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Battlestar Galactica Hardcover Volume 1
by Brandon Jerwa

• Published by Dynamite Entertainment
• Written by Greg Pak
• Art by Nigel Raynor
• Colors by David Curiel
• Letters by Simon Bowland
• Cover by Steve McNiven

Issues 0 through 4 of Dynamite Entertainment’s New Battlestar Galactica comic book series is collected in this exclusive hardcover printing, due in the spring of 2007. In addition to reprinting the first five issues of the series, the book also includes a complete cover gallery, DVD commentary from the creative team, and an array of behind-the-scenes features.

Dynamite Entertainment’s Battlestar Galactica series is set during the continuity of the re-imagined SCI FI Channel series. The initial storyline takes place specifically after Episode 207 (“Home, Part 2”) and before Episode 210 (“Pegasus”).

Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.

Issue #0

The story begins onboard a ship identified as Medivac 12 of the Caprican Expeditionary Fleet. Several sleeping human passengers are awakened by smoke. They appear confused and disoriented; one begins to ask “where the hell is this place” but he is interrupted by the arrival of Cylon Centurions. A violent explosion is seen on the outer hull of the ship as it floats amid a sea of destroyed spacecraft.

Onboard the Battlestar Galactica, President Laura Roslin is giving a press conference in front of an older model Cylon Centurion in a glass case. There are civilians present at this conference, and one young girl asks the President if Commander Adama is her boyfriend. Roslin says, “He’s a boy, and he’s my friend. But he’s not my boyfriend.”

Adama and Roslin head to an observation deck, where Roslin is taken aback by the fleet’s current surroundings—the long-forgotten scene of a large space battle that appears to take place in the same area of space that the Medivac ship was in.

Meanwhile, Kara “Starbuck” Thrace knocks on the commander’s door and finds it open, although Adama himself is absent. She lets herself in and finds a private journal with the words “Dear Zak” written on the cover, obviously referring to the Commander’s late son, who died in a flight accident a few years prior. At that moment, Adama walks in.

Out in space, Apollo has located an old Medivac ship that is currently on fire and transmitting a distress signal. Adama and Tigh suspect a trap, and Apollo is ordered to assume attack formation while the fleet prepares to jump.

For further details, see Creator:Battlestar Galactica Comic - Number 0.

Issue #1

Starbuck is onboard the mysterious Medivac 12 ship, which appears to populated by humans long believed to be dead, including CPO Dualla’s brother. Before her stands Zak Adama, her late fiancé and Adama’s son. She believes he’s a human-model Cylon. He claims that he remembers kissing her roughly two years ago, on the night before the flight accident that took his life . . . and then he woke up on this ship.

On the Galactica, Gaeta reports that there are still five ships repairing their FTL drives after the coordinated sabotage from last issue. Then another explosion rips through the hull of the Medivac ship. Zak and Kara find themselves in a firefight with Cylons while Dualla’s brother radios the Galactica for help. Dualla verifies to Adama that she saw her brother’s body when he died, which is evidence enough for Adama to stand firm and offer no assistance to the ship.

Undaunted, the Medivac begins sending a wireless message throughout the fleet, transmitting the names of the passengers and requesting help. The Galactica cannot jam the signal, and people all over the fleet are hearing the plight of their lost loved ones. This spurs President Roslin into action.

On the Medivac ship, Kara is badly injured, leaving Zak as the only one with any pilot training. As the ship flies toward an abandoned tanker, Zak contacts Adama and tells him that he understands his father’s position, given the circumstances. He then bids him goodbye.

We cut to the holding cell of Sharon Valerii, the cooperative human model Cylon currently being held prisoner onboard Galactica. Adama, Apollo, and Dr. Baltar question Sharon about the Medivac passengers; she swears that she knows nothing and insists that they can’t be Cylons, as there are only 12 models.

Without warning, several zip-pods launch from the hull of the Medivac ship, hidden beneath the wreckage. Colonial Vipers fly in to intercept, but it’s too late; the pods have made their way into the fleet and are too close to civilian ships to risk firing on them . . .

For further details, see Creator:Battlestar Galactica Comic - Number 1.

