William Adama
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| William Adama | ||
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[[Image: |200px|William Adama]]
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Name |
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| Age | ||
| Colony | Caprica | |
| Birth place | {{{birthplace}}} | |
| Birth Name | William Adama | |
| Birth Date | {{{birthdate}}} | |
| Callsign | Husker | |
| Nickname | {{{nickname}}} | |
| Introduced | [[{{{seen}}}]] | |
| Death | ||
| Parents | Evelyn Adama (mother), Joseph Adama (father) | |
| Siblings | ||
| Children | Lee Adama (alive), Zak Adama (deceased) | |
| Marital Status | Divorced (Caroline Adama), remarried to Anne Adama | |
| Family Tree | View | |
| Role | Commanding Officer, Battlestar Galactica; Supreme Commander of the Colonial Fleet | |
| Rank | Admiral | |
| Serial Number | {{{serial}}} | |
| Portrayed by | Edward James Olmos | |
| William Adama is a Cylon | ||
| William Adama is a Final Five Cylon | ||
| William Adama is a Human/Cylon Hybrid | ||
| William Adama is an Original Series Cylon | ||
| Related Media | ||
| @ BW Media | ||
| Additional Information | ||
| [[Image:|200px|William Adama]] | ||
Admiral William Adama is the commanding officer of the Battlestar Galactica, and the highest ranking officer left in the Colonial Fleet.
Biographical Notes
Background
William Adama was born on Caprica to Evelyn and Joseph Adama. His mother was an accountant and his father, an attorney specializing in civil liberties (Litmus). They divorced while he was in his teens.
At the outbreak of the first Cylon War, Adama was serving in the Colonial Fleet as a Viper pilot. He allegedly gained the call sign of "Husker" on account of his baritone "gravelled" voice. He proved to be a gifted pilot, shooting down his first Cylon on his very first mission. He racked-up his 1,000th deck landing while serving aboard the Battlestar Atlantia (Act of Contrition), when he held the rank of Lieutenant.
Adama served on Galactica during the war as a pilot. In the last week of the war, the battlestar was boarded by Cylon forces. He recalled to his friend and fellow war veteran Saul Tigh that the Cylons divided into two teams. One headed for the ship's secondary damage control and vented the atmosphere, while the other proceded to auxiliary fire control and turned Galactica's guns against the fleet. Over 2,000 people died in the attack (Valley of Darkness, deleted scene).
Following the Cylon armistice, William Adama married Caroline. They had two sons together: Lee and Zak, before the pressures of Adama's career and the time he spent away from home of active service began to place a strain on their marriage. Nevertheless, this did not stop both Lee and Zak following their father into the service - both signing-up for training as Viper pilots.
A photograph seen in the Miniseries seems to imply that Adama was still in the fleet when his children were roughly six to eight years old, but within a few years he had been discharged as the result of a reduction-in-force. His marriage to Caroline had apparently fully deteriorated by this point, and he found work on a civilian freighter where he met Saul Tigh, who was to become a longtime friend.
After some time as a civilian, Adama married a second time, to a woman named Anne. Her father was able to pull some strings with the defense subcomittee and Adama was reinstated to the Colonial Fleet. Adama himself arranged for Tigh's reinstatement a few years later.
Son's Death
During his training, Zak Adama became involved with his flight training officer, Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, to whom he became engaged shortly before taking his final qualifying flight (Act of Contrition). As a result of this, Thrace allowed her personal feelings interfere with her professional judgement, passing Zak Adama through flight school when she should have failed him (Mini-Series). Zak was later killed in an operational flight.
As a result of his son's death, Adama faced the failure of his marriage and estrangement from his eldest son, Lee. However, to counter this, he became acquainted with Kara Thrace, and such was the bond that formed between them, Thrace transferred from flight school to one of the Battlestar Galactica's squadrons, where she served with Adama for some two years before the Cylon's reappearance (Act of Contrition).
Adama is a natural military leader, as demonstrated by his rise to rank of Commander in charge of a Colonial battlestar. He has the rare combination of qualities that make up a good leader: insight, the ability to naturally command respect, a common touch that enables him to relate to the enlisted personnel under his command as well as his officers, intuition, intelligence, a strong belief in his own abilities, and the ability to take the advice of others. These qualities are reflected in the fact the personnel of all ranks aboard Galactica hold him in high regard, and know that his is approachable (Miniseries).
