Karl Agathon

Karl Agathon
Name	{{{name}}}
Age
Colony
Birth place	{{{birthplace}}}
Birth Name	Karl C. Agathon
Birth Date	{{{birthdate}}}
Callsign	Helo
Nickname	{{{nickname}}}
Introduced	Miniseries
Death
Parents
Siblings
Children	Hera Agathon (Human-Cylon hybrid)
Marital Status	Married to Sharon Agathon
Family Tree	View
Role	CAG, battlestar Galactica
Rank	Captain
Serial Number	PK-789934
Portrayed by	Tahmoh Penikett
Karl Agathon is a Cylon
Karl Agathon is a Final Five Cylon
Karl Agathon is a Human/Cylon Hybrid
Karl Agathon is an Original Series Cylon
Related Media
		@ BW Media
Additional Information
[[Image:|200px|Karl Agathon]]

Captain Karl C. "Helo" Agathon is the current Commander, Air Group (CAG) of Galactica. He is young, capable, and resourceful with an acute sense of right and wrong, something which he is prepared to articulate and act upon, even at risk to his own standing. After being stranded on Caprica after the attack he develops a relationship with a Number Eight copy later known as Athena. The two remain devoted to each other and have a child named Hera.

Agathon is almost always addressed by his callsign.

Biography

Before the Attack

Much of Agathon's life before the attack has not been touched, with a few exceptions. Before the decommissioning ceremony, he mentions an interest in pyramid and the fact that he has a relationship with a girl on Gemenon. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii's additional comments on this fact lend to his apparent reputation as a ladies' man (Miniseries, Night 1).

In the Beginning

At the time of the Cylon attack, Lieutenant Karl Agathon serves as ECO aboard Raptor 478 with pilot Valerii in Galactica's last fully-operational Viper squadron, and witnesses the squadron's destruction by Cylon Raiders, after the Raiders exploit the Command Navigation Program to disable the Vipers.

Following the attack, Agathon and Valerii attempt to return to Galactica, avoiding Cylon patrols, but are unsuccessful: their Raptor is damaged in a Cylon missile strike, and Helo receives a leg wound from shrapnel that breaches the hull. As a result of the damage received, the Raptor is forced to land on Caprica, where Valerii makes emergency repairs. Moments after Valerii's repairs, their ship is mobbed by civilians desperate to get off the planet.

With limited space for survivors aboard the Raptor, Agathon volunteers his seat to Dr. Gaius Baltar and remains on Caprica in the hope that Baltar's great intelligence will be of benefit to the Colonials in their renewed fight against the Cylons. Both Helo and Boomer feel that there is no chance that he will survive the Cylon nuclear attack on Caprica, but he chooses to stay behind anyway, sacrificing his own life so Baltar can escape the planet. Helo is forced to shoot a desperate man clinging to the departing Raptor.

Marooned

After Boomer's departure, Helo apparently separates from the surviving refugees (who soon succumb to radiation poisoning) and flees from Cylon ground forces. After six days on Caprica, surviving on anti-radiation medication from his survival pack, he is captured after noticing a version of the Cylon known (secretly only to Gaius Baltar) as Number Six.

Helo is "rescued" by a copy of Sharon Valerii, unaware that this is not the same one who abandoned him on Caprica. She guides him across Caprica as part of an elaborate (if potentially hastily conceived) plan / experiment designed to make this second Valerii the object of Agathon's affections. Several situations are engineered to make this happen:

Helo and Starbuck in her apartment in Delphi, Caprica in Valley of Darkness.

• A "honey trap" offering reasonably secure accommodations (a "fall-out shelter") together with sufficient supplies for two people beneath a restaurant (Act of Contrition)
• Engineering Valerii's capture to test Helo's loyalty towards her ("You Can't Go Home Again", "Litmus")
• Establishing a further (long-term) "honey trap" for Helo and Valerii in the wilderness of Caprica.

Agathon eventually admits that he has feelings for Valerii and that he would have gladly traded places with Chief Tyrol, who he knew was having an illict relationship with her. Following this, the two have sex in a forest on Caprica. Afterwards, Valerii is instructed by the Five and Six overseeing the experiment to lead her lover to a nearby cabin, and to kill him if he refuses to settle there. However, the Cylon plan goes awry because Valerii has apparently fallen in love with Agathon. She forces them both on the run once more, this time genuinely seeking to escape from Caprica via the military base at Delphi, which is now under Cylon control.

