Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Colonial Warrior-Recruit Warbook and Teknikon 28th Edition, Yahren of the Colonies of Kobol, 7379 And of the Unity, 1171, And of the Destruction, 29 Published by Caprican Press, Interstellar, Offices Aboard the Rising Star, Delta Deck Compiled and edited at the direction of Commander Tigh, and President Apollo, by Direction of The Council of the Twelve Sector 1 - Introduction For over twenty thousand yahren, Humanity has existed. Sometimes, we have fought each other, sometimes we have fought alien cultures, but now we ourselves are in flight. These are the "fortunes" of war. As a Warrior-in-Training, you need to understand and accept that, and before anything else happens in your training, you need to understand and accept this: We lost. There is no shame in that statement, for it is simple fact. You have spent your entire lives in space, save for the few times where we have alighted onto a planet for a time to rest and repair or rebuild our ships. You should take pride in this, for this reason: Where we fled blasted and savaged worlds in a rickety fleet of two hundred and twenty ships, we now continue on to our ultimate destiny in three hundred eleven vessels – some old, some new, some cobbled together from the hulks of older ships. We survive. Sector 2 - Historical Overview The ultimate tragedy of our plight is that some of our ancestors were the proximate cause. Researches conducted on recovered Cylon Centurions by Doctors Wilker and N'dzingo [betterknown by his Viper call-sign, 'Boomer'] have discovered an embedded memory plug that directly ties into the Cylon's previously unfathomable drive to exterminate Humanity. The details gleaned - which are incontrovertible – point to direct action by a band of Human renegades committing an act of unspeakable savagery that would continue to cause untold misery for over a thousand yahren, misery that continues today. Shortly before the Colonial Unity (Yarhen 0CU), in approximately -6CU, a band of religious fanatics – mostly from Gemon and Sagitarra - who were opposed to the Unification for obscure reasons, left the Home System following their utter failure in attempting to seize power on Aquarion. This religious group, The Twilight Guardians, left virtually no record of its belief structures. Very tight nit, almost 'clannish', they rarely recruited outsiders. All that is known of their beliefs is that they centered on the worship of a "Dark Lord of Creation". It has been speculated that this may refer to the enigmatic "Count Iblis", a being who bedeviled the Fleet for the first several years of our journey. After fleeing beyond the Home System, the Twilight Guardians settled on a remote, unexplored world. They had escaped with several warships, as well as three generalized industrial fabricator plants. They seemed to have set about exploring their local region, and came into contact with the Cylon's biological, reptilian ancestors. The robotic Cylon record is unclear on the exact sequence of events, but the Twilight Guardians appears to have committed some act that sparked fighting with the reptilian Cylons (who were already very advanced technologically, having apparently already built the precursor of the "civilian" and "Centurion" models as workerbots). It no longer matters what the exact sequence of events was, for the result was that several Twilight Guardians were killed, as well as many reptile-Cylons; the surviving Guardians fled to their ship and then the system of the Cylons. The biological Cylons celebrated their victory completely unaware of what was coming. To understand what happened next, it is important to understand the psychology of our ancestors of the time. Those of us reading and writing this record come from a culture that has been more or less unified, in government and purpose, for over a thousand yahren. But Human society was not always this way. Prior to Unification, the Tribes frequently warred with each other, and often within themselves. These wars could sometimes be frighteningly destructive: witness the record of the last Gemon-Sagitarran War, where both sides only agreed to a ceasefire after both had come under nucleon-weapon attack. This concept of "total war" is what shaped the attitudes of the Twilight Guardians. The Guardian's fleet, though small and antiquated by then-current Colonial/Tribal standards, was more than a match for the reptile Cylon's crude space forces. The Cylon homeworld was laid