Coming up with
a Colonial chronology depends on one thing; the single date given in the Battlestar
Galactica series, 7322, the date the Caprican agro-colony of Umbra was destroyed in a
Cylon attack and Starbuck was left an orphan. A major problem posed by this date are the
persistent references in Man With Nine Lives to this event having taken place
only twenty yahrens before the time of the series. Since we can assume Starbuck was
orphaned at a young enough age to have no clear memories of his parents—no older than
three, perhaps—this would make him only 22-23 at the time of the holocaust, which is,
given Dirk Benedict’s real age at the time, about 10 years older than that,
impossible. Therefore, I presume a span of almost 30 yahrens between the raid on Umbra and
the holocaust. I also assume that Boomer and Starbuck are the same age, but Apollo is a
little older. I do not think this is, given the difference in their ranks and
responsibilities, unreasonable (I know it is common in fandom to assume that Starbuck and
Apollo have known one another forever and that they went to the Academy together, but
anyone with even a passing knowledge of the military will realize how unlikely that is). I
also assume that Colonials do have the two hundred yahren lifespan mentioned by Adama and
take seriously his comment in Lost Planet that if he were a centuron younger
he’d be interested in Serina himself. Here is my deduced Colonial chronology:
7219 Adama born
7225 Cain born
7250 Tigh born
7315 Apollo born
7319 Starbuck and Boomer born
7320 Sheba born
7322 Cylon raid on Umbra. Starbuck orphaned
7327 Athena born
7328 Zac born
7334 Apollo graduates from the Academy
7337 Apollo graduates from the Command Academy, then on to Fighter Pilot School
7339 Starbuck and Boomer graduate from the Academy, then on to Fighter Pilot School
7345 Battle of the Cosmora Archipelago
7347 Battle of Molecay
7349 The Cylon destruction of the 12 Colonies: Apollo is 34, Starbuck and Boomer are 30.
7350 Date at the end of the Battlestar Galactica series.
This
chronology, of course, assumes that the Colonies lost the war with the Cylons and the
series happened as we saw it. I have written an alternate history story in which the
Colonials win, The School of Fear, and here is the modified chronology that
applies to it:
7217 Diomedes born
7219 Adama born
7225 Cain born
7250 Tigh born
7305 Aeneas born
7310 Dirce born
7315 Apollo and Miriam born
7319 Starbuck and Boomer born
7320 Sheba born
7322 The Cylon raid on Umbra; Starbuck left orphaned.
7327 Athena born
7334 Apollo graduates from the Academy on Caprica; Miriam graduates from the Sagitaran War
College
7337 Apollo and Miriam graduate from the Command Academy. Apollo goes to Fighter Pilot
School, Miriam to Strike Fighter School.
7339 Starbuck and Boomer graduate from the Academy on Caprica, then go on to Fighter Pilot
School.
7345 Battle of the Cosmora Archipelago
7347 Battle of Molecay
7349 Amala born. The Cylon attempt to destroy the Colonies is narrowly averted by the
action of Commander Adama in launching his vipers on warning.
7350 Starbuck and Aurora are sealed. Starbuck goes to the Command Academy.
7352 Ares born, Rhiannon born.
7375 The destruction of the Cylons. End of the Thousand Yahren War.
7376 The mission to find the lost planet Kobol departs from the Twelve Colonies; the
events of The School of Fear.