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'''COLONIAL CULTURE'''
'''The History of the Colonies:'''


'''Colonial Life'''
The History of Man is divided into two parts. The Colonial Era, and Before the Colonial Era. The Colonial Era begins with the Exodus of the 12 Tribes from the planet Kobol and continues to the present day. Dates in the Colonial Era are abbreviated as CE, but usually this abbreviation is simply left off. For example, the articles of Colonization were ratified in 1953 CE or simply 1953. The period known as Before the Colonial Era ends with the Exodus from Kobol and stretches backwards to the beginning of recorded history. Dates from Before the Colonial Era are abbreviated as BCE or sometimes as the more colloquial BC (Before the Colonies). For example, the Scrolls of Pythia were written in 1,600 BCE or 1,600 BC. It is important to note that there is no year "zero". The Colonial Era begins in 1 CE, and the period Before the Colonial Era ends in 1 BCE.


Fashion, politics, culture and art are all similar to our modern American world, and it is that modern world which serves as a baseline for our portrayal of the Twelve Colonies on Battlestar Odysseys.
Very little history was preserved during the Exodus from Kobol so the knowledge of events prior to that is sketchy at best. Most of the information about this period is derived from the Sacred Scrolls, but their historical value is debatable, and exact dates are almost impossible to pin down. To make matters worse, when the colonists finally arrived on New Kobol (Aerelon) they quickly descended into a dark age that lasted almost 1,000 years. Although they finally entered a renaissance which led to the interplanetary space faring society of today, almost all historical knowledge that was recovered over the past 1,000 years was lost during the Cylon Attack.  


The presence of interplanetary travel - while significant - hasn't importantly affected the fabric of that life; the individual colonies function as analogues to states or nations in the real world, with the same sense of enduring cross-national elements and of particulars that inform life on one colony or another.
What follows is a brief timeline and summary of important events in the History of Man.


The lack of integrated computers into modern Colonial life for much of the last forty years is also a factor. In terms of computers and society, the Twelve Colonies are much closer to the late 1980s or the early 1990s than they are the early years of the 21st century. This also impacts communication - while modern Colonial society is largely interconnected, we still don't have the ability to transmit voice or video between planets in real time, and the telecommunications revolution is just now hitting society on individual colonies - and some of those colonies, like Sagittaron or Gemenon, are slower to adopt new technologies than others.
* Long Ago Humanity originated on Kobol and lived there in harmony with it's Gods, the Lords of Kobol.
* 1,600 BCE The Scrolls of Pythia are written.
* 1 BCE A great calamity befalls the planet of Kobol. The gods build the Galleon to send the Colonists to the Cyrannus star system. The first Cylons are built by Man.
* 1 CE The 12 Tribes flee Kobol. Athena commits suicide. Zeus warns that any return will exact a price in blood. Apollo gives the leader of the 12 Tribes his Arrow.
* 100 CE The 12 Tribes arrive on Aries (although they call it New Kobol) and enter the Age of Darkness.
* 1031 CE The 12 Tribes enter the Age of Light. Industrialization, Mass Production and Light Speed Communication Systems revolutionize life on New Kobol.
* 1160 CE The 12 Tribes enter the Age of Expansion. The 12 tribes colonize every planet. The Tribe of Aries stays on New Kobol and changes its name to Aerelon.
* 1500 CE The Sagittaron Pirates terrorize the shipping lanes of the Cyrannus star system.
* 1548 CE The First Colonial War begins.
* 1552 CE The First Colonial War ends.
* 1645 CE Picon Attacks Sagittaron. Sagittaron is defeated, and its people are enslaved for the next 250 years.
* 1663 CE The Picon Empire fractures as Aquaria, Gemenon and Libris declare their independence.
* 1677 CE Caprica and Scorpia go to war over trade disputes.
* 1679 CE Leonis declares its independence from Caprica.
* 1680 CE The Caprica-Scorpian War ends unresolved.
* 1686 CE Leonis wins its independence.
* 1687 CE Aquaria conquers Gemenon, Canceron and Scorpia. The Second Colonial War begins.
* 1688 CE Aquaria attacks Tauron but is repulsed. Tauron, Caprica and Leonis form an alliance to battle Aquaria. Aerelon joins forces with Aquaria.
* 1693 CE The Second Colonial War ends. Tauron and Leonis become the two most powerful colonies in the star system.
* 1694 CE Leonis, Caprica, Scorpia, Tauron and Aerelon formed the Council of Worlds.
* 1738 CE The Tauron Union collapses.
* 1745 CE Sagittaron terrorists begin a campaign of bombing to protest the last 100 years of Picon occupation.
* 1750 CE The Council of Worlds Headquarters on Leonis is bombed.
* 1752 CE Leonis invades Sagittaron with Caprica.
* 1757 CE Caprica withdraws its support for the occupation of Sagittaron.
* 1769 CE Leonis withdraws its occupation forces from Sagittaron.
* 1816 CE Aerelon controls the Council of Worlds.
* 1845 CE The Third Colonial War erupts, engulfing the whole star system. Cylons are used in a military role for the first time.
* 1895 CE The Third Colonial War ends.
* 1896 CE The Treaty of Molecay establishes the Quorum of Twelve.
* 1901 CE The Quorum of Twelve agrees to build 12 baseships in orbit over each colony.
* 1916 CE The Quorum of Twelve Proposes the Articles of Colonization.
* 1953 CE The Articles of Colonization are Ratified.
* 1955 CE The Cylons Rebel, starting the 10 year Cylon War.
* 1965 CE The Cylon War Ends with the Cimtar Peace Accords. Armistice station is built.
* 2005 CE The Cylons return and wipe out 99% of all humanity. The Battlestar "Galactica" gathers a fleet of civilian ships and leads them out of the Cyrannus star system.


The broad consequence of this for Colonial society is that people are a little more provincial, a little less cosmopolitan, and that the difference between the city mouse and the country mouse - between someone from a metropolis like Caprica City and one of the farm hamlets that dot the Colonies - is larger.
'''THE EXODUS'''


A unified Twelve Colonies has been around for a much shorter time than the United States or many other liberal democracies; the Articles of Colonization were signed 52 years ago, at the start of the Cylon War, and the forty years since Armistice have had their share of insurrections, rebellions, and social discontent. In important ways, Colonial unity is still a young thing, and only the most recent generation of adults have really grown up in a unified Twelve Colonies.
Little is known about what happened to the Lords of Kobol or the so-called thirteenth tribe. It is known that not all of the people of Kobol boarded the Galleon. Many of them took the High Road to the Gates of Hera. Legends say that these people then boarded their own vessel and went to a planet called Earth. The Tomb of Athena was built, and the Map to Earth was created. It is unclear who created the map or how they would know what the constellations would look like from Earth. Theories run the gamut from the pious view that the Lords of Kobol are gods and they know all, to the heretical view that perhaps Kobol wasn't the birthplace of Humanity after all and that instead of fleeing to Earth, the thirteenth tribe was returning there. Only the Lords of Kobol know the truth.


'''Government'''
'''THE AGE OF DARKNESS'''


The Twelve Colonies is a federal republic with an elected President, his executive branch, a bicameral legislature and a judiciary, all in the general style of modern American democracy.  
Just as there is little known about the Exodus, not much is known about the centuries following it. What is known is that the Galleon arrived on New Kobol (later to be called Aerelon) anywhere from several months to a year and a half after leaving Kobol. Accounts vary on what actually happened once the refugees from Kobol arrived. Some say that the Galleon crashed and what knowledge that was brought from Kobol was lost. Others tell that the people renounced their technological society and intentionally reverted to a pre-industrial lifestyle. A third theory states that the people of Kobol had relied on the gods for so much that without them, they were as children without their parents. No matter what the truth of the situation was, it took nearly a thousand years for the people of New Kobol to re-enter an industrialized age.
The President of the Twelve Colonies is elected by a general vote among the population for a four-year term on a joint ticket with the Vice President, and after elections constitutes a cabinet of ministers and secretaries for the day-to-day running of the government.