waste: their cities were leveled, their squadrons smashed. The destruction of Cylon was so thorough that the surviving reptile-Cylons were no longer able to reproduce naturally; in fact, they seem to have cloned their survivors, a fact not even suspected by Colonial Intelligence during the course of the subsequent war. However, as is often the case with our species, outrage led to irrational arrogance: the Guardians completely missed the deep-system outposts of the Cylons. It was from these bases that the Cylons, hurriedly boosting their numbers by reprogramming their servant/worker-bots into fighting machines, struck back, ambushing and destroying the Guardian fleet utterly, and annihilating their tiny colony by nucleon-bombardment. Understandably, the reptile-Cylon's fury knew no limits. Once they realized the extent of the damage, that their species was effectively extinct (as the cloning process would fail after a time, due to "replicative fading" - making a copy of a copy of a copy), they set about forging the Centurion – their ultimate war machine. To understand the depth of their response, it must be remembered that the reptile-Cylons were evolved from a form of highly aggressive and territorial predator. Their need for personal glory as an aid to breeding status also included a need to seek vengeance for a wrong. Since the Humans had functionally exterminated them, the reptile-Cylons felt that it was only fair to return the favor...This is what led to the Thousand Yahren war. The Cylon attack on the Hasaris (the proximate cause of our war with them) was viewed by them as the first step in their "long campaign" to first isolate Humanity, then destroy it. *-*-*-*-*-*-* Following the losses at the Battle of the Cosmara Archipelago and the Battle of Caprica, then-Commanders Adama of Caprica and Cain of Sagitarra, in concert with Strategos Stylocar of Libra (then head of the CGFC High Command), developed a strategic plan to return the Colonies to the offensive. Adama lobbied hard for a massive increase in fleet strength, not just replacing Battlestars, Assaultstars and Guardstars lost in action, but doubling the Assaultstar fleet, and quadrupling the Guardstar fleet. His idea - endorsed by the CGFC Command, in a rare display of budget-time unity - was to launch a series of deep raids against the Cylon Core Systems, with the intent of severely retarding Cylon production, at least temporarily (President Adama called this his "Insecton Swarm" strategy). Meanwhile, Stilocar - with Adama's support on the Council – would pour funds into the CGFC Line Command, then launch a series of "planet-hopping" invasions, bypassing minor garrisons, while using heavy Battlestar-supported forces to overwhelm defenses at several Cylon regional capitols. The political fight was unexpectedly hard, with fierce opposition coming from several Councilors who were previously “fence sitters”; it was later discovered that these men were being heavily bribed by Baltar. As a result, Adama came through with what appeared to the uninitiated as a decent victory, actually winning the first increase in Battlestar numbers for 200 yahren, as well as a doubling of the Guardstar fleet. President Adama saw it as nothing less than a political disaster: he had expended so much political clout getting the limited increase that when Baltar put forth his "peace proposal", he had nothing left to stop President Adar from pushing it forward. Adama - who had attended the Sagitarran Academy with Baltar for a time, never trusted Baltar after his discovery of Baltar's behind-the-scenes manipulations, horrifically validated by Baltar's treachery. Increasing the damage was the dispatch of Commander Cain and the 5th Fleet to Molokay in the midst of the political battle. It has been subsequently revealed that it was Batlar who lobbied hardest for Cain's assignment to the Molokay operation. Sector 3 - Colonial War-Host Organizational Overview, Pre-Destruction Some question the need to review the way that the Colonial military forces were organized at the time of the Destruction, in the mistaken belief that because the system failed, there is little to be gained from its review. This is the height of folly, as the structure that was in place for over three hundred yahren was actually quite effective, when the political situation allowed. The key to understanding our people's military system of the day lays in the philosophy that habitable worlds are what is important, and spaceships