CANARIS, SHUTTLE The civilian shuttle that carried Chameleon to the Rising Star. He managed to fool the shuttle’s ticket taker into believing he’d paid for the trip when he actually hadn’t (MN).

CANCERA One of the Twelve Colonies.

CAPRICA One of the Twelve Colonies, homeworld of Adama, Apollo, Athena, Starbuck, and many other members of the Galactica’s crew, and evidently one of the leading Colonies. After the holocaust Apollo and Adama went to the surface to look for Ila (P); evidently Starbuck went also to look for Aurora (TC).

CAPRICA, BATTLE OF Apparent Colonial name for the ambush and destruction of the Colonial Fleet at the so-called “peace conference.” According to what Adama tells Cain, the Fleet was attacked by forces from three base ships (LL).

CAPRICA CITY Capital city of Caprica, and location of the Caprica Presidium. A very large city whose downtown area was dominated by large, pyramidal buildings (P).

CAPSTONE The highest card in the card game pyramid, a capstone is required to form the highest winning combination, the perfect pyramid. Chameleon informed Starbuck that his ‘system’ was flawed because it didn’t take into account that if the dealer held the capstone, he couldn’t win (MN).

CARBIDE When Jolly’s flying became erratic during their final approach to the Galactica after patrol, Boomer wondered if perhaps Jolly’s breather had malfunctioned, leaking carbide (LG). Probably the Colonial term for carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide, a buildup of either of which would be a possible result of a life support system malfunction.

CARILLON A planet rich in tylium ore that was inhabited (whether natively or not is not known) by the insectoid Ovions, who were providing fuel to the Cylons. A distinctly dismal world in perpetual twilight, possibly tidal-locked in its orbit, it had two moons. The planet was destroyed when the tylium set afire in the mines reached vapor point (P).

CARMICHAEL (Olan Soule) A specialist aboard the Agro ship, he informed Tigh that new seed was needed to replace the crops destroyed when the ship lost its airlock (MW). After the advent of Count Iblis, he opined that the sudden growth of the plants aboard the ship was a “miracle” (WG).

CASSIOPIEA (Laurette Spang) Cassiopiea was a socialator who escaped the holocaust aboard the freighter Gemini, where she was persona non grata among the religious Otoris. Starbuck, Apollo, and Boomer rescued her from hostile sect members. Starbuck, his motives not at all aboveboard, found a place for her aboard the Galactica (P). Her former profession having been outlawed (by ABC!), she now serves as a medtech aboard the Galactica. She more or less included herself on the mission to disable to control center on Gamoray and acquitted herself well (LL); she also accompanied the Terrans in their ship to Paradeen (GE).
Before his disappearance with the Fifth Fleet at Molecay she was seriously involved with Commander Cain and very nearly returned to him when the Pegasus turned up at Gamoray (LL). Except for that lapse she spends her time in pursuit of Starbuck.

CELESTIAL CHAMBER A dome atop the engine section of the Galactica, used in times past by the astronavigators, who would go there and take star sightings to confirm the results of their navigational computers. There were once several such domes aboard the Galactica but only one survives, the others having presumably been destroyed or removed during refits. Apollo discovered the dome and spent some enjoyable, peaceful centares there restoring its primitive equipment (HG).

CELESTRA Electronics repair ship commanded by the late Commander Kronus. Its insignia is a red half-circle with a gold lightning bolt. Its top speed is factor four (TC).

CENTARE Colonial measure of time roughly equivalent to our hour; there are 24 centares in a Colonial day (FS). Usually pronounced ‘centar’ but occasionally pronounced ‘centarie’ (specifically by the Rising Star’s maitre d’ (LP) and by Specter (YL).

CENTON Colonial measure of time roughly equivalent to a minute.

CENTRAL CORE The heart of a Cylon baseship, around which the circular ship is constructed, giving access to all decks. Apollo and Starbuck used the central core to reach a baseship's control room, which they destroyed, knocking out its scanners so the Galactica would have an advantage in attacking it (HG). Interestingly, the ‘central core’ seen in “Hand of God” is actually part of a Skylab space station mockup, with its distinctive metal-grid floors designed so special shoes worn by the astronauts would lock into the grid. These scenes may have been filmed in Houston.