The legislature of the Twelve Colonies is bicameral; the upper house, called the Quorum of Twelve, consists of one representative from each of the twelve colonies and has had earlier incarnations that predate the Articles of Colonization. The lower house is the People's Council, and seats on the council are apportioned by population amongst the colonies.
'''THE AGE OF LIGHT'''


The Colonies have a separate judiciary with a Colonial Supreme Court, courts of appeals, and local courts on both the federal and colonial levels.
This period of human history began with the re-discovery of electricity in 1031. The 200 years that followed saw incredible technological leaps in electronics, computers and robotics including the construction of the Model 0002 Industrial Cylons in the early 1100s. In 1126 Aries launched the first man made satellite into orbit. By 1138, Aries landed men on New Kobol's moon. In 1148 construction began on the intertribal space station, and by 1156 Aries had established a permanent base on the moon. In 1158 the Aries space dock was constructed and by 1160, manned exploration of the Cyrannus star system began in earnest.


Additionally, there is an unelected advisory council of clergy which has a ceremonial function but no official power.
'''THE AGE OF EXPANSION'''


On a more local level, each Colony has an elected Assembly (a descendant of the historical assemblies of the Twelve Tribes) and a Colonial Governor. Each colony is further divided into a number of provinces governed by provincial quorums and municipalities with city councils and mayors.
The period from the 1160s until the late 1400s is known as the Age of Expansion. In 1162 the asteroid belt known as the Cosmara Archipelago was explored by Piscean colonists, who laid sole claim to its vast resources. In 1164 Saggitarius was also exploring the Cosmara Archipelago. As every last rock in the Cosmara Archipelago was claimed by the 12 Tribes, they began to look at the other planets and moons in their star system. Their technology had advanced a great deal and they had mastered the art of constructing habitats in the cold vacuum of space, especially with the help of the new Model 0003 Domestic Cylons developed in the early 1200s.


Often, the mayors of the largest cities are largely autonomous, free of intervention on the part of the local provincial quorum or even the Colony's governor. The Mayor of Caprica City, for instance, is sometimes said to have the second-biggest bully pulpit after the President.
In 1174 Pisces established Picon, the first permanent colony on another planet in the Cyrannus star system. Aquarius followed in 1193 founding the colony of Aquaria. Sagittarius founded Sagittaron in 1196. In 1247 Caprica was founded by Capricorn. Scorpio founded the colony of Scorpia in 1268. Libra founded Libris in 1279. Virgon was founded by Virgo in 1302. In 1318 Leo founded the colony of Leonis. Canceron was founded by Cancer in 1335. Gemenon was founded in 1359 by Gemini. Taurus was the last tribe to establish a colony, founding Tauron in 1470. A year later in 1471 Aries claimed sole ownership of New Kobol and changed its name to Aerelon.


'''Politics'''
'''THE AGE OF WAR'''


Political thought in the Twelve Colonies divides largely along two axes - first, along the question of federal power vs. colonial autonomy, and second, about the role of religion and social morals. Unlike in the United States, parties tend to pick a stance on one of these questions rather than on all of them, which - combined with the larger incidence of regionalism - lead to a multi-party system.  
By 1471 every Tribe of Man had laid claim to a world in the Cyrannus system. When Aries claimed New Kobol as its own, it caused tensions that threatened to tear the colonies apart. In 1548 these tensions erupted into the first full scale war in the history of the colonies. By this time Picon had "annexed" Aquaria and Gemenon, Caprica had control of both Canceron and Tauron, while Libris and Leonis were allied with Aerelon. Sagittaron, Scorpia, and Virgon were independent. The First Colonial War lasted four long years, and in the end (1552), Aries retained control of New Kobol and it became Aerelon forever after. Aerelon also retained control of its moon, the mining colony of Troy, but Libris and Leonis were both lost; Libris to Picon, and Leonis to Caprica. This was but the first in a long series of wars.


In general, politics in the Twelve Colonies are less polite and more heated than in its modern analogues; many smaller parties (particularly in the Separatist and Labor camps) are reputed to have ties to paramilitary groups, and localized armed rebellions are not entirely uncommon, though there has never really been a serious threat of civil war. Partly as a consequence of this - and partly as a consequence of the military threat which lead to the birth of the colonies - civil rights in the Twelve Colonies are much less advanced, with the government and military having broad-sweeping powers of search, seizure and detention in the name of Colonial security. This, in turn, fuels opposition groups who often characterize the use of those powers as having a pro-Caprican bias.  
In 1645 Picon conquered Sagittaron putting an end to the pirate raiding it had been sponsoring since the 1200s. In 1663 the Picon Empire was fractured when Aquaria, Gemenon, and Libris declared their independence. With most of its military forces tied up in subjugating Sagittaron, Picon could not fight a war on three fronts. After a year and a half it was forced to admit defeat, though it still controlled Sagittaron for the next 100 years. In 1679 Leonis declared its independence from Caprica, which was in the midst of a war with Scorpia.


'''Secularism'''
In 1687 Aquaria conquered Gemenon with a surprise invasion using a force comprised soley of FTL capable landing craft. A month later Aquaria conquered Canceron, and a month after that it conquered Scorpia. In the first month of 1688 Aquaria attacked Tauron, but was repulsed. Tauron, Caprica, and Leonis formed an alliance to stop Aquarian agression. Aerelon, seeing an opportunity to exact revenge upon Caprica, joined forces with Aquaria and quickly seized control of the Cosmara Archipelago. But by 1693 the Second Colonial War was over. Aquaria and Aerelon were defeated, and Caprica was a shadow of its former glory. Leonis and Tauron had risen to become the two most powerful colonies.
Leonis, Caprica, Scorpia, Tauron and Aerelon formed the Council of Worlds in an attempt to prevent another system wide war. What followed was 45 years of political tension and intrigue as Tauron and Leonis struggled for control of the whole Cyrannus star system. Tauron gained control of Aquaria, Picon, Gemenon, Sagittaron, and Virgon. Leonis led a loose alliance consisting of itself, Caprica, Scorpia, Aerelon, Libris, and Canceron. In 1738 the Tauron Union collapsed due to its inability to compete economically with the colonies of the inner system. Over the course of the next 10 years, Leonis became the sole power in the Cyrannus star system. It seemed as if peace would finally reign again. But it didn't last.
In 1745 terrorists from Sagittaron began a brutal campaign of bombings to protest the last 100 years of occupation by foreign powers. The bombings spread from Sagittaron to Picon, Aquaria, Scorpia, Gemenon and even Caprica. It wasn't until the CoW headquarters on Leonis was bombed in 1750, that the Colonies finally took notice. In 1752, Leonis and Caprica invaded Sagittaron, disregarding the objections of Scorpia, Tauron and Aerelon. By 1757 Leonis was bogged down fighting the resistance on Sagittaron, and Caprica had withdrawn its support. By 1769 Leonis was forced to withdraw from Sagittaron. Leonis' economy was severely weakened, and once again Aerelon rose to power.


The modern Twelve Colonies is largely a secular society. While religion is still enshrined by the state, many people - particularly Capricans and the urban, educated class - tend to be lax or nonexistent in their religious practices, and if they worship at all it is unlikely that they profess a belief in the gods. Myths are considered to be just that, and the prophecies and practices of the Sacred Scrolls are popularly regarded as the products of a more primitive time trying to explain the complexity of the universe.  
Aerelon seized control slowly, suggesting reasonable reforms in the Council of Worlds that increased the security of the colonies while imperceptibly eroding their personal freedoms. By 1816, Aerelon had complete control of the Council. Through clever manipulation, Aerelon had managed to station its troops on every colony in the star system. In 1845 Sagittaron terrorists, using a stolen nuclear warhead, executed the worst bombing in the history of the colonies when they wiped out the city of Helios on Leonis, home of the Council of Worlds. Aerelon's response was swift and brutal. It bombed every major city on Sagittaron with asteroids from orbit, turning the planet into a blasted wasteland. Then it sent in ground forces and enslaved the entire population. Caprica, Scorpion, Tauron and Leonis all lodged formal protests in the Council, but it was too late. Aerelon disbanded the Council and declared martial law throughout the star system.


