Colonial One

2006-10-25T01:42:32Z

Tacoprophet: /* There and Back Again */

{{Ship Data
| image= BSG-Colonial-One.jpg
| race= Colonial
| type= Civilian
| ftl= Yes
| propol= 2 x sublight engines, 4 x commercial-rated [[FTL]] drive pods, manouvering thrusters.
| crew= Unknown
| cap= (approx) 100-150 standard - up to 500 under emergency conditions
| role= Presidential transport
| width= {{Feet2Meters|49}}
| height= {{Feet2Meters|72}}
| length= {{Feet2Meters|277}}
}}

'''''Colonial One''''' is the passenger liner starship on which President [[Laura Roslin]] resides and where she sets up her new seat of government in the [[The Fleet (RDM)|refugee fleet]] led by the battlestar ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''.

== Background ==
[[Image:Colonialheavy798 001 720p.jpg|left|thumb|Departing Caprica]]
The Colonial [[Government]] chartered an [[Intersun]] starliner, designated ''Colonial Heavy 798'', for ferrying Secretary of Education [[Laura Roslin]], and her staff and members of the [[Fleet News Service|Colonial press]] to and from the decommissioning ceremonies for the [[Galactica type battlestar|battlestar]] ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]''. ''Colonial Heavy 798'' arrives and docks with ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' a few hours before the ceremonies. After the ceremonies, the transport begins its return to [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]] with Captain [[Lee Adama]] escorting the starliner in [[Viper 7242|his father's old Viper]].

Approximately 3 hours from Caprica, the [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies|Cylon attack]] commences. ''Colonial Heavy 798'' and Colonial press members hear of news that Caprica has been nuked along with three other Colonies. Secretary Roslin, as the highest goverment official on board, takes charge of the situation by setting up ''Colonial Heavy 798'' for long term use. Shortly after this news, a single [[Cylon Raider|Raider]] attacks ''Colonial Heavy 798''. Lee Adama is able to decoy a missile that targets the starliner and shoots it down. His Viper is damaged in the process, but ''Colonial Heavy 798'' recovers the Viper into its cargo bay ([[Miniseries]]).

:''The ship's orginal designation as "Heavy" is perhaps similar to that of Earth aircraft; jets weighing over 255,000 pounds are called "Heavy" in air traffic control communications to alert other aircraft of possible wake turbulence from the named airplane. The proper usage is to append the word "Heavy" ''after'' the flight number and the incorrect usage is probably an error by the writers. If following the Earthly convention the ship would be referred to as ''Colonial 798 Heavy''. This designation may also imply that the ship's sub-light or FTL technologies could create hazards for other ships especially smaller ones.''
<br clear="both" />

== Case Orange ==
[[Image:Roslin_swearing_in.jpg|150px|right|thumb|Roslin being sworn in]]
A [[Case orange|special automated government broadcast]] prompts Laura Roslin to send her government ID number to locate surviving officials. With no other Colonial government officials apparently left alive, Laura Roslin is quickly sworn-in as the new President of the Colonies on board<ref name="sworn">[[Wikipedia:Lyndon_B._Johnson#Policies|U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson]] was quickly sworn-in on ''Air Force One,'' the Presidential air transport, immediately after President [[Wikipedia:John F. Kennedy|John F. Kennedy]] was assassinated in Dallas, Texas in November 1963. Roslin's swearing-in scene in the Miniseries was deliberately staged to mirror this event.</ref>, and ''Colonial Heavy 798'' is re-named ''Colonial One'', in recognition of its status in transporting the President.
<div style="clear: both;"></div>

== Rescue Operations ==

With nowhere else to go, ''Colonial One'' engages in rescue missions under the direct orders of the new President. ''Colonial One'' locates and gather other civilian vessels marooned in space around the vicinity of [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)#Caprica|Caprica]]. During their rescues, ''Colonial One'' receives a message from ''Galactica'': Regroup at [[Ragnar Anchorage]]. Roslin attempts to countermand Commander Adama, ordering his battlestar to aid in rescue operations instead, despite the presence of Adama's son onboard. Before minds can be made up, another Raider launches nuclear missiles at the small gathering of disabled ships where ''Colonial One'' is assisting. Lee Adama saves the day once more using ''Galactica's'' old [[EMP]] coils to disable the missiles and fool the Cylons once more. Afterwards, ''Colonial One'' leaves with the rest of the FTL capable ships to Ragnar Anchorage moments before a larger Cylon Raider group shows up, destroying several [[Sublight Propulsion|sublight]] spacecraft unable to leave the vicinity.

== Post-[[Miniseries]] ==
While this ordinary starliner probably lacks many of the facilities and systems the original ''Colonial One'' would have boasted, President Roslin nevertheless made it her base of operations during her term as Colonial President as did her successor President [[Gaius Baltar]]. Locating the administration aboard a civilian craft and not the arguably more logical choice of the Battlestar Galactica helps to keep the civilian administration physically distinct from [[William Adama]]'s military leadership. As well, ''Colonial One'' security is handled by the [[Presidential security service]], which is independent of the military leadership.

=== Election ===
At the end of Season 2 a [[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II|General election]] takes place for the presidency. Although a strong lead at the start of campaigning, Laura Roselin steadily lost support following the discovery of [[New Caprica]] and lost the election to her vice-president, [[Gaius Baltar]]. Baltar continued to use ''Colonial One'' as base of operations for his administration, even going so far as to land ''Colonial One'' on the surface of [[New Captrica]] on a hilltop overlooking the new settlement. From here he could oversee the colonization of the planet, while the ship itself could act as a visual symbol of the presidency and de facto office building/White House equivalent for the administration.

