Margaret Edmondson
Encyclopedia
Margaret Edmondson is a fictional character
in the television series Battlestar Galactica
, portrayed by actress Leah Cairns
.
, qualified as both a Colonial Raptor
pilot and electronic countermeasures officer (ECO). When the Cylon infiltrator Sharon "Boomer" Valerii
is temporarily pulled from flight duty after a botched suicide attempt, Galactica CAG Captain Lee Adama
nominates her to partner Boomer's ECO, Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo
. When Boomer returns to duty on a mission to destroy a Cylon Basestar
above Kobol
, Racetrack serves as her ECO.
Racetrack pilots the Raptor carrying Lee Adama's SAR
mission to Kobol, encountering fire from Cylon anti-aircraft missiles. Racetrack's Raptor destroys the Centurions on the ground with a volley of missiles, and recovers the trapped Galactica crewmen.
At the time that D'Anna Biers is shooting her documentary on life on board the Galactica, Racetrack is flying basic supply runs between Galactica and the fleet. In a recorded interview with Biers, Racetrack reveals that she is almost certain she will eventually die on a mission, and is determined to kill as many Cylons as she can before that happens. During a poker game with Starbuck, Racetrack makes several rude comments about Starbuck, Helo and Sharon and Starbuck assaults Racetrack.
Racetrack is one of the pilots who fails to understand Starbuck's disgust with the scorecards the Battlestar Pegasus
pilots place on their Vipers. Racetrack pilots a Raptor as part of Kara "Starbuck" Thrace
's rescue mission for 20 Raptors to make a sequence of ten jumps to Caprica to rescue the survivors there. On the first jump, Racetrack's Raptor jumps to the wrong coordinates, ending up in a gas cloud. As per orders, the main group carries on without her. Preparing to return to Galactica, Racetrack discovers a barely habitable planet that the fleet could colonize. This planet is later named New Caprica, and most of the human survivors of the fleet settle there permanently.
Unfortunately, just over a year after New Caprica's discovery, the Cylons locate and occupy the planet. The fleet's few remaining spaceborne ships, including the Battlestars Galactica and Pegasus, are forced to flee. Racetrack is part of Galactica' s remaining skeleton crew, and leads the Raptor pilots in part of the diversionary action intended to draw the Cylons' forces away from New Caprica while Galactica covers the civilians' escape.
After the Pegasus is destroyed above New Caprica, the Galactica air wing has an excess of qualified pilots. Desperate to keep up her flying hours, Racetrack volunteers to serve as Sharon "Athena" Agathon's ECO.
Later, as a pilot, she is involved in an accident in which her Raptor is destroyed as a result of contaminated fuel and she almost dies. She nearly dies two more times before the end of the third season; once, when a bomb is placed in her Raptor, and a second time when a Cylon missile nearly collides with her Raptor. Later in Season 4, her Raptor is severely damaged while on CAP, because of a mechanical error caused by Chief Petty Officer Tyrol.
Racetrack acts as temporary Flight Instructor after the deaths of both Kara Thrace
and Louanne Katraine
.
Racetrack took part in Lieutenant Felix Gaeta's mutiny against Admiral Adama. She along with Lieutenant Hamish 'Skulls' McCall, Charlie Conner, and several Marines detained Quorum Delegate Lee Adama and were prepared to execute him when Captain Kara Thrace appeared and shot a Marine and Lieutenant McCall. When the mutiny was subsequently put down, Racetrack was among those interned on the fleet's prison ship, the Astral Queen.
Racetrack and Skulls were given an amnesty in return for volunteering for a dangerous recon mission to locate the Cylon headquarters facility known as the Colony. They succeeded in this mission, allowing Admiral Adama to plan an assault on the facility, but both die in the assault against the Colony, as an asteroid hits their Raptor. However, Racetrack's dead hand later hits the launch key for her Raptor's nukes and they destroy the Colony, making Racetrack's last (accidental) action the destruction of the Cylon Colony.
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 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 actress Leah Cairns
Leah Cairns
Leah Cairns is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as one of the Raptor pilots, Lieutenant Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson, on the Sci Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica.-Biography:...
.
Character biography
Almost exclusively referred to by her callsign rather than her given or family name, Racetrack is an officer serving aboard the Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar 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...
