performed in [[sickbay]] by Dr. [[Cottle]] (despite ''interference'' from Six), and confirmed there were no "foreign objects" in his brain. Baltar was ready to believe that he was truly insane, when while observing [[Helo]] and [[Sharon Valerii|Caprica-Sharon]] in the brig, he heard her say that she was pregnant with a Hybrid child. Six had told Baltar earlier that "their child" would be born in that cell, and this led Baltar to realize that Six ''must'' be real because his subconscious coudln't have known that. Number Six then said that she was indeed real and not a hallucination, while at the same time there was no computer ship, but said she's "an angel of God sent here to protect you". Six then told Baltar that by "their" child she is refering to Caprica-Sharon's biological child: Six considers herself the mother, and Baltar the father ([[Home, Part II]]).

When [[D'anna Biers]] was making a documentary about life aboard ''Galactica'', Six urged Baltar to give an interview to try to win people over to thinking that he should be running the Fleet. Baltar stumbled in response but thankfully for him, he was interupted by a Cylon attack ([[Final Cut]]). Baltar would then aid in trying to overcome the Cylon [[logic bomb]] which had devastated ''Galactica's'' computer systems ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]).

==Arrival of ''Pegasus''==

When battlestar [[Pegasus]] reunited with the Fleet led by ''Galactica'', it was requested that Baltar examine ''Pegasus' '' own Cylon prisoner to see what information he could glean from it. Upon arrival in the ''Pegasus'' brig, Baltar was horrified to discover the Cylon was a terribly abused and tortured copy of the Number Six model, known on the ship as "[[Gina]]". Baltar vowed to help her in any way he could, and began by having her restraints removed and allowing her to be fed again. The inhumane treatment of Gina by the ''Pegasus'' crew likely made Gaius more critical of humanity's worth ("[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]").

== Speculation: The Real Baltar? ==

For Baltar to survive the destruction of Caprica was no small matter, especially considering he was in the wake a nuclear blast and that, apparently, the body of Six that he knew was destroyed in trying to protect his in the events of the mini-series. But that blast was substantial (not unlike that from a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroclastic_flow pyroclastic cloud]) and would tear through Six's body just as well as Baltar's. Six has had two years to gather plenty of Baltar's genetic material. Could the Baltar on ''Galactica'' be now, in fact, a Humano-Cylon?

However, others attest that Baltar's house was not actually within the wake of the nuclear blast, but at the outer edge of the air shockwave; the windows in the house shattered and would have killed Baltar if Six hadn't been standing there. Six actually could have been blocking Baltar from ''the glass'', and his house was not actually severely damaged.

===Why a Copy?===

Information from RDM indicate that, at the start of season 2, there are ''eight'' Cylon operatives that appear in the fleet. A Baltar copy would also had made matters very, very easy for the Cylons in their work to infiltrate the Colonial defenses and would be easily dropped in place to escape or happen to appear on a ship of the nascent fleet. Such clones may also explain the 'fake' recording from [[Shelly Godfrey]] of Baltar compromising Colonial computer systems in a latter Season 1 episode. Perhaps it was the Cylons who doctored what was, in reality, a legitimate recording of a Baltar copy.

One notable question would be why Six have spent so much time talking to Baltar, and then have thrown herself in front of the blast if she'd intended for him to die? If Baltar was already a humano-Cylon, his consciousness from that moment would be thrown into a waking duplicate, pre-disheveled and scraped, where Baltar would merely think he was blown clear to safety where he could run to escape attacks with other survivors. Also, since Baltar appeared to be key in many Cylon plans, they would want to ensure that Baltar would reach any remaining humans to spy for them, and having only one copy might risk the success of such plans. Further, it is the ''psyche'' of Baltar that the Cylons may treasure most; few others in the Colonies may have the level of intelligence, arrogance, and neurosis that Baltar has that could prove as easily exploited. The guise of the great Baltar gives the Cylons a huge natural tactical advantage in that he is well known and allowed access to almost any critical battlestar location. Baltar's slick-as-oil personality aids him with better finesse and stronger charisma than any Humano-Cylon personality yet seen.

===The Baltar-as-Father Argument===

Six has stated her desire to have a child with Baltar. Humano-Cylon couplings have failed to result in offspring prior to that point ("[[The Farm]]"). If Baltar and Six were both Humano-Cylon, it is likely that offspring would either be impossible or at least exceptionally unlikely. This point gives the strongest evidence against the Baltar-as-Cylon theory, but cannot (yet) dismiss the notion.

In "[[Home, Part II]]", Six indicates that Baltar's and Six's child will be born in the isolation cage built for the ''Galactica'' copy of [[Sharon Valerii]]. The reality turned out different: The Caprica version of Valerii, pregnant by [[Helo]], now occupies the cage by the end of that episode, and Six indicates that it is in fact '''Valerii's''' child that will become Baltar's. This gives some weight back to the Baltar-as-Cylon theory since Baltar becoming a father by surrogate circumvents the need for him to do so naturally. While Caprica-Valerii shows that a female Humano-Cylon could conceive, no information is yet available on whether male Humano-Cylons could sire a child with human females. However, earlier in the first season, in "[[33]]", Six asked Baltar if he wanted to procreate with her, and at this point she may have meant an actual child of Baltar's. "Home, Part II" occured much later in the timeline, and it is possible that the Cylons and Number Six had to alter their plans during this time. Number Six did mention in "Home, Part II" that she didn't consider Sharon "worthy" of bearing one of "God's new children" (the Humano-Cylons). Perhaps Sharon was not originally planned to be the first mother of a hybrid baby at all, and Number Six was going to have a child with the (necessarily human) Baltar, but had to shift plans when Boomer became pregnant first.

===Inside Baltar's Head===

Baltar's brain scan in "[[Home, Part II]]" confirms that the virtual Six that only Baltar can see is '''not''' an actual ''artificial'' device in his brain. This leaves a number of possibilities, of which the strongest are:

# Baltar has a device elsewhere in his body. We're not given information on whether ''all'' of Baltar's body was scanned, or just his head.
# A portion of Baltar's body ''is'' the "chip" but fashioned in a way by the Cylons that is medically indistinguishable from a regular body part and may also function normally (say, a pituitary gland)
# Baltar's body is artificial, with his personality (complete with neuroses) placed in a Humano-Cylon construct. While Baltar's psyche itself may not be that of a Cylon, the addition of the virtual Six component compliments the arrangement for the Cylon's purposes.

Possibility #3 is interesting in that, based on Baltar's own research on the Six copy known as [[Number Six#Gina|Gina]], Baltar's personality and guilt would continue to plague him either in Humano-Cylon or human form. But, if Baltar were reconstructed as a Cylon, the virtual Six aids Baltar by being, in effect, the conscience and "guardian angel" she claims to be, keeping his neuroses and guilt over the genocide from driving him completely insane--for now.

==Notes==

#{{note|hcylon}}"Humano-Cylon" is the popular ''Battlestar Wiki'' term for the humanoid Cylons. It is not a [[canon|canonical]] term found in any episode.
#{{note|chip}}The idea that Six is an actual chip in Baltar's head was dismissed by Dr. [[Cottle]]'s image scan of Baltar's head. See [[Gaius Baltar#Speculation: The Real Baltar?|the section on alternate reasons for Six's existence]] for more.
#{{note|killing}}The act of killing Crashdown appears to have led to a dramatic change in Baltar's attitude toward hurting anyone directly. Later, Baltar does not hesitate in his injection of Tyrol with fatal drugs to blackmail Boomer into giving Cylon secrets. Baltar's humanitarian acts to the Six copy known as Gina also suggests Baltar's attitude in the care of Cylons is further changing. More and more, Baltar appears to prefer direct intervention and is less cowardly in his attitude.
#{{note|birthplace}} Baltar's planet of birth and recruitment by the Colonial Defense Ministry to Caprica are according to SkyOne.

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Colonial Defense Force

2005-11-30T09:36:56Z

Lestatdelc:

The '''Colonial Defense Force''', is the miltary forces of the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] which were under the jurisdiction of the [[Colonial Ministry of Defense]]. Its branches so far are known to consists of the [[Colonial Fleet]] and [[Colonial Marine Corps]].

Scott Kelso

2005-11-30T09:36:31Z

Lestatdelc:

Private First Class '''Scott Kelso''' is a [[Colonial Marine Corps|Colonial Marine]] aboard ''[[Galactica]]'' that was involved in the incident on the ''[[Gideon]]'' that resulted in the death of 4 civilians.

When interviewed by [[D'anna Biers]] she questioned his squad's firing on unarmed civilians. Kelso retorted that his squad never trained for crowd control, and that he was under attack and had ten stitches to prove it. However, Private Kelso considered the entire operation a "[[frak]] up" by Col. [[Tigh]] ([[Final Cut]]).

[[Category:A to Z|Kelso, Scott]]
[[Category:Characters|Kelso, Scott]]
[[Category:RDM|Kelso, Scott]]

Joe Palladino

2005-11-30T09:35:46Z

Lestatdelc:

{{Character Data|
|photo=[[Image:Palladino.jpg|200px]]
|age= 20s
|colony= Unknown
|birthname= Joe Palladino
|callsign= Hammerhead
|death=
|parents=
|siblings= younger brother
|children=
|marital status=
|role= Pilot, [[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]''
|rank= Lieutenant
|actor= [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0346885/ Jeremy Guilbaut]
|cylon=
}}

Lieutenant '''Joe Palladino''', callsign "Hammerhead", was a [[Viper]] pilot aboard the [[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]''. He was assigned to lead a detachment of [[Colonial Marine Corps|marines]] to the civilian cargo ship ''[[Gideon]]''. [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Saul Tigh]] ordered him to retrieve desperately needed supplies from the ''Gideon'', which was withholding them from ''Galactica'' in protest of Tigh's declaration of Martial Law.

Due to his inexperience at riot control, he was unable to maintain control of his forces and the irate civilian crowd during the food transfer. When the situation grew violent, one of his marines fired his weapon and other marines under his command began shooting at random into the panicked crowd. Despite repeatedly ordering his marines to cease fire, four civilians were killed during the incident and he was reprimanded by Colonel Tigh for his failure. ("[[Resistance]]")

The killings aboard the ''Gideon'' began to exact a mental toll on Palladino. He began to project the blame for the incident onto Tigh and developed a deep and brooding hatred of the Colonel. When reporter [[D'anna Biers]] began investigating the ''Gideon'' incident, Palladino was forced to relive the nightmare all over again. He eventually snapped and decided to be the one to punish Tigh for incident when no one else would. After a threat, and an attempt to sabotage the Colonel's Raptor, Palladino invaded Tigh's quarters, bound and gagged his wife [[Ellen Tigh|Ellen]] then waited for the Colonel to return. When Tigh returned, Palladino confronted him with a gun and seemed ready to shoot him, however, he lost his nerve and Tigh was able to talk him down. ''Galactica'''s marines then escorted him away in handcuffs while D'anna and her camera crew looked on. Palladino is now in the ''Galactica'' brig, most likely serving a lengthy sentence as a result of his attempt on Colonel Tigh's life. ("[[Final Cut]]")

[[Category: A to Z|Palladino, Joe]] [[Category: Characters|Palladino, Joe]] [[Category: RDM|Palladino, Joe]]

Final Cut

2005-11-30T09:34:52Z

Lestatdelc: /* Summary */

== Overview ==

: ''An investigative journalist for the [[Fleet News Service]] makes a critical documentary on [[Saul Tigh|Colonel Tigh]]'s conduct during a shooting incident reminiscent of the [[Wikipedia:Kent State shootings|"Kent State Massacre"]] in 20th Century Earth history.''