During their attempts to reach Delphi, Agathon witnesses a troop of Cylon Centurions being led by Number Six - the woman he thought had been killed when Valerii rescued him. This draws him to the conclusion that the Cylons are using human clones they have created (Colonial Day). Once at Delphi, Agathon receives another shock: not only are further versions of Six on-hand - he comes face-to-face with another Valerii copy, revealing the full truth about the woman known as "Boomer" to him. Believing he was lured into a trap, Agathon goes on the run, leaving Valerii at the base.

The Valerii copy that Helo has paired with later catches up with him, and while he shoots her in the arm, he does not kill her as she might be of use to him in escaping the planet. Caprica-Valerii then informs Helo that she is pregnant with his child, and that they should go to the Delphi Museum. There, Agathon is reunited with Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (who just arrived from Galactica using a stolen Cylon Raider) immediately after she kills a copy of Number Six and retrieves the Arrow of Apollo. Thrace, realizing immediately that Valerii is a Cylon (knowing much earlier than Helo that Cylons can mimic human form) tries to kill Valerii, but Agathon stops her because she is pregnant ("Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II", "Scattered").

Valerii runs away out of fear of Thrace, taking her Cylon Raider. Fearing that Number Six will finish transferring her consciousness to a new body and warn the Cylons about the humans' presence in Delphi, Agathon and Thrace make their way to Thrace's old apartment ("Scattered", "Valley of Darkness"). Later, Thrace and Agathon join up with the human resistance on Caprica (Resistance).

The Resistance and escape from Caprica

Agathon, Anders and others later rescue Thrace from the Cylons' "hospital". Valerii returns to aid Helo in locating the missing Thrace, and later saves the day by gunning down several Centurions in a stolen Heavy Raider. Helo, Thrace, and Valerii leave Caprica en route to the Fleet (The Farm). The group lands on the Astral Queen, which has broken off from the rest of the Fleet (Home, Part I). When Lee Adama grabs the new copy of Valerii and threatens to shoot her, Helo raises his gun to Lee's head in response. They are calmed by Roslin, who then orders Valerii thrown out of an airlock. Valerii convinces Roslin of her usefulness before this happens, and later accompanies Helo and others to Kobol to find the Tomb of Athena (Home, Part I). On the way to the Tomb of Athena, Apollo remarks to Starbuck that he is disturbed that Helo and this Valerii copy love each other, and Helo admits to Valerii that he now loves and trusts her. When they finally reach the tomb, Commander Adama orders Helo to stay outside with Valerii and Tom Zarek while Chief Tyrol guards all of them. With the successful gathering of information on the whereabouts of Earth, Helo and the group return to Galactica and the reunified Fleet.

Home on Galactica

Helo's welcome-home to Galactica, months after being declared MIA on Caprica (Home, Part II), isn't a generally warm one. Many in the crew find his romance with the Caprica Valerii disquieting or disgusting. A few crew warm up to Helo after his suggestion of using carbon composites on the new fighter, the Blackbird, turns Tyrol's pet project into a significant stealth technology (Flight of the Phoenix).

Chief Tyrol is still nursing the loss of Boomer (the Galactica copy of Valerii that left Helo on Caprica and later shoots Commander Adama), and now must deal with the return of another Valerii, her "memories" of him, and the fact that Helo is romantically involved with her. The friction between Helo and Tyrol becomes too much and a fight ensues before both realize that fighting will gain them little. The two tacitly appear to accept the awkward situation for what it is.

Helo and Tyrol learn of the gang-rape of the captured Cylon on battlestar Pegasus, and are shocked to learn that the "Cylon interrogator", Lieutenant Alastair Thorne, would be "interrogating" the incarcerated Valerii that day. Prior to this discovery, Helo is prepared to fight the drunken Pegasus crewmembers over their disrespect, but Tyrol realizes what is coming for Valerii and convinces him to head to the brig to her aid. While apparently successful in stopping the assault, the two are arrested and taken to Pegasus when Thorne is accidentally killed. Admiral Helena Cain conducts summary courts-martial on the two Galactica crewmembers, finding them guilty and sentencing them to execution. When Commander Adama hears of this abrupt treatment, he launches a Raptor with Marine units as well as his Viper squadrons to get Helo and Tyrol back. A standoff ensues, with not only Helo's and Tyrol's lives in the balance, but thousands of others in the Fleet (Pegasus).

Aboard Pegasus

After Starbuck returns with reconnaissance images of the Resurrection Ship, Adama and Cain agree to a truce. Helo and Tyrol are given stays of execution. While they are imprisoned aboard Pegasus, a pair of deck hands, irate about Thorne's death, assault them. Jack Fisk, the XO of Pegasus, puts a stop to this by citing regulations, but rebuffs Helo's thanks. Like the deck crew, Fisk's life had been saved by Thorne, and he has no sympathy for Valerii, whom he views as a machine.

