This is a work of total fiction non-fiction. This information was never mentioned in the show. The purpose of this, and the many more to come, is to help writers with those little technical things. I tried to make this general enough so that it stays cannon with most fanfic stories. Also, this is so I can get my feet wet in the world of sci- fi tech writing (yes, I'd like to be the future author of the ST and SW Encyclopedias). Enjoy... COLONIAL BATTLESTAR _PACIFICA_ by Brian Markowski July 28, 1998 When a new ship was needed to replace the aging gunstar models, the Quorum of Twelve turned to the creators of the first Colonial fightings ships, Sagitara Ship Yards (SSY). The contract was simple: build a cruiser with the power to defeat at least one Cylon starforce, that of three basestars. SSY went to work immediately, ambitious with the chance to do something besides upgrades of previous designs. After only a few sectons the greenprints for a battlestar prototype were finished--a very short time for this kind of undertaking. Production ran smoothly and quickly, the first battlestar, _Pacifica_, completed in a yahren's time. It reached beyond everyone in the Quorum's expectations, and had every warrior begging for assignment onboard. In fact, some people even enlisted when they saw it. Ten more were immediately ordered into production, but the _Pacifica_ had one flaw, kept secret from everyone except for SSY. This flaw had nothing to do with the finished product itself, but with its production. To create the _Pacifica_, an entire world's resources, Codli's, were depleted. Surely ten planets could not just be ripped of all their value for only ten ships, the Quorum knew. Still wanting a battlestar, the Quorum took SSY's contract and gave an altered one to Caprica Fleet Yards. CFY's less demanding design, the soon to be _Atlantia_, was significantly smaller, but massive in its own right. Of course with this size and power decrease, the ability to take on three basestars was reduced to one--still superior performance to any gunstar. "So what do we do with this thing," SSY asked the Quorum of Twelve, pointing at the _Pacifica_. The Quorum could not deny that they still had a valuable resource on their hands, all be it one that operated expensively. Commissioned, though not at flagship status as believed, it was given a full load of crew, fighters, and fuel. At a length of 3,550 metrons and a height of 40 decks, the crew complement went well into the 10,000's. Crew quarters were like large apartments, as compared to future battlestars. The bi-level bridge spanned the entire top of the forward section, a tenth of the crew were stationed just their, overviewed by the towering/revolving command center where the ship's commander and senior staff operated from. It had the two standard launch bays, Alpha and Beta, which included twelve launch tubes. Each bay contained two full wings (one wing equaling 72 fighters) of Vipers, and a contingent of ten shuttles as well. One thing unique about the _Pacifica_ was that it had a third "fighter bay." Almost the entire top of the battlestar's mid--section was a launching and landing platform. While allowing a wing of Vipers to launch much, much faster than from the two bays, it was never implemented on other ships due to the expensive zero-gravity equipment required. The fighter capacity was, totally, 432 Vipers. A small fleet in itself. So when it came to firepower, just as in all other areas, the _Pacifica_ did not lack, nor could anything match it. Six forward laser guns were placed inside the wide cavity at the very tip of the battlestar's head. Along each landing bay laid five missile tubes, equalling ten ready shots of the most destructive weapon in the Colonies. And when it came to the bare essentials of laser turrets, seven were loaded on, each placed strategically all over the ship. Just as Sagitara had the most sophisticated defense/offense technology, so did their creation. And just the look of the thing was intimidating. Every part of the ship was hard edged and pointed. The purpose behind this blunt design was not to intimidate though--considering the fact that Cylons do not feel intimidation--but to strengthen the whole itself. Since fordrac (the most commonly used metal) cannot be molded after five coats, it was impossible to round and smooth the hull of the _Pacifica_, but the design had to have seven coats of fordrac for the hull to be strong enough to take on three basestars without fatal damage (electronic defense screens were yet to be made, but would be incorporated when the technology premiered). Many believed that the _Pacifica_ was the greatest ship ever built. And of course another many believe that it was the largest waste of tax dollars and resources ever. Either way, considering how many battles it went through, how many Cylons it decimated, and how many times it beat the odds, one thing is agreed upon by all who know of it: the _Pacifica_ was a testimony to the human spirit--to strive, to seek, and not to yield. HISTORICAL NOTE: When the _Pacifica_ was destroyed while heading back home after the Battle of Molocay, some speculate that the destruction of the most powerful ship in the Colonial Warfleet distressed the Quorum of Twelve so much that they went for peace, no matter how inconceivable, in the belief that if the Cylons could destroy the _Pacifica_, they could destroy anything. After all, it was nick-named "the undefeatable ship." Unfortunately, the Quorum did not take into account that the _Pacifica_ was fending off well over three basestars, far beyond its design. Amazingly though, even with extensive damage from Molocay, the battlestar took out 3/4 of the Cylon Starforces. But leave it politicians to miss the details. (_Pacifica_ destruction information taken from _Pegasus_ logs.) PERSONAL NOTE: While it may sound like I just wrote about an indestructible ship that was impossible to build by the Colonies and inconceivable too, remember the Death Star. An inconceivable ship the size of a small moon (probably stripping a world of its resources just like the _Pacifica_) that had the same purpose as the above battlestar: defeat the enemy. However, the _Pacifica_--as stated above--was not indestructible. I kind of think of the _Pacifica_ as the _Titanic_ of the stars, its tag a bit different than "the unsinkable ship," but a successful one to the end. A nice idea to toy with is, "What would've happened at the Armistice if the _Pacifica_ was part of the Peacefleet?" Its Vipers would've been able to launch due to their top- side landing platform, and its defenses certainly could've held off a few fighters. It's an interesting thing to ponder indeed. Oh, and if you're wondering what it looks like, you can see about 4/5 of it on the back of the "Battlestar Galactica" novel. I don't intend to infringe or downsize Universal Studios or Glen A. Larson, I'm just writing this to hopefully upsize those guys a bit.