- May 3, 2009
- 3,350
- 1,269
- 198
Note, influenced by various sources with an emphasis on the original series, but largely from my imagination.
The Twelve Colonies of Man- Overview.
Core Worlds
Ares
Population: 14.4 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 15,000
Survivors left planetside: 150,000
True to its name, Ares was one of the more militaristic colonies. It was exceeded in that regard only by Scorpio. The planets Ares, Caprica, Sagittaria, Taura and the inhabited moon Gemon formed the so called “core worlds” of the Twelve Colonies. Heavily populated, heavily industrialized Ares was a center of science and technology and in both absolute and per capita terms it was the greatest supporter of the Colonial Fleet. Surprisingly, Ares was the center of a revolt some 90 years before the Fall when the Quorum of the Twelve appeared to reject a possible chance for peace with the Cylons.
The Battlestar: Rykon was homeported at Ares at the time of its destruction. It was replaced by the Battlestar: Atlantia which was destroyed about 50 yahrens later at the peace conference.
Sagittaria
Population: 6.2 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 8,000
Survivors left planetside: ????
The story of Sagittaria is one of the saddest of the Twelve Colonies from the Fall. Historically, Sagittaria prided itself on its military technologies and as the colony of one of the Fleets greatest modern military heroes, Commander Cain. Unfortunately, the apparent loss of Cain’s battlestar, Pegasus at the Battle of Molecay two years prior to the Fall left the planet without a representative among the fleet’s largest capital vessels. The Battlestar: Helios was under construction as a replacement at the time of the Cylon attack.
Sagittarians also prided themselves on having the most advanced planetary defense system in all the colonies. This proved to be their undoing. During the Cylon attack, planetary defenses destroyed a Cylon baseship. The baseship split in half and the pieces impacted on two of the largest population centers on the planet causing staggering levels of destruction. It is not known if any people on the surface of the planet survived the Cylon attack. The 8,000 people who fled with the ragtag fleet were all aboard various civilian ships and orbital stations/habitats at the time.
Taura
Population: 2.3 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 12,000
Survivors left planetside: 1,800,000
One of the core worlds of the Twelve Colonies, Taura had a long reputation as a center of trade, finance and industry despite its relatively small population. It served very much as a “way station” between the larger worlds like Caprica and the inner and outer colonies. The planets great axial tilt gave it wide seasonal variance leading to the planet becoming a major player in the hospitality industry as well as a larger portion of its local athletes becoming professionals. At the time of the final Cylon attack the largest and most advanced Colonial Fleet shipyards were located near Taura. Tauran society much like their Caprican neighbors had disdain for the use of robots, androids or other similar systems.
For some reason, during the Cylon attack large portions of Taura appeared to have escaped direct attack with rumors that at least one and perhaps as many as three major cities and numerous smaller communities being unmolested. This could be why so few Taurans apparently chose to join the ragtag fleet. Some believe that Cylon forces which would’ve launched attacks on population centers on Taura had to be diverted to destroy the shipyards in particular the nearly completed Battlestar: Helios
The Battlestar: Prometheus was homeported at Taura at the time it was destroyed at the peace conference.
Caprica
Population: 19.1 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 55,000
Survivors left planetside: 480,000
Caprica was the second largest colony in population and was the unofficial capital of the Twelve Colonies with all branches of the government meeting there routinely, key Colonial Fleet bases and the most prestigious Colonial military academies located there. The family of Commander Adama was Caprican and the Battlestar: Galactica was homeported there. Thanks to its extremely strong economy and a high level of support for the Colonial Fleet, Caprica often served as a mediator in many InterColonial disputes
Due to the Galactica being the sole known surviving Colonial battlestar and the large numbers of Capricans who survived to join the ragtag fleet, the influence of Capricans among the human survivors is even greater than it was before.
