The Birth of a Battlestar 
c1994-1997 by Paul W. Schultz 

A new day dawned over the orbiting shipyard as the Colonies' sun emerged
from the celestial body of Caprica. Its light fell upon the glistening
shell of a mighty warship in the final stages of construction in the
central dock. Around the gigantic craft a flurry of activity belied its
dormant appearance. Techs populated the shipway, performing a variety of
tasks. 

It had taken over two yahren to get to this point, but completion was
finally in sight. During that time, techs in the many subassembly
partitions of the space dock worked feverishly on separate sections that
would eventually be put together to create the mammoth space vessel. Once
these were completed giant cranes moved the modules to outfitting areas
where machinery foundations, piping, valves, cabling and other apparatus
were installed. Finally, these huge pieces were maneuvered into place
around the framework and techs manipulated automated laser-welders to
join the prefabricated segments. 

With the hull finished, work began on the massive propulsion system along
with the power generation structure underpinning its operation.
Eventually it would harness awesome energy, but for now the empty housing
of the star drive loomed in quiescent majesty. 

Visually, the immense ship began to take shape. The landing bays with
their opposing launch tubes were attached solidly to the primary body of
the ship--one on each side--by three large arms, giving it an overall
insectoid look. Once these main pieces were assembled techs swarmed
around the hull adding parts to the superstructure and performing other
detailing. Across the outside of the landing bays enormous letters were
painted on the surface, identifying the ship's name. 

Potential was swiftly charging toward reality as major construction was
supplanted by minor particulars. 


The war with the Cylons was escalating. Their growing empire had been in
conflict with the Colonial worlds for hundreds of yahren. Once a
reptilian race, the Cylons allowed their technology to overwhelm them
until their mechanical handiwork no longer found a need for their
masters. The Cylons were eradicated and their machine creations assumed
their name, their society and their planet. 

Unfortunately, their murderous ways did not stop there. They sought the
lofty goal of destroying all inferior life in the universe, which was
basically everyone excluding themselves. 

Until this point in time, the numerous skirmishes and clashes between the
Cylons and the Colony worlds had not concluded with a clear victor. The
Colonial Warriors had managed to keep their home worlds spared, but the
price in human lives was beginning to take its toll. Naturally the Cylons
were able to recoup their losses by simply constructing more soldiers.
The Colonies, however, were starting to fathom the implication of their
dwindling numbers. They began to realize shortly that something more
would have to be done if the continued safety of their home worlds was to
remain assured. 

Recent events showed a disturbing trend in the course of the war.
Mounting evidence pointed to a sharpened focus of purpose on the part of
the Cylons. Their intent to annihilate the life-form known as man was
never more clear. Military intelligence confirmed that the Cylons were
building giant ships of war, estimated to be able to destroy entire
planets. 

That was what drove the Colonies to action. The Colonies decided they
would need their own super warships to be able to protect their worlds
from this new threat. They knew they needed to build up the war machine
now or face subjugation by the evil machine species, or worse. 

Production of a new fleet of warships was commissioned by the President
of the Council of Twelve. The Colonial world Aquara built what would
become the flagship of this new fleet, the ATLANTIA. Each of the
remaining eleven worlds that made up the Colonies quickly followed suit
in planning and funding of their own guardian battleships. 

The implementation of these new super warships might have been
short-lived had it not been for an incident that extended the humans'
countdown to destruction. Many Colonials affirmed that the Lords of Kobol
were with them when a computer malfunction aboard the prototype Cylon
basestar created an imbalance that caused a chain-reaction in the main
power core. The resulting explosion utterly demolished the ship and with
it the Cylons' time advantage. Before that fateful day they were on track
to complete their model and subsequently construct additional basestars
far ahead of the Colonial's desperate efforts to produce their own
defending fleet. 

From then on, it was a race against time. For the Cylons, to fulfill
their self-imposed destiny; for the humans, their very survival.


The President of the Council of Twelve leaned slightly forward in his
seat as the shuttle escaped Caprica's atmosphere. He peered eagerly out
the front window, hoping to see the destination of this journey as soon
as it came into view. When it was apparent this would not readily happen
he relaxed back into the padded chair and spoke to the aide seated next
him. 

"This day is like a hard fought battle that has finally been won," the
President said as his gaze remained fixed outside the viewport. 

The aide wasn't sure if the President was addressing him or just
rehearsing his upcoming speech, but he thought he should respond. "Yes,
Mr. President, but the real battle is yet to come." 

The President's features hardened slightly, as if the burden of what was
to come after this day pressed its weight further on his mind. He
remained silent for a centon before speaking again. "Indeed, the
ATLANTIA's encounter with the Cylons over Lemnos shows just how grave our
situation is." 

Now it was the aide's turn to sit in quiet contemplation. The Battle of
Lemnos had been a distinct turning point in the war. In fact, it would
very likely define all future confrontations with the Cylons. It was the
first real fight between the new class of warships. Lemnos had sent out
an urgent plea for help explaining that the Cylons were attacking their
planet with weapons superior to anything they had faced from them before.
The ATLANTIA answered the call and was dispatched at light speed.
Nevertheless, by the time they arrived at Lemnos the surface of the
planet had already been decimated by the Cylons' basestar. The ATLANTIA
engaged the basestar and was fortunate to escape intact after beating off
the attacker. Seventeen million people on Lemnos lost their lives and the
Colonies were stunned with the scale to which the war had now amplified.
If they had dealt with death and destruction before, this new menace
proved that the spectrum of horror could be raised to a new level. 