CENTURION Cylon warriors are referred to as centurions. They wear mirrored armor (made of chrome-plated vacuformed plastic; $800 per costume in 1978 dollars) and carry a laser rifle and sword. Command centurions wear gold armor and have a deeper voice than the standard centurions. Centurions seem to be clumsy, graceless, and, considering they’re machines, are lousy shots and pilots. In reality they would have been extremely difficult to defeat and their mirrored armor would have been an excellent defense against laser weapons; the Cylon threat was considerably defused by ABC.

CENTURON A Colonial measure. According to Dr. Salik, Adama didn’t have a “chance in a centuron” of surviving his wounds unless immediately operated on (FS). Obviously the Colonial term for 100, i.e. Adama didn’t have a chance in a hundred of survival.

CHALICE A beautiful silver cup that President Adar raised in a toast to his fellow Council members in the banquet scene that opens the premiere.

CHAMELEON (Fred Astaire) Chameleon is an aging, charming con man. At one time he was apparently a professional wagerer; his true occupation at present is unknown. He variously claimed to be a genetic tracer, the head of IFB, and the captain of the Livestock Ship. In the latter guise he made the mistake of conning a group of Borellian Nomen, who promptly set out on a blood trail to obtain revenge. In order to escape them, Chameleon implied to Starbuck that he might be his long-lost father. Taken to the Galactica, medical tests were made that in the end proved positive, but Chameleon requested Cassiopiea not to tell Starbuck, since the latter had planned to leave the military if the tests were positive in order to get to know his father. Chameleon well knew where Starbuck was needed most and in what was likely a unique moment of selflessness sacrificed his chance to publicly acknowledge Starbuck as his son. To atone for his multiple sins, Chameleon was assigned to rehabilitation aboard the Senior Ship under the supervision of Siress Blassie.
Chameleon is one of two rather dubious characters who BG fans have taken to heart, the other being Cain (would anyone with half a brain want to serve under Cain? I think not!); his treatment of other people, especially the unfortunate Siress Blassie, suggests at best a streak of  sociopathic personality.

CHANCERY Colonel term for a gambling casino.

CHARITY (Michele Carol Larson) The oldest of Sarah’s children. Vector rather stupidly mistook Starbuck for Charity since he has blond hair (GE). A daughter of executive producer/creator/writer Glen A. Larson

CHARKA (Rick Holt) The executive officer of the Celestra. After Kronus was promoted to overall commander of the three industry ships, Charka assumed he would be made commander of the Celestra, but his hopes were dashed when Kronus informed him that he wasn’t ready for command yet, which was certainly true. Charka had been pushing the crew of the Celestra beyond the limits of human endurance with 16 centare shifts and no off-ship leave in the hopes of provoking a mutiny that he could take advantage of, which is of course what happened. According to Starbuck and Apollo the penalty for mutiny is 30 yahrens on the Prison Barge, and we can be assured that Charka received this sentence at the very least (TC).

CHELLA (Ben Frank) Chella was the man who discovered Ortega’s dead body on the Rising Star; he was a pyramid dealer aboard the ship. Upon learning from Flight Sergeant Barton that Ortega frequented Chella’s table, Apollo and Boomer visited him and forced him into confessing that Ortega had been blackmailing him. His real name was Rifkis and he had been the Chief Administrator of Solius before the holocaust. On the night of the attack, desperate to escape, he bribed Ortega into allowing him on the Rising Star, which was being loaded with children and nursery attendants. He was almost glad that the warriors had found him out, as his guilt had been hard to bear (MR).

CIMTAR The “old moon” near which the Cylons ambushed the Colonial Fleet (P).

CITY Starbuck discovered a large, modernistic city on Paradeen, intact but unpopulated. He theorized that the city had been attacked by neutron or bacteriological warfare, killing the people but sparing the buildings (GE). Most of the buildings in the city are actually the remains of Expo 67 in Montreal; a film crew accompanied by Dirk Benedict and the late Bobby Van traveled to Montreal to film the scenes.

CLONES On the planet Arkta, Dr. Ravashol created a race of clones who were classed as ‘subhuman’ by the Cylons and used as slave labor. Thought by Ravashol to be sterile, they have been having children and hiding them from the Cylons. Three types of clones were seen, the big male clones typified by Ser Five-Nine, the smaller, blonde female clones like Tenna, and the planners, who look suspiciously like Dr. Ravashol himself! The clones prefer to refer to themselves as “Theta-class life forms.”

CLOWNS Sheba referred thus to Starbuck and Apollo for their lack of radio discipline when she and Bojay intercepted them (LL).

CLUB AREA Portion of the Rising Star commandeered by Sire Uri and his cronies for their post-holocaust bash (P).