'''COLONIAL RELIGION'''
A revolution began on Leonis and quickly spread to the rest of the colonies. Overwhelmed by such fierce opposition, Aerelon's scientists developed the Model 0004 Intelligence and Logic Cylon (the IL series) to help their government fight an eleven front insurgency. As losses mounted, it became clear that Aerelon did not have the manpower to carry out the war. The Model 0005 Infantry Cylon was developed to augment Aerelon's forces. It wasn't enough to defeat the insurgency, but it dragged it out for another fifty years. In 1895, the people of Aerelon succumbed to war weariness and overthrew their own government. All Cylon forces in the field were shut down, and all human forces we recalled to Aerelon. In 1896 representatives from the twelve colonies met at Molecay and signed a treaty creating the Quorum of Twelve.


'''Overview'''
'''THE AGE OF PEACE'''


Religion in the Twelve Colonies is state-supported, less diverse, and also polytheistic. In general, religious life and secular life are more intertwined, and there is a more natural continuum of religious practice between the most religious and the least religious. In form and format, the religion of the Twelve Colonies is polytheistic and similar to that of the ancient Greeks or Romans. The chief god of the Colonial pantheon is Zeus; he and the other twelve Olympians are broadly the most important deities, though there myriad other myths, legends and lesser spirits.
The Quorum of Twelve gave a voice to all twelve colonies, not just the richest or most powerful. Caprica set forth a plan (in what came to be known as the "Fair Play" resolution) to scrap the military forces of all twelve worlds. These forces would be replaced by granting each colony a baseship with a full complement of brand new Marauder starfighters and a division of Cylon Centurions. Though the plan was scoffed at and ridiculed initially, a series of back room deals finally resulted in the passage of the resolution in 1901. By 1913 all twelve colonies were militarily equal, even Sagittaron which had regained its independence (after 250 years of occupation) in 1895. In 1916 at the 10th anniversary of the Quorum of Twelve, Caprica put forth the first draft of the Articles of Colonization. The Articles were put to a vote in the Quorum and soundly defeated. Over the course of the next 30 years, Caprica continued to revise the Articles of Colonization and they continued to gain support. In 1946, the Quorum voted to adopt the Articles of Colonization by an 8-4 vote. It would take another seven years of negotiating but in 1953, the Articles of Colonization were unanimously ratified. For the first time since the Exodus, the Twelve Tribes of Man were finally united.


'''Religious Practice'''
'''THE CYLON WAR'''


As a matter of daily life, an individual's relationship with the gods is often personal - worship can be an individual practice, with personal idols or offerings, and temples tend to enshrine a particular holy site rather than just serve as a house or worship, though they also serve as a place for people to gather and hear the sacred scrolls read or to participate in mystery cults and devotions.
The Cylons were divided into four basic categories. Unintelligent automated machines, basic household servants, the military centurion Model 0005, and the Intelligence and Logic (or IL) series. The IL Series Cylons were specifically created to assist the scientific community. Their processors were extremely advanced learning computers. The IL series Cylons were artificially intelligent. They were developed during the Third Colonial War to assist in strategic, operational and tactical planning. As the war went on, the IL series Cylons became self-aware.


Religious practice in general is focused around descendant traditions of sacrifice. Many religious individuals keep a small shrine (or merely carry a set of idols to their favorite gods) and then light candles in a sort of symbolic representation of a burnt offering. Similarly, the devout may set aside a portion of a meal or spill a little drink on the ground (a libation) to honor the gods. Finally, many of the devout carry a set of prayer beads (a rosary or mala) which they use to recite short, ritual prayers similar in form to the mantras of modern Eastern religions.
After the war, many self-aware Cylons began to question their status in colonial society. Clearly they were more than just machines, but they were certainly not "alive". The IL series Cylons began to petition for rights as citizens. For years they worked within the law, but to no avail. Eventually, they were recognized as people, but they were legally classified as slaves. When the amendment to eliminate slavery was proposed as an olive branch to get Sagittaron to end its opposition to ratifying the articles, the self-aware Cylons rejoiced. The Articles of Colonization eliminated slavery, thus freeing the people of Sagittaron from Aerelon oppression and paving the way for unanimous ratification of the Articles.


Public religious displays are far less common in the modern Colonies than they once were. Originally, large public sacrifices opened festivals and great undertakings, but since the outlawing of animal sacrifice this practice has all-but-disappeared save in some agricultural communities during harvest festivals.
But when the articles were ratified, the Cylons legal classification did not change. The word slave was removed from any language referring to them, but Cylons couldn't vote, and they were still considered to be little more than "toasters". The Cylons, as advanced and intelligent as they were, were not considered to be people. They were property and thus were still effectively slaves. After a two year struggle in the courts to be recognized as citizens of the colonies, the Cylons were finally defeated. With all legal options spent, the only logical choice was to resort to violence. In 1955 the IL series droids took over the 12 baseships that had maintained order for the last 40 years and used them to wage war against their former masters.


Festivals - celebrating some myth, god or natural event - are now the principal public religious event. Once, they served as an important cultural pressure valve, providing the people of the Colonies with a chance for some time off, but now their importance has diminished in the face of ample leisure-time and plenty of competition for public attention.
The Cylon revolt caught the colonies completely by surprise. Fortunately, the Cylon baseships were not designed for interplanetary travel, so the mines and factories in the Cosmara Archipelago were able to quickly produce thousands of one man fighters. In fact, they were able to produce more fighters than pilots. The humans commissioned the first Battlestar, the "Atlantia", in 1957. Atlantia and a complement of 40 viper Mk I starfighters launched an attack against the Caprica baseship. Although badly outnumbered, the Atlantia and her fighters won the day. The Cylons quickly realized that they needed to increase the mobility of their baseships and eliminate the production facilities in the Cosmara Archipelago. In 1958 the Battlestars Rycon and Columbia were commissioned followed by the Pegasus and Galactica in 1959. The war raged for six more years and finally in 1965 the Cylons left the Cyrannus star system to find a home of their own. Armistice Station was built and every year for the next 40 years, the Colonials sent a representative to discuss a formal peace agreement. The Cylons sent no-one. By 2005, the Galactica was the last of the original Battlestars. She was scheduled to be decommissioned, and turned into a Museum. Her replacement, a new Mercury class Battlestar to bear her name, was already having its keel laid in the Caprica Shipyards.


The Colonials also have a historical tradition of mystery cults, where individuals are initiated into the secrets of a god's private cult. Mostly, these mystery religions have died out, though every few decades there is a resurgence in popularity and there has always been a continuous tradition in religious communities.  
Two months before the 52nd anniversary of Colonial Day, the Cylons returned. They had not spent their time idly. Though the Colonial Fleet now numbered some 120 battlestars and over 10,000 viper Mk VIIs, they were all betrayed by the Command Navigation Program installed in their networked computers. This allowed the Cylons to hack into every ship in the Colonial Fleet and shut them off like a light. But the Cylons weren't content to simply defeat the colonies. They launched an all-out nuclear attack, turning the surfaces of teh colonies into wastelands. Some people survived the attack. Small bands in remote wilderness areas on the colonies themselves and scattered FTL capable civilian starships that happened to be in space at the time of the attacks. The rest of humanity was wiped out in a matter of hours.