If Adama has any failings, they are his mistrust of politicians and his strong sense of loyalty to those he regards as family and friends. The former is demonstrated in his uneasy acceptance of Laura Roslin (Miniseries, "33", "Water"), which is quickly undermined by Roslin's own doubts following her encounter with Leoben Conoy (Flesh and Bone). The latter is most clearly demonstrated by both his support of Colonel Saul Tigh and his actions when Kara Thrace is posted as Missing in Action.
Despite Tigh's obvious drinking problem (Miniseries), Adama retains him as his Executive officer when another commanding officer might have too easily transferred Tigh to a planetside desk job to avoid the embarrassment. While this demonstrated Adama's unstinting friendship for Tigh, it does the colonel no favors with the officers and crew under his command - many of whom are openly dismissive of him (Miniseries) - a fact that may encourage his drinking.
With Thrace, Adama's loyalty places the mission to find her above the need to protect the Fleet and ensure the survival of humanity - thus putting everyone at risk (You Can't Go Home Again).
Surprise Cylon Attack
At the time of the Cylon's sudden attack on the Twelve Colonies, William Adama is serving out his final weeks as commander of the battlestar Galactica. After some 50 years of service, the historic warship is in the process of being decommissioned, and it was one of Adama's final duties to formally hand her over to the Colonial Ministry of Education (by way of Education Secretary Laura Roslin) who would operate the ship as a living museum commemorating the original Cylon War and an educational center (Miniseries).
As a part of the decommissioning ceremonies, someone decides it would be a fitting tribute to have Lee Adama, recently-promoted to the rank of Captain, lead an honor flyby of Vipers - an ironic statement at best, given the strained relationship between the two men. The situation is not made any easier when Lee Adama finds he is to fly his father's battle-honored old Mark II Viper.
When he is first notified of the Cylon attack, Adama's first thoughts were, "Dead. We're all dead" (Home, Part II). Despite this, as well as the presumed loss of his wife in Caprica City, he manages to shepherd the Fleet to safety. Since the attack on the Twelve Colonies, Adama strives to lead the remnants of humanity with the same conviction as has marked his entire military career. Military discipline remains (mostly) intact aboard Galactica, and she continues to operate as a top-rate warship, despite her lack of any other military support (up to the discovery of Pegasus) and despite her reduced complement in terms of both fighters and crew.
As a combat veteran, Adama is more than capable of both strategic and tactical operations and making the decisions both require. When Picon Fleet Headquarters is destroyed and then Admiral Nagala is killed, he unhesitatingly takes control of the Colonial's response to the Cylon incursion and starts defining a response to the onslaught. Once President Roslin convinces Adama the futility of fighting against overwhelming odds, and with what may be the last 50,000 humans that remain anywhere, he makes the switch to the more tactical thinking that keeps the Colonial fleet at least one step ahead of their Cylon pursuers. From the outset, he is savvy enough to give every single survivor of the devastating attack on the Colonies a reason for hope for the future: the legend of Earth. This falsehood comes back to haunt him as the weeks continue, as Roslin is aware of this lie to the crew and states this privately to Adama.
Away from the daily rigours of command, Adama continues to face the problem of humanoid Cylon agent infiltration within the Fleet ("Litmus", "Flesh and Bone", "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down") and the possibility of saboteurs aboard Galactica and the Fleet (Water) - sabateurs who are still be at large, waiting for an opportunity to strike again. Adama has also had to redefine the boundaries of military and civil leadership, working as best he can with Laura Roslin, now recognized as the President of the people of the Twelve Colonies following the loss of practically all of the original Colonial government.
Events since the Cylon attack causes Adama to reconcile with his son, Lee. While they do not always see eye-to-eye, the needs of Galactica's crew and humanity as a whole have enabled them to better understand one another and move past their differences.
Following the loss of seven of the Galactica's pilots, Adama is forced to face the truth concerning Zak Adama's death, and Kara Thrace's role within it. In a strange way, these two events are something of a catalyst for one another - Thrace's admission to Adama forces him to realize how precious his remaining son is to him, and how difficult a father he must have been ("You Can't Go Home Again", "The Hand of God"); Adama's ability to admit his love and respect for his son enables the elder Adama to overcome his anger towards Thrace after her admission to him (Act of Contrition).
Kobol and Earth
At the start of the exodus from the Twelve Colonies, Adama uses the legend of Earth as a means of binding the remnants of humanity together with a single hope. Unfortunately, this later causes the greatest rift in leadership within the Colonial fleet. Following the accidental discovery of Kobol, which President Roslin sees pre-ordained in scripture, Adama finds himself confronted by what amounts to a court-martial situation. With members of his crew -- and the Vice President, Gaius Baltar -- trapped on the surface of Kobol, Adama orders Kara Thrace to use a captured Cylon Raider to destroy a Cylon basestar in orbit above Kobol. However, President Roslin persuades Thrace to use the Raider to go to Caprica to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo at Delphi (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I).