CODE, THE Followed by the Borellian Nomen, the Code guides them in their strict, warrior-like existence. Probably made necessary by the harsh environment of their homeworld, the Code is now something of an anachronism (MN).

COLD CELL After Cadet Cree’s brain was probed, Vulpa had him put into a cold cell, presumably so he’d freeze to death (GI).

COLONIES, TWELVE The Twelve Colonies were the homeworlds of the Colonials, settled thousands of yahrens after the exodus from Kobol by twelve of the thirteen tribes of Kobol. The Colonies are Aeries, Aquaria, Cancera, Caprica, Gemoni or Gemini, Leo, Libra, Piscon, Sagitara, Scorpia, Taura and Virgon (there are numerous variant spellings and it seems impossible to be certain which are correct). In the novelization, the Colonies are referred to as the “twelve worlds of the three suns,” implying a trinary star system of some kind, but this usage never appeared in the series. All the planets were laid waste by the Cylons (P). Also referred to as the “Great Colonies” (MW).

COLONIAL HISTORY From the evidence given in the series, we know a little about Colonial history. The Twelve Colonies were founded by survivors from the mother planet Kobol, who evidently discovered twelve planets in close proximity to one another and settled them. After their arrival, a reaction against technology arose, fueled by the terrible end of Kobol, and everything technological was destroyed. According to Adama, it took thousands of yahrens for the Colonies to redevelop technology (LG). When spaceflight was redeveloped the Colonies sent out exploratory and settling missions, which explains many of the human civilizations found by the fleet during the early part of their escape from the Cylon holocaust. Some of these small settlements were evidently cut off during the Thousand Yahren War, which began when the Colonies intervened with the Cylons over their attack on the Hasari race (P). The war appears to have had periods of intense conflict punctuated by periods of relative calm; it appears the final stage of the war began with the Cylon raid on the Caprican agro city of Umbra in 7322 (MN); in the yahrens immediately before the holocaust the Fleet suffered severe losses at the Battle of the Cosmora Archipelago (TC) and a total disaster at the Battle of Molecay (LL), priming the Colonial public to be ready to accept what proved to be a false peace.

COLONIAL MILITARY INSTITUTE Adama told Apollo that he had learned his limited psychokinetic powers during a period he spent working at the Colonial Military Institute (WG), which at the time was evidently researching psychic powers, looking for possible military applications. Adama also did research into mind-reading, and had learned to deflect mind-reading by thinking other thoughts, which evidently did not work too well against Iblis. Evidently the Colonial Military Institute was a think-tank and research lab, dedicated to military studies.

COLONIAL MOVERS SHIP A fan-favorite ship in the fleet, formerly owned and operated by Colonial Movers, whose appropriate motto is WE MOVE ANYWHERE. A very interesting and even technically likely ship consisting of a core vehicle with crew and control pod at one end and engines at the other attached by a spine along which are connected detachable cargo containers. Another very nice model built by John Dykstra’s Apogee crew, evidently from Airfix Saturn V model parts and HO scale railroad boxcars.

COLONIAL RANKS Truly one of the great mysteries of the Battlestar Galactica series is how the Colonial military rank system worked. It is evident that the military aspects of the series were never thought through (even though at least one production crew member, Don Bellisario, had real military experience, having been a Marine). We know of two enlisted ranks for certain, Corporal and Flight Sergeant. Flight Sergeant obviously would have been limited to pilot NCOs, so there must have been other ranks of sergeant for non-flying personnel. Presumably there was also an equivalent to our “private,” for the most junior enlisted rank. There is also an intermediate rank of Cadet for pilot-candidates. Officer ranks include Ensign, Lieutenant (First and Second class if we want to take G80’s  “Return of Starbuck” as evidence, which in this case I would be willing to do), Captain, Colonel, and Commander. I presume that Flight Officer may have been a title rather than a rank, but if a rank, it is probably equivalent to Lieutenant. Now there should have been a number of other ranks, including a succession of “flag” ranks for senior officers. It’s also obvious that there should have been some other officer commanding both the Galactica and Pegasus as Adama and especially Cain, who was, after all, Commander of the Fifth Fleet, and Kronus, who was in command of the Fourth (and we can assume Adama was a Fleet Commander also) and are hence the equivalent of Admirals, who would have had a captain serving under them to command their flagship. Quite a mess, and beyond solution at this time; Glen Larson would have done better to follow Gene Roddenberry’s example and use traditional “wet navy” ranks for his warriors.