Note that the revolt that began on Ares some 90 yahrens before the fall progressed to civil war on Ares, Caprica, Taura, and Sagittaria along with large scale civil unrest on Virgo and Aquarius. Scorpio avoided it with very harsh and repressive measures.
Gemon
Population: 320 million
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 5,000
Survivors left planetside: 6,000
Gemon is a small world that orbits Caprica. Its relatively small population meant that it exerted little cultural and political influence in Colonial affairs and outsiders (even those from Caprica) were rather ignorant of many of the religious customs and traditions practiced there. Much of the massive Cylon attacked aimed at Caprica “spilled over” against targets on Gemon and the small world suffered severely. On the other hand, its proximity to Caprica meant that nearly half of the survivors of the Cylon attack were evacuated. Survivors in the fleet retain their social and religious conservatism while the experience with the destruction of their home has led them to also match their religious fervor with anti Cylon fanaticism.
Battlestar: Poseidon was homeported at Gemon at the time it was destroyed at the peace conference.
Inner Colonies
Aquarius
Population: 15.5 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 30,000
Survivors left planetside: 70,000
Considered the most beautiful of the colonies this 85% water world was home to the most temperate climates of all the colonies. Politically and culturally a fierce rival of its neighbor Virgo. The large number of commercial vessels homeported there enabled many to be available for evacuation after the Cylon attack. Due to its large bodies of water, Aquarius became a favorite training area for Colonial fleet personnel who needed to acquire experience in aquatic environments. The abundance of sea life also gave rise to a huge industry in exotic sea foods very well-known across all the colonies as well as a lucrative sports fishing industry. Sadly, during the final Cylon attack, Aquarius was heavily bombarded with enhanced radiation weapons.
Battlestar: Solaria was homeported at Aquarius at the time it was destroyed at the peace conference.
Leonis
Population: 7.2 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 5,000
Survivors left planetside: 80,000?
If any of the twelve colonies could be described as “typical” it would be Leonis. Roughly in the middle in population and size with a diversified economy and a culture that was very much an amalgamation of the major trends and traditions of the other eleven colonies.
The fate of many survivors from Leonis is one of the major mysteries of the end of the war. Apparently, a large number of civilian evacuation ships collected survivors from various parts of the planet and successfully moved into interstellar space but most failed to reach the rendezvous point with the ragtag fleet. Other evacuation ships did reach the rendezvous which has led many to believe that the missing ships for some unknown reasons set off on their own.
Leonis was the site of one of the largest fleet battles during the final Cylon attack. Dozens of Colonial Fleet warships were destroyed there along with at least two Cylon Basestars, several support ships and countless raiders.
Battlestar: Acropolis was homeported at Leonis at the time it was destroyed at the peace conference.
Libra
Population: 4.1 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 2,500
Survivors left planetside: ????
Libra was a colony that specialized heavily in the production of foodstuffs of all kinds and in advanced medical technology. Libra was the center of medical research and education for all the colonies. Very much the “breadbasket” of the colonies, two of the major continents in the southern hemisphere were sparsely populated and largely devoted to large scale agriculture with the only major cities near ports. Because modern agriculture was highly mechanized, the Librans did not hesitate to make widespread use of robotic systems and other automated labor-saving devices.
For some unknown reason, as civilian ships were evacuating Libra after the Cylon attack, another completely unexpected wave of Cylon ships appeared, attacking and destroying many of the vessels. For this reason, few Librans managed to rendezvous with the ragtag fleet and knowledge of post attack conditions on the planet is perhaps the thinnest of all.
Battlestar: Argo was homeported at Libra at the time it was destroyed at the peace conference.
Virgo
Population: 24.5 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 2,000
Survivors left planetside: 20,000?
Virgo was the unofficial leader of the “inner colonies”. The most populace colony by far, surprisingly it had the fewest people to survive and evacuate with the Ragtag fleet. The Cylons virtually exterminated the population of the world though a portion of this could be due to the deaths of survivors due to famine and disease brought on by the collapse of Colonial society and trade after the Fall. The Battlestar: Columbia was homeported at Virgo and stationed in orbit at the time of the Peace Conference but was destroyed while attempting to defend it and the other inner colonies.