== Summary ==
*Reporter [[D'anna Biers]] is preparing a special report on what she's hyped as the "[[Gideon massacre]]", when she is escorted by [[Colonial Marine Corps|Marines]] to ''[[Colonial One]]''.
*President [[Laura Roslin]] and Commander [[William Adama|Adama]] meet her, and she complains that all of her requests to interview Marines involved with the Gideon incident have been denied. Roslin and Adama tell her that all that is about to change: they want to mend the relationship between the military and the civilian fleet by allowing D'anna to shoot a documentary on life on ''Galactica'', with unrestricted access.
*D'anna and her cameraman [[Bell]] are flown to ''Galactica'' with Adama in [[Racetrack]]'s Raptor. On ''Galactica'', Petty Officer [[Dualla]] is given the task of showing them around, pointing out fairly everyday things like carbon dioxide scrubbers for atmosphere and vegetable refrigeration units--information that D'anna ignores as trivial.
*D'anna starts filming one-on-one interviews with several crewmen. She asks Dualla why she joined the Fleet, and she says her father didn't approve but she wanted to believe in something.
*D'anna and her cameraman are walking through the halls when [[Hot Dog]] and [[Kat]] chase each other out of the showers wearing towels. D'anna follows them into the senior pilot's locker room, where [[Lee Adama]], (who nearly drops his towel accidentally) tells her to respect their privacy and get out. Kat moons the documentary camera, and gets yelled at by her [[CAG]].
*[[Ellen Tigh]] calls Col. [[Saul Tigh]] down to their quarters, where someone has left a threat for Col. Tigh by writing a line of Caprican poetry in red paint on their mirror.
*D'anna then interviews Apollo, and she accuses him of thinking the pilots deserve preferential treatment. He tells her that he does think they deserve such treatment; they risk their lives every day for the fleet, and while they don't need pity, they do deserve respect.
*D'anna interviews Pvt. [[Scott Kelso]], one of the Marines that was on the ''[[Gideon]]''. He insists that he and the other Marines were just doing their jobs, and that the "unarmed civilians" were attacking them, and that he has a scar on this head that required ten stitches to prove it. At the same time, Kelso thinks the whole thing was a "command [[frak]]-up"; that the Marines weren't trained for crowd control, and he isn't surprised that someone wants to kill Col. Tigh.
*D'anna then interviews a disheveled Lt. [[Gaeta]], who is smoking a cigarette while displaying a level of frustration and fatigue that he doesn't normally show.
*On the [[Hangar Deck]], Kat yells at Tyrol when her [[Viper]] malfunctions, although it wasn't the Chief's fault. [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] breaks it up (as D'anna follows her) and Kat storms out.
*D'anna is then allowed into the [[CIC]], where Commander Adama orders Tigh to go to a big meeting of civilian leaders on ''[[Cloud Nine]]'', which Adama thinks will be a good chance for them to vent their frustration instead of seething at Tigh in private. However, as his [[Raptor]] is about to depart, it malfunctions and smokes until a damage control team can put it out. Tigh gets out and Tyrol tells him it looks like someone sabatoged the Raptor with a hammer, and if they had gotten into space the atmosphere inside would have vented, killing him.
*[[Racetrack]] lights a candle for her lost loved ones in the memorial hallway, and is then interviewed by D'anna. She tells D'anna that she assumes that she's already as good as dead going out on missions, and she just hopes she can kill as many Cylons as possible before her day comes.
*D'anna also interviews [[Helo]], who says that in combat you're supposed to turn off the human part of you because it will get you killed, but that nothing is that easy to do.
*Helo then visits [[Sharon Valerii|Caprica-Valerii]] in the [[brig]], where she in unresponsive in her bed until pulling a blood-stained hand from under her sheets and sobbing. Helo calls for Doctor [[Cottle]] to come right away.
*[[Kat]] gives an interview to D'anna in which which is emotionally unrestrained. She then freaks out while attempting to land her Viper, and despite Capt. [[Kelly]] and Thrace trying to talk her down, she misses three passes, then on the final try crashes her Viper into the [[Landing bay]]. D'anna follows Starbuck and Apollo to the flight deck. Getting out of her Viper, Kat is incomprehensible and disoriented. Starbuck reaches into her sleeve pocket and finds [[Stims]]: Kat had been taking them by the fistful to stay alert, and now she has overdosed. Kat is forcibly strapped down to a gurney while kicking and screaming and taken to [[Sickbay]].
*D'anna follows Kat to Sickbay, where she accidentally goes behind a curtain and sees Doctor Cottle arguing with the terrified Sharon Valerii; Cottle is trying to save her baby before Valerii has a miscarriage. D'anna is then shoved away, but not before catching this second Valerii on film.
*Later, Commander Adama arrives in Sickbay and demands that D'anna hand over the tape. D'anna notes that the woman she saw looked exactly like the deceased [[Sharon Valerii|Galactica-Boomer]], and that news that ''Galactica'' is harboring a Cylon aboard could turn the Fleet against him. Adama counters that, after the ''Gideon'' incident, this new revelation could devastate morale in the [[Fleet]], and whether that even matters to D'anna. Reluctantly, D'anna gives him the tape and he leaves. When Adama is out of sight, D'anna pulls the ''real'' tape out of her shirt.
*Baltar begins a less than great interview with D'anna but is interupted when an [[Action Stations|action stations alarm]] goes off. Two Raiders are on a collision course with ''Galactica''. D'anna heads to the CIC to film there while her cameraman covers the flight deck. We only see the fight from the perspective of those on the ship listening over the radio; the Raiders are destroyed.
*Tigh returns to his quarters to find Ellen tied up. It turns out that his would-be murder is [[Joe Palladino]], who is upset that Tigh's orders resulted in innocent people being killed by men under Palladino's command. He pulls a gun on Tigh, but Tigh presses the gun to his forehead and talks Palladino down, and Marines take him away.
*D'anna is reviews the footage, and recognizes the book "Katara" being read by one of the flight crew.
*Back on ''Colonial One'', Roslin, Adama, and Tigh review D'anna's finished documentary. Adama decides that he likes the accurate portrayal that she did, and lets them broadcast it across the entire fleet.
*In the documentary, D'anna does an ending voiceover where as the music swells in the backround she explains that the story of ''Galactica'' is that they'll never give up. We see people watching it on monitor screens throughout the Fleet.....
*We see the humanoid Cylons watching the documentary as well in an abandoned movie theater on Cylon-occupied [[Caprica]]. A copy of [[Number Six]] is impressed at the resilience of the humans, and asks about the fate of Caprica-Valerii's baby. A second, Caprica-based copy of D'anna Biers then turns around (D'anna is now revealed to have been a [[Humano-Cylon]] the whole time), and tells her that both Caprica-Valerii and her baby survived her near-miscarriage. [[Aaron Doral]] says that the baby must be protected at all costs, and they must proceed with caution.

== Questions ==
*The Cylons deployed two [[Raider]]s to ''Galactica'' to transmit D'anna's video documentary back to Caprica. Does this mean the Cylons know ''exactly'' where the [[Fleet]] is, and have simply chosen ''not'' to intercept it? Is keeping the Fleet alive part of their "Plan"?
** Possibly, in the "de-briefing" towards the end of the episode, Caprica-D'anna meant the two Raiders transmitted the footage she cut from the documentary (showing Helo's Boomer in the Sickbay). It is likely they meant that they picked up the whole "show" from fleet transmissions and the snippet from the two Raiders.
**Or, are the Cylons ''now'' refraining from sending in a full [[Basestar]] and Raider wing to attack ''Galactica'' because they are worried that a direct attack on ''Galactica'' will result in the death of Caprica-Valerii and her hybrid daughter? That is, they would have attacked it if this Valerii wasn't on board, but was sending two Raiders in now simply a reconaissance mission? The Cylons did say that they want to proceed cautiously.
**Then again, the two Raiders didn't jump in to the Fleet's vicinity, they flew in normally. Perhaps the Cylons actually ''don't'' know exactly where the Fleet is, and these Raiders may have been searching for days to find them. Seeing as the Cylons on Caprica weren't aware that the Caprica-Valerii was still alive, perhaps they also trully aren't aware of the Fleet's location, and other Cylons in the Fleet cannot transmit messages back to Caprica because they are out of range (though a nearby Cylon ship might be close enough). (''[[Pegasus (episode)|Answer]]'')
**In light of all this, have the Cylons''not'' been using their entire strength against the Colonials in combat? Have they, in effect, been "toying" with them? This could explain the relative lop-sidedness of the Colonials' military victories since the initial destruction of the Colonies.
*Did Biers discovery of pregnant Caprica-Valerii on ''Galactica'' alter her intended goal with the documentary?
**Would the documentary have presented ''Galactica'' and her crew in a more negative light and thus perform a journalistic hatchet job on how the rest of the fleet perceived Adama and the military?
**Would Adama and Roslin still have allowed the documentary to be broadcast if it had been 'negative?'

== Analysis ==
At the end of the episode, D'anna says that the Cylons "lost two Raiders relaying the images back to ''the Fleet''" from ''Galactica''. She didn't say "from ''Galactica'' back to ''Caprica''". Does this imply that there is a main Cylon fleet following ''Galactica''? (That is, as oppposed to many Basestars spread out across a large region of space in a search pattern). (''[[Pegasus (episode)|Answer]]'').

== Notes ==
*Population count is now 47,853, a loss of two since [[Home, Part II]], to account for the two [[Tom Zarek]] henchmen killed in that episode.
*Onboard ''[[Colonial One]]'', Roslin is no longer surrounded by her [[Presidential Security Service]] agents, but rather by ''Galactica'' Marines - Adama's insurance against any more misbehavior, perhaps?
**Perhaps they were only there to escort Commander Adama while he was off of ''Galactica''.
*D'anna Biers makes the same comment about Baltar that Roslin made in ''[[33]]''.
*We finally learn [[Dualla]]'s first name as she is interviewed by [[D'anna Biers]]: ''Anastasia''.
*Gaeta's first name is revealed as ''[[Felix Gaeta|Felix]]''. He also showed a wild side in the form of a tattoo on his chest he got when he was drunk. He's also taken up smoking. Perhaps this isn't so much a sign of a previously unrevealed wild side, but a sign that Gaeta's composure is starting to get frayed from constant stress. ''(This is confirmed in the following episode, "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]".)''
*The [[ECO]] known as [[Racetrack]] has a full name: ''[[Margaret Edmonson]]''.
*The music aired at the end of the documentary is the Colonial Fanfare last heard in the [[Mini Series]]: the theme from the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|original "Battlestar Galactica" TV series]]. In the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|re-imagined Battlestar Galactica]], it is apparently the "national anthem" of the Twelve Colonies.
*Adama uses the phrase "warts and all." This was invented by 17th-Century English dictator ("Lord Protector") [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell Oliver Cromwell].
*Timeline-wise, Col. Tigh says there's been no Cylon contacts for 10 days. Col. Tigh was in command of ''Galactica'' for "over a week" (from "[[Scattered]]" to "[[Resistance]]").
*Colonial video feeds are octagonal, but video screens are (oddly) rectangular.
*Capt. [[Kelly]] appears fulfilling his duties as Landing Signal Officer by coordinating Viper landings. This scene further explains the "where was Kelly between the Mini-Series and Season 2" question: Kelly doesn't work in the [[CIC]], but in the port [[Flight pod|flight pod]] itself.
*Roslin and Adama have not only buried the hatchet by this episode, but are working jointly and appear to have developed a comeraderie.
*This episode contains the first scene on ''Colonial One'' since "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]".
*Cultural/Linguistic oddity: Apollo refers to Kat and Hot Dog as "tweedledum and tweedledee", a reference to [[Wikipedia:Lewis Carroll|Lewis Carroll]].

== Noteworthy Dialogue ==
** ''After meeting Dr. Gaius Baltar for the first time:''
*:D'anna Biers: What a strange little man.

** ''D'anna Biers is filming an interview with Apollo:''
*:D'anna Biers: You seem to think that your pilots deserve special consideration.
*:Apollo: Actually, I do. Like everyone else, my pilots have lost their families, their friends, everyone they ever cared about; but on top of that they're asked to put their lives on the line every single day, for a fleet that seems more interested in what they do wrong than in what they do right. They're not asking for your pity, but they damn well deserve your respect.