COLONIAL WARRIOR Member of the unified military service of the Colonies; sometimes used specifically to mean ‘viper pilot.’ Colonial warriors are all volunteers, carefully selected and trained. Even after the destruction of the Colonies, the tradition of an all-volunteer military has so far continued.
Warriors, as opposed to command ranks, wear tan uniforms with dark brown jackets, command ranks wearing dark blue (reportedly there was a blue jacket made for Terry Carter, but he never had the opportunity to wear it; it was dark blue with silver trim, silver clasps, and black shoulder patches). Combat warriors appear to be distinguished by one or two gold insignia pins worn on the collars of their uniforms. Some crewmen (lower ranks? Support staff?) aboard the Galactica do not wear collar pins. Aside from the wide silver cuff stripes worn by Adama, there is little to distinguish ranks among the warriors; this was presumably done by the production staff to save money, although it might be assumed that warriors would not wear rank insignia as some sort of security procedure. The Colonial warriors have a code of honor and conduct, which was never described in detail (GI). According to recruiting advertisements on IFB, “anyone between the ages of 16 and 46 yahrens can become a Colonial warrior” (MN). Training is not now as comprehensive as it was before the holocaust, since the training academies have been destroyed. Although the new warriors may lack the polish of their academy-trained forebears, they appear no less dedicated and courageous.

COLUMBIA One of the battlestars destroyed at the peace conference. Under Cylon interrogation Cadet Cree claimed to be from the Columbia. Also, in another world, OV-102. We will remember....

COMP-TEL SHIP Headquarters ship of IFB, InterFleet Broadcasting (MN).

COMPUTERS The computer system aboard the Galactica is the most powerful in the fleet. Corporal Komma is one of the personnel who oversee the ship’s computers (GI, MR). Starbuck claimed to know nothing about computers, having not paid attention at the Academy, but his actions belie his words (GI). Boomer complained that computers were getting more complicated every yahren (MR); perhaps there was a Colonial equivalent to Bill Gates lurking in the fleet! Between “Gun on Ice Planet Zero,” in which Starbuck used a keyboard to break into the computers and “Murder on the Rising Star,” Dr. Wilker fitted the computer with a vocal input/output system. Komma was unimpressed; as he told Apollo dryly, “This may be modern technology, but give me the old fashioned keyboard and printout.” (MR).

CONSTABLE A lifetime job in Serenity; Starbuck was confused when Bogan informed him that half the people in town had held the position, but, as Starbuck found out, they’d been killed by the Borays. The situation had become so dire that Bogan and his sidekick Dipper were reduced to tricking people—like Starbuck—into accepting the badge and job unknowingly. Starbuck, fortunately, managed to get out of the job by talking Nogow into taking it. The constable’s badge is a solid gold shield (MW).

CONSUMABLES Cylon term for food (LW).

C.O.R.A. (voice by Cathy Paine) Acronym for Computer, Oral Response Activated. CORA is an advanced flight computer fitted to the Recon Viper to keep the pilot company on long missions. It is capable of flying the viper and carrying out its mission on its own. CORA can’t be too bright, however, as it allowed Robber to steal the Recon Viper (LP).

CORE COMMAND or CORE CONTROL Central control of the fleet, located on the bridge of the Galactica (P).

COSMORA ARCHIPELAGO, BATTLE OF Battle where Kronus won his fame, which occurred some time before the holocaust. Although wounded, he was able to rally his fleet and destroy three of the attacking Cylon base ships (TC).

COUNCIL or QUORUM OF THE TWELVE The Council of Twelve is the nominal ruling body of the Colonials; Adama, as supreme military commander, holds real power although he usually does not choose to exercise it in the political sphere. Members of the Council are elected in an unknown fashion, possibly by another council; they do not seem to be elected entirely democratically as Adama in the premiere was mentioned as having voted for Sire Uri, apparently openly (which also raises the question why Adama, as a Caprican, would even have the right to vote for another tribe’s Council member). The members of the Council, both before and after the holocaust, appear to be wealthy and not overly representative of the Colonial population as a whole.