This action results in Adama terminating Roslin's presidency in what amounts to a coup, only to find Colonel Tigh forced to arrest Lee Adama for mutiny while on Colonial One to remove President Roslin from office. With Thrace gone, Adama dispatches Lieutenant Valerii to destroy the basestar over Kobol. While the mission is successful, Valerii's Cylon programming reveals itself and shoots Adama at point blank range as he thanks her for her work on her return (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II). Adama's injuries are left untreated when a second basestar suddenly appears, forcing Galactica and the Fleet to perform an emergency Jump.
Unfortunately, the chaos of the situation leaves Galactica without the same Jump coordinates as the Fleet, and the battlestar is separated in another area of space (Scattered). Worst of all, Dr. Cottle, the Fleet's only doctor, is on one of the other ships in the Fleet. While Lieutenant Felix Gaeta determines how to return to the Fleet, and as Galactica is raided by a Cylon Centurion boarding party, the medics on hand stabilize the commander's condition long enough for Dr. Cottle to return. After a lengthy and risky operation, Cottle repairs the damage to Adama's body.
Adama rests unconscious while Tigh declares martial law to counteract Roslin's supporters in the Quorum of Twelve. Roslin escapes the ship with Lee Adama's help, and hide throughout the fleet as Adama regains consciousness and returns to command. Roslin gains sufficient support and returns to Kobol, convincing over a third of the Fleet to Jump to Kobol in search of the path to Earth. Adama is incensed as, being a man with generally secular beliefs, he never truly believed in the existence of Earth of the Pythian scriptures and (incorrectly) feels that most others believe the same.
Adama's calm exterior barely holds back the helplessness and rage he feels over the betrayal of his son, Sharon Valerii, Roslin, and over 18,000 others that left with Roslin for Kobol. While at first Adama takes a similar stance to Tigh in assuming a hard military posture, a conversation with Petty Officer Dualla helps him realize again (as Dualla and Billy Keikeya showed him before the Battle of Ragnar Anchorage) that, despite the problems, the Fleet is his family, and the family must stay together. He orders the remainder of the Fleet to prepare to return to Kobol (Home, Part I).
Adama's attitude about Roslin and her quest changes from anger to genuine interest as he and his command staff track the likeliest location where Roslin's group searches for the Tomb of Athena. Rather than being skeptical about Roslin's visions, for instance, Adama begins to take them as face value, considering that data just as useful as the maps in front of him. Realizing that only he could reach out to Roslin to reunite the Fleet ("It was always between us anyway"), Adama leaves Galactica to Tigh's command while he, Tyrol, Racetrack, and Keikeya head to Kobol to find Roslin's group.
Adama greets his son, Lee, with raised guns, accidentally surprising Roslin's camp. Adama hugs his son and warmly greets Roslin and Thrace. However, on seeing the Caprica-based version of Sharon Valerii, Adama examines her eerily, grabs her by the throat and hurls her down to the ground while the camp tries to explain the reason why she was in camp. "I want you to die" was all that Adama could express before his pent-up anger became more physical, the exertions from his recovery catching up to him. He rolls off Valerii with aid, clutching his chest. Adama is given an explanation but remains understandably wary of this new copy of the Cylon agent.
Adama and Roslin have a talk unlike any other they've shared in the past, both calling each other by their first names, casually. Adama tells Roslin that he forgives her for her actions in the past weeks, and leaves the apology stand even when Roslin casually notes that she wasn't asking for his permission. When Roslin speaks of the resistance on Caprica and whether Galactica and her Fleet should have returned to fight instead of leaving from Ragnar Anchorage, Adama rejects the notion, saying he did not come to Kobol to "navel gaze" at what they could have done. He thanks Laura for saving him, his son, and the Fleet, for if he did not follow Roslin's advice to leave the system before the fight at Ragnar, he believes they would have all died.
