a Couple Random BSG questions

[lls_mutant]

Okay, so a few questions:

1.) Who does the Colonial military fight? I mean, in the reimaged series, there's no one besides the Cylons and the Colonies. I get civil war, but take the Galactica. People are from all the different Colonies on it, so it's not like there's a Caprican ship (although it seems like Galactica has a lot of Capricans) or a Tauron ship or a Gemonese ship. The Cylons haven't been heard from since the first Cylon war, right?

I mean, I can believe each colony has a military. That would make sense, especially since you've got some big differences between the Colonies, and like Sagittaron is really oppressed and Caprica is really not and all that. So yeah, I can see the richer Colonies sort of "occupying" the poorer ones. But the Battlestars... unless Galactica just has a few random non-Capricans like Dee (and I know there's no Sagittaron military)... But on the Pegasus, Cain is from Tauron and Belzen is from Gemenon and Kendra is Caprican and Hoshi is from Sagittaron... It implies that the battlestars are pretty mixed.

So what does the Colonial military DO? Are they like the UN and prevent wars between Colonies?

2.) How do you get a callsign like NARCHO? I mean, if his callsign was NACHO, I could understand. Maybe he eats them a lot or something. But Narcho isn't even a real word. Maybe it means something in one of the Colonial languages? Maybe it's a game that the Colonials have? But seriously, where do you get a callsign like Narcho? (Maybe it was a hot actor he was obsessing over. I kind of like that one.)

I think I had another one, but I forget. I'll edit if I remember.

Comments

[blue-crow.livejournal.com]

1. I thought they were supposed to be rather like interpol or the UN or something. Adar seems to have ordered them to invade... Aerilon, was it? And a few people died. I think they go in when the quorum decides intervention is needed and straighten up a planet or something.

2. I have no idea. I think the callsigns are totally random and while it probably has some significance, I actually sort of like that it seems so baffling. It emphasizes how arbitrary they are.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That makes sense.

I remembered the other one: was there REALLY NOTHING ELSE on the algae planet that was edible?????

[puszysty.livejournal.com]

Not to mention the fact that in that episode, they mention that they're just contaminated until they can be cleaned (or something), not that all the food ever is gone, yet they're still eating algae at the end of the series...

[rebelliousrose2.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I can take this one. They are still eating algae because the Fleet needs a high-protein, basically self-renewing, GREEN food- or everyone's getting scurvy and dying. It may taste gross, but nutrition-wise, algae's one of the most efficient foods there is.

[tin-o-biscuits.livejournal.com]

I just googled Narcho. It looks like a not-too-common last name and an Indian reservation. So it could be the name of the part of land he came from (like, Narcho county?) or maybe Starbuck gave him someone's last name. Actor, old pilot... Maybe there was a dog or cat named Narcho that wondered around the Academy and she named him after that cat or dog? Or maybe it's the Colony's equivalent of Godzilla? Make something up, Doc!

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Well, Starbuck didn't do it, but I LOVE the Colony's equivilent of Godzilla. Either that or it's a porn actor, because I could totally see my Narcho getting himself named after a porn actor :)

Must make myself a Narcho icon!!!

[blue-crow.livejournal.com]

Or he *was* a porn actor. Makes me think of Jeff Ganon- did you hear about that scandal a few years ago? The reporter for "talon news" or whatever that always tossed GW Bush the softball questions that was on a gay military fetish escort site.

[let-fate-decide.livejournal.com]

I think each Colony had their own military before the First Cylon War, but probably had to combine forces in order to neutralize the cylons. I mean, after they beat them (and with the possibility that they could come back at any time, really) what would be the point of splitting up the Colonial forces again?

I just figure that in those years of peace between the First and Second Wars, there was the Colonial fleet/forces, and then each individual Colonies had their own individual units, eg. National Guard units. I'm going to use the Air Force as an example, because that's the US mil. branch that I know the most about, haha. Basically, I'm thinking the Fleet would be equal to the Air Force. As in Active Duty personnel. Then each colony, IMO, would have Guard units like the Air Force Reserves, where you go back interview and get a slot at an available unit that's already near your location.

I think it'd be too much of a pain in the ass to have to change the military after integrating it to fight the cylons :P plus, it probably united the Colonies even more, and that'd be a pointless thing to give up when war could happen at any time. :D

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

That makes sense. Thanks! It's never really been addressed in canon, and now that I'm writing a story that takes place between the two Cylon wars.... Yeah. It gets confusing a bit, and actually important.

Thanks so much!

[kappamaki33.livejournal.com]

You're not going to like this (heck, *I* didn't like this), but the Colonial military is most likely a whole lot like the Alliance in *Firefly*. The Colonies have only been allies for, what, forty years at the beginning of the series? It seems there are still planets, like Aerilon (which we know about from Roslin's comment about Adar), Tauron (used dissidents as an excuse for the original mission with Bulldog in "Hero"), and Sagittaron (Tom Zarek), that aren't thrilled with being a part of this new semi-cohesive government, or at least aren't very happy about their status in it. Also, both the Alliance and the Colonial military have "boogeymen" of sorts sitting out in the wings that the higher-ups don't really seem to want to acknowledge, but they do know and fear them: the Reavers and the Cylons.

The good news is, that sort of makes Zarek into Mal and Gaeta into Simon. ;)

[rayruz.livejournal.com]

Wow... that's kind of... terrifying. And accurate.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Actually, I love it.