are simply the means to go from one world to the other. As a result, the Colonial Ground Forces Command remained as the Senior Service from the time of the Unification, and is expected to regain its primacy when the Fleet arrives at a permanent home. Coming as you do from a life aboard the Fleet, this may seem like an alien way of thinking, but critical examination of the needs of our people leads to a firm understanding of the logic in this mode of thought, for without planets, our people are in constant danger, our existence as a distinct species in perpetual jeopardy. *~*~*~*~* At the time of the Unification, a conscious decision was made to organize our Tribes into "Quartons", a term you have heard the Elders of your Tribe use. As was covered in your Primary Education, the Quarton structure created "mercantile trading blocks", wherein Tribes with more agricultural focus were paired with Tribes with a more industrial and mercantile bent. This structure protected the weaker Tribes from exploitation, while allowing stronger Tribes access to a better economic base. One of the first Acts of the Unified Council was the creation of the Colonial Ground Forces Command, the CGFC. Originally recruited from across the Colonial populations were seventy-five Phalanxes of Infantry, and twenty-five of armor. At first, strange as it may seem, there was no 'Colonial Fleet', as such; the various Phalanxes were ferried about the Home System and beyond by vessels leased from Tribal navies, organized into 'ad hoc' squadrons. This fleet structure lasted until our first unified fleet action against the Cylons, in the outer quadrant of the Hasari system (the Battle of Hasarr VIII, 89UC). That disaster (fewer than 10% of the Tribal squadron's ships survived) caused the formation of a formal Fleet, the Warriors of which were drawn from all Colonies. This was the first military use of the Quarton System. The four Quartons are: Aquilos, consisting of the colonies of Taura, Caprica and Virgon Inferus, consisting of Aeries, Sagitara, and Leo Orien, consisting of Libra, Aquaria, and Gemonai Occasian, consisting of Scorpia, Piscon, and Cancera Where the CGFC was "task-organized" as needed, by building up multiple Strategons, the Fleet was composed of four "permanent flotillas", corresponding to each of the Quartons. This is a critically important statement, because whereas the CGFC was funded directly from the coffers of the Unification Tax, each Quarton was responsible for funding its assigned flotilla. When this system became demonstrably unworkable, Fleet operations were also funded from the Unification Tax, but at a lower overall level, due to Tribal protests and delays over UTax increases to cover the difference. As a result, the Fleet remained only a tiny fraction of the overall Colonial military structure, right up until the Destruction. This deeply affected Fleet composition, as it became necessary to standardize one general-duty warship - the Battlestar, with its complement of sixty to ninety strike-fighters (there was considerable variation until the 'Columbia'-class became the standard, in 1897UC). Later, the Assaultstar and Guardstar classes were added, and proved themselves to be valuable components of the Fleet. Fleet Organization, Pre-Destruction Although an attempt was initially made to limit operational fleet organization in accordance with the Quarton Commands, this rapidly became unworkable. Instead, Fleet Command developed a more practical method that reduced the Quarton Commands to an almostexclusively administrative role, leaving them with direct battle-command only of the Home System itself. Instead, operational fleets were organized and manned as needed. While this could cause uneven fleet quality – Commander Kronos' Third Fleet at Cosmara being the prime example – it allowed for a far more flexible response at a strategic level. The following table lists all Battlestars and Assaultstars in service from 2300UC to 2342UC, as well as their known dispositions following the Cimtar Ambush and the Destruction of the Colonies. All vessels not listed as "Survived" or "Unknown" are presumed to have been destroyed, as the neither the Galactica nor the Medusa/Myrmidon flotilla have made contact with them to date. Quarton Name Hull Class Disposition After Cimtar Ä Aquilos - Ship subunits use colors as designators (e.g., "Blue Squadron") Atlantia Galactica Pacifica Helios Tethys Acropolis Cronon Rhea Athenos Hoplon Hippeis Erishkal Shilva