After the destruction of the Resurrection Ship and the death of Admiral Cain, Fisk becomes the Commander of Pegasus. He returns Helo and Tyrol to Galactica, where the former is joyfully received by Valerii.

The events of Epiphanies

When the dying President Roslin orders the hybrid baby aborted, Helo attempts to dissuade Adama from carrying out the order in private conversation in the Admiral's office, but fails. When Valerii is being brought to the medical bay for the abortion, Helo blocks the door, his hand on his pistol. He offers to take Sharon aboard a Raptor and leave the Fleet, but is rebuffed by Adama, who tells him, "You're a soldier". Helo retorts that he is a father, like Adama. Baltar defuses the potentially violent incident by arriving with his report on the medically useful nature of the hybrid fetus. There are no apparent consequences from his actions.

The hybrid birth

Helo is present when Hera, the human-Cylon hybrid, is born. He and Valerii marvel at their baby, and Helo shocks Valerii when he says that it almost makes one believe in the Cylon God. When Valerii attacks Dr. Cottle, accusing him of murder after he informs her of the baby's "death," Helo tries to restrain her but ends up with Marines pointing their weapons at him as Valerii is returned to her cell.

Caprica SAR & New Caprica

Despite Valerii's continued belief that Cottle and the other humans killed Hera, Helo is able to convince her to assist Kara Thrace's plan for the rescue of Samuel Anders and his Caprica Resistance group (Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I). Helo and the others manage to survive the Cylon assault after Cavil informs them that the Cylons have left the Colonies. With the happenstance discovery of New Caprica, the relationship between Helo and Sharon Valerii becomes increasingly strained, due primarily to her growing depression over the loss of their child and the fact that Valerii did not inform the SAR team that Caprica-Cavil was a Humanoid Cylon.

During the year in orbit around New Caprica he and Sharon Valerii become married. Agathon is acting as a replacement to Felix Gaeta as Galactica's tactical officer (Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II). He is then promoted to Captain, and assumes the XO role aboard Galactica.

After the Second Exodus

Helo relinquishes his position as XO after the Battle of New Caprica with Colonel Tigh's return to Galactica, but Tigh's actions and attitude cause him to be relieved of duty (Collaborators). Helo finds himself once again acting as Adama's right-hand man (Torn). During this time, Helo is promoted to Captain (although the exact date of his promotion is unknown).

When faced with use of the recently discovered Cylon virus as an agent for genocide, Helo sabotages the plan, which he sees as an atrocity, by rigging the Cylon prisoner's cells so they suffocate before they can be executed within range of a Resurrection Ship and thus download with the virus. Roslin and Adama both know the obvious culprit, but Adama, who felt the President was on shaky moral ground for using genocide as a military solution, decides not to take any action against Helo (A Measure of Salvation).

Helo participates in the organized shipwide fights intended to boost morale (Unfinished Business). He fights a hard match against Major Lee Adama. Helo is declared victorious in the match after Doctor Cottle removes a battered Adama.

He returns to flight duty and pilots a Raptor during operations to replenish the fleet's food stores (The Passage). It is during their time at the Algae planet that a Cylon negotiation party aboard Galactica reveals to his wife that Hera is still alive. Though Athena initially denies the taunt, she and Helo soon find out from Admiral Adama that it is true, much to their dismay (The Eye of Jupiter). Athena believes the only way to get her daughter back is to be resurrected inside the Cylon fleet, and begs Helo to kill her. Being unable to dissuade her, Helo grants her wish. Athena resurrects and successfully retrieves Hera, aided by Caprica-Six (Rapture). He is present during the post-incident briefing regarding the Temple of Five, implying that he may hold additional duties besides flight ops.

This is confirmed when Helo is assigned by Admiral Adama to take charge of the hundreds of civilians which have been transfered to a refugee camp on Galactica. One reason for this assignment is the suspicion of his involvement in the sabotage of a planned biological attack on the Cylons. Among the refugees are a large number of Sagittarons, many of whom display the first symptoms of Mellorak infection. Mrs. King comes to Helo and accuses the civilian physician Dr. Robert of murder after the death of her son due to the Doctor's anti-Sagittaron bigotry. Helo begins an investigation, made difficult by several factors. Not only is Dr. Robert held in high regard by Helo's superiors, but the claims of the Sagittarons are dismissed due to a negative view of the religious fundamentalism and ancient traditions practiced by most Sagittarons. Helo's personal conflict with Colonel Tigh over his marriage to Sharon is exacerbated by the Colonel's prejudices to a point where Helo hits Tigh in a crowded corridor. When Helo is warned by King in the middle of the night about a seriously ill Dualla (also a Sagittaron) under Robert's care, he immediately goes to Dualla's aide and finds himself in a stand-off with Dr. Robert, Dr. Cottle intervenes and reports that toxicology tests done on the deceased Sagittarons revealed no antidote but rather toxic bisphosphonate. Helo is ordered by Tigh to arrest Robert and a short time later, Admiral Adama personally apologizes to him for not believing his initial claims about Robert and the opposition he encountered in his investigation (The Woman King). During his private meeting with Adama, Helo confesses his role in the failed biological attack on the Cylons (The Woman King bonus scene).