The famous Battlestar: Cerebus was originally homeported at Virgo at the time Adama, Cain and Apollo (whom Adama named his oldest son after) were assigned aboard. It was destroyed 65 yahrens prior to the peace conference.
Later information indicates that the Cylons (possibly due to Virgo’s large population) unleashed a deadly though short lived biological weapon on the planet.
Outer Colonies
Scorpio
Population: 14.5 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 25,000
Survivors left planetside: 200,000
Scorpio was the most militaristic of the colonies and its government and people routinely preferred the most aggressive options available. Scorpio tended to dominate its two fellow outer colonies (Picon and Cancer) politically, economically, and culturally. Picon deeply resented this but the citizens of Cancer largely came to an accommodation with their larger neighbor. Unlike many of the colonies such as Caprica, colonists on Scorpio accepted and utilized robots and androids in their economy and support positions in their military. This of course led to Scorpio becoming a center in cybernetic research.
Scorpio’s law enforcement system was known for being harsh and unrelenting. With their own citizens but even more so with citizens of other colonies accused of crimes there. The legendary mountaineer and colonial warrior Croft and his wife were from Scorpio.
The Battlestar: Triton was homeported at Scorpio at the time of its destruction at the peace conference.
Cancer
Population: 120 million
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 15,000
Survivors left planetside: 0 known
Cancer and Picon were long dominated by Scorpio. Cancer long accepted the leadership of the much larger planet and had a close relationship with their neighbors. Some believe that hostility between Cancer and Picon also led the smaller colony to seek closer ties with Scorpio to minimize any attempt by Picon to dominate it.
Later intelligence reports suggest that Cancer was ultimately left uninhabitable as a result of the Cylon attack.
While Cancer was the smallest of the colonies Battlestar: Pacifica the largest battlestar ever built was homeported there at the time of its destruction. It was replaced by Battlestar: Olympic which was destroyed over 100 yahrens later at the peace conference.
Picon
Population: 850 million
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 6,000
Survivors left planetside: 450-550,000?
Picon was one of the two smaller “outer colonies” and as such was long dominated politically and culturally by the aggressive Scorpio. As a reaction to this it developed an intense nationalism and localized “arrogance” regarding their colony as opposed to the other eleven. Picon had long supplied much of the Twelve Colonies Tylium needs through mining operations both planetside and off world.
Count (Lord) Baltar was from Picon. He was an enormously wealthy war profiteer specializing in providing Tylium its derivatives and technology that utilized it to the Colonial Fleet. Baltar later used his wealth to advance in planetary politics eventually rising to the position of deputy to the Picon Quorum of the Twelve representative. The unexpected death of the Picon representative enabled Baltar to take his seat in the Quorum and sometime later present the infamous peace proposal by the Cylons.
It is now believed that Baltar was assured by the Cylons that Picon would be spared from attack and that he would become the leader of the colony (and possibly survivors of other colonies who would naturally trek to the one colony untouched by devastation). Ironically, Baltar’s preparations for his colony’s future dominance would enable many of his people to survive the attack. Unfortunately, Baltar’s betrayal led to people from Picon being a low priority for the evacuation.
Battlestar: Bellerophon was homeported at Picon at the time of its destruction at the peace conference. Prior to the peace conference, Baltar sought permission by the Quorum of the Twelve to keep Bellerophon near Picon but it was denied
In the ragtag fleet, Picons have striven to live down their connection to the great traitor by becoming almost as militantly anti Cylon as the Gemonese.
Note, when you consider that Baltar harbored long standing grievances against at least four of the other eleven colonies (Caprica, Ares, Scorpio, and Cancer) his betrayal of all of humanity in retrospect seems not wholly unexpected. In addition, representatives from Aquarius and Virgo had a history of blocking many of Baltar’s political initiatives.