Pathos Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Destroyed @ Cimtar Survived Destroyed @ Cimtar Refitting following Cosmara Unknown Refitting following Cosmara Keel laid to replace battle losses Keel laid to replace battle losses Destroyed @ Molokay Destroyed @ Molokay Unknown Refitting following Battle of Caprica Destroyed @ Molokay Unknown Ó Inferus - Ship subunits use metals as designators (e.g., "Silver Spar") Pegasus Triton Rycon Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Survived; current status unknown Destroyed @ Cimtar Destroyed @ Cosmara Argo Olymipia Callisto Apollion Chryse Amun Cukalis Zorondon Darian Ptolus Mjolna Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Destroyed in Battle of Caprica Refitting following Cosmara Unknown Keel laid to replace battle losses Keel laid to replace battle losses Destroyed @ Cosmara Refitting following Cosmara Destroyed @ Molokay Destroyed @ Cosmara Unknown Refitting following Cosmara ð Orien - Ship subunits use mythological creatures as designators (e.g., "Griffin Squadron") Prometheus Bucephalus Posiedeos Atropos Hyperion Pallas Sargus Mardus Castor Pollux Hector Odysseon Myrmidon Uruki Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Destroyed @ Cosmara Destroyed @ Molokay Refitting following Cosmara Refitting following Battle of Caprica Unknown Destroyed @ Molokay Keel laid to replace battle losses Keel laid to replace battle losses Unknown Refitting following Cosmara Destroyed @ Molokay Unknown Survived Refitting following Cosmara Ö Occasion - Ship subunits used real animals as designators (e.g., "Krait Squadron") Soleria Excelsior Columbia Cerberus Valeria Medusa Osirus Hathus Unkulukulu Visha Bactan Largus Altis Calad Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Battlestar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Assaultstar Destroyed @ Cimtar Unknown Refitting following Cosmara Destroyed @ Cosmara Unknown Survived Keel laid to replace battle losses Keel laid to replace battle losses Destroyed @ Molokay Refitting following Battle of Caprica Destroyed in Battle of Caprica Destroyed in Battle of Caprica Destroyed @ Molokay Refitting following Battle of Caprica At various times, the Fleet leased support vessels from Colonial shipping firms, the most famous type being the 'Solar'-class maintenance lugger, of which the 'Celestra' is now the senior ship (of the three hulls now with the Fleet). Colonial Ground Force Command Organization At its height, the Colonial Fleet was manned by around ten million men and women. The CGFC, in comparison, was manned by over one hundred and fifty million troops at its height. Although greatly reduced in numbers, the CGFC, now essentially built on the 47th Colonial Infantry Phalanx, will maintain this organization for the near future. The CGFC is organized as follows: Pallas (Shield) Triad File Column Phalanx Strategon 2 men 3 x Pallii 10 x Triad 6 x Files 10 x Colunms 6 x Phalanxi ~*~*~*~ 6 men, or one vehicle 60 360 3600 21600 The CGFC is grouped into the Line, the Home Guard and the Reserve. The Line are considered the elite: they are the invasion forces that stormed a planet, and took it from the Cylons. The Home Guard defended the Colonial Home Worlds, but also sent out Strategons as garrison forces to back up the Line (currently, all adults within the Fleet are considered to be members of the Home Guard, until a permanent settlement is chosen). The CGFC Command has a very well developed and integrated tactical, theater and strategic doctrine, and as long as Naval support is available, is capable of seizing and holding any planet. The Line and Home Guard are both organized identically into Phalanxes and Strategons. However, the HG units did not possess organic assault shuttles for planetary assault, nor did they maintain the same number of field manufacturing units to replenish their ammunition stocks that Line units had, relying instead on local suppliers. On the other hand, the HG was allotted large numbers of heavy, self-propelled artillery - their attack profile was to "shoot-n-scoot", firing barrages of 5 shells of 150 millimetrons in diameter in as many microns out to 30 kilometrons, which could be landed virtually simultaneously. Line units had a few of these guns, but they tended to have larger numbers of tanks and direct-fire support sleds. The Reserve were a force of mostly infantry, who were often deployed as military police, and were often used as strike-breakers on many Colonial worlds. Their