=== Landing Mode ===
A year after his election, President Baltar had all but done away with the modesty of Roslin's office on the ship. He remade it to resemble his old house on Caprica, replacing Roslin's simple desk with an extravagant wood desk, her office chair with a decorated leather seat, and her back office with an apparent sleeping chambers for his harem. He removed the population-count white board and image of a rescue worker given to Roslin in the miniseries. The white board was replaced with a picture of himself (in a sense symbolically laying his own ego over his responsibility to protect the people).

=== Welcome to the New Caprica Concentration Camp ===
As related in the episode [[Lay Down Your Burdens]] [[New Caprica]] is detected and occupied by the [[Cylons]] a year after colonization of the planet had started. A Cylon "advisory Committee" made up of representatives of each of the revealed Cylon models join Baltar aboard ''Colonial One'', although it's unclear whether they physically lived aboard the vessel (more likely they lived in the Cylon-built administation and jail complex nearby). The Cylon committee formed the real government of New Caprica while Baltar's administration was reduced to no more than a puppet regime maintained toput a human face on increasingly horrific Cylon actions. These actions force many to resist the administration, including [[Felix Gaeta]] who uses his access to ''Colonial One'' to acquire information that can aid the growing human insurrection movement. Eventually the insurrectionist stage a series of major strikes that, with the aid of Admiral Adama and the Battlestars Galactica and Pegasus, force the [[Cylons]] and Baltar to abandon the colony and ''Colonial One''.

The derelict vessel is boarded a short time later by fomer president Laura Roslin and a small force under her command. Presumably utilizing launch keys obtained by Galactica agents, the force are able to re-activate ''Colonial One's'' launch thrusters and [[FTL Drive]] and flee from New Caprica along with the remains of colonies human population.

=== There and Back Again ===
At the end of [[Exodus, Part II]] ''Colonial One'' is once again part of the Rag Tag Fleet under Galactica's protection. Presumably in the absence of the legally elected President, Laura Roslin or Tom Zarek have established an interim civilian government aboard the vessel. The fact the vessel is in its usually travelling position safely near the Galactica supports the idea it houses the civilian government. That, and the fact it still sports the Seal of the Office of the Presidency... although it's unlikely anyone would have had the time or resources to paint over the seal before the end of [[Exodus, Part II]].

== Size and Configuration ==
[[Image:ColonialOneDocking Water.JPG|right|thumb|Docking in ''Galactica''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s port flight pod]]
''Colonial One'' is small enough to fit inside the flight pod of both ''[[Galactica (RDM)|Galactica]]'' and ''[[Pegasus (RDM)|Pegasus]]'' ([[Water]]). This makes either one of these two ships a "safe haven" and also reducing contact with outsiders who would otherwise have the chance to make a move on the important visitors that frequently board ''Colonial One''.

[[Image:Colonialone-pa.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Production art of ''Colonial One'']]
The ship's normal passenger capacity has been reduced to accommodate the offices and cabins required by government personnel. Civilian passengers on ''Colonial One'' reside in converted sections of the liner.

A large main cabin aboard the ship provides seating accommodation for dignitaries and [[Fleet News Service|press]] alike, while forward of this are small, more personal quarters reserved for ministers and their guests. Despite its conversion for government use, ''Colonial One'' retains its own docking bay, large enough to take a Colonial shuttle, and also boasts a cargo hold big enough to house a [[Viper (RDM)|Viper]]-sized craft ([[Miniseries]]).

== Cinematic Trivia ==
[[Image:ColonialOneSeal.jpg|right|thumb|''Colonial One'' sporting the Presidential seal in "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]]"]]
* The cockpit of ''Colonial One'' is a redressed original Space Shuttle Orbiter cockpit simulator. The current Orbiter fleet have since been refurbished with [http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/sts101_new_cockpit.html newer cockpits.]

* The ship is always seen flying next to ''Galactica'' either for best protection or convenience when the President needed to board. (Cinematically, having the two ships close in a shot also played well to the challenges in the separation of civilian and military authority.)

* The passenger area of the ship is modeled after the interior of the Pan Am ''Clipper Orion'' space shuttle seen ferrying Dr. Floyd into orbit in the movie ''2001: A Space Odyssey''.

* The ship was intentionally painted in the color scheme of the real world [[Wikipedia:Air Force One|Air Force One]] to evoke more of that "real world" feel from the series.

* Half way through [[Season One|season one]], the ''Colonial One'' CG model was updated and the seal of the President of [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|the Twelve Colonies]] was added to the dorsal "hump" at the bow of the ship. The reuse of stock footage from early in season one and the Miniseries, however causes the seal to continually appear and disappear at random intervals.

*''Colonial One'''s cargo bay, as seen in the [[Miniseries]], was actually the car deck of a [[Wikipedia:BC Ferries|BC Ferries]] [[Wikipedia:V class ferry|V Class]] car and passenger ferry.

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

{{Ships}}
[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Colonial]]
[[Category:Colonial Craft]]
[[Category:Colonial Craft (RDM)]]
[[Category:Ships]]
[[Category:Ships (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

[[de:Colonial One]]

{{quality article}}
{{featured article}}

Battlestar Wiki - User contributions [en]

Colonial One