Agro-3

This article has a separate continuity. This article is in the Richard Hatch continuation separate continuity, which is related to the Original Series. Be sure that your contributions to this article reflect the characters and events specific to this continuity only.

Agro-3 is an Agro Ship within the Fleet, along with its sister ship, Agro-2. The ship is essentially an enormous greenhouse floating in space, with the ship's primary bulk dedicated to soil deposits where plant life is cultivated for food. The remaining space is allocated to basic ship requirements, including a control center, engine room, and crew quarters.

A vast transparent shell covers the garden areas, its many panes absorbing and storing stellar light, which radiates down upon the cultivated areas in alternating patches of illumination. This makes viewing the stars from inside the agro-ship difficult, though the stellar projectors provide warmth throughout the vessel.

Cultivated crops

The vegetation aboard Agro-3 grows lush throughout the ship, displaying greens and reds in varying shades, with orange and blue coloration appearing in certain areas. The ship produces common delicacies such as heffala berries and fallaga, which are vital to the fleet's food supply.

Public access areas

During the eighteen yahren the fleet spends fleeing from the Cylons, Agro-3 becomes socially important beyond its capacity to generate foodstuffs. The vegetation produces oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis, making the air aboard exceptionally fresh. Sections of Agro-3 are opened to fleet citizens, who may partake in the delights of fresh air along pre-ordained garden paths. The ship is frequented by the fleet's population not merely for the garden's beauty, but for the wonderfully fresh atmosphere it provides.

History

Murder investigation

Following the passing of Commander Adama by natural causes in 7360, a murder occurs aboard Agro-3. The victim is killed by the powers of a disembodied Count Iblis, who causes the body to spontaneously combust in an unnatural flame. The murder takes place along the Garden Path, a public area of the ship, with stellar light showering down from the dome above.

The remains are discovered by passing civilians in the tall mange grass off the garden path. The corpse is burned beyond recognition, making identification extremely difficult. Mugjapes burrow in the empty eye sockets, foraging for whatever remains of the victim's brain tissue. The flesh is burned to the bone in some places, and white bone fragments jut from the belly. The victim appears to have been crushed to death before being burned, and the corpse's gender is initially impossible to determine.

Lieutenant Troy and Ensign Dalton are the investigating officers who initially examine the scene. When Paris, a blackshirt security chief, attempts to assert jurisdiction over the investigation, Dalton reminds him that under the fleet's martial law, military authorities must pursue murder investigations.

The remains are recovered for examination by Cassiopeia, who struggles extensively with identification due to the extreme damage to the body and unusual genetic testing results. The investigation leads Troy and Dalton to search for Terence, an agro-worker on duty at the suspected time of the murder.

The agro-supervisor aboard Agro-3 confirms that Terence was on duty at the estimated time of death, providing a crucial lead for the investigation. However, when Troy and Dalton locate Terence on Ursus, they discover he has been murdered by Tybalt and his cult of Ambassador Puck followers, who are attempting to prevent the investigation from revealing Iblis's deception.

Cassiopeia eventually determines that the murdered individual is Ambassador Puck himself, revealing that Count Iblis murdered the real Puck and assumed his identity to manipulate fleet politics (RH: Armageddon).

Agro-2 loss

Following the battle with the Chitain, the fleet suffers the loss of Agro-2, making Agro-3 even more critical to the fleet's survival. Thirty-seven fleet vessels are obliterated in the battle, including Agro-2, Scorpius Ascending, and Valkyrior. The loss of Agro-2 is felt profoundly as the fleet desperately needs food production capacity and somewhere to grow crops (RH: Warhawk).

Notes

• Given that Agro Ship 9 was the sole surviving Agro Ship during a Cylon attack in Original Series' "The Magnificent Warriors", it can be assumed that Agro-3 is a new breed of agro ship constructed on or after 7352.