quality was generally quite below Fleet and CGFC standards, and the Reserves were usually highly politicized. The Phalanx is an ancient term revived during the last reorganization; the same units were formerly termed "columns", from which comes the term "Colonel" ('Column Leader'). In the last CGFC reorganization, dating from 997UC Each Phalanx has about 3600 troops, with about 100 vehicles, with a single squadron of 32 Vipers for air support, and 36 Mark X Assault Shuttles for combat insertion. They were capable of fighting for 30 days straight before needing resupply. They maintained organic (meaning, "assigned to their unit") equipment to manufacture their ammunition in the field, but maintained rapid-insertion drop-pods loaded with power cells and grenades "just in case". The Strategon is the basic maneuver unit of the CGFC, and is commanded by a Strategos, equivalent in rank to a Commander. It is composed of six Phalanxes: 3 Infantry, 1 Armor, 1 Aerospace (with a full squadron each of Vipers and Assault Shuttles) and 1 Command and Support. Each Phalanx within the Strategon can operate independently, but there is a Coordinating Staff in the Command and Support Phalanx that can direct strategic maneuver. At higher levels, there are Battle Staffs that are basically large Phalanxes with lots of communications, planning, EW and MP's. Their mission is to direct multiple Strategons during planet-wide operations. Battle Staffs also administered bases. The CGFC maintained a "Hunter" Strategon (which was actually about 5 Strategons in size, pre-Destruction) that conducted deep-penetration raids into the Cylon Empire. Candidates were selected based on their innate intelligence, focus and agility of thought, rather than on physical characteristics, as physical skills can be taught. (The current whereabouts of surviving Hunter units are unknown at this writing.) CGFC Artillery Deployment CGFC Armor Employment CGFC Planetary Assault Profile COLONIAL FLEET OPERATIONS NAVIGATION The Colonial coordinate reference system, used aboard the Galactica, while perhaps seeming to be somewhat haphazard to the casual observer, is fairly robust and complete. Bearings to targets are designated from the point of view of the targeting ship, as opposed to where that target might be on a map. This is, of course, due to the fact that these vessels are generally moving at high speeds, where there may be no localized phenomena to reference other than themselves. The system utilizes 24 “quadrants” around a central point, aligned along the ecliptic (depending upon the alignment of the ship, from that ship’s perspective). The quadrants are assigned in a clockwise ascending order, with each assigned a designation using the Colonial Greek Alphabet (clockwork ascension has also been noted as a feature of Colonial analog flight instrumentation). Quadrants are either given by their named designation, or their numerical listing. If it becomes necessary to give a more precise descriptor, the numerical value for a degree of arc is given. If a position off of the ecliptic is also desired, this is designated by separating the planar location from a similar perpendicular alignment by the term “mark”. Reference points below the plane of the ecliptic are referred to as “Mark #, #” or “Mark #, negative”. Given the need to have a common reference point, the central point of the quadrant map is considered to be the reference point ship, which is currently always the Galactica, but can be any ship in a Colonial task group. When the Galactica enters a new sector, she resets her navigational reference point to indicate point Alpha as some reference point in space to which her nose is precisely oriented. The 7.5 degrees of angle on either side of that point is considered Alpha Quadrant until such time as the Galactica performs another reset. The other 23 quadrants are then set in 15degree arcs from there. If the Galactica detects Cylon base stars in Delta Quadrant, this indicates that they are somewhere between 37 and 52 degrees clockwise of point Alpha. “Alpha Six” is just to the left of true point Alpha, whereas “Epsilon Seven Mark Four” is 59.5 degrees clockwise of point Alpha, and 4 degrees above the plane of the ecliptic. Vectors are also given using this same system, but are stated as a vector off of the current line of travel rather than as a reference from point Alpha, i.e., “Delta Vector” is roughly 70 degrees to starboard, or 70 degrees clockwise from the line of travel, while “Chi Vector” would be roughly 40 degrees to port, or 320 degrees clockwise from the line of travel. (The use of the term “quadrant” in this translation stems from the Colonial unit of distance. How this relates to the sections of 15-degree arcs is not at this time known.) For space vehicles, the engines are the devices that propel the vehicles through space. Colonial ships use a single “drive” type for space travel (sometimes called a “gravity compression drive”). The basic engine has two components, a gravity field generator and a reaction mass generator (or “thruster”). The gravity field generator creates a configurable gravitational field around the ship, which serves as “control surfaces” when in contact with other strong gravitational fields. This allows for the movement through near-object space as if moving through a fluid medium. As the vessel moves away from a point of intense gravity, such as a planet, maneuverability suffers, which is why most craft mount some form of reaction control jet system to augment the g-field. Just like control surfaces on aircraft, applying full power to the g-field while inside an intense gravity well causes substantial “drag”, and is euphemistically known as “braking” or “dropping the flaps” (this coupled with the cavitations caused by Alfvén detuning, which is essentially “reverse thrust” for particle ejectors, constitutes the Colonial “Inverse Maneuver”). This is characterized by a red shift in any illumination from the vehicle due to gravitic lensing (gravitic lens distortion also explains the odd “stars moving by” effect of Vipers from the perspective of the pilot sometimes experienced by Hammerhead pilots). The combination propulsion system utilizes “dark energy” in its interaction with space. While dark energy is present in nearobject space, and thus the gravity field generator provides some propulsion, movement through near-object space is significantly augmented through high mass, high-velocity particle ejection. Utilizing a Tylium isotope enriched fuel (solium-VI for the Colonials, tylium-IX for the Cylons), most vessels utilize pulse detonation to create WIMPheavy, high-velocity, high-density reaction mass, which is further accelerated and mass-amplified through a series of magnetic and gravitic coils prior to ejection. The Cylons have created a more efficient gravity field generator for their large ships, and this enables them to do away with the need for reaction mass altogether. As a vessel moves away from near-object space, the intensity of dark energy increases. This increase is not evenly distributed, however, and it is this that causes the creation of a distinct spatial topography, with “shallows”, “deeps”, “channels”, “archipelagos”, and “currents”. Following the highest density allows for the use of the g-field to its maximum. The more intense the g-field, and the “deeper” the dark energy, the greater the dark energy repulsion effect on the g-field. Adding reaction mass to the gravity well further increases the intensity of the g-field. At its optimum, while the vessel may travel in excess of the speed of light (in some cases significantly), it does not violate that limit because it is the space around the vessel that is moving, not the vessel itself. Craft that operate in an atmosphere utilize the g-field for streamlining, and use its interaction with the gravity well they are in rather than air-current flow for maneuver control. Additionally, as the reaction ejecta properties are too extreme for safe operation in an atmosphere, there will usually be another form or mode of operation for atmospheric use. This result, due to the hypothesized nature and distribution of dark energy, and a mastery of gravitational forces, allows in a single “engine” the capabilities of not just star-, but galaxyhopping, and represents a significant advance over current systems. VIPERS AND VIPER FLIGHT OPERATIONS COLONIAL FLEET BATTLE TACTICS CONVOY OPERATIONS COLONIAL SCIENCES THE HOME SYSTEM The home planetary system is called “Eden”, both after Kobol’s religious capital city, and because it was such an amazing place to find. It is a multiple star system, with all bodies gravitationally locked in an intricate dance. There are four stellar bodies, and three sub-stellar bodies that are not planets (all are brown dwarfs). The system contains a total of 15 rocky planets, 5 gas giants, 19 dwarf planets, 116 planetary satellites, and three irregular body belts. The first Colonial seekers to