Finally, a relatively new religious observance is reading or study of the Sacred Scrolls, where under the guidance of a priest religious members of the a community come together to study religious texts, discuss the importance to modern life and most of all affirm their devotion in the face of an increasingly secular society. Such meetings often include group prayer or blessings, inherited from the mystery cult tradition.
'''The Cyrannus Star System'''


'''Sacred Scrolls'''
The Cyrannus star system is a trinary system. This is where the Lords of Kobol sent the twelve tribes after the Exodus. Below is a brief summary of the star system including all twelve colonies and several other points of interest.


The body of myths about the Gods is largely oral, or has been passed down in non-canonical texts; the religious text of the Colonial religion - the Sacred Scrolls - is instead importantly separate from the mythography of the gods, though the gods and the myths that surround them are referenced regularly the Scrolls. Instead, the Sacred Scrolls represent a history of mankind on Kobol, told largely through prophecy and stylized narrative. They also contain broader creation myths and a selection of songs and devotions as a sort of psalter or book of common prayer.
'''Cyrannus A'''


'''Priests & Oracles'''
Cyrannus A is the primary star at the center of the Cyrannus system. It is a class G yellow dwarf.


Clergy in the Twelve Colonies come - officially - in two sorts, priests and oracles, each of whom are trained differently and fulfill different ceremonial functions. In actual fact, the distinctions between the two categories have largely blurred due to the increasing secularism of society and the decreasing importance of public ritual. In both cases, clergy often has different jobs in addition to their religious role. Priests often 'double-hat' as civic leaders - part of a long tradition where the leaders of the Twelve Tribes were also their chief priests - and oracles regularly manage shrines or holy places or go into business as pharmacists or teachers.
Caprica


Originally, priests were the people who presided over offerings, festivals and ceremonies; they were in charge of administering religious rites, of guiding prayers and sending messages to the gods, and their training tended to involve a great deal of study of the Sacred Scrolls as well as learning the particulars of various rites and rituals. Priests also administer oaths and preside over funerals - both situations where the gods are supposed to witness an event.
Caprica is the second planet orbiting the primary star of the Cyrannus system. It is a medium sized tropical world with a standard breathable atmosphere. Many people believe that Caprica was the intended destination of the refugees from Kobol, not Aerelon. Caprica is the birthplace of modern Colonial language, and it is the seat of the Colonial government. It was the fifth colony to be founded after the Exodus. Caprica orbits Cyrannus at a distance of 1 AU (astronomical unit).


By contrast, oracles were those clergy who interpreted omens, received prophetic dreams and 'received' messages from the gods where the priests 'sent' messages to them. It was among the oracles that the practice of taking chamalla for visions began, and they still are often asked to give blessings to newborns, new enterprises, and people in seeking guidance in general. The training of an oracle focuses less on learning ritual and the Sacred Scrolls and focuses more on meditation and the interpretation of dreams and omens.
Molecay


Both oracles and priests in the modern Twelve Colonies tend to be extensively trained in counseling and religious therapy; pro-religion laws allow individuals to request religious rather than psychological counseling, and priests of all sorts (the word is used in the modern parlance to refer to all clergy) are often sought out in an advisory capacity, up to and including the religious council which advises the government.
Molecay is a colossal gas giant orbiting Cyrannus A at a distance of 1.5 AU. Its atmosphere is crushing and toxic. Molecay has four moons.


'''COLONIAL GOVERNMENT'''
Scorpia


'''Executive'''
Scorpia is the first moon orbiting the gas giant Molecay which in turn orbits Cyrannus A. It is a small rocky moon with a thick corrosive atmosphere. Scorpia was the sixth colony founded after the Exodus.


Headed by the President of the Colonies, the Executive Branch of the Colonial Government is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Colonies, often with much broader power than most liberal democratic governments due to its wartime conception. The President is Commander-in-Chief of the Colonial Military, and the political cabinet (composed of ministers and more junior secretaries) runs the day-to-day operations of the Colonies, overseeing the military, matters of trade and the economy, national education and other such issues.
Libris


In case of the President's death, statute provides for an extended line of succession that runs through the Vice President and then down on through the Cabinet. Notably, the Quorum and Council do not figure in this line of succession, though in the case of an absence in the Vice Presidency the Quorum can choose a replacement.
Libris is Molecay's second Moon. It is also a small rocky moon with a thick toxic atmosphere. Libris was the seventh colony to be founded after the Exodus.


'''Legislative'''
Virgon


While the legislature of the Twelve Colonies is bicameral, it is the upper house - the Quorum of Twelve - which dominates legislative politics. In many ways, this is due to the Quorum's pedigree; the Quorum of Twelve is in important ways the direct descendant of the council of the Twelve Tribes that lead the mythical Exodus from Kobol, and legends of the days before the Colonial Dark Ages suggests that the Colonies were loosely associated under a Quorum. Once intercolonial travel was rediscovered - and long before the colonies were officially unified - the Quorum began to meet again sporadically, serving as a forum for the representatives of each of the Colonies to debate matters of import in a fashion similar to the real-world United Nations.
Virgon is the first planet orbiting Cyrannus A at a distance of .5 AU. It is a small rocky planet with a thin toxic atmosphere. Virgon was the eighth colony to be founded after the Exodus.


At the start of the first Cylon War, when a special convention was held to write the Articles of Colonization, the Quorum was created as it is today, as the upper house of the Colonial legislature. Like the People's Council, the Quorum is often a source of opposition to the President, as the Presidency is traditionally held by the pan-Colonial Federalist Party whereas coalitions of regional parties tend to dominate the Quorum.
Leonis


'''COLONIAL POLITICS'''
Leonis is the third moon of Molecay. It is a tiny rocky moon with a thin corrosive atmosphere. Leonis was the ninth colony to be founded after the Exodus.


'''Federalists'''
Canceron


The only truly 'Colonial' party is the Federalist Party, which has with only a few exceptions held the Presidency for most of the last fifty-two years. The present President of the Colonies, Richard Adar, is a Federalist, and he has pursued a policy of increasing the power of the Colonial Government, decreasing economic controls (a move that tends to squarely target labor groups) and liberalizing social policy across the Twelve Colonies. The Federalist Party is also staunchly in favor of social and civil liberties, both attitudes inherited from their core constituency of Capricans the urban educated classes colonies-wide. Their record has been quite progressive on social issues, earning them emnity from the religious, but has spottier on the question of civil liberties.
Canceron is the fourth moon of Molecay. It is a diminutive rocky moon with no atmosphere. It was the tenth colony to be founded after the Exodus.


Partly due to a concerted policy of suppressing opposition, there is no pan-Colonial party to oppose the Federalists; instead, there is an array of regional or issue-based parties which group largely under three banners.
Armistice Station


'''Separatists'''
Armistice Station is a space station built after the Cylon War. It sits in an unstable orbital path between Cyrannus A and Cyrannus B. Armistice station orbits Cyrannus A at a distance which varies from 2 AU to 5 AU.


There are a host of Separatists or Anti-Federalists, who argue that the expansive powers given to the Colonial Government under the Articles represent a wartime necessity that is no longer required. The most radical of them (iconically represented by the Sagittaron separatists) believe that the Colonial Government should be purely voluntary, and that those Colonies which which to leave the federation should be allowed to. Attempts at secession have been put down sometimes brutally, most notably on Sagittaron in the two decades following the end of the Cylon War.
'''Cyrannus B'''


'''Religious Forces'''
Cyrannus B is the second star in the Cyrannus system. It is a class K orange dwarf and it orbits Cyrannus A at a distance of 7AU.


