Ragnar Anchorage

Ragnar Anchorage (credit: Zoic Studios, 2003)

Ragnar Anchorage (also called "Ragnar Station" or "Ragnar Station Ammunition Reserve") is a Colonial armory suspended in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant Ragnar (Miniseries).

When the Cylons launch their surprise attack on the Twelve Colonies, the battlestar Galactica is caught without any munitions for her main and point-defense batteries, having dumped them as part of her decommissioning ceremonies prior to the battle. Colonel Tigh determines that Ragnar Anchorage offers the best opportunity for re-arming the ship, even though it is some 3 days' travel from Galactica's position at sublight speeds and Commander Adama refers to docking at Ragnar Anchorage as a "super bitch." His decision may well be based on the sound reasoning that the Anchorage, suspended in the stormy upper atmosphere of the planet Ragnar, offers Galactica the best opportunity to re-arm while reducing the risk of the Cylons finding them and renewing their planned attack before the ship can defend herself. The Colonial Fleet is aware that the atmosphere of the planet Ragnar's radiation adversely affects Cylon technology, and hiding ships in the planet is an established strategy.

While at Ragnar Anchorage, Galactica obtains enough munitions to completely re-arm her guns, and she also collects a number of Class-D warheads. Her crew also encounter Leoben Conoy, posing as an arms trader, who eventually gives the Colonials their first discovery of humanoid Cylon infiltrators.

Galactica and her new Fleet leaving Ragnar Anchorage

While at Ragnar, Galactica is joined by a civilian convoy of survivors gathered by new President Laura Roslin. When they arrive, Adama is persuaded to alter his original plan to send Galactica into a suicidal fight against the Cylons into one of exodus from the Colonies to save the last of humanity.

Galactica protects her new Fleet as they make an FTL jump from Ragnar towards the Promar Sector, well beyond the Red Line and into unchartered space, never to return to the solar system of the Colonies in an effort to escape the Cylons.

Soon after the battle, the Cylons dock at the station to retrieve the humanoid Cylon Aaron Doral and afterwards presumably abandon the station.

Notes

• To minimize the time needed to get to Ragnar, Commander Adama orders Galactica's FTL drive systems prepared for use, which prompts a critical comment from Colonel Tigh that Galactica's FTL drive systems had not been used in over 20 years. See Science in the Re-imagined Series for more on why Galactica may not have jumped for such a long time.

• The name "Ragnar" is an allegory to Ragnarok, the apocalyptic battle of the gods of Norse mythology. Curiously, the story of Ragnarok parallels with the career of William Adama, the former commander of Valkyrie. In mythology, a Valkyrie was a minor female deity who chose the most heroic fallen warriors to ascend to Valhalla where they would await Ragnorok. After the failed secret Cylon reconnaissance mission, Adama is transferred from Valkyrie to commander of Galactica before the Cylon attack, and later, with the fall of the Colonies, finds himself in the Battle of Ragnar Anchorage, the last Colonial fight within Colonial space.

• The dark, dank, extremely dirty interior of Ragnar Anchorage was filmed in the Roger's Sugar Mill in Vancouver, according to the Miniseries DVD commentary.

• The destruction of Galactica's munitions was shown in a deleted scene of the Miniseries DVD set as part of the decommissioning ceremonies.

• The large ordnance room (where the Colonials abandon Aaron Doral before leaving the Anchorage) is an abandoned potash silo within the British Columbia railyards. The locale is reused as the Temple of Five for the season 3 mid-season cliffhanger, "The Eye of Jupiter."

See Also

• Battle of Ragnar Anchorage. Details the battle and provides links to successive Cylon encounters.