** ''D'anna Biers is interviewing Racetrack:''
*:D'anna Biers: Are you afraid when you go into combat?
*:Racetrack: First thing they tell you is to assume you're already dead.
*:D'anna Biers: Well that sounds ghoulish.
*:Racetrack: Yeah, maybe. But dead men don't get scared and freeze up under fire. Me, I'm just worried that hell's gonna be a lonely place, and I'm gonna fill it up with every Toaster son of a bitch I find.

** ''D'anna Biers is interviewing Lt. Gaeta. Gaeta is slightly disheveled, and is smoking a cigarette:''
*:D'anna Biers: Does that help you cope with the stress?
*:Lt. Felix Gaeta: Not really. Look, um, all that I ever wanted was to be an officer on a Battlestar, okay? I trained my whole life, I trained harder than anyone in my unit. Basically, I put my life on hold until I was assigned to ''Galactica''. Then the Cylons hit and I realized that this is all that I know: tech manuals, commands, and tactics, you know? I'm not saying that I'm unhappy...I'm just wondering if there's something more.
*:D'anna Biers: And what have you discovered?
*:Lt. Felix Gaeta: ...[takes a long drag, coughs]...I hate cigarettes. Ambrosia's good with a chaser. And, if you have enough Ambrosia...[Gaeta pulls back his shirt to reveal an ugly tatoo of a tiger on his upper right chest]...it don't hurt that much.

** ''The closing voice-over narration to D'anna Biers' documentary on the Battlestar Galactica, which runs over a montage of images from the ship. The Colonial Anthem tinkles in the backround and gradually builds to up to a grand swell:''
*:D'anna Biers: I came to ''Galactica'' to tell a story. In all honesty I thought I knew what that story was before I ever set foot there: how an arrogant military let their egos get in the way of doing their jobs, safeguarding the lives of the civilian population. But I found out that the truth was more complex than that. These people aren't Cylons. They're not robots blindly following orders and polishing their boots. They're people. Deeply flawed, yes, but deeply human too, and maybe that's saying the same thing. What struck me most is that despite it all - the hardships, the stress, the ever present danger of being killed - despite all that, they never give up. They never lie down in the road and let the truck run them over. They wake up in the morning, put on their uniforms and do their jobs. Every day. No pay, no rest, no hope of ever laying down the burden or letting someone else do the job. There are no relief troops coming, no Colonial Fleet training new recruits every day. The people on ''Galactica'' are ''it''. They are the thin line of blue that separates us from the Cylons. Lt. Gaeta told me a remarkable statistic; not a single member of Galactica's crew has asked to resign, not one. Think about that. If you wore the uniform wouldn't you want to quit? To step aside and say "enough! Let someone else protect the fleet"? I know I would. But then, I don't wear a uniform. Most of us don't, most of us never will. The story of ''Galactica'' isn't that people make bad decisions under pressure, it's that those mistakes are the exception. Most of the time the men and women serving under Commander Adama get it right. The proof is that our fleet ''survives''. And with ''Galactica'' at our side, we ''will'' endure. This is D'anna Biers, Fleet News Service.

** ''The camera pulls back to show a movie theater on Cylon-occupied [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]], where the humanoid Cylons are watching a copy of the documentary, as D'anna Biers' ending narration finishes:''
*:Aaron Doral: That was shown across their entire fleet.
*:Number Six: Their resilience is remarkable.
*:Sharon Valerii: Play the footage that was cut. [camera footage plays of Helo's Sharon in Galactica's Sickbay]
*:Sharon Valerii: I'm still alive?! She's still alive! I told you.
*:Number Six: That's incredible. And the baby?
*:D'anna Biers: [speaking without her usual New Zealand accent, but with a general American accent] It was saved. We lost two Raiders relaying the images back to the Fleet, but I think the sacrifice was worth it.
*:Aaron Doral: We must proceed with caution. The child's life must be protected at all costs.
*:D'anna Biers: Yeah. Truly is a miracle of God.

== Official Statements ==

== Statistics ==

=== Guest Stars ===
*[http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0722413/ Donnely Rhodes] as [[Cottle]]
*[[Lucy Lawless]] as [[D'anna Biers]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/name/nm1382781/ Luciana Carro] as [[Kat]]
*[http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?+Leah+Cairns Leah Cairns] as [[Racetrack]]
*[[IMDB-person:Ty Olsson|Ty Olsson]] as Capt. [[Kelly]]
*[[Matthew Bennett]] as [[Aaron Doral]]
*[[Kate Vernon]] as [[Ellen Tigh]]

=== Writing & Direction ===

*Written by
*Story by
*Teleplay by
*Directed by

=== Production Notes ===

*Series 2 (2005/2006)
*Production Number: 2.8
*Airdate Order: 8 (of 20)

=== First Run Air Dates & Releases ===

*UK Airdate: 2005
*US Airdate: September 9th, 2005
*: Note: Original airdate was to be September 2nd, 2005. However, SciFi ran a Stargate SG-1 Viewers Choice Marathon for the [[Wikipedia:Labor Day|Labor Day]] Weekend.
*DVD Release:
*[[Wikipedia:Nielsen Rating|Nielsen Rating]]: 1.9 household rating

{{Episode List}}

[[Category: Episode Guide (RDM)]]
[[Category: A to Z]]

Hadrian

2005-11-30T09:33:58Z

Lestatdelc:

{{Character Data|
|photo=[[image:Litmus-Hadrian.jpg|200px]]
|age=Mid-30s (?)
|colony=Unknown
|birthname=Joyce* Hadrian
|callsign=
|death=
|parents= Unknown
|siblings=Unknown
|children=
|marital status= Unknown
|role=[[Master-at-Arms]], [[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'', formerly part of the 75th Battlestar Group
|rank= Sergeant
|actor=[[Teed, Jill|Jill Teed]]
|cylon=
}}
'''Sergeant Hadrian''' is the Master-at-Arms on battlestar ''Galactica'', and one of its few remaining [[Colonial Marine Corps|Marines]]. She is responsible for the internal security of the ship ([[Litmus]]).

As such, Commander [[Adama, William|Adama]] places her in command of investigating Cylon sabotage ([[Water]]). Apparently in this duty, she investigated the flight deck accident that resulted in the death of thirteen Viper pilots ([[Act of Contrition]]). After the suicide attack of [[Aaron Doral]], [[Commander Adama]] places her in command of an independent tribunal to attempt to locate Cylon saboteurs aboard ''Galactica''.

After refusing to defer to Adama's authority, and accusing Adama of being involved, he forcefully disbands the tribunal, and confines Hadrian to her quarters ([[Litmus]]). Col. Tigh mentioned that Sgt. Hadrian was leading one of the squads of Marines repelling a Cylon boarding party that invaded ''Galactica'' shortly after they reunited with the fleet ([[Valley of Darkness]]).

==Notes==
* It has been hinted by sources close to the production that Hadrian's first name is "Joyce". However, this has yet to be confirmed directly by production staff, or through a further appearance by the character on-screen.

* Hadrian was the name of a Roman Emperor who was characterized by his efforts to stabilize and strengthen the Roman frontier, building suitable defenses and abandoning provinces that were too costly to guard. Sergeant Hadrian plays a similar role: she tirelessly works to defend the ''Galactica'' against its enemies (although she focuses on internal enemies, whereas the emperor focused on external ones). In keeping with the show's basis in Greek mythology, Hadrian was a noted Hellenophile, and did much to enrich Greek culture in the Empire during his reign. ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian Wikipedia: Emperor Hadrian])

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Brig

2005-11-30T09:33:12Z

Lestatdelc:

'''Meaning:''' Prison; detention center.

Brig is a US military term with one of two uses:

# A jail or prison on board a U.S. Navy or Coast Guard vessel.
# A jail or guardhouse, especially on the premises of a U.S. military installation.

''[[Galactica]]'' seems to have originally possessed two brigs. One has at least two small cells with bunks. The other brig has one larger cell with no commodities for high-security prisoners. In the episodes in which the brigs have made appearances, there is usually a [[Colonial Marine Corps|Marine guard]] standing watch inside the room. In the high-security brig, there are usually around four.

After [[Sharon Valerii|''Galactica''-Boomer]] was revealed as a Cylon, Colonel Tigh ordered a third custom-made super-reinforced brig constructed. It was built for the specific purpose of containing captured [[Humano-Cylon]]s, who possess strength far greater than a human's, for an extended period ([[Resistance]]). The new brig was constructed with maximum security in mind; instead of having simple bars, its walls consist of metal grid screens welded tightly together, reinforced by plexiglass (a telephone is used to communicate between the inside and outside of the cell). After being brought to ''Galactica'', Caparica-Boomer was detained within the new Cylon-brig cell. [[Number Six]] claims that Sharon's hybrid daughter will be born in this cell ([[Home, Part II]]).

Notable chracters who have spent time in the brig are:
== Season 1 ==
*[[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] -- striking a superior officer in the [[Mini-series]]
*[[Doral|Aaron Doral]] -- under suspiscion for being a Cylon agent in the [[Mini-series]]
*[[Socinus|Specialist Socinus]] -- lying under oath and leaving a post in [[Litmus]] and is released in [[List of Deleted Scenes (RDM)|a deleted scene]] in [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]
*[[Gaius Baltar]] -- act of treason, allegedly collaborating with the [[Cylons]] in [[Six Degrees of Separation]]
*[[Roslin|President Laura Roslin]] -- consequence of a successful coup d'etat led by [[William Adama|Commander Adama]] in [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]

== Season 2 ==
*[[Sharon Valerii|''Galactica''-Boomer]] -- shooting a superior officer in [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]] and appearing in [[Scattered]]
*[[Lee Adama|Apollo]] -- mutiny in [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]] and appearing in [[Scattered]]. He is able to be let out of the brig when on duty.
*[[Galen Tyrol|Chief Tyrol]] -- under suspicion of conspiring with ''Galactica''-Boomer, in [[Resistance]]
*[[Cally]] -- for "discharging a firearm without permission" (killing ''Galactica''-Boomer in a crowded hallway) in [[Resistance]] and appearing in [[The Farm]]
*[[Sharon Valerii|Caprica-Boomer]] -- Permantly detained (for being a Cylon) in the new custom-built Cylon holding cell in [[Home, Part II]].
*[[Joe Palladino|Joe "Hammerhead" Palladino]] -- Attempted murder of a superior officer ("[[Final Cut]]")

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Terminology]]
[[Category:Galactica Areas]]

Karl Agathon

2005-11-30T09:32:40Z

Lestatdelc: /* Home on ''Galactica'' */

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:Bsg-helo-1.jpg|200px]]
|age= Late 20s
|colony= Unspecified
|birthname= Karl C. Agathon
|callsign= Helo
|death=
|parents= Unknown
|siblings= Unknown
|children= 1 (Human-Cylon hybrid)
|marital status= Single
|role= [[Raptor]] [[ECO]], Raptor 478, assigned to [[Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'' (previously)
|rank= Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
|actor= [[Tahmoh Penikett]]
|cylon=
}}

'''Lt. Karl C. "Helo" Agathon''' was the [[ECO]] aboard [[Raptor 478]], piloted by Lt. [[Sharon Valerii|Sharon "Boomer" Valerii]]. He is in his mid-twenties, loyal, capable, resourceful and attracted to Valerii.

== Biography ==

At the time of the [[Cylon Attack]] Lt. Karl Agathon, serial number PK-789-934, was on patrol in Valerii's Raptor flying with [[battlestar]] ''Galactica's'' last fully-operational [[Viper]] squadron, and witnessed the destruction of the squadron by [[Cylon]] [[Raider]]s, after the latter had used the Command Navigation Program ([[CNP]]) to disable the Vipers.

Following the attack, Agathon and Valerii attempted to return to ''Galactica'', avoiding Cylon patrols, but were unsuccessful: their Raptor was damaged in a Cylon missile strike, and Helo received a wound in his leg. As a result of the damage received, the Raptor was forced down on Caprica, where Valerii made emergency repairs, and the ship was mobbed by civilians desperate to get off the planet.

