BattleStar Galactica:Season 3.0--12/15/06--Arc 10(Mid-Season Cliffhanger)

[lrsach01]

A thought, where did they get the extra nukes?

This is one of those weird plot danglers. I just chalk it up to the Pegasus. That Battlestar was able to manufacture Vipers so just stretch it to nukes as well.

 

[Wolf72]

This is one of those weird plot danglers. I just chalk it up to the Pegasus. That Battlestar was able to manufacture Vipers so just stretch it to nukes as well.

that and I'm sure Ensign Ro ... err Admiral Caine would want the Galactica up to better fighting strength and would have made sure it was given as much ordinance as possible.

I'd also think that Lee would have unloaded us much as he could, figuring that the Pegasus would be sacrificed.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Wow.

Although, nuking the planet offs Cally, so...

I'm entirely convinced the Cylons want the Fleet to get Baltar - that's a huge distraction that will slow down the fleet on their search for Earth, the Cylons might be able to make up a little ground.

Am I the only one that kept thinking, "Chief, open the sunroof. Please, open the sunroof. For the love of gods, heaven=sky!!!"

 

[Chimera]

C'mon people, am I on Mass Ignore or something? Spill!

 

[Joker]

Am I the only one that kept thinking, "Chief, open the sunroof. Please, open the sunroof. For the love of gods, heaven=sky!!!"

Just in time to see a nuke drop?

C'mon people, am I on Mass Ignore or something? Spill!

-People collecting algea on planet.
-Keira and Lee are 'trapped' in their situation. Keira doesn't want to divorce (it breaks a vow), Lee doesn't want to keep cheating because he feels guilty. Both D and Anders know what's goin on.
-Chief senses something and goes for a stroll to eventually find the Temple of Five.
-Four Cylon baseships jump in, the fleet jumps away (I wonder if anyone has told them what's up) but Galactica stays behind because they have to wait for the people below. Cylons hold off, don't launch raiders and make contact.
-Cylons and Baltar come on board of Galactica and talk to Adama and say that they want the Eye of Jupiter.
-Athena is told about her baby and that she's alive (but not doing well).
-A little confrontation between Anders and Lee.
-A heavy Raider with Centurions with AA-missiles land on the planet and make their way to the temple
-Keira gets shot down, we don't know if she survived.
-The people defending the temple seem woefully outnumbered compared to what the Cylons brought down. What was it? 5 marines and a few military plus a bunch of civilians. If only they had a high level adventuring party.
-Communication is jammed between the people below and the people above.
-I guess Baltar and Caprica's relationship is going through a rough bit, though in Baltar's words "...it's not personal...transcendant."
-Cylons send 5 heavy raiders to the surface at which point Adama opens the nuke tubes and loads the nukes, sending the Cylons into a discussion about whether or not they should bring the raiders back.

Not all of that is in the right order.

 

[drothgery]

A thought, where did they get the extra nukes?

The most logical scenario is they made them on New Caprica; if the warheads are anything like the ones we use (and physics says doing them any other way is pretty hard), getting the materials while on the run would be tricky.

 

[LightPhoenix]

The most logical scenario is they made them on New Caprica; if the warheads are anything like the ones we use (and physics says doing them any other way is pretty hard), getting the materials while on the run would be tricky.

Actually, I'd agree with others that have said the most logical thing is they got them from Pegasus, when she restocked Galactica.

Also (unrelated), I like the parallel between Tigh/Ellen and Anders/Starbuck.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Actually, I'd agree with others that have said the most logical thing is they got them from Pegasus, when she restocked Galactica.

Also (unrelated), I like the parallel between Tigh/Ellen and Anders/Starbuck.

I agree the Pegasus and a year above New Caprica can explain that away.

The other point, I suppose, is that the nukes they supposedly had left were ship to ship nuclear missile. A nuke exploding in the vacuum of space is not that big a deal. Kinetic energy transfer is minor and restricted to the casing on the nuke really. Only infra-red bleeds heat (and nowhere near as efficiently as mass to mass contact in atmosphere). Given the armor of these ships - radiation is also not of much consequence.

Not great fireball, no overpressure shockwave.

So - to be effective - the nuclear missile must hit the enemy ship and pentrate deeply into the armor BEFORE going off. The reacting mass for kinetic and direct heat transfer is the enemy ship itself. That's not an easy trick for a nuke to be able to do. That's a helluva shock wave punching into a ship like that before going off. Nukes are complex nanosecond timed devices.

On the other hand, missiles designed for planetary bombardment and atmospheric discharge are slower and don't need complex over-engineering to penetrate armor before detonation. They are also slow and of no real use in a fight against an enemy in space without the complex armor penetrating tech.

Which means that they may only have a few .... ship-to-ship nukes, that is. Planetary bombardment nukes are another matter entirely.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Which means that they may only have a few .... ship-to-ship nukes, that is. Planetary bombardment nukes are another matter entirely.

It's possible they are having different type of nukes for different types of missions/targets, but Baltar didn't request a ship to ship nuke, he just wanted a warhead. And Galactica had only 4 missiles until Pegasus resupplied it with its own stock.

But I still wouldn't call that "explaining away"...
I always thought it was obvious that Pegasus resupplied Galactica as best as it could, and nuclear missiles certainly were a part of it. You never know when the Cylons attack and get lucky - knock out the FTL drive of one of the two, and destroy it. Putting all your (nuclear) eggs into one basket is rarely a clever idea.

What I doubt, on the other hand, is that they replenished their nuclear supplies on New Caprica or anywhere else. I think all efforts went into building up a new colony and fulflilling the basic demands for food and water first, before wasting time and resources on military items they (especially Baltars administration) hoped never to need again and still had plenty of (at least on Pegasus).

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Nobody has mentioned the words of the Hybrid yet -
One could interpret her words that only one will actually see the Eye of Jupiter or what stands behind it - the Chosen One. But who is the Chosen One?
I tend to think it is Baltar (possible spoilers following).

Spoiler

If he actually ends up on Galactica, he will need a way to not get pushed out of an air lock - being the only one that knows about the road to Earth might allow him to survive, after all.
Throwing in Hera can only help him so far...

D'anna will probably be pretty disappointed if she finds out that not only Caprica and Baltars fate are separate, but also hers and Baltar.

I also think it is interesting that Tigh reacted so strong towards Boomer (for shooting Boomer), but mostly ignored Brother Cavil (despite the loss of his eye), and exemplifies where Tighs loyalties and priorities lie.

I really like the Centurions. I think there is no scene in which they disappoint, graphically or dramatically. They always keep their menacing aura and sense of deadliness, even though they probably have been defeated as often as the TOS centurions or the Voyager borgs by now .
Maybe that's because they always manage to hurt or kill someone, and to finish them off you, really need the big guns (Mines and Heavy Raider on Caprica, Grenade Launcher on Kobol, Rocket Launchers and Vipers on New Caprica...) or a lot of luck (Galactica).