BSG Terms

Time units and their English rough equivalents

• micron(s) - several seconds
• centon(s) - minute (10 microns in one of these)
• centare, centares* - "hour" - 100 centons; 24 centares in a day
• secton(s) - "week" - 8 days
• sectare, sectares* - "month" - 32 days, 4 sectons
• yahren(s) - year - 391 days** (12 sectares plus seven intercalary days)
• dodecada - 12 years

  *pronounced by most Colonials as "sen-tar, sec-tar; sen-tar-rays, sec-tar-rays", but some few say "sen-tar-ray, sec-tar-ray" for the singular
  **Glen Larson once stated that a yahren was shorter than an Earth year (he was talking about Adama's age (which is over 100)). However, given the facts relating to the attack on Umbra (see "Dates" below), I find this impossible to believe. And since it's just Larson's off-the-cuff remark, not canon (after all, Larson came up with G80), I choose to disregard it completely.

• Dates: the only sure date we have is 7322, the date of the raid on Umbra. This was said to be "20 yahrens ago" in Starbuck's interview; however, the reasonable assumption is that Starbuck is around 30 (given the actors' ages and the careers the characters have had), which would have made him 10... possible but unlikely given the rest of the story. I choose to believe that the figure is just an approximation, and the actual elapsed time is more like 24 or 25 yahrens (any more, which is more probable unless Starbuck was severely traumatised, and I think they'd have said "30 yahrens ago"). At any rate, I date the Destruction in the year 7347; thus Molecay in 7345, Apollo's birth in 7315, Athena's somewhere around 7323-5, Zac's a yahren after hers, and Starbuck's around 7316.

Other units

"Lost Planet of the Gods": Adama: Search for a planet orbiting that star at a distance of one to four parsecs.
"Hand of God": Adama: I'm certain that when we eluded the Cylons, they spread their base stars throughout the universe to find us. This is probably the only one in this galaxy.

Other measures

• julon(s) - unit of energy (joule)
• kilon(s) - unit of power (kilowatt)
• lexon(s) - unit of (dry) volume (bushel)
• maxim(s) - unit of distance (unclear what this is, but "a hundred maxims wide" is enough for the Fleet to pass through so it falls somewhere between metron and metric, and probably something like 5 or 6 metrons; given the prevalence of twelves in the Colonies, I use it mean six metrons)
• metron(s) - unit of distance (meter, yard)
• metric(s) - unit of distance (kilometer)
• radion(s) - unit of radiation (rad)
• volton(s) - unit of electicity (volt)
• wavelon(s) - unit of frequency (hertz)

Currencies

• Cubit: This is the primary unit used in the Colonies. Cubits are small gold-colored, possibly gold, rectangles with designs pressed into them.
  I assume a cubit to be approximately a dollar in purchasing power. I also assume that various denominations existed, differentiated by the designs, for instance a decicube or a decacubit (a dime or a ten-spot)
• Orion check: Used on Orion and freely negotiable in the Colonies; several people in the Fleet had Orion checks, including Siress Blassie and Starbuck
• Markas: Another freely negotiable currency, though it's unclear where it originated, or whether "markas" is singular, plural, or collective
• Quantum: Used on Sectar, one of the Outer Worlds, (qv)

Ranks

• Officers:
  Fleet ranks:
  • Commander - Fleet/Battlegroup command - "admiral"
  • Colonel - senior field grade: commands a capital ship and its ground troops
  • Captain - one per battlegroup, in overall command of fighters
  • Lieutenant
  • Flight Officer / Operations Officer
  • Ensign
  Ground troops ranks:
  • Major - in command of a major unit of a battlegroup's deployed ground troops
  • Captain
  • Lieutenant
• Enlisted:
  • Sergeant - many types, including pilots (Flight Sergeants), Security, Support, etc
  • Corporal - again, many types
  • Tech - apparently a track similar to old US Army "specialist" ranks, technical and support staff with no command responsibilities
  • Private

Cast Members and Other People

Other terms

Index:

A

• agrist - farmer
• agrostation - farm or ranch
• ambrosa - liquor; like whisky, some is much better than the rest
• anaseran - waterfowl "duck"
• apid - hive insect "bee"
• Aquaria, Virgon, Ariana, Taura, Scorpia, Gemoni, Canceria, Piscon, Sagitara, Leonis, Libra - the other eleven Colonies (see Caprica)
• Asp - a Colonial fighter-trainer
• Assailer - a mid-sized Cylon ship, like a cruiser
  B
  
• basestar - Cylon mother ship, carries 300 Raiders (qv)
• astrum - butt, ass
• Baltar - a nobleman (Count) on the Council, Baltar had cut a secret deal with the Cylons (qv) and betrayed the Colonial Fleet to them at Cimtar. Although he thought his world was to be spared as his private fiefdom, the Cylons betrayed him as well. Nonetheless, to save his life he ended up working with them to hunt down the escaping Colonials, the Cylons accepting that they couldn't think like humans, and he eventually got to a position of some power.
• battlestar - largest Colonial warship, carries 4-6 full Viper Squadrons as well as armament enough to combat a basestar
• boray - a piglike, violent race of scavengers and pirates, used as an insult (apparently the insult, of undetermined origin, was applied to the race later, as the race seemed unknown to the Galactica crew when they encountered it on one of the Outer Worlds (qv))
  C
  
• Caprica - homeworld of most of the Galactica's crew, including Adama's family
• capstone - highest card in a pyramid (qv) deck
• carrier - a ship whose function is to carry massed Viper squadrons; three classes:
  • Accipitrida—six Viper squadrons, one mixed squadron of reconnaissance (Owl), communications (Raven), and SIGINT (ELINT, COMINT, jamming) (Condor) platforms
  • Falca—two Viper squadrons, two Python bomber squadrons, three Cobra ground-support squadrons, and one mixed support squadron
  • Aquila—slightly larger than the Falca class, with one extra Viper and Python squadron
• Carillon - planet where the fleet stopped briefly just after it began to run and was almost destroyed; Sire Uri made a bid for power here but was discredited and possibly even killed
• centuron - hundred (generic term, like "dozen")
• cervus - deer, stag
• chancery - a casino or gambling establishment
• chiropteran - bat
• chrono - clock or watch (though in "Living Legend" Bojay says "we've been flying strikes around the clock")
• Cimtar {sim-tar) - name of the moon which gave its name to the final battle between the Cylons and the Colonies, simultaneous with the Destruction (qv)
• CMA, Caprican Military Academy - oddly, the show states that enlisted pilots also attended the academy. Possibly the show meant to distinguish between the officers' academy (like Annapolis or West Point) and a flight school, but it's one of those things...
• Cobra - a Colonial ground-assault/infantry-support craft
• Colonies - the twelve worlds colonized from Kobol six-plus millennia ago, destroyed by the Cylons.
• Condor - a SIGINT (ELINT, COMINT, jamming) craft
• Cosmora Archipelago - site of a nearly Pyrrhic victory by Commander Kronus over the Cylons (qv), possibly the last victory before the Destruction (qv) and certainly, along with Molecay and Umbra (both qv), a major impetus towards peace
• crawlon - something like a spider
• Council of Twelve - ruling body of the Colonies, one member from each world (apparently elected by the Colonial elite from another body, possibly a pool of candidates or another, larger, council. Adama (a Caprican) voted for Uri (a Leonid), raising the question of whether there was proportional voting, or some other scheme. What's clear is they're all aristocratic, or at the very least, damned wealthy.
• contract - a bidding card game, "bridge"
• cubit - basic unit of currency
• Cylons (sigh-lon) - the cyborg-saurian enemies of humans
  D
  
