One of the more exciting moments of Ronald D. Moore's reimagined
Battlestar Galactica series was the Battle of New Caprica as seen in
Exodus Part II during the third season. I wouldn't be able to do the battle justice, so read about it
here. I remember a debate that went on after that episode aired on a forum I used to frequent about whether or not Adama should have sacrificed the
Galactica and preserved the
Pegasus, the former's sister ship commanded by his son, Lee (Apollo). For the sake of anyone who has never seen the series, here's what the
Galactica and
Pegasus look like.
The
Galactica is an old warhorse, dating back to the Cylon War 40 years prior to the start of the show.
The
Pegasus is from the newer Mercury-class, better armed and protected and generally just plain superior to the
Galactica. Additionally, the
Pegasus has something that the other battlestar lacks - namely the capability to build vipers, the fighter craft used by the Colonial Fleet. That was the reason for the debate. She was simply a better warship than
Galactica and would have better served the refugee fleet. On the other hand, the show was called
Battlestar Galactica and not
Battlestar Pegasus.
I like to imagine how the Mercury-classes would operate during a war. Battlestars are designed to operate without resupply for years at a time and judging by the punishment the Galactica took throughout the four seasons of the show, they could handle themselves well. A group of four or even a pair could wreak absolute havoc behind enemy lines.
If you haven't seen the show, the
Pegasus is destroyed during the Battle of New Caprica, sacrificing itself to cover the
Galactica's escape. A noble death, but a damn shame nonetheless.
Pictures via the
Battlestar Wiki.
Agree with the decision or not, it certainly was an awesome moment in the series!
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, part of the reason that the Galactica survived the initial Cylon assault on the colonies was that its older tech systems, including those on its older-style vipers were immune to the computer virus that the Cylons used to disable the rest of the fleet. Did the crew of the Pegasus develop counter-measures to the Cylon's cyber-attacks? Was this ever addressed in the series?
ReplyDeleteI recall that too - built for the last Cylon war Galactica was hardened against cyber attack and had no networked systems. I dont recall Pegasus's capabilities being discussed along those lines, but as she blind jumped from Dock she may not have come under direct cyber attack during the initial assault on Caprica and the colonies.
ReplyDeleteI checked the Battlestar Wiki and as it turns out, the ship's computer network had been taken offline when the was in drydock for an overhaul. Apparently when the Cylons attacked the shipyard, they were only able to disable the ship's weapons and navigation, but not their FTL, so that's why Pegasus was able to escape.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, dumb luck saved the Pegasus to an extent, humanity. I guess fate doesn't just protect little ships named Enterprise.