Helena Cain
Encyclopedia
Admiral
Helena Cain is a fictional character
in the reimagined science fiction
television series Battlestar Galactica
, portrayed by Michelle Forbes
.
attack on the final day of the first Cylon War. She fled with her sister, Lucy, but the younger sibling stumbled in the rubble. Too injured to continue, Lucy pleaded for help from her older sister, but Helena froze and, seeing a Cylon landing party, ran away and hid in a nearby storage container. She was discovered there by a Centurion sentry. As it targeted her, she picked up a folding knife and prepared to defend herself. Before the Centurion could strike, however, it received orders that a treaty had been signed and departed.
Now safe, Helena returned to where she left her sister, but the younger girl was missing. Only her doll remained. Looking into the sky, she sees a Cylon ship depart. It becomes clear that her sister has been taken for what can only be presumed is further experimentation towards creating a human cylon hybrid. In the aftermath, Helena vowed to do whatever it took to survive.
later remarks to President Laura Roslin that she was promoted "to Rear Admiral over half the Commanders on the list". However, her rapid rise in the Colonial Fleet appears more than likely due to her "strong political connections" than actual performance.
, Cain's flagship, the Battlestar Pegasus
, was docked at the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards for a major refit. The refit team included a civilian network analyst, Gina Inviere, with whom Cain began a relationship. At the time of the attack, Admiral Cain, like many of her crew, was preparing to leave the ship on shore leave
. The initial Cylon strike destroyed five Colonial vessels in Pegasus' immediate vicinity and severely damaged the Pegasus herself, killing 700 crew members. In a desperate gamble, Admiral Cain ordered a "blind jump" that took the Pegasus out of the combat zone..
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Cain addressed her crew, promising revenge against the Cylons through a guerrilla-style war. Among her inner circle, however, she said she was not willing to foolishly risk lives in the pursuit of vengeance.
During the attack, Cain became impressed by the fortitude of her new aide, a young, impressionable officer named Kendra Shaw, and quickly took the young woman under her wing, giving her the knife she found as a child. Shaw worked with Gina to restore the Pegasus computers, and they discovered a Cylon communications relay nearby. Cain saw this as the perfect opportunity to strike back at the Cylons and ordered a surprise attack. After jumping into range of the relay, a fleet of Cylon Raiders jumped in and attacked Pegasus. Pegasus executive officer Colonel Jurgen Belzen suspected that the Cylon relay was a trap and suggested a strategic retreat. Belzen's suspicions soon proved to be correct. However, Cain doubted his judgment, instead preferring to launch a full counterstrike, hoping it would catch the Cylons by surprise. This strategy did not work out at all as Cain had planned. When Belzen questioned Cain's decision and refused to carry out her foolish order to continue with the attack Cain ordered Colonel Belzen to hand over his sidearm. He reluctantly handed over his pistol, and Cain shot him in the head with it. She then appointed Colonel
Jack Fisk
as executive officer and ordered him to launch the attack. Shocked by Belzen's execution, Fisk immediately agreed to carry out the order.
The Cylons managed to board the Pegasus during the attack, leading to the discovery of Gina as a Cylon agent. With this betrayal, heightened by her relationship with a Cylon infiltrator, Cain ordered Lt. Alastair Thorne to brutally interrogate the prisoner.
Pegasus then found 15 refugee civilian ships, but rather than protect them like Galactica
did, Admiral Cain unscrupulously opted to strip these civilian vessels of any useful parts and supplies, draft any civilians who had valuable technical experience into her crew, and then leave the remaining civilians aboard their ships defenseless and at the mercy of the Cylons. If any civilians refused to join the Pegasus crew, Cain ordered that their families be executed. Overall, two families were killed under her orders until the draftees relented.
' s stores to be replenished from Pegasus' s own, but neglects the civilian fleet, ignoring President Laura Roslin
's requests on their behalf.
Cain's chief military objective became identifying a mysterious Cylon vessel sighted in the fleet pursuing Galactica. Cain gives Dr. Gaius Baltar access to Gina to continue the interrogation and learn more about the ship, identified as a Cylon Resurrection ship. The strategic value of knocking out the Cylons' means of avoiding death is not lost on the Colonial military commanders, and so Pegasus and Galactica plan a joint operation to engage the Cylon fleet and destroy the Resurrection ship.
