The Fleet (TRS)

This article involves the fleet of faster-than-light-capable civilian ships in the Re-imagined Series. For information on its sublight counterpart in the Original Series, see The Fleet (TOS). For general information on other articles pertaining to fleets, see: Fleet (disambiguation).

The Fleet is a convoy of ships sheltering the human survivors of the Cylon attack. The Fleet forms the backdrop of the drama of the Re-imagined Series.

The Fleet in formation (Miniseries).

Overview

"The Fleet" originates as a convoy of about 60 commercial and civilian ships in the space surrounding Caprica. Laura Roslin - with the aid of Sharon Valerii - initiates the clustering of stranded vessels in the aftermath of the Cylon invasion of the Twelve Colonies, thus forming the convoy. Twenty of these ships are abandoned to a squadron of attacking Raiders because they either lack FTL drives, or are damaged, like Gemenon Liner 1701. The remaining vessels join battlestar Galactica - the only Colonial warship known to have survived the Cylon attack - in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant Ragnar. From here on, Galactica shoulders the role of the Fleet's protector (Miniseries).

Anastasia Dualla explains in "33" that 53 ships have jumped away from an attacking Cylon baseship, with 10 still reporting trouble with their FTL drives. Adding Galactica to this tally, results in a total number of 64 ships. Saul Tigh's statement in "The Farm" that the 24 ships departing with the Laura Roslin faction represent "almost a third of the fleet", implies that the number of ships in the Fleet is approximately in the mid-70's. By "The Passage", there are likely fewer ships left in the Fleet because of the Cloud Nine destruction (Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II) and the settlement and emergency exodus of New Caprica (Exodus, Part II).

The political and social troubles befalling the Fleet as it wanders through space, serve as a metaphor for all of humanity, since the Fleet literally is what is left of humanity in the television series.

The phrase "the Fleet" functions not only as a signifier for the actual ships of the convoy, but as an indicator of the people on board, and therefore for mankind. Often the term is used to refer to the civilian populations, as opposed to the military personnel of Galactica and Pegasus. Usage of the term "the Fleet" has not gained more than an informal acceptance, as can be seen by President Roslin's continued use of the term President of the Twelve Colonies. This may be interpreted either as an expression of hope that the people of the Fleet will re-establish themselves on a new world, or a psychological inability to accept the Fleet as the only home that humanity will know for a long time.

After three years of searching the Fleet eventually reaches Earth, but are disappointed to find it a devastated wasteland as a result of a nuclear holocaust (Revelations).

Ships

• Colonial ships use launch keys to activate the ship's systems (Precipice). The keys are unique to each vessel and are extremely difficult to copy.