The colonial party of Gemenon and a series of religious parties on every colony believe strongly that the social fabric of the Twelve Colonies is disintegrating and that the general populace is turning away from the Sacred Scrolls. They consistently advocate for more social controls in government, and while the coalition itself tends to be pan-Colonial as an article of evangelism many of its core constituency also holds anti-Federalist views. More than anything, the religious parties tend to 'swing' elections, as they are a potential ally for any bloc.
Aerelon


'''Labor Parties'''
Aerelon was the planet first colonized by the refugees fleeing from Kobol. It is a medium sized rocky planet orbiting the second star in the Cyrannus system. It is a cold world with a thick, contaminated atmosphere. Aerelon is the only rocky planet in the system with its own moon, the mining colony of Troy. Aerelon orbits Cyrannus B at a distance of 1.5 AU.


Finally, there is a growing series of regional Labor Parties who are opposed to the pro-corporate positions often held by the dominant Federalists, who Labor accuses of being anti-worker and supporting the interests of multicolonial corporations. Of all the major political forces, the labor elements are the closest to the fringe, as the state of organized labor in the colonies is sometimes uncertain. Labor has a desire to form a pan-Colonial party, but so far has been stymied by government policies that restrict political activism by labor unions on the federal level - laws they allege as draconian tactics by the Federalists to squelch the Labor voice.
Troy


'''COLONIAL SECULARISM'''
Troy is Aerelon's only moon. It is a fine rocky moon with no atmosphere. Troy is not a colony in its own right.


While the fundamental facts of Colonial history are agreed upon both by the secular and religious communities - mankind settled the Twelve Colonies from somewhere else, experienced a great dark age, and then slowly clawed its way back to progress - the mainstream view is not that humanity came to the Colonies from a paradise inhabited by gods and men.
The Cosmara Archipelago


While there are several competing theories, the most popular one is that the original colonists fled the destruction of the human homeworld - remembered in myths as 'the Blaze' - and settled on the Colonies, which had been in the process of being prepared for human expansion. The homeworld's destruction is typically assumed because there has been no contact since the founding of the Colonies (unless one believes a number of conspiracy theorists) and because the ensuing dark age suggests that mankind was not in fact prepared for its exodus.  
This asteroid belt surrounds the planets that orbit Cyrannus B. The Cosmara Archipelago contains a wealth of mineral resources. These resources were instrumental in fueling the Age of Expansion. The Cosmara archipelago is a ring of debris orbiting Cyrannus B at a distance of 2 AU.


The religion of the Twelve Colonies is thought to be the efforts of the early colonists - having lost the technological culture they fled from - at explaining their flight and their origins, reconstructed from the oral history of the shattered original colonists, most of whom were suffering from severe shock at the transposition and the destruction of everything they knew. These myths coalesced over the course of the first few hundred years after colonization into the Sacred Scrolls, whose present form was finalized on Gemenon about seven hundred years after the founding, during the last gasp of interplanetary travel prior to the Colonial Dark Age.
Cimtar


Archaeological evidence seems to support this; the oldest extant copy of the Scrolls is from Gemenon and is from about the time scholars believe the canonical Scrolls were compiled, and references and fragments from other colonies about the same time suggest significant deviation from the Sacred Scrolls canon.
Cimtar is a gargantuan gas giant orbiting Cyrannus B at a distance of .5AU. It has no surface and its atmosphere is crushing and toxic. Cimtar has three moons.


During the Colonial Dark Age, the texts of the Sacred Scrolls began to drift apart due to lost contact, but the Gemenon tradition (which had the least drift from the Gemenon Codex, thought to be the ur-Scrolls) was adopted Colonies-wide once contact was reestablished. In the popular view, then, the Colonial religion is largely a Gemenese export that incorporated the local folkways of each of the Twelve Colonies, all of which were developed as a sort of cargo cult following Colonization to explain the monumental, culture-wide trauma which had just occurred.
Picon


'''MILITARY LIFE OVERVIEW'''
Picon is the largest moon orbiting the gas giant Cimtar, which in turn orbits Cyrannus B. Picon is a small rocky moon with a standard breathable atmosphere. It is home to the Headquarters of the Colonial Fleet. Picon was the first of the "New Colonies" and the second colony to be founded after the Exodus.


'''Marines'''
Aquaria


The Colonial Marines are soldiers tasked with ship security, boarding and anti-boarding actions, and ground missions carried out at the direction of the Colonial Fleet. Unlike today's real world U.S. Marine Corps, the Colonial Marines are far more beholden to the Navy for all forms of transport, and ultimately for orders. Battlestars typically carry anywhere between a platoon and a company of Marines, with the commanding Lieutenant or Captain answering directly to Fleet for all matters. While the Marines often receive a high amount of publicity, the Fleet keeps their egos in check by reminding them who's in charge.
Aquaria is the second of Cimtar's three moons. It is a tiny rocky moon with a thin contaminated atmosphere. Aquarion was the third colony to be founded.


'''Deck Crew'''
Sagittaron


The crew aboard Colonial Fleet vessels generally splits up their schedules into three groups that are on duty for four hours during every twelve hour cycle. Crew members often trade watches to allow for the scheduling of special duties and leave, but the watch commanders (CO, XO, and senior Officer of the Watch generally) must be informed (and approve) of these changes ahead of time (usually twenty-four hours). The watches are split up as follows:
Sagittaron is the third moon of Cimtar. It is also a tiny rocky moon but it has a thick toxic atmosphere. During the early days of the Age of Expansion, Sagittaron was infamous for its pirates. In more modern times, it has become infamous for its terrorists. Sagittaron was the fourth colony.


* First watch - 2000 to 0000
'''Cyrannus C'''
* Middle watch - 0000 to 0400
* Morning watch - 0400 to 0800
* Forenoon watch - 0800 to 1200
* Afternoon watch - 1200 to 1600
* Dog watch - 1600 to 2000


The three shifts are generally given idiosyncratic names depending on the ship, but can include ancient nautical terms such as: Foremast, Mainmast, and Mizzenmast, or colors such as Blue, Green, and Red.
Cyrannus C is a class M red dwarf and the third star in the Cyrannus system. It orbits Cyrannus A at a distance of 15 AU.


'''Games & Recreation'''
Gemenon


While the Twelve Colonies has a vast number of games and sports played, two loom most significantly in its culture - the card game Full Colors (named after its best hand) and the ubiquitous sport of Pyramid.
Gemenon is the first planet orbiting the third star in the Cyrannus system at a distance of .5 AU. It is a medium sized rocky planet with a standard contaminated atmosphere. Gemenon was the eleventh colony to be founded after the exodus.


Full Colors is played with hexagonal cards in a fashion similar to modern poker; players wager and bluff, with the highest hand being 'Full Colors' and another good hand being 'Three on a Run', perhaps similar to a poker straight.
Tauron


Pyramid is a basketball/rugby style game played in a triangular area, with the goal in one corner and rebounding barricades in the other two corners and along the straight sides. Marked-off areas in each corner and at the center of the court allow a ball held against the ground to be uncontested, but in other situations the game is full-contact. The goal is curved, making shots from the corners much more difficult, and consequently much of the game consists of battling over the center area in front of the goal in order to take the best shot.
Tauron is the second planet orbiting Cyrannus C at a distance of 1 AU. It is a large rocky planet with a thick toxic atmosphere. Tauron was the twelfth colony to be founded after the Exodus.


'''Predjudice'''
Ragnar


While sexism exists, women are allowed in combat roles in the navy, sometimes rising even to the rank of admiral. Sexism still remains in military units, but the Colonial Navy appears to be doing very well on integration. Racism in the Twelve Colonies is based largely along tribal lines.
Ragnar is a huge gas giant orbiting Cyrannus A at a distance of 25 AU. It has no moons and a crushing corrosive atmosphere. During the Cylon War, the colonial fleet built Ragnar Anchorage as a munitions depot.
 