Moments after discovering the entrance to the Tomb of Athena, Caprica-Valerii raises a gun at Adama's chest while Meier, one of Tom Zarek's men, raises his gun to Lee Adama, who is now aiming at Valerii. Meier was attempting an assassination of both Adamas to allow Zarek more political power after Roslin's demise, trying to use Valerii as a pawn to remove attention from Zarek. Immediately, Valerii turns her gun to Meier and fires. Lee Adama picks off a second shooter, while Valerii explains to Adama that she is fully aware of who she is and that, unlike her Galactica counterpart known as Boomer, she does not have hidden protocols or programming. She surrenders her weapon to Adama. Adama's feelings on Valerii remain guarded as she is placed in the special cage created for her counterpart on their return to Galactica.
Adama enters the Tomb with Roslin, Lee, Kara, and Billy, the rest left guarded by Tyrol. The group successfully activates the map with the Arrow of Apollo and gain useful information on the true whereabouts of Earth. Back on Galactica, Adama firmly buries the hatchet between he and Roslin publically by introducing Roslin as the President for a speech to members of the fleet, and leads a formal, unified ovation by applause for Roslin (Home, Part II).
Common Ground
To help undo the damage to the military's reputation in the Fleet after the "Gideon incident", President Roslin and Adama give a Fleet News Service reporter, D'anna Biers, unlimited access of the ship to interview the crew and watch their work and off-shift behavior. Bier's resulting documentary is very moving, and Adama gives his approval to release it for airing to the Fleet, who believes it shows the best of his crew, "warts and all". Adama is not aware that Biers is a Cylon infiltrator that has also passed out intelligence to her counterparts on Caprica of the existance and pregnancy of Helo's copy of Sharon Valerii (Final Cut).
Galactica is beset by mysterious malfunctions throughout the ship. Worse, crew morale is very low, with no relief, little true recreation, and a sense of no future plagues many throughout the ship. Even the stoic and reliable Lieutenant Gaeta vents his frustration to the surprise of everyone in CIC. Deck Chief Galen Tyrol, fighting his own sense of hopelessness, begins a project to build a replacement fighter from spare parts. Over time, others in the ship join in on the "pet project". Despite the need to stop the increasing malfunctions, Adama is reluctant to stop work on Tyrol's project unless necessary as it gives the crew a creative outlet. Some time later, after the new fighter completes its maiden flight, Adama and Roslin christen the new stealth fighter, the Blackbird. Adama tells Roslin that the crew's nicknaming the fighter "Laura" was a honor they wanted to do for the President, given her service to them as well as their feelings about her illness.
Adama solicits the help of the incarcerated Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii, ordering Helo to show her a portion of the Cylon virus code found in the ship's computers. She reacts in shock and tells Adama that this code was part of a logic bomb that will take over the battlestar, killing its crew and directing its guns at the remaining Fleet to destroy it. She also strongly believes, as did Adama, that this bomb was an indication of an imminent Cylon attack. Lieutenant Gaeta and Gaius Baltar devise a way to rid themselves of the bomb, but during this process, the battlestar would be practically defenseless. Adama needs a way to stop the incoming Cylon forces and asks President Roslin for advice on trusting the second Valerii for help. She responds by asking him to find common ground between Valerii and himself, despite his prejudices about her. In a desperate plan, Adama brings Valerii to CIC, where she uses her humanoid Cylon brain to send a virus back to the massive Cylon fleet that appears, deactivating every single enemy fighter. Galactica's Vipers easily destroy all enemy Raiders without a single casualty (Flight of the Phoenix).
The Discovery of Battlestar Pegasus
The sudden discovery of the advanced battlestar Pegasus, commanded by Admiral Helena Cain, is a very welcome event for Adama and his war-weary crew, and surely brings additional hope to the civilian fleet. But Cain's command staff--as well as her crew--seem oddly power-hungry, angrily disciplined, and, perhaps, the perfect reason why the Cylons might decide the human race should be annihilated. Adama, a soldier accustomed to taking orders, puts on a stoic face as Cain assumes command of the fleet. Not even Adama's relaxed smile convinces Laura Roslin of Adama's attitude when she asks how he was handling his change in command. Her guess was correct: something about the Admiral bothers Adama, but he is reluctant to discuss it. Adama follows his own truism about the Admiral: stick to what you know, until you find something better.
Adama's troubles with Cain begin with her choice to furnish supplies only to Galactica and not the civilian fleet, a point that Roslin hopes Adama would be able to correct. After Cain reads Adama's ship logs of the last 3 months, Cain reassigns Lieutenant Thrace and his son, Lee, to her ship. She explains that Adama was too close to his son, that Starbuck was an insubordinate officer that required structure, and that Adama had let military discipline become lax. Adama's stony face barely hides his anger, which he partially releases on Apollo and Starbuck as he orders them without commentary to transfer to Pegasus. Cain makes some valid observations about lax discipline on Galactica, so Adama grudgingly accepts her re-shuffling of personnel.
