Chameleon

Chameleon
[show/hide spoilers] Spoilers hidden in infobox by default only.
Name	{{{name}}}
Age
Colony	Apparently Caprica
Birth place	{{{birthplace}}}
Birth Name
Birth Date	{{{birthdate}}}
Callsign
Nickname	Captain Dmitri
Introduced	The Man with Nine Lives
Last Known Appearance	[[{{{lastseen}}}]]
Death
Parents
Siblings
Children	Starbuck
Marital Status	Presumably widowed
Family Tree	View
Role	Con artist
Rank
Serial Number	{{{serial}}}
Portrayed by	Fred Astaire
Chameleon is a Cylon
Chameleon is a Final Five Cylon
Chameleon is a Human/Cylon Hybrid
Chameleon is an Original Series Cylon
Related Media
Additional Information
Chameleon in the separate continuity
[[File:|300px|Chameleon]]

A charming and aging con man, Chameleon just happens to be Starbuck's father.

Life as a Con Artist

Chameleon was separated by the Cylon raid at the settlement of Umbra on Caprica. According to a story he told Apollo and Starbuck, the attack left him a traumatic amnesiac for five yahrens. Upon recovering, he learned that his wife had died in the attack, and that his baby son had survived.

He had been something of a professional wagerer due to his vast knowledge of chancery games, which might explain Starbuck's natural fascination with chanceries. However, Chameleon's current occupation is basically making do with his ability to naturally con people out of money ^{(TOS: "The Man with Nine Lives")}.

Life in the Fleet

Among other false occupations, Chameleon been known to pose as a genetic tracer, a head of Inter-Fleet Broadcasting, and the Livestock Ship's commanding officer, Captain Dmitri. Misrepresenting himself as Dmitri, he crosses three Borellian Nomen—Maga, Bora and Taba—who in return swear a blood trail to exact revenge. The Nomen track him to Rising Star, where Chameleon courts Siress Blassie. apparently taken by his charm aboard the shuttle Canaris and while attending a type of orchestral symphony.

In an act of self-preservation, Chameleon manages to escape, meeting up with Starbuck and Apollo in Rising Star's chancery, while Lieutenant Boomer and Flight Sergeant Jolly mince words with the Nomen in the recreation area. Chameleon talks about his past on Caprica and about losing a son, which spoke volumes to Starbuck. Chameleon finds his chance for protection, portraying himself as a genetic tracer and stating that Galactica's equipment would be just the thing needed to do testing to determine if they were indeed father and son.

To play up the lost father-son relationship, he tells Starbuck that Cassiopeia reminds him much of his wife. Starbuck admits to him that Cassiopeia was the only one he ever considered getting sealed to.

Later on, Chameleon attempts to tell Starbuck the truth when in the launch bay, where Starbuck admits to thinking of dropping out from the Colonial service to join him in reuniting lost children with their parents. Chameleon never gets the chance as Maga and Bora trespass into the bay, attacking Starbuck while attempting to discern where "Captain Dmitri" was.

Chameleon manages to save Starbuck from the Nomen by firing the Viper's lasers into the launch tube, throwing Starbuck clear of the tube. Miraculously the Nomen survive and are apprehended.

Chameleon later admits that he deceived them all, explaining the whole story of the Nomen's blood trail ^{(TOS: "The Man with Nine Lives")}.

Hiding the Truth

The con man also believed that the story of being Starbuck's Caprican father as false, however tests prove otherwise. Chameleon manages to convince Cassiopeia not to reveal these results to Starbuck, saying that he would rather be his friend, especially since Starbuck wanted to recapture yahrens that could never be recaptured.

Chameleon promises Cassiopeia that he would tell Starbuck when he had been Sealed, much to her disbelief.

Commander Adama remands Chameleon to the custody of Siress Blassie, who supports his rehabilitation into society for his actions, but takes it with joy since he and Starbuck were now only friends ^{(TOS: "The Man with Nine Lives")}.

Notes

• The analog for Chameleon in the Re-imagined Series is Dreilide Thrace.