With limited space for survivors aboard the Raptor, Agathon volunteered his seat to Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] and remained on [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]] in the hope that Baltar would be of benefit to the Colonials in their renewed fight against the Cylons. Both Helo and Boomer felt that there was no chance that he could survive the Cylon nuclear attack on Caprica, but he selflessly chose to stay behind anyway, giving up his own life so Baltar could get to the Fleet.

===Marooned===

After Boomer's departure, Helo apparently separated from the surviving refugees and fled from the Cylon ground forces. After six days on Caprica, surviving on anti-radiation medications from his survival pack, he was captured after noticing a version of the Cylon called [[Number Six]].

He was then "rescued" by a copy of Sharon Valerii/Boomer, as part of an elaborate (if potentially hastily-conceived) plan / experiment designed to make this second Valerii the object of Agathon's affections. Several situations are engineered to make this happen:

*A "honey trap" offering reasonably-secure accommodation (a "fall-out shelter") together with sufficient supplies for two people beneath a restaurant ([[Act of Contrition]])
*Engineering Valerii's capture to test Helo's loyalty towards her ([[You Can't Go Home Again]] / [[Litmus]])
*Establishing a further (long-term) "honey trap" for Helo and Valerii in the wilderness of Caprica.

However, the Cylon plan goes awry when Valerii appears to fall in love with Agathon, and she forces them both on the run once more, this time genuinely seeking to escape from Caprica via the military base at [[Delphi]], now under Cylon control.

During their attempts to reach Delphi, Agathon witnesses a troop of Cylon [[Centurion]]s being lead by Number Six - the woman he thought he had killed when Valerii rescued him. This draws him to the conclusion that the Cylons are using human clones they have created ([[Colonial Day]]). Once at Delphi, Agathon receives another shock: not only are further versions of Six on-hand - he also comes face-to-face with another Valerii, thus revealing the truth about "Boomer" to him. Believing he has been lured into a trap, Agathon goes on the run, leaving Valerii at the base.

Valerii later caught up with Helo, and while he shoots her in the arm, he does not kill her as she might be of use to him in escaping the planet. Caprica-Valerii then informed Helo that she was pregnant with his child, and that they should go to the Delphi museum. There, Agathon was reunited with [[Kara Thrace|Kara "Starbuck" Thrace]] (who just arrived from ''[[Galactica]]'' using a stolen [[Cylon Raider]]) immediately after she had killed a copy of Number Six and retrieved the [[Arrow of Apollo]]. Thrace tried to kill "Sharon the Cylon" but Agathon stopped her because she was pregnant with his child ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]], [[Scattered]]).
[[image:Valley_of_Darkness-Starbuck_Helo.jpg|thumb|left|300px|[[Karl C. Agathon|Helo]] and [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] in her apartment in [[Delphi]], [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]] in [[Valley of Darkness]]. ((c) Sci-Fi Channel)]]
Valerii then ran away out of fear of Thrace, taking her Cylon Raider. Fearing that [[Number Six]] would finish transferring her consciousness to a new body, and thus be able to warn the Cylons about the humans' presence in Delphi, Agathon and Thrace made their way to Thrace's old apartment ([[Scattered]], [[Valley of Darkness]]). Later, Thrace and Agathon joined up with the [[resistance (movement)|human resistance]] on Caprica ([[Resistance]]).

===The Resistance and Escape from Caprica===

Agathon, [[Anders]] and others would later rescue Thrace from the Cylons' "hospital". Valerii returns to aid Helo in locating the missing Thrace, and later saves the day by gunning down several Centurions in a stolen [[Heavy Raider]]. Helo, Thrace, and Valerii leave Caprica en route to the fleet ([[The Farm]]). The group land on the ''[[Astral Queen]]'', which has broken off from the rest of the fleet ([[Home, Part I]]). When [[Lee Adama]] grabs the new copy of Valerii and threatens to shoot her, Helo raises his gun at Lee's head in response. They are calmed by Roslin, who then orders Valerii out of an airlock. Valerii convinces Roslin of her usefulness before this happens, and later accompanies Helo and others to Kobol to find the Tomb of Athena ("[[Home, Part I]]"). On the way to the tomb of Athena, [[Lee Adama|Apollo]] remarks to Starbuck that he is disquieted that Helo and this Valerii copy love each other, and Helo admits to Valerii that he now loves and trusts her. When they finally reached the tomb Commander Adama ordered Helo to stay outside with Valerii and Tom Zarek while Chief Tyrol guarded all of them. Afterwards the group headed back to the Fleet.

===Home on ''Galactica''===

Subsequently, Helo finally returned to ''Galactica'', months after being declared KIA on Caprica ("[[Home, Part II]]"). Helo's welcome wasn't a generally warm one; many others in the crew find his romance with the Caprica Valerii disquieting or disgusting. A few crew warmed up to Helo after his suggestion of using carbon composites on the new fighter, the [[Blackbird]], turned the pet project into a significant stealth technology ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]).

Chief Tyrol was still nursing the loss of Boomer, and now was dealing the return of another Valerii, her "memories" of him, and the fact that Helo was romantically involved with her. The friction between the two became too much and a fight ensued before both realized that doing so would gain them little. The two tacitly appeared to accept the awkward situation for what it was.

When Helo and Tyrol learned of the sexual assaults to a captured Cylon on battlestar ''[[Pegasus]]'', Helo and Tyrol was shocked to learn that the "Cylon interrogator", Lieutenant [[Thorne]], would be "interrogating" the incarcerated Valerii that day. Helo was prepared to fight the drunken ''Pegasus'' crewmembers for essentially being disrespectful, but Tyrol convinced him to head to the brig to aid Valerii instead. While successful in stopping the assault, the two were arrested and taken to ''Pegasus'' when Thorne was accidentally killed. Admiral [[Helena Cain]] conducted what amounted to a kangaroo courts-martial on the two ''Galactica'' crewmembers, finding them guilty and slating them for execution. When Commander Adama hears of this abrupt treatment, he launches a Raptor with [[Colonial Marine Corps|Marine]] units as well as his Viper squadrons to get Helo and Tyrol back. A standoff ensues, with not only Helo's life in the balance, but thousands of others in the Fleet ([[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]).

== Notes ==

=== Name ===

The new [[reimagined|Battlestar Galactica]] plays heavily on [[Greek mythology]] / history (the [[Wikipedia:Twelve Olympians|Olympian Gods]], use of names such as [[Delphi]], etc.). Therefore it might be interesting to note that "Agathon" may be derived from ''[[Wikipedia:Agathodaemon|Agathos Daemon]]'' - meaning good spirit, one of the group of spirits (daemons) that lie between the gods and mortals. Also, the name Helo bears some similarity to Helios/Helius, the greek god of the sun. Helo is also slang for helicopter, and the Raptor craft Helo and Boomer fly is fashioned after a US Army helicopter.

=== Character ===

Helo's full name (or even his fate) wasn't revealed until "[[33]]". He was initially intended as an expendable character; originally he was supposed to have actually died when the Raptor had to leave him behind on Caprica. Penikett's performance in the [[Mini-Series|mini-series]] convinced [[TPTB]] otherwise. Curiously, Helo's [[Crashdown|second]] replacement on "Boomer" Valerii's Raptor, [[Racetrack]], was also intended as a one-shot character, but was retained by TPTB for similar reasons as Penikett's character and his performance.

[[Category:A to Z|Agathon]]
[[Category:Characters|Agathon]]
[[Category:RDM|Agathon]]

Marines

2005-11-30T09:30:41Z

Lestatdelc: Marines moved to Colonial Marine Corps: Moved article to its full name entry

#redirect [[Colonial Marine Corps]]

Colonial Marine Corps

2005-11-30T09:30:41Z

Lestatdelc: Marines moved to Colonial Marine Corps

The '''Colonial Marine Corps''' are a miltary branch in [[Colonial Defense Force]] and its members are the ship-based soldiers of the [[Colonial Fleet]]. [[Battlestar (RDM)|Battlestar]] ''[[Galactica]]'' has about thirty of them left, although there are no snipers among them ([[Bastille Day]]). Marines' duty include guarding the [[CIC]] and [[Brig]] ([[Mini-Series]]) and assisting the [[Master-at-Arms]] ([[Litmus]]). They have several times been used, on [[Raptors]], for spaceborne assaults ([[Bastille Day]], [[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]], [[Resistance]]).

Sergeant [[Hadrian]] is a Marine, but no officers (if there were any) appear to be stationed on the ''Galactica''; when they are shown on missions, Fleet officers are commanding them.

==Known Marines==
*Sergeant Hadrian
*Corporal [[Venner]]
*Private [[Scott Kelso|Kelso]]

==Notes==

Their battle [[Uniform |uniforms]] appear to be based on those of the U.S. Army's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Force Delta Force] or the counter-terrorist branch of the British Army's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Air_Service Special Air Service Regiment]. Besides their black combat uniforms, the weapons and personal combat equipment of the Marines are similar to what police SWAT teams and anti-terrorist, special forces units utilise. We are yet to see the Marines in camouflage combat uniforms and armed with standard infantry weapons.

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

Colonial Ministry of Defense

2005-11-30T09:26:14Z

Lestatdelc: fixed typo in link

The '''Colonial Ministry of Defense''' was the branch of the [[Government|Colonial Government]] whose function was to research improvments in technology that can more effectively defend the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] from the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylon]] threat if they ever decide to return.

Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] was a consultant for the Ministry and worked on the development of [[Command Navigation Program]] which became an integral part of much of the [[Colonial Defense Force]]'s systems. [[Number Six]] probably also worked at the Ministry as when she fixed his algorithm for him, she put backdoors into the program and also accessed the [[Colonial Defense Mainframe]] located in their main building.

[[Amorak|Dr. Amorak]] also worked at the Ministry, and when Number Six appeared on the [[Galactica]] under the alias of Shelly Godfrey, she pretended to be a systems analyst at the Ministry and the lover of Dr. Amorak.

[[Category:A to Z]][[Category:RDM]][[Category:Colonial Government]]

Colonial Ministry of Defense

2005-11-30T09:23:55Z

Lestatdelc:

The '''Colonial Ministry of Defense''' was the branch of the [[Government|Colonial Government]] whose function was to research improvments in technology that can more effectively defend the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM|Twelve Colonies]] from the [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylon]] threat if they ever decide to return.

Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] was a consultant for the Ministry and worked on the development of [[Command Navigation Program]] which became an integral part of much of the [[Colonial Defense Force]]'s systems. [[Number Six]] probably also worked at the Ministry as when she fixed his algorithm for him, she put backdoors into the program and also accessed the [[Colonial Defense Mainframe]] located in their main building.

[[Amorak|Dr. Amorak]] also worked at the Ministry, and when Number Six appeared on the [[Galactica]] under the alias of Shelly Godfrey, she pretended to be a systems analyst at the Ministry and the lover of Dr. Amorak.

[[Category:A to Z]][[Category:RDM]][[Category:Colonial Government]]

Ministry of Defense

2005-11-30T09:16:28Z

Lestatdelc:

#REDIRECT [[Colonial Ministry of Defense]]

Defence Ministry

2005-11-30T09:15:43Z

Lestatdelc: Defence Ministry moved to Colonial Ministry of Defense: Moved article to full name tile entry.

#redirect [[Colonial Ministry of Defense]]

Colonial Ministry of Defense

2005-11-30T09:15:43Z

Lestatdelc: Defence Ministry moved to Colonial Ministry of Defense

The Defence Ministry's job was to continue researching better and better technology that can effectively defend the [[The Twelve Colonies|Twelve Colonies]] from the [[Cylon]] threat if they ever decide to return.

Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]] was a consultant for the Ministry and worked on the [[Command Navigation Program]]. [[Number Six]] probably also worked at the Ministry as when she fixed his algorithm for him, she put backdoors into the program and also accessed the [[Colonial Defense Mainframe]] located in their main building.