Remaining

Seen

Name	Ship type / function	Last Seen	Notes
Astral Queen	Prison ship	Revelations	Tom Zarek is found aboard this ship, along with 1,500 prisoners heading toward Caprica for parole hearings. Later the lead ship in Laura Roslin's faction.
Botanical Cruiser	Agricultural ship	Revelations	A sister ship is destroyed in the second night of the Miniseries.
Celestra	Celestra type	Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II	Mentioned only.
Chrion	Luxury liner	The Passage	Successfully shepherded to the algae planet.
Colonial Heavy 798 / Colonial One	Transport ship, government	Revelations	President Roslin's flagship and seat of the spaceborne Colonial government since the Fall. As of Season 4, the ship also holds the Quorum of Twelve.
Daru Mozu	Tylium refinery	Dirty Hands	The Fleet's only tylium refinery ship. Damaged by a Demand Peace suicide bomber, and the site of a worker's strike much later.
Demetrius	Sewage recycling	Revelations	Given to Kara Thrace and a select crew to try to find Earth.
Galactica	Battlestar, military		This is the last remaining original battlestar dating back to the Cylon War. It is the main protector and flagship of the Fleet, under direct command of William Adama.
Gemenon Traveller	Kimba Huta type	Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II	A copy of Leoben Conoy is captured and held here for interrogation and, later, executed.
Gemini	Freighter	The Passage	Used as a decoy in the Battle for the Tylium Asteroid. Joins Laura Roslin's separatist fleet. Is later part of the so-called defense fleet over New Caprica.
Gideon	Supply ship	The Son Also Rises	A supply ship involved in an incident where four civilians are killed by Galactica Marines. Survives after New Caprica.
Kimba Huta	Cold storage vessel	Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II	Featured in "The Farm" where Tom Zarek, Laura Roslin and Lee Adama hide out after Roslin's escape from Galactica.
Majahual	Mining ship	Scar	Mines crucial metals needed to build Vipers.
Monarch	Mining ship	Collaborators	A mining ship that joins the Laura Roslin faction. Mentioned in "Collaborators".
Prometheus	Freighter	Revelations	Commanded by Doyle Franks, Promethus has a reputation as an "off the grid" freighter involved in the black market.
Space Park	Unknown type	Revelations	Arguably the easiest identifiable civilian ship due to its large ring, it has no specific name. It is severely damaged during the Battle of the Ionian Nebula, and is repaired en route to Earth.
Striker	Celestra type	Home, Part II	Damaged in a refueling operation overseen by Captain George Birch.
Thera Sita	Kimba Huta type	The Woman King	Ship is successfully shepherded to algae planet and later temporarily transfers refugees to Galactica in "The Woman King".
Virgon Express	Flattop type	Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II	First introduced in "Water" as it undergoes underway water replenishment from Galactica's stores.

Mentioned only

Unless otherwise mentioned, the following ships are only listed on the voting tally board in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II". However, many of the ship names are also used in later episodes, both for mentioned-only and seen ships. As such, it is clear that the writers have a list of the ships to pick names from and don't just make up new ones.

