Battlestar Athena (D5)

Athena (BSG-66) is a Battlestar that appears in all three volumes of the Battlestar Victorious (Series).

The Cylon War and Peacetime Service
Athena, is the second ship of the Columbia-class, was laid down in the Pollack-Stockton Shipyard located at the Taurus Space Complex. It would take two years to complete and put in commission. Some attribute this speed to the need to get the battlestars built and in service as quickly as possible. The Athena would commission into the Colonial Fleet with Commander Kaylin Lanier, the battlestar’s first tour of duty involved patrolling the space around Gemenon in case the Cylons decided to attack the colony.

The Athena would see action all the way up until the end of the Cylon War, taking part in Operation Raptor Talon on the last day of hostilities. With peace now upon the Twelve Colonies, the Athena stayed on frontline duty until time and technology caught up to the veteran battlestar. Removed from frontline duty with the advent of the Valkyrie-class battlestars, Athena would serve as the main training ship for the Colonial Fleet. Twenty-four years after commissioning, the Athena was decommissioned and removed from the Active Fleet. This move left the Galactica as the last remaining Columbia-class battlestar in operation.

Athena would be stored at the Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility located at the Genesis Orbital Facility above Aerilon.

After The Fall
By the time of the Cylon attacks, Athena has been stripped as a source of spare parts to keep Galactica running. Due to this the ship is selected along with the battlestar Ares to take part in Operation Pedestal, a secret weapons tests to provide research data for the next generation of battlestars. There were delays with getting the two ships to the location for the tests, however the Cylons attacked before the tests could commence. Rear Admiral Scott Tolan made the decision to bring the two battlestars back to active service.

Three years before The Fall the ship was used to film several scenes for the movie 'Noble Cause' starring Neveah Ratliff before filming transferred to the Battlestar Cerberus.

Note
''Battlestar Athena's Image is a modifited of the Battlestar Galactica image, created by CanisD. The Modifited was done by Allen Knott. ''