[[Amorak|Dr. Amorak]] also worked at the Ministry, and when Number Six appeared on the [[Galactica]] under the alias of Shelly Godfrey, she pretended to be a systems analyst at the Ministry and the lover of Dr. Amorak.

[[Category:A to Z]][[Category:RDM]][[Category:Colonial Government]]

Gaius Baltar

2005-11-30T09:08:41Z

Lestatdelc: Added some links within the text, and reworked the intro to be more encyclopedic and complete.

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:Bsg-baltar-1.jpg|200px]]
|age= mid-30s (approximated)
|colony= [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]]
|birthname= Gaius Baltar
|callsign=
|death=
|parents= Unknown
|siblings= None
|children=
|marital status= Single
|role= Interim Vice President, [[Twelve Colonies|The Twelve Colonies of Kobol]])
|rank=
|actor= [[Callis, James|James Callis]]
|cylon=
}}

== Biography ==

=== Background ===

Dr. '''Gaius Baltar''' is the current [[Vice-President]] in the Colonial Government, and science-advisor to to the President. He was formerly a lead defense systems developer working for the [[Colonial Ministry of Defense]] and is widely consider a genius. Baltar came to prominence as a computer technology designer having won three [[Magnate Prize]]s. Baltar was born on [[Sagittaron]] and attracted to [[Caprica]] by the Defense Ministry{{ref|birthplace}}. and there became responsible for the design of the critical [[Command Navigation Program]] (CNP) used throughout most of the [[Colonial Fleet]].

Elegantly dressed and aesthetically handsome, with the affected humility of the truly arrogant, he is nonetheless a deeply flawed person and narcissist. Beneath his outstanding abilities lurks a pathological weakness of character. Self-absorbed, sly, guileful, and utterly dedicated to his own self-preservation, Baltar has carried on a two-year affair with a woman he believed to be a corporate spy -- even to the extent of using code she herself wrote to overcome shortfalls in his CNP -- and thus allowed her unrestricted access to some of the most sensitive systems of the Colonial defenses.

=== [[Cylon Attack]] ===
[[image:Mini-Baltar_Six.jpg|thumb|left|300px|[[Gaius Baltar]] and [[Number Six]] kissing in the [[Mini-Series]]. (C. SciFi Channel)]]
When the Cylons launched their attack, Baltar became horrified to learn that his "corporate spy" lover is in fact a new type of Cylon -- a [[Humano-Cylon]]{{ref|hcylon}}, able to mimic human beings down to the smallest detail -- and that she has in fact used his CNP as a gateway to make all integrated Colonial computers and defence systems vulnerable to a Cylon virus that subverts their command and control systems.

Appalled by the fact that his sexual folly has led to the virtual holocaust of humanity, Baltar is nevetheless determined not only to survive, but also avoid having, what amounts to, his treachery revealed.

Rescued on Caprica following the forced-landing of a Colonial [[Raptor]] -- at the cost of [[Helo|one of the crew staying behind]] ([[Mini-Series]]) -- he is pleased to find himself treated with the same esteem he enjoyed back on Caprica. His only problem is that [[Number Six]], his former "lover" -- herself destroyed in the shockwave of a nuclear blast -- now appears to him in visions, and he cannot be sure whether this is a result of his own guilt at his actions or whether -- as she initially claims -- she is part of a chip that has been implanted in his brain{{ref|chip}}.

Shortly after his arrival on the ''Galactica'', the fact that Cylons can look like humans becomes known to Commander [[Adama, William|William Adama]], and Batlar is put to work trying to devise a means of detecting humanoid Cylons. At the prompting of [[Number Six]], he exposes [[Doral, Aaron|Aaron Doral]] -- a PR executive who has been co-ordinating the media coverage of the ''Galactica's'' decommissioning -- as a Cylon agent ([[Mini-Series]]), using little more than invented technobabble to convince [[Colonel Tigh]]. As a result of this, and despite his protestations of innocence, Doral is marooned at [[Ragnar Anchorage]].

Due to his unique abilities, Baltar is charged with turning his initial "[[Cylon detector]]" into a working machine capable of screening everyone in the fleet. While he at first balks at this, events such as the sabotaging of the ''Galactica's'' water reserves ([[Water]]) force him into a position where he can no longer procrastinate over the detector -- despite his fear that such a device might somehow expose him as the original traitor among humans. Gaining aid from a most unusual source -- his inner Six ([[Bastille Day]]) -- Baltar does eventually develop a genuine detector, which, together with his survival of a foiled attempt to expose him as a traitor ([[Six Degrees of Separation]]), firmly establish his credentials within the fleet's hierarchy.

With this new-found trust, and despite his willingness to deliberately conceal vital information, such as [[Valerii, Sharon#"Boomer" Valerii|Lieutenant Valerii's]] true status as a [[Humano-Cylon]] ([[Flesh and Bone]]), Baltar is willing to enter the realm of political leadership, firstly as the Representative for [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]] on the [[Quorum of Twelve]], and then as the newly-elected Vice President of the fleet ([[Colonial Day]]).

=== Cylon Manipulations ===

The Cylons commenced their direct manipulations of Baltar some two years prior to the attack on the [[Twelve Colonies]], by bringing him into contact with their agent [[Number Six]], who instigated a torrid affair with him while at the same time using him to access vital Colonial command and control systems within the Ministry of Defence ([[Mini-Series]]).

This manipulation continued even after the Doctor left Caprica and Six behind, with Six appearing to him in sensory perceptions, possibly through an implant in his brain ([[Mini-Series]]) or perhaps even through a series of psychotic hallucinations as the Doctor struggles to reconcile his guilt and his desire of self-preservation.

Regardless of the cause of her appearances, Six has continued to both help and hinder Baltar, gradually drawing him to a point of near-open acceptance and participation in Cylon plans and activities ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). The majority of this manipulation has been through religious intrigue, linked to physical threats to Baltar's well-being. These have included:

* Using the threat of Baltar's former colleague, Dr. [[Amorak]], attempting to contact [[Roslin, Laura|President Roslin]] with information on a "traitor" within Colonial circles -- and only "removing" this threat once Baltar has "repented of his sins" ([[33]])
* Using the threat of direct accusation (in the form of "[[Number Six#"Shelly Godfrey"|Shelly Godfry]]") coupled with "photographic evidence" -- and only "removing" this threat once Baltar has "accepted" the Cylon God into his life ([[Six Degrees of Separation]])
[[image:Scattered-Baltar_Six.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Gaius Baltar]] and [[Number Six]] seeing "the shape of things to come" in [[Scattered]]. (C. SciFi Channel)]]
Baltar's near-acquiescence to the [[God|Cylon religion]] comes when he goes through a process similar to the [[wikipedia:Evangelicalism|evangelical Christian]] belief in "rebirth" through adult baptism. In this, the new believer in the Christian faith is baptized (generally through full immersion in water), symbolizing the "death" of the "old" self and "birth" of the "new" Christian self. In "[[The Hand of God]]", Baltar apparently undergoes "death" at the hands of his inner Six when she "breaks" his neck -- and is "reborn" in his real life as the "instrument of God", able to point-out precisely where Colonial forces must strike in order to eliminate the Cylon base preventing them from accessing supplies of [[Tylium|tylium]].

This act leaves Baltar ripe for the final revelation of his role within Cylon expectations, when "the future" is revealed to him by Six on [[Kobol]], in the form of the first of "God's new generation of children" ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). Baltar is not particularly pleased by this, especially when he learns that he is to be the father and that the mother will be Six. ([[Scattered]]). Despite this, when he believes Commander Adama is trying to kill the child, he tries to stop this ([[Valley of Darkness]]).

==Survival on Kobol==
While stranded on Kobol, Baltar awoke in a clearing filled with human bones. Number Six told him they were from human sacrifices, that all of the myths about the Gods and the paradise on Kobol were a lie to hide the true brutality of man. This increased Baltar's cynical opinion of humanity. Number Six also warned that one of the survivors would turn against the others.

The Raptor crash survivors, consisting of Baltar, Chief [[Tyrol]], [[Cally]], [[Seelix]], and ranking crewmember Lt. [[Crashdown]], were faced with Cylon Centurions building a missile battery that would destroy any rescue ships trying to save them. Crashdown, obsessed after the deaths of [[Tarn]] and [[Socinus]], ordered the team to make a suicidal attack on the Cylon position. Baltar had never fired a weapon in his life and felt it could not be done, and due to the fact that he was the only non-military member of the survivors, he insisted that they put it to a vote before Tyrol shouted him down to follow the chain of command.

When they were about to make the attack, Cally froze in terror, unable to create the needed diversion. Crashdown pointed his gun at her head and threatened to kill her if she did not obey the order, and as a result Tyrol leveled his gun at Crashdown. A tense standoff ensued. Just as Crashdown was about to fire, Baltar shot him in the back, killing him instantly{{ref|killing}}. The group successfully carried out the alternate plan of attacking the Cylon's [[DRADIS]] dish, and were saved by the rescue Raptors. Baltar told the [[SAR]] team that Crashdown had died a hero in the fight, and Tyrol reluctantly corroborated his story ([[Fragged]]).

==Return to ''Galactica''==

Back on ''Galactica'', Baltar insisted that if Roslin's presidency was terminated, as Vice President he should then succeed her in command, but Col. Tigh dismissed the notion because he had just instituted martial law. Later, Cally blackmailed Baltar into making it a priority to prove that Chief Tyrol was not a Cylon, as Col. Tigh suspected, or Cally would reveal to all that it was really Baltar that killed Crashdown. Incensed, Baltar went to the [[brig]] to take a blood sample from Tyrol, who was in the same cell as [[Sharon Valerii|Boomer]], but actually injected him with a toxin that would kill him in seconds if he didn't administer the antidote. Baltar coerced the panicked Boomer in telling him how many other humanoid Cylons were hiding in the Fleet, nothing that even if she was programmed to think she was human on a subconscious level she truly ''did'' know the answer as a Cylon. With time running out, she shouted out "Eight!" and Baltar revived Tyrol. Baltar was going to perform a series of experiments on Boomer, but she was then killed by Cally ([[Resistance]]).

Some time later, Baltar yelled at his internal Number Six for her increasingly ridiculous random changes in appearance, and also questioned her actual existence. She responded by simplifying her appearance and attitude and told him that he truly had gone crazy: that there ''was'' no computer chip in his head containing Six, but that she was indeed a hallucination brought on by his guilt-ridden subconscious. Baltar had a brain scan performed in [[sickbay]] by Dr. [[Cottle]] (despite ''interference'' from Six), and confirmed there were no "foreign objects" in his brain. Baltar was ready to believe that he was truly insane, when while observing [[Helo]] and [[Sharon Valerii|Caprica-Sharon]] in the brig, he heard her say that she was pregnant with a Hybrid child. Six had told Baltar earlier that "their child" would be born in that cell, and this led Baltar to realize that Six ''must'' be real because his subconscious coudln't have known that. Number Six then said that she was indeed real and not a hallucination, while at the same time there was no computer ship, but said she's "an angel of God sent here to protect you". Six then told Baltar that by "their" child she is refering to Caprica-Sharon's biological child: Six considers herself the mother, and Baltar the father ([[Home, Part II]]).

When [[D'anna Biers]] was making a documentary about life aboard ''Galactica'', Six urged Baltar to give an interview to try to win people over to thinking that he should be running the Fleet. Baltar stumbled in response but thankfully for him, he was interupted by a Cylon attack ([[Final Cut]]). Baltar would then aid in trying to overcome the Cylon [[logic bomb]] which had devastated ''Galactica's'' computer systems ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]).

==Arrival of ''Pegasus''==

When battlestar [[Pegasus]] reunited with the Fleet led by ''Galactica'', it was requested that Baltar examine ''Pegasus' '' own Cylon prisoner to see what information he could glean from it. Upon arrival in the ''Pegasus'' brig, Baltar was horrified to discover the Cylon was a terribly abused and tortured copy of the Number Six model, known on the ship as "[[Gina]]". Baltar vowed to help her in any way he could, and began by having her restraints removed and allowing her to be fed again. The inhumane treatment of Gina by the ''Pegasus'' crew likely made Gaius more critical of humanity's worth ("[[Pegasus (episode)|Pegasus]]").