find the system consisted of Capricans, Gemons, and Librans. Following Colonial stellar naming conventions, each star was named after the “discoverer” and the primary planetary body (in this case, that claimed by the tribe that discovered the star) became the “prime” of that star. Thus Eden A is named Caprica, Eden B/C are named Castor and Pollux, and are collectively called Gemini, and Eden D is named Libra. While only a handful of bodies in the system had actually developed ecosystems, 60% of the planetary bodies (or their satellites) had the potential of supporting life, given the proper engineering. Caprica is a bright yellow-white type F star, with five planets, four of which are in the H zone. These are the three rocky planets Sagitara, Aeriana (also called simply Aries), and Taura, and the ringed gas giant Caprica Prime, the latter having three habitable satellites. Castor is a yellow type G star, and its “twin” Pollux is an orange type K star. They are in a tight, highly circular rotation around each other at an average of less than .15 AU, with their orbital period being 11.2 days. Around the twin star are six planets, five of which are in the H zone. However, one of the planets (Gemini Prime) has an eccentric orbit causing extremes in temperature, and two (Borella and Virgon) are marginal on the inner edge and outer edges respectively. The other two habital worlds are Piscon (Pisceria) and Leosia. Libra is white type A star with six planets, four of which are in the H zone. These are the rocky planets Libra Prime, Aquaria, and Canceria, and the gas giant Scorpia, which has two habitable satellites. The sub-stellar bodies are all within 150 AU of the systems center of gravity, the furthest being Cimtar (64 Jupiter-Masses), then Beostas (29 JM), and Oldalra (44 JM)(all Hungarian BTW, and all extremely boring terms dealing with classifying and listing things). For reference Pluto is sitting out at about 40 AU and Eris is at 67. I used the calculation *Sun boundary × Sqrt [(star luminosity)/(Sun luminosity]* to arrive at the habitation zones, but adjusted the accepted .9 - 1.6 AU for Sol to .8 - 1.6 because of the multiple star system. COLONIAL PLANETOLOGY ASTRONOMIC BODY CLASSIFICATION The Colonials are somewhat more streamlined in their definitions of astronomic bodies than we are. Bodies are classified as one of two types: Stellar or Sub-Stellar. Stellar bodies are any body that now has or at some time in the past had enough mass to sustain some form of fusion, i.e., a star. Sub-stellar bodies are everything else. Stellar objects are then classified much like our own classification, by size, luminosity, spectral type, etc. Sub-stellar objects, however, are categorized quite differently. The base-line measurement is the KM, or “Kobol Mass”, which represents the mass of the planet Kobol. It has been determined that this is extremely close to an Earth Mass, being 1.000124 of earth. Any body in a heliocentric orbit that is under 0.1 KM or less is an asteroid, regardless of any other factor (the one exception to this are comets). Any body between 0.1 KM and 4000 KM in a heliocentric orbit that is not a star or stellar remnant is a planet. Any sub-stellar body in orbit around another sub-stellar body (rather than two or more orbiting a barycenter, which would then be a multi-n) is a moon (moons can have moons). Rogue bodies are bodies that are no longer gravitationally attached to another, and thus “wander”. Rogue asteroids are called astralons, and rogue comets are known as firetons. All other rogue sub-stellar bodies are usually referred to as rogue planets, even though there is no way of knowing whether they were originally a planet or a moon. The Colonials then further break down their bodies into 24 alphabetical designations, based on a number of factors (It should be noted that their chemistry division of elements is also somewhat different than ours, and a thorough description can be found elsewhere. In brief, they break their periodic table into multiple tables, grouped by predominant structure. Those we are concerned with are Crystalline Elements Table M-1 [some metals, but mainly metalloids], Crystalline Elements Table S-1 [the non-gaseous non-metals], and Aerion Elements Table A-1 [non-metal gases]). (Earth science note: “Terrestrial”, in its scientific definition, means “rocky”, of which silicon is the predominate element. However, when used as a classification of planetary types, the term is generally used to