, qualified as both a Colonial Raptor
Colonial Raptor
The Raptor is a multipurpose military spacecraft featured in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. According to producer Ronald D. Moore, the Raptor is analogous to the U.S. Navy's EA-6B Prowler.-Description:...
pilot and electronic countermeasures officer (ECO). When the Cylon infiltrator Sharon "Boomer" Valerii
Sharon Valerii
Number Eight is a female humanoid Cylon model on the television series Battlestar Galactica, a reimagining of the classic show of the same name. She is portrayed by Grace Park...
is temporarily pulled from flight duty after a botched suicide attempt, Galactica CAG Captain Lee Adama
Lee Adama
Leland Joseph "Lee" Adama is a fictional character in the television series Battlestar Galactica. He is portrayed by actor Jamie Bamber. He is one of the main characters in the series.-Early life:...
nominates her to partner Boomer's ECO, Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo
Lt. Crashdown
Alex Quartararo is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series, portrayed by Samuel Witwer...
. When Boomer returns to duty on a mission to destroy a Cylon Basestar
Cylon Basestar
The Basestar is the capital ship of the Cylons in the 1978 science fiction television series and movie Battlestar Galactica along with its re-imagining in the 2003 miniseries and 2004 television series.- Battlestar Galactica :...
above Kobol
Kobol
Kobol is the name of a planet in the fictional Battlestar Galactica universe.Within the context of both Battlestar Galactica stories, Kobol is the birthplace and original home of humanity, from which the civilization departed and formed the Twelve Colonies on other worlds...
, Racetrack serves as her ECO.
Racetrack pilots the Raptor carrying Lee Adama's SAR
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
mission to Kobol, encountering fire from Cylon anti-aircraft missiles. Racetrack's Raptor destroys the Centurions on the ground with a volley of missiles, and recovers the trapped Galactica crewmen.
At the time that D'Anna Biers is shooting her documentary on life on board the Galactica, Racetrack is flying basic supply runs between Galactica and the fleet. In a recorded interview with Biers, Racetrack reveals that she is almost certain she will eventually die on a mission, and is determined to kill as many Cylons as she can before that happens. During a poker game with Starbuck, Racetrack makes several rude comments about Starbuck, Helo and Sharon and Starbuck assaults Racetrack.
Racetrack is one of the pilots who fails to understand Starbuck's disgust with the scorecards 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 :...
pilots place on their Vipers. Racetrack pilots a Raptor as part of 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...
's rescue mission for 20 Raptors to make a sequence of ten jumps to Caprica to rescue the survivors there. On the first jump, Racetrack's Raptor jumps to the wrong coordinates, ending up in a gas cloud. As per orders, the main group carries on without her. Preparing to return to Galactica, Racetrack discovers a barely habitable planet that the fleet could colonize. This planet is later named New Caprica, and most of the human survivors of the fleet settle there permanently.
Unfortunately, just over a year after New Caprica's discovery, the Cylons locate and occupy the planet. The fleet's few remaining spaceborne ships, including the Battlestars Galactica and Pegasus, are forced to flee. Racetrack is part of Galactica
After the Pegasus is destroyed above New Caprica, the Galactica air wing has an excess of qualified pilots. Desperate to keep up her flying hours, Racetrack volunteers to serve as Sharon "Athena" Agathon's ECO.
Later, as a pilot, she is involved in an accident in which her Raptor is destroyed as a result of contaminated fuel and she almost dies. She nearly dies two more times before the end of the third season; once, when a bomb is placed in her Raptor, and a second time when a Cylon missile nearly collides with her Raptor. Later in Season 4, her Raptor is severely damaged while on CAP, because of a mechanical error caused by Chief Petty Officer Tyrol.
Racetrack acts as temporary Flight Instructor after the deaths of both Kara 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 Louanne Katraine
Louanne Katraine
Louanne Katraine is a fictional character from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series, portrayed by Luciana Carro.- Character biography :...
.
Racetrack took part in Lieutenant Felix Gaeta's mutiny against Admiral Adama. She along with Lieutenant Hamish 'Skulls' McCall, Charlie Conner, and several Marines detained Quorum Delegate Lee Adama and were prepared to execute him when Captain Kara Thrace appeared and shot a Marine and Lieutenant McCall. When the mutiny was subsequently put down, Racetrack was among those interned on the fleet's prison ship, the Astral Queen.
Racetrack and Skulls were given an amnesty in return for volunteering for a dangerous recon mission to locate the Cylon headquarters facility known as the Colony. They succeeded in this mission, allowing Admiral Adama to plan an assault on the facility, but both die in the assault against the Colony, as an asteroid hits their Raptor. However, Racetrack's dead hand later hits the launch key for her Raptor's nukes and they destroy the Colony, making Racetrack's last (accidental) action the destruction of the Cylon Colony.
External links
- Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson at the Battlestar Wiki