COUNCIL SECURITY Civilian law enforcement personnel in the fleet, responsible to and loyal only to the Council—possibly only to specific Council members, since Adama, a member himself, seems to have little control over their activities. Some serve aboard the Galactica and are used to keep the warriors in line, much to their disgust (LG, MR, GE) (Boomer claims in “Greetings From Earth” that Council Security has no jurisdiction over the military, but this seems to be mistaken judging from other series evidence). Others serve aboard the Prison Barge and elsewhere in the fleet. Council Security personnel wear a distinctive black jumpsuit and are generally a fairly arrogant lot and universally despised, although it must be said that they have a thankless and difficult job. Council Security may well have been in existence before the holocaust. In the premiere, a man in Council Security uniform is seen aboard the Rising Star guarding Sire Uri’s post-holocaust bacchanalia. This gives the unpleasant impression that the Council had their own private semi-military force, answerable only to them and not to the military or planetary authorities, a body not unlike the Nazi SS.

CRAWLON Colonial term for a creature analogous to a spider (LG).

CREE, CADET (Alan Stock) Cree was one of three young cadets who accompanied Starbuck and Boomer on the patrol that discovered Arkta. Cree was forced down and captured after he and Cadet Shields attempted to attack the Ravashol pulsar. The Cylons interrogated him, scanned his brain, and then dumped him into a cold cell to freeze; he was fortunately rescued by Starbuck (GI). Since “Gun on Ice Planet Zero” is the actual second episode, Cree and the others were presumably cadets before the holocaust. Cree claims to be from the battlestar Columbia under interrogation; although he may have said that just to throw the Cylons off, it is not entirely impossible that he and his fellow cadets were survivors of that ship. Judging from some of the unshot scripts, Cadet Cree was originally intended as a recurring minor character.

CROAD (Ted Gehring) Chief enforcer on Proteus, he was in pursuit of Robber when Starbuck and the Recon Viper arrived on the scene. Later, he captured Starbuck (LP).

CROFT, COMMANDER (Roy Thinnes) Croft was at one time commander of the Snow Garrison on Ice Planet Kalpa. Married to Leda, who obviously despises him for reasons never clarified in the episode. An expert mountaineer and demolitions expert, he and several colleagues raided a Cylon platinum mine and were arrested and court-martialed when they refused to turn their loot over to Colonial authorities. Imprisoned aboard the Prison Barge, he and his team were chosen to assault the pulsar cannon on Arkta, with Adama promising them pardons in return. Although Croft had several second thoughts about joining the escape attempt planned by the other convicts, he saved Apollo from Wolfe and made certain that the mission would succeed (GI). One of the more interesting guest characters, it is a shame that Croft did not reappear later in the series, perhaps as commander of a Galactica ground force unit. Fans often refer to Croft as “Colonel Croft,” but in the script he is definitely ranked as a commander.

CRODAN Robber claimed he was shuttling agro parts to the farmers on Crodan (LP), presumably a nearby planet.

CRYOGENIC SUSPENSION Cryogenic suspension is a form of suspended animation. The warriors who were infected by Boomer and Jolly were put into cryogenic suspension to keep them alive until a cure for their disease could be found (LG). The Terran family of Michael and Sarah were in a form of cryogenic suspension aboard their spacecraft when the Galactica picked it up.

CUBIT Colonial money, a small gold rectangle with various designs pressed in it.

CURFEW Time by which pilots and other personnel are expected to be in their quarters. Tigh extended the curfew for Apollo’s bachelor party (LG). Adama wondered what had happened to the curfew for duty officers and was informed by Tigh that Iblis had evidently canceled it (WG).

CYLON Homeworld of the Cylons, location unknown.

CYLON PATROL SHIP The Pegasus warriors were distinctly unimpressed when Apollo informed them that the Galactica’s pilots had destroyed a Cylon patrol ship a secton previously (LL).

CYLON TANKERS Apollo and Zac discovered a Cylon tanker behind a “harmless mist” over the old moon Cimtar. The Cylons had in fact refueled from the tanker in preparation for their assault on the Fleet after flying from their baseships, which were moving in to attack the Colonies directly (P). Later, a mixed viper force from the Galactica and Pegasus, under the direct leadership of Commander Cain, were sent to intercept and capture two Cylon tankers to provide fuel for the fleet. Cain, determined to force Adama to follow a more aggressive policy, blew them up while the other vipers were engaging the tanker’s escorts (LL).

CYLON TASK FORCE Adama rejected Sire Uri’s recommendation that the fleet stop for fuel and supplies at Borallus because the Cylons would undoubtedly have a task force there (P). A Cylon fleet, consisting of baseships and supporting vessels.

CYLON WELCOMING COMMITTEE Baltar suggested to President Adar that the approaching Cylon killer force was a Cylon welcoming committee (P).