Concurrently with this operation, Admiral Cain and Commander Adama come into conflict over the treatment of two Galactica crew members, Lt. Karl Agathon
and Chief Galen Tyrol
. Admiral Cain sentences the pair to death for the manslaughter of Pegasus officer Thorne (who was killed in a scuffle aboard Galactica after he had attempted to rape Sharon "Athena" Valerii during an interrogation). Cain and Adama come to the brink of firing on one another's vessels before standing down and agreeing to postpone their disagreements until the Resurrection ship has been destroyed. Nonetheless, each makes plans to have the other assassinated following the successful completion of the operation. Neither plan is carried out, much to the relief of the respective assassins: Captain Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
and Colonel Fisk.
by both Colonel Fisk and Captain Thrace, who says they are weaker without her. However, all the weaknesses seem to stem from the Pegasus command. Admiral Cain showed a complete disregard for her fellow humans and lack of morals; Col. Jack Fisk
was deeply involved in an illegal black market operation; and Chief Engineer Barry Garner
proved so incompetent that even Kara Thrace felt compelled to comment on his uselessness. The only capable Pegasus officer was Admiral Cain's former XO Col. Jurgen Belzen whom Cain shot in the head for disagreeing with one of her foolhardy plans.
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Helena Cain is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the reimagined science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
, portrayed by Michelle Forbes
Michelle Forbes
Michelle Renee Forbes Guajardo , known professionally as Michelle Forbes, is an American actress who has built a career of work in television and independent film and has acted in productions in both the United States and in the United Kingdom...
.
Youth
As a 9-year-old girl on her home colony of Tauron, Helena witnessed her parents' deaths during a CylonCylon (Battlestar Galactica)
The Cylons are a cybernetic civilization at war with the Twelve Colonies of humanity in the Battlestar Galactica science fiction franchise, in the original 1978 and 1980 series, the 2004 reimagining, as well as the spin-off prequel series, Caprica...
attack on the final day of the first Cylon War. She fled with her sister, Lucy, but the younger sibling stumbled in the rubble. Too injured to continue, Lucy pleaded for help from her older sister, but Helena froze and, seeing a Cylon landing party, ran away and hid in a nearby storage container. She was discovered there by a Centurion sentry. As it targeted her, she picked up a folding knife and prepared to defend herself. Before the Centurion could strike, however, it received orders that a treaty had been signed and departed.
Now safe, Helena returned to where she left her sister, but the younger girl was missing. Only her doll remained. Looking into the sky, she sees a Cylon ship depart. It becomes clear that her sister has been taken for what can only be presumed is further experimentation towards creating a human cylon hybrid. In the aftermath, Helena vowed to do whatever it took to survive.
In the colonial fleet
Cain later made a name for herself as an ambitious officer in the Colonial Fleet. She was something of a rising star with strong political connections: Commander William AdamaWilliam Adama
William "Bill" Adama is a fictional character portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series...
later remarks to President Laura Roslin that she was promoted "to Rear Admiral over half the Commanders on the list". However, her rapid rise in the Colonial Fleet appears more than likely due to her "strong political connections" than actual performance.
Cylon attack
Prior to the destruction of the Twelve ColoniesThe Destruction of the Twelve Colonies
The Destruction of the Twelve Colonies is a fictitious interstellar holocaust first depicted in the 1978 motion picture Battlestar Galactica, which set the stage for the subsequent television series...
, Cain's flagship, the Battlestar Pegasus
Battlestar Pegasus
Battlestar Pegasus is a fictional spacecraft that appears in the both the original and the reimagined television series Battlestar Galactica.- Battlestar Galactica :...
, was docked at the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards for a major refit. The refit team included a civilian network analyst, Gina Inviere, with whom Cain began a relationship. At the time of the attack, Admiral Cain, like many of her crew, was preparing to leave the ship on shore leave
Shore leave
Shore leave is the leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is culturally infamous for its excess. Sailors without family obligations and with basic lodging needs provided aboard ship may spend their wages for the journey in a brief period of extravagance ashore and return to...
. The initial Cylon strike destroyed five Colonial vessels in Pegasus
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Cain addressed her crew, promising revenge against the Cylons through a guerrilla-style war. Among her inner circle, however, she said she was not willing to foolishly risk lives in the pursuit of vengeance.
During the attack, Cain became impressed by the fortitude of her new aide, a young, impressionable officer named Kendra Shaw, and quickly took the young woman under her wing, giving her the knife she found as a child. Shaw worked with Gina to restore the Pegasus computers, and they discovered a Cylon communications relay nearby. Cain saw this as the perfect opportunity to strike back at the Cylons and ordered a surprise attack. After jumping into range of the relay, a fleet of Cylon Raiders jumped in and attacked Pegasus. Pegasus executive officer Colonel Jurgen Belzen suspected that the Cylon relay was a trap and suggested a strategic retreat. Belzen's suspicions soon proved to be correct. However, Cain doubted his judgment, instead preferring to launch a full counterstrike, hoping it would catch the Cylons by surprise. This strategy did not work out at all as Cain had planned. When Belzen questioned Cain's decision and refused to carry out her foolish order to continue with the attack Cain ordered Colonel Belzen to hand over his sidearm. He reluctantly handed over his pistol, and Cain shot him in the head with it. She then appointed Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Jack Fisk
Jack Fisk (Battlestar Galactica)
Jack Fisk is a fictional character from the 2004 TV series Battlestar Galactica, portrayed by Graham Beckel.Jack Fisk, service number 245A-34DC, was originally a Lieutenant Colonel aboard the Battlestar Pegasus and was the Executive Officer of the vessel, serving under the command of Admiral...
as executive officer and ordered him to launch the attack. Shocked by Belzen's execution, Fisk immediately agreed to carry out the order.