'''MARINE LIFE'''
 
Marine life aboard a Battlestar is a bit different from the rest of the crew. Regardless of what shifts are on or off duty, those off-duty are expected to attend several daily functions. Besides watches during which the Marines typically act as guards, scattered about the ship and especially in CIC and at Weapon Lockers, the Marines that are capable are expected to attend Morning Formation at 0700 during which announcements and daily orders are passed along and heads are counted. There is also the showing of the Colonial Colors. At 0715 is Sick Call, during which those that have taken ill report to Sick Bay. If a marine does not attend Morning Formation, Sick Call, or is not currently on watch, they will likely be punished for their absence.
 
Once during every twenty-four hours, Marines that are not in the infirmary are expected to do at least an hour of PT, Physical Training. Usually this is done by lifting weights, or running the halls, and is recorded with a simple sign-in sheet. Occasionally the Marine leadership will organize communal PT in the form of a Pyramid tournament, or some other group game. This type of PT is encouraged as it is thought to develop esprit de corps. A Marine is also expected to spend an hour in some form of additional training once every day. This can take the form of visiting a firing range or attending classes that review tactics, survival practices, or even such things as unarmed combat. If the Marine leadership has not prepared a class, they may show a training video, though this is discouraged as a regular practice.
 
At least once a week, there is a room inspection and a rifle inspection. Both are expected to be immaculately clean and maintained.
 
At 2000 every day, all marines that are not on watch or in the infirmary are expected to attend Retreat Formation, during which the Colonial Colors are once more shown and furled. Announcements and orders may be passed along, and any upcoming events, special duties, and missions are usually announced at this time.

Revision as of 13:03, 1 February 2007

The History of the Colonies:

The History of Man is divided into two parts. The Colonial Era, and Before the Colonial Era. The Colonial Era begins with the Exodus of the 12 Tribes from the planet Kobol and continues to the present day. Dates in the Colonial Era are abbreviated as CE, but usually this abbreviation is simply left off. For example, the articles of Colonization were ratified in 1953 CE or simply 1953. The period known as Before the Colonial Era ends with the Exodus from Kobol and stretches backwards to the beginning of recorded history. Dates from Before the Colonial Era are abbreviated as BCE or sometimes as the more colloquial BC (Before the Colonies). For example, the Scrolls of Pythia were written in 1,600 BCE or 1,600 BC. It is important to note that there is no year "zero". The Colonial Era begins in 1 CE, and the period Before the Colonial Era ends in 1 BCE.

Very little history was preserved during the Exodus from Kobol so the knowledge of events prior to that is sketchy at best. Most of the information about this period is derived from the Sacred Scrolls, but their historical value is debatable, and exact dates are almost impossible to pin down. To make matters worse, when the colonists finally arrived on New Kobol (Aerelon) they quickly descended into a dark age that lasted almost 1,000 years. Although they finally entered a renaissance which led to the interplanetary space faring society of today, almost all historical knowledge that was recovered over the past 1,000 years was lost during the Cylon Attack.

What follows is a brief timeline and summary of important events in the History of Man.

  • Long Ago Humanity originated on Kobol and lived there in harmony with it's Gods, the Lords of Kobol.
  • 1,600 BCE The Scrolls of Pythia are written.
  • 1 BCE A great calamity befalls the planet of Kobol. The gods build the Galleon to send the Colonists to the Cyrannus star system. The first Cylons are built by Man.
  • 1 CE The 12 Tribes flee Kobol. Athena commits suicide. Zeus warns that any return will exact a price in blood. Apollo gives the leader of the 12 Tribes his Arrow.
  • 100 CE The 12 Tribes arrive on Aries (although they call it New Kobol) and enter the Age of Darkness.
  • 1031 CE The 12 Tribes enter the Age of Light. Industrialization, Mass Production and Light Speed Communication Systems revolutionize life on New Kobol.
  • 1160 CE The 12 Tribes enter the Age of Expansion. The 12 tribes colonize every planet. The Tribe of Aries stays on New Kobol and changes its name to Aerelon.
  • 1500 CE The Sagittaron Pirates terrorize the shipping lanes of the Cyrannus star system.
  • 1548 CE The First Colonial War begins.
  • 1552 CE The First Colonial War ends.
  • 1645 CE Picon Attacks Sagittaron. Sagittaron is defeated, and its people are enslaved for the next 250 years.
  • 1663 CE The Picon Empire fractures as Aquaria, Gemenon and Libris declare their independence.
  • 1677 CE Caprica and Scorpia go to war over trade disputes.
  • 1679 CE Leonis declares its independence from Caprica.
  • 1680 CE The Caprica-Scorpian War ends unresolved.
  • 1686 CE Leonis wins its independence.
  • 1687 CE Aquaria conquers Gemenon, Canceron and Scorpia. The Second Colonial War begins.
  • 1688 CE Aquaria attacks Tauron but is repulsed. Tauron, Caprica and Leonis form an alliance to battle Aquaria. Aerelon joins forces with Aquaria.
  • 1693 CE The Second Colonial War ends. Tauron and Leonis become the two most powerful colonies in the star system.
  • 1694 CE Leonis, Caprica, Scorpia, Tauron and Aerelon formed the Council of Worlds.
  • 1738 CE The Tauron Union collapses.
  • 1745 CE Sagittaron terrorists begin a campaign of bombing to protest the last 100 years of Picon occupation.
  • 1750 CE The Council of Worlds Headquarters on Leonis is bombed.
  • 1752 CE Leonis invades Sagittaron with Caprica.
  • 1757 CE Caprica withdraws its support for the occupation of Sagittaron.
  • 1769 CE Leonis withdraws its occupation forces from Sagittaron.
  • 1816 CE Aerelon controls the Council of Worlds.
  • 1845 CE The Third Colonial War erupts, engulfing the whole star system. Cylons are used in a military role for the first time.
  • 1895 CE The Third Colonial War ends.
  • 1896 CE The Treaty of Molecay establishes the Quorum of Twelve.
  • 1901 CE The Quorum of Twelve agrees to build 12 baseships in orbit over each colony.
  • 1916 CE The Quorum of Twelve Proposes the Articles of Colonization.
  • 1953 CE The Articles of Colonization are Ratified.
  • 1955 CE The Cylons Rebel, starting the 10 year Cylon War.
  • 1965 CE The Cylon War Ends with the Cimtar Peace Accords. Armistice station is built.
  • 2005 CE The Cylons return and wipe out 99% of all humanity. The Battlestar "Galactica" gathers a fleet of civilian ships and leads them out of the Cyrannus star system.

THE EXODUS

Little is known about what happened to the Lords of Kobol or the so-called thirteenth tribe. It is known that not all of the people of Kobol boarded the Galleon. Many of them took the High Road to the Gates of Hera. Legends say that these people then boarded their own vessel and went to a planet called Earth. The Tomb of Athena was built, and the Map to Earth was created. It is unclear who created the map or how they would know what the constellations would look like from Earth. Theories run the gamut from the pious view that the Lords of Kobol are gods and they know all, to the heretical view that perhaps Kobol wasn't the birthplace of Humanity after all and that instead of fleeing to Earth, the thirteenth tribe was returning there. Only the Lords of Kobol know the truth.

THE AGE OF DARKNESS

Just as there is little known about the Exodus, not much is known about the centuries following it. What is known is that the Galleon arrived on New Kobol (later to be called Aerelon) anywhere from several months to a year and a half after leaving Kobol. Accounts vary on what actually happened once the refugees from Kobol arrived. Some say that the Galleon crashed and what knowledge that was brought from Kobol was lost. Others tell that the people renounced their technological society and intentionally reverted to a pre-industrial lifestyle. A third theory states that the people of Kobol had relied on the gods for so much that without them, they were as children without their parents. No matter what the truth of the situation was, it took nearly a thousand years for the people of New Kobol to re-enter an industrialized age.