== Speculation: The Real Baltar? ==

For Baltar to survive the destruction of Caprica was no small matter, especially considering he was in the wake a nuclear blast and that, apparently, the body of Six that he knew was destroyed in trying to protect his in the events of the mini-series. But that blast was substantial (not unlike that from a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroclastic_flow pyroclastic cloud]) and would tear through Six's body just as well as Baltar's. Six has had two years to gather plenty of Baltar's genetic material. Could the Baltar on ''Galactica'' be now, in fact, a Humano-Cylon?

However, others attest that Baltar's house was not actually within the wake of the nuclear blast, but at the outer edge of the air shockwave; the windows in the house shattered and would have killed Baltar if Six hadn't been standing there. Six actually could have been blocking Baltar from ''the glass'', and his house was not actually severely damaged.

===Why a Copy?===

Information from RDM indicate that, at the start of season 2, there are ''eight'' Cylon operatives that appear in the fleet. A Baltar copy would also had made matters very, very easy for the Cylons in their work to infiltrate the Colonial defenses and would be easily dropped in place to escape or happen to appear on a ship of the nascent fleet. Such clones may also explain the 'fake' recording from [[Shelly Godfrey]] of Baltar compromising Colonial computer systems in a latter Season 1 episode. Perhaps it was the Cylons who doctored what was, in reality, a legitimate recording of a Baltar copy.

One notable question would be why Six have spent so much time talking to Baltar, and then have thrown herself in front of the blast if she'd intended for him to die? If Baltar was already a humano-Cylon, his consciousness from that moment would be thrown into a waking duplicate, pre-disheveled and scraped, where Baltar would merely think he was blown clear to safety where he could run to escape attacks with other survivors. Also, since Baltar appeared to be key in many Cylon plans, they would want to ensure that Baltar would reach any remaining humans to spy for them, and having only one copy might risk the success of such plans. Further, it is the ''psyche'' of Baltar that the Cylons may treasure most; few others in the Colonies may have the level of intelligence, arrogance, and neurosis that Baltar has that could prove as easily exploited. The guise of the great Baltar gives the Cylons a huge natural tactical advantage in that he is well known and allowed access to almost any critical battlestar location. Baltar's slick-as-oil personality aids him with better finesse and stronger charisma than any Humano-Cylon personality yet seen.

===The Baltar-as-Father Argument===

Six has stated her desire to have a child with Baltar. Humano-Cylon couplings have failed to result in offspring prior to that point ("[[The Farm]]"). If Baltar and Six were both Humano-Cylon, it is likely that offspring would either be impossible or at least exceptionally unlikely. This point gives the strongest evidence against the Baltar-as-Cylon theory, but cannot (yet) dismiss the notion.

In "[[Home, Part II]]", Six indicates that Baltar's and Six's child will be born in the isolation cage built for the ''Galactica'' copy of [[Sharon Valerii]]. The reality turned out different: The Caprica version of Valerii, pregnant by [[Helo]], now occupies the cage by the end of that episode, and Six indicates that it is in fact '''Valerii's''' child that will become Baltar's. This gives some weight back to the Baltar-as-Cylon theory since Baltar becoming a father by surrogate circumvents the need for him to do so naturally. While Caprica-Valerii shows that a female Humano-Cylon could conceive, no information is yet available on whether male Humano-Cylons could sire a child with human females. However, earlier in the first season, in "[[33]]", Six asked Baltar if he wanted to procreate with her, and at this point she may have meant an actual child of Baltar's. "Home, Part II" occured much later in the timeline, and it is possible that the Cylons and Number Six had to alter their plans during this time. Number Six did mention in "Home, Part II" that she didn't consider Sharon "worthy" of bearing one of "God's new children" (the Humano-Cylons). Perhaps Sharon was not originally planned to be the first mother of a hybrid baby at all, and Number Six was going to have a child with the (necessarily human) Baltar, but had to shift plans when Boomer became pregnant first.

===Inside Baltar's Head===

Baltar's brain scan in "[[Home, Part II]]" confirms that the virtual Six that only Baltar can see is '''not''' an actual ''artificial'' device in his brain. This leaves a number of possibilities, of which the strongest are:

# Baltar has a device elsewhere in his body. We're not given information on whether ''all'' of Baltar's body was scanned, or just his head.
# A portion of Baltar's body ''is'' the "chip" but fashioned in a way by the Cylons that is medically indistinguishable from a regular body part and may also function normally (say, a pituitary gland)
# Baltar's body is artificial, with his personality (complete with neuroses) placed in a Humano-Cylon construct. While Baltar's psyche itself may not be that of a Cylon, the addition of the virtual Six component compliments the arrangement for the Cylon's purposes.

Possibility #3 is interesting in that, based on Baltar's own research on the Six copy known as [[Number Six#Gina|Gina]], Baltar's personality and guilt would continue to plague him either in Humano-Cylon or human form. But, if Baltar were reconstructed as a Cylon, the virtual Six aids Baltar by being, in effect, the conscience and "guardian angel" she claims to be, keeping his neuroses and guilt over the genocide from driving him completely insane--for now.

==Notes==

#{{note|hcylon}}"Humano-Cylon" is the popular ''Battlestar Wiki'' term for the humanoid Cylons. It is not a [[canon|canonical]] term found in any episode.
#{{note|chip}}The idea that Six is an actual chip in Baltar's head was dismissed by Dr. [[Cottle]]'s image scan of Baltar's head. See [[Gaius Baltar#Speculation: The Real Baltar?|the section on alternate reasons for Six's existence]] for more.
#{{note|killing}}The act of killing Crashdown appears to have led to a dramatic change in Baltar's attitude toward hurting anyone directly. Later, Baltar does not hesitate in his injection of Tyrol with fatal drugs to blackmail Boomer into giving Cylon secrets. Baltar's humanitarian acts to the Six copy known as Gina also suggests Baltar's attitude in the care of Cylons is further changing. More and more, Baltar appears to prefer direct intervention and is less cowardly in his attitude.
#{{note|birthplace}} Baltar's planet of birth and recruitment by the Colonial Defense Ministry to Caprica are according to SkyOne.

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Laura Roslin

2005-11-30T08:47:14Z

Lestatdelc: /* Rise to President */ fixed link to pipe to RDM article

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:bsg-roslin-1.jpg|200px]]
|age= 50s (approximated)
|colony= [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]] (presumed)
|birthname= Laura Roslin
|callsign=
|death=
|parents=
|siblings=
|children=
|marital status=
|role= Interim President, [[Twelve Colonies|The Twelve Colonies of Kobol]] (serving remainder of [[Adar (RDM)|Adar]]'s term)
|rank=
|actor= [[Mary McDonnell]]
|cylon=
}}

== Biographical Notes ==

=== Background ===
Laura Roslin is in her early 50s and has some 20 years of political experience. She was serving as Secretary of Education for the colonial government at the time of the [[Cylon attack]], during which most of humanity was killed. At that time, Roslin was 43rd in line of succession for the Presidency of the [[Twelve Colonies]]. She learns that all those in line before her are dead, and is shortly sworn in as President.

=== Rise to President ===

At the time of the Cylon attack, Roslin was aboard the Colonial government cruiser ''[[Colonial Heavy 798]]'', having just attended the decommissioning ceremonies for the [[Original battlestar (RDM)|battlestar]] named ''[[Galactica]]''. In the latter part of the attack, she receives a message from the [[Case Orange]] automated beacon, a special mechanism seeking communication with any surviving Colonial government officials. Moments after responding to the beacon, she discovers that, other than herself, all members of [[Adar (RDM)|President Adar]]'s government have apparently been killed or are missing. The Case Orange response assigns Roslin new instructions, and she is duly sworn-in as President.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Roslin undertook a rescue mission, using the now-renamed ''[[Colonial One]]'' to round-up all vessels that had escape destruction and gather as many survivors as possible together, hoping to save the remnants of humanity from total annihiliation. Taking her small fleet to the [[Ragnar Anchorage]], she successfully pursuaded ''Galactica'' commander [[William Adama]] away from his original intention of mounting a counter-attack against the Cylons, and towards helping the fleet make its escape.

Since the initial flight from the Twelve Colonies, Roslin has established a fledgling civilian government within the fleet, and has agreed to abide by civil law regarding her term of office ([[Bastille Day]]), thus making her government an interim cabinet that is completing President Adar's original term, prior to new elections being held. The size of her cabinet is unclear, but it is based aboard ''Colonial Heavy 798'', now officially recognised as ''[[Colonial One]]''. She has re-instituted the [[Quorum of Twelve]] as the legislative branch of the government, again on an interim basis pending the upcoming elections, as well as overseeing the election of a Vice President in the person of Doctor [[Gaius Baltar]] ([[Colonial Day]]).

In leading the fleet, Roslin has had an uneasy understanding with [[William Adama|Adama]] that she is responsible for all civil leadership issues among the surviving Colonials, he is responsible for all military decisions ([[Mini-Series]]) - but the dividing line is not always clear between the two leaders.

Despite being thrust into the role of President in highly unusual and stressful circumstances, Laura Roslin initially proved herself both tough and capable within the role. Initially in awe of Adama, and worried he did not hold her in high regard ([[Water]]), she has quickly overcome her doubts and fears to be able to make the required decisions at the right time, and also stand up to Adama himself ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]). She is also prepared to put the safety of the fleet first, no matter what the cost of her actions ([[Flesh and Bone]]), but she is also able to recognise her limitations. One of these is understanding military terminology and protocol. As a result of this, she initially asked [[Lee Adama]] to become her Special Advisor so she might better understand military requirements ([[Water]]).

Such is her trust in Lee, that he became only the second person in the fleet to know of her medical condition ([[Bastille Day]]), after [[Billy Keikeya]].

== The Secrecy and Gift of Roslin's Illness ==

Immediately prior to the attack, Roslin had been diagnosed with breast cancer ([[Mini-Series]]), which had advanced far enough that it is inoperable. She apparently contracted it some time following her last test, some five years before ([[Act of Contrition]]). Since the attack, she has started undergoing both recognised treatments for the sickness and more "radical" treatments - such as [[Chamalla]] Extract ([[Act of Contrition]]). However, despite this, and more "regular" medical treatment, the cancer has continued to advance, aggressively attacking her lymphatic system ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]), leading the ''[[Galactica|Galactica's]]'' medical staff to measure her life-expentancy in terms of months.

While she kept her cancer a closely guarded secret at first, Roslin slowly began revealing it to more and more people. Lee Adama, [[Cottle|Doctor Cottle]] and her press secretary Billy Keikeya were among the first to know. Kara Thrace found out when Roslin gave her her mission to return to Caprica and retrieve the Arrow of Apollo. Finally, she announced her illness to the entire [[Quorum of Twelve]], including political rival [[Tom Zarek]], by claiming she was the dying leader in the [[Pythia | Pythian Prophecy]] destined to lead humanity to [[Earth]] ([[Fragged]]). This highly-influential move refuted Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]'s attempts to discredit the effectiveness of the civilian government of the fleet and led him to declare martial law. ([[Fragged]]) It is likely now that telling the Quorum has effectively made Roslin's illness public knowledge.

=== Visions and Insurrection ===

Shortly after she started taking Chamalla extract, Roslin began to experience dreams and hallucinations. These were initially attributed to the Chamalla treatment itself, although the dreams and visions have been remarkably prescient and vivid.

In the first, a dream, she foresaw the arrival of [[Leoben Conoy]] in the fleet and his eventual death ([[Flesh and Bone]]). Shortly after this, she had an hallucination of some twelve snakes on her podium while she addressed concerns relating to the fleet's lack of fuel ([[The Hand of God]]).