The Cylons managed to board the Pegasus during the attack, leading to the discovery of Gina as a Cylon agent. With this betrayal, heightened by her relationship with a Cylon infiltrator, Cain ordered Lt. Alastair Thorne to brutally interrogate the prisoner.
Pegasus then found 15 refugee civilian ships, but rather than protect them like Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (ship)
The Battlestar Galactica is a space battleship in the original and re-imagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica.The Twelve Colonies of Man in the original television series built a number of Battlestars during their thousand-year war with the Cylons, whose battleships are...
did, Admiral Cain unscrupulously opted to strip these civilian vessels of any useful parts and supplies, draft any civilians who had valuable technical experience into her crew, and then leave the remaining civilians aboard their ships defenseless and at the mercy of the Cylons. If any civilians refused to join the Pegasus crew, Cain ordered that their families be executed. Overall, two families were killed under her orders until the draftees relented.
Meeting Galactica
Six months after the Cylon holocaust, Pegasus was tracking a Cylon fleet when it accidentally encountered Galactica and her civilian ships. Taking over from Commander Adama as military commander of the fleet, Admiral Cain quickly arranges for GalacticaLaura Roslin
Her first actions include organizing all FTL-capable ships together and convincing Commander William Adama to abandon a retaliatory attack on the Cylons. President Roslin and Billy Keikeya, her aide/press secretary/chief of staff, establish a working office space aboard her transport, renamed...
's requests on their behalf.
Cain's chief military objective became identifying a mysterious Cylon vessel sighted in the fleet pursuing Galactica. Cain gives Dr. Gaius Baltar access to Gina to continue the interrogation and learn more about the ship, identified as a Cylon Resurrection ship. The strategic value of knocking out the Cylons' means of avoiding death is not lost on the Colonial military commanders, and so Pegasus and Galactica plan a joint operation to engage the Cylon fleet and destroy the Resurrection ship.
Karl Agathon
Karl C. Agathon is a fictional character on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, portrayed by Tahmoh Penikett.-Background:...
and Chief Galen Tyrol
Galen Tyrol
Galen Tyrol is a character on the television series Battlestar Galactica. Tyrol is responsible for the maintenance of the Vipers and Raptors aboard Battlestar Galactica...
. Admiral Cain sentences the pair to death for the manslaughter of Pegasus officer Thorne (who was killed in a scuffle aboard Galactica after he had attempted to rape Sharon "Athena" Valerii during an interrogation). Cain and Adama come to the brink of firing on one another's vessels before standing down and agreeing to postpone their disagreements until the Resurrection ship has been destroyed. Nonetheless, each makes plans to have the other assassinated following the successful completion of the operation. Neither plan is carried out, much to the relief of the respective assassins: Captain Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
Kara Thrace
Kara Thrace is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise. Played by Katee Sackhoff, she is a revised version of Lieutenant Starbuck from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series...
and Colonel Fisk.
Death
Unknown to Cain, Baltar also once had a relationship with a Six, and still has visions of one influencing his decisions. As he interrogated Gina, Baltar fell in love with her. After the Resurrection Ship is destroyed, Baltar tells Gina she deserves justice and helps her escape. Gina kills her guard, steals his gun, and makes her way to Cain's ready room and shoots Cain, her captor and former lover, in the head. After her death, Cain is eulogizedEulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
by both Colonel Fisk and Captain Thrace, who says they are weaker without her. However, all the weaknesses seem to stem from the Pegasus command. Admiral Cain showed a complete disregard for her fellow humans and lack of morals; Col. Jack Fisk
Jack Fisk
Jack Fisk is an American movie industry professional, frequently working as either a production designer or art director on Hollywood movies.Fisk met Sissy Spacek when working on Terrence Malick's 1973 movie Badlands...
was deeply involved in an illegal black market operation; and Chief Engineer Barry Garner
Barry Garner
Barry Garner is a fictional character from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series played by John Heard.Commander Garner became commanding officer of the Battlestar Pegasus following the deaths of Admiral Helena Cain and Commander Jack Fisk...
proved so incompetent that even Kara Thrace felt compelled to comment on his uselessness. The only capable Pegasus officer was Admiral Cain's former XO Col. Jurgen Belzen whom Cain shot in the head for disagreeing with one of her foolhardy plans.
External links
- Helena Cain at Battlestar Wiki
- Michelle Forbes on Galactica, Season 2
- Michelle Forbes on Razor