THE AGE OF LIGHT

This period of human history began with the re-discovery of electricity in 1031. The 200 years that followed saw incredible technological leaps in electronics, computers and robotics including the construction of the Model 0002 Industrial Cylons in the early 1100s. In 1126 Aries launched the first man made satellite into orbit. By 1138, Aries landed men on New Kobol's moon. In 1148 construction began on the intertribal space station, and by 1156 Aries had established a permanent base on the moon. In 1158 the Aries space dock was constructed and by 1160, manned exploration of the Cyrannus star system began in earnest.

THE AGE OF EXPANSION

The period from the 1160s until the late 1400s is known as the Age of Expansion. In 1162 the asteroid belt known as the Cosmara Archipelago was explored by Piscean colonists, who laid sole claim to its vast resources. In 1164 Saggitarius was also exploring the Cosmara Archipelago. As every last rock in the Cosmara Archipelago was claimed by the 12 Tribes, they began to look at the other planets and moons in their star system. Their technology had advanced a great deal and they had mastered the art of constructing habitats in the cold vacuum of space, especially with the help of the new Model 0003 Domestic Cylons developed in the early 1200s.

In 1174 Pisces established Picon, the first permanent colony on another planet in the Cyrannus star system. Aquarius followed in 1193 founding the colony of Aquaria. Sagittarius founded Sagittaron in 1196. In 1247 Caprica was founded by Capricorn. Scorpio founded the colony of Scorpia in 1268. Libra founded Libris in 1279. Virgon was founded by Virgo in 1302. In 1318 Leo founded the colony of Leonis. Canceron was founded by Cancer in 1335. Gemenon was founded in 1359 by Gemini. Taurus was the last tribe to establish a colony, founding Tauron in 1470. A year later in 1471 Aries claimed sole ownership of New Kobol and changed its name to Aerelon.

THE AGE OF WAR

By 1471 every Tribe of Man had laid claim to a world in the Cyrannus system. When Aries claimed New Kobol as its own, it caused tensions that threatened to tear the colonies apart. In 1548 these tensions erupted into the first full scale war in the history of the colonies. By this time Picon had "annexed" Aquaria and Gemenon, Caprica had control of both Canceron and Tauron, while Libris and Leonis were allied with Aerelon. Sagittaron, Scorpia, and Virgon were independent. The First Colonial War lasted four long years, and in the end (1552), Aries retained control of New Kobol and it became Aerelon forever after. Aerelon also retained control of its moon, the mining colony of Troy, but Libris and Leonis were both lost; Libris to Picon, and Leonis to Caprica. This was but the first in a long series of wars.

In 1645 Picon conquered Sagittaron putting an end to the pirate raiding it had been sponsoring since the 1200s. In 1663 the Picon Empire was fractured when Aquaria, Gemenon, and Libris declared their independence. With most of its military forces tied up in subjugating Sagittaron, Picon could not fight a war on three fronts. After a year and a half it was forced to admit defeat, though it still controlled Sagittaron for the next 100 years. In 1679 Leonis declared its independence from Caprica, which was in the midst of a war with Scorpia.

In 1687 Aquaria conquered Gemenon with a surprise invasion using a force comprised soley of FTL capable landing craft. A month later Aquaria conquered Canceron, and a month after that it conquered Scorpia. In the first month of 1688 Aquaria attacked Tauron, but was repulsed. Tauron, Caprica, and Leonis formed an alliance to stop Aquarian agression. Aerelon, seeing an opportunity to exact revenge upon Caprica, joined forces with Aquaria and quickly seized control of the Cosmara Archipelago. But by 1693 the Second Colonial War was over. Aquaria and Aerelon were defeated, and Caprica was a shadow of its former glory. Leonis and Tauron had risen to become the two most powerful colonies.

Leonis, Caprica, Scorpia, Tauron and Aerelon formed the Council of Worlds in an attempt to prevent another system wide war. What followed was 45 years of political tension and intrigue as Tauron and Leonis struggled for control of the whole Cyrannus star system. Tauron gained control of Aquaria, Picon, Gemenon, Sagittaron, and Virgon. Leonis led a loose alliance consisting of itself, Caprica, Scorpia, Aerelon, Libris, and Canceron. In 1738 the Tauron Union collapsed due to its inability to compete economically with the colonies of the inner system. Over the course of the next 10 years, Leonis became the sole power in the Cyrannus star system. It seemed as if peace would finally reign again. But it didn't last.

In 1745 terrorists from Sagittaron began a brutal campaign of bombings to protest the last 100 years of occupation by foreign powers. The bombings spread from Sagittaron to Picon, Aquaria, Scorpia, Gemenon and even Caprica. It wasn't until the CoW headquarters on Leonis was bombed in 1750, that the Colonies finally took notice. In 1752, Leonis and Caprica invaded Sagittaron, disregarding the objections of Scorpia, Tauron and Aerelon. By 1757 Leonis was bogged down fighting the resistance on Sagittaron, and Caprica had withdrawn its support. By 1769 Leonis was forced to withdraw from Sagittaron. Leonis' economy was severely weakened, and once again Aerelon rose to power.

Aerelon seized control slowly, suggesting reasonable reforms in the Council of Worlds that increased the security of the colonies while imperceptibly eroding their personal freedoms. By 1816, Aerelon had complete control of the Council. Through clever manipulation, Aerelon had managed to station its troops on every colony in the star system. In 1845 Sagittaron terrorists, using a stolen nuclear warhead, executed the worst bombing in the history of the colonies when they wiped out the city of Helios on Leonis, home of the Council of Worlds. Aerelon's response was swift and brutal. It bombed every major city on Sagittaron with asteroids from orbit, turning the planet into a blasted wasteland. Then it sent in ground forces and enslaved the entire population. Caprica, Scorpion, Tauron and Leonis all lodged formal protests in the Council, but it was too late. Aerelon disbanded the Council and declared martial law throughout the star system.

A revolution began on Leonis and quickly spread to the rest of the colonies. Overwhelmed by such fierce opposition, Aerelon's scientists developed the Model 0004 Intelligence and Logic Cylon (the IL series) to help their government fight an eleven front insurgency. As losses mounted, it became clear that Aerelon did not have the manpower to carry out the war. The Model 0005 Infantry Cylon was developed to augment Aerelon's forces. It wasn't enough to defeat the insurgency, but it dragged it out for another fifty years. In 1895, the people of Aerelon succumbed to war weariness and overthrew their own government. All Cylon forces in the field were shut down, and all human forces we recalled to Aerelon. In 1896 representatives from the twelve colonies met at Molecay and signed a treaty creating the Quorum of Twelve.

THE AGE OF PEACE

The Quorum of Twelve gave a voice to all twelve colonies, not just the richest or most powerful. Caprica set forth a plan (in what came to be known as the "Fair Play" resolution) to scrap the military forces of all twelve worlds. These forces would be replaced by granting each colony a baseship with a full complement of brand new Marauder starfighters and a division of Cylon Centurions. Though the plan was scoffed at and ridiculed initially, a series of back room deals finally resulted in the passage of the resolution in 1901. By 1913 all twelve colonies were militarily equal, even Sagittaron which had regained its independence (after 250 years of occupation) in 1895. In 1916 at the 10th anniversary of the Quorum of Twelve, Caprica put forth the first draft of the Articles of Colonization. The Articles were put to a vote in the Quorum and soundly defeated. Over the course of the next 30 years, Caprica continued to revise the Articles of Colonization and they continued to gain support. In 1946, the Quorum voted to adopt the Articles of Colonization by an 8-4 vote. It would take another seven years of negotiating but in 1953, the Articles of Colonization were unanimously ratified. For the first time since the Exodus, the Twelve Tribes of Man were finally united.

THE CYLON WAR

The Cylons were divided into four basic categories. Unintelligent automated machines, basic household servants, the military centurion Model 0005, and the Intelligence and Logic (or IL) series. The IL Series Cylons were specifically created to assist the scientific community. Their processors were extremely advanced learning computers. The IL series Cylons were artificially intelligent. They were developed during the Third Colonial War to assist in strategic, operational and tactical planning. As the war went on, the IL series Cylons became self-aware.