The Twelve Colonies of Man- Overview.
Core Worlds
Ares
Population: 14.4 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 15,000
Survivors left planetside: 150,000
True to its name, Ares was one of the more militaristic colonies. It was exceeded in that regard only by Scorpio. The planets Ares, Caprica, Sagittaria, Taura and the inhabited moon Gemon formed the so called “core worlds” of the Twelve Colonies. Heavily populated, heavily industrialized Ares was a center of science and technology and in both absolute and per capita terms it was the greatest supporter of the Colonial Fleet. Surprisingly, Ares was the center of a revolt some 90 years before the Fall when the Quorum of the Twelve appeared to reject a possible chance for peace with the Cylons.
The Battlestar: Rykon was homeported at Ares at the time of its destruction. It was replaced by the Battlestar: Atlantia which was destroyed about 50 yahrens later at the peace conference.
Sagittaria
Population: 6.2 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 8,000
Survivors left planetside: ????
The story of Sagittaria is one of the saddest of the Twelve Colonies from the Fall. Historically, Sagittaria prided itself on its military technologies and as the colony of one of the Fleets greatest modern military heroes, Commander Cain. Unfortunately, the apparent loss of Cain’s battlestar, Pegasus at the Battle of Molecay two years prior to the Fall left the planet without a representative among the fleet’s largest capital vessels. The Battlestar: Helios was under construction as a replacement at the time of the Cylon attack.
Sagittarians also prided themselves on having the most advanced planetary defense system in all the colonies. This proved to be their undoing. During the Cylon attack, planetary defenses destroyed a Cylon baseship. The baseship split in half and the pieces impacted on two of the largest population centers on the planet causing staggering levels of destruction. It is not known if any people on the surface of the planet survived the Cylon attack. The 8,000 people who fled with the ragtag fleet were all aboard various civilian ships and orbital stations/habitats at the time.
Taura
Population: 2.3 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 12,000
Survivors left planetside: 1,800,000
One of the core worlds of the Twelve Colonies, Taura had a long reputation as a center of trade, finance and industry despite its relatively small population. It served very much as a “way station” between the larger worlds like Caprica and the inner and outer colonies. The planets great axial tilt gave it wide seasonal variance leading to the planet becoming a major player in the hospitality industry as well as a larger portion of its local athletes becoming professionals. At the time of the final Cylon attack the largest and most advanced Colonial Fleet shipyards were located near Taura. Tauran society much like their Caprican neighbors had disdain for the use of robots, androids or other similar systems.
For some reason, during the Cylon attack large portions of Taura appeared to have escaped direct attack with rumors that at least one and perhaps as many as three major cities and numerous smaller communities being unmolested. This could be why so few Taurans apparently chose to join the ragtag fleet. Some believe that Cylon forces which would’ve launched attacks on population centers on Taura had to be diverted to destroy the shipyards in particular the nearly completed Battlestar: Helios
The Battlestar: Prometheus was homeported at Taura at the time it was destroyed at the peace conference.
Caprica
Population: 19.1 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 55,000
Survivors left planetside: 480,000
Caprica was the second largest colony in population and was the unofficial capital of the Twelve Colonies with all branches of the government meeting there routinely, key Colonial Fleet bases and the most prestigious Colonial military academies located there. The family of Commander Adama was Caprican and the Battlestar: Galactica was homeported there. Thanks to its extremely strong economy and a high level of support for the Colonial Fleet, Caprica often served as a mediator in many InterColonial disputes
Due to the Galactica being the sole known surviving Colonial battlestar and the large numbers of Capricans who survived to join the ragtag fleet, the influence of Capricans among the human survivors is even greater than it was before.
Note that the revolt that began on Ares some 90 yahrens before the fall progressed to civil war on Ares, Caprica, Taura, and Sagittaria along with large scale civil unrest on Virgo and Aquarius. Scorpio avoided it with very harsh and repressive measures.
