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Pegasus (TRS)

From Battlestar Wiki, the free, open content Battlestar Galactica encyclopedia and episode guide
Revision as of 21:37, 20 November 2009 by Haljackey (talk | contribs) (→‎History: added image)
This article discusses the Mercury class battlestar from the Re-imagined Series. For the episode of the same name, see Pegasus (episode). For other meanings of Pegasus, see Pegasus (disambiguation).


Pegasus (BS 62)
Pegasus (BS 62)
Race: Colonial
Type: Military
FTL: Yes
Propulsion:
Crew: Approximately 1,750 [1]
Capacity:
CO: Lee Adama (At time of loss)
XO: Anastasia Dualla (At time of loss)
Role: Carrier / Battleship
Weapons: 34 Primary Kinetic Energy Weapons (30 twin turrets, 4 fixed twin mounts) and point-defense Kinetic Energy Weapons, conventional missiles, nuclear warheads, Vipers, Raptors
Armaments: {{{arm}}}
Defenses: {{{def}}}
Aircraft: {{{aircraft}}}
Aviation facilities: {{{facilities}}}
Fate: Destroyed in Battle of New Caprica
Emblem: [[Image:{{{patch}}}|175px|Ship's patch]]
Other Images: Gallery
Dimensions
Length: 5872 feet (1789.8m)[2]
Width: {{{width}}}
Height: {{{height}}}
Weight: {{{weight}}}
Wingspan: {{{wingspan}}}
Other: {{{otherdi}}}
Game Information
Cost: {{{construction}}}
Construction Time: {{{construction}}}
Hull Size: {{{hull size}}}
Hull: {{{hull}}}
Mobility
FTL Cooldown: {{{ftl cooldown}}} turns
Speed: {{{speed}}} m/s
Turn Rate: {{{turn rate}}}°/turn
Armor Sum
Armor Total: {{{armor total}}}
Armor Left: {{{armor left}}}
Armor Right: {{{armor right}}}
Armor Front: {{{armor front}}}
Armor Rear: {{{armor rear}}}
Armor Top: {{{armor top}}}
Armor Bottom: {{{armor bottom}}}
Armament
DRADIS Range: {{{dradis range}}} m
Processing Power: {{{processing power}}}
Munition Slots: {{{munitions}}}
Munition Cooldown Period: {{{munition cooldown}}} turns
Squadron Slots: {{{squadrons}}}
Squadron Size: {{{squadron size}}}
Special Abilities: {{{special abilities}}}
Additional Information

Pegasus (BS 62) is a Mercury class battlestar, commanded by Rear Admiral Helena Cain during the Fall of the Twelve Colonies.

Technologically more advanced and far greater in size and firepower than the to-be-decommissioned Galactica, Pegasus is presumed destroyed in the Cylon attack, but had in fact survived, eventually finding and joining Galactica and its civilian fleet. It serves a significant role in the Colonial struggle for survival until the exodus from New Caprica.

In the Extended Cut of the episode "Pegasus" Admiral Cain states that the ship is nearly twice the size of Galactica, but needs only half the crew. This probably refers to either the dual landing bays or the ship's volume, but not its length. The decreased manpower requirement stems from increased computerization and automation. This is also evident in the comparatively small size of the Pegasus CIC.

Pegasus is informally nicknamed "The Beast" within the Fleet (The Captain's Hand).

History

Pegasus docked at the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards.

Prior to the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, Pegasus was a prize assignment in the Colonial Fleet. Frank Bruno at the Caprica Transfer Station tells Kendra Shaw that "half the officers on this base would kill to get posted to that ship". It is apparently important enough for the Cylons as a military target to infiltrate, as Gina Inviere (a Number Six copy) assumes the role of network administrator on the ship (Razor). William Adama mentions the reputation of Cain and her ship to President Laura Roslin ("Pegasus", extended version).

Pegasus taking heavy fire.