Name	Notes
Adrasteia	In Greek mythology, Adrasteia (also spelled Adrastia, Adrastea, Adrestea, and Adastreia) was a nymph who was charged by Rhea to raise the infant Zeus in secret to protect him from his father Cronus (Krónos) in the Dictaean cave.
Amduatey	The ship is named after the Ancient Egyptian Amduat, which literally means "That Which is in the Afterworld". It was an important funeral text usually inscribed in the tombs of pharoahs. The Amduat told the story of the sun god Ra, who set in the evening and traveled through the underworld at night, only to rise again in the morning. It was understood that the dead pharaoh was taking the same journey, through the underworld, only to rise again with Ra as an immortal in the morning.
Aether	In Greek mythology, Aether is one of the Protogenos (first-born). He is the personification of the "upper sky," space, and heaven, and the elemental god of the "Bright, Glowing, Upper Air." He is the pure upper air that the gods breathe, as opposed to regular air, the gloomy lower air of the Earth, which mortals breathe.
Argo Navis	Argo Navis was a large southern constellation representing the Argo, the ship used by Jason and the Argonauts in Greek mythology.
Aurora	In Roman mythology, Aurora is the goddess of dawn. This goddess also exists within the series's own mythology.
Azimenarius
Baah Pakal	Holds a pair of engines used in the Blackbird's construction (Flight of the Phoenix).
Boreas	Named for the god of the north wind in Greek mythology.
Bretan
Carillian Trader	In the Original Series, Carillon is the infamous "casino planet" from "Saga of a Star World".
Cassandra	Named for the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy who had the power of prophecy, but was was cursed so that noone believed her.
Coronis	Mentioned in a deleted scene in "Litmus", as a ship carrying people who are unhappy about being last in food ration distribution. In Greek mythology Coronis is the name of several figures.
Cybele	Escorted by Raptors through a very dense star cluster to the algae planet (The Passage). Named for the "Earth Mother" goddess of ancient Asia Minor.
Clymene	Several women and deities in Greek myth are named Clymene.
Diomedes	Presumably named for the ancient hero of the Trojan War of the same name.
Embla Brokk	The name Embla Brokk may be derived from the names of two figures in Norse mythology: Embla, the first woman, and Brokkr, a dwarf who helped create Draupnir (a magical ring) and Mjolnir (Thor's hammer).
Enkidu	Among the first ships to navigate the star cluster to the algae planet (The Passage). Named after the Enkidu of the Sumerian mythological epic of Gilgamesh.
Epheme	The Epheme may be named for a minor character in Greek mythology who was nurse to the Muses.
Faru Sadin	Successfully guided through the star cluster to the algae planet by Louanne Katraine, who sacrifices her life in the process (The Passage).
Freighter 212	A ship on which Louanne Katraine apparently has some "buddies" (Final Cut). It is not clear whether Freighter 212 is the ship's proper name or merely its callsign.
Galatea	Probably named for a main character in the Greek myth of Pygmalion. Pygmalion, a sculptor, creates a statue of a woman, which is so beautiful that he falls in love with it, and the gods reward him by bringing her (Galatea) to life.
Greenleaf	A freighter mentioned several times in the series ("Epiphanies", "Sacrifice", "Crossroads, Part I")
Harrak
Hexare
Hitei Kan
Inchon Velle	When Kara Thrace has disturbing dreams about Leoben and the mandala in her apartment, Karl Agathon suggests that she see a psychiatrist on the Inchon Velle (Maelstrom).
Kara Nexal
McConnell	Commander Fisk made runs to this ship in order to build up a stock pile of supplies for the black market (Black Market).
Mutem Wia
Odysseus	Named for the hero in Greek mythology who fought in the Trojan War and was the subject of Homer's epic The Odyssey.
Persephone	Persephone is the daughter of the goddess Demeter. Sheis forced to marry the god of the underworld, Hades, but Demeter works out a compromise where Persephone is allowed to return to the world of the living for a portion of the year.
Picon 36	A ship is Laura Roslin's initial fleet that is left behind when the Cylons suddenly attack (Miniseries).
Picon Princess
Rhadamantrys
Rising Star	Mentioned several times early in the series. A ship identical to its Original Series counterpart can be seen in "Escape Velocity".
Salpica	In the extended cut of "Unfinished Business", the Salpica is mentioned as the ship Samuel Anders lives on after the escape from New Caprica and before moving permanently to Galactica.
Sargon	May be named after either Sargon I or Sargon II, ancient Assyrian kings on Earth.
Scorpia Traveller	After disembarking from the Scorpia Traveller, a copy of the humanoid Cylon Aaron Doral evades security checkpoints, nearly succeeding in the assassination of William Adama in a suicide bombing (Litmus).
Swordfish
Tarbadek
Tauranian Traveller	Mentioned in a deleted scene in "33".
Tora Bashiri	"Tora bashiri" is Japanese for "tiger's run." It is a term used in Iaido, a Japanese martial art.
Virga	The ship's name implies that it is of Virgon origin.
Zephyr	A ship mentioned several times throughout the series ("Fragged", "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II", "The Son Also Rises").
Zeusuda	Presumably named after Zeus, the Greek chief god.

Passenger and luxury liners

• An unnamed Gemenon Liners passenger cruiser (33).
• An unnamed Pan Galactic spaceliner (Miniseries, "Exodus, Part II", "The Passage").

Additional ships

• At least six Colonial Movers heavy transport ships, at least three of which are among the remaining ships of the Fleet (Crossroads, Part II).
• At least four mining ships remain, including Monarch (Crossroads, Part II).
• At least four Kimba Huta-type transports throughout the Fleet, at least three remain after New Caprica.

Seen but unnamed

• Five-engined vessel, seen above Caprica City (Miniseries) and during the escape from New Caprica (Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II)
• Wedge-shaped vessel, seen briefly during the end of "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II"
• Tubed vessel, seen throughout the Fleet and jumping away from New Caprica at the end of "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II"
• Rising Star type vessel, seen briefly in "Escape Velocity".

