James Brannigan (D5)

James Brannigan is a character introduced in Volume II of the Battlestar Victorious Saga. He is the commanding officer of the Battlestar Athena, assuming command after the death of Commander Charles Watts.

Early Life
James Brannigan Jr. was born on the colony of Caprica thirty-four years before the Fall of the Colonies. He was the youngest son of James Brannigan Sr. and Mona Brannigan. The senior Brannigan was known on the Caprica City police force as ‘Big Jim’ and was a commanding presence in the Caprica City Police Department, eventually rising to the rank of Commissioner. It seemed only natural that his son would follow in his footsteps. However those plans would change during his son’s sophomore year at the Feros Academy when he decided, after studying the Cylon War, that he would try to attend the Fleet Academy and become a Viper pilot.

Military Career
Brannigan would graduate nineteenth in his class at the Academy, earning his wings and a posting to the Battlestar Daedalus. Upon his promotion to Lieutenant he applied for, and was accepted to the Advanced Tactical Training (A.T.T.) school. He would eventually earn his A.T.T. pin and decide to become a test pilot for the new line of Vipers. This would land him on Sagittaron where the Cian Testing Range was located. His time on Sagittaron would not be entirely pleasant. The testing range was located near the small city of Evander, and the locals were none too pleased to have the Colonial Fleet testing their Vipers so close to them. One time, when a local found out that Brannigan was from Caprica, the pilot was told that the problem with the Capricans was that ‘They’re overpaid, over-sexed, and over here!’

Not long after being promoted to Captain, Brannigan would be posted to the Battlestar Odin as a squadron commander. After two years he was promoted to Major and made CAG of the Titan-class Battlestar Basilisk.

The Fall
The Basilisk was on its shakedown cruise when the Cylons struck. The commanding officer was killed in a skirmish with the Cylons and Admiral Gary Ware took command of the Battlestar. He advocated a more offensive strategy and commenced hit and run tactics to try to whittle the Cylon offensive down bit by bit.

The Basilisk eventually found Battlestar Group 66 under the command of Rear-Admiral Scott Tolan. Ware would be placed in overall command by Hector Alonzo, the elected leader of Tolan’s civilian population. Ware favored an aggressive plan to attack the Cylons at a newly-discovered planet named Carillon.

During this battle the Basilisk was destroyed and its crew scattered among the battle group to make up for casualties. Brannigan found himself on the Battlestar Athena serving as its Executive Officer. Approximately six months later Commander Watts died of a heart attack and Brannigan temporarily filled in as the Commanding Officer until Tolan decided to make the promotion permanent.

Before the mission to rescue the Cylon prisoners from Ostarsis Brannigan was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral per the orders of Admiral Tolan and the Athena served as his flagship.

The Athena, already somewhat damaged, sustained heavy damage during the battle and the jump back to the civilian fleet was too much for the venerable battlestar to take. The back of the Athena broke once the jump was complete and it was decided that the time had come to decommission the battlestar and scrap it so that the other Colonial Fleet ships could be repaired.

Brannigan was instead placed in charge of Colonial Fleet Command, located on the luxury liner Olympica, and as of 'Battlestar Victorious Volume Four' still holds the position.