Matters with Cain's unusually totalitarian command style come to a head when Cain orders her "Cylon interrogator", Lieutenant Alistair Thorne, to interrogate the normally cooperative Caprica copy of Sharon Valerii. Thorne's method of "interrogation" was sexual assault. Lt. Agathon and Tyrol discover the truth of Thorne from members of Pegasus' crew. They rush to Valerii's cell and stop Thorne, accidentally killing him. Adama is given assurances by Cain that the arrested men will be tried fairly on her ship, but she refuses to assemble a tribunal to conduct the trial.
A few hours later, Adama is told that Agathon and Tyrol were tried and convicted--and solely by Cain herself. Cain claims that wartime status granted her extra powers, but Adama disagrees, realizing that his fleet wasn't on an offensive posture and requires cooperation and not military rule, as Galactica could have done long ago at Ragnar Anchorage by fighting to win and abandoning the civilian fleet. Adama's stony acceptance of taking orders from the renegade admiral immediately ceases. He orders the alert Vipers and a Raptor--filled with marines--to head to Pegasus to retrieve his men, and Cain deploys her Vipers. Adama is headed into yet another fight for the survival of his Fleet--his family--against a vastly superior force, and it doesn't seem to matter to him one wit if it is the Cylon fleet, or Cain's hostile, warmongering forces (Pegasus).
The standoff between the battlestars fortunately doesn't begin with an exchange of any fire from battlestars or fighters. However, Adama watches as his Vipers dance with Pegasus Vipers in a deadly game of "chicken", with Pegasus pilots attempting to force Galactica's fighters to fire first, which, by rules of engagement, would authorize return fire. Adama keeps silent, awaiting the inevitable collision or misfire that will start the bloodshed when Lt. Gaeta picks up what appears to be a Raider that manages to get very close to the Fleet without an earlier DRADIS alert. Picking up the surprise target as well, Pegasus fighters stop the chicken game and fly formation with Adama's fighters to intercept the target. The target turns out to be Kara Thrace in the Blackbird, returning from her unauthorized but very successful self-appointed reconnaissance mission to the mysterious Cylon ship that trails the Fleet. Her sudden entrance allows a detente between the battlestar commanders, who meet on Colonial One. There, President Roslin gives both commanders a harsh grilling and reminds them of the importance of the Fleet's survival and the intentions of the Cylon fleet following them. Adama appears actually chastized about the situation and remains quiet, except when Roslin patronizes Cain in saying that Pegasus would triumph in a firefight with Galactica ("I wouldn't count on that," he simply says). After Cain leaves, Roslin speaks with Adama privately and, to Adama's surprise, suggests that he kill Cain before she kills him and destroys the Fleet for her own wartime devices. Adama leaves to think about it, unsure if he could be an assassin.
Adama apologizes to the most unlikely person--the copy of Sharon Valerii, who was sexually assaulted by Pegasus Lieutenant Alistair Thorne. While Valerii shows signs of shock and anger, Dr. Cottle acknowledges she and her unborn baby are mostly unharmed. Adama asks Cottle to see that she is OK (not calling her "it") and orders her returned to her cell after her care. Afterwards, Adama visits the port hangar deck, appearing as to get Viper flight status, but in reality is there to learn a little about Peter Laird, his interim deck chief from Pegasus. Realizing he's not military, Adama asks more from Cally, who says that rumors indicate that Laird was from a civilian fleet once guarded by Pegasus. A conversation with Col. Tigh and Jack Fisk confirms the worst: Pegasus abandoned its civilian fleet, but not without conscripting many civilians into military service and stripping supplies and fuel from it, leaving what remained of the ships to fend for themselves. Resistance was quelled by shooting the families of those who would not leave with the battlestar, Fisk said.
Adama's relationship with Roslin grows closer. He visits her in bed, not looking at all well, but jovial nonetheless. Adama inquires of her unusually "bloody-minded" attitude towards Cain; Roslin replies that as long as Cain survives, his future and that of the Fleet is at risk. He asks if she needs anything, and Roslin humorously suggests she'd like a nice, young Cylon body to replace her own. When Adama says he can't picture her as a blonde, Roslin smiles and says that he'd be surprised. As he leaves, wiping a tear from his eye as he turns back to the president, Roslin reminds him to watch his back, and do what he has to do.