Note: Any of these vessels is probably identical to one of the mentioned only ones above.

Destroyed

Name	Ship type / function	Destroyed in	Notes
Adriatic	Unknown	The Passage	A member of the Roslin faction armed with ship-to-ship missiles (Home, Part I). Lost in transit in a star cluster.
Botanical Cruiser	Agricultural and transport vessel	Miniseries	A sublight-only vessel that is destroyed by the Cylons after the Fall, before Roslin's fleet rendezvous with Galactica at Ragnar. An FTL-equipped vessel of the same type remains in the Fleet.
Carina	Flattop-type salvage and repair ship	The Passage	Lost in transit in a star cluster.
Cloud Nine	Luxury liner, civilian/government	Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II	Designed to mimic the environment of a habitable planet, Cloud Nine became the meeting place for the first Quorum of Twelve after the Fall. It is later home to legalized prostitution (Black Market) and Demand Peace (Epiphanies). The ship is destroyed by a nuclear warhead detonated by Gina Inviere, resulting in the destruction of at least three other ships.
Olympic Carrier	Luxury liner	33	Destroyed by Lee Adama and Kara Thrace after an apparent Cylon takeover.
Pegasus	Battlestar, military	Exodus, Part II	This is the last remaining Mercury class battlestar. Formerly commanded by Helena Cain (Pegasus), Jack Fisk (Resurrection Ship, Part II) and Barry Garner (The Captain's Hand). Under the command of Lee Adama when it is destroyed during the Battle of New Caprica (Exodus, Part II)
Pyxis	Luxury liner	He That Believeth In Me	Commanded by Captain Tarney, this ship is successfully shepherded to the algae planet, but later destroyed in the Battle of the Ionian Nebula resulting in 600 deaths.

Additional ships

• The following ships are destroyed together in the Cloud Nine disaster (Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II):
• One Colonial Movers ship
• A yellow vessel
• A long-necked vessel

Demographics

A few points of information are available concerning the demographics of the Fleet. In "33", before the destruction of the Olympic Carrier, there are 5,251 survivors from Sagittaron and 49,998 total survivors. In "Home, Part I", the Laura Roslin faction leaves the Fleet with 18,000 individuals, of which 9,500 ware Gemenese and 6,250 were Capricans. At that time the total population of the Fleet is 47,857.

This information is sparse, but it gives a general idea of the population breakdown of the Fleet if a few assumptions are made for the sake of argument.

• Note that Gemenon and Caprica have more citizens in the Roslin faction alone than Sagittaron has in the entire Fleet. The Twelve Colonies are clearly not represented in equal proportion.
• Before the destruction of the Olympic Carrier, Sagittaron natives make up 10.50% of the Fleet. Solely for the purpose of argument, it is assumed that the Olympic Carrier's population breakdown was identical to the rest of the Fleet's and that Sagittaron continues to make up 10.50% of the Fleet's total population.
• The figures from the Roslin faction can be interpreted in several ways:

• ASSUMPTION 1: All Gemenese and Capricans jump to Kobol with the Roslin faction.

• Caprica: 6,250 persons (13%)
• Gemenon: 9,500 persons (20%)
• Sagittaron: 5,026 persons (11%)
• Others: 27,081 (57%)
  

• ASSUMPTION 2: All Gemenese jump to Kobol with the Roslin faction, lured by the "religion card", but the Caprican portion of the Roslin faction is representative of the Fleet.

• Caprica: 28,204 persons (59%)
• Gemenon: 9,500 persons (20%)
• Sagittaron: 5,026 persons (11%)
• Others: 5,127 persons (11%)
  

• ASSUMPTION 3: Caprican and Gemenese portions of the Roslin faction are representative of the Fleet.