Weeks before the Fall Pegasus docked at the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards, where she was to undergo a three-month systems overhaul. All of the ship’s networked computers were taken off-line in preparation of the refit, leaving the heavily automated ship partially inoperative but also less vulnerable to electronic attacks. When the Cylons launch a surprise assault against the shipyard, they are only able to shut down Pegasus's weapons grid and navigational computer. The attack works in extreme favor of the Cylons, and they overtake the installation in a matter of minutes. However, the multiple nuclear weapons that they detonate create an EMP that blinds their DRADIS, leaving them temporarily unaware of Colonial movement in the immediate area. Admiral Cain uses this to her advantage and orders her ship to randomly jump without a coordinates check.

A Centurion on Pegasus.

After their escape, Cain leads Pegasus on a series of hit-and-run attacks against Cylon assets. One such attack is against what is thought to be a lightly-defended communications relay but turns out to be a staging area with fifteen squadrons of Raiders. When Cain's long-time executive officer Jurgen Belzen refuses her order to launch all of the ships' Vipers, calling it suicide, she summarily executes him in CIC and promotes Jack Fisk to replace him. During the battle, the Cylon agent Gina allows a party of Centurions to breach the ship's defenses and board, resulting in heavy casualties. When Gina is exposed as a Cylon, she kills several Marines before she is subdued. Once imprisoned, Admiral Cain directs her crew to use extreme methods, including gang-rape and other physical and emotional abuse, to break the prisoner.

Some time later, Pegasus realizes that a Cylon fleet it is tracking is not jumping randomly but is following a path along systems with natural resources. When it jumps to scout the Cylons' next projected position, Pegasus encounters the Fleet led by Galactica; it turns out the Cylons are jumping to systems Galactica has passed through or explored. Cain assumes overall command of the Fleet and begins transferring supplies and personnel between the two battlestars, including Captain Lee Adama and Lieutenant Kara Thrace. Cain's indifference to the needs of the civilian ships prompts President Laura Roslin to raise her concerns with Commander William Adama.

Pegasus attempting to evade missiles.

When Chief Tyrol and Lieutenant Karl Agathon inadvertently kill Cain's chief "Cylon interrogator" Lieutenant Alastair Thorne, Admiral Cain has no reservations sentencing them to death.[3] Commander Adama demands their return, precipitating an armed standoff between the two ships (Pegasus). The two later set aside their animosity and join forces to successfully destroy a Cylon Resurrection Ship. During the immediate celebrations that follow, however, Cain is ambushed in her quarters by Gina, who shoots her and escapes from the battlestar undetected (Resurrection Ship, Part II).

Jack Fisk succeeds Cain as commander of Pegasus, who in turn is murdered after running afoul of the Fleet's illicit black market (Black Market). Command then falls briefly to chief engineer-turned-commander Barry Garner, who dies saving the ship during the Battle of the Binary Star System. Pegasus's final commander is Lee Adama (The Captain's Hand), with his wife Anastasia Dualla later serving as his XO (Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II).

A Lost Civilian Fleet

Several ships of civilian fleet found by Pegasus.

Pegasus encounters its own small fleet of 15 civilian ships, found about a week after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Rather than defend them as Galactica did its own at Ragnar Anchorage, Admiral Cain uses them as a source of spare parts, deciding that Pegasus's military needs take priority over theirs.

Cain also reviews their passenger lists and draws up a list of selectees, people such as aeronautical engineer Peter Laird who would be of value, to forcibly draft into her crew. However, some are with their families and refuse to leave them. Facing an uprising aboard the civilian transport Scylla that spreads to the other ships, Admiral Cain orders Colonel Fisk to shoot the families of any who resist. When the angry crowd gets violent, Lieutenant Kendra Shaw and her Marines carry out the order, killing 10 people and cowing the rest into submission.

The civilian ships are stripped of useful items, including their weapons and FTL drives, and are left to their fate as Pegasus resumes her campaign of hit-and-run attacks against the Cylons ("Razor", "Resurrection Ship, Part I").

New Caprica

Following the founding of New Caprica, Pegasus is assigned to the Orbital Defense Force that protects the planet. During this time, Commander Lee Adama keeps an emergency supply of medication aboard for the pilots, despite the fact that their crew are severely depleted due to colonization of the planet. One year after the founding the colony, the Cylons return in force. Unable to defend the planet, Pegasus and the remaining ships orbiting the planet jump away (Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II).

