Ancient Kobolian: Galleon
Colonial One: Difference between revisions
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* 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. | * 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 | * Half way through [[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. | ||
* After "[[Exodus, Part II]]", rust can be seen between the outer hull plates of ''Colonial One'', reflecting more than a year on the surface of [[New Caprica]]. | * After "[[Exodus, Part II]]", rust can be seen between the outer hull plates of ''Colonial One'', reflecting more than a year on the surface of [[New Caprica]]. | ||
Revision as of 18:42, 4 January 2007
| Colonial One | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Race: | Colonial | ||
| Type: | Civilian | ||
| FTL: | Yes | ||
| Propulsion: | 2 x sublight engines, 4 x commercial-rated FTL drive pods, manouvering thrusters. | ||
| Crew: | Unknown | ||
| Capacity: | (approx) 100-150 standard - up to 500 under emergency conditions | ||
| CO: | {{{co}}} | ||
| XO: | {{{xo}}} | ||
| Role: | Presidential transport | ||
| Weapons: | {{{weapons}}} | ||
| Armaments: | {{{arm}}} | ||
| Defenses: | {{{def}}} | ||
| Aircraft: | {{{aircraft}}} | ||
| Aviation facilities: | {{{facilities}}} | ||
| Fate: | {{{status}}} | ||
| Emblem: | [[Image:{{{patch}}}|175px|Ship's patch]] | ||
| Other Images: | Gallery | ||
| Length: | 277 feet (84.5m) | ||
| Width: | 49 feet (15m) | ||
| Height: | 72 feet (22m) | ||
| Weight: | {{{weight}}} | ||
| Wingspan: | {{{wingspan}}} | ||
| Other: | {{{otherdi}}} | ||
| Cost: | {{{construction}}} | ||
| Construction Time: | {{{construction}}} | ||
| Hull Size: | {{{hull size}}} | ||
| Hull: | {{{hull}}} | ||
| FTL Cooldown: | {{{ftl cooldown}}} turns | ||
| Speed: | {{{speed}}} m/s | ||
| Turn Rate: | {{{turn rate}}}°/turn | ||
| Armor Total: | {{{armor total}}} | ||
| Armor Left: | {{{armor left}}} | ||
| Armor Right: | {{{armor right}}} | ||
| Armor Front: | {{{armor front}}} | ||
| Armor Rear: | {{{armor rear}}} | ||
| Armor Top: | {{{armor top}}} | ||
| Armor Bottom: | {{{armor bottom}}} | ||
| DRADIS Range: | {{{dradis range}}} m | ||
| Processing Power: | {{{processing power}}} | ||
| Munition Slots: | {{{munitions}}} | ||
| Munition Cooldown Period: | {{{munition cooldown}}} turns | ||
| Squadron Slots: | {{{squadrons}}} | ||
| Squadron Size: | {{{squadron size}}} | ||
| Special Abilities: | {{{special abilities}}} | ||
| Additional Information | |||
Colonial One is a passenger liner starship now used as the seat of government for the President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, Laura Roslin. Colonial One is the civilian counterpart to the military leadership aboard the battlestar Galactica.
Background
The Colonial Government chartered an Intersun starliner, designated Colonial Heavy 798, for ferrying Secretary of Education Laura Roslin, her staff and members of the Colonial press to and from the decommissioning ceremonies for the battlestar Galactica.[1] Roslin departs the pre-attack seat of Colonial power, Caprica, shortly after her briefing on the teachers' strike with President Richard Adar (Epiphanies).
History
Galactica's Decommissioning Ceremony and Destruction of the Colonies
Colonial Heavy 798 arrives and docks with Galactica a few hours before the ceremonies. After the ceremonies, the transport begins its return to Caprica with Captain Lee Adama escorting the starliner in his father's old Viper, carrying Galactica's old EMP coils in her hanger bay for return to Caprica.
Approximately 3 hours from Caprica, the 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 government official on board, takes charge of the situation by setting up Colonial Heavy 798 for long term use. Shortly after this news, a single 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).