Gemon
Population: 320 million
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 5,000
Survivors left planetside: 6,000
Gemon is a small world that orbits Caprica. Its relatively small population meant that it exerted little cultural and political influence in Colonial affairs and outsiders (even those from Caprica) were rather ignorant of many of the religious customs and traditions practiced there. Much of the massive Cylon attacked aimed at Caprica “spilled over” against targets on Gemon and the small world suffered severely. On the other hand, its proximity to Caprica meant that nearly half of the survivors of the Cylon attack were evacuated. Survivors in the fleet retain their social and religious conservatism while the experience with the destruction of their home has led them to also match their religious fervor with anti Cylon fanaticism.
Battlestar: Poseidon was homeported at Gemon at the time it was destroyed at the peace conference.
Inner Colonies
Aquarius
Population: 15.5 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 30,000
Survivors left planetside: 70,000
Considered the most beautiful of the colonies this 85% water world was home to the most temperate climates of all the colonies. Politically and culturally a fierce rival of its neighbor Virgo. The large number of commercial vessels homeported there enabled many to be available for evacuation after the Cylon attack. Due to its large bodies of water, Aquarius became a favorite training area for Colonial fleet personnel who needed to acquire experience in aquatic environments. The abundance of sea life also gave rise to a huge industry in exotic sea foods very well-known across all the colonies as well as a lucrative sports fishing industry. Sadly, during the final Cylon attack, Aquarius was heavily bombarded with enhanced radiation weapons.
Battlestar: Solaria was homeported at Aquarius at the time it was destroyed at the peace conference.
Leonis
Population: 7.2 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 5,000
Survivors left planetside: 80,000?
If any of the twelve colonies could be described as “typical” it would be Leonis. Roughly in the middle in population and size with a diversified economy and a culture that was very much an amalgamation of the major trends and traditions of the other eleven colonies.
The fate of many survivors from Leonis is one of the major mysteries of the end of the war. Apparently, a large number of civilian evacuation ships collected survivors from various parts of the planet and successfully moved into interstellar space but most failed to reach the rendezvous point with the ragtag fleet. Other evacuation ships did reach the rendezvous which has led many to believe that the missing ships for some unknown reasons set off on their own.
Leonis was the site of one of the largest fleet battles during the final Cylon attack. Dozens of Colonial Fleet warships were destroyed there along with at least two Cylon Basestars, several support ships and countless raiders.
Battlestar: Acropolis was homeported at Leonis at the time it was destroyed at the peace conference.
Libra
Population: 4.1 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 2,500
Survivors left planetside: ????
Libra was a colony that specialized heavily in the production of foodstuffs of all kinds and in advanced medical technology. Libra was the center of medical research and education for all the colonies. Very much the “breadbasket” of the colonies, two of the major continents in the southern hemisphere were sparsely populated and largely devoted to large scale agriculture with the only major cities near ports. Because modern agriculture was highly mechanized, the Librans did not hesitate to make widespread use of robotic systems and other automated labor-saving devices.
For some unknown reason, as civilian ships were evacuating Libra after the Cylon attack, another completely unexpected wave of Cylon ships appeared, attacking and destroying many of the vessels. For this reason, few Librans managed to rendezvous with the ragtag fleet and knowledge of post attack conditions on the planet is perhaps the thinnest of all.
Battlestar: Argo was homeported at Libra at the time it was destroyed at the peace conference.
Virgo
Population: 24.5 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 2,000
Survivors left planetside: 20,000?
Virgo was the unofficial leader of the “inner colonies”. The most populace colony by far, surprisingly it had the fewest people to survive and evacuate with the Ragtag fleet. The Cylons virtually exterminated the population of the world though a portion of this could be due to the deaths of survivors due to famine and disease brought on by the collapse of Colonial society and trade after the Fall. The Battlestar: Columbia was homeported at Virgo and stationed in orbit at the time of the Peace Conference but was destroyed while attempting to defend it and the other inner colonies.