As a result of these events, Roslin sought the assistance of Priestess [[Elosha]]. While she was unable to shed light on Roslin's dream about Conoy - that event having passed by the time Roslin told her of it - Elosha did reveal the writings of [[Pythia]] to Roslin, which foretell the exile of humanity from their homelands, and their journey to a new home under the guidance of a leader who has a vision of "two and ten" snakes, and who has a "wasting disease".

This event served to arouse Roslin's curiosity concerning Colonial scriptures and legends, a curiosity that turned to belief when the fleet stumbled upon the planet [[Kobol]], as predicted by Leoben Conoy ([[Flesh and Bone]]). Armed with her new-found belief, Roslin operated behind William Adama's back to subvert a mission aimed at destroying a Cylon basestar guarding Kobol, and instead sending [[Thrace, Kara|Lt. Thrace]] back to [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]] in search of the [[Arrow of Apollo]], thus denying Adama the weapons platform he needed to attack the basestar ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]). This action brought her directly into conflict with [[William Adama]], who demanded her immediate resignation as President. When she refused, he terminated her Presidency and sent a squad under the command of [[Tigh, Saul|Colonel Tigh]] to ''Colonial One'' to arrest Roslin in what amounts to a military coup. Despite the intervention of [[Lee Adama]], Roslin was arrested and incarcerated aboard the ''[[Galactica]]'' ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). With Vice President Baltar missing on the surface of Kobol, this effectively leaves the fleet without any form of civil leadership, a situation worsened by an assassination attempt on William Adama himself immediately following Roslin's arrest ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]).

==Arrest, Exile and Return==

Roslin's time incarcerated in ''Galactica's'' brig was anything but uneventful. She was visited often by Billy Keikeya, and gained useful information on the happenings throughout the fleet from the furloughed Lee Adama as well as her benevolent guard, Corporal [[Venner]], a [[The Twelve Colonies#Gemenon|Gemenon]] native. Venner's respect of the president grew as he learned of her knowledge of the [[Sacred Scrolls]] and the Pythian prophesies. He asked her to pray with him during a Cylon attack ([[Scattered]]).

Colonel Tigh, in command while Bill Adama recovered, ignored Roslin's pleas for discussion and became agitated at other government officials and civilians who disagreed with Roslin's arrest. When ''Galactica'' was boarded by Cylon Centurions, Roslin insisted that Venner release her from the brig. Along with Billy, Venner attempted to escort Roslin to [[Sickbay]], which is also designed as a disaster shelter for the ship. However, Venner's team was forced to divert and encountered the last two Centurions. A misfire on Billy's part sent Roslin and other members of her group to the floor to escape the hail of bullets. When Roslin arose, Venner noticed that the edge of her jacket had been shot through, although Roslin came away with little more than some bruises and scratches ([[Valley of Darkness]]). Venner's belief that Roslin was blessed by the gods gained more strength that day.

When the [[Quorum of Twelve]] demanded to see Roslin, Tigh attempted to dash their hopes by showing them a broken, hallucinating Roslin that [[Ellen Tigh|his wife]] witnessed earlier. However, Corporal Venner smuggled in [[Chamalla]] extract on Billy's request to help, giving Roslin grasp of her senses again. She not only spoke to the Quorum after their arrival, but stated firmly that she has not relinquished her role as president, and described her role in the search for Earth as told in the Pythian prophesy. This act only increased Roslin's popularity and caused a stronger uprising throughout the fleet ([[Fragged]]).

Venner's loyalty to the president fully emerged when he conspired with Lee Adama and other members of ''Galactica'' to smuggle Roslin off the ship ([[Resistance]]). Roslin was wary of placing her security in the hands of her rival, [[Tom Zarek]], but she was philosophical: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." After some secretive political and religious work on various ships and by wireless to gather more support, Roslin convinces over a third of the fleet to leave with her ship, the ''[[Astral Queen]]'', to [[Kobol]] in search of the [[Tomb of Athena]] and the path to Earth. Roslin's ability to lead and command became stronger throughout this time, becoming able to keep Zarek's ambitions at bay and deliver decisions faster than before.

Roslin's faith in Kara Thrace was vindicated when she returned from Caprica with the Arrow of Apollo ([[Home, Part I]]). While she was initially inclined to have the Caprica copy of [[Sharon Valerii]] tossed from an airlock, she reconsidered and gained valuable data from the [[Humano-Cylon]] needed to find the Tomb of Athena before Cylons discovered Roslin's practically defenseless [[Laura Roslin faction|fleet of ships]].

The recovered Commander Adama was initially enraged by Roslin's actions, but gained refreshed insight on the need for family to stay united. Perhaps, he thought, that Roslin had generated hope for Earth as he had in his fabrication of the knowledge of Earth--only Roslin was intent on getting results. With these and other thoughts in mind, Adama researched his ship's survey data on Kobol and left the ship in a [[Raptor]] with a small team to find Roslin's expedition on the surface of Kobol ([[Home, Part II]]).

On Kobol, Roslin and her group, lead by Valerii, find the path to the Tomb. Unfortunately, the party is ambushed by Cylon Centurions. Priestess [[Elosha]], one of Roslin's most valuable advisors and friend, was killed. Roslin took Elosha's blood-spattered book of scripture to guide her and remind Roslin of her lost friend.

Roslin was pleasantly surprised to have Adama greet her warmly on his arrival at her camp on Kobol. The two leaders had a heart-to-heart talk about her rebellion, which Adama forgave. Roslin thanked Adama, calling him "Bill" casually, though she noted that she didn't require permission for what she had to do. Roslin worried that, with talk of the Caprica [[resistance (movement)|resistance]], that her insistance to Adama to leave the Colonial worlds behind was a mistake. Adama, also calling Roslin by her first name, firmly chastized her, reminding Roslin that her decision was correct. If he chose to stay, Adama, his son, and all of humanity would be dead.

Adama and Roslin's party later find the Tomb. With some teamwork, they discover and activate the Tomb's virtual hologram mechanism. Roslin's gamble on faith pays off big for humanity, and the group gains a map and guide to the true location of Earth.

Back on ''Galactica'', Commander Adama introduces Roslin as President during a speech on the ship, and leads the audience in a rousing ovation, showing his firm support for her insight, leadership and her role in the destiny and safety of humanity.

==Admiral Cain, and Worsening Health==

Adama and Roslin's respect for each other grew stronger and their leadership in managing fleet business became more cooperative. They worked together in getting reporter [[D'anna Biers]] corraled from her potentially disruptive tabloid expose' of the ''[[Gideon]]'' shootings by giving her almost-unlimited access to interview ''Galactica's'' crew. Her resulting documentary on the weary-but-determined battlestar crew was welcomed warmly by Roslin and Adama, "warts and all" ([[Final Cut]]).

Roslin found herself being solicited of advice more often from Commander Adama, who began to fully trust and even confide in her.

Doctor [[Cottle]] did not give Roslin good news about her cancer battle. In fact, the prognosis worsened. Cottle told Roslin she had, optimistically, a month to live. Roslin showed the panicked and frightened part of her that occupied that lavatory on the old ''Colonial Heavy 798'', but only for a few moments. She began settling her affairs, starting with returning a book that Commander Adama gave to her, explaining that books are not meant to be lent. He asked her advice on trusting the Caprica Sharon Valerii copy in defending the Fleet against an incoming Cylon force ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]). Roslin suggested, based on her dealings with the same copy in orbit around Kobol, that perhaps he could find some common ground where the two can ally, despite his prejudices against this copy.

After the Cylons were routed and ''Galactica'' returned to normal operation, Roslin was honored to christen the new experimental stealth fighter dubbed the [[Blackbird]] in a small ceremony with its builders. Chief Tyrol gave Roslin the biggest surprise of all: The nickname of the new fighter was ''Laura'', a gesture that brought tears to the President. Roslin managed to get a few laughs by making a mock strike at the Blackbird with the christening bottle, knowing its skin was too fragile.

Roslin was just as gleeful as the rest of the fleet when the advanced battlestar ''[[Pegasus]]'' arrived. Admiral [[Helena Cain]] recognized her and reacted with surprise at Roslin's new office. Roslin became concerned about Cain's abrupt command style, and asked Adama how he was managing relinquishing fleet command to Cain. Adama replied, with a smile, that he had been taking orders for a long time, and this was no different. Roslin was not convinced and sensed Adama's apprehension, but was polite enough not to inquire further. Roslin was more concerned that Cain was more interested with supplying ''Galactica'' of military parts and staff, rather than aiding in the needs of the civiilan fleet, as well as ignoring Roslin's wireless calls to Cain.

With Adama's rebellious attempt to return the hastily-convicted [[Helo]] and [[Tyrol]] from Cain's ship, Roslin may find herself at her greatest test as President: Trying to stop two battlestars from destroying themselves and all that is left of the human race.

==Cinematic Trivia==
If one watches carefully at the several ships that fly by the hospital just before viewers first see Laura Roslin in the mini-series, viewers may see a familiar spacecraft: A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_%28television_series%29 ''Firefly''-class spacecraft from the popular but short-lived science-fiction series] of the same name.

[[Category:A to Z|Roslin, Laura]]
[[Category:Characters|Roslin, Laura]]
[[Category:RDM|Roslin, Laura]]

Laura Roslin

2005-11-30T08:43:41Z

Lestatdelc: /* Rise to President */ link to President Adar

{{Character Data|
|photo= [[Image:bsg-roslin-1.jpg|200px]]
|age= 50s (approximated)
|colony= [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]] (presumed)
|birthname= Laura Roslin
|callsign=
|death=
|parents=
|siblings=
|children=
|marital status=
|role= Interim President, [[Twelve Colonies|The Twelve Colonies of Kobol]] (serving remainder of [[Adar (RDM)|Adar]]'s term)
|rank=
|actor= [[Mary McDonnell]]
|cylon=
}}

== Biographical Notes ==

=== Background ===
Laura Roslin is in her early 50s and has some 20 years of political experience. She was serving as Secretary of Education for the colonial government at the time of the [[Cylon attack]], during which most of humanity was killed. At that time, Roslin was 43rd in line of succession for the Presidency of the [[Twelve Colonies]]. She learns that all those in line before her are dead, and is shortly sworn in as President.

=== Rise to President ===

At the time of the Cylon attack, Roslin was aboard the Colonial government cruiser ''[[Colonial Heavy 798]]'', having just attended the decommissioning ceremonies for the [[Original battlestar (RDM)|battlestar]] named ''[[Galactica]]''. In the latter part of the attack, she receives a message from the [[Case Orange]] automated beacon, a special mechanism seeking communication with any surviving Colonial government officials. Moments after responding to the beacon, she discovers that, other than herself, all members of [[President Adar]]'s government have apparently been killed or are missing. The Case Orange response assigns Roslin new instructions, and she is duly sworn-in as President.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Roslin undertook a rescue mission, using the now-renamed ''[[Colonial One]]'' to round-up all vessels that had escape destruction and gather as many survivors as possible together, hoping to save the remnants of humanity from total annihiliation. Taking her small fleet to the [[Ragnar Anchorage]], she successfully pursuaded ''Galactica'' commander [[William Adama]] away from his original intention of mounting a counter-attack against the Cylons, and towards helping the fleet make its escape.

Since the initial flight from the Twelve Colonies, Roslin has established a fledgling civilian government within the fleet, and has agreed to abide by civil law regarding her term of office ([[Bastille Day]]), thus making her government an interim cabinet that is completing President Adar's original term, prior to new elections being held. The size of her cabinet is unclear, but it is based aboard ''Colonial Heavy 798'', now officially recognised as ''[[Colonial One]]''. She has re-instituted the [[Quorum of Twelve]] as the legislative branch of the government, again on an interim basis pending the upcoming elections, as well as overseeing the election of a Vice President in the person of Doctor [[Gaius Baltar]] ([[Colonial Day]]).

In leading the fleet, Roslin has had an uneasy understanding with [[William Adama|Adama]] that she is responsible for all civil leadership issues among the surviving Colonials, he is responsible for all military decisions ([[Mini-Series]]) - but the dividing line is not always clear between the two leaders.