After a briefing on the upcoming battle to destroy the Resurrection Ship and its fleet, attended by Cain and Adama, Adama requests permission to speak more with Kara Thrace on the battle tactics, which Cain grants as she returns to Pegasus. Adama dismisses his son, cryptically telling him "Stay focused, son," while he asks the unusual from Thrace. After the battle, Adama asks her to enter the Pegasus CIC, with Lee Adama by her side to cover her, and to shoot Admiral Cain in the head. Little does Adama know that Admiral Cain has planned a similar assassination attempt with her XO and several members of her Marine division.
Lieutenant Lee Adama visits his father by volunteering for a courier run between the battlestars. The elder Adama doesn't want to talk too much about the operation, but is happy to see him. Adama continues his new pattern of seeking advice from unusual places by inviting his copy of Sharon Valerii to his quarters to ask her why the Cylons hate the humans so much. She can't answer the question directly, but asks him to remember something in the speech he gave at the decommissioning ceremony (Miniseries): Has humanity asked itself why it deserved to survive, given all its failings?
With the battle to destroy the Resurrection Ship a success, Adama has an opportunity to have Starbuck shoot Cain, but takes the advice of Valerii again and chooses to be better than what humans have become. Strangely, Cain also aborts her attempt on Adama's command and life, something that greatly relieves Jack Fisk, who laughs out loud and invites the crew for a drink.
Cain's fate is sealed not by Adama but Gina, the captured and tortured Cylon agent, who shoots and kills the admiral in her quarters. After Cain's funeral, on Colonial One, President Roslin, looking very frail, promotes Adama to Admiral, joking that some people may not think she knew much about military protocol, but that she knows that a commander of two or more capital ships should be an admiral. Adama smiles, says that he's never given up hope about getting admiral rank, but stopped chasing them after a while. Roslin appears ready to retire and has trouble standing, when Adama helps lift and steady her. In a pleasant surprise, now-Admiral Adama takes Laura Roslin's face in hand and gives her a simple, affectionate kiss, which she returns to smiles on both faces. Billy Keikeya helps the president back to her quarters while Adama's smile turns into sadness over Roslin's illness.
Admiral Adama
Shortly after the Battle of the Resurrection Ship, it is clear that Roslin is nearing death. In her final moments, Roslin orders Adama to kill Caprica-Valerii's Hera. Adama cannot bring himself to terminate the pregnancy, and it is shortly revealed that it is a good thing he hesitated: Baltar finds a cure for Roslin's cancer within the child's blood. Roslin is saved and Adama is visibly pleased that she has pulled through. Meanwhile, Adama becomes aware of the Demand Peace movement among the fleet. Adama meets with Royan Jahee, the leader of the movement, and attempts to explain that the Cylons don't want peace, they want too annihilate every lving human being. Jahee doesn't believe Adama, and the meeting ends with the two men in no different places than where they started.
Additional Notes
- Adama (also known as Nazareth) is the name of a large city in Ethiopia. The name is also a variation on "Adam", the first man to be created according to the Bible in the Book of Genesis.
In hebrew the word pronounced "Adama" means earth. Here is SkyOne's summary of Adama:
- William Adama was born on the colony of Caprica, in a small coastal community.
- His mother Evelyn was an accountant and his father, Joseph, was an attorney who specialised in criminal defence and civil liberties.
- At the age of 16 his parents divorced and he applied to the Colonial Fleet Academy. That same year, the Cylon War broke out. Adama's training accelerated along with all other midshipmen.
- After 3 years Adama was commissioned to work as a flight pilot; he gained a further two years of training before Adama joined his first squadron. He was a gifted, natural pilot and he shot down a Cylon fighter in his first mission.
- After the war was over, Adama was mustered out of the service along with millions of other colonials as part of demobilization process. He went home to Caprica, married his high school sweetheart and started life over.
- Adama struggled to find work as a pilot and so signed up as a deck hand in the merchant fleet. This experience would later give him an uncommon insight into the lives and struggles of the enlisted ranks aboard Galactica.
- Adama later had two sons, Lee and Zak. But over the years his exploration aboard ships would see Adama spending less time with his sons. He always tried to instill duty and admiration for military services. But was still surprised to learn that both his sons decided to enter the Fleet and become pilots.
- When Zak died during a training flight. Lee confronted his father and laid blame for his younger brother's death.
As this information has not appeared on the official Scifi.com site, its authenticity is in question. Further, this information states that Adama was fighting in the war 5 years into it, when the war lasted 12 years and RDM has stated in podcasts that Adama only served in the final year of the war.