Ragnar Anchorage

Ragnar Anchorage (credit: Zoic Studios, 2003)

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

When the Cylons launch their surprise attack on the Twelve Colonies, battlestar Galactica was 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 learned that the atmosphere of the planet Ragnar emitted a kind of radiation that adversely affected Cylon technology and cloaked ships residing within the storm.

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 a Jump from Ragnar towards the Promar Sector, well beyond the "Red Line" of chartered space, never to return to the solar system of the Colonies in an effort to escape the Cylons.

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.

• Tigh may have been less worried about Galactica's Jump ability but to the Jump's difficulty in particular. Given the strong gravity well and electromagnetic fields that a gas giant such the one at Ragnar would possess, plotting a Jump to emerge at close proximity to the Anchorage would be an extremely risky measure only to be undertaken in emergency situations, even with a more advanced battlestar.

• The name "Ragnar" is used allegorically by the show writers to remind the viewer of Ragnarok, the apocalyptic battle of the gods of Norse mythology.

• 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.

See Also

The Battle of Ragnar Anchorage details the battle and provides links to successive Cylon encounters.

Re-imagined Series definition: technology enabling travel across distances faster than the speed of light would permit, see: FTL