Case Orange
A 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[2], and Colonial Heavy 798 is re-named Colonial One, in recognition of its status in transporting the President.
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 gathers other civilian vessels marooned in space around the vicinity of 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. Before the situation can be resolved, another Cylon Raider jumps in and launches nuclear missiles at the small gathering of 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 in thinking the small fleet was destroyed. Faced with the threat of further Cylon forces coming, Laura Roslin is forced to order all FTL capable vessels to jump to Ragnar Anchorage, leaving the non-FTL capable vessels behind where they are destroyed by the Cylons. The exact number of casualties from this action is unknown, but believed to be in the several thousands.
President Roslin's First Administration
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 as well as visually from William Adama's military leadership. As well, Colonial One's security is handled by the Presidential security service, which is independent of the military leadership.
The Election
At the end of Season 2 a General election takes place for the presidency. Although a strong lead at the start of campaigning, Laura Roslin steadily lost support following the discovery of New Caprica and lost the election to her vice-president, Gaius Baltar.
President Baltar's Administration
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 Caprica 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.
Settlement of New Caprica
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 white board with its population-count as well as the "image of a rescue worker given to Roslin in "33". 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, Part II" 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 live aboard the vessel (more likely they lived in the Cylon-built administation and jail complex nearby). The Cylon committee forms the real government of New Caprica while Baltar's administration is reduced to no more than a puppet regime maintained to put 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 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's agents, the force are able to re-activate Colonial One's launch thrusters and FTL drive and flee from New Caprica along with the remaining colonists.
There and Back Again: President Roslin's Second Administration
At the end of "Exodus, Part II", Colonial One is once again part of the Rag Tag Fleet. Laura Roslin, through a succession deal with President Tom Zarek, has once again taken office as Colonial President with Tom Zarek as her Vice-President. Colonial One is subsequently re-established as the center of the civilian government and resumes its fleet position travelling near Galactica (Collaborators).
Size and Configuration
Colonial One is small enough to fit inside of Galactica's flight pod (Water). This makes Galactica a "safe haven" and also reduces contact with outsiders who would otherwise have the chance to make a move on the important visitors that frequently come and go from Colonial One.
A large main cabin aboard the ship provides seating accommodation for dignitaries and 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-sized craft (Miniseries).
Following the destruction of the Colonies, the ship's normal passenger capacity was reduced to accommodate the offices and cabins required by government personnel. Civilian passengers on Colonial One resided in converted sections of the liner. However, the configuration of passenger accommodations seems likely to have changed following the events of the Battle of New Caprica and the abandonment the human colony there. Colonial One appears to be carrying a larger complement of civilians, just as Galactica is carrying a larger crew of military personnel (from the destroyed Pegasus) mixed with civilians. For example, as Roslin negotiates with Tom Zarek over his future role in the presidential administration in the episode "Collaborators", two children can be seen playing in a corner of the President's office. This overcrowding is presumably due to the loss of several ships before and during the evacuation of New Caprica, as well as the need to spread out the remaining population among the existing ships.
Cinematic Trivia
- The cockpit of Colonial One is a redressed original Space Shuttle Orbiter cockpit simulator. The current Orbiter fleet have since been refurbished with newer cockpits.
- Colonial One's cargo bay, as seen in the Miniseries, was actually the car deck of a BC Ferries V Class car and passenger ferry.
- 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 defunct airline, and perhaps the 2001 movie, is also given homage with the Pan Galactic.
- The ship was intentionally painted in the color scheme of the real world Air Force One to evoke more of that "real world" feel from the series.
- Half way through Season One, the Colonial One CG model was updated and the seal of the President of 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.
- After "Exodus, Part II", rust can be seen between the outer hull plates of Colonial One, reflecting more than a year on the surface of New Caprica.
References
- ↑ The ship's original 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.
- ↑ U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson was quickly sworn-in on Air Force One, the Presidential air transport, immediately after President 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.