Helo eventually returns to flight status and is one of the second highest ranking pilots after the deaths of Kat and Starbuck (together with Showboat and Two Times). Two weeks after Starbuck's death, Helo takes over as CAG for a visibly distraught and emotionally unstable Lee Adama who is grounded by Admiral Adama and assigned to oversee the security detail for Baltar's defense attorney, Romo Lampkin (The Son Also Rises).

After Colonel Tigh has an extreme fallback into his alcoholism at Gaius Baltar's trial, Helo again replaces him as Executive Officer. He notes a feeling of apprehension, noting "something over the horizon" is coming and that it does not bode well for the Fleet (Crossroads, Part I). When Galactica jumps to the Ionian Nebula, a large Cylon force is detected closing in on them. With no means of escape the crew prepares to engage the enemy. Tigh resumes his post but Helo remains in the CIC with the command staff, noting that Viper #3 launches without a rostered pilot (Crossroads, Part II).

The Return of Starbuck

Following the apparent resurrection of his old friend, Kara Thrace, Agathon adopts a supportive but guarded attitude towards her. He recognizes her voice over the wireless, but along with many other members of the crew, Helo looks on suspiciously as she emerges from her Viper. Agathon encourages Thrace to continue trying to get Earth, despite the fact that no one believes her story (He That Believeth in Me). When Thrace holds President Roslin at gunpoint, Agathon asks to be allowed to talk to her, likely hoping to appeal to her on the basis of their old friendship. When Admiral Adama gives Thrace the Demetrius to try to find Earth, Agathon joins her as her executive officer (Six of One). Although he initially defends her in front of the crew despite her eccentricities and strange behavior, his loyalty comes to a breaking point when Thrace orders her crew to rendezvous with a Cylon basestar. Agathon relieves Thrace of command (The Road Less Traveled), but reaches a compromise with her, wherein he commands the Demetrius while Thrace takes a Raptor to the basestar. After 15 hours, Agathon wrestles with himself about whether to jump away or give Thrace some more time to return. Just when the crew prepares to jump, Thrace returns and the two vessels return to the Fleet together (Faith).

Notes

Name

The Re-imagined Battlestar Galactica plays heavily on Greek mythology and history; the use of names such as Delphi and those of the Olympian gods is an example. Helo's names have many possible referrents:

• Agathon was an ancient Greek tragic poet.
• Agathos Daemon was of one of the spirits that lie between the gods and mortals in Greek mythology. He is associated with the cultivation of grapes and grain as well as luck and abundance.
• The prefix "Agatho-" means 'good' in Greek.
• Helios was the Greek god of the Sun associated most prominently with the myth of Phaëton.
• "Helo" is slang for helicopter, and the Raptor craft Helo crews is visually based on an Apache helicopter. This fits with the callsign of his former co-pilot, "Boomer", which is slang for a ballistic missile submarine.

Character

• In an interview, actor Tahmoh Penikett discussed the (unofficial) backstory he had worked out with Katee Sackhoff to explain her comment in "Scattered" that they "go way back":

"We are old friends and we have been through a lot together. I have been asked this question before, but I think it is pretty safe to bet that we were either in the academy together or we have known each other for years. Whether there has ever been a romantic relationship, that is definitely a possibility--especially with Starbuck...It could have been a one night stand, but there is in fact a relationship. We are more like brother and sister, and have been through a lot together. Helo really understands Starbuck and she understands him. They are a lot closer than most people think."

• Helo's full name (or even his fate) wasn't revealed until "33". He was initially intended as an expendable character; originally, he was supposed to have actually died when the Raptor left him behind on Caprica. Penikett's performance convinced TPTB otherwise. Curiously, Helo's second replacement on Boomer's Raptor, Racetrack, was also intended as a one-shot character, but was retained by TPTB for similar reasons.
• While he is shown in a Raptor during the funeral of his daughter in "Downloaded", "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I" is the first time he flies as ECO since the Miniseries.

References

Preceded by: Saul Tigh	Executive Officer, Galactica	Succeeded by: Saul Tigh
Preceded by: Lee Adama	Commander, Air Group, Galactica	Succeeded by: Incumbent