Four months later, Pegasus and Galactica plan a rescue mission to recover the people left on the planet (Occupation). While the plans initially called for the involvement of Pegasus in the recovery, Admiral Adama decides that the remnants of the Fleet, the last free people of humanity, should not be left unprotected if things went awry. Adama takes Galactica in the rescue effort without Pegasus, ordering his son to stay with the Fleet at a rendezvous point to await their return ("Precipice", "Exodus, Part I").

Despite Adama's orders, Pegasus leaves her fighters to protect the remains of the Fleet and returns to New Caprica to participate in the rescue. Pegasus jumps into the fight and finds Galactica under fire from four Cylon basestars. Pegasus destroys one of the baseships with her forward batteries and attracts the attention of the others while Galactica repairs its FTL drive and prepares to jump away.

Pegasus' destruction.

Pegasus reels from the onslought of missiles from the remaining Cylon basestars. It becomes clear to Admiral Adama that Pegasus's trip was one-way. Following Galactica's jump, Commander Adama sets his battlestar's batteries on auto-fire and orders the crew to abandon ship, pausing just long enough to give his dying command a quiet thanks. As the evacuation Raptors jump away, Pegasus, mortally damaged and now completely unmanned, collides with a basestar, destroying it. As Pegasus explodes, the remains of her starboard flight pod collides with another basestar, destroying it as well (Exodus, Part II).

Equipment

Pegasus has built-in electronic countermeasure (ECM) generators to ward off missiles aimed at the ship (Resurrection Ship, Part II).

Pegasus also has Viper Mark VII production facilities, allowing the ship to re-arm itself on extended deployments, provided the battlestar has access to raw materials such as ore (Scar).

Pegasus also has two Raptor take off pads on both sides of the flight pods seen in the (Razor)

Air Wing

Pegasus operates at least 10 squadrons of Viper Mark VII space fighters. During the Battle of the Binary Star System four color-coded squadrons are identified verbally and on the DRADIS (The Captain's Hand). Since these designations are later used for very different squadrons led by different people, they are very likely just wireless callsigns. Moreover, the standing squadrons on Galactica have more elaborate names and are numbered; such as the Vigilantes. The colors and group leaders could be assigned on an ad-hoc basis, while a more formal structure exists in the background.

Given that Pegasus suffers over 90 Viper casualties with 32 being destroyed during its attack on a Cylon communications relay (Razor), but is still able to field a sizable Viper complement at the time of encountering Galactica, this suggests that her initial Viper load out was very large. The exact number of Vipers per squadron for a full-strength battlestar is approx 20 (Battlestar Galactica RPG). Also, Pegasus fielded approx 8 squadrons of Vipers and 2 reserve squadrons, the number of Vipers per squadron must have been 20 to equal up to 200 Vipers.

Pegasus has approximately 50 Raptors, since they've lost over half of their fighters and recon craft, and 20 Raptors can be deployed for the Caprica rescue mission, while Galactica alone appears to have difficulties deploying more than about 5 Raptors at one time ("The Farm", "Resistance").

Crew

Senior Staff at Time of Destruction

Former Members of the Senior Staff

Notes

  • According to David Eick's video blog, it would have been impossible to afford creating new sets for the entire interior of Pegasus on the budget of an episodic television show. This expense was circumvented when a year beforehand Ron D. Moore and David Eick bought (for next to nothing) the abandoned sets of the failed pilot for the FOX network's Lost In Space remake, directed by John Woo. The production team then held onto the sets hoping to find some later use for them, eventually using them for "Pegasus". The sets were then radically redesigned and painted to give them the aesthetic look of Galactica, but sleeker and more advanced.
  • This ship is named after the winged horse from Greek mythology.

Related Imagery

References

  1. The survivor count increases by this number in the episode "Pegasus". Before that, the battlestar lost approximately 700 crewmen during the attack on the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards and a further 100 during its attack on a Cylon communications relay.
  2. Blog comment by Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz.
  3. During his interrogation by Colonel Saul Tigh in "Resistance", Chief Tyrol mentions that he served aboard a number of battlestars in his military career, including Pegasus, but doesn't mention if Cain was in command at the time. If she was and ever knew him then, she makes no mention of it.

External links