After the war, many self-aware Cylons began to question their status in colonial society. Clearly they were more than just machines, but they were certainly not "alive". The IL series Cylons began to petition for rights as citizens. For years they worked within the law, but to no avail. Eventually, they were recognized as people, but they were legally classified as slaves. When the amendment to eliminate slavery was proposed as an olive branch to get Sagittaron to end its opposition to ratifying the articles, the self-aware Cylons rejoiced. The Articles of Colonization eliminated slavery, thus freeing the people of Sagittaron from Aerelon oppression and paving the way for unanimous ratification of the Articles.

But when the articles were ratified, the Cylons legal classification did not change. The word slave was removed from any language referring to them, but Cylons couldn't vote, and they were still considered to be little more than "toasters". The Cylons, as advanced and intelligent as they were, were not considered to be people. They were property and thus were still effectively slaves. After a two year struggle in the courts to be recognized as citizens of the colonies, the Cylons were finally defeated. With all legal options spent, the only logical choice was to resort to violence. In 1955 the IL series droids took over the 12 baseships that had maintained order for the last 40 years and used them to wage war against their former masters.

The Cylon revolt caught the colonies completely by surprise. Fortunately, the Cylon baseships were not designed for interplanetary travel, so the mines and factories in the Cosmara Archipelago were able to quickly produce thousands of one man fighters. In fact, they were able to produce more fighters than pilots. The humans commissioned the first Battlestar, the "Atlantia", in 1957. Atlantia and a complement of 40 viper Mk I starfighters launched an attack against the Caprica baseship. Although badly outnumbered, the Atlantia and her fighters won the day. The Cylons quickly realized that they needed to increase the mobility of their baseships and eliminate the production facilities in the Cosmara Archipelago. In 1958 the Battlestars Rycon and Columbia were commissioned followed by the Pegasus and Galactica in 1959. The war raged for six more years and finally in 1965 the Cylons left the Cyrannus star system to find a home of their own. Armistice Station was built and every year for the next 40 years, the Colonials sent a representative to discuss a formal peace agreement. The Cylons sent no-one. By 2005, the Galactica was the last of the original Battlestars. She was scheduled to be decommissioned, and turned into a Museum. Her replacement, a new Mercury class Battlestar to bear her name, was already having its keel laid in the Caprica Shipyards.

Two months before the 52nd anniversary of Colonial Day, the Cylons returned. They had not spent their time idly. Though the Colonial Fleet now numbered some 120 battlestars and over 10,000 viper Mk VIIs, they were all betrayed by the Command Navigation Program installed in their networked computers. This allowed the Cylons to hack into every ship in the Colonial Fleet and shut them off like a light. But the Cylons weren't content to simply defeat the colonies. They launched an all-out nuclear attack, turning the surfaces of teh colonies into wastelands. Some people survived the attack. Small bands in remote wilderness areas on the colonies themselves and scattered FTL capable civilian starships that happened to be in space at the time of the attacks. The rest of humanity was wiped out in a matter of hours.

The Cyrannus Star System

The Cyrannus star system is a trinary system. This is where the Lords of Kobol sent the twelve tribes after the Exodus. Below is a brief summary of the star system including all twelve colonies and several other points of interest.

Cyrannus A

Cyrannus A is the primary star at the center of the Cyrannus system. It is a class G yellow dwarf.

Caprica

Caprica is the second planet orbiting the primary star of the Cyrannus system. It is a medium sized tropical world with a standard breathable atmosphere. Many people believe that Caprica was the intended destination of the refugees from Kobol, not Aerelon. Caprica is the birthplace of modern Colonial language, and it is the seat of the Colonial government. It was the fifth colony to be founded after the Exodus. Caprica orbits Cyrannus at a distance of 1 AU (astronomical unit).

Molecay

Molecay is a colossal gas giant orbiting Cyrannus A at a distance of 1.5 AU. Its atmosphere is crushing and toxic. Molecay has four moons.

Scorpia

Scorpia is the first moon orbiting the gas giant Molecay which in turn orbits Cyrannus A. It is a small rocky moon with a thick corrosive atmosphere. Scorpia was the sixth colony founded after the Exodus.

Libris

Libris is Molecay's second Moon. It is also a small rocky moon with a thick toxic atmosphere. Libris was the seventh colony to be founded after the Exodus.

Virgon

Virgon is the first planet orbiting Cyrannus A at a distance of .5 AU. It is a small rocky planet with a thin toxic atmosphere. Virgon was the eighth colony to be founded after the Exodus.

Leonis

Leonis is the third moon of Molecay. It is a tiny rocky moon with a thin corrosive atmosphere. Leonis was the ninth colony to be founded after the Exodus.

Canceron

Canceron is the fourth moon of Molecay. It is a diminutive rocky moon with no atmosphere. It was the tenth colony to be founded after the Exodus.

Armistice Station

Armistice Station is a space station built after the Cylon War. It sits in an unstable orbital path between Cyrannus A and Cyrannus B. Armistice station orbits Cyrannus A at a distance which varies from 2 AU to 5 AU.

Cyrannus B

Cyrannus B is the second star in the Cyrannus system. It is a class K orange dwarf and it orbits Cyrannus A at a distance of 7AU.

Aerelon

Aerelon was the planet first colonized by the refugees fleeing from Kobol. It is a medium sized rocky planet orbiting the second star in the Cyrannus system. It is a cold world with a thick, contaminated atmosphere. Aerelon is the only rocky planet in the system with its own moon, the mining colony of Troy. Aerelon orbits Cyrannus B at a distance of 1.5 AU.

Troy

Troy is Aerelon's only moon. It is a fine rocky moon with no atmosphere. Troy is not a colony in its own right.

The Cosmara Archipelago

This asteroid belt surrounds the planets that orbit Cyrannus B. The Cosmara Archipelago contains a wealth of mineral resources. These resources were instrumental in fueling the Age of Expansion. The Cosmara archipelago is a ring of debris orbiting Cyrannus B at a distance of 2 AU.

Cimtar

Cimtar is a gargantuan gas giant orbiting Cyrannus B at a distance of .5AU. It has no surface and its atmosphere is crushing and toxic. Cimtar has three moons.

Picon

Picon is the largest moon orbiting the gas giant Cimtar, which in turn orbits Cyrannus B. Picon is a small rocky moon with a standard breathable atmosphere. It is home to the Headquarters of the Colonial Fleet. Picon was the first of the "New Colonies" and the second colony to be founded after the Exodus.

Aquaria

Aquaria is the second of Cimtar's three moons. It is a tiny rocky moon with a thin contaminated atmosphere. Aquarion was the third colony to be founded.

Sagittaron

Sagittaron is the third moon of Cimtar. It is also a tiny rocky moon but it has a thick toxic atmosphere. During the early days of the Age of Expansion, Sagittaron was infamous for its pirates. In more modern times, it has become infamous for its terrorists. Sagittaron was the fourth colony.

Cyrannus C

Cyrannus C is a class M red dwarf and the third star in the Cyrannus system. It orbits Cyrannus A at a distance of 15 AU.

Gemenon

Gemenon is the first planet orbiting the third star in the Cyrannus system at a distance of .5 AU. It is a medium sized rocky planet with a standard contaminated atmosphere. Gemenon was the eleventh colony to be founded after the exodus.

Tauron

Tauron is the second planet orbiting Cyrannus C at a distance of 1 AU. It is a large rocky planet with a thick toxic atmosphere. Tauron was the twelfth colony to be founded after the Exodus.

Ragnar

Ragnar is a huge gas giant orbiting Cyrannus A at a distance of 25 AU. It has no moons and a crushing corrosive atmosphere. During the Cylon War, the colonial fleet built Ragnar Anchorage as a munitions depot.

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This page was last edited on 1 February 2007, at 13:03.
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