The famous Battlestar: Cerebus was originally homeported at Virgo at the time Adama, Cain and Apollo (whom Adama named his oldest son after) were assigned aboard. It was destroyed 65 yahrens prior to the peace conference.
Later information indicates that the Cylons (possibly due to Virgo’s large population) unleashed a deadly though short lived biological weapon on the planet.
Outer Colonies
Scorpio
Population: 14.5 billion
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 25,000
Survivors left planetside: 200,000
Scorpio was the most militaristic of the colonies and its government and people routinely preferred the most aggressive options available. Scorpio tended to dominate its two fellow outer colonies (Picon and Cancer) politically, economically, and culturally. Picon deeply resented this but the citizens of Cancer largely came to an accommodation with their larger neighbor. Unlike many of the colonies such as Caprica, colonists on Scorpio accepted and utilized robots and androids in their economy and support positions in their military. This of course led to Scorpio becoming a center in cybernetic research.
Scorpio’s law enforcement system was known for being harsh and unrelenting. With their own citizens but even more so with citizens of other colonies accused of crimes there. The legendary mountaineer and colonial warrior Croft and his wife were from Scorpio.
The Battlestar: Triton was homeported at Scorpio at the time of its destruction at the peace conference.
Cancer
Population: 120 million
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 15,000
Survivors left planetside: 0 known
Cancer and Picon were long dominated by Scorpio. Cancer long accepted the leadership of the much larger planet and had a close relationship with their neighbors. Some believe that hostility between Cancer and Picon also led the smaller colony to seek closer ties with Scorpio to minimize any attempt by Picon to dominate it.
Later intelligence reports suggest that Cancer was ultimately left uninhabitable as a result of the Cylon attack.
While Cancer was the smallest of the colonies Battlestar: Pacifica the largest battlestar ever built was homeported there at the time of its destruction. It was replaced by Battlestar: Olympic which was destroyed over 100 yahrens later at the peace conference.
Picon
Population: 850 million
Survivors of the Fall: Ragtag fleet: 6,000
Survivors left planetside: 450-550,000?
Picon was one of the two smaller “outer colonies” and as such was long dominated politically and culturally by the aggressive Scorpio. As a reaction to this it developed an intense nationalism and localized “arrogance” regarding their colony as opposed to the other eleven. Picon had long supplied much of the Twelve Colonies Tylium needs through mining operations both planetside and off world.
Count (Lord) Baltar was from Picon. He was an enormously wealthy war profiteer specializing in providing Tylium its derivatives and technology that utilized it to the Colonial Fleet. Baltar later used his wealth to advance in planetary politics eventually rising to the position of deputy to the Picon Quorum of the Twelve representative. The unexpected death of the Picon representative enabled Baltar to take his seat in the Quorum and sometime later present the infamous peace proposal by the Cylons.
It is now believed that Baltar was assured by the Cylons that Picon would be spared from attack and that he would become the leader of the colony (and possibly survivors of other colonies who would naturally trek to the one colony untouched by devastation). Ironically, Baltar’s preparations for his colony’s future dominance would enable many of his people to survive the attack. Unfortunately, Baltar’s betrayal led to people from Picon being a low priority for the evacuation.
Battlestar: Bellerophon was homeported at Picon at the time of its destruction at the peace conference. Prior to the peace conference, Baltar sought permission by the Quorum of the Twelve to keep Bellerophon near Picon but it was denied
In the ragtag fleet, Picons have striven to live down their connection to the great traitor by becoming almost as militantly anti Cylon as the Gemonese.
Note, when you consider that Baltar harbored long standing grievances against at least four of the other eleven colonies (Caprica, Ares, Scorpio, and Cancer) his betrayal of all of humanity in retrospect seems not wholly unexpected. In addition, representatives from Aquarius and Virgo had a history of blocking many of Baltar’s political initiatives.