Despite being thrust into the role of President in highly unusual and stressful circumstances, Laura Roslin initially proved herself both tough and capable within the role. Initially in awe of Adama, and worried he did not hold her in high regard ([[Water]]), she has quickly overcome her doubts and fears to be able to make the required decisions at the right time, and also stand up to Adama himself ([[You Can't Go Home Again]]). She is also prepared to put the safety of the fleet first, no matter what the cost of her actions ([[Flesh and Bone]]), but she is also able to recognise her limitations. One of these is understanding military terminology and protocol. As a result of this, she initially asked [[Lee Adama]] to become her Special Advisor so she might better understand military requirements ([[Water]]).

Such is her trust in Lee, that he became only the second person in the fleet to know of her medical condition ([[Bastille Day]]), after [[Billy Keikeya]].

== The Secrecy and Gift of Roslin's Illness ==

Immediately prior to the attack, Roslin had been diagnosed with breast cancer ([[Mini-Series]]), which had advanced far enough that it is inoperable. She apparently contracted it some time following her last test, some five years before ([[Act of Contrition]]). Since the attack, she has started undergoing both recognised treatments for the sickness and more "radical" treatments - such as [[Chamalla]] Extract ([[Act of Contrition]]). However, despite this, and more "regular" medical treatment, the cancer has continued to advance, aggressively attacking her lymphatic system ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]), leading the ''[[Galactica|Galactica's]]'' medical staff to measure her life-expentancy in terms of months.

While she kept her cancer a closely guarded secret at first, Roslin slowly began revealing it to more and more people. Lee Adama, [[Cottle|Doctor Cottle]] and her press secretary Billy Keikeya were among the first to know. Kara Thrace found out when Roslin gave her her mission to return to Caprica and retrieve the Arrow of Apollo. Finally, she announced her illness to the entire [[Quorum of Twelve]], including political rival [[Tom Zarek]], by claiming she was the dying leader in the [[Pythia | Pythian Prophecy]] destined to lead humanity to [[Earth]] ([[Fragged]]). This highly-influential move refuted Colonel [[Saul Tigh]]'s attempts to discredit the effectiveness of the civilian government of the fleet and led him to declare martial law. ([[Fragged]]) It is likely now that telling the Quorum has effectively made Roslin's illness public knowledge.

=== Visions and Insurrection ===

Shortly after she started taking Chamalla extract, Roslin began to experience dreams and hallucinations. These were initially attributed to the Chamalla treatment itself, although the dreams and visions have been remarkably prescient and vivid.

In the first, a dream, she foresaw the arrival of [[Leoben Conoy]] in the fleet and his eventual death ([[Flesh and Bone]]). Shortly after this, she had an hallucination of some twelve snakes on her podium while she addressed concerns relating to the fleet's lack of fuel ([[The Hand of God]]).

As a result of these events, Roslin sought the assistance of Priestess [[Elosha]]. While she was unable to shed light on Roslin's dream about Conoy - that event having passed by the time Roslin told her of it - Elosha did reveal the writings of [[Pythia]] to Roslin, which foretell the exile of humanity from their homelands, and their journey to a new home under the guidance of a leader who has a vision of "two and ten" snakes, and who has a "wasting disease".

This event served to arouse Roslin's curiosity concerning Colonial scriptures and legends, a curiosity that turned to belief when the fleet stumbled upon the planet [[Kobol]], as predicted by Leoben Conoy ([[Flesh and Bone]]). Armed with her new-found belief, Roslin operated behind William Adama's back to subvert a mission aimed at destroying a Cylon basestar guarding Kobol, and instead sending [[Thrace, Kara|Lt. Thrace]] back to [[The Twelve Colonies#Caprica|Caprica]] in search of the [[Arrow of Apollo]], thus denying Adama the weapons platform he needed to attack the basestar ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]). This action brought her directly into conflict with [[William Adama]], who demanded her immediate resignation as President. When she refused, he terminated her Presidency and sent a squad under the command of [[Tigh, Saul|Colonel Tigh]] to ''Colonial One'' to arrest Roslin in what amounts to a military coup. Despite the intervention of [[Lee Adama]], Roslin was arrested and incarcerated aboard the ''[[Galactica]]'' ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]). With Vice President Baltar missing on the surface of Kobol, this effectively leaves the fleet without any form of civil leadership, a situation worsened by an assassination attempt on William Adama himself immediately following Roslin's arrest ([[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]).

==Arrest, Exile and Return==

Roslin's time incarcerated in ''Galactica's'' brig was anything but uneventful. She was visited often by Billy Keikeya, and gained useful information on the happenings throughout the fleet from the furloughed Lee Adama as well as her benevolent guard, Corporal [[Venner]], a [[The Twelve Colonies#Gemenon|Gemenon]] native. Venner's respect of the president grew as he learned of her knowledge of the [[Sacred Scrolls]] and the Pythian prophesies. He asked her to pray with him during a Cylon attack ([[Scattered]]).

Colonel Tigh, in command while Bill Adama recovered, ignored Roslin's pleas for discussion and became agitated at other government officials and civilians who disagreed with Roslin's arrest. When ''Galactica'' was boarded by Cylon Centurions, Roslin insisted that Venner release her from the brig. Along with Billy, Venner attempted to escort Roslin to [[Sickbay]], which is also designed as a disaster shelter for the ship. However, Venner's team was forced to divert and encountered the last two Centurions. A misfire on Billy's part sent Roslin and other members of her group to the floor to escape the hail of bullets. When Roslin arose, Venner noticed that the edge of her jacket had been shot through, although Roslin came away with little more than some bruises and scratches ([[Valley of Darkness]]). Venner's belief that Roslin was blessed by the gods gained more strength that day.

When the [[Quorum of Twelve]] demanded to see Roslin, Tigh attempted to dash their hopes by showing them a broken, hallucinating Roslin that [[Ellen Tigh|his wife]] witnessed earlier. However, Corporal Venner smuggled in [[Chamalla]] extract on Billy's request to help, giving Roslin grasp of her senses again. She not only spoke to the Quorum after their arrival, but stated firmly that she has not relinquished her role as president, and described her role in the search for Earth as told in the Pythian prophesy. This act only increased Roslin's popularity and caused a stronger uprising throughout the fleet ([[Fragged]]).

Venner's loyalty to the president fully emerged when he conspired with Lee Adama and other members of ''Galactica'' to smuggle Roslin off the ship ([[Resistance]]). Roslin was wary of placing her security in the hands of her rival, [[Tom Zarek]], but she was philosophical: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." After some secretive political and religious work on various ships and by wireless to gather more support, Roslin convinces over a third of the fleet to leave with her ship, the ''[[Astral Queen]]'', to [[Kobol]] in search of the [[Tomb of Athena]] and the path to Earth. Roslin's ability to lead and command became stronger throughout this time, becoming able to keep Zarek's ambitions at bay and deliver decisions faster than before.

Roslin's faith in Kara Thrace was vindicated when she returned from Caprica with the Arrow of Apollo ([[Home, Part I]]). While she was initially inclined to have the Caprica copy of [[Sharon Valerii]] tossed from an airlock, she reconsidered and gained valuable data from the [[Humano-Cylon]] needed to find the Tomb of Athena before Cylons discovered Roslin's practically defenseless [[Laura Roslin faction|fleet of ships]].

The recovered Commander Adama was initially enraged by Roslin's actions, but gained refreshed insight on the need for family to stay united. Perhaps, he thought, that Roslin had generated hope for Earth as he had in his fabrication of the knowledge of Earth--only Roslin was intent on getting results. With these and other thoughts in mind, Adama researched his ship's survey data on Kobol and left the ship in a [[Raptor]] with a small team to find Roslin's expedition on the surface of Kobol ([[Home, Part II]]).

On Kobol, Roslin and her group, lead by Valerii, find the path to the Tomb. Unfortunately, the party is ambushed by Cylon Centurions. Priestess [[Elosha]], one of Roslin's most valuable advisors and friend, was killed. Roslin took Elosha's blood-spattered book of scripture to guide her and remind Roslin of her lost friend.

Roslin was pleasantly surprised to have Adama greet her warmly on his arrival at her camp on Kobol. The two leaders had a heart-to-heart talk about her rebellion, which Adama forgave. Roslin thanked Adama, calling him "Bill" casually, though she noted that she didn't require permission for what she had to do. Roslin worried that, with talk of the Caprica [[resistance (movement)|resistance]], that her insistance to Adama to leave the Colonial worlds behind was a mistake. Adama, also calling Roslin by her first name, firmly chastized her, reminding Roslin that her decision was correct. If he chose to stay, Adama, his son, and all of humanity would be dead.

Adama and Roslin's party later find the Tomb. With some teamwork, they discover and activate the Tomb's virtual hologram mechanism. Roslin's gamble on faith pays off big for humanity, and the group gains a map and guide to the true location of Earth.

Back on ''Galactica'', Commander Adama introduces Roslin as President during a speech on the ship, and leads the audience in a rousing ovation, showing his firm support for her insight, leadership and her role in the destiny and safety of humanity.

==Admiral Cain, and Worsening Health==

Adama and Roslin's respect for each other grew stronger and their leadership in managing fleet business became more cooperative. They worked together in getting reporter [[D'anna Biers]] corraled from her potentially disruptive tabloid expose' of the ''[[Gideon]]'' shootings by giving her almost-unlimited access to interview ''Galactica's'' crew. Her resulting documentary on the weary-but-determined battlestar crew was welcomed warmly by Roslin and Adama, "warts and all" ([[Final Cut]]).

Roslin found herself being solicited of advice more often from Commander Adama, who began to fully trust and even confide in her.

Doctor [[Cottle]] did not give Roslin good news about her cancer battle. In fact, the prognosis worsened. Cottle told Roslin she had, optimistically, a month to live. Roslin showed the panicked and frightened part of her that occupied that lavatory on the old ''Colonial Heavy 798'', but only for a few moments. She began settling her affairs, starting with returning a book that Commander Adama gave to her, explaining that books are not meant to be lent. He asked her advice on trusting the Caprica Sharon Valerii copy in defending the Fleet against an incoming Cylon force ([[Flight of the Phoenix]]). Roslin suggested, based on her dealings with the same copy in orbit around Kobol, that perhaps he could find some common ground where the two can ally, despite his prejudices against this copy.

After the Cylons were routed and ''Galactica'' returned to normal operation, Roslin was honored to christen the new experimental stealth fighter dubbed the [[Blackbird]] in a small ceremony with its builders. Chief Tyrol gave Roslin the biggest surprise of all: The nickname of the new fighter was ''Laura'', a gesture that brought tears to the President. Roslin managed to get a few laughs by making a mock strike at the Blackbird with the christening bottle, knowing its skin was too fragile.

Roslin was just as gleeful as the rest of the fleet when the advanced battlestar ''[[Pegasus]]'' arrived. Admiral [[Helena Cain]] recognized her and reacted with surprise at Roslin's new office. Roslin became concerned about Cain's abrupt command style, and asked Adama how he was managing relinquishing fleet command to Cain. Adama replied, with a smile, that he had been taking orders for a long time, and this was no different. Roslin was not convinced and sensed Adama's apprehension, but was polite enough not to inquire further. Roslin was more concerned that Cain was more interested with supplying ''Galactica'' of military parts and staff, rather than aiding in the needs of the civiilan fleet, as well as ignoring Roslin's wireless calls to Cain.

With Adama's rebellious attempt to return the hastily-convicted [[Helo]] and [[Tyrol]] from Cain's ship, Roslin may find herself at her greatest test as President: Trying to stop two battlestars from destroying themselves and all that is left of the human race.

==Cinematic Trivia==
If one watches carefully at the several ships that fly by the hospital just before viewers first see Laura Roslin in the mini-series, viewers may see a familiar spacecraft: A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_%28television_series%29 ''Firefly''-class spacecraft from the popular but short-lived science-fiction series] of the same name.

[[Category:A to Z|Roslin, Laura]]
[[Category:Characters|Roslin, Laura]]
[[Category:RDM|Roslin, Laura]]