Despite the terrible devastation in the Battle of Lemnos, the Colonies
learned a great deal about the tactics and abilities of the Cylons' new
war machine. They also discovered the capabilities and deficiencies of
their own flagship. The push to get more warships into service was
accelerated. Regardless, the sheer size, complexity and cost of building
these warships demonstrated that they were already proceeding as fast as
they were able. This only magnified the collective anxiety of the Colony
worlds. 

The President broke into the aide's reflection. "With two of these ships,
it is my hope that nothing like Lemnos' ruin shall ever happen again,"
the President said in a somber but firm tone. 

"Perhaps our fortunes are turning," the aide began. "The PACIFICA is due
to be completed by the end of this yahren and construction of the SOLARIA
is progressing ahead of schedule," the aide said hopefully. 

The President was not mollified by this, however, and shook his head. "I
fear that we have not seen the worst of this conflict, despite these
promising signs. The building of this ship has put a tremendous strain on
the economy of Caprica. The people for the most part have accepted the
burden and are adjusting their lifestyles accordingly. But it still
stretches us thin, and should a catastrophe befall our mighty new
ship..." 

"That's not likely to happen now that we know how the Cylons fight with
their new basestars," the aide countered. 

The President smiled at this and marvelled at his aide's unbounded
optimism. His attitude was infectious and incited the President to
consider the positive aspects of their situation. 

"If anything good has come of this, it is that the Colony worlds are
working together in a way they haven't before. Creating this new fleet
has certainly been a unifying force." 

The pilot, noting the President's earlier expectant looks, announced that
the space dock was coming into view. Both president and aide were now on
the edge of their chairs, catching their first glimpses of the object of
their discussion. 


The commander strode purposely down the corridors of his new ship. He
always made it a point to become familiar with every area of a new
command. This practice had benefited him many times in many ways during
his numerous yahren of service. After all, he figured, how could you
maximize your ship's capabilities until you were well versed in them? 

He had just departed from the Life Center where he observed his Chief
Life Officer attending to the abundant details needed to insure the
proficiency of its operation. It was reassuring to the commander that the
head of Life Center recognized the extreme importance his unit bore.
Running it during ordinary maneuvers was relatively uncomplicated, but in
the thick of a fight their efficiency was crucial. 

The length of the passageway the commander was negotiating reminded him
again of the immenseness of this vessel. He was amazed at the imposing
presence it elicited. In combat it would surely strike fear into the
heart of the enemy. Unfortunately, their foe had no heart and, more
importantly, no feelings to manipulate. Still, it would be an impressive
obstacle for thwarting the Cylon tyranny. 

His thoughts of battle led him unconsciously to one of the landing bays,
where techs worked diligently on a newly arrived squadron of fighters.
From there he traversed the narrow access tunnel to witness where a new
technique for launching fighters had been devised for this new class of
warship. To accommodate the much larger complement of fighter craft, a
way had to be found to get them launched quickly during an engagement.
Traditionally, they were launched from bays like any other craft.
Historically that proved to be a vulnerable process that left fighters
unprotected as they began their flight. In addition, they were launched
one at a time which prolonged a squadron's assembly once they were in
space. So, launch tubes were conceived. A fighter at one end of a tunnel
was positioned on a large catapult that would hurl it down the shaft at
the time of launch. Furthermore, multiple fighter craft could be
propelled into space simultaneously. The ultimate test of this design
came at the Battle of Lemnos. It was argued that this new launch scheme
was integral in silencing the Cylon basestar's mega-pulsars before they
were able to completely obliterate the planet's surface. 

The commander's tour ended, appropriately, in the ship's control center.
As he walked into the expanse he instinctively straightened to his full
height. His eyes slowly took in the entire layout of the bridge. They
lingered on Core Control, the main communications and monitoring station,
with its impressive state-of-the-art technology. His gaze eventually
rested on an elevated section directly in the center of the bridge. This
was where the command judgments were made. This was where the life and
death decisions were carried out. 

He scaled a set of steps leading up to the raised platform. There he
struck an authentic commander's pose as he surveyed his territory from
this position. It was an awesome responsibility, but he felt more than
confident in his ability to lead his people in whatever the future held
for them. With a sense of fortitude, he descended to floor level and
proceeded to make his exit. At the threshold he paused to take one last
look before turning to continue on his path to destiny. 


The siress made her entrance. All heads turned as one to witness her
arrival. Dignitaries representing all sects from Caprica filled the
bridge area. The President of the Council of Twelve rose to greet the
aging siress as she approached the command platform. She was still
stunningly attractive despite the fact she was nearly as old as the
vintage ambrosa he placed in her hand when she reached the stage. 

She spoke briefly to the president and the commander at his side before
turning to face the crowd. In a stately motion she lifted the bottle of
ambrosa and smashed it against the nearby support column, announcing:  "I
hereby designate this ship the Battlestar GALACTICA..." 

The End