distinguish a world that is similar in many ways to Earth, even if its atmosphere is not breathable without assistance.) The Colonial Astronomical Body Designations Designation: Primary Table - Description Alpha: Crystalline Elements M-1 - Terrestrial (“rock”) body with little or no atmosphere. May be hot or cold, geologically active or inactive. (Terran: “Rocky”) Beta: Crystalline Elements M-1 - Terrestrial body with an atmosphere suffering from a runaway greenhouse effect. Geologically active. Less than 10% surface water, and a surface temperature greater than the boiling point of water. (Terran: “Venusian”) Gamma: Crystalline Elements M-1 - Terrestrial body with an atmosphere that can support human life without assistance. Less than 10% surface water, and less than 70% surface ice. (Terran: “Martian”) Delta: Crystalline Elements M-1 - Terrestrial body with an atmosphere that can support human life without assistance. Between 10% and 90% surface water. (Terran: “Terrestrial”) Epsilon: Crystalline Elements M-1 - Terrestrial body with an atmosphere that can support human life without assistance. Greater than 90% surface water. (Terran: “Water”) Zeta: Crystalline Elements M-1 - Terrestrial body with an atmosphere that can support human life without assistance. No surface water and greater than 70% surface ice. (Terran:”Ice”) Eta: Crystalline Elements M-1 - Gamma-type body with an atmosphere that may support life, but not human life. The atmosphere is either toxic or too extreme to breath without mechanical assistance. Theta: Crystalline Elements M-1 - Delta-type body with an atmosphere that may support life, but not human life. The atmosphere is either toxic or too extreme to breath without mechanical assistance. Iota: Crystalline Elements M-1 - Epsilon-type body with an atmosphere that may support life, but not human life. The atmosphere is either toxic or too extreme to breath without mechanical assistance. Kappa: Crystalline Elements M-1 - Zeta-type body with an atmosphere that may support life, but not human life. The atmosphere is either toxic or too extreme to breath without mechanical assistance. Lamda: Crystalline Elements M-1 - Terrestrial body that still retains a large portion of its hydrogen. Less than 20% of total mass is gaseous. (Terran: “Gas Dwarf”) Mu: Crystalline Elements S-1 - Carbide body with little or no atmosphere. May be hot or cold, geologically active or inactive. (Terran: “Diamond”) Nu: Crystalline Elements S-1 - Carbide type body with an atmosphere that may support life, but not human life. The atmosphere is toxic and possibly too extreme to breath without mechanical assistance. Xi: Crystalline Elements S-1 - Carbide body that still retains a large portion of its hydrogen. Less than 20% of total mass is gaseous. (Terran: “Diamond Dwarf”) Omicron: Aerion Elements A-1 - Gas body with a mass of up to 40 KM that is weakly magnetic. (Terran: “Sub-Jovian”) Pi: Aerion Elements A-1 - Gas body with a mass of up to 40 KM that is strongly magnetic. (Terran: “Sub-Jovian”) Rho: Aerion Elements A-1 - Gas body with a mass of up to 40 KM that is violently magnetic. (Terran: “Sub-Jovian”) Sigma: Aerion Elements A-1 - Gas body with a mass between 40 KM and 400 KM that is weakly magnetic. (Terran: “Jovian”) Tau: Aerion Elements A-1 - Gas body with a mass between 40 KM and 400 KM that is strongly magnetic. (Terran: “Jovian”) Upsilon: Aerion Elements A-1 - Gas body with a mass between 40 KM and 400 KM that is violently magnetic. (Terran: “Jovian”) Phi: Aerion Elements A-1 - Gas body with a mass between 400 KM and 4000 KM that is weakly magnetic. (Terran: “Super-Jovian”) Chi: Aerion Elements A-1 - Gas body with a mass between 400 KM and 4000 KM that is strongly magnetic. (Terran: “Super-Jovian”) Psi: Aerion Elements A-1 - Gas body with a mass between 400 KM and 4000 KM that is violently magnetic. (Terran: “Super-Jovian”) Omega: Stellar remnants of less that 4000 KM. Earth science note on breathable atmospheres: The Colonial's atmospheric measure "Baeron" is very similar to our own Atmosphere, and is equal to about 101,320 pascals. They consider a breathable atmosphere to consist of gases with a molecular weight of 3.5 and above. Their toxic chemicals are the same as ours; however, their extremes of breathable pressure are somewhat greater than what we recognize. Their classification is: < = 0.001 Baeron = none 0.002 – 0.095 = unbreathably thin 0.096 – 0.5 = thin 0.5 – 2.0 = standard 2.0 – 7.9 = thick 8.0 > = unbreathably thick