The truth is, the Alliance doesn't seem to be the big bag boogieman that Mal thinks it is. I mean, I get his point and certain things the Alliance does I don't agree with, but Mal also has no issues with theft :) So, it makes sense.

And the funny thing is, when I was debating doing my own Firefly/BSG crossover, Gaeta and Simon were going to become very good friends. :)

[rayruz.livejournal.com]

I think the major difference is, for all intents and purposes, The Alliance seems to be a military dictatorship. There doesn't seem to be any kind of representation of the people or politics of any kind. That's my impression, and what I'm working with for OotB.

[rayruz.livejournal.com]

I think they said something about in the past battlestars represented specific colonies... I guess they integrated after. And it does seem like there was war among the colonies (Seems to be what the Caprica pilot is pointing too).

Thank you for asking #2... my brother and i obsess over that question.

[millari.livejournal.com]

Yes, I remember this too. I think that the battlestars were created after the first Cylon War - twelve of them were created, one to represent each colony. As I remember the vague backstory, the Colonies had a very loose alliance before the invention of the Cylons, with no central government. They squabbled a lot with each other and had civil wars. I seem to remember someone referring to the fact that one of the early uses of the Cylons were as cheap soldiers that could be sent in to fight in interplanetary conflicts and to quell dissidents. I also seem to remember that they were used on Sagittaron to quell dissidents (but I might be remembering the Tom Zarek "Origins" comic).

As I remember it, the First Cylon War was what brought the Colonies together into a more cohesive government, out of necessity. I think however, the battlestars were built after the end of the First Cylon War, one to represent each colony, to forever afterward protect the Colonials from the possible return of the Cylons. I think they were meant to be a border patrol as was said already, but also symbolically as a tangible sign of the Colonies all working together to maintain the peace.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Thanks, both of you! That makes some more sense.

I remember the other question now:

On that damn algae planet- you know, the one with plenty of trees, was there really NOTHING ELSE they could eat besides algae???????

[millari.livejournal.com]

Heh, I remember thinking similar things. I mean, the planet *did* look pretty scrubby, but the second time watching that episode, I realized that it wasn't as much of a desert planet as they made it seem in the close shots and Tyrol's "hot fudge planet" remark. I was like, "New Caprica looked like it had less vegetation..."

[puszysty.livejournal.com]

1. I have no frakking clue. I've been trying to figure that one out myself.
In Hero it is kind of implied that the military is sort of a border patrol that watches the armistice line in case the cylons happen to cross. But it seems kind of pointless for a whole fleet of battlestars to just sit out in space.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and that would also imply that there was no Colonial Military before the Cylons, because who else is there? The original series, cheesy as it was, at least made a little more sense on this one. (Plus, they had other planets.)

[brennanspeaks.livejournal.com]

1) Um . . . nothing like a good arms build-up to bring your recently-united colonies together? From the miniseries we know that originally there were 12 Battlestars that (probably) got them through the first cylon war, but by the time of the fall, there were closer to 120. I imagine disputes between colonies would be a problem and they'd have to protect those shipping routes, especially if travellers didn't use FTL too much. Mostly, though, I think they were paranoid about the cylons returning.
[wild speculation warning] If before the first war each colony had a military to deal with other colonies, then knocking those out would be the cylons' first order of business. The survivors band together to go toaster shopping, but after the war the colonies don't feel really safe until the new military is similar to what a combined force of all twelve colonies would have been before the invention of cylons. So they end up with just as many guns but fewer people to point them at.

2) The wireless seems to have very bad reception. Someone could say "Nacho" and an inconvenient burst of static could turn it into "Narcho." Or they could add the "r" intentionally to make it easier to understand as in "niner." Others have suggested plenty of interesting origins. I say go with whatever you think fits your little nudist best. (Shrugs)

[trovia.livejournal.com]

If I were a government, I sure as hell would want a fleet around as long as there are Cylons out there somewhere. Especially with the armistice being... well, an armistice, not a peace treaty. Isn't that enemy enough? We know there's border patrol. There's also the issue of terrorism and other inner security issues. rap541 made up some very convincing inner security issues in her Kara/Gaeta fic. You need a military even without having an enemy so things things will stay nice and calm.

Sure that means that the military just sits around most of the time but, so does most European countries' military. Switzerland even has a Navy and they don't even have a coast! ;)

Re Narcho: I've actually known people who've had handles that meant absolutely nothing. They usually were abbreviations that had gotten mangled through time.

[trovia.livejournal.com]

Most obvious example for a name without meaning whatsoever would be "Trovia," BTW. :)

[millari.livejournal.com]

Yes, this is so true! I for example, during my first two years of college, was called "Maggie" by my friends. My real name is not Margaret or any version of it. The nickname came from a mangling of my first name and last name in the campus newspaper. My friends thought it amusing and referred to me that way as a nickname. From there, it was a plausible stretch from the nonsense nickname to "Maggie", which was phonetically similar. By the end of the first year, I bet just about no one could remember where'd they got the idea to call me that.

Along those lines Narcho might also be some wordplay with his initials (Noel Allison.)

If you're trying to explain Narcho's name in fic, I think it could be kind of cool if no one can actually remember where his name came from. Like, their stories all contradict each other. :)

Good luck with your muse!

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

It is, for between the two wars. But what about before that? I guess that's really my question. But it seems like it;s getting answered.

That's true about the name :) Although my current theory is there was a porn star with the last name Narcho, and that's how he got his call sign. I'm really liking it, and it TOTALLY fits my Narcho >:)