Issue #2

This chapter begins with Dualla speaking to her long-lost brother Darrin in his decontamination cell onboard the Galactica, trying to verify his identity. Dualla bursts into tears that are revealed as a black, oily substance. She falls to the floor, a victim of the virus that is sweeping Galactica. The virus has affected 83% of the crew and 87% of the pilots onboard Galactica.

Minutes later, Adama issues a stern warning throughout the fleet, making it clear that anyone offering sanctuary to the Medivac refugees will be dealt with as a criminal.

Adama contacts Starbuck aboard the Medivac ship. He tells her that she needs to stay put and remain healthy in case she’s needed as a pilot. Dr. Baltar is sent over to help gather medical samples in the hopes of defeating the plague. Baltar arrives on the Medivac and taunts Starbuck for her attraction to Adama boys.

Back in Zak’s cell, a tense exchange between the two brothers turns to violence. Zak realizes that Lee has become involved with Starbuck and he attacks him.

Lee succumbs to the virus. Gaeta reveals that an old Cylon Basestar is headed right for the Galactica. Taking a count of available pilots, there are only three: Starbuck, Zak, and Commander Adama himself.

For further details, see Creator:Battlestar Galactica Comic - Number 2.

Issue #3

With the virus spreading through Galactica and an old Cylon Basestar closing in fast, Adama contacts Starbuck and has her power down the Medivac ship to blend in with battlefield debris. She’s surprised to hear that she’ll be joining Adama and Zak in a Viper formation to nuke the Basestar.

Billy reports that all of the Medivac passengers share something in common: they all died in open-air situations; not one of the victims was killed on the ground or in a building. Baltar finds a Cylon cloning facility aboard the Medivac ship. Number Six confirms his suspicions: the Cylons gathered memories from the dead humans and implanted them into new organic templates, allowing them to study the human physiology and essence before creating human-model Cylons.

Meanwhile, the Vipers face off against Cylon Raiders. Baltar radios and reveals Zak as a Cylon. Desperate to prove himself, Zak presses the attack and puts himself in danger. Adama comes to the rescue, but the moment of victory ends with a surprise: The Basestar is sending out a distress message. Undaunted, Adama moves forward to deliver the nuke, but Zak blocks him after seeing that the ship is already packed with explosives.

Adama tells him to move or he’ll fire, and Zak does as he’s told. Adama fires the nuke and destroys the Basestar, but the resultant explosion sends Kara’s Viper out into space with fire erupting on its hull, while Zak and Adama’s Vipers are bound nose-to-nose by a piece of debris. Zak begins to realize that he is, in fact, a Cylon but he makes a heartfelt speech to his father before blasting their Vipers free of the debris and going after Kara.

Dozens of Cylon Raiders have appeared on the DRADIS. The FTL-capable (and uninfected) ships prepare to jump away, leaving tens of thousands of survivors behind.

For further details, see Creator:Battlestar Galactica Comic - Number 3.

Issue #4

After a “15 minutes ago” sequence that fills in the missing information from the finale of issue 3, Adama and Starbuck face a squad of Cylon Raiders—but they soon discover that these Cylons are following protocols from more than fifty years ago and are therefore loyal to humans. Adama pulls rank as the last surviving officer of the fleet, and the Cylons acknowledge him as their leader.

Meanwhile, Sharon and Baltar’s Number Six both sense the presence of these early model Cylons. Sharon reveals that she can overhear their transmissions. Baltar and Number Six discover that the Centurions can sense modern Cylon presences. Baltar returns to the Galactica to report that he has "tamed" the Centurion he was studying.

One of the Centurions bursts into the holding area and attacks Sharon. She blacks out, regaining consciousness in the cockpit of a Raptor. Alone and confused out in space, she has no time to figure out what’s happening, because a group of rough-looking, space-suited attackers are deploying from a ship directly in front of her, and they intend to board her Raptor!

For further details, see Creator:Battlestar Galactica Comic - Number 4.

Also See

• Creator:Battlestar Galactica Hardcover, Vol. 1 Official Creator article.

External Links

Dynamite Entertainment