• Caprica: 16,617 persons (35%)
• Gemenon: 25,258 persons (53%)
• Sagittaron: 5,026 persons (11%)
• Others: 956 (2%)
  

• Although it is plausible that the Caprican population is substantially larger than the other Colonies, as Colonial Heavy 798 is in the vicinity when the attack begins, and is the nucleus around which the Fleet rallies, it is unlikely that the populations of each colony are grossly unequal, or else the Quorum of Twelve would be a very poor system of government. The likeliest scenario is therefore somewhere in between assumptions 1 and 2, with nearly all of the Gemenon population (drawn by the "religion card") and a large portion of the Caprican population leaving with Roslin.
• Alternatively, it is possible that the population of the Colonies are grossly unequal. Although the structure of the Quorum of Twelve appears to maintain at least a fiction that the Colonies are roughly equal, next to nothing is known about how the governmental system of the Colonies was established or how it evolved over time. Indeed, the United States Senate, for example, by design expressly assumes that the various states constituting it are 'equal' even though this is clearly not the case in terms of their respective populations. Furthermore, the fact that a system of government is 'poor' or else not representatively proportional does not mean it cannot actually be implemented and even survive for long periods of time.

As for the population distribution, the population of several ships is known: Galactica (2,693 as of "Water"), the Olympic Carrier (1,345 as of "33"), Astral Queen (1,500 as of "Bastille Day", retconned up from 500 in the Miniseries) and Pyxis (600 when destroyed in "He That Believeth In Me"). There are 176 civilians in the cargo hold of Colonial One in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II". The Fleet is stated at about 75 ships in "Resistance", retconned up from 40 in the Miniseries.

• Going by the 75 ship count, the remaining ships besides Galactica and the Astral Queen each carry about 600 persons on average.
• The 23 ships that leave with the Laura Roslin faction, apart from the Astral Queen, would have an average population of about 720 persons per ship.

The Fleet's population has declined by about 8,000 since the above.

Notes

• Unofficially, many viewers refer to the Fleet as the "RTF"; "Rag Tag Fleet", or more fully, "RTFF." These nicknames come from the term "Rag Tag Fugitive Fleet," a name used in the opening credits voice over of the Original Series (performed by series creator Lorne Greene), describing the civilian refugee fleet.
• In the Miniseries, astute viewers may recognize three spacecraft with notable resemblances of ships from other SF universes. The first two of these ships aren't considered a canonical part of the series or the Fleet, but their appearance adds a bit of humor and pays homage to other notable science fiction and their creative staff.

• Serenity, the central ship from the TV series Firefly and the motion picture Serenity, appears briefly in the sky outside the window of a doctor's office where viewers first see Laura Roslin. The ship does not appear in the Fleet.
• The original USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) from the original Star Trek TV series makes a cameo in the last shot of the Fleet as Elosha chants a prayer in the memorial service near the end of the Miniseries. Look to the upper right corner for the ship in a still frame. All Season 1 opening credits use this shot, so Enterprise makes a very quick appearance with each of the first 13 episodes (This is best viewed from the Season 1 DVD set).
• The ill-fated Botanical Cruiser in the Miniseries was added in homage to the Agro Ship from the Original Series, which in turn were the re-used models from the SF film Silent Running, a Universal/MCA movie that special effects guru John Dykstra worked on a few years prior. At least one FTL-capable version of this ship survives and exists in the Fleet (The Passage).

See Also

• Colonial Craft

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

Re-imagined Series definition: abbreviation of tally-ho; the sighting of an enemy target, such as a craft, landmark, or position (TRS: "The Hand of God", "Scattered", "Maelstrom")

Re-imagined Series definition: used to signify a civilian transport vessel over a certain gross weight/mass, i.e. Colonial Heavy 798

Re-imagined Series definition: mineral that can be refined to a powerful fuel, see: tylium

Original Series definition: a highly combustible fuel (see: tylium) (TOS: "Fire in Space")

Re-imagined Series definition: a nickname used as a substitute for an aviator's given name in wireless communications and in conversation

Re-imagined Series definition: the process of using the FTL engines to make an near-instantaneous apparent faster-than-light transport of a ship from one point in space to another