• dagget - domestic canine, "dog"
• Dark Age - The Colonies, impelled by a fear of the fate of Kobol, rejected technology and returned to barbarism: a time when contact with the Outer Worlds (qv) was lost and most science was abandoned from which they only recovered perhaps three millennia ago
• decacubit - ten cubits
• decicube - a tenth of a cubit, "dime"
• Destruction - the attack by which the Cylons, under the guise of suing for peace, attacked and utterly destroyed the Colonies
• drone - robot or android. Illegal on some Colonies (like Caprica), though none of the Capricans on the Galactica have an ethical problem with the drone daggit, Muffit II
  E
  
• Earth - a "shining planet", believed by Adama and devout Kobolians to be the home of the lost Thirteenth Tribe (qv), and the ultimate goal of the Galactica and the fleet
• Enforcer - a mid-sized Cylon ship, like a destroyer
• equinus, equines (pl) - "horse"
  F
  
• Fay - supernatural being, like an elf or faery or sidhe
• felgarcarb - mild cussword, like "crap"
• felix - domestic cat
• fellowship - "fraternity, sorority"
• fumarillo - cigar
• frack - much stronger than felgarcarb, very common
• furlon - furlough or leave; also used for what we'd call a "pass" - a short, 2-4 day, period of non-charged time off
  G
  
• gally - "chicken", afraid, a taunt; also "mother-gally", to over-protect (from 'gallidian' a domestic fowl, "hen")
• Gamoray (ga-mor-ray) - major Cylon outpost, called "outer capitol", once home of the Delphinian Empire; site of the Pegasus's two-yahren exile
• grog - mild alcoholic drink, like beer
  H
  
• hob - small, homely (as in domestic) supernatural being, like a brownie
• hovercar - form of personal transportation on the Colonies
  I
  
• IFB - InterFleet Broadcasting
• Imperious Leader - head of the Cylon Empire
• Inner System/Worlds - worlds colonized from the Colonies
  K
  
• kava - coffee
• kitlet - young felix
• Kobol & Lords of Kobol - the mythical homeworld of humanity and its rulers (now considered demigods); Kobol was destroyed by its own technology (see Dark Age) and humans fled to the Colonies and, perhaps, to Earth (the lost thirteenth Tribe (qv)), thus "Kobolian" for the religion of those who worship the Lords of Kobol ancillary to the gods
  L
  
• lambet - young of an animal once used for relgious sacrifices, "lamb"
• laser - a linguistic holdover; Colonial and Cylon weapons fire charged plasma
• leporid - small, fast-breeding animal, "rabbit"
• Life Center - medical center, sick bay
• lionet - big cat, "lion"
• Lippy - LPPE (Libran PPE, which qv) - the cops on Libra
• lupus, lupines - wild canine, "wolf"
  M
  
• Molecay (mole-uh-kay) - a major Colonial defeat; no ships survived except the Battlestar Pegasus, thought lost as it retreated to Gamoray (qv)
• musa, meese - tiny rodents, "mouse, mice"
• mushies - a food, from context some kind of dessert or candy
• myan - "clam"
  N
  
• nectar - wine
• noctuina - night-flying insect, "moth"
• Nomen - an offshoot of standard humans, clannish and violent, there are some in the fleet though their planet, Borella, was not one of the Twelve
  O
  
• oistreida - "oysters"
• ovine - grazing animal, provider of wool, young once used for sacrifices, "sheep"
• Outer Worlds - colonized by the Colonies before the Dark Ages and with which contact had been lost; includes many worlds the Galactica encountered on her journey
• Owl - a Colonial reconnaissance craft
  P
  
• pardos - quick, powerful big cat, "leopard, panther"
• Planetary Peace Enforcement (PPE) - the cops
• pogees - unclear exactly what this means, but you "scare the pogees out of someone"
• pressure suit - worn under the uniform of a Viper pilot, but not a shuttle pilot, this garment is designed to protect its wearer against the massive gee-forces pulled in a manuevering fighter
• primaries - a food; from context, vegetables
• promised - engaged to be married
• purple - highest suit in a pyramid (qv) deck (green and orange are the other two); "in purple" = "in spades"
• pyramid - a game of cards and chance
• Python - a Colonial bomber
  Q
  
