Cloud 9 (Battlestar Galactica)

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Cloud 9 was an FTL capable luxury passenger liner in the refugee fleet in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series.

Cloud 9 was a massive vessel. Its most notable feature was a huge geodesic dome atop the ventral side which contained a pressurized natural habitat that mimicked an outdoor park. The rest of the ship held numerous shuttle bays, casinos, bars, hotel rooms and luxury suites.

Inside the dome, many varieties of trees and plants from the Colonial worlds were grown on the grounds and cared for by a dedicated gardening staff. There was also an artificial lake used for swimming. At the center of the park was a large auditorium structure used for gatherings and festivals. The center was used by Laura Roslin as the meeting place for the new Quorum of Twelve after the attack. The dome used any natural sunlight that was available, in an attempt to replicate the atmospheric conditions of a planet's sky. However, Cloud 9 was still a spaceship, and didn't really live up to the quality of a real planet, as there were some flaws in the design, such as fake terrain used to disguise the machinery as well as the easily noticable and massive support beams of the sky dome. Despite this, Cloud 9 was judged to be one of the nicer places to live in the colonial fleet.

The ship was primarily used as a hotel and resort which had hosted various diplomatic functions and been the site of a terrorist assassination plot against President Laura Roslin, most notably during an electoral meeting for the Quorum of Twelve council, in which the radical Tom Zarek attempted to manipulate the council into voting him into the position of Vice President.

The ship had an "open port" policy, and did not keep track of those who come and go, which had caused numerous security problems and allowed members of the terrorist group "Demand Peace" to use it as a base of operations. Even President Roslin herself fled to Cloud 9 during Commander Adama's military coup.

Cloud 9 is destroyed in the Season 2 finale episode "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II", along with at least three other ships including a Colonial Movers freighter. The nuclear warhead that is used to destroy the ship was given to the Cylon agent Gina by then-President Baltar.

The radiation from the nuclear explosion leaves behind an identifiable signature that is discovered by a Cylon patrol one light-year away, one year after the destruction of the ship, and leads a Cylon invasion force to New Caprica.

[edit] External links

• Cloud 9 on the Battlestar Wiki

Battlestar Galactica spaceships
Colonial Military
Battlestars		Military Vessels
Galactica | Pegasus | Valkyrie		Viper | Raptor | Blackbird | Stealthstar
"The Fleet"
Astral Queen | Colonial One | Cloud 9 | Olympic Carrier | other..
Cylon Vessels
Basestar | Raider | Heavy Raider | "Resurrection Ship"