• quantum - (1) a currency (qv); (2) an unknown time period (see "Time Units")
• Quorum of Twelve - alternate name for the Council of Twelve (qv), or possibly for a subset of it
  R
  
• Raider - a Cylon fighter ship, carries a crew of three and more powerful ordnance, though it is slower and less maneuverable, than a Viper
• rammet - male ovine, "ram"
• ranid - amphibian, "frog"
• Raven - a Colonial battlefield communications craft
• Revivesence - period of emergence from the Dark Ages, "Renaissance"
  S
  
• Sagan (say-gan) - ? possibly a Lord of Kobol
• Sagittan - an inhabitant of Sagita, which is a rigidly structured world; hence as a slang term, 'fascist, nazi, authoritarian', as 'He's so Sagittan about his office rules'
• school - basic, lower, upper, higher: elementary, middle, high, college
• Seal (with/to) - marry in a Kobolian ceremony
• seven and eleven, seven-eleven - a card game, like blackjack
• Sire - noble title, "lord"
• Siress - noble title, "lady"
• skeeton - noxious biting insect
• socialator - high class prostitute, like a Greek heteira, legal and semi-accepted job on Gemoni (a planet with very widely varying attitudes toward sex)
• shorsa - a sweet pudding, rich and creamy
• squadron - the basic unit of fighter craft. The show never got specific as to how many squadrons a battlestar had nor how many Vipers were in one. Generally I assume 12 Vipers to a squadron and that the Galactica had four (sometimes I go with two, depending on how I need it for the story (sometimes vague's not a bad thing)) before the Destruction.
• susa, suswine - "pig"
  T
  
• Terra - a planet the fleet passes, which they briefly mistake for Earth; Apollo is sent by the Light Beings (qv) to stop a war here, but only the Galactica's superior firepower pulls it off; some prisoners from there collaborate with Baltar (qv) in an escape attempt
• Thorn Forest - place where Starbuck was found after the attack on Umbra (qv)
• tooth hob - small homely sprite that collects baby teeth, "tooth fairy"
• Trango- elaborate children's board game, played with dodecahedral dice and four pieces per player (emperor, empress, rogue, and scholar)
• treyball - game kin to triad (qv), played singles or doubles, has no net or goal
• Triad - game played by two-man teams, sort of a cross between full-contact handball and basketball
• tribe - one of the major ethno-political groups of the colonies; there are twelve, thirteen if one counts the possibly mythical "lost thirteenth tribe", which Adama believes to be living on the planet called "Earth"
• turbo - (a) used to refer to the main drive on the Viper (b) prefixed to other words to show "hey, we're all science-fictiony here!"
• turboflush - toilet
• turbolift - elevator
• turbowash - shower (it's uncertain if it has water or merely a sonic component, or, possibly, both)
• triktrak - game similar to backgammon
  U
  
• Umbra - a small agro (farming) community on Caprica, attacked by the Cylons (qv) in 7322; Starbuck was one of "thousands" of children orphaned in the attack, which was the first on one of the twelve Colonial worlds. Umbra is referred to as "a colony", which doesn't make much sense, really, especially as the Thorn Forest is "near Umbra", not "on Umbra". I have decided to treat it as a colony somewhat in the ancient Greek sense, that is, a smaller specialized community which belongs to a parent city, with its administrative functions controlled from there.
  V
  
• Viper, Starhound Viper - a Colonial fighter ship
• vulpine - small, crafty predator, "fox"
  W
  
• Warrior - member of the Colonial armed forces
  Y
  
• yermolash - bidding card game, like whist
• yowe - female ovine, "ewe"

Original Fantasy:

Autumn Afternoon | Ilya's Wedding | Something... | Last Corner | Morgans

Original Fan Fiction

Star Wars | Power Rangers | Real Ghostbusters Battlestar Galactica | The A Team Space 1999